The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, September 26, 2017
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Men’s Soccer
3 CAMPUS/Dining
Wildcats continue skid, fall to Michigan
NU Dining overhauls menu at Lisa’s Cafe, sandwiches dropped for Mexican cuisine
Find us online @thedailynu 4 OPINION/Closson
Understand reasons for anthem protests
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Council suspends online database Names of juveline offenders, assault survivors disclosed
By MOLLY GLICK
daily senior staffer @mollyglick
City Council voted to make the online database containing Evanston’s Freedom of Information Act requests private after it publicly disclosed the names of juvenile offenders and survivors of sexual assault. The NextRequest database, which launched in February 2016, allows Evanston residents to request access to public records in accordance with Illinois FOIA amendments. To prevent duplicate requests, residents can view all previous inquiries on the website. However, Ald. Donald Wilson (4th) said the posts included sensitive information about minors that was never redacted from public view. Wilson said this can happen when Evanston parents looking to expunge their child’s record file a FOIA request and inadvertently create Google results linking the minor to the crime. “I don’t think that residents are aware that if you
do a FOIA request, the response might get posted,” Wilson said. “Frankly, I find it horrifying. I’m deeply disturbed by it.” The database will be removed from public view until the city’s law department can review materials to eliminate any remaining private information. For the time being, requests for police reports will only be visible to those who submit them. Wilson said the city will still be responsive to FOIA requests so residents can access public information. NextRequest is maintained by city clerk Devon Reid’s office. Wilson said the privacy issue was mentioned to Reid “multiple times,” including once last week. Wilson said Reid did not remove any of the posts in question. Reid, however, disputed Wilson’s account and said the reports in question were removed after auditing the website. The city plans to implement a series of changes to the database, Reid said. Currently, residents must contact the city clerk’s office if they wish to have a FOIA request removed from the » See FOIA, page 5
Katie Pach/Daily Senior Staffer
Former 5th Ward Alderman Delores Holmes and Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd) speak outside council chambers. Aldermen rejected a proposal for city funding for a 2nd Ward affordable housing development at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Aldermen vote against funding
City Council strikes down proposal to fund affordable housing unit By KRISTINA KARISCH
daily senior staffer @kristinakarisch
In a 5-3 vote at Monday’s City Council, aldermen struck down a proposal to help fund a
three-story affordable housing development, citing concerns about access for Evanston residents. The building, which is set to be built at 2215 Dempster St. in the 2nd Ward, would contain 16 units of affordable
housing and be developed by Housing Opportunities for Women, a Chicagobased organization that helps individuals find affordable housing and aims to combat homelessness. Aldermen were hesitant to
commit because the building’s waitlist process for the proposed units would favor those on the general Regional Housing Initiative and State Referral Network waitlists, » See DEMPSTER, page 5
Women’s Center names head
New director steps in as center celebrates 30 years By ELIZABETH BYRNE
the daily northwestern @lizbyrne33
Marcel Bollag/The Daily Northwestern
Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre, 927 Noyes St. The theater received 11 nominations for the 2017 Black Theatre Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards.
Local theater earns praise Fleetwood-Jourdain receives 11 nominations By RYAN WANGMAN
daily senior staffer @ryanwangman
When Tim Rhoze joined the Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre as its artistic director seven years ago, his goal was to engage “the four corners
of Evanston and beyond” in the theater. Now, his vision is finally coming true. On Sept. 14, the city announced the theater received 11 nominations for the 2017 Black Theatre Alliance/Ira Aldridge Awards, founded in 1995 to recognize black individuals who achieve excellence
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
in theater, dance and other artistic areas. Rhoze said this is the most nominations the theater has received during his tenure, adding it was a “brilliant thing” that there was public recognition of the work he and fellow artists are doing. » See THEATER, page 5
Sekile Nzinga-Johnson said working as a social worker in the Baltimore City Public School system opened her eyes to the issues many young women face and motivated her to turn to a new way of combating these struggles. “I realized that many of the issues that the girls were facing were not of their own, they were a lot more systemic or institutionalized,” Nzinga-Johnson said. “I realized it was more of the institutions and the systems that were failing and the structural barriers
Trevor Noah to speak to Medill students Oct. 15
Comedian and “The Daily Show ” host Trevor Noah will speak at Northwestern on Oct. 15, according to an email sent to students in the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing
that were at play.” After her time as a social worker in Baltimore, NzingaJohnson said her experience motivated her to pursue a Ph.D. in human development. She also spent time teaching and researching women’s studies and gender studies. Nzinga-Johnson, who joined the Women’s Center as its director in early September, said her initial plan is to continue meeting students’ needs while reflecting on the history of the center and figuring out how it will move forward. “I’ve always been a fan of the non-academic units that complement the larger intellectual life of a campus,” she said. “I’ve
always been attracted to that work and the Women’s Center is one of those spaces here at Northwestern.” Alecia Wartowski, the center’s director of programs who also served as interim director before Nzinga-Johnson’s arrival, said she was excited for the new director to join the center. “(Nzinga-Johnson) has been really incredible about talking to us, learning from us and acknowledging both that she has new ideas and some fresh perspectives, but also that we have some deep knowledge about how the work has gone on on this campus,” Wartowski said. “I
Communications. The event will be hosted by New York Times reporter John Eligon (Medill ’04). Medill students will get preference to reserve one ticket for the event, which will be “a provocative conversation about identity, ethnicity, acceptance and the turbulent state of race in Trump’s America,” according to the email. Noah recently wrote a
memoir — “Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood” — and will discuss his experiences growing up in apartheid South Africa at the NU event, the email said. The event will be held in Cahn Auditorium at 7 p.m and will be filmed live in front of a student audience.
» See CENTER, page 5
— Ally Mauch
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