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The Daily Northwestern Monday, May 16, 2016
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Admins to push for open groups NU plans to require no applications for most student organizations By DAVID FISHMAN
the daily northwestern @davidpkfishman
Some student groups with application processes will have to open their doors by the end of next year or risk losing resources from the University, an official from the Office of Campus Life said. The goal, devised last month by the Student Organizations and Activities office, will affect most groups that recruit new members through admissions processes such as interviews or applications, said Brent Turner, the executive director of Campus Life. Some groups, however — including performance and club teams — may be exempt from the policy, Turner said. He said the conversation to mandate greater accessibility has been ongoing for about five years, but his office recently decided to take further action. “It’s a changing culture,” he said. “Student Affairs has a strategic plan and one of those tenets is to enrich the Northwestern community. What better way to do that then creating access and removing all the barriers for students to get involved?”
Turner said the University already strongly discourages exclusive groups, but at some point over the next year it will no longer recognize new organizations that reject students. Hope Wallace, assistant director of Student Organizations and Activities, said she has met with upset students who had received multiple “heartbreaking” rejections while they were freshmen. “The goal of having open student organizations is not to impose restrictions or to make students’ lives more difficult,” she said. “It is an attempt to build community on campus.” Rohan Mehta, president of the Institute for Student Business Education, said his group admitted about a third of more than 200 applicants this spring. Mehta said opening membership to all might hinder existing organizations by decreasing commitment among individual members. “It’s really hard to hold people accountable,” the McCormick junior said. “When people feel like they earned their spot in a group they feel a higher dedication to the group. … Making an abrupt change to open groups would cause a lot of pushback and a lot of disruption in how well student groups run.” Additionally, Mehta said, the new policy might increase the likelihood that » See OPEN GROUPS, page 8
Daniel Tian/Daily Senior Staffer
QUAD GOALS A new University policy will require IFC chapters to have a non-undergraduate house director who lives in the building when a chapter renews its on-campus house lease.
IFC house director rules altered
New leases will require live-ins for chapters By FATHMA RAHMAN
the daily northwestern @fathma_rahman
When Interfraternity Council chapters renew their on-campus house leases with Northwestern, the University will require them to have a non-undergraduate house director who lives in the building, a
School officials consider funding By RISHIKA DUGYALA
the daily northwestern @rdugyala822
Although Evanston education officials said they do not agree with Gov. Bruce Rauner’s proposal to fund education using the current model, they do not believe new Illinois Senate legislation to reallocate funding across districts addresses the needs of students in mixedincome areas. The Senate bill, a proposal to reallocate funds to districts that need the money the most, could be a step in the right direction, they said. However, if the legislation passes, School District 202 and Evanston/ Skokie School District 65 would lose approximately $2.2 million and $6.2 million respectively, which is virtually all of their state funding, officials said. With the current model, districts rely primarily on taxpayer money to fund their schools as a result of low state funding.
Daily file photo by Lauren Duquette
FUNDING STRUGGLE Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Paul Goren (left) speaks at the second annual State of the Schools address.
“It ends up being a bill that takes money away from school districts like Evanston’s to support other school districts,” said Gretchen Livingston, a District 202 board member. “It’s not equitable to take money away from a district like ours where over 40 percent of our students are eligible for free and reduced lunch.”
The bill is an effort to take resources from specifically high tax wealth districts, such as those in Evanston, and redistribute those resources, District 65 superintendent Paul Goren said. “The vast majority of our school funding is supplied by property taxes from » See FUNDING, page 8
University official confirmed. The previous rules, created in the mid2000s, required chapters to have either a director or house manager, who could be an undergraduate student. But going forward, chapters must have a live-in house director who is not an undergraduate. Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, associate vice president for student affairs, said a director is tasked with overseeing crisis
Housing priority numbers ended for new students
Beginning next academic year, incoming students will be assigned housing, rather than select their own rooms, as Residential Services ends the current priority number system. Previously, students ranked buildings in their housing applications, received priority numbers and then selected a specific room in a residence hall. Under the new system, students will still rank their preferred residence halls but will not receive priority numbers. “It’s just a different method for placing students in rooms,” said Roger Becks, director of administrative services for Residential Services. “It’s not necessarily better; it’s just a different method, and it’s the same system.” Returning students who have already selected their rooms will maintain their housing selections. Becks said with the movement of communities on campus the new
management and response, facility maintenance and assistance to students who may be in need. Having a non-undergraduate in this role will allow members to focus on academics and their involvement in the chapter, she said. “Northwestern, along with other universities across the country, have found » See DIRECTORS, page 8 system will allow Residential Services to give students “successful places to live.” Residential Housing Association president Ali Movassaghi, a SESP sophomore, said the new system will create a more cohesive campus. “Not knowing where the students are going with the new random selection, they’re going to be more forced to build a more inclusive residence hall,” he said. Becks said the change in the housing process has nothing to do with strengths or weaknesses with the selfselecting housing process. “It’s not a matter of something working or not working,” Becks said. “It’s a matter of looking at the overall picture of housing and the Master Plan, and that’s truly what is the driver of this. It really doesn’t have anything to do with whether students were or were not using the system for room selection.” The Housing Master Plan is the University’s effort to reshape its residence halls, including building new dorms and renovating existing ones. — Kelli Nguyen
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