The Daily Northwestern Monday, April 15, 2019
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 12 SPORTS/Softball
Find us online @thedailynu
3 CAMPUS/Student Life
Cats sweep Wisconsin with walk-off homer
4 OPINION/Gutierrez
Elder residents ask for limited construction and housing fees reinbursement in petition
AIDS: Stigma, PrEP and the ongoing crisis
ASG Pres. reflects on legacy of reform
NU raises tuition by 3.9% for next year Increase is the largest fees hike in seven years
Emily Ash prepares for departure from student leadership
By GABBY BIRENBAUM
daily senior staffer @birenbomb
Tuition for undergraduates will increase 3.9 percent for the 2019-2020 academic school year, rising to a record high of $56,232, the University announced Friday. The 2018-2019 cost was $54,120. Overall undergraduate costs — including tuition, fees and room and board — will rise 3.5 percent. Student activity and athletic fees will increase 4.5 percent to cost $258, and room and board will increase 2.4 to become $17,019 for a double room with a full meal plan. The student health fee will remain at $201. This is the ninth consecutive year of tuition hikes — and the largest of the past seven years. At the same time, the University will allocate more than $233 million to financial aid, a 10.8 percent rise from the $210 million that was provided this year. Approximately half of undergraduates receive financial aid, according to the release. The increase in financial aid will benefit both low-income and middle-income families, the University said in the release. NU also said in the release that it will continue its 2016 policy of excluding loans from financial aid packages for first-year students. Northwestern is the most expensive school in the Big Ten for undergraduates. NU also has the priciest non-tuition undergraduate costs in the Big Ten. Schools in similar price ranges announced tuition increases around Northwestern’s rate too. The University of Southern California and Cornell University both remain slightly more expensive after a 3.5 percent increase and 3.6 percent increase, respectively. Vanderbilt University and the University of Pennsylvania came in slightly under Northwestern’s price tag after announcing 4.5 and 3.9 percent increases, respectively. At a community dialogue last year, Provost Jonathan Holloway said yearly tuition hikes are common among Northwestern’s peer institutions. The rise in costs is necessitated by NU’s increasing commitment to providing financial aid and grants, he said. “We don’t want to be the most expensive school, (but) we don’t want to leave money on the table either,” Holloway said at the time. “To hold tuition flat when the cost of running the University keeps going up seems naturally unreasonable to me.”
High 51 Low 33
By GABBY BIRENBAUM
daily senior staffer @birenbomb
EVENING
THE COUNT
Peter Warren/Daily Senior Staffer
As NCAA proposal nears vote, college baseball and softball coaches seek to elevate volunteers to equal standing By PETER WARREN
daily senior staffer @thepeterwarren
It was the top of the eighth inning of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament semifinal against Maryland — a win-or-go-home game for the Wildcats — when Sam Lawrence delivered one of the most important pitches in Northwestern history. NU entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed and was the Cinderella story of the weekend. But their magical run was on the verge of collapse. The Cats had a 6-5 lead, but the Terrapins had the bases loaded with one out and Zach Jancarski, Maryland’s speedy center fielder and lead-off hitter, at the plate. After falling behind 2-0 to start the at-bat, Jancarski hit a grounder a few feet to shortstop Jack Dunn’s right. Dunn fielded the ball and threw it to second baseman Alex Erro. Erro caught the ball at second base, took his momentum across the base and fired to first. His throw edged out Jancarski — double-play, inning-over, no runs scored. “Probably the best double play I’ve ever seen turned in person,” said former volunteer assistant coach Tad Skelley. NU’s dugout erupted in celebration. For almost everyone watching the play, the turn was smooth, simple and spectacular. Skelley said it was the proudest he has ever been as a coach. But he also knew there was more to the play than met the eye. Earlier in the tournament, the Cats had a similar double play opportunity, but Erro stayed back on the throw from Dunn, and it cost the team an out. Skelley, who worked with infielders on defense, talked with Erro and Dunn about the mistake. Just a few days later, Erro made an adjustment — and it became the most important play in a win that sent NU to the Big Ten championship game for only the second time in school history. “Alex did exactly what we had talked about,” Skelley said. “That was pretty cool. That’s pretty special.” That’s part of why Skelley looks back on his time with the Cats as “probably the best experience” of his life. He loves the players and the coaching staff and still keeps in contact with a good number of them. But by the time the new year began, Skelley was no longer on staff; he had started a job in the
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Toronto Blue Jays scouting department in January 2018. Skelley was a volunteer assistant coach at NU for two seasons. That meant he was not paid, did not receive health insurance and could not recruit. With a family, including a 3-year-old daughter, the need for health benefits outweighed his passion for the job. But things could have gone differently. When asked if he would have left Evanston if he were a full-time coach, Skelley was quick to respond. “No.” Soon, however, Skelley’s worries may no longer be a concern for current volunteer assistant coaches. NCAA Proposal 2018-34, an amendment to be voted on this week at the NCAA Division I Council, would change the third assistant coach position in baseball and softball from a volunteer to fulltime role at the Division I level. The measure has near-universal support from college baseball and softball coaches across the country, but its backing among administrators is more divided. And when the votes are cast, the conference that may play the most important role in getting the proposal passed is the Big Ten.
NCAA Proposal 2018-34
Baseball and softball currently have the same coaching limitations. Both sports are allowed three countable coaches — paid staff members who provide instruction, assist in tactical decision-making and recruit off-campus. For most programs, like Northwestern’s two teams, that equates to one head coach and two assistant coaches. NCAA Proposal 2018-34 — submitted by the SEC — would amend Bylaw 11.7 in the NCAA Division I Manual, changing the maximum number of full-time coaches allowed on baseball and softball staffs from three to four. Craig Keilitz, the executive director of the American Baseball Coaches Association, and Joanna Lane, the director of education and program development for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, said well over 90 percent of coaches support the change. The idea has been floated around “off-and-on” throughout the three years Matt Boyer, the SEC’s assistant commissioner for compliance, has worked in the SEC office. But only recently did it reach » See IN FOCUS, page 6
When Emily Ash was elected to Associated Student Government last year, she joined as executive vice president. But when Sky Patterson, Ash’s running mate and the winning presidential candidate, stepped down in the winter, the Weinberg senior stepped into the role. Economics Prof. and ASG advisor Mark Witte said the move made sense for Ash, a “policy wonk” who had been just as involved in legislation from the beginning of Patterson’s term. “Emily was always the one doing the back office, cranking out the policy, in the details,” Witte said. “From the beginning, she was very involved in the nitty gritty.” Ash had always wanted to be involved in leadership. She started her ASG career as a member of the public relations committee before becoming the vice president of public relations. She said she was interested in being a “conduit” between administration and students, and made consistent, transparent communication with administrators to be a key facet of her administration. To that end, Ash worked to bring members in to speak to ASG Senate and wanted to reform the ways in which students and administrators interact, such as changing the format of community dialogues. Though she said she knows ASG is not the only platform with the capability to influence administrators, she ran for office because she saw the position as a strategic place to negotiate on behalf of students. “Over the course of my year in our (executive) board’s leadership, I discovered ways in which I could see myself and a team of students strategically influencing engagement, but also policy and resource allocation decisions,” she said. “I came to see ways in which my own experience, as well as the experience of my peers, is materially impacted by the decisions that our administrators and our trustees make and how you can influence that from the platform of student leadership.” Though the election was contentious until the end, Patterson and Ash ended up prevailing, winning 49.2 percent of the vote. Upon taking office, Ash set to work picking up on the priorities » See OUTGOING, page 8
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12