The Daily Northwestern Monday, October 7, 2019
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Evanston releases proposed budget No layoffs, service reductions included for FY ’20, ’21 By CLARE PROCTOR
daily senior staffer @ceproctor23
Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer
Jaden Smith, the headliner of A&O Blowout, performs at the Welsh-Ryan Arena. Unlike previous Blowouts, this year’s event at Welsh-Ryan Arena was free.
Jaden Smith shines at Blowout
The “Icon” singer, songwriter SOPHIE thrilled Welsh-Ryan crowds By REBECCA AIZIN
the daily northwestern @rebecca_aizin
Almost immediately into Jaden Smith’s set at A&O Blowout on Saturday night, students were jumping and
moshing. “I’d rather see students excited and fired up about the shows we’re doing than just standing around,” said Blowout co-producer Jeremy Lamstein, a SESP senior. Welsh-Ryan Arena hosted around 1,500 students on
MSA leads Latinx Heritage Month Events kicked off last week, run through Nov. 22 By EVA HERSCOWITZ
the daily northwestern @herscowitz
on inclusion begins with its name: MSA calls the month Latinx — rather than Hispanic — Heritage Month because the former includes indigenous, Brazilian and other non-Spanish speaking groups. The gender-neutral “x” also supports non-binary people. The month’s events acknowledge Latinx interests and issues, López said, while embracing multicultural traditions. He added that all students are welcome to the 13 scheduled events. “We try to be diverse in our programming: getting students to dance, eat, meet Latinx faculty, play cultural games,” he said. “This is Latinx Heritage month, but not only Latinx students are invited. It’s open to anybody to engage with the community.” Programs like the Oct. 7 Harvest Indigenous Discussions invite students to discuss indigenous and Native American issues, as well as the groups’ legacies in the Western Hemisphere. Other events include free HIV testing on Oct. 15, National Latinx AIDS Awareness Day; an Oct. 16 workshop on bomba and plena, AfroCaribbean musical traditions; and an Oct. 21 Chicago trip to meet author Erika Sánchez.
As Multicultural Student Affairs held its kickoff for Latinx Heritage Month on Friday, the biggest message was an emphasis on intersectionality. Latinx Heritage Month is typically celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, but MSA’s programming began Sept. 28 and ends Nov. 22 to account for Northwestern’s academic calendar. The month began with a Sept. 28 opening celebration at the Block Museum of Art’s “Pop América, 1965–1975” exhibit, which spotlights Latinx Pop artists who reimagined the art form as a tool of resistance and expression. Emmanuel López, an MSA graduate assistant who coordinates programs supporting the Latinx community, outlined the month’s events while about 20 students and faculty ate tacos al pastor, beef fajitas and mini churros in Scott Hall. López said the month’s focus » See HERITAGE MONTH, page 6
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
Saturday evening for A&O’s annual Blowout, with performances by SOPHIE and headliner Jaden Smith. The concert was free, unlike in previous years. Students began jumping around so intensely that dozens of people toppled over almost
as soon as Smith’s set began. “I understand it’s definitely a little crazy and intense, but I think it’s fun to feed off that energy,” Lamstein said. Before the concert, members of A&O restated their message » See BLOWOUT, page 6
City staff is recommending organizational readjustments and minimal tax and fee increases in the proposed balanced budget — with a $50,000 proposed surplus — for next year, the first part of a two-year budget proposal. The proposed 2020 budget — which includes the total expense for all funds, including the library fund — is approximately $317 million, a decrease of about $1.9 million from last year’s budget. The city also projected a 2021 budget of roughly $299 million. The city proposed a two-year budget in accordance with City Council’s 2019-2020 goals, which include stabilizing long-term city finances. The council will only adopt ordinances and levies for 2020. Using the 2021 projected budget as a policy guide, the council will make adjustments before formally adopting the 2021 budget in the fall of 2020. “We’re proposing no layoffs and no service reductions,” interim city manager Erika Storlie told reporters Thursday. “We pretty much
have taken the increase that was approved for the sales tax and built that into the baseline budget.” The 2020 budget proposal factors in a $1.5 million expected increase in general fund revenue through the home rule sales tax increase. Approved by City Council Sept. 23, the decision will raise the home rule sales tax from 1 percent to 1.25 percent, bringing the total sales tax to 10.25 percent, which is on par with Chicago, Skokie and other neighboring areas. The new home rule sales tax will go into effect Jan. 1. The proposed general fund budget consists of comparable revenues and expenses — both approximately $117 million, with a net surplus of $53,779. Restructuring of various city departments aims to balance the 2020 budget.
Department adjustments
One of the “biggest” adjustments with the proposed budget is that all of the city’s social services would shift from the general fund to the human services fund to “provide for a holistic approach and improve coordination between the various services being provided,” according to city documents. This includes the Youth and Young Adult division and the city’s senior services, said Kimberly » See BUDGET, page 6
Coates talks new novel at ETHS
His fiction book "The Water Dancer" explores African American history By MOLLY BURKE
the daily northwestern @mollyfburke
Author and journalist TaNehisi Coates told an audience Friday at Evanston Township High School that discrimination toward African Americans stems from the idea that they are less than human, which is reinforced due to the lack of coverage of black history and black stories. Coates spoke last week about his new novel, “The Water Dancer,” at an ETHS event hosted by the Family Action Network. The talk featured a conversation between Coates and Hanif Abdurraqib, a poet and writer from Ohio. Coates rose to fame through his book “Between the World and Me” and articles for The Atlantic on topics including African American history, culture and white supremacy. “The cool thing about reading is that you put down the words and the person brings something to it and that causes the emotional reaction,” Coates said. The executive director of FAN, Lonnie Stonitsch, told
The Daily that Coates’s team contacted FAN to come back, saying it was the “best stop” of his tour when he came two years ago. Friday’s event, held in the high school’s auditorium, was filled to capacity and required overflow spaces, with nearly 1500 people attending. FAN used their general funds to purchase hardcover copies of Coates’ newest novel, “The Water Dancer” to distribute one to each household that attended the event. “The Water Dancer” is a fictional piece about an enslaved person named Hiram with superhuman memory powers and takes place in the South prior to the Civil War. The novel focuses on African American history, featuring the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman. “Black history is so often presented as ‘eat your vegetables,’” Coates said, “but I wanted ‘Lord of the Rings.’” Coates said he researched and worked on the novel for a decade, traveling and going through old letters in order to find information about the era. He thought that the stories of » See COATES, page 6
Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer
Author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates speaks at Evanston Township High School. Coates took part in a conversation with writer Hanif Abdurraqib about his new book, “The Water Dancer,” which was attended by nearly 1500 people.
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