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The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, May 14, 2013
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In Focus
Qatar’s free press? At NU’s ‘third campus,’ media comes to monarch’s doorstep
Rafi Letzter/Daily Senior Staffer
NU-Q’S HOME The Doha skyline is seen from the Arabian Gulf. Qatar, home to NU-Q and five other American university campuses, shares a border with Saudi Arabia and lies across the water from Iran.
By RAFI LETZTER
daily senior staffer @RLetzter
In his commencement speech Wednesday at Northwestern University in Qatar, then-senior Ismaeel Naar reminded his classmates of their projects addressing the Syrian revolution and obesity in Qatar. Listening in their purple robes — more than 7,000 miles from Evanston — the journalism and communication majors had challenged the prevailing media climate in the small Gulf nation. “What we learned here is that stories have the power to move not only one person, but a nation,” the journalism major, now an alumnus, said. As NU-Q graduated its second class last week, faculty and administrators said they hope their guidance will empower alumni to build a modern, open Arab
press — based in a country that has yet to enact a free press law, as mandated in its 2003 constitution. “What we’re doing here has the potential to transform a whole society,” said Everette Dennis, NU-Q dean and CEO. “It is a tremendous challenge in a place where freedom of expression abuts tradition and religion at every corner.” At the same time, some students said they feel pressured to conform to a “Western” journalistic mindset, with faculty members and visitors from the Evanston campus talking down to them. “No one gives Arabs a chance,” Naar said. That contradiction between West and East and the struggle between respecting the old way and creating something new lies at the root of the project of NU-Q. For journalism and media students, the combination presents unique challenges. Locals, unfamiliar with the sight of
news teams with cameras, shy away from interviews. Overeager police officers spot students reporting and rush over to shut them down. And longstanding social codes transform certain interviews into uncomfortable encounters. “I can think of half a dozen incidents where local cops stopped students from taking pictures,” Associate Dean Richard Roth said. “Then I have to go out and tell them ‘No, they’re students, they’re from Education City.’”
Life in Education City
NU-Q, which offers degrees from Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communication and the School of Communication, enrolls about 120 students from more than 30 different countries. The majority live at home and commute, though many international students live on the sprawling Education City campus in western Doha, Qatar.
Council debates rentals again By RACHEL JANIK
the daily northwestern @rachel_janik
“They are part of our student body,” University President Morton Schapiro told The Daily in April, just weeks before he traveled to Qatar for graduation. “I give them their diplomas.” NU’s benefactor is the independent but government-funded Qatar Foundation, which is chaired by the wife of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, emir and dictator of Qatar. Charged with building science and education in Qatar, the Foundation foots the bill for NU-Q, along with the five other American universities and other programs operating on semester systems in Education City. The investment’s effect is tangible. Education City’s campus is the base for a range of academic programs. The universities, all of which operate together on the semester system, host major conferences and consult with world leaders. In December 2011, delegates from the Libyan Transitional Council and media
daily senior staffer @SophiaBollag
Rachel Janik/The Daily Northwestern
CONTROVERSIAL RENTALS Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) expressed reservations with a newly proposed ordinance to regulate vacation rentals at Monday’s City Council meeting.
drew attention to the issue, said she was relieved the ordinance “has teeth.” Some aldermen were not sold on the broad proposal. Ald. Donald Wilson (4th) cited what he called “the obvious exceptions,” namely people who are in the process of selling the property they are renting out, and residents who rent for the short term due to special circumstances such as a fire. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) suggested the ordinance include an exemption for residents stuck in such situations.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
The committee adopted Wilson and Rainey’s suggestions, and asked city staff to adjust the ordinance accordingly. They sent the proposal back to committee for further review. Monday also marked the first official meeting of the council’s new term. All incumbent aldermen were sworn in after Alds. Judy Fiske (1st), Delores Holmes (5th) and Mark Tendam (6th) won reelection in April. The other aldermen ran unopposed. racheljanik2015@u.northwestern.edu
» See IN FOCUS, page 6
Tensions flare over ASG confirmations By SOPHIA BOLLAG
Evanston officials Monday debuted a new ordinance to regulate vacation rentals, their third attempt to tackle the controversial issue. The Planning and Development Committee last tried to address vacation rentals in April, when aldermen voted down two proposals and asked city staff to take a closer look. Under the latest proposal, residents who want to rent out their homes for less than 30 days must apply for a specialuse permit from the City Council, only after getting a recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals. The city would regulate vacation rentals as a subset of bed-and-breakfast establishments. The issue flared up in September after some residents on Ashland Avenue complained about disturbances at a rented home during Northwestern’s football season. Concerned citizens have been addressing the council for months, both to defend and condemn the legality of vacation rentals in Evanston. Kim Novi, a resident who opposes vacation rentals, applauded the city for working toward a solution. “We feel that we’ve been heard,” Novi said. “And we appreciate this.” Maureen O’Donnell, who lives next to the Ashland Avenue property that first
met in Doha to discuss the future of the press in a nation coming out from under the dictator Moammar Qaddafi’s shadow. NU representatives, among them Dennis, moderated. The Foundation’s support is also a boon for student life. “I love our dorms,” said Syed Owais Ali, a Pakistani international student who just finished his freshman year studying communication at NU-Q. “They’ve given me two MacBooks now, and a nice camera. And a scholarship.” The generous equipment rental package is free and universal for NU-Q students, and many who come from outside Qatar say the Foundation pays their tuition. Foundation money also covers student trips all over the world, including South Africa and Washington, D.C. On Saturday, a group of NU-Q students arrived at the
Associated Student Government is scrambling to ease racial and political tensions after three nominations for cabinet positions were derailed amid heated debate last week. Over the past few days, ASG president Ani Ajith has been meeting with caucus whips to address lingering concerns from Wednesday’s Senate meeting, during which two nominations were blocked over accusations of postelection favoritism. Another nomination was halted after some senators called for a more diverse candidate. The acrimony has Ajith, a Weinberg junior, playing defense less than a month into his presidential term. “Every candidate was given a fair shot, no matter who they are, what they did, or whose campaign they supported,” said Ajith, a former Daily staffer. Despite Ajith’s assurances, some senators say the contentious meeting revealed larger problems with how the executive board is chosen. “Senate resents the way in which candidates are selected right now,” said Carly Blumenfeld, outgoing chief of staff. “They do not have an opportunity to
participate in that process.”
‘Us versus them’
The most tense episode of Wednesday’s meeting came after Sargent Hall senator Jesse Seitz asked Stephen Piotrkowski if being a white male helped his nomination for associate vice president of diversity and inclusion. “When you’re forced to work with all these multicultural groups that are, for the most part, not made up of white males, do you think you have the perspective that is not their perspective, to bring to them?” asked Seitz, a Weinberg junior. “You can have that back and forth with them,” Seitz added, starting to fumble his words. Ajith stood up, leaned forward and looked directly at Seitz. “I feel isolated,” Ajith said. “We’re not ‘them.’ There’s no ‘us’ versus ‘them.’” Some senators burst into applause at Ajith’s intervention. After another half hour of questioning and more than 15 minutes of closed discussion, Piotrkowski, a Medill sophomore, became the third nominee to be blocked that evening. Several multicultural groups attended the confirmation to speak out against » See ASG, page 7
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