The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, January 16, 2018
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Miserable Wildcats fall hard to Indiana
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Board to examine confidentiality rule Decision could revise transparency guidelines By RYAN WANGMAN
daily senior staffer @ryanwangman
Leeks Lim/Daily Senior Staffer
Keynote speaker Don Thompson talks to vigil attendees on Monday about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s messages. Thompson, president and CEO of Cleveland Avenue in Chicago, said respect is something King advocated for.
Annual vigil honors MLK legacy
Keynote speaker gets personal, delivers message about ‘fulfillment’ By ALEXIS WHITE
the daily northwestern @AlexisFWhite
At the annual Candlelight Vigil at Alice Millar Chapel, keynote speaker Don Thompson, whose office once boasted a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr., shared his personal respect for King’s legacy. “Dr. King is the part of all of us that we would like to come to the surface,” Thompson said. Thompson — founder and
CEO of Cleveland Avenue — told his story during a question and answer session at the event hosted by the Alpha Mu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. More than 100 people attended the celebration, which featured musical performances from Northwestern Community Ensemble and Soul4Real, as well as readings of King’s speeches and writings. Also the former CEO of McDonald’s, Thompson talked about his background and said
his education enabled his successful career. It is important to guide young people and give them “internal fire” to figure out their goals in life, he said. In his message focused on “fulfillment,” Thompson told the story of his son, who spent his first paycheck to give to those in need. Medill freshman Arudi Masinjila told The Daily the keynote speech captured and honored King’s legacy of equality in justice and opportunity. “(The message was) that
fulfillment can come on a small scale as well, and helping one person is just as valid as helping many people,” Masinjila said. Thompson said part of King’s message was to pay attention to discontent. If we don’t treat others with respect, he said, discontent ultimately leads to bigger problems and unrest. “Every person has tremendous value and wonderful, interesting stories if you try to » See VIGIL, page 6
At their meeting Tuesday, Evanston Township High School/ District 202 school board members will discuss withdrawing a controversial resolution that limits board members’ capacity to communicate with the public. The resolution, which passed 5-2 on Dec. 11, stipulates that written communication from the district superintendent or board president is confidential unless explicitly stated otherwise. It also prohibits disclosing information barring “extraordinary circumstances,” though the resolution does not clearly define what that means. Some board members feel the resolution infringes upon their right to free speech and violates the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Jonathan Baum, a board member who voted against the resolution in December, told The Daily on Monday he was glad to see the possible withdrawal of the resolution on the meeting agenda, but the decision came “out of the blue.” He said he was unsure of what happened since the resolution passed to cause a potential
“change of heart” in other board members. Since the decision was made, Baum said he has heard from Evanston residents and the Chicago Tribune editorial board that the resolution was “a bad move.” “If the argument (in favor of the resolution) is it doesn’t violate FOIA because we will continue to provide disclosures in response to FOIA requests … how will anybody know to request a communication under FOIA if this policy is adhered to by the board members?” Baum said. ACLU director of communications and public policy Ed Yohnka told The Daily in December that the ACLU was reviewing the resolution and waiting to take a definitive action. During the December school board meeting, District 202 board president Pat Savage-Williams spoke in support of the policy, saying the resolution serves to reinforce the board’s Code of Conduct, which states that board members will “respect the confidentiality of privileged information.” “This is not about transparency,” Savage-Williams told The Daily in December. “This is about us being able to communicate and communicate in a way that we need to as a board, and we deal with a lot of very serious confidential information.” The meeting will take place Tuesday night at ETHS. ryanw@u.northwestern.edu
NU student, city Women’s March leader talks activism celebrate youth Carmen Perez shares personal stories of organizing for social justice In King’s memory, city event inspires young people
By WILSON CHAPMAN
the daily northwestern @wilsonchapman10
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy, members of the Evanston community celebrated his role in inspiring youth toward change and social progress on Saturday. The MLK Day of
By ADRIAN WAN
Celebration event, held at the F leetwood-Jourdain Community Center, hosted speakers and presentations that showcased the role of youth in impacting social issues. Keynote speaker and Northwestern freshman Nolan Robinson said it was important to not only have a purpose, but to persevere through hardship and work to the best of your ability to achieve your purpose. Citing the Birmingham » See KING, page 6
the daily northwestern @piuadrianw
Carmen Perez, the national co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, said she never regarded herself as an activist. Instead, she described her role as more of a “bridgekeeper” seeking to connect marginalized groups, she said. “(Bridgekeepers are) those that create bridges between youth and elders, those that have influence and those that are working on the ground,”
Perez said. “(It’s) my responsibility to build bridges among communities whether they represent me or look like me or they don’t.” Speaking to a crowd of about 100 at the closing keynote of the Northwestern University Community for Human Rights conference Saturday in Harris Hall, Perez discussed her experiences of growing up in a multicultural neighborhood and tackling human rights issues across the globe. Perez said she decided » See PEREZ, page 6
Source: Lillian Guo
Activist Carmen Perez talks at the Northwestern University Community for Human Rights 2018 conference. Perez, a co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, was the closing keynote speaker at this annual event.
Northwestern students have complimentary WSJ memberships. Activate today at wsj.com/northwestern
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