SPORTS Football Northwestern’s ‘Sky Team’ looks to continue tradition after losing key seniors » PAGE 8
NEWS On Campus After protest, tickets talk divestment » PAGE 3
OPINION Wang Rampant construction does more harm than good » PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, April 6, 2016
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Investments protested at Schapiro’s home
Lauren Duquette/Daily Senior Staffer
UNEXPECTED GUESTS Student activists gather outside University President Morton Schapiro’s house, 2601 Orrington Ave. While protestors marched to Schapiro’s house, Schapiro was holding a dinner for students, including ASG members.
By SHAKE MCKEON
daily senior staffer @shane_mckeon
Student activists protested Northwestern’s investment policies Tuesday evening, both by marching to and walking out of University President Morton Schapiro’s Evanston house. Schapiro was hosting a dinner for members of Associated Student Government when roughly 30 student
activists gathered outside his home at 2601 Orrington Ave., waving signs and shouting demands. The protesters — some of who chanted “Morty, come outside!” and “No justice, no peace!” — listed demands and called on Schapiro to pressure the Board of Trustees to “divest from corporations profiting off human rights violations,” especially those operating in Palestine. “We demand full transparency of our endowment and NU’s
investments,” the group shouted. “We demand a socially-responsible investment committee led by us, created by us.” Inside the house, guests ate hors d’oeuvres and chatted before sitting down for dinner. Then Schapiro stood to give a speech. Students present at the dinner told The Daily that Schapiro outlined changes the University has made in its investment policy, saying he favored divesting from fossil fuels,
and that he pushed trustees to do just that. But the Board, he said, declined to take that action. Shortly after Schapiro’s speech, some students stood and said administrators haven’t done enough on divestment, ending their critique by walking out of the house. They joined the protesters, huddled on the sidewalk, and continued to shout demands. SESP freshman Ben Powell, who
walked out of the dinner, said that although Schapiro said he supported divesting from fossil fuels, he didn’t mention other divestment campaigns. “He didn’t mention Unshackle NU. He didn’t mention NU Divest,” Powell said. “I don’t want my education to effectively be paid for, even in part, by profiting off of acts that harm other people.” » See PROTEST, page 6
One Book selects Silver’s work Despite opposition, ‘The Signal and the Noise’ chosen for 2016-17 refugees enter state By KELLI NGUYEN
the daily northwestern @kellipnguyen
Nate Silver’s best-selling novel on statistics and predictions will be featured as next year’s One Book One Northwestern. “The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — but Some Don’t” explores the world of predictions while examining unpredictable catastrophes, such as the Sept. 11 attacks and the global financial crisis. The book investigates the use of statistics in forecasting and analyzing world events and the reasons behind correct and incorrect predictions. On Oct. 6, one month before the 2016 election, Silver will come to Northwestern to speak and sign books, according to a University news release. Silver, the founder and editor-inchief of FiveThirtyEight.com, is best known for his use of statistics in analyzing polling, science, sports, politics and culture. In 2009, Time magazine named him one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People.” During the 2008 presidential elections, Silver accurately predicted the
winner of 49 of the 50 states. In the next election, he exceeded his previous claim to fame and correctly predicted all 50. “The country (and) the world will be at fever frenzy at the time he’s at campus,” said McCormick Prof. Stephen Carr, faculty chair of the One Book program. “It’s going to be a big day.” Next year’s book is a deviation from One Book’s past reading selections, which have typically been social justice oriented, said Melody Song, a Weinberg senior and One Book fellow. In selecting next year’s book, the committee wanted to find a way to appeal to students who are particularly interested in subjects outside the humanities, said Song, a previous Daily staffer. “We were looking for something that overall was going to involve more people, maybe a different set of people, and I think that was one of the things that was really attractive about Nate Silver’s book,” Song said. Silver’s ability to synthesize statistical data to make relevant conclusions is what makes him a compelling author, Carr said. Students who are not interested in the numbers can still appreciate the mathematical foundation that Silver uses to describe world events, he said. “All that kind of information is around and Nate Silver is just showing
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
By DAVID FISHMAN
the daily northwestern @davidpkfishman
Source: Nate Silver on Facebook
Nate Silver
how you can extract meaningful, useful knowledge from what otherwise seems like just a lot of numbers,” Carr said. “The Signal and the Noise” was selected from a pool of over 70 nominated titles. It will be sent to the incoming Class of 2020 and serve as the base for related programming throughout the academic year. kellinguyen2019@u.northwestern.edu
Home to more than 2,400 new refugees from 29 nations that migrated in the past year, residents say Illinois has historically been an open and welcoming place for asylum-seekers and immigrants alike. “Illinois is easier to resettle because it’s so diverse,” said Suzanne Akhras Sahloul, a Syrian refugee and founder of the Syrian Community Network. “It’s important to see people who are of different ethnic backgrounds because then that makes our transition a little bit easier.” But following Governor Bruce Rauner’s call in November to halt the flow of Syrian refugees into Illinois and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric on immigrants, including a proposal to temporarily bar all Muslims from entering the United States, some say the state may turn in a different direction. “Donald Trump has drawn out this more extremist, nationalist vein of Americans that were not as
empowered-feeling as before he was running for president,” said Renner Larson, communications director for the Chicago office of the Council On American-Islamic Relations. “That’s something that we as a nation really need to reflect on and work to counter.” In Evanston, offensive vandalism at Northwestern’s Alice Millar Chapel last month preceded a gathering of local religious and social justice leaders rallying against “hateful rhetoric” and handing out posters illustrating support for local refugees. Two Weinberg freshmen vandalized Alice Millar using spray paint to write homophobic, racist and Islamophobic messages along with Trump’s name. The students were charged with institutional vandalism and hate crime to a place of worship and placed on interim suspension, which bars them from campus, University spokesman Bob Rowley said. Tahera Ahmad, director of interfaith engagement at NU, who spoke at the event, said the rally was the second in a series aimed at sending a message of support to those facing » See REFUGEES, page 6
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