The Daily Northwestern Thursday, February 9, 2017
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Northwestern alumni percussion group nominated for Grammys, attribute success to university
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IFC votes to halt frat social events
Decision comes after reports of assaults, druggings
By JULIA JACOBS and NORA SHELLY daily senior staffers @juliarebeccaj, @noracshelly
Oreste Visentini/The Daily Northwestern
Christen Johnson (Medill ’16) speaks at a memorial for Weinberg sophomore Jordan Hankins. The memorial was held at Alice Millar Chapel on Wednesday night.
Hankins celebrated at memorial
Students, faculty remember the late Jordan Hankins at ceremony By YVONNE KIM
daily senior staffer @yvonneekimm
Students and faculty gathered at Alice Millar Chapel Wednesday evening for the
memorial of women’s basketball player Jordan Hankins, who took her own life Jan. 9. The memorial service was organized by a group of Hankins’ friends, said University chaplain Timothy Stevens, who spoke at the event.
About 70 people, including several members of the women’s basketball team, attended the memorial. Christen Johnson (Medill ’16) — a former member of the basketball team and staff member at Athletes in
Action, a Christian ministry for athletes — facilitated the event. She said her relationship with Hankins, who was a freshman when Johnson was on the team, was a special » See MEMORIAL, page 5
The Interfraternity Council executive board and chapter presidents decided Tuesday night to suspend social events indefinitely, following reports of multiple alleged sexual assaults and druggings at two campus fraternity houses in recent weeks. IFC president Rodney Orr confirmed the decision on Wednesday. He said events that already have contracts signed, such as formals and date nights, will still occur. No further events will be planned or held for the time being, the SESP junior said. The move follows a University announcement on Monday night notifying students that it had received a report last week alleging four female students were possibly given date rape drugs at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity on Jan. 21. The report alleges that two of the students believe they were also sexually assaulted, according to an email to students from the University’s Chief of Police Bruce Lewis.
Lewis said the University also received an anonymous report Friday alleging that another female student was sexually assaulted, potentially with the use of a date rape drug, after attending an event at a second, unnamed fraternity the previous night. The Sexual Harassment Prevention Office is investigating the reports, Lewis said. In a statement, Orr said said IFC will be creating a task force with the aim of evaluating issues including sexual assault, hazing, drugging, risk management and “toxic masculine culture.” The taskforce will include members of IFC, the Panhellenic Association, University officials and student groups, Orr said. The board said in the statement that it also plans to revise the IFC constitution, as it currently “fosters ambivalence” about positions and punishments on issues such as sexual assault and drugging. “The current Constitution is an antiquated document long in need of a overhaul,” the statement said. “We have to start from the ground and work our way up if we are truly going to change the culture of IFC.” The board announced it will also be redrafting risk » See IFC, page 5
State Dems move EPD, UP to receive body cameras to guard abortion By MARISSA PAGE
By DAVID FISHMAN
daily senior staffer @davidpkfishman
Illinois Democrats are trying to send a message to President Donald Trump through a state bill aimed at protecting access to abortion clinics. The bill, introduced to the Illinois House in January by state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-Chicago) and co-sponsored by Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), would repeal a “trigger provision” in state law stipulating that abortion would be banned if the Supreme Court overturns or modifies Roe v. Wade. It would also allow women with Medicaid and state employee health insurance to use their coverage for abortions for the first time. “This legislation serves as a clear message that no matter what Donald Trump does, Illinois women will have access to safe and legal abortion,” Feigenholtz wrote in a Facebook post. On Wednesday, the legislation passed through the state’s
Human Services Committee despite concerns from some Republicans about deleting a section from the bill saying an unborn child is a human being from the time of conception. Still, the bill has a long way to go before becoming law. The proposal needs approval from both the House and Senate, plus a signature from Gov. Bruce Rauner — who in July drew ire from Republicans after signing two laws that expanded birth control coverage and access to abortions. Lorie Chaiten, director of the Reproductive Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said she was optimistic the bill would become law, but that her organization intended to “take no risk” in getting it passed. Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, the ACLU asked people to sign witness slips in favor of the bill. More than 7,800 proponents signed slips, which was twice the number of those in opposition, according the ACLU of Illinois Facebook page. » See ABORTION, page 5
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
daily senior staffer @marissahpage
Evanston police officers will wear body cameras starting this summer in a joint program with University Police, the city announced Monday. The Evanston Police Department began to consider implementation of body cameras in 2015, and started pursuing potential funding sources after Gov. Bruce Rauner formally legalized use of wearable cameras in August of that same year. In spring 2015, the city applied for a federal grant of more than $600,000 to establish wearable cameras for EPD, but their request was denied later that year. City officials have said in years past that the program could cost about $400,000 initially to implement in Evanston. City manager Wally Bobkiewicz said there is not a “precise” dollar amount for the plan yet, but Evanston had money in its capital budget to fund the initial phase of the body
Daily file photo by Katie Pach
Evanston Police Chief Richard Eddington attends a Human Services meeting on Monday. The city announced at the meeting that the Evanston Police Department would begin implementing body cameras later this year.
camera rollout, which he said is set to begin no later than the beginning of July, he said. Bobkiewicz added that the city was still pursuing grants to supplement the program’s funding. Police chief Richard Eddington said much of the cost and organizational
burden will actually come from data storage for body camera footage, as opposed to purchasing the devices themselves. Gloria Graham, UP’s deputy chief of police, said the details for storage had not been fully fleshed out, but she said she anticipated it might feature some combination
of physical and cloud-based storage. “The device on the officer’s chest is literally the tip of the iceberg,” Eddington said. “This is so much more complicated, and the data management will be » See CAMERAS, page 5
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