The Daily Northwestern Friday, March 6, 2020
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Small businesses in city struggle to stay afloat By SOPHIA SCANLAN
daily senior stafer @sophia_scanlan
If you walk through the streets of Evanston, you’ll notice struggling small businesses, empty storefronts and a plethora of big-box chains. Small businesses in the city have faced challenges in the past decade. In the last year alone, several longstanding independent stores have closed, including Market Fresh Books, Williams Shoes the Walking Spirit and Coucou & Olive — all of which had been in Evanston for at least 10 years, if not longer. This trend is not specific to Evanston. Other college towns like Cambridge, Mass. and Berkeley, Calif. have seen spikes in closures of independent shops and restaurants. Though this is a decadesold, nationwide problem, it’s been exacerbated in recent years. In December, The New York Times published a collection of letters to the editor, in which several readers from all » See BUSINESS, page 4
Police data show racial disparities Study: Black people stopped for pat downs more often By MOLLY LUBBERS
the daily northwestern @mollylubbers
The Evanston Police Department has phased out its stop and frisk policy, Evanston Police Cmdr. Brian Henry said, but police accountability advocates said EPD’s data shows racial disparities in pat downs. In 2013, former police chief Richard Eddington announced the expansion of stop-and-frisk tactics to address gun violence, the Daily reported. Henry said the practice is no longer used under chief Demitrous Cook, who was sworn in January 2019. However, Evanston police officers can conduct “investigative stops,” according to the city website, which means officers can stop someone if they have reasonable suspicion a person “is commiting, is about to commit or has committed a crime.” If the officer has reasonable
suspicion the person has a weapon or “dangerous instrument,” then the officer can pat them down. Pat downs can be traumatic, said Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. “A search is a really humiliating, debilitating thing,” Yohnka said. “You’re often stuck on the side of the road or the street, or something like that, as the police do a search.” Officers who conduct an investigative stop must complete a “field contact card,” which tracks the reasons for the stop as well as the description of the person stopped, according to the city’s website. Henry said EPD uses the cards internally to address concerns. He said EPD uploads pat down data to a police dashboard on the city website. As of the time of publication, pat down data is not available on the dashboard. Previously, a graph named “Stop and Frisk Year to Year Comparison,” was on the city website. The » See POLICE, page 18
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Hasan talks global Islamophobia SASA, McSA hosted British journalist and political commentator By SAMMI BOAS
the daily northwestern @boassamantha
British journalist and political commentator Mehdi Hasan discussed global Islamophobia this Thursday at a speakers event co-sponsored by South Asian Students Alliance and Muslim-cultural Students Association Hasan spoke about Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi’s passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in late 2019. The restrictive measure prohibits Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan from gaining citizenship in India. The bill has been met with protest, resulting in violence toward Muslim protestors by Hindu mobs. The protests have occurred for months, including during President Donald Trump’s visit to New Delhi in late February. Over 30 people died and more than 200 were » See HASAN, page 18
Yunkyo Kim/Daily Northwestern
Journalist and political commentator Mehdi Hasan speaks about global Islamophobia during a co-sponsored SASA and McSA event.
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