The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, September 28, 2016
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 3 CAMPUS/Administration
The Graduate School set to launch new child care grants, effective Oct. 1
4 OPINION/Editorial
Safe spaces are vital, and so is thoughtful rhetoric
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8 SPORTS/Women’s Tennis
Cats are eager to prove their potential
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Graduate students seek to unionize Group formed to organize students after NLRB decision By JULIA JACOBS
daily senior staffer @juliarebeccaj
Some graduate students at Northwestern have begun to organize in favor of unionization in the past month, holding what one called a “flurry of meetings” following the National Labor Relations Board’s decision in August lifting barriers to unionization for student assistants at private universities. Two labor unions — the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers — are vying to represent NU graduate students, while the University continues to assert that unionization and collective bargaining are not the “appropriate methods” to address concerns of graduate students. On Tuesday afternoon, Dwight McBride, dean of The Graduate School, held a two-hour town hall meeting in the graduate student commons at 2122 Sheridan Rd., where students were invited to ask questions about the decision’s impact on Northwestern. There will be another town hall tomorrow evening on the Chicago campus. Brian McLoughlin, a fifthyear graduate student who attended the meeting, said about 15 students attended and that the administration’s main message seemed to be that starting the unionization process for graduate student assistants would be venturing into “uncharted territory.” In a letter McBride wrote to graduate students dated Sept. 22, the dean urged students to educate themselves about the ruling as well as the “workings and institutional records of specific unions from whom
you may be hearing.” The NLRB ruled student assistants at private universities should be considered employees and thus have the right to collectively bargain with their employers. Illinois law already allows graduate student assistants at public universities to unionize, and some private university student assistants — such as those at the University of Chicago — have negotiated with their administration for improvements to healthcare benefits and parental leave policies, as well as increased pay, among others. In recent weeks, students have formed an independent group currently referred to as Northwestern Grad Workers, which is intended to coordinate students who wish to unionize, regardless of the organization they prefer, said Kevin Baker, a sixthyear graduate student in the history department. While SEIU sent out an email soon after the NLRB decision asking graduate students to sign union cards — a declaration of students’ support for exclusive representation from that particular union — AF T is waiting for a more concrete election timeline, Baker said. To request a union election with the NLRB, a union must obtain authorization cards from at least 30 percent of the bargaining unit. To Baker, a unifying issue for graduate students is negotiating health insurance plans, which he said are essentially “designed for healthy 20-yearolds,” rather than someone in their 30s. Baker said conversations with colleagues at institutions with long-standing unions led him to believe they have better work environments and stronger relationships with their advisors. However, the University’s position on the issue is similar » See UNION, page 5
Colin Boyle/The Daily Northwestern
Students leave flowers, stuffed animals and notes as a memorial for Northwestern student Chuyuan “Chu” Qiu, who died in a bike accident Thursday. Evanston’s First Ward alderman called for lower speed limits on Sheridan Road, where the accident occurred.
Alderman: Make Sheridan safer
By ROBIN OPSAHL
daily senior staffer @robinlopsahl
Following the death of Northwestern student Chuyuan “Chu” Qiu in a bicycle accident, Ald. Judy Fiske (1st) called for a lower speed limit and rerouted bicycle traffic on Sheridan
Road. Qiu, a first-year student, was killed in an accident with a cement truck Thursday near the intersection of Garrett Place and Sheridan Road. The 18-year-old Weinberg student collided with the truck’s furthest back curbside wheel, Evanston police chief Richard Eddington said. The impact of the collision
caused her to roll under the truck. No traffic violations have been issued to the truck driver. Fiske, whose ward’s border is Sheridan Road, said she felt like she was “hit in the stomach” when she heard the news of Qiu’s death. After the city manager told her what happened, she immediately went to the scene to talk with
police, she said. “It’s just sad. Especially in the first week of class, it’s doubly, doubly sad,” Fiske said. “It’s just an exciting time. You never think this is going to happen.” Fiske said that for the moment, she would like for people to not ride bikes on » See SHERIDAN, page 5
Norris offers American Indian courses
Mini Courses office to give classes on Native culture, Cherokee language By YVONNE KIM
the daily northwestern @yvonneekimm
With three new culture and language courses to be offered this fall, Norris University Center’s Mini Courses office is taking steps to expand American Indian programming on campus. The courses are Ojibwe
and Cree Sweet Grass Basket Making, Native Beading and Beginning Cherokee. The language course will also provide cultural background, with “philosophical thought … interwoven into the lessons to provide students with a context for formulating thoughts and ideas in Cherokee,” according to the Mini Courses office. “Native culture’s been
present in North America for millennia,” said Anna O’Donnell, Mini Courses student supervisor. “It’s an important part of North American history as a whole that we should learn about. We spend so much time learning about American history – we should learn before that too.” Ninah Divine (Weinberg ’16), coordinator of the newly
created Native American and Indigenous Peoples Steering Group, which is dedicated to fostering interest in and understanding of Native topics on campus, headed efforts to bring courses focused on American Indian culture to Norris. The group wanted to expand the programming » See COURSES, page 5
96 percent of Northwestern freshmen registered to vote By ALLYSON CHIU
daily senior staffer @_allysonchiu
Colin Boyle/The Daily Northwestern
NU Votes volunteers speak to students at a voter registration booth in Norris on Monday. A new online voter registration tool enabled Northwestern to register 96 percent of eligible voters in the freshmen class.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
An new online voter registration tool helped Northwestern register a record 96 percent of incoming freshman to vote, the University announced Tuesday. NU Votes –– an initiative started by the University’s Center for Civic Engagement in 2011 –– created NUvotes. org to allow students to register, review and change registration information as well as request absentee ballots before
the upcoming election. NU Votes volunteer Rabeya Mallick (SESP ’15) said only 45 percent of freshmen were registered before arriving on campus, according to polling from Wildcat Welcome. “It’s really exciting,” Mallick said. “A lot of these students probably don’t really know how to get registered or if they can even vote on campus, so giving them the tools to be able to get engaged themselves is pretty cool.” According to U.S. Census data collected about the November 2014 election, a little over 42 percent of 18
to 24-year-olds registered to vote. A little less than 65 percent of adults aged 35 to 44 and slightly more than 74 percent of those over 75 yearsold registered. The website was launched this fall and was designed for NU students. The site has information to guide students through necessary forms, as well as directs students to people who can help them with state-specific requirements. In addition, NU Votes started holding daily in-person registration drives Sept. » See VOTES, page 3
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