The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, February 12, 2020
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SESP dean discusses all-gender facilities School’s students addressed need in Annenberg Hall By EMILY SAKAI
the daily northwestern
Emma Edmund/Daily Senior Staffer
Tuesday’s ACIR meeting in Guild Lounge. Students expressed concerns at the lack of a trustee decision on Fossil Free Northwestern’s divestment proposal.
Students demand divestment timeline As ACIR proposal sits with trustees, many shared concerns at meeting By EMMA EDMUND
the daily northwestern @emmaeedmund
Students demanded a timeline from the Board of Trustees on its decision regarding Fossil Free Northwestern’s divestment
proposal at the Advisory Committee on Investment Responsibility meeting Tuesday. Philip Greenland, the chair of the ACIR, said he was told he could expect a decision on the proposal by Tuesday’s meeting. Greenland said he most recently asked the board about a possible
decision last Thursday before the meeting, but as of Tuesday’s meeting, the trustees had no update. Fossil Free’s proposal calls for Northwestern to divest from all of its holdings in the top 100 coal companies and the top 100 gas and oil companies, as well as for reinvestment in non-fossil fuel
companies, especially those that place emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency. The document cites millions of dollars of University investments, including $45.4 million in companies such as BP. » See ACIR, page 7
Northwestern’s School of Education and Social Policy students and faculty gathered Tuesday to share thoughts and possible solutions to address the lack of allgender restrooms in Annenberg Hall, which houses SESP. The town hall, hosted by SESP dean David Figlio, comes after student activists called attention to the fact that Annenberg’s restrooms are not inclusive of transgender or non-binary students by posting fliers and all-gender restroom signs throughout the building. Addressing a group of several dozen concerned undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff, Figlio first apologized for the delay in updates, saying that every solution they explored seemed to lead to a “closed door.” The issue is of “fundamental importance” to SESP leadership, Figlio said, and he has a personal connection to it through people he cares about. Despite leadership’s commitment to the issue, there are
difficulties in making an allgender restroom in Annenberg, mostly due to Evanston coding laws and the physical architecture of the building, Figlio said. He added that while his goal would be to have an all-gender, multi-stall restroom in Annenberg, this would mean either making costly renovations or violating the city code. SESP leadership instead has focused on building a single-stall restroom, despite its potential “othering” aspects, Figlio said. “We think we have a place that may possibly work,” Figlio said. “We’re trying not to make the perfect the enemy of the good.” SESP senior and Associated Student Government executive vice president Adam Davies pointed out that legislation signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker updated Illinois’s restroom laws as of Jan. 1, designating all single-stall public restrooms as all-gender. Therefore, Evanston’s single-stall coding laws are out of date, showing room for advocacy, Davies said. The Evanston code says that if a building has two single-occupancy restrooms, one is designated for males and the other for females. They added that there has been a precedent set for all-gender » See BATHROOMS, page 7
Residents weigh French talks free speech on campuses possible bus change Iraq War veteran speaks on culture of enmity at colleges during NUCR event
Concerns arose re: proposed bus route shifts on North Shore By EVA HERSCOWITZ
the daily northwestern @herscowitz
North Shore residents expressed concerns about the impact of proposed bus route changes on the elderly and people with disabilities at a Tuesday public hearing. The hearing, held at the Levy Senior Center, was the fifth of six hearings organized by Pace — the suburban bus
division of the Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago metropolitan area — on proposed route changes in the north suburbs. The changes would discontinue Routes 210 and 421, alter Routes 215, 225, 226, 422 and 423, as well as create Route 424. Cheryl Crawford, the director of human resources and volunteer services at Glenview’s Kohl Children’s Museum, said restructuring Route 423 will create transit difficulties for employees with disabilities. Many employees » See PACE, page 7
By ARIANNA CARPATI
the daily northwestern @ariannacarpati1
David French spoke about the First Amendment clash on college campuses on Tuesday in Seabury Hall. French was invited by Northwestern College Republicans. He is an attorney, an Iraq War veteran, and is currently the senior editor at the online political magazine, The Dispatch. French spoke about the culture of enmity that is arising in the country, particularly on college campuses. He said people are clustering into like-minded enclaves,
which leads to the growth of their common viewpoint. “I want people to understand that free speech is fundamentally part of our social compact,” he said. He added that the country’s population is becoming increasingly negatively polarized, as people join political parties due to hatred of the other side rather than support of their own. Despite the decrease in government censorship over the past 20 years, French said, people are more afraid to speak up than ever because the pressure to suppress one’s views is coming from their peers as opposed to top-down censorship. McCormick junior Zachary Kornbluth, secretary of public
relations for College Republicans, created advertising for the event. He said in the wake of the Jeff Sessions event, the group thought it would be relevant to bring in a speaker who was knowledgeable on the topic of free speech. “(We hope students will gain) an appreciation of free speech, of hearing other people’s viewpoints,” he said. “He isn’t a supporter of Trump and I know that can kind of be a lightning rod so that may help us get our message across.” In his talk, French said if people see someone being unjustly persecuted, they should stand with the person, even if they have different » See FRENCH, page 7
Owen Stidman/Daily Senior Staffer
David French spoke about free speech on college campuses.
Nzinga-Johnson named NU’s interim Chief Diversity Officer The Women’s Center director will assume new role, formerly held by Jabbar Bennett, on Feb. 14 By AUSTIN BENAVIDES
the daily northwestern @awstinbenavides
Women’s Center director Sekile M. Nzinga-Johnson was appointed Northwestern’s interim chief diversity officer and associate
provost for diversity and inclusion on Tuesday. Jabbar Bennett, the inaugural and current chief diversity officer and associate provost for diversity and inclusion, will step down on Feb. 14 with Nzinga assuming the role on Feb. 15. Nzinga-Johnson will continue
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
her positions as a lecturer in gender and sexuality studies and as director of the Women’s Center. Her past work at NU includes serving as the co-chair of the University’s Gender Queer, Non-Binary and Transgender Task Force and helping develop and co-author the upcoming task
force report. Nzinga-Johnson is currently a member-at-large for the National Women’s Association’s governing council and was awarded the Evanston-Northshore YWCA’s Women in Leadership Award. She was also the founding director of Nazareth College’s women
and gender studies B.A. program. In an email to the Daily, Northwestern spokesman Bob Rowley said Bennett’s departure came after “accomplishing a great deal” as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer of the University. “The search for Jabbar Bennett’s permanent successor will
begin shortly, and details of the search process are being finalized, with a goal of filling this position as soon as possible,” Rowley said in an email to the Daily. austinbenavides2022@u.northwestern.edu
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