The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, January 14, 2020
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Council approves denuclearization Evanston joins Back from the Brink movement By GRANT LI
the daily northwestern @_grantli
Joshua Hoffman/ The Daily Northwestern
One of the country’s most influential Muslim scholars, Hamza Yusuf Hanson, spoke about his experiences studying the Islamic sciences with Mauritian scholars on Monday in Lutkin Hall.
Muslim scholar talks Mauritania
Hanson discusses history of Islamic expansion, administrative role By RYANN PERLSTEIN
the daily northwestern @ryannperlstein
One of the country’s most influential Muslim scholars, Hamza Yusuf Hanson, spoke
about his experiences studying the Islamic sciences with Mauritian scholars on Monday in Lutkin Hall. Hanson is the president and co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, the first accredited Muslim liberal arts
college in the United States. He is also currently on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s “Commission on Unalienable Rights,” which Hanson described as an “interesting experience.” The bipartisan commission’s role is to evaluate issues related to
human rights. Hanson began his talk by describing the history of Islamic expansion, later focusing on Mauritania, where most of his academia and scholarship » See HANSON, page 6
City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution supporting nationwide denuclearization as part of the international Back from the Brink movement at Monday’s meeting. Back from the Brink has worked to pass similar resolutions at all levels of government across the country. Monday’s resolution calls for Congress to take up the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The agreement prevents nuclear development and provides for remedial action to assist those who have been negatively affected by nuclear technologies. The treaty was approved by the United Nations in July 2017, and has since been in circulation for ratification. Fifty countries need to ratify the treaty for it to take effect, and 33 have already ratified it. The resolution was originally brought to the Human Services Committee by various faith-based organizations, including Northwestern’s Sheil Catholic Center, in collaboration with other groups such as Neighbors for Peace, Union of Concerned Scientists
and Chicago Area Peace Action. The groups contacted Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th), whose husband is on the board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, to introduce the resolution. Revelle also said the city should consider passing the resolution because Evanston is a member of the Mayors for Peace, and this is one of the initiative’s action items. Many of those involved attended the meeting to speak in support of the resolution, including state Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston). She plans on raising a similar resolution at the state level. “We know that the use of a fraction of the global nuclear weapons arsenal would have devastatingly irrevocable consequences to our planet, and that a national defense strategy based on nuclear armament increases, rather than decreases, our national security,” Gabel said. Some of the speakers alluded to recent international events and foreign policy decisions as support for a heightened sense of urgency. Marcia Bernsten, a board member of Chicago Area Peace Action, said Trump’s actions, especially in the past 2 weeks, have, “definitely put us on a more combative footing with Iran.” David Combs, a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, noted that more than $22 million of Evanston’s federal tax » See NUCLEAR, page 6
Budget deficit D65 finds steady opportunity gaps limits construction Student performance consistent with 2016-17 progress report NU plans for new buildings put on hold By TROY CLOSSON
daily senior staffer @troy_closson
Northwestern’s budget deficit in Fiscal Year 2018 froze construction on residence halls in the 10-year Housing Master Plan and delayed renovations of other campus spaces. Senior vice president for business and finance Craig Johnson told The Daily last week that — at least for some of those spaces — a remodeling could be on the horizon. As the University ended Fiscal Year 2019 several million dollars in surplus, Johnson said NU will refocus on renovating vacant buildings on campus while deprioritizing new construction projects. Johnson said one of those spaces is the Donald P. Jacobs Center, formerly home to the Kellogg School of Management. The vacant building was planned to become a social sciences “hub,” housing the Buffett Institute for
Global Studies, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and the Global Engagement Studies Institute, among other programs. Provost Jonathan Holloway told The Daily in 2017 that the hope in consolidating those departments into a single space is to increase interaction between faculty. At the time, he added that construction wouldn’t begin until summer 2019 at the earliest. On Northwestern’s facilities management page, no construction start or projected completion date is currently listed. The James Allen Center on North Campus is also set to finally undergo a revamp, Johnson said — according to a University construction plan, the building will be closed for renovations between December 7, 2020 and April 7, 2021. The project will upgrade student and faculty spaces, along with dining halls and the building’s mechanical systems. After the first few floors were completed in Fall 2017, Johnson said Mudd’s fourth and fifth floors are also back on the priority list for renovations. They’ll be used as lab » See BUILDINGS, page 6
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
By EVA HERSCOWITZ
the daily northwestern @herscowitz
Opportunity gaps continue to exist between black and white students, low-income and highincome students and students with and without Individualized Education Programs, according to data presented at Monday’s Evanston/Skokie District 65 meeting. Kylie Klein, director of research, accountability and data, presented the district’s Accountability and Achievement Report for the 2018-2019 school year. Published each January, the report highlights students’ academic progress and identifies opportunities for improvement in District 65 schools. “Three years ago, I reviewed my first District 65 Achievement and Accountability Report as a District 65 board member,” board member Anya Tanyavutti said. “I believe I used the word ‘demoralizing’ in relation to the outcome. To be honest, I felt » See D65, page 6
Daily file photo by Noah Frick-Alofs
District 65 board president Suni Kartha. Kartha said school officials should consider the implications of the Achievement and Accountability Report on their own schools at Monday’s Evanston/Skokie District 65 meeting.
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