The Daily Northwestern Thursay, February 7, 2019
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Softball
Cats look to build on best season in 10 years
arts & entertainment
A&E
Find us online @thedailynu
PAGES 4-5
High 46 Low 6
Psychology vetting process revised Department chair regrets approving Kanazawa By CAMERON COOK
daily senior staffer @cam_e_cook
David Lee/Daily Senior Staff
Julie Payne-Kirchmeier and Brad Zakarin speak during Wednesday’s ASG senate meeting. The two NU administrators were invited to participate in a Q&A about the future of Hobart House with concerned members of the NU community.
Hobart House fate still unclear
At ASG, administrators affirm commitment to all-women housing By ATUL JALAN
the daily northwestern @jalan_atul
Northwestern administrators confirmed the University’s commitment to maintaining non-greek, all-women residential spaces in a Q&A session held during Wednesday’s ASG Senate meeting. Hobart House will exist for the “foreseeable future,” administrators said, though the building’s longterm fate is unclear.
The continued existence of non-greek, all-women housing was thrown into jeopardy after NU announced plans to create a “universal residential experience” that would reconfigure on-campus housing. The 114page report released in January 2018 by the Universal Residential Experience Committee made no explicit statement of an intention to maintain an all-women’s living space within the new model. That ambiguity led sophomore Elynnor Sandefer, the
Rainbow Alliance senator and a member of the Hobart House executive board, to write legislation demanding the University preserve a separate building for women-identifying students. ASG Senate invited Dr. Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, the associate vice president and chief of staff for student affairs, and Brad Zakarin, the director of residential academic initiatives, to its Wednesday meeting to hold a Q&A with ASG Senators and concerned members of the NU community regarding
the future of Hobart House. Hobart House opened in 1928 as a non-greek housing option for women. Approximately 50 students live in the building each year. “For nearly a century (Hobart House) has provided a safe and economically accessible space for women and women-aligned to live and learn alongside each other,” said Eleanor Ellis, the president of Hobart House. “It’s » See SENATE, page 6
Northwestern’s Psychology Department has revised its vetting process for visiting scholars in response to Satoshi Kanazawa’s controversial appointment, department chair Richard Zinbarg told a small group of students at a town hall style event on Wednesday. Kanazawa — whose work on race, gender and religion has drawn heavy criticism for promoting racist and sexist views — is at Northwestern on a yearlong sabbatical from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Kanazawa’s request to come to Evanston was approved by a “sponsor” in the department and signed off by other faculty members before arriving on Zinbarg’s desk, he said. Students — especially black women — have expressed that they feel uncomfortable with Kanazawa’s presence on campus, going so far as to circulate a petition calling for his removal. Had Zinbarg known the nature of Kanazawa’s work, he said, he wouldn’t have approved the request. “If I had looked at it closely enough to see Satoshi Kanazawa’s
name, it wouldn’t have meant anything to me,” Zinbarg said. “I don’t even think that I looked to see what the name was. I readily acknowledge I was in the wrong in not doing any research into him.” In order to combat similar future incidents, the department’s new vetting process — which has yet to be formally finalized — now requires that anyone who wants to become a visiting scholar submit their curriculum vitae to a personnel committee, Zinbarg said. All faculty in the psychology department will then vote on the appointment before the person is allowed on campus, Zinbarg added. The department considered writing a public letter denouncing Kanazawa, but eventually decided to write to Weinberg Dean Adrian Randolph instead. “We said, ‘We f--ked up, this is the person we’ve got,’” Zinbarg said. “In that letter, I apologized for my role.” Psychology faculty also initially considered asking Kanazawa to leave, Zinbarg said, but found no legal footing on which to do so. If Kanazawa were to act according to the views expressed in his work while at Northwestern, he added, the department may have been able to remove him based on Title IX, which protects against gender discrimination in education. Zinbarg defended Provost Jonathan Holloway, who has drawn » See PSYCH, page 6
Speaker talks global Chicagoan students prepare to vote reproductive health As mayoral election approaches, many students remain undecided PPGA brings Judith Frye Helzner By NEYA THANIKACHALAM
the daily northwestern @neyachalam
Population and reproductive health consultant Judith Frye Helzner discussed her 40-year career in global reproductive health at a Wednesday event organized by the Northwestern chapter of Planned Parenthood Generation Action. Helzner’s presentation primarily focused on her career path and how it furthered her goals to increase knowledge of issues regarding women’s reproductive rights and sexuality education. Neha Pashankar, the co-chair of the sexual and reproductive health committee within PPGA, reached out to Helzner and organized the event. She said she wanted the presentation to focus on Helzner’s profession because of the “humanfocused” nature of her experiences. “We often see these really successful people and we’re like ‘Oh my gosh, how did you even get there?’” the Weinberg sophomore said. “I thought she would be a great speaker for us and something
to bring to the broader Northwestern community.” Helzner began her career working at non-profit organizations, starting in 1977 at Pathfinder International, an organization working to increase access to sexual and reproductive health services. She later moved to the International Women’s Health Coalition in 1985, where she worked as the Latin America Program Officer and CFO. In 1987, Helzner became the director of program coordination at the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region. Later, she worked as the director of sexual and reproductive health, where she advocated for an increased focus on sexuality issues and gender and reproductive rights. “My goal there was to try to make IPPF/WHR and its affiliates a little less medical (and) clinical, a little less male dominated,” Helzner said. “I was the first woman on the senior staff at that time and to make it a little » See SLUG, page 6
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
By ANDRES CORREA
the daily northwestern @aocorrea1
With less than three weeks until the Chicago mayoral election, many Northwestern students from Chicago still remain undecided about who to vote for. Last September, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he would not seek reelection. There are currently 14 candidates on the Feb. 26 ballot, but in the very likely case none of the candidates receive the required 50 percent majority, the top two candidates move forward to a runoff scheduled for Apr. 2. When SESP senior and Chicago native April Navarro heard Mayor Emanuel’s announcement to step down, she said she was “ecstatic” for a new Chicago. “I am super excited about the change that’s coming,” Navarro said. “I was just shy of being 18 when the last mayoral election happened, so this will be the first one I’ll get to participate in.” Growing up, Navarro said Chicago politics was a part of her daily life. Since coming to
Noah Frick-Alofs/Daily Senior Staffer
The Chicago skyline. Some Northwestern students from Chicago remain undecided on the upcoming mayoral election.
Northwestern, it has been difficult to remain as politically engaged in Chicago politics as she used to be, she said. Nevertheless, Navarro said she remains committed to being involved in her community. However, Navarro is still very much undecided on who she will vote for, and she is not alone. According to a Jan. 25 Chicago Sun Times poll, about one in four voters is still undecided. SESP junior Hailey
Cox-Montijo is from Avondale in Chicago, and she said she will definitely vote in this election, but she is also still undecided. “Local elections have an even bigger impact on people than national elections,” she said. “These are everyday policies that affect people’s everyday lives.” Dick Simpson, former 44th ward alderman and political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said the
upcoming weeks will be critical for the campaign. “You can expect to see a kind of surge in the next two and half weeks,” Simpson said. “It will be a very a close vote, so that means any particular group that gets behind one candidate can make big difference.” Given the crowded field, Simpson also said that young » See SLUG, page 6
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Arts & Entertainment 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8