The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, May 2, 2018
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Lacrosse
3 CAMPUS/Academics
Writers reflect on Cats’ successful season
Student brings non-credit American Sign Language class to Northwestern’s campus
Find us online @thedailynu 4 OPINION/Martinez
Dolezal film more damaging than helpful
Trustees to review Bill Cosby degree
Council refers small-lot proposal City sends special use process to P&D committee
Board will discuss honorary degree’s status in June
By SYD STONE
daily senior staffer @sydstone16
City Council members referred a potential special use process that would support affordable housing and ensure equitable access to community benefits to the Planning and Development committee after a Monday meeting.. Aldermen made the motion after considering creating a special use process that would enable developers to purpose the construction of modestsize homes on smaller lots than currently allowed by Evanston zoning policies. The program would make the development of “starter homes” more affordable and accessible to both first-time homebuyers and less affluent residents by reducing land costs associated with developing single-family homes, according to city documents. The special use process would also allow parcels that are currently “undevelopable” based on zoning to be used. Ald. Donald Wilson (4th) said he appreciated the suggestion to amend city zoning ordinances because the proposed program could create more balance in the city’s residential market and help break a cycle of replacing small houses with bigger developments. “There ought to be some ebb and flow instead of ebb and knock everything out,” Wilson said. “So hopefully this can be something that can be utilized to create some balance in what is available throughout the city.” Evanston housing and grants division manager Sarah Flax, who presented the program to council on Monday, said escalating housing costs in the city have been “pushing out” younger families and older residents who want to live in smaller homes. She said though effective, Evanston zoning laws can restrict more creative housing options. “It’s definitely had an impact on our residents and who can live here and who can own,” she said. “We have fairly stringent zoning that is set, euclidean zoning to accomplish consistency and make sure that we have a healthy and pleasant environment … but one of the things we would like to explore is a special use to take a lot or a parcel and … perhaps get small lot housing.” » See HOUSING, page 6
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By JONAH DYLAN
daily senior staffer @thejonahdylan
ambition, our resilience, our resourcefulness and so much more,” Cockrell said. “All the talents that we’re bringing are really what ‘I’m First’ is about — bringing those to the forefront and raising awareness that we are here and that collectively we are making Northwestern a more inclusive space.”
Northwestern’s Board of Trustees will discuss whether to rescind Bill Cosby’s honorary degree during a meeting before June’s commencement ceremonies, a University spokesman told The Daily in an email. Cosby, who was given the honorary degree in 1997, was found guilty Thursday of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in 2004. He was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault and could face 10 years in prison on each count. The comedian has been accused of sexual assault and other misconduct by more than 50 women. He was tried in Pennsylvania, where his first trial ended last June with a hung jury. But in the retrial, which took place in the wake of the #MeToo movement, a jury found Cosby guilty of all charges.
» See SES, page 6
» See COSBY, page 6
Kate Salvidio/Daily Senior Staffer
Women’s Center director Sekile Nzinga-Johnson speaks Tuesday to students and community members at the Segal Visitors Center. The event was the keynote speech of Student Enrichment Services’ Money Matters Week, hosted in collaboration with Northwestern Quest Scholars.
Nzinga-Johnson talks identities Women’s Center director speaks on first-generation background By ALLY MAUCH
daily senior staffer @allymauch
In the keynote event for Student Enrichment Services and Northwestern Quest Scholars’ Money Matters Week, Women’s Center director Sekile Nzinga-Johnson spoke to a crowd of about 50 students and
community members Tuesday. The event, held at the Segal Visitors Center, was also a part of the SES “I’m First” campaign, which centers on firstgeneration students, faculty and staff at Northwestern. NzingaJohnson’s speech focused on her own experience as a first-generation student earning bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees.
SES director Kourtney Cockrell said Nzinga-Johnson’s speech related to the themes of both Money Matters Week and “I’m First,” which launched last week. She added that the “I’m First” campaign will be an ongoing effort to celebrate the strengths of first-generation students and what they bring to NU. “We bring things like our
CTEC reform efforts address bias, usefulness Group of students, faculty, administrators call for University review of system By ALAN PEREZ
daily senior staffer @_perezalan_
A group of students, faculty and administrators are calling on Northwestern to conduct a review of its course evaluations, the first step toward what they hope will be a revamp of the system. Students and professors have long expressed concerns about the evaluations. Recently, student and faculty leaders met to discuss steps toward initiating a review process of the system. The proposed overhaul has the potential to transform the University’s academic functions, from how students choose classes to how professors assess their teaching and curriculum. Any review process or policy change would be overseen by Northwestern’s chief academic officer, Provost Jonathan Holloway. University Registrar Jaci Casazza, whose office collects and manages data on course evaluations, said she collaborated with Bennett Goldberg,
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
assistant provost for learning and director of the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, to submit a proposal to the Provost’s office. That proposal is currently under review, she said. “I’d like to move this pretty quickly, but it’s a really big undertaking,” she said. “It’s really important to the community that we do it thoughtfully. I don’t know if it’s something we can solve in a single academic year.” Faculty Senate passed a resolution last week calling on the administration to conduct a review process, and Associated Student Government is working toward passing a resolution of its own. The University requires that students complete quarterly course evaluations administered by the Course and Teacher Evaluation Council. Students who do not complete the evaluations, commonly referred to as CTECs, are barred from accessing them while registering for classes the following quarter. The evaluations are used for a variety of reasons: In addition to class choice for students and
Daily file photo by Daniel Tian
Rebecca Crown Center, home to the offices of the University Registrar and Provost. The two offices would be involved in a CTEC review process that faculty and students are calling for.
course improvement for faculty, they are used by administrators in annual faculty reviews and for faculty tenure deliberations. But stakeholders have
identified several problems they say make the system inefficient. For one, there is no committee that evaluates the CTEC system, only one that manages it,
Casazza said. This also generates uncertainty over how access to the data is granted, she said. » See CTEC, page 6
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