The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, January 16, 2019
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D65 candidates to prioritize equity All open seats are uncontested in upcoming election By CLARE PROCTOR
the daily northwestern @ceproctor23
board members have been vocal about inequality and is excited to see those members be re-elected. But Wilkins said he wishes there were other candidates running in the April election to “light a fire” and ensure that “the current school board isn’t complacent” about equity issues. “Because there isn’t any competition and because there isn’t a candidate running against the current school board members, it makes it difficult to bring issues to the front that are around equity,” Wilkins said. He said his primary concerns include overt racism in schools, ensuring teachers are culturally competent to teach students of color and addressing inequitable bussing in the 5th Ward. Tanyavutti said the board prioritizes transparency and inclusivity of stakeholders when it comes to forming policy. The board has focused its attention on how to provide support to create an emotionally and physically safe “curriculum, culture and climate” for students from marginalized backgrounds in District
Despite running in an uncontested election for the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education, acting board vice president Anya Tanyavutti said she plans to use the campaign season to be “transparent and inclusive and honest” with the communities she serves. Tanyavutti is one of three board members up for reelection on April 2, along with board members Sergio Hernandez and Rebeca Mendoza. All three elections are uncontested. “I see any election as an opportunity to have a conversation about the direction of policy work in our community,” Tanyavutti said. “Whether it’s contested or not, I intend on having those conversations.” Henr y W ilkins II’s daughter is in third grade at Walker Elementary School in District 65. He said some » See SCHOOLBOARD, page 6
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Medill Prof. Patty Loew talks to a class. Loew is creating a tour of Northwestern and Evanston to educate students and Evanston community members about the area’s indigenous people.
Tour to highlight Native history
Medill professor hopes to reveal ‘untold stories’ of local indigenous people By ZOE MALIN
the daily northwestern @zoermalin
Walking along the Northwestern lakefront, it’s hard to imagine anything other than students and University buildings coloring the backdrop.
But centuries ago, the Three Fires Confederacy — made up of Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa people — ceded this same land to Northwestern. This is something Medill professor Patty Loew is determined to make known. Joined by a team of students and faculty, Loew is creating
the first Indigenous Tour of NU. She said it’s a walking tour with some virtual reality elements that “is sure to become a part of the University’s legacy.” At each physical stop on campus and in Evanston, student-created multimedia components, along with original historical documents,
videos and recordings, will be viewable on a smartphone. “Native people are pretty invisible in Evanston and on our campus,” Loew said. “It’s something Native student associations across the Big Ten have voiced their opinions » See TOUR, page 6
Ash leads ASG in transition of power NU adds meals After presidential resignation, ASG adopts new leadership structure By ELIZABETH BYRNE
the daily northwestern @lizbyrne33
After Sky Patterson, citing her need to focus on health and academics, submitted the first presidential resignation in the last 20 years of Associated Student Government history this past December, the organization has adopted a new leadership structure to work around her absence. Former Executive Vice President Emily Ash stepped into the presidential role, and will leave her previous position vacant for the remainder of her term. Ash has taken on the responsibilities for both positions for the remainder of the quarter. Patterson announced her intentions to resign from ASG on Dec. 16 through a letter to the executive board. In the letter, she wrote that she needed to take care of her physical and mental health, as well as focus on her work and education. “Northwestern students need to stop putting the needs of organizations ahead of their own wellbeing and the wellbeing of others.” Patterson wrote in the letter. “Student
for Elder residents Students critical of food options during dining hall closure By CAMERON COOK
the daily northwestern @cam_e_cook
Daily file photo by Colin Boyle
Emily Ash and Sky Patterson at ASG Senate. After leaving the executive vice president position open, Ash said ASG will continue to operate smoothly.
leaders should lead by example and establish wellbeing as a priority.” ASG Speaker of the Senate Adam Downing said he was involved in the transition process early on. Traditionally, the speaker of the senate would be the one to fill in the executive vice president role, but Downing and other ASG leaders chose to keep Downing in his current role. When deciding how to proceed with the transition, Downing said he had to consider the
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holistic impact it would have on the organization. “It’s hard to transition an entire team,” Downing said. “If I were to leave to become the executive vice president, we would need a new speaker of the senate and I would have to train that person in a short amount of time and they would only be in that role for a quarter.” Downing added that the role of executive vice president is allowed to remain vacant for the quarter because of a
“suspension of the rules” regarding the line of succession in the case of a resignation. After that decision was made, Downing said the transition from Patterson to Ash was “seamless.” While her volume of work has increased since taking on the role, Ash said not having an executive vice president gives her more freedom in how she handles ASG business. Ash said this is the first time the role of executive vice president » See TRANSITION, page 6
To compensate for continued construction on Elder dining hall, Northwestern Dining is serving residents weekday morning breakfasts and Wednesday night dinners in the building’s first floor lounge. The dining hall was supposed to reopen this quarter after a 90-day renovation, but the project was delayed when the space was redesigned to better accommodate students with special diets and food allergies, Student Affairs staff said in a December email. Now, the dining hall is scheduled to reopen this summer. Georgene Sardis, marketing director Compass Group North America, the University’s food provider, said the addition of weekday breakfasts was a decision made “based on student and resident staff feedback.” However, some students
feel like the University isn’t doing enough to meet their needs, especially since residents weren’t informed about the lack of a dining hall when they made their housing choices. Weinberg sophomore Hannah Sudworth decided to move into Elder this year to live with a friend, but was disappointed when she realized she’d have to walk to Sargent Hall to eat. “I will admit that one of the big draws for me was that there would be a dining hall,” she said. “I wouldn’t have to go anywhere to get food, especially in the freezing cold winter.” The Residential Services website still lists Elder as a building with a dining hall, which Medill first-year Olivia Olander said was misleading. Students also weren’t notified until December that the dining hall would be under construction for an additional two quarters, Olander added. Olander said she was willing to walk to Sargent when she thought the renovation was going to be “a quarterlong deal,” but agreed with Sudworth that the idea of » See BREAKFAST, page 6
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