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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, April 4, 2013
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Shao, Stewart look back at year as term ends By STEPHANIE HAINES
daily senior staffer @SHaines9892
Associated Student Government president Victor Shao and executive vice president Brad Stewart reflected Wednesday on their time in office, calling improved communication between ASG and students the hallmark of their administration. Nomination petitions for ASG elections are due Friday. Elections will be held April 19; Shao and Stewart leave office April 24. The team expressed pride in the creation of Campus Voice, an online forum for students to submit ideas to improve Northwestern, and the commencement of the new student center plans. Stewart said Campus Voice has helped ASG connect with the student body, as students submitted hundreds of ideas that “we would never have thought of.” Communication junior Michelle Spies said she wasn’t sure her suggestion to Campus Voice would make a difference, but she was proved wrong. She said she suggested University
Library offer PC chargers to borrow along with Mac chargers. “A few days ago I just got a response from Brad, and he commented, ‘OK this is completed, enjoy the new PC chargers,’” Spies said. “I feel like there are a lot of issues people have with this school that are voiced and never actually changed. I thought it was just a thing people would look at and agree, but no one would actually do anything.” Although she did not expect her suggestion to be completed, Spies said she would probably use Campus Voice again. “This is something that’s actually been a tangible result, so I guess it’s a step in the right direction,” she said. Shao and Stewart also said the progress on the new student center is “promising.” They said they have been in discussions with administrators about the plans since they were elected. Stewart said more information about the new student center will soon be made public to students. Although current students may have graduated by the time the new student » See SHAO/STEWART, page 7
Hillary Back/The Daily Northwestern
EXECUTIVE IMPACT Associated Student Government president Victor Shao and executive vice president Brad Stewart note Campus Voice as a major accomplishment of their administration. Students will elect new ASG officers this month.
City lands new energy-saving Walgreens By CIARA MCCARTHY
daily senior staffer @mccarthy_ciara
Evanston will soon be home to a milestone in green technology when Walgreens opens what is likely the nation’s first net-zero energy store around Thanksgiving. As a net-zero energy building, the new Walgreens will use green technology to produce more energy than it consumes. The new store will replace the former Walgreens in Southpoint Plaza, 635 Chicago Ave. Workers have already begun the demolition of the existing Walgreens, and drilling for geothermal energy began Wednesday. Walgreens announced last month the
construction of the new store will not only attempt to achieve LEED Platinum status, but also seek to be the country’s first net-zero energy retail store. The company said it selected the Evanston branch as the location for its greenest store yet because of its proximity to Walgreens’ headquarters in Deerfield, Ill. Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said the city’s reputation as a community committed to sustainability also made it a great location for green businesses. If the store is built according to the model, it will achieve net-zero energy. The model cannot, however, account for factors such as weather or appliances plugged into the store, said Jamie Meyers, the company’s sustainability manager. These factors might prevent the store from achieving net-zero energy, although the company will attempt to
mitigate this possibility by training employees in sustainable management of the building, Meyers said. Engineers estimate the store will use 200,000 kilowatt hours per year of electricity and create 256,000 kilowatt hours per year. The energy produced by the store will feed back into the electrical grid for use by other buildings on that same grid, Meyers said. More than 800 solar panels and two vertical wind turbines will generate this power, Meyers said. In addition, Walgreens said the store will utilize various green technologies such as geothermal energy, LED lighting, daylight harvesting and energy efficient building materials. The construction is part of Walgreens’ general commitment to sustainability, Meyers said. Walgreens is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better
Buildings Challenge, an initiative that aims to decrease energy usage of more than 100 organizations by 20 percent by the year 2020, said Maria Vargas, the program director. “Walgreens’ participation in the Better Buildings Challenge highlights what’s possible for organizations that are in business to drive their businesses better and faster by reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Vargas said. Walgreens’ participation in the program will allow other businesses and organizations throughout the country to use the Walgreens store as a model and learn from their challenges, she said. Meyers said the new Walgreens may provide a template for other businesses to create net-zero buildings in an enclosed » See WALGREENS, page 7
In Colo., Obama talks Murray shooting By CIARA MCCARTHY
daily senior staffer @mccarthy_ciara
President Barack Obama made an apparent reference to slain Evanston teen Justin Murray during a gun control speech Wednesday night in Denver. “I had another conversation just a couple of months ago with a mom from Chicago — actually, Evanston, Illinois — whose son had been killed in a random shooting,” Obama said at the Denver Police Academy. “And she said, ‘You know, I hate it when people tell me that my son was shot because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.’” Murray was gunned down Nov. 29 outside his grandmother’s home in west Evanston. Although it remains unclear
whether Murray was the intended target, Evanston Police believe Murray was killed as part of a gang-related feud between two families. Carolyn Murray, Justin’s mother, attended this year’s State of the Union address as a guest of Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). While in Washington, D.C., Carolyn Murray met first lady Michelle Obama. About a week later, Carolyn Murray attended Obama’s remarks on gun control at Hyde Park Academy on Chicago’s South Side and met with him afterward. The president and the first lady “said if there’s anything that I needed to help out with community projects from this point on, to contact them,” Carolyn Murray told The Daily in February. ciaramccarthy2015@u.northwestern.edu
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Source: Carolyn Murray
PRESIDENTIAL MENTION President Barack Obama made an apparent reference Wednesday night to Carolyn Murray (pictured), the mother of slain Evanston teen Justin Murray, in a speech on gun control in Denver.
ASG-backed early vote initiative fails to attract students
NU Votes’ effort to drive students to the polls early in the upcoming city election fell short Wednesday. Throughout the week leading up to the April 9 election, NU Votes, a nonpartisan initiative to encourage student voting, will lead walks from campus buildings to the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center. Associated Student Government off-campus senator Alex Deitchman was left waiting at the South Mid-Quads on Wednesday afternoon when no students showed up for the walk. The Weinberg junior attributed the lack of attendance to students’ busy schedules during the middle of the week and said attendance would likely pick up Friday when students have more time with the weekend approaching. He also noted a lot of students prefer to vote on the day of the election. “It feels more legit, I guess,” Deitchman said. “But you don’t have to wait in line if you vote early.” The NU Votes walk is not the only early voting initiative that has fizzled. First Ward hopeful Ed Tivador voted early March 30, but fewer than 10 supporters joined him. Overall, however, relatively large numbers of voters are turning out to the early polls. Nearly 90 people voted early at the civic center Wednesday alone, according to the Cook County clerk. Deitchman said the walks to the Civic Center are just one of the ways the group is encouraging student voting. NU Votes will distribute free pizza, likely at The Arch, for any student with a voting sticker on Election Day Tuesday. He said they have also registered about 200 students to vote in Evanston. “We’re just trying to make voting a no-brainer,” Deitchman said. “But sometimes, it’s like herding cats.” — Cat Zakrzewski
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