The Daily Northwestern - February 14, 2018

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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, February 14, 2018

DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Men’s Basketball

3 CAMPUS/Faculty

NU loses McIntosh, collapses vs. Rutgers

Prof discusses ‘Making a Murderer,’ wrongful convictions on Facebook live

Find us online @thedailynu 4 OPINION/Letter to the Editor

Ethnic studies program directors back petition

High 41 Low 38

Aldermen approve contract for theater Project years in the making is closer to fruition By JULIA ESPARZA

daily senior staffer @juliaesparza10

City Council voted Monday to allow the city manager to approve the contract for the construction of the Howard Street Theater. Seven aldermen voted in favor of the contract, with Ald. Thomas Suffredin (6th) and Ald. Cicely Fleming (9th) voting against it. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) said the project, which will be constructed in the 700 block of Howard Street, is the “jewel and crown” of her plans to revitalize Howard Street, which is in her ward. The project has been in the making since May 2015. “(Howard Street) was sort of the barrier for bad things,” Rainey said at the council meeting Monday, referencing Howard Street’s past as an unsafe area. “Now that’s changing.” In November 2015, the city entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Strawdog Theatre Company to occupy the space, according to city documents. After the company

decided to discontinue its partnership with the city, Evanston city staff found a new tenant, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre. City staff worked with the company and Ross Barney Architects to plan the renovation of the building. They finalized plans in fall of 2017, according to city documents. The $1,385,469 contract with Structures Construction will receive its funding from the Capital Improvement Program and Howard and Ridge TIF funds, according to city documents. Fleming said she opposed the project because she feels the money could be better spent in other areas. “I have heard from constituents who are concerned about spending so I will not support it, not because I despise Howard or because I don’t want the theater company to do well,” Fleming said during the meeting. Rainey said the funds from the TIF can only be used between the 300 and 800 block of Howard Street, so it would not be possible to allocate the resources elsewhere. Other than the “usual criticism,” Rainey said constituents from her ward are “very supportive” of the theater. » See THEATER, page 6

Brian Meng/Daily Senior Staffer

Ra Joy speaks at a town hall Tuesday. Joy, who is a candidate for lieutenant governor, discussed the need for reform in the Illinois government.

Ra Joy talks political corruption

College Dems host lieutenant governor candidate for town hall By CAITLIN CHEN

the daily northwestern @caitlinychen

Ra Joy, candidate for Illinois lieutenant governor, said Tuesday that the state government runs on a broken system. In Cook County and at

the state level, he said, the Democratic Party is dysfunctional and “run by entrenched monopolists.” “The only way to wrestle control from those folks who are leading our party is by getting more and more young people to tune in, to opt in and actively climb the ladder

of civic engagement in Illinois,” Joy said at a town hall hosted by Northwestern College Democrats. Joy, a Democrat running with gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy (Kellogg ’94), spoke to an audience of about 20 people. The student organization has also hosted

town halls with candidates Daniel Biss and J.B. Pritzker (School of Law ’93), hoping to allow students to hear from the three main figures in the race for governor, said College Democrats president Alex Neumann. » See JOY, page 6

Israel official visits University Hall NU ranks low for

Ambassador to Ethiopia defends anti-refugee laws, discusses career

Civil liberties group cites Kipnis, Dreger instances

By AMY LI

the daily northwestern @TwitterHandle

Belaynesh Zevadia, the first Ethiopian immigrant to serve as Israel’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, took part in a heated conversation Tuesday with Evanston community members and Northwestern students on the African refugee crisis in Israel. During the conversation in University Hall, Zevadia addressed current debates surrounding Israeli refugee policy and the construction of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile — which Ethiopia has been working to build despite objections from Egypt. While the diplomat said the Blue Nile is a necessary natural resource for Ethiopia, she “hope(s) (the issue) resolves in a peaceful way.” Zevadia said the diplomatic relationship between Israel and Ethiopia is crucial to the development of both countries. She described Africa as “the future of the world” and said the adversities the continent has faced in the past have become lessons for the future. » See AMBASSADOR, page 6

college free speech By ALAN PEREZ

daily senior staffer @_perezalan_

Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer

Belaynesh Zevadia, the Israeli Ambassador to Ethiopia. Zevadia defended Israeli refugee policy at a talk on Tuesday.

Serving the University and Evanston since 1881

Northwestern is once again on the radar of a civil liberties group critical of the University’s handling of two instances it says violated professors’ free speech. The University was named one of the top 10 worst colleges for free speech in a ranking released Monday by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, an organization that describes itself as a nonpartisan civil liberties advocacy group. The group is funded and supported by conservative organizations. The organization cited two instances — the alleged censorship of a journal containing an essay that described a sexual encounter and investigations into a professor for published pieces on the Title IX process — which it says demonstrate the University’s hostility toward academic free

speech. The ranking comes at a time when free speech policies are being debated on campuses across the nation. While much of the focus has been on controversial speakers and student protest, Northwestern was flagged specifically for academic free speech. “It’s really the only university on our list where academic freedom was our main concern,” said Nico Perrino, a spokesman for the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. A University spokesperson declined to comment for the story. This is NU’s second time on the list — the first was in 2016, when the Foundation denounced the months-long Title IX investigation into Communication Prof. Laura Kipnis after she published an article criticizing University policies regarding relationships between faculty and students. Kipnis was condemned by many students, but she was cleared of any Title IX violations by investigators hired by NU. » See SPEECH, page 6

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8


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