SPORTS Women’s Golf Wildcats suffer heartbreaking loss in NCAA tourney » PAGE 8
NEWS Around Town State Senate passes voter registration bill » PAGE 2
OPINION Malinauskas Social media activism needs specific call to action » PAGE 6
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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, May 25, 2016
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In Focus
WAITING FOR DIVERSITY Theater community tackles representation By MATTHEW CHOI
daily senior staffer @matthewchoi2018
Daily file photos by Daniel Tian, Leeks Lim, Zack Laurence and Sean Su
As a student playwright, Kori Alston has experienced firsthand the dearth of diversity in the Northwestern theater community. While casting his play, “The Alexander Litany,” which explores black masculinity, the Communication sophomore needed
four black men. At auditions this winter, only one tried out. “We just put our feelers out there, we reached out to every student group possible, and eventually in about a month, we were able to find the four black actors we needed for the show,” Alston said. Alston, president of Vertigo Productions, said the problem goes beyond one show or season. A lack of diversity is a systemic problem in
NU’s theater community, he said. Vertigo, which is focused on producing student-written plays, is a board in the NU Student Theatre Coalition — an organization of student theater boards and dance groups. In a school where theater has considerable influence on campus, limited minority representation affects more than just the theater » See THEATER, page 4
Gun regulation bill discussed John Stossel talks By MARIANA ALFARO
daily senior staffer @marianaa_alfaro
Gun regulation activists urged Evanston community members Tuesday night to rally around a state bill that would tighten security at gun shops across Illinois. The panelists said the bill, which is scheduled for an amendment hearing in Springfield on Wednesday, calls for an increased number of precautionary measures for gun stores, including background checks, training for dealers and employees, regular inspections and video surveillance systems. It would also require gun stores to not be within 1,000 feet of any school or daycare facility. Two local activists spoke about ways to increase gun control during a panel hosted by Evanston’s chapter of the Peaceable Cities Alliance, a group that also works to prevent gun violence. “We are very fortunate in the approach most of our local legislators take but we need the voices from everywhere,” said Eileen Soderstrom, a board member of People for a Safer Society, a local gun-violence prevention organization. More than 40 people attended the event, which was held at the GibbsMorrison Cultural Center, 1823 Church St., and moderated by Jessyca Dudley, a Peaceable Cities board member.
Anna Astalas, co-president of the Chicago-area chapter of the Brady Campaign, a nationwide organization that aims to reduce gun violence, said there are thousands of gun dealers in Illinois whose businesses go unregulated. She said it doesn’t make sense that the state requires restaurants, hair salons and other businesses to have valid licenses but fails to enforce the same rules on stores that sell lethal weapons.
“It’s just unfathomable to think we have 2,400 plus (dealers) out there that are not licensed,” she said. “It’s really a no brainer. Plus, (stricter policies would be) bringing in additional revenues to the state. It is not expected to be a lot, but there are some revenues that will be coming to the state.” Any Illinois citizen, Soderstrom said, has the right to go online and file » See GUN REGULATION, page 5
Daniel Tian/Daily Senior Staffer
URGING ACTION (From left) Gun control activists Eileen Soderstrom, Anna Astalas and Jessyca Dudley discuss gun security measures during a panel event hosted by Evanston’s chapter of the Peaceable Cities Alliance. Soderstrom and Astalas encouraged audience members to support a bill that would increase gun store regulation measures in Illinois.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
libertarian outlook By BOBBY PILLOTE
daily senior staffer @bobbypillote
Although he was speaking at an event hosted by College Republicans, John Stossel stressed he does not identify as a conservative. “I’m not a conservative, I’m a libertarian,” he said. “People should be able to take whatever drugs they want once they’re an adult. … I think most of the stuff that goes on on Dillo Day is OK.” The popular journalist and political commenter addressed a crowd of about 100 students and local residents Tuesday evening in Leverone Hall, sharing his story about how a career covering business led him to mistrust government. Stossel reflected on his first journalism job as a consumer reporter for a local television station in Oregon. He said he frequently exposed the misdeeds of businesses but said that years on the beat showed him that government intervention rarely solved the problems he had unearthed. “It is intuitive to think life works best if there’s some guy who went to Harvard who will tell people how to change the lightbulb,” Stossel said.
“But I was an enemy of freedom without realizing it.” Gradually, he said he overcame the “liberal university culture” he learned as an undergraduate at Princeton and embraced the philosophy of Adam Smith and other free market economists. The market, not government, became his preferred remedy to societal issues. “(Regulations) are like barnacles,” Stossel said. “They never go away. They just grow new ones on top of the old rules.” Drawing on stories from his life, Stossel also shared some of the political commentary he’s best known for as a host on the Fox Business Network. He criticized in particular the proceedings of the 2016 presidential campaign, denouncing both presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Stossel also offered a host of free market solutions to problems he said some see as being the responsibility of government. Many things that the government steps in to fix will improve on their own if market forces are allowed to work, he said. “Even the most greedy factory owner starts to care about safety » See STOSSEL, page 5
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