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The Daily Northwestern Monday, January 13, 2014
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Students reflect on NU diversity gains By JEANNE KUANG
daily senior staffer @jeannekuang
A year after an alleged racial incident involving a Northwestern employee sparked discussions surrounding race on campus, student diversity leaders expressed tentative hope that the campus climate is headed in I think there’s positive been a decent adirection. amount of “I think there’s been progress a decent in terms amount of progress of campus in terms changes. of campus changes,” Noor Hasan, Sustained Dialogue said Noor Ha s a n , a leader Sustained Dialogue moderator and member of the diversity and inclusion task force in Student Affairs. “There is an increased amount of dialogue which is really important.” In December 2012, NU maintenance worker Michael Collins said
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he found a black teddy bear hanging from a rope by his desk, as if it had been lynched. When knowledge of the incident reached campus during Winter Quarter 2013, multicultural student groups reacted in outrage, organizing a rally and march in support of Collins as well as discussions about race. “I think the march for Michael Collins that took place was a really important event that happened … an important message to the administration and students as a whole that this incident shouldn’t be tolerated,” Hasan, a Weinberg senior, said. Now Hasan believes the response to the incident, as well as other efforts to support diversity and inclusion on campus in the past year, have led to an overall positive change. Collins’ situation was the latest in a series of racial incidents that have led student leaders to call for change on campus in the last few years. In January 2012 a Latina student was heckled in mock broken English while walking home. In April 2012, the University established a diversity council and hired Dona Cordero as assistant provost for diversity and » See DIVERSITY, page 7
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New look, new Cats
Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer
FIRED UP, READY TO GO Junior guard JerShon Cobb pumps up his team during a timeout. Cobb had 11 points while taking over primary ball-handling duties from injured guard Dave Sobolewski, helping Northwestern to a 49-43 victory over Illinois for NU’s first conference win.
Panhandling rises downtown SoC set to launch documentary MFA By CIARA MCCARTHY
daily senior staffer @mccarthy_ciara
Aggressive panhandling incidents in downtown Evanston have increased over the last six weeks, culminating in a rare physical arrest at the end of December. “It’s an all-year concern, but panhandling does sometimes increase around the holidays,” Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said. Residents recently described requests for money as “almost relentless” in recent weeks, police said in weekly deployment meeting newsletters. Last year, EPD recorded nearly 150 complaints of aggressive panhandling, which the city’s website defines as repeatedly requesting money, following and blocking the path of a solicited person and using abusive language. Asking for money is legal in Evanston but there are limits, EPD Officer Scott Sengenberger said. Evanston implemented its antipanhandling ordinance in 2001. The ordinance prohibits aggressive panhandling, as well as asking for money in certain areas, including near bus stops or within 20 feet of an ATM or bank. Most panhandlers receive warnings for violating city code, and Parrott said arrests are rare. On Dec. 27, Sengenberger arrested panhandler Joseph Morales outside of CVS Pharmacy, 1711 Sherman Ave. Morales, 50, violated city code because he was within 20 feet of an ATM. Sengenberger, who handles
By JORDAN HARRISON
the daily northwestern @MedillJordan
Annabel Edwards/Daily Senior Staffer
PROBLEMATIC PANHANDLING A panhandler sits outside of CVS on Sherman Avenue. The Evanston Police Department said there will be a “focus” on the downtown area due to “reportedly aggressive panhandlers.”
most of the city’s panhandling-related issues, gave Morales a warning and arrested him after he ignored the warning and was verbally aggressive. “If they’re problematic with the police, they’re likely to be problematic with the public,” Parrott said of Morales’ arrest. Although the ordinance places strict requirements on where and in what manner panhandlers can operate, those close to the panhandling and homeless communities agreed the ordinance was rational. Sue Loellbach, director of development for Connections for the Homeless, said the ordinance was fairly reasonable. She added most city panhandlers aren’t actually
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homeless but instead ask for money to supplement stipends from assisted living facilities. A panhandler outside Pret A Manger, 1701 Sherman Ave., told The Daily on Thursday he does not find the ordinance unreasonable. The man declined to give his name but said he had been panhandling in Evanston for about a year. “It’s just certain areas where you can’t stand,” he said. “I can understand that.” Aggressive panhandling periodically increases in downtown Evanston and police respond with increased enforcement, Sengenberger said. mccarthy@u.northwestern.edu
Beginning this fall, Northwestern will offer a new master’s degree in documentary media. The two-year program, offered through the School of Communication, will feature six core courses and offer each candidate a $5,000 grant to fund a thesis project. Communication lecturer Debra Tolchinsky will direct the new Master of Fine Arts program and said she looks forward to its launch. “We’re very excited about this program, excited to see what kinds of students are attracted to it and what kinds of works they produce,” Tolchinsky said in an email. “We’ll be hiring new faculty in association with the program and slowly hosting a variety of visiting artists.” Communication lecturer Clayton Brown, one of the program’s core faculty members, said the program is unlike most documentary programs because it is open to variations on the concept. “What’s unique about the program is that while we are all very familiar with the notion of traditional or standard documentary, the MFA program is actually using that as a starting point, so a student might come in and be interested in doing multimedia projects that are influenced by the practices or techniques or aesthetics of documentary but really have nothing to do with
standard documentary films,” Brown said. Tolchinsky and Prof. Kyle Henry, the program’s associate director, said the master’s program will differ from documentary programs at other universities. “What will distinguish the new MFA program is its hybrid approach to documentary, its emphasis on professional training, its Chicago location and an outstanding faculty with real world experience,” Henry said in a news release. Tolchinsky said she thought the program’s unique approach would lead to a diverse group of student projects. She added that graduates can go beyond the typical documentary approach and adapt different techniques to better tell a story. “Some will make traditional documentaries,” Tolchinsky said in the email. “Others will blend fictional and nonfictional methods. Still others will expand upon the typical cinema or television experience, embracing the interactive or immersive.” The program will give students access to internship opportunities in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, according to a news release. Graduates of the program will also have the opportunity to receive professional feedback on their work from NU professors and alumni up to two years after completing the degree. Students in the degree program will create at least one documentary, » See DOCUMENTARY, page 6
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