The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, April 4, 2017
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Tennis
3 CAMPUS/Faculty
NU splits competitive road matches
Middle East North Africa studies chair advocates Arabic language studies in schools
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Sexual assault exists within art community
High 54 Low 40
Students react to SAE investigation Campus leaders upset with assault case closure By ERICA SNOW
daily senior staffer @ericasnoww
Katie Pach/Daily Senior Staffer
A volunteer reads out names of genocide victims in front of The Rock on Monday. The 12-hour name reading event, promoting genocide awareness and prevention, is the first ever at Northwestern.
Genocide victims memorialized Students read names of mass killing victims for 12 hours at Arch By ALLY MAUCH
the daily northwestern @allymauch
Volunteers braved the rainy weather by The Rock – painted with a yellow flame representing genocide awareness – to participate in the University’s inaugural
12-hour genocide victim name reading Monday. About 80 people signed up for shifts to read out the names as part of an international genocide awareness campaign, Together We Remember. The campaign was founded by a student at Duke University but has expanded to other universities
and organizations for the first time this year, with about 30 other events taking place around the world for genocide awareness and prevention month in April. Weinberg freshman Ben Chase said he heard about Together We Remember – originally a 24-hour name reading – and found four friends to help
him organize a 12-hour event at Northwestern. The organizing team sought out Hillel to sponsor the event and help provide funding. “I think every single person who’s walking by will be touched,” Chase said. » See NAMES, page 6
Associated Student Government President Christina Cilento said she had a feeling an email from Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, would contain news that would upset her. “It’s disappointing to me that I’m not that surprised,” the SESP senior said. “I’m just struggling with how to react to it, or what steps we can actually take that would reassure students that this is a safe campus environment.” Telles-Irvin announced in an email to students on March 30 that no disciplinary action would be taken against Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and another, unnamed fraternity regarding reports of multiple alleged sexual assaults and druggings at the two houses. Cilento said many students she talked to thought inaction in the face of sexual assault and drugging allegations was unacceptable. “Students needed to see some sort of disciplinary action come out of this to be reassured that campus is a safe space for them and that we support survivors here,” Cilento said. Weinberg junior Sharon Wang
said she also wasn’t surprised by the closing of the case. Wang, the events chair for Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators, said sexual assault survivors like herself need allies to help advocate for eradicating sexual assault. Wang helped organize the February “Stand with Survivors: March Down Sheridan” demonstration, where students demanded the removal of NU’s SAE chapter and marched from the SAE on-campus fraternity house down Sheridan Road to the fraternity’s national headquarters. She said many students showed their support for survivors in the time surrounding the march, but in the weeks that followed, it seemed like many students had abandoned the cause. “My first reaction was like, ‘Of course. Of course they’re not doing anything because that is honestly just so Northwestern,’” Wang said. “Survivors on this campus deserve more … The University was really just letting us down.” Kevin Pu, president of Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault, said the closing of the investigations could promote further activism, showing students that work must still be done to improve safety. Pu, a Weinberg junior, said though students do not know the full details of the investigation, they should still have some agency to promote greater respect and accountability. » See REACTIONS, page 6
EPD group adds meetings Committee hopes to present final plans in May By KRISTINA KARISCH
the daily northwestern @kristinakarisch
Discussion over the creation of a citizen-run committee that will evaluate the Evanston Police Department’s complaint review process has been extended to two more meetings, which will be held in April. The meetings are run by members of the Evanston Citizens’ Police Association, the Citizen Police Advisory Committee and other concerned Evanston residents who hope to finalize a plan in May to present to city officials. The new committee would be tasked with assessing EPD’s current complaint review procedures and developing suggestions to increase transparency. The committee’s creation has been discussed in a series of meetings throughout the past few months. After the two newly scheduled meetings, city manager Wally Bobkiewicz said staff will present its findings to members
of Evanston’s Human Services Committee in May. Following that committee’s review of the findings, an official recommendation will be made to City Council. Since the new City Council will take office in June — following Tuesday’s general election — Bobkiewicz said he is unsure whether the final decision to create the committee will be made by the current or the incoming council. Residents began voicing their desire for a new committee after the arrest of Devon Reid as he petitioned for city clerk in November, and the January release of a video depicting the 2015 arrest of Northwestern graduate student Lawrence Crosby. In the video, Crosby, who is black, is shown being thrown to the ground as officers kick and punch him. Both incidents have sparked calls for increased police accountability in Evanston. Bobkiewicz said they have addressed a number of questions, including the size and scope of the new committee,
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
and who will have the power to appoint members. CPAC’s members are appointed by the mayor, while the now-defunct Evanston Police Advisory Committee members were appointed by the police chief. In addition to exploring a new committee, the city has also scaled down the number of existing committees that review complaints against officers after they are investigated by EPD’s Office of Professional Standards. EPAC, for example, was dissolved on March 1. Evanston police chief Richard Eddington said the findings of both committees coincided so often that disbanding one was less about policy and more about perception. He said the decision to keep CPAC over EPAC was made to “announce to the public that the only reviewers would be mayoral appointments” and ensure that committee members would not investigate officers in the department of the person who appointed them. » See CITIZENS, page 6
Daily file photo by Allie Goulding
A tree that grows by The Rock in November. After President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, Evanston environmentalists emphasized their commitment to fighting climate change at a local level.
Locals criticize EPA budget By RYAN WANGMAN
the daily northwestern @ryanwangman
Evanston environmentalists emphasized a commitment to local action after President Donald Trump signed a recent executive order threatening to remove many safeguards aimed at combatting
climate change. Kumar Jensen, the city’s environmental project coordinator, said Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl will soon add Evanston’s name to a list of cities that have co-signed a letter to Trump objecting his new executive order. The letter was organized by the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda — an initiative that purports to represent more
than 42 million Americans in 75 cities — and highlights climate change as the biggest challenge facing the nation. Jensen said he doesn’t believe the order will affect Evanston as much as residents of other states, citing a recent Illinois bill that provides many energy-related jobs. » See ENVIRONMENT, page 6
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8