Schapiro makes list » PAGE 3 of top 10 college presidents
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opinion Misolunas Affirmative action should be about class » PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
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Council clears way for visitors center By Rachel Janik
the daily northwestern
Evanston aldermen voted Monday to ignore the Preservation Commission’s recommendation and grant Northwestern’s appeal to proceed with plans to construct a new visitors center on Sheridan Road. The 6-2 vote came after last week’s Preservation Commission meeting, when the panel unanimously declined to grant a certificate of appropriateness to the University. NU appealed the commission’s decision to the city council for review. Commission members made several remarks to the council before the vote at Monday’s council meeting. They expressed many concerns about the style of the proposed building, some saying that the steel and glass would conflict with more historical structures such as Fisk Hall, one of the oldest buildings at NU. Jeanne Lindwall, a NU alumna who currently lives near campus, said she fears the new building would “intrude into the rhythm of the lakeshore historical district.” After the public comment period ended, the council invited Ron Nayler, NU’s associate vice president for Facilities Management, to speak for 10 minutes on behalf of the University. Nayler stressed the concerns many of the plan’s opponents had were misconceptions, including one claim that the University plans to fill in part of the lakefront. He said the center plans were drawn in accordance with all zoning regulations. He added that the building, which many were afraid would dwarf all surrounding structures, is within 10 feet of nearby Fisk Hall, and is far from being the tallest building on campus. University Hall is 117 feet tall and the McCormick Tribune Center stands more than 80 feet, Nayler said. Many questions posed to Nayler by the council dealt with environmental issues. Ald. Judy Fiske (1st) and Ald. Melissa
Wynne (3rd) both mentioned conservation efforts by many in the community to maintain a diversity of bird life near the lakefront and expressed concern that the work could be disrupted by the proposed changes to the area. With Fiske mentioned a lack a project like connection this, you’re not of between the going to make University’s vision and that everyone of local resihappy. dents, one she felt should be Don Wilson, resolved. alderman (4th) “Where we struggle between Evanston as a community and Northwestern as a university is the way we look at land,” Fiske said to Naylor. “We’re outside looking in, and you’re inside looking out.” After some discussion, Ald. Jane Grover (7th) moved to grant NU’s appeal, with a second by Ald. Don Wilson (4th). Wilson argued that the new building, although it may conflict with the personal style of some residents, meshes well with NU’s eclectic architecture. He said he is also in favor of many aspects of the plans as well, including extending the lakefront bike paths. “With a project like this, you’re not going to make everyone happy,” Wilson said. “I think all we can do is strive for the best that can be developed.” Wynne moved to table the measure and consider it in two weeks, echoing concerns about the environment and lingering confusion about the final product. Despite that request, the motion to grant the appeal held, and the measure passed 6-2, with Wynne and Fiske dissenting. Ald. Coleen Burrus (9th) recused herself from the vote because she is an NU employee.
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racheljanik2015@u.northwestern.edu
Rafi Letzter/Daily Senior Staffer
louder than words Northwestern students Daniel Flores, Andrew Jarrell, Justin Clarke and Tarik Patterson debate race-based affirmative action in higher education at the Political Union’s meeting Monday.
Students tackle affirmative action Political Union hosts forum on role of race in college admissions By Meghan morris
daily senior staffer
As the Supreme Court evaluates the constitutionality of affirmative action, the Northwestern Political Union met Monday night to debate race-based affirmative action policies for college admissions. A student moderator led three student debaters and about 60 audience members for the 90-minute session in Annenberg Hall. Initially, the room’s vote was evenly split on the issue. By the conclusion, the audience voted more than two-to-one that race-based affirmative action should continue to exist in higher education.
D65 approves improvement plans By Manuel rapada
the daily northwestern
Evanston-Skokie District 65 school board members approved improvement plans Monday after the district and three schools missed state standardized test benchmarks. The plans, which cover issues such as leadership and instruction, passed on a 5-0 vote during Monday night’s board meeting at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave. Title I schools, institutions enrolling a certain percentage of students from low-income families, are deemed “in need of improvement” if they have not made adequate yearly progress on standardized tests for two consecutive school years. In that first year, schools must develop an improvement plan for No Child Left Behind and state requirements. Oakton Elementary School and Chute Middle School are in their second year of being “in need of improvement.” Washington
Weinberg senior Michael Kurtz, copresident of the Political Union, said the group selected the topic because of the current Supreme Court affirmative action case concerning whether the University of Texas’ admissions process favors racial minorities. “It’s an issue a lot of people have a strong opinion on because it has colored – pun intended – many of our college experiences,” said Kurtz, a former Daily staffer. “I hope it was an exchange of ideas and people got a sense of other perspectives.” Debater Daniel Flores said too many arguments surrounding affirmative action are only race-based. He said students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, regardless of race, are left out of the discussion, which takes away from the “diversity of experience” at NU. “Affirmative action is a Band-Aid for the state of education here in America,”
Dorm watch party: Last debate close call the daily northwestern
get schooled District 65 assistant Superintendent Ellen Fogelberg discusses the role of instructional leadership teams at the board meeting Monday night.
Elementary is in its third and D65 is in its second year of district improvement. This year, however, marks a change in school improvement planning, said Susan Schultz, D65 assistant superintendent.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
Under this new model, staff and administrators will engage in strategic distributed instructional leadership, which promotes the gathering of ideas from teachers and school » See schools, page 9
» See union, page 9
DAILY DECISION
By Cat Zakrzewski
Manuel Rapada/The Daily Northwestern
the Weinberg junior said. “There’s a huge problem that needs to be fixed, and affirmative action is a short-term solution.” On the other side, Weinberg seniors Tarik Patterson and Justin Clarke argued that pervasive racial discrimination has led to inequality at universities. “Race is a reasonable checkpoint to keep in place,” Patterson said. “While it may be redundant, it’s worthwhile.” Patterson and Clarke, both members of the black student alliance For Members Only, noted that NU’s continuing lack of diversity hurts both minority students and campus culture overall. “Affirmative action isn’t supposed to bring people into organizations, but to develop them,” Patterson said. In response, Flores questioned whether racial categories apply to admissions, since many students do not identify as a single race or fall under those
As President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney squared off for the last time in Monday night’s the foreign policy debate, students in the Communications Residential College gathered once again for their last watch party of the 2012 election season. A discussion with David Zarefsky, former dean of the School of Communication, followed the debate, which was attended by about 30 students. Zarefsky also led a discussion with the CRC students following the first presidential debate Oct. 3 and is teaching the tutorial “Tracking the Presidential Election: Politics, Rhetoric and Media” at the residential college this quarter. Students let out supportive yells
early in the debate when Obama turned to Romney and said, “I know you haven’t been in a position to actually execute foreign policy.” When Romney attempted to use a decrease in the air force and naval ships as evidence of a weakened military, laughter filled the lounge as Obama informed Romney that new technology existed in the military beyond “horses and bayonets” and compared his claims about the Navy to a “game of Battleship.” About 10 students stayed after the debate for the discussion, in which Zarefsky and the attendees talked about why the candidates repeatedly tried to change the conversation from foreign policy to domestic issues. The general consensus among students was that although polls about the debate would be close, Obama would » See DEBATE, page 9
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