The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, October 8, 2019
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Committee votes on Ethics revision Rules Committee agrees to send Code to Council By JOSH IRVINE
daily senior staffer @maybejoshirvine
Evanston inched closer to a revised Code of Ethics after the Rules Committee unanimously voted Monday night to send an ordinance amending the code to City Council. The ordinance, which originated in the now-dissolved Ethics Subcommittee to the Rules Committee, went through adjustments ranging from single words to significant subsections of the 18-page text which would replace the current code. One of the major changes was an increase of the maximum fine that City Council may issue as penalty for officials found to have violated the ethics code. Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd) said though the $500 fine proposed by the ordinance would represent a significant imposition upon the aldermen, who make $15,990 per year, it would prove less significant for the higher-paid mayor or city manager. “The whole goal is to make sure that it’s meaningful,” Braithwaite told The Daily.
“So whatever we set forth and agree to as a council, it’s a serious consequence.” Mayor Steve Hagerty suggested a fine as a percentage of annual income. However, the committee ultimately chose to set the maximum fine at $750. Also amended was a proposed one-year terms on Board of Ethics members. Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) said the Board of Ethics required expertise that was important to preserve and contended the brevity of the terms would give elected officials undue power in controlling their own supervision. Under the ordinance, the mayor appoints Board of Ethics members with the advice and consent of the aldermen. “They could rule one way on a particular member and then find that wasn’t particularly popular and so they won’t be reappointed next year,” Revelle said. Despite pushback from Ald. Judy Fiske (1st), the committee agreed to extend term lengths to two years. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) discussed her own experience with the Board of Ethics hearing by calling for greater input for defendants in scheduling their hearings. Ethics complaints against Rainey served as part of the impetus for the new » See RULES, page 6
Evan Robinson-Johnson/Daily Senior Staffer
Students discuss impeachment at a Political Union meeting. Political Union voted in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump at their Monday meeting.
Students debate impeaching Trump Politican Union voted to do so in wake of whistleblower report By SPENCER ALLAN
the daily northwestern @spencerlallan
Northwestern Political Union gathered Monday at 1902 Sheridan Rd. to debate whether the House of Congress should impeach President Donald Trump.
The debate comes in the wake of a whistleblower report detailing Trump’s phone call with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25. The report said Trump denied military aid to Ukraine unless the country opened an investigation on the Biden family. Speaking in favor of
impeachment was Weinberg sophomore John Magloire, who argued that Trump, during his phone call with Zelensky and in a subsequent memo, had violated the public’s trust. “This memo, released by the President himself, clearly demonstrates that President Trump asked the Ukranian President to open an investigation on his
primary political opponent,” Magloire said. “Was there an explicit quid pro quo? No, but it was certainly implied.” Dominic Bayer, a member of College Republicans, spoke out against impeachment. The Weinberg senior argued that while there was justification for » See POLITICAL UNION, page 6
Mental health sick days in the works Alum sparks anger Student Government working with Univeristy to redefine policy By NEYA THANIKACHALAM
daily senior staffer @neyachalam
Associated Student Government is working with the University to implement policies that would allow students registered with AccessibleNU to take excused absences for mental health reasons, ASG President Izzy Dobbel said. If implemented, AccessibleNU students can take “mental health sick days” with no questions asked. Currently, these students can receive accommodations if they communicate with AccessibleNU and their professors, but some students find the process uncomfortable and extensive. For Communication senior Shane Eichstaedt, taking a day off from class to focus on their mental well-being has been an intimidating process. They had to email professors, explaining why they needed time off during their “most vulnerable moments.” Sometimes they ’ve lied,
choosing to tell a professor they were physically ill instead of the truth. “The amount of times that I have had to email professors mid-panic, or at the lowest lows of a moment of depression, in a true moment of suicidal ideation, to email them saying, ‘I can’t come to class brings intense feelings of failure,” Eichstaedt said. Dobbel and Executive Vice President Adam Davies campaigned on prioritizing mental health on campus. They introduced a policy to allow excused absences for mental health last spring. Other universities have implemented similar policies for the entire student body. At Duke University, any student can fill out an Incapacitation Form that exempts them from completing an assignment or attending a class for mental health reasons. The students then has 48 hours to contact instructors and make up any coursework they missed. The Incapacitation Form can be used up to three times in a semester.
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Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet upsets NBA, China By TROY CLOSSON
daily senior staffer @troy_closson
Neya Thanikachalam/Daily Senior Staffer
Dobbel said she wanted Northwestern to create a policy similar to Duke’s, and she received approval from the administration to start developing one. However, she ran into federal policy roadblocks
that forced ASG to reevaluate and make more local changes in the meantime. Northwestern students must remain in class for » See SICK DAYS, page 6
As demonstrations in Hong Kong continue leading to violence between police and protesters, Northwestern alumnus and Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey took to Twitter on Friday to weigh in. The international backlash that’s ensued as a result of his post has propelled the Rockets and the league into a frenzy. Morey (McCormick ’96), whose original and now-deleted tweet contained an image reading “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong,” apologized Monday evening for his post. This comes after several Chinese businesses had announced they were suspending ties with the team. The Chinese Basketball Association, headed by former Rockets center Yao Ming, also announced Sunday it was suspending cooperation with the team. “I did not intend my tweet to cause any offense to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,”
Morey posted on Twitter. “I was merely voicing one thought, based on one interpretation, of one complicated event. I have had a lot of opportunity since that tweet to hear and consider other perspectives.” In response to the growing fallout overseas, other team and league officials attempted to distance themselves from Morey’s tweet. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta tweeted that Morey “does NOT” speak for the Rockets and that team is “NOT” a political organization. Superstar James Harden apologized saying “We love China. We love playing there.” The Association also released a statement in an attempt to minimize the damage. “We recognize the views expressed by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey have deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China, which is regrettable,” the NBA statement read. But those reactions set off their own firestorm as many lept to the defense of Morey, who was named 2018 NBA Executive of the Year and regarded as one of the most innovative executives in the sport. Some argued the NBA’s response ran contrary to » See ROCKETS, page 6
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