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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, May 13, 2021
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7 CITY/Public Safety
Mayor Biss creates new public safety committee
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Evanston’s 81st City Council sworn in Daniel Biss, alderpeople start terms Monday By JASON BEEFERMAN
daily senior staffer @jasonbeeferman
“Over the last 10 days, it has become clear to me that the current challenges will not allow me to effectively lead our department, especially during these unsettling times in college athletics,” Polisky wrote. “I do not want to be a distraction to our incredible men and women as they pursue a collective goal — to help our student-athletes become the best they can be.” Just hours before Polisky resigned, a cohort of student athletes, former students, alumni and
Evanston’s 81st City Council was sworn in Monday evening at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center, beginning the terms of Mayor Daniel Biss, City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza and four new alderpeople: Clare Kelly (1st), Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th), Bobby Burns (5th) and Devon Reid (8th). Five members of the last council — Alds. Peter Braithwaite (2nd), Melissa Wynne (3rd), Tom Suffredin (6th), Eleanor Revelle (7th) and Cicely Fleming (9th) — were reelected and will continue their time on the dais. Biss said that the new council had a diversity in experience, which he called an advantage. “We have an opportunity now, with a really wonderful mix of experienced people and incumbents,” Biss said. “I feel so excited about what we can do together with that mix.” During the new council’s
» See POLISKY, page 6
» See SWEARING IN, page 6
Graphic by Carly Schulman
Mike Polisky stepped down after students and faculty called on the University to reconsider the hiring decision.
Mike Polisky resigns as Athletic Director NU community calls for continued investigation, scrutiny in search for new AD By SNEHA DEY, JACOB FULTON and YUNKYO KIM
daily senior staffers @snehadey_, @jacobnfulton, @ yunkyomoonk
Ten days after Northwestern announced Mike Polisky’s appointment to athletic director, he resigned and will depart from the University. Polisky stepped down after students and faculty called on the University to reconsider the hiring decision.
NU to require vaccination starting fall 2021 Northwestern will require students to be fully vaccinated for the 2021-22 academic year. Faculty, staff and visitors will not be required to get the vaccine, Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced in a Wednesday community email. Students who cannot provide proof of their vaccination status and have not received an exemption may not be eligible to register for fall classes, according to the email. “Requiring students to be vaccinated will best support the health of our community and position us for in-person classroom and co-curricular activities for the Fall Term,” Hagerty wrote to the community. The University plans to release information around exemptions in June. International students who cannot secure a vaccine appointment will be able to receive a temporary exemption from the vaccine requirement on the condition they will sign up for vaccination upon arrival to campus.
» See VAX REQUIREMENT, page 6 Recycle Me
For former cheerleader Erika Carter (SESP ‘18), whose petition to reconsider the University’s decision to promote Polisky garnered over 1,300 signatures, the resignation was a relief. “I feel like my efforts had been actually going toward something, but then at the same time, I know that the fight is not over,” Carter said. Carter was among the over 200 faculty, staff, students, alumni and Evanston community members who marched Friday to protest the appointment. NU Community
Not Cops also hosted a Saturday noise demonstration in solidarity with NU cheerleaders who had raised concerns about Polisky’s appointment. In a federal lawsuit filed in January, a cheerleader alleged Polisky did not allow her to meet with then-Athletic Director Jim Phillips about her complaints of sexual exploitation within the cheerleading program. In an independent investigation by The Daily, sources also claimed Polisky failed to adequately address racial discrimination allegations.
Carter said she still believes Polisky violated NU policy. University President Morton Schapiro stated the University engaged an independent investigator who found no such violation in the initial portion of the inquiry. However, Carter told The Daily the University should still investigate Polisky and publicize the investigation’s findings. In the Wednesday announcement, Polisky said the community response to his appointment prompted his departure from both the role and the University.
Faculty Senate talks racial justice at NU
Community Safety Advisory Board prepares to propose fundamental changes to NU leadership By ISABELLE SARRAF
daily senior staffer @isabellesarraf
Feinberg Prof. Clyde Yancy and Chief Diversity Officer Robin Means Coleman discussed racial justice at Northwestern during Wednesday’s Faculty Senate meeting. Yancy, co-chair of NU’s Community Safety Advisory Board, said senior leadership called him back in November indicating that the University was “at an impasse” when it came to campus safety. Since then, NU has released two external reviews of University Police and the Department of Safety and Security. The first report detailed UP’s budget and operations. The second reassessed DSS’s responsibilities, including its role in student mental health response. Instead of placing mental health responsibilities on campus police, Yancy said,
NU may reroute that authority elsewhere as a result of the assessment’s findings. Yancy also called for the reinvention of Counseling and Psychological Services. The board has heard suggestions supporting the removal of weapons during wellness checks and reduction of their use on campus, he said. He said the board has made it clear to senior leadership that it intends to propose fundamental change including some principles of abolition. “People are not happy on our campus,” Yancy said. “They’re receiving extraordinary education. They understand the value of that education. But the climate in which this is occurring is not one that is conducive to wellness.” Coleman, the board’s other cochair, said institutional responses to racial justice problems often result from protests and demands. She said it is essential to proactively institutionalize the board’s
work. “To be frank, I’m totally over the task forces,” Coleman said. “We actually know the work that needs to be done. We truly do. We don’t need another task force… This is the moment to finally say ‘enough’ and do that work at the institutional level.” Despite faculty calls for updates, Yancy said the board cannot disclose further details until the board goes public with their slate of recommendations. At the meeting, McCormick Prof. Luís Amaral expressed anger toward a lack of transparency, especially as faculty have asked to give input. After Yancy and Coleman repeatedly stated that senior leadership would be the ultimate decision-makers for universitywide policy change, Amaral pointed out a hierarchy in which he said administrators “fall behind the leader” and silently accept leadership’s decisions. Amaral said Mike Polisky’s
Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman
This month’s Faculty Senate meeting included discussions around racial justice at Northwestern as the Community Safety Advisory Board prepares to make recommendations to University leadership.
promotion to athletic director was indicative of the administrative climate. He asked Yancy and Coleman whether, given their positions at the University, they would prioritize standing behind administration or defending those “abused by the University.”
“If the president of this university decides to ignore your recommendations, what would you do?” Amaral asked. In response, Yancy said he took on the role because of community
» See FACULTY SENATE, page 6
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