The Daily Northwestern Thursday, January 19, 2017
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Schakowsky to skip inauguration U.S. Rep. plans to attend Women’s March instead By DAVID FISHMAN
daily senior staffer @davidpkfishman
Linnea Narducci/The Daily Northwestern
Communication seniors Isaac Sims (left) and Erin Manning host the RTVF town hall meeting. RTVF students criticized the policies of the new grantgiving system and asked for more transparency and accountability from the department.
RTVF students discuss funding
Students voice concerns over new distribution system at town hall By STAVROS AGORAKIS
daily senior staffer @stavrosagorakis
Although the Department of Radio, Television and Film has said its new project funding system is an “improvement,” RTVF students voiced a slew of concerns at a departmental town hall meeting Wednesday. About 20 students attended the gathering, which was hosted
by the Undergraduate RTVF Student Association. Attendees discussed how the Media Arts Grants — which were established during the last academic year — have impacted student filmmaking on campus and proposed solutions to present to administrators. Communication senior Sophie Gordon said the new system creates a disconnect between advisers and grant recipients, as students are not able to receive
the resources they would have from student groups. Students are “here to learn,” and first-time writers and directors may find it difficult to produce projects without the appropriate attention from experienced filmmakers, Gordon said. “The MAG system offers less than zero support other than monetary,” she said. “You are given a very small of money, and you ask yourself, ‘OK, what do I do with this now?’ I’m supposed
to make a movie but I have no resources.” No administrators attended the event. Department chair and RTVF Prof. Dave Tolchinsky said in an email to The Daily that he believes the department is in “awesome shape” and that a lot of students were unhappy with the old system but are content with MAGs. The grant system has already » See RTVF, page 6
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) announced Wednesday that she will not attend Friday’s inauguration, adding her name to a growing list of Democrats boycotting the event out of dismay for President-elect Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policy proposals. Instead, Schakowsky said she would join the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday alongside more than 200 Evanston residents who also plan on traveling to Washington. “I have decided to join the growing group of my colleagues who will not attend the inauguration in protest of a president who used bigotry, fear and lies to win an election that was tainted by foreign interference and voter suppression — and who intends to betray the interests of the ordinary working people who put him in office,” Schakowsky said in a statement. Nina Kavin, an Evanston resident who helped organize buses to the march in Washington, said she was “proud and inspired” by Schakowsky’s decision to join. “I am thrilled that she will be part of the marching masses of people who are going to march
for human rights against bigotry and hate,” Kavin said. “She is listening and reflecting the priorities of her constituents. … It was probably a very, very hard decision.” Speaking to The Daily after an event Sunday, Schakowsky was still undecided about attending the inauguration. On one hand, she said, she wanted to stand in solidarity with Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), a civil rights icon whom Trump accused of being “all talk” with “no action or results” and accused him of not adequately addressing crime in his district. Those comments came after Lewis said he did not believe Trump was a “legitimate president.” But Schakowsky also said she felt a need to “be in the room” and “feel the atmosphere around this inauguration.” She also wanted to be sure there was “actually a boycott movement” before opting out. “I want to be able to report back to my constituents, ‘What did it feel like to be at this inauguration?’” Schakowsky told The Daily on Sunday. “‘How did it compare to the inauguration of Barack Obama? And what did Donald Trump have to say?’” On Wednesday, however, Schakowsky erased all doubts and joined a growing list of dozens of Democrats boycotting the inauguration. In Illinois, that list includes Reps. Luis Gutierrez and Mike Quigley of Chicago and Rep. » See SCHAKOWSKY, page 6
Biss may run for Illinois governor
Report reveals income imbalance
the daily northwestern @kristinakarisch
About two thirds of Northwestern students come from families in the top income quintile, according to a report by The New York Times’ The Upshot published Wednesday. The report includes analysis of economic diversity at several colleges and universities across the United States and is based on data pulled from millions of anonymous tax filings and tuition records. It compares Northwestern with peer institutions in economic diversity and average income after graduation. The report analyzed more than 2,000 institutions. The median household income for students at NU is $171,200 — the 81st highest average income percentile of the institutions included in the study. Fourteen percent of students come from families who make $630,000 annually,
By KRISTINA KARISCH
State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) told The Daily on Wednesday night that he was considering a gubernatorial bid next year, but had not yet reached a decision. There are currently a handful of declared candidates, including current Gov. Bruce Rauner and Ald. Ameya Pawar of Chicago. Biss mentioned the potential of a bid while attending a “Community Action” panel at SPACE — a concert venue in Evanston — to discuss plans for the next four years under a Trump administration. Also in attendance were U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Medill Prof. Peter Slevin and Colleen Connell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Illinois.
“ Welcome to the resistance,” Schakowsky said during the meeting, eliciting cheers and thunderous applause from the crowd. “People are ready for the fight. I think what most people are wanting now is marching orders. ‘What do I do to participate?’” Schakowsky, who is boycotting Friday’s inauguration, said the most important thing now is to “show up.” “One opportunity to show up is on Saturday, the day after the inauguration,” she said. “They’re calling it the Women’s March. The turnout, the numbers will be used as a barometer to show how fierce and determined we are.” The Women’s March on Washington — a grassroots effort started by a national coordinating committee — is a response to rhetoric » See BISS, page 6
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
By MATTHEW CHOI
daily senior staffer @matthewchoi2018
which is the minimum yearly income for the top 1 percent of earners. Only about 3.7 percent of students come from households earning $20,000 a year or less, placing them in the
bottom quintile. University spokesman Al Cubbage said the University is working to improve economic diversity on campus. In March 2016, NU removed loans for incoming students as
part of changes to its financial aid program. The percentage of students who are eligible for Pell Grants — a federal grant given to low-income » See INEQUALITY, page 6
Median Parents Income 180,000 171,200
160,000
144,200 140,000 134,500
132,600 123,400
120,000
116,200
115,800 109,00
100,000
1 Northwestern University
2 Wheaton (Ill.)
3 University of Chicago
4 Illinois Wesleyan
5 Augustana (Ill.)
6 Loyola Chicago
7 Illinois State
8 Illinois
Note: Data applies to students born in 1991 (approximately the class of 2013) in 2015 dollars.
Graph by Juliet Freudman
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