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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Find us online @thedailynu
State proposes education center By Kelly Gonsalves
the daily northwestern @kellyagonsalves
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources formally introduced its intentions to use the Harley Clarke Mansion as an office space and public coastal education center to Evanston residents Wednesday night. After months of controversy over the future use of the historical lakefront property, 2603 Sheridan Road, the department officially tossed its hat in the ring for tenancy on Oct. 18. A federally funded organization, the IDNR hopes to use the space as a base to conduct several statewide programs aimed at protecting the coast and natural resources, as well as a learning and information center for adults and children. “The idea of actually having some type of hands-on, wet classroom that kids could come out and learn about the interaction of the land and the water ... That would be a really great opportunity,” said Diane Tecic, the department’s coastal program manager. “It’s something that we would want to consider.” Tecic also mentioned possible public
meeting spaces and wildlife information centers for hunters, fishers and boaters. The IDNR could also maintain coastal habitats in Evanston itself and possibly host eco-tours, Tecic said. Tecic and other representatives gave detailed summaries of the department’s various eco-conscious programs but specified all proposed plans for the mansion are merely preliminary until the city confirms the offer. The future of the Harley Clarke Mansion became a citywide concern after news broke Evanston billionaire Jennifer Pritzker planned to purchase and convert the space into a boutique hotel. Residents aggressively protested the plan, concerned with losing public access to the park and beach property. The IDNR’s proposal comes in direct conflict with the building’s current tenant, the Evanston Art Center, which has also expressed interest in remaining on the property permanently. The center has been renting the property for $1 a year since 2010, a symbolic gesture of the city’s support for the organization. “The Evanston Art Center still has » See HARLEY Clarke, page 6
Harley Clarke Mansion Kelly Gonsalves/The Daily Northwestern
NEW PROPOSAL Diane Tecic, program manager of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’s Coastal Management Program, speaks at Wednesday night’s community meeting. The IDNR officially expressed interest in the property last October.
Sean Hong/Daily Senior Staffer
SLAM DUNK What is now the south counter of Frontera Fresco at Norris University Center will soon become Dunkin’ Donuts. Kelly Schaefer, Norris executive director, announced the news at Associated Student Government’s second Senate meeting of the year Wednesday night.
Dunkin’ Donuts confirmed By Rebecca Savransky
the daily northwestern @beccasavransky
Dunkin’ Donuts will replace Frontera Fresco’s frozen yogurt station this spring, Norris University Center Executive Director Kelly Schaefer confirmed at Associated Student Government’s weekly Senate meeting Wednesday. After receiving feedback from students and the Norris Center Advisory Board, administrators concluded Dunkin’ Donuts would be a positive addition to Norris. “The endcap at Frontera was supposed to be a different kind of coffee location,” said Dr. Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, assistant vice president for student auxiliary services. “Students aren’t responding to it like we thought they would. People saw it as comparable to Starbucks, and that’s not what they wanted. They wanted something like Dunkin’.” Multiple senators clapped and cheered at the Dunkin’ Donuts announcement. Schaefer also asked Senate for feedback about the Norris dining options added this year, including Subway and the new-
IFC sees new member increase By Annie Bruce
daily senior staffer @anniefb13
Despite a shortened recruitment schedule due to weather, the Interfraternity Council saw an increase in new members, with 370 students accepting bids. Last year, 348 students joined fraternities, according to numbers provided by IFC last year. Sorority recruitment wrapped up on Tuesday night, but the Panhellenic Association would not comment on this year’s recruitment process. Will Ritter, vice president for recruitment for IFC, said he expects numbers to rise over the next few days and weeks, as three chapters continue to recruit and others wait on outstanding bids. Sigma Nu participated in formal winter recruitment for the first time this year and had 25 pledges, which was more than Recruitment Chairman Daniel Weinberg was expecting. “It’s hard to get your name into the
Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer
WHAT A RUSH Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council’s formal recruitment culminated this week. 370 students accepted bids to IFC organizations.
fold,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “Some people write you off for not having a reputation. It was to our advantage
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
to get people who didn’t care about us » See RECRUITMENT, page 6
look Starbucks. Students offered numerous concerns with the updated dining options, including long wait lines at Subway during dinner hours and reduced late-night food options. ASG President Ani Ajith said he appreciated the effort administrators put in to implement student feedback. “We’re constantly talking with them about different changes and giving input along the way,” Ajith, a Weinberg senior and former Daily staffer, told The Daily. Schaefer said Norris is constantly aiming to update the food options, adding that administrators are collecting student opinions to best serve the community. “We’ve done two national surveys,” Schaefer said. “We’ve done campus surveys. Variety, cost effectiveness and branding are the top three things students are asking for.” Payne-Kirchmeier and SafeRide coordinator Bernard Foster also announced a new SafeRide mobile application, which was created in an attempt to eliminate long wait times with a more efficient tracking application. Called TapRide, the new application aims to boost ridership, save money and yield more data in order to give the
New light shed on severity of Davis Street fire
The fire that destroyed three Davis Street businesses in December took over one million gallons of water, multiple fire departments and five hours of continuous work to contain and eliminate. The fire could have been much worse, Evanston fire department Chief Greg Klaiber explained during City Council on Monday. Klaiber discussed the severity of the fire and the intense work required of firefighters and other city departments to manage it. The fire started at Pine Yard Restaurant, 1033 Davis St., on Dec. 29 just after 2 a.m. and spread to nearby TechniColour Nail & Day Spa, 1031 Davis St. and Taco Diablo, 1029 Davis St. All three businesses were destroyed and demolition began Monday on the buildings’ charred remains. Klaiber presented a detailed account of the progress, including footage from the scene. When firefighters first arrived on the scene, they cut an inspection hole
organization more statistical information. The application is currently in the troubleshooting phase and is expected to be fully running by February. Users will be able to set a pickup and dropoff location and indicate the number of passengers on a smartphone. The app will give the estimated time of arrival and will alert the passenger when the SafeRide has arrived. “The big takeaway here are we want to make sure we’re honoring what the students have requested for us to do in previous Senate and continuing to move forward,” Payne-Kirchmeier said. “We want to be innovative. We want to be practical.” Later, Senate discussed and voted on the new election commission for the spring presidential elections. Seven students were elected to the commission. Senators also voted to allocate $200 from the ASG Project Pool to the keynote speaker for Body Acceptance Week, Lisa Lee. Specific changes to the ASG Code and a proposal to donate money to Mega Shabbat will be voted on next week. rebeccasavransky2015@u.northwestern.edu
in the roof of Pine Yard and discovered flames in the wood truss construction of the building. “Wood truss construction is our most dangerous type of fire,” Klaiber said. A fire wall protected Wheel & Sprocket, 1027 Davis St., and the firefighters’ work prevented the fire from spreading to the bike store and many more properties along Davis Street, Klaiber said. It took all of the fire department’s resources to combat the fire in addition to five outside communities’ assistance, Klaiber said. Klaiber also explained that the weather conditions on the morning of Dec. 29 prevented the fire from spreading east down Davis Street. “If we had a wind blowing fire, it could have gone all the way to Maple,” he said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, although it definitely originated from the kitchen of Pine Yard. Investigators are examining pieces of kitchen equipment in a controlled environment for clues as to the origin of the fire, Klaiber said. — Ciara McCarthy
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