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As workers around the country grapple with pandemic-related austerity measures, Northwestern’s labor force continues to clash with university administrators over unionization efforts By ISABEL FUNK
daily senior stafer @isabeldfunk
About 50 people marched from The Rock to the Provost’s Office on Oct. 12, 2021 as Northwestern’s library workers prepared to deliver
a list of demands to administrators. Community members, including advocates involved in Northwestern University Graduate Workers and Students Organizing for Labor Rights, accompanied the library workers in support. The workers climbed the stairs to the Provost’s Office and waited. They weren’t allowed in, but some gave impromptu speeches sharing
their experiences and emphasizing the strength and solidarity of the union they were fighting to form. After more than a year of pandemic-related financial strains, they were coming together to stand up for their rights. Shortly after their arrival, a delegate from the office accepted the workers’ letter with a promise to deliver it to Provost Kathleen Hagerty. Energy
rippled through the crowd. The library workers were excited to begin the formal process of unionization and gain agency over University decisions that affected their livelihoods. NU Library Workers Union is not the only group of organized workers on campus to clash
» See IN FOCUS, page 4
NU makes masks optional Evanston to lift vaccination, Masks still required in classrooms this quarter By ISABEL FUNK
daily senior staffer @isabeldfunk
Northwestern will soon no longer require masking in most public spaces and non-classroom communal areas, including Norris University Center, libraries and residence halls, the University announced in a Thursday email. Beginning Monday, masks will be optional in most spaces, but remain required in classrooms until at least March 19, the last day of Winter Quarter for most students. Showing proof of vaccination will also no longer be required. Further information regarding Spring Quarter classroom modality will be announced in the coming
weeks, the email said. The announcement follows Evanston’s Wednesday update that masking will no longer be required citywide, in accordance with state guidelines. While Evanston’s case numbers have generally been declining since January, NU has seen cases rise on campus for two consecutive weeks, reporting 206 new positive cases last week. The number of cases increased by nearly 69% and the positivity rate rose to 4.35%. Masking will still be required on campus shuttles and in University health settings like COVID19 testing sites and Counseling and Psychological Services, the email read. In the email, the University
Daily file photo by Joanne Haner
Northwestern will no longer require masking in most public spaces beginning Monday.
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encouraged students, faculty and staff to continue masking “if that makes them more comfortable.” But NU added instructors and managers are not permitted to require masking of others except as part of an approved medical accommodation through the Office of Equity or AccessibleNU. “Northwestern continues to monitor the campus health environment closely, as well as the trajectory of the pandemic, and we will make adjustments to masking guidance and other mitigation strategies as needed, always in consultation with our health advisors,” the email stated. NU will also remove the colorcoded Campus Activity Level framework, used to evaluate the COVID-19 levels on campus, from its COVID-19 Dashboard, stating it does not account for the complexities of pandemic developments. However, the University’s COVID-19 website will continue to be updated with weekly updates on positivity levels. The University also announced it will continue to suspend the distribution of at-home tests as the school’s supply is limited “for the foreseeable future.” Free KN95 masks remain available for pick-up on both the Evanston and Chicago campuses. isabelfunk2024@u.northwestern.edu
mask mandates on Monday ETHS makes masks optional for students and staff By ANGELI MITTAL
daily senior staffer @amittal27
Evanston announced it will lift its vaccination and indoor masking requirements on Monday, in accordance with the state. Individuals will no longer be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces like grocery stores, libraries, restaurants, recreation centers and entertainment facilities, Mayor Daniel Biss relayed in a Wednesday message to the community. Masks will still be required in public and private schools, on public transportation services and in healthcare facilities, among other specified high-risk locations, to protect vulnerable populations. Several local school districts, including Evanston Township High School District 202 have made indoor mask wearing optional for students and staff once the mandate is lifted. ETHS will still require students to test every other week.
The city encouraged community members, especially those who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated, to continue wearing masks if they feel more comfortable doing so. Evanston held four KN95 distribution events Wednesday and will distribute more in the future. Businesses will no longer be mandated to require proof of vaccination upon entry starting Monday, though they may choose to continue to do so. Biss said these changes are not a sign that the pandemic is over, but a step in alignment with declining positivity rates and COVID-19 cases. “Following the surge in cases caused by the omicron variant, it’s become increasingly clear that COVID-19 won’t be going away entirely anytime soon, if ever,” Biss said. “We must continue to adapt and balance many public health, social and economic considerations as we determine our path forward.” Biss attributed the revised guidance to a monitored decline in COVID-19 case numbers, positivity rates and hospitalizations. In the last 30 days, the city has seen an 85% decline in hospitalizations. 30 individuals are currently in
Evanston area hospitals with COVID-19. This represents 11.7% of hospitalizations at the pandemic’s peak in January at 256. The city’s positivity rate has also been declining in the last month, reaching less than one percent last week. This week, it’s at 0.93% — a 22.63 percentage point drop from 23.56% at the pandemic’s peak. The number has seen an overall decline since the peak of the omicron wave in January. The city reported 17 cases Tuesday — three more than the average cases reported per day in the last seven days — 7.7% of the 221 cases reported at the peak of the pandemic on Jan. 13. W hile the community vaccine mandate will be lifted, Biss said city staff are still subject to the vaccination policy. The 11% of staff members who aren’t fully vaccinated must continue weekly COVID-19 testing. Guidelines are subject to change, including a potential reinstitution of the mask and vaccine mandates, as the public health metrics are monitored, Biss said. amittal@u.northwestern.edu
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