The Daily Northwestern — May 16, 2018

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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, May 16, 2018

DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Baseball

3 CAMPUS/Events

Cats collapse to Notre Dame in final innings

UNICEF NU hosts panelists to discuss impacts of civil war, refugee crisis in Syria

Bienen sophomore Dominic Davis dies

Realize sexual assault is not a single story

High 68 Low 53

LIGHTS, CAMERA,

INACTION

daily senior staffer @madsburk

madelineburakoff2020@u. northwestern.edu

6 OPINION/Latz

REC

By MADDIE BURAKOFF

Bienen sophomore Dominic Davis has passed away after a battle with cancer, Linda Jacobs, the school’s assistant dean for student affairs, told music students in a Tuesday email. Davis, who studied horn performance at Northwestern, had been diagnosed with jaw bone cancer during his freshman year. Growing up in Indiana, Davis attended Valparaiso High School and commuted to Illinois on weekends to play in the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra. He had discovered a passion for playing the French horn before sixth grade and had pursued it ever since, according to a February story in North by Northwestern. “The horn was an extension of myself,” Davis told NBN. “I could just sing a melody and play it on the horn and it felt like another part of my voice.” Dean of Students Todd Adams told The Daily in an email that the University was informed of Davis’ death on Tuesday. As of Tuesday evening, Adams said he was unaware of plans for a memorial. “Our collective thoughts are with Dominic’s family and friends during this most difficult time,” Adams said.

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Following years of limited departmental accountability, RTVF students push for Media Arts Grant reform

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3..2..1.. ..1..2..3 Allie Goulding/Daily Senior Staffer

By ALLIE GOULDING

daily senior staffer @alliejennaaa

About two years ago, Northwestern awarded Communication senior Sam Shapiro a $1,000 grant to create a short film. He never finished it. Shapiro believes he didn’t deserve the money in the first place. These funds were designated through the Media Arts Grant system, which was implemented by the Department of Radio, Television and Film in fall 2015 to allow undergraduates to produce an extracurricular media-related project. The program is intended to encourage students to create anything from a musical album to a video game, but many choose to shoot a short film. Shapiro did not submit a script when he applied for this grant. Instead, he only wrote a short summary of his idea, not expecting to receive the $1,000 award. “When I got it, I was like, ‘Wait. I don’t want to do

this though.’ And that was fine, which it shouldn’t be,” Shapiro said. “I shouldn’t have gotten it, realistically. That’s how you know the system is flawed.” Shapiro received the grant — which can only be accessed through a reimbursement system — during Fall Quarter 2016. He initially thought he’d be pressured by the department to complete his film, but he wasn’t. There were no repercussions for his decision not to shoot the film. Between three classes and an internship, Shapiro said he recognized he didn’t have time to fully commit to the film, and ended up leaving his funds untouched and his project unfinished. However, he said guidance from the department could’ve changed the outcome. “(Media Arts Grants) give students money, but that’s it,” Shapiro said. “Students need more than that. … They need notes. They need a team. They need assistance in making their vision realistic.” Like Shapiro, other undergraduates have raised concerns that the department’s MAG funding system

leaves them under-supported and unmotivated to finish their projects, even compelling some to abandon them altogether. Northwestern allocates thousands of dollars annually to fund extracurricular projects through these grants, but some students say the funding process has led to a fall in accountability and representation. In an effort to change the system, more than 160 students signed a proposal recommending that the department require scripts for grant applications, take diversity into consideration when assigning grants and give feedback to recipients. The proposal also encourages the department to move away from the reimbursement system to make funds more accessible. Communication Prof. Eric Patrick — who has overseen the MAG system for the past year — said he is aware of some of the shortcomings within the MAG system. However, he doesn’t think it is an “absolute catastrophe.” » See IN FOCUS, page 4

Ex-congressman talks foreign policy EPL hosts awardAt College Republicans event, Allen West discusses Trump, Iran

Evanston native Charles Johnson reflects on career

By GABBY BIRENBAUM

the daily northwestern @birenbomb

Former Republican congressman Allen West spoke Tuesday about America’s foreign policy at a College Republicans event in Technological Institute. Nearly 60 people attended West’s talk. West, who served Florida’s 22nd District in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, spoke about President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the potential for peace in the Korean peninsula and recent relations with China and Israel. A lengthy and sometimes heated Q&A period followed the speech. West summarized his philosophy on foreign policy by criticizing past policies as passive. “Peace cannot be held

winning novelist By NIKKI BAIM

the daily northwestern @nikkibaim

David Lee/The Daily Northwestern

Allen West speaks Tuesday at Technological Institute. West discussed American foreign policy during an event hosted by Northwestern College Republicans.

hostage to violence,” West said. “If we continue to be a nation that was on the path of compromising, appeasing, acquiescing to despots, dictators,

Serving the University and Evanston since 1881

theocrats and autocrats, then we put your future and the future of the United States of America at risk.” On Iran, West said the

nuclear agreement reached by the Obama administration lacked enforcement capabilities. » See WEST, page 7

National Book Award winner Charles Johnson came home to Evanston on Tuesday evening to speak with artist and writer Tsehaye Hebert (Communication ’86) about how growing up in the city shaped his career as a novelist, scholar and cartoonist. The conversation, held at Evanston Public Library, was one of more than 30 events held as part of the fourth annual Evanston Literary Festival. Johnson won a National Book Award for his novel “Middle Passage” in 1990, and released his latest book, “Night Hawks,” earlier this month. The new book is a

collection of stories he wrote over the last 13 years. Johnson, now 70, was born in Evanston and attended Evanston Township High School. He lives in Seattle where he is a professor emeritus at the University of Washington. Hebert met Johnson when she helped Pegasus Theatre in Chicago adapt Johnson’s novel, “Middle Passage,” into a play. Both used to study at EPL, and during their return on Tuesday, they shared memories that occasionally brought tears to their eyes. Before Johnson became a writer, he said he wanted to be an artist. When Johnson was about 14 years old, he walked into his living room where his father was reclining one evening between his two jobs. After Johnson announced his dream of becoming an artist, his father replied, “They don’t let black people do that.” » See EPL, page 7

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 6 | Classifieds & Puzzles 7 | Sports 8


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