The Daily Northwestern Monday, October 31, 2016
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Council moves to up group’s funding Cradle to Career takes issue with proposed budget By NORA SHELLY
daily senior staffer @norashelly
Noah Frick Alofs/The Daily Northwestern
Children’s book author and poet Kwame Alexander speaks at Evanston Township High School on Friday. Alexander spoke about using poetry as a powerful tool of communication.
Author speaks on power of poetry Newbery medal winner Kwame Alexander gives talk at ETHS By BENJAMIN SCHARF
the daily northwestern
Poetry is a powerful method of educating, Newbery Medal winner Kwame Alexander told an audience at Evanston Township High School on Friday, but one that is often underappreciated. “It’s a way for us to understand the world and our place in it,” said Alexander, a children’s writer and poet. Roughly 50 people attended Alexander’s talk at ETHS on Friday hosted by the Family Action Network, a group dedicated to bringing educational
and inspirational programming to the North Shore. After a brief introduction from FAN executive director Lonnie Stonitsch, Alexander took to the stage to discuss his works and emphasize what poetry means to him. In a reversal of the typical speaker format, Alexander started by taking audience questions, which he answered by sharing some of his own poems and personal experiences. Alexander spoke about his trip to a prison, recounting his worry about whether he could connect with the inmates. He was told the inmates
would most likely be uninterested in him and to “just duck” if a fight broke out. But when Alexander arrived at the prison, he walked into the room, stood on a chair facing the inmates and began to recite one of his own poems. “I screamed at the top of my lungs,” Alexander said. He recited “In My Closet, On The Top Shelf, Is A Silver Box,” a poem he wrote that tells a tragic story of two people through objects in a box. Alexander said after finishing his recitation, the room stood completely silent until a single inmate said, “Yo, that’s poetry?”
Alexander said reciting the poem allowed him to earn the attention of the inmates. He said this moment led him to realize poetry was more than its stylistic value: It has the potential to bring people together. “I found that poetry sort of had a way to get to people in a very immediate way, in a way that other forms of literature and language could not,” Alexander said. He then told the story of how after meeting his wife, Alexander wrote her a poem a day for an entire year before » See ALEXANDER, page 5
Alderman voted Saturday to direct staff to allocate more money in the proposed budget to Evanston Cradle to Career, a collective of schools, businesses and nonprofit groups that works to improve education and support for Evanston kids. The move came after multiple supporters of Cradle to Career came to Saturday’s public forum on the budget to urge the city to fund them at the same level they did in 2016. Previously, the group had received $50,000, while in this year’s budget they were allocated half of that. The group was allocated $25,000 in the 2017 proposed budget,
Evanston man found dead in Michigan
A 70-year-old Evanston man was found dead in northern Michigan on Friday, the local sheriff ’s office said. The man’s son, Luke Milton Hanson, was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with one count of homicide-open murder, according to a social media statement by the Grand
which was half of what they received this year. The additional funding will come from the HowardHartrey TIF fund, which is set to close at the end of the year with over half a million dollars left over. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) whose ward encompasses the TIF district, suggested part of the leftover funds — of which the city gets 17 percent — go to Cradle to Career. Cradle to Career is a coalition of schools, businesses and other community groups that works to help every Evanston resident become self-sufficient by age 23. Sheila Merry, the group’s executive director, said at Saturday’s meeting that although the group appreciates the city’s support, a reduction in funding would send the wrong message. Merry said it’s critical that the group has “unwavering” support from the city. “If we are going to ensure » See BUDGET, page 5 Traverse Sheriff ’s Office The father, Milton Hanson, was found dead in a residence Friday morning. A deputy from the Sheriff ’s Department was sent to the residence for a welfare check after getting information that an altercation occurred. The 31-year-old son is a resident of Acme Township in Michigan. Bond has been set at $1 million, and Milton will be arraigned on Monday. — Nora Shelly
Students bothered by admin response to mold in Plex By TORI LATHAM
daily senior staffer @latham_tori
Some students living in Foster-Walker Complex said they are concerned the University isn’t giving adequate attention to reports of mold in the residential hall. Ally O’Donnell, a McCormick sophomore who lives in the building, said she first noticed mold growing in her room soon after she moved in at the beginning of the school year. After mentioning the problem to her resident assistant, who called to have the mold inspected, O’Donnell said someone showed up to her room and affirmed the mold needed to be taken care of, but nobody came to clean it. O’Donnell said the situation was not properly addressed until her mother got involved and communicated with the University. “I bought a mold spray to
wipe down all my furniture, and that’s when I noticed there were massive amounts of mold under my desk,” O’Donnell said. “It wasn’t just a little; it was so gross.” A University official spoke with O’Donnell’s mother, and people were sent to clean the room, but there were certain areas with mold they were unable to clean, O’Donnell said. Eventually, they came to replace the furniture that had the mold on it, she added. Paul Riel, assistant vice president for residential and dining services, said he was unaware of this specific instance but said it did not sound like the officials O’Donnell interacted with handled it as usual. “On the face of it, this is certainly not our protocol,” Riel said. “We take these claims seriously when they occur.” Neil Dixit, a Weinberg sophomore who also lives in Plex, has also dealt with mold growing in his room this year but said the situation had been taken care of.
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Dixit said he requested the mold be cleaned through SchoolDude, a system the University uses for students to put in maintenance requests for residential buildings on campus. Somebody came in to clean his room and said they knew mold had been an ongoing problem in Plex, he said. Although Dixit said he was not expecting any follow-up from the University after the initial cleaning, he said he was concerned other students are also dealing with the problem. “When you put in a SchoolDude, there’s a lag in getting it taken care of, and the fact that people know about it and haven’t taken care of it (is concerning),” Dixit said. O’Donnell said she also heard from the people who came to clean her room mold has been a problem in the building. Emily Patnaude, who lives in the same part of Plex as O’Donnell, also said she has mold in her room. Patnaude
said it seemed like students and University officials were not on the same page. “People who lived here previously said it’s always been an issue, that it’s nothing new,” the McCormick sophomore said. “Facilities said this is the first
they’d heard of it.” Typically, Riel said, reports of mold are followed up by a visual inspection and passed off to a third party that tests the space for mold. He said there have recently been a few calls concerning air quality in Plex, but the rooms
Leah Dunlevy/The Daily Northwestern
The outside of Foster-Walker Complex. Some students living in the building said they are concerned Northwestern is not giving adequate attention to reports of mold.
were ultimately found to not contain mold. Most of the time, the third party company determines nothing is there, he added. Mark D’Arienzo, senior associate director of Residential Services’ Administrative Services Team, was in contact with O’Donnell and her mother when they first expressed concern, he said. After he spoke with them, he said he alerted Residential Services’ Facilities and Construction Team to the situation. D’Arienzo said he was aware of the protocol Riel outlined, but could not say whether it was followed once he handed the situation off to Facilities and Construction. He said he has heard of five or six complaints this quarter from students in Plex about mold. John D’Angelo, vice president of Facilities Management, and Johnathan Winters, associate director of Residential Services who oversees the Facilities and » See MOLD, page 3
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