The Daily Northwestern – November 13th, 2018

The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, November 13, 2018

DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 8 SPORTS/Men’s Basketball

3 CAMPUS/Testing

Despite missteps, Cats beat American

As popularity of ACT declines, Northwestern students report preferring SAT

Find us online @thedailynu 4 OPINION/Bian

Affirmative Action is not the problem

High 29 Low 20

Aldermen revise budget proposal New version comes after residents’ concerns over cuts

By SAMANTHA HANDLER

daily senior staffer @sn_handler

Kristina Karisch/Daily Senior Staffer

Former first lady Michelle Obama hugs a student at Whitney Young Magnet High School. Obama visited her alma mater Monday in advance of her book tour.

Michelle Obama visits Chicago

At alma mater, former first lady encourages students to be confident

By KRISTINA KARISCH

daily senior staffer @kristinakarisch

CHICAGO — Before kicking off her much-anticipated book tour, former first lady Michelle Obama stopped by her alma mater to chat with high school students and share

NU to provide tickets, buses to Big Ten champs

The athletic department will offer free tickets and transportation for undergraduate students who want to attend the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 1 in Indianapolis, athletic department spokesman Paul Kennedy told The Daily at a news conference on Monday.

Undergraduate students will receive an email from the athletic department with further information later Monday and must respond by Wednesday to claim a spot.

The student package includes a ticket to the game, transportation to and from Indianapolis and meals provided on the bus.

Initial emails sent to students after the Wildcats clinched the Big Ten West title in a 14-10 win at Iowa on Saturday advertised the price of student tickets at $45.

NU will face either Michigan or Ohio State in the conference championship, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The game will be the Cats’ first visit to the Big Ten Championship Game, which has been held annually since 2011, in program history and is a chance for NU to claim its first conference title since 2000.

— Ella Brockway

her key message: finding one’s story and voice in the world.

“It’s the essence of who you are,” Obama told a group of 20 Whitney M. Young Magnet High School seniors, all girls, on Monday. “All the blemishes and all the triumphs and all that makes you special. … You don’t think it’s special, but it is, and all your stories are special.”

Obama, who graduated from the Chicago school in 1981, was salutatorian and her class treasurer. In her new memoir, “Becoming,” which is set for release on Tuesday, the former first lady chronicles her life, from childhood to the White House.

She will be starting her book tour Tuesday at the United

Center, where she will be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey.

“Coming to Whitney Young was my first transition out of my sameness, out of my comfort zone,” Obama said. “And then on to college, and then on to Boston and on and on. And every step I took was pushing » See OBAMA, page 6

Faced with a revised 2019 budget proposal, aldermen on Monday discussed ways to reduce cuts, provide Vital Records services and keep the city from “nickel and diming” residents with tax and fee increases.

City manager Wally Bobkiewicz presented a new version of the budget after residents expressed concern over department and board cuts as well as restructurings.

The budget originally proposed to decrease funding for Mental Health Board by $250,000, but the new plan proposes a $150,000 reduction. Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) said she would like the council to not cut the board’s budget at all, saying the city could find other ways to make up the cost.

“I do think those dollars we spend on mental health are very important dollars that save us money down the line from police and fire calls and other issues, costs of homelessness,” Wynne said. “Mental health

dollars are scarce and there aren’t enough of them.”

The new proposal also keeps Evanston Fire Department Station 4 — located in the 2nd Ward — open. Rather than closing down the station, four firefighter/paramedic positions will be kept vacant and there will be more than $224,000 added to the overtime budget.

Bobkiewicz said the budget has also allocated $20,000 for a fire department cost study.

The plan similarly holds four police officer positions vacant and no longer removes the position of the civilian community engagement specialist.

The council later discussed ways the city can continue to provide the services of the Vital Records program — which provides copies of birth and death certificates — without the two full-time staff members dedicated to the program.

Aldermen voted 8-1 in an unofficial straw vote to keep the service run by existing staff at the Health and Human Services Department at a three-day-aweek capacity.

City clerk Devon Reid disagreed with the vote and said his plan to transfer the services to the city clerk’s office would have increased the revenue from the » See COUNCIL, page 6

Obama WH staffers talk optics, Trump era

Cody Keenan and Josh Earnest give insight on differences between Obama, Trump

By AUSTIN BENAVIDES

the daily northwestern @awstinbenavides

Former Obama White House press secretary Josh Earnest and former speechwriter Cody Keenan (Weinberg ’02) shared their experiences in the White House and mused about the future of the Democratic Party during a panel discussion on Monday.

Earnest is now working for as the chief communications officer for United Airlines, and Keenan is currently working with Barack Obama on his new book and helping him curate his presidential library in Chicago. During the discussion, moderated by Medill Prof. Peter Slevin in McCormick Auditorium, the two covered everything from the midterm elections to speculation about the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.

Slevin opened the discussion — attended by about 150 students and community members — by asking the two if they used to have a “plan B” for inclement weather , alluding to an incident last week whenPresident Donald Trump did not attend a WWI memorial service in France because of rain.

Keenan and Earnest assured the audience they would have

Serving the University and Evanston since 1881

attended regardless of weather.

During his time as press secretary, Earnest said Obama never “second guessed” him and the press office. He recounted a particularly intense week in 2016 when Philando Castile was shot and killed by a police officer, and five officers were killed the next day in Texas — all while the president was in Poland.

The press office and Obama balanced empathizing with the nation’s black community while also conveying the importance of police officers’ safety, Earnest said.

“These kinds of events just have a way of intruding even on important items on the presidential agenda, but again, you certainly, being in the White House long enough, develop some instincts about this,” Earnest said. “The overriding instinct is just common human empathy that most people have.”

When the conversation turned to the midterm elections, Slevin referred to a Tweet posted by Keenan following the election.

“The more people who vote, the more Congress starts to look like America,” he wrote. Keenan said the midterm election was a big night for the Democrats, as they took back the House, though they were unable to capture the Senate.

When asked who they saw

Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer

Josh Earnest and Cody Keenan recalled their time in the Obama administration, while offering advice to the future of the Democratic Party.

as potential frontrunners for the Democrats in the 2020, the two staffers differed. Earnest proposed Mitchell Landrieu, the former mayor of New Orleans who drew praise after his 2015 speech supporting the removal of Confederate monuments.

“I want Beto (O’Rourke) to run,” Keenan said, referring to the congressman from Texas who challenged Ted Cruz’s Senate seat. The statement was met with cheers from the crowd.

Earnest said the next press secretary after Trump’s presidency

will be “the most important press secretary of our generation.” He or she can either continue the Trump administration’s novel approach or return to the norms put in place by the Obama and Bush presidencies, Earnest said.

Medill senior Allyna Mota Melville, who takes Slevin’s course on politics and media, said she is concerned for the White House press corps. She said a new press secretary will need to think about what it means to “hold truth in that position.”

Looking to 2020, Mota

Melville said she had heard of both candidates, but she emphasized a need for a unique candidate for the Democrats.

“It’s important to have a woman or person of color on that ticket because that is who the Democratic Party is and that’s who America is,” Mota Meville said. “It’s important not just to default to two white people because that’s not what America is.” austinbenavides2022@u. northwestern.edu

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8

2 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

AROUND TOWN

Council approves housing committee appointments The committee is composed of 11 members, including Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) and some non-Evanston residents.

Hagerty said when choosing his appointments, he wanted to focus on people who had a “deep connection” to either Evanston or to affordable housing. He said the idea for the committee came from people expressing an interest in creating a working group to move forward on affordable housing issues.

Besides Revelle, who also serves on the city’s Housing and Homelessness Commission and Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Subcommittee, the members include an Evanston Township High School graduate who works for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the president of the North Shore Village Board of Directors.

Revelle said the committee also includes a resident who has struggled to find affordable housing in Evanston. She added that this committee will operate in a similar way to the committees that were formed to draft the 2009 Plan for Affordable Housing and the 2011 Heading Home: Working to End Homelessness plan.

The committee will look at how to spend city resources and different strategies to address the issue, Revelle added.

“We do believe that we have to be much more holistic in our approach and not expect to do

By SAMANTHA HANDLER

daily senior staffer @sn_handler

Aldermen have narrowly approved appointments to a new affordable housing committee that will oversee the development of the city’s affordable housing plan.

The appointments — made by Mayor Steve Hagerty — passed council at the Oct. 29 meeting with a 5-4 vote. Alds. Judy Fiske (1st), Robin Rue Simmons (5th), Tom Suffredin (6th) and Cicely Fleming (9th) voted against the proposal.

The Affordable Housing Plan Steering Committee will oversee the development of the city’s Affordable Housing Plan and will have one year to complete the task.

Fiske said at the meeting that she was not sure she was entirely comfortable with approving the committee, citing its large size as a factor.

“What we find at council a frustrating thing sometimes, is we have committees, we get the reports from the committees, committees have a certain level of expectation and things can get very confusing at that point,” Fiske said. “I’m sure they’re going to be doing important work, but what makes me a tiny bit leery is managing expectations.”

POLICE BLOTTER

Officers woke the man, at which point he became verbally aggressive. Upon being informed he had to pay for the taxi, he insisted the taxi driver had taken his debit card, which was later found in his wallet, Glew said.

When asked to pay by other means, the man “took an aggressive stance” toward an officer. He pressed his chest against the officer, who put his left hand against the man’s chest to create distance, Glew added.

“He smacked the officer’s hand away and said ‘Don’t f---ing touch me,’” Glew added.

The man was then arrested and brought to the police station. The taxi driver has not yet decided whether to pursue charges, Glew said, but he

Man arrested for battery of an officer

Evanston Police Department police arrested an Evanston man for battery of an officer in the 800 block of Elmwood Avenue early Saturday morning.

A taxi driver called EPD about the incident and told officers the man hailed the taxi in Chicago. The man asked to be taken to an apartment building on Elmwood Avenue, said Evanston police Cmdr. Ryan Glew.

The man then fell asleep in the back of the taxi, and the driver was unable to wake him. He also told officers that the $73 taxi fare had not yet been paid, Glew said.

Daily file photo by Colin Boyle

Mayor Steve Hagerty at a City Council meeting. Aldermen narrowly approved Hagerty’s appointments to a new affordable housing committee.

everything that we need to do with government funding,” she said.

Hagerty added this committee will serve a similar function to the city’s other working groups including the Alternatives to Arrest Committee and the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance Subcommittee, which recently proposed changes to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance that council approved.

After meeting for a year, the steering wants the fare paid.

Plants and facial wipes stolen

EPD officers responded to a report of a theft in the 1600 block of Ridge Avenue in central Evanston on Saturday afternoon.

The 21-year-old resident told officers that facial wipes and plants delivered to her apartment earlier in the day were gone, and that other packages of hers had been opened but left there, Glew said.

The packages were in an unsecured entryway, Glew added.

committee will present its plan to City Council for approval.

“I think if you look at Evanston, the things that we’re really known for... didn’t come about by accident,” Hagerty said. “A lot of effort from the grassroots went into the plans that we develop and the same thing we’re trying to accomplish right here with tasking this committee.” samanthahandler2021@u.northwestern.edu

Setting the record straight An article in Monday’s paper titled “Protesters organize against golf course easement” had an incorrect caption. The photo depicted the protest at the 10th hole of the Canal Shores Golf Course Sunday morning.

The Daily regrets the error.

­— Cameron Cook

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 3

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

ON CAMPUS

ACT remains popular amid SAT rise

By SOPHIA SCANLAN

the daily northwestern

Northwestern students overwhelmingly prefer the ACT over the SAT, defying new national trends that show diminished ACT popularity.

For the first time since 2011, the SAT beat the ACT in number of test-takers during the 2017-18 school year, with a record 2.1 million opting for the SAT and 1.9 million choosing the ACT, according to a College Board news release last month.

Jane Dapkus, the vice president of college readiness assessments for the College Board, which administers the SAT, said she attributes the increase in test-takers to SAT School Day, a program that invites students to take the test at school during regular hours. This year, nearly 1 million students took advantage of the program, up from last year’s 800,000.

“We’ve seen a remarkable expansion in participation, and we expect the program to grow even more in the coming years,” Dapkus said in the release.

In 2017, Illinois began requiring its public schools to administer the SAT during the school day to students instead of the ACT, the test the state previously required.

Weinberg freshman Fizzah Jaffer, who attended Lincoln-Way West High School in New Lenox, Illinois, said while she appreciated the SAT School Day program, she still preferred taking standardized tests at a location away from campus.

“Being in a classroom where you have your regular classes makes the test harder for some reason,” Jaffer said. “It was so draining, especially if you’ve been sitting there for five hours then have to go to class afterwards.”

Weinberg freshman Catherine Malnati, who attended Jones College Prep High School in Chicago, agreed, saying the classroom setting made her feel as though she was competing with her peers.

However, she said she thought the SAT

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For the first time since 2011, the SAT beat the ACT in number of test-takers during the 2017-18 school year.

But Northwestern students overwhelmingly prefer the ACT over the SAT.

School Day was a good option for students to have, since it was free of charge.

“I thought this gave everyone a fair opportunity to take the test, as time and finance barriers were removed, so I liked that aspect of it,” Malnati said.

Last year at Northwestern, 77 percent of incoming freshmen submitted ACT scores, while 35 percent submitted SAT scores, including those

who submitted both. But at some schools, like Stanford and Harvard, more students choose to submit SAT scores.

More than a third of NU’s incoming class typically comes from Illinois and the rest of the Midwest, where the ACT remains a staple among college applicants. sophiascanlan2022@u.northwestern.edu

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Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Affirmative Action isn’t the problem, it’s legacies ANDREA BIAN

DAILY COLUMNIST

When I applied to Northwestern a year ago, I chose not to check the “Asian” box on the Common Application. I definitely wasn’t alone — most of my Asian-American peers and friends chose not to, either. As a high school senior, I was repeatedly told to not disclose my ethnicity anywhere on my application, as it would decrease my chances of admission.

It bothered me slightly that I couldn’t say anything on my application about my ChineseAmerican upbringing, because I felt it was a prominent part of my identity. But I complied, believing the notion that revealing my ethnicity would ultimately hurt me.

With Harvard University on trial for discriminating against Asian applicants, I have found myself thinking more and more about my strategy of getting into college and what it has made me believe about Asian discrimination.

I’ll admit it troubles me a little to hear that

Harvard consistently ranks Asians lower on personality traits such as likability and kindness, as the lawsuit alleges. There is some merit to holding Harvard accountable for the specific way they evaluate Asian students based on racist stereotypes. But I support Affirmative Action. I understand why it exists. Without it, college campuses would be lacking in diversity of thought and backgrounds, and students who face numerous racial and socioeconomic challenges would be denied admission.

What troubles me more is that criticism of Affirmative Action encourages minorities to compete directly against each other. It perpetuates the idea that minorities should view each other as enemies. Specifically, it brings up the prospect that black and Latinx students are taking up spots that “belong” to Asian-Americans.

That makes me cringe. Even with Affirmative Action, black and Latinx students are extremely underrepresented in American universities. Affirmative Action is only a minor acknowledgment of the institutional racism and disadvantages that some students have to overcome just to be considered for a place at an elite college.

For a while, I was misguided when it came to Affirmative Action. I stewed in anger at the

notion that I had to score higher on the SAT than my non-Asian friends. I truly believed that other minorities had it easier.

Not only is this untrue, but there’s a bigger problem with college admissions that doesn’t concern minorities at all — in fact, it almost exclusively applies to white people. And Harvard happens to be a prime example.

For the Harvard University classes of 2014 through 2019, the admit rate for legacies was 33.6 percent, more than five times the admit rate for non-legacies. Students without legacy status were admitted at an average rate of only 5.9 percent. Legacies at many elite colleges tend to be white. They are also typically wealthy due to at least one parent attending a top-ranked university. To admit a student based on legacy is to value the potential future donations they could make to the institution over their academic merit and personal achievements.

Other elite colleges have similar statistics: Princeton University admitted 33 percent of its legacy applicants in 2015 compared with an 8.5 percent overall admit rate. Yale University said it admitted 20 to 25 percent of legacies while admitting 6.7 percent overall in 2013.

I’m sure most legacies admitted to Harvard and other universities are qualified and deserve

to receive admission. But the significantly high admit rate allows them to get in with easier standards. It can be translated as Affirmative Action for mostly white, wealthy people.

Legacy students should be held to higher rather than easier standards, specifically because they usually grew up with additional privileges.

Admitting them because of family ties indicates a blatant prioritization of money and donations over what a student can bring to a campus’ community.

Affirmative Action is necessary to maintain a campus environment where students can interact with people of different backgrounds and beliefs. Legacy admissions are not.

I believe Northwestern and all colleges should disclose their legacy admissions rates, and that applicants should hold them responsible for these unfair admissions the same way they do Harvard.

Andrea Bian is a Medill freshman. She can be contacted at andreabian2022@u.northwestern.edu.

If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

Revoking Acosta’ press credentials is a gross overstep aggressive in his actions. All of this coming from an administration intent on taking down “fake news.”

MARCUS THUILLIER

DAILY COLUMNIST

Last Thursday, the White House showed once again that they are tiptoeing the line between democracy and authoritarianism.

After a heated exchange between Trump and CNN’s Jim Acosta, a White House aide was ordered to take away Acosta’s microphone and the White House announced it had revoked the reporter’s credentials.

As a justification, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders put forward that Acosta had assaulted the mentioned aide.

Seeing as no charges had been brought against Acosta for assault, the White House’s move would have been a questionable even if the allegations were true. But it was soon revealed that the footage of the incident Sanders posted on her account had been doctored to make Acosta seem more

There are several layers to what happened.

First, Acosta was doing his job. While President Trump has personal beef with CNN for whatever reason, Acosta is allowed to ask these questions regardless of which newspaper he’s representing. As Frank LaMonte, director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, puts it, “The government cannot take away even a purely discretionary privilege if the motive is to penalize speech.” Who would have thought

that infringing on a reporter’s freedom of speech is unconstitutional?

The more concerning aspect of this story is Sanders’ use of doctored footage to lie to the American people. The video she shared has clearly been sped up to portray a defensive movement by Acosta as something more, lamenting that he had been violent toward someone from the White House staff. Altering this footage and using it as a tool of propaganda is a concerning step the government has taken to mislead the American people. As someone who strongly believes that having the government accurately represent facts is paramount for a democracy, this is completely frightening.

Trump has crossed the line. According to a 1977 case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the White House seems to have violated Acosta’s first amendment rights by not giving him proper notice of the revoking of his credentials and not giving him the chance to formally rebut them. Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, told The Atlantic, “Once the government creates the kind of forum

that it has created, like the White House briefing room, it can’t selectively include or exclude people on the basis of ideology or viewpoint.”

The United States now has a president with no regard for legal precedent, especially when it comes to the U.S. constitution, an alarming reality just halfway through Trump’s first mandate.

Trump’s attacks on a free press are not new; they have become the norm. But his administration has crossed the line in punishing a journalist for asking questions and doing his job. By cutting Acosta’s access and altering video footage to justify it, Trump and his aides are inching dangerously close to authoritarianism by chipping away at a crucial component of democracy: a free and independent press.

by decades? Fisk Hall, built in 1899, became Medill’s home in 1954, 33 years after the school opened. The neighboring McCormick Foundation Center has housed Medill’s modern broadcast and multimedia facilities since it opened in 2002. But Fisk remains frozen in time compared to Medill’s state-of-the-art campuses in Chicago, San Francisco and Doha, Qatar.

NU Facilities Management’s 2004 “Southeast Campus Plan” called for the demolition of Locy Hall (which opened in 1928) by the end of 2009. No mention was made of Fisk. But the University fully renovated

then-63-year-old Kresge Hall in 2016. Why does NU ignore Fisk while spending over $500 million on new structures like the Kellogg Global Hub, the Ryan Center for the Musical Arts, the Segal Visitors Center and the Ryan Fieldhouse and Walter Athletics Center. If NU can spend $270 million on a lavish new facility for student-athletes, how about allocating funds to update a building for student journalists. Is that asking too much?

Perhaps NU alums will spur some action.

The University of North Carolina received a $10 million grant to build a state of the art

facility for its School of Media and Journalism. It was donated by UNC alum Don Curtis, CEO of Curtis Media Group, which owns 62 radio stations across that state. Why can’t Wildcat alums match the Tar Heels’ generosity?

Former Medill dean Brad Hamm sought funding for a renovation of Fisk before stepping down. I hope Whitaker succeeds in fulfilling that initiative to prevent this aging relic from becoming Fisk Hell. A world class J-school needs a world class home.

“

President Trump’s attacks on a free press are not new; they have become the norm. But his administration has crossed the line.

Marcus Thuillier is a first-year graduate student.

He can be contacted at marcusthuillier2019@u. northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Fisk Hall must be renovated to provide a fitting journalism hub

As a Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications alum, I applaud interim dean Charles Whitaker’s goal to make the school’s curriculum meet the needs of today’s changing media landscape.

But how can students learn 21st century journalism skills in a 19th century building that predates Chicago journalism’s “Front Page era”

— Dick Reif, MSJ ’64

The Daily Northwestern Volume 139, Issue 33 Editor in Chief Nora Shelly

Managing Editors

Troy Closson Jonah Dylan

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR may be sent to 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, via fax at 847-491-9905, via e-mail to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com or by dropping a letter in the box outside The Daily office.

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 5

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

Prof warns Sessions firing could repeat Nixon history

By JOSHUA IRVINE

the daily northwestern @maybejoshirvine

The removal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions may be setting the United States up for a repeat of the Watergate-era “Saturday Night Massacre,” according to a Northwestern lecturer.

Michael Conway (Medill ’68), an adjunct instructor at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, served as counsel to the House Judiciary during the Watergate scandal. Conway says the nature of Sessions’ departure will set in motion a chain of events akin to what followed the 1973 resignation of Attorney General Elliot Richardson, who refused President Richard Nixon’s attempt to fire Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. Conway said Sessions’ resignation is similar to events that began the 1973 “Saturday Night Massacre,” where a succession of attorneys general resigned in response to Nixon’s order that they fire Cox. “The difference is it’s not gonna be one dramatic event like it was when Nixon gave the orders to fire the special prosecutor,” Conway said.

Richardson — who resigned after Nixon ordered him to fire Cox — was replaced by Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus, who

also resigned after receiving the same order from Nixon, Conway said.

Solicitor General Robert Bork ultimately complied with Nixon’s request to fire Cox, but the uproar over the event resulted in a new special prosecutor being appointed days later and is widely viewed as a factor in Nixon’s eventual resignation.

Through an undated letter, Sessions resigned last week at the request of President Donald Trump, who immediately named Sessions’ aide Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general.

Conway suggested Whitaker could interfere with the Mueller investigation in a number of ways, including cutting the special counsel’s budget, limiting the scope of the inquiry, barring Mueller from contacting certain individuals tied to the White House or Trump, or blocking the public release of Mueller’s findings.

Whitaker has been a vocal critic of the Mueller investigation, suggesting in an Aug. 2017 CNN op-ed that the investigation was at risk of becoming a “witch hunt.”

Conway said Whitaker may be able to take action to restrict the Mueller investigation without the knowledge of the public or Congress.

“There are a number of constraints that Whitaker can put on Mueller, but they’ll be behind closed doors,” Conway said.

However, Conway said certain actions by Whitaker could propel legislative action against

Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS

Jeff Sessions resigned last week, which opened up concerns about the investigation into Russian election interference. Michael Conway, a Medill professor who served as counsel to the House Judiciary during the Watergate scandal, drew comparisons to President Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre.”

President Trump. For example, Conway said, if the House of Representatives requests Mueller’s report and is blocked by Whitaker, the House — soon under control of the Democrats — would have grounds to issue subpoenas and begin an

impeachment inquiry.

“We’ll simply have to wait and see,” Conway said. “It’s another twist and turn in the road.” joshuairvine2022@u.northwestern.edu

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On Sunday, three-star quarterback Aidan Atkinson announced his commitment to Northwestern, its first commit in the Class of 2020.

Atkinson, a junior from Fairview High School in Colorado, also had offers from Boise State, Colorado, Ole Miss and South Carolina, but ultimately chose the Wildcats.

In a post on Twitter, Atkinson acknowledged his coaches, teammates, family and friends for supporting him in the process. He also thanked coach Pat Fitzgerald and offensive coordinator Mick McCall for recruiting him.

“Their success as a football program, eight of the past 10 years going to a bowl game and just as of last night winning the Big Ten West,” Atkinson said of his reason for choosing NU in an interview with CHSAA Now. “Being only 25-30 minutes away from Chicago, a top 5 U.S city is something a lot of schools don’t have.”

According to 247 Sports, Atkinson is the 16thranked quarterback in the class and is the fifthbest prospect in his state. Atkinson is the highestrated quarterback prospect that NU has landed out of high school since Clayton Thorson in 2014.

As a junior, despite missing two games, Atkinson put up big numbers for Fairview completing 62.5 percent of his passes for 3,952 yards over 50 touchdowns — the record for most in a single season. In addition, he protected the ball, throwing just seven interceptions. For his career, he has thrown for 7,357 yards and 78 touchdowns.

When Atkinson arrives on campus, the quarterback room will be full of talent. The Cats were able to convince former five-star signal-caller Hunter Johnson to come to Evanston last year. In addition, NU landed three-star quarterback Jason Whitaker in the Class of 2018, but so far, Fitzgerald has not signed a quarterback in this year’s class.

— Andrew Golden

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Daily file photo by Noah Frick-Alofs

Northwestern players during the playing of the National Anthem before Saturday’s game against Iowa. The Wildcats won 14-10.

6 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

OBAMA

From page 1 me out of my comfort zone. Now I realize that is a rare thing; it’s a luxury for us to have the ability to move out of our comfort zone.”

Many of the students — who had been given excerpts of Obama’s book — said they related to Obama and that they saw their own stories and insecurities reflected in her work. They spoke about the welcoming nature of Whitney Young and how they are concerned they won’t find a similar environment in college.

Some students mentioned how they have felt discouraged because of their backgrounds, and that they worry about telling their own stories and having to educate others on issues of diversity and disparity.

In her book, Obama writes that when she went to college at Princeton, she felt that the “burden of assimilation is put largely on the shoulders of minority students.”

“This is doable, of course — minority and underprivileged students rise to the challenge all the time — but it takes energy,” Obama writes.

“It takes energy to be the only black person in a lecture hall or one of a few non-white people trying out for a play or joining an intramural team.

It requires effort, an extra level of confidence, to

speak in those settings and own your presence in the room.”

A handful of students currently in the process of applying to college shared fears about not being able to measure up in applications. Others, they said, have access to SAT and ACT tutoring and can pad their resumes with impressive extracurriculars because they don’t have to work a job after school.

Obama acknowledged that even today, people are often measured by their “stats, and not their story” — especially with policies like legacy admissions that can favor candidates from more privileged backgrounds.

“You think there are certain voices that are more important than others. They look a certain way, they have a certain title,” she said. “As you grow up, you’ll understand how arbitrary stats are … and you’ll start to see, just because you’re sitting with the title, doesn’t mean that you actually know anything.”

Her core message to students was straightforward: Everyone has a story worth sharing, even if it doesn’t seem to “fit” with the mainstream narrative. “(Your) story, with all the highs and lows and what seems so ordinary and what seems like nothing to you, is your power,” Obama said. “That is your gift.” karisch@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Colin Boyle

Ald. Melissa Wynne (3rd) at a City Council meeting. Aldermen discussed on Monday how to reduce cuts, provide Vital Record services and keep from burdening residents with tax and fee increases.

COUNCIL From page 1

Kristina Karisch/Daily Senior Staffer

Former first lady Michelle Obama hugs a student at Whitney Young Magnet High School. Obama visited her alma mater Monday in advance of her book tour.

New waste management plan aims to divert NU waste from landfills

Northwestern launched last week its first Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan, a 60-page document that outlines strategies for a greener

approach to waste management.

The plan, which was announced less than a month after the University won the Illinois Sustainability Award, outlines a goal of diverting 50 percent of campus waste from landfills by 2020.

This is one of many objectives outlined in the Strategic Sustainability Plan, according to a Friday news release.

A 2017 waste audit of the University — a study

program and made it more accessible.

At the Administration and Public Works Committee meeting, aldermen expressed some qualms about increasing charges on residents for street sweeping violations, discussed adding parking enforcement officers and a transportation network company tax.

The fine for street sweeping violations — which council approved for introduction with Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th) voting no at committee — would increase from $35 to $75. Rue Simmons said she is worried that the increased fine will unfairly harm low-income residents.

But according to city documents, the fine increase would be accompanied by eliminating towing, so that would reduce “financial hardship and inconvenience.” Assistant city manager Erika Storlie said the changes would add about $350,000 to the city’s revenue, which is of how much and what types of waste are being produced — found that 70 percent of waste going to landfills could be avoided, recycled or composted, according to the release.

A 30 percent increase in the capture of recoverable waste would raise the effective diversion rate to 50 percent, according to the plan. By expanding the compost and recycling programs and improving waste reduction education, NU’s diversion rate

not currently reflected in the budget proposal.

Ald. Tom Suffredin (6th) also amended the transportation network company tax — a 20-cent tax on rides from companies like Uber and Lyft — so that the tax on individual rides increased to 45 cents, the tax on shared rides remained 20 cents and the tax on rides for those with disabilities was eliminated.

City documents show this amendment could bring in $280,000.

Suffredin said increasing fees on taxes and parking meters will leave residents feeling less “nickel and dimed” than increasing fines on items like parking tickets.

“While the increased revenue from the new parking enforcement officers is probably legitimate and welcomed,” Suffredin said, “we’re probably better off just increasing things upfront and people know what they’re getting into rather than having them feel the enforcement is arbitrary and upsetting.” samanthahandler2021@u.northwestern.edu could eventually be raised to 67 percent.

“By learning specifically what is in our waste stream, we now have the information needed to improve education, inform waste reduction and reuse efforts and expand recycling opportunities,” Julie Cahillane, Northwestern’s sustainability associate director, said in the release.

— Cameron Cook

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Large 3 Bedroom Furnished Apartments On Campus SHERMAN & EMERSON 1901 Sherman Ave Available September 2019 Hardwood Floors, Ceiling Fans Appliances, Heat, Hot Water FREE Large Storage Units Bike Room, Intercom $2,695 Laundry Room Cable Ready Open House Showing Thursday November 15th 4:30 - 7pm Friday November 16th 4:30 - 7pm Cagan Management 312-504-6499 bbernsen@rcn.com

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DAILY CROSSWORD Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 1 Source of spumante wine 5 Mr. __: Former name of a Dr Pepper rival 9 Light model wood 14 Bore false witness 15 Et __: and others 16 Provo native 17 Beige look-alike 18 *Safari head protector 20 Superficial, as beauty 22 Make possible 23 Negative connector 24 Packers quarterback Rodgers 26 *Traditional farm equine 29 Nervous twitches 33 Vein discovery 34 ... Venus, __, Mars ...

35 Like sea battles 36 Column slant: Abbr.

37 Overseas business abbr.

38 Sheep’s call 40 Sister Sledge’s “We __ Family” 41 Corp. bigwigs 43 Nike alternative 45 __ showing: theater info 46 Textile mill worker 47 *Baked pork cut that sounds perfect for a blanket in the park 49 Whirlpool brand 51 Wee bit 52 Ship’s chart 55 Air, mostly 60 *Lever for manual water extraction 62 Intricate garden feature 63 Medieval suit 64 Backtalk 65 Prickly husks 66 Nary a soul 67 London rental 68 Blind part DOWN 1 Brewpub pints 2 Under the weather

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

11/13/18

By Mark McClain

3 Hatcher with a recurring role in TV’s “Supergirl” 4 [Shrug] 5 *Kid’s homemade topper 6 Nastase of tennis 7 Minor role 8 Scrooge’s “Dang!”

9 Good, in Guatemala 10 Hawks’ home 11 Ewe kid 12 “A Light in the Attic” poet Silverstein 13 Penny-__: unimportant 19 Roll call answer 21 Woodworking rods 25 Rubbish container 26 Stockholder’s agent 27 Protective embankment 28 Install, as a cleric 30 Eric Trump’s mom 31 Off-the-cushion pool shot

Monday’s Puzzle Solved

©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

32 Large quantity 33 Pundit’s piece 35 Daytona 500 org.

39 Ordeal ... and a hint to the initials of the answers to starred clues 42 Ice-climber’s boot attachment 44 Tabloid fodder 47 One of the Three Bears 48 Cold War threats

11/13/18

50 Skiing champ Phil or Steve 52 Cross over 53 Tipperary tip jar coin 54 Hunter’s need 56 Victor’s wife in “Casablanca” 57 Ancient France 58 Poet Pound 59 Branch home 61 Bad check letters

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 7

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2018

REFUSIONSHAKA

Over the weekend, dance groups Refresh Dance Crew, Fusion Dance Company, and Boomshaka performed at their eighth annual ReFusionShaka show in Cahn Auditorium.

Students sat shoulder to shoulder on both

nights, and at the final show, the groups announced that they had sold out the auditorium for both shows on Saturday.

Brian Meng/Daily Senior Staffer

Picture yourself

AMONG THE GREATS

CLASS OF 1996 NU SYLLABUS YEARBOOK

PHOTOGRAPHERS WILL BE IN NORRIS FOR A LIMITED TIME. Several poses will be taken – in your own clothes and with cap and gown. Your choice will be available for purchase. All senior portraits must be taken by Life Touch Photography. $10 sitting fee required.

SIGN UP FOR YOUR SENIOR YEARBOOK PORTRAIT DON'T GET LEFT OUT! SCHEDULE YOUR PORTRAIT Thurs. Nov. 1 through Sunday, November 18 @ NORRIS Sign up at: www.OurYear.com NU Code: 87150 Walk-ins welcome (but appointments have priority). questions? email: syllabus@northwestern.edu or go to: www.NUsyllabus.com

SPORTS

ON DECK NOV.

14

ON THE RECORD

The teams that keep improving at the end are the ones that are going to be winning.

— Nia Robinson, outside hitter

Women’s Volleyball No. 4 Illinois at NU, 7 p.m. Wednesday

@DailyNU_Sports

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Vic Law lifts sloppy Northwestern past American American

By BEN POPE

daily senior staffer @benpope111

Katie Pach/Daily Senior Staffer

Vic Law dunks during the first half of Monday’s game against American.

The brand-new Welsh-Ryan Arena was half empty and Northwestern played at times just as sleepily, shooting a mere 36 percent from the field, but solid performances from two key senior leaders carried the hosts to victory nonetheless.

Senior forward Vic Law tallied 26 points, tied for second-most in his long college career, and senior center Dererk Pardon pulled down 18 rebounds, easily the second-most of his career, as the Wildcats (2-0) slipped past American in an ugly 63-51 victory Monday night.

“It was not going well for us from a shooting standpoint, to say the least,” coach Chris Collins said.“We were getting the ball exactly where we wanted to get it, wide open shots, getting it to Pardon multiple times at the basket. It was just one of those nights where we felt like there was a lid on the basket.”

NU trailed throughout much of a foul-laden first half while the visiting Eagles (1-1) benefited from some fortunate bounces, yet a strong closing stretch gave the Cats a 38-31 edge at the break.

But the team’s shooting woes worsened even further in the second half, with only

51

Northwestern

63

three of their first 18 shot attempts in the frame falling, and American rallied back to tie the game with 11 minutes left.

After a long scoring drought, however, a 13-2 run knocked the upset risk out of DEFCON 1 level and NU played with a comfortable lead for the closing minutes. The team ultimately conceded only 20 points in the second half — another impressive defensive showing on the heels of last Thursday’s 82-52 season-opening win over New Orleans.

“We just dug down deep and pulled it out,” Pardon said. “We knew with their offense that we had to be disciplined and solid, so we just had to lock in and get stops and that’s what we did. If we hold anyone to 51 points, then we’re going to be good.”

Law and sophomore guard Anthony Gaines closely followed Sa’eed Nelson throughout the night and held the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year to just 10 points on 3-of-14 shooting. On the other side of the box score, Pardon and graduate guard Ryan

MEN’S BAKSETBALL

Taylor both got to double digits after a high number of shots — 5-for-14 for 13 points for Pardon and 3-for-9 for 10 points for Taylor — and freshman guard Ryan Greer scored his first career points in a surprisingly plentiful 24 minutes.

Nevertheless, it was Law who dominated the night, going 9-for-19 from the floor in addition to six rebounds. “(Last year, Vic) could not put a complete game together. I thought he did that tonight,” Collins said. “He came out early and set the tone for us, I think he had 16 at half, and then when we really needed it late, had a big play on a pullup jumper, had some really nice drives, (and) played terrific defense all night.”

Collins said he was most proud of the team for not letting their offensive struggles affect its psyche and lead to mistakes on the defensive end.

With one more game before NU heads to the Wooden Legacy tournament in California next week, the coach emphasized a big-picture outlook when assessing Monday’s pedestrian performance.

“At the end of the season, no one is going to ask us how pretty or ugly the game was against American,” Collins said. “It’s, ‘Did you win or did you lose?’” benjaminpope2019@u.northwestern.edu

VOLLEYBALL

Pardon adjusting to new system Wildcats split opening

By CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

daily senior staffer @2021_charlie

After Dererk Pardon missed ten ugly, contested shots against American, coach Chris Collins argued that the senior center helped win the game for the Wildcats with his offense.

Pardon struggled to get scoring chances throughout the season-opening win against New Orleans, and previously Collins stressed that Pardon was an “elite” big man who would be more of a focal point against the Eagles.

Pardon finished the 63-51 win over American on Monday with just 13 points — none of them assisted — and all of his chances were created by offensive rebounds or came from isolations in the post.

Pardon shot 62 percent from the field last year on mostly a diet of dunks, layups and post moves, and at first glance he’s struggled so far adjusting to his expanded offensive role.

“I just can’t shoot 2 percent from the field,” Pardon said.

His shooting percentage wasn’t actually that poor, but Pardon now has had two underwhelming offensive performances, scoring 26 points on 19 shots.

Instead of looking to Pardon in the paint early against the undersized Eagles in the opening minutes, the Cats took 11 midrange or three-point shots of their first 12. Pardon only took one shot before the under-12 timeout, a wideopen three pointer from the right wing that clanged off the back of the rim.

With three minutes left in the first half and at a point where the offense was struggling from the field, Collins called three consecutive post-ups for Pardon and let him go to work from around seven feet from the basket. After not getting a shot in the paint for the first 17 minutes, Pardon missed or passed up all three chances, and the Wildcats finished the half shooting just 40 percent from the field.

Even though he finally was getting the ball late in the first half, Pardon wasn’t getting any help from his teammates in making the shots he was taking any easier. His only basket in the first half was a putback layup, and eight of his

Alison Albelda/Daily Senior Staffer

Dererk Pardon calls for the ball. The senior center has struggled converting his chances in the paint this season.

13 points came off put-back attempts.

“We’ve got to feed him, feed the monster,” senior forward Vic Law said. “I think Dererk does a good job working down there, getting to his move and his spots.

So if he’s open, we’ve got to give it to him.”

To put Pardon in a better position to receive post-ups in the second half, Collins played freshman point guard Ryan Greer fifteen minutes in the second half.

Last year, Bryant McIntosh developed impressive chemistry with Pardon and consistently found him for dunks and layups off the drive, and Greer was in to thread that needle.

Even though Pardon shot 36 percent from the field, Collins approved of his shot selection.

“He had the ball at the rim 12 times,” Collins said. “To me, that’s pretty good efficiency, and he just has to finish those plays. Had he been finishing, you’d be talking about a 28-18 game.”

While Pardon only made two of his six post-ups in the second half, he slammed two put-back dunks, including one to virtually end the game by extending NU’s lead to 11 with four minutes left. Even though he was struggling from the field, Pardon finished the game with a team high eight offensive rebounds and four assists.

And according to Collins, he had as productive an offensive game as possible for a big man who shot so poorly from the field.

“Did you not think he had the ball right at the basket about 15 times?” Collins said “I thought (Law) and (Pardon), as our senior leaders, as our most veteran guys, I thought they rallied the charge tonight with their tone, their leadership and obviously their production.” charliegoldsmith2021@u.northwestern.edu

games at Welsh-Ryan No. 7 Penn State

By CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

daily senior staffer @2021_charlie

While coach Shane Davis said he tells his players to approach the biggest points of a set as aggressively as the rest, freshman Michelle Lee and sophomore Nia Robinson said they could not disagree more.

After losing 3-0 to Penn State (20-5, 11-4 Big Ten) on Friday in the team’s opener at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern (15-13, 5-11) took a 2-1 set lead Saturday against Rutgers (6-23, 0-16)and secured the 3-1 win with one of the Wildcats’ best sets of the season.

And a big reason for it was Robinson’s clutch performance — three kills in the final eight points.

“Personally, the (end) is my favorite part of the game,” Robinson said. “Because you’re going to take the (win). Even if it’s tight, you just feel that excitement and that energy. It’s just so much fun.”

After having a chance to win the match in the third set with the score tied at 20, NU had an unforced error and a missed serve before eventually losing the set 25-21. After that, according to Lee, the Cats started putting Robinson in a better position to finish points with kills and showed more energy than they had before.

The team had a .281 hitting percentage in the fourth set and had 12 kills to put the match away. Robinson led the team with 15 overall kills, and freshman Abryanna Cannon added 13.

“We started taking some chances on some of their attackers and running some traps,” Davis said about the Cats’

3

Northwestern

0

Rutgers

1

Northwestern

3

improved fourth set. “We were kind of doing that all match, but we weren’t doing it that well. We just got in a position where we were executing better.”

NU won the fourth set 25-14 and improved to 11th place in the Big Ten with four games remaining.

Against the No. 7 Nittany Lions on Friday, the Cats played three competitive sets but lost them by a combined 15 points. Robinson finished with a teamhigh 12 kills, but five Penn State players had five or more.

With a matchup against second-place Illinois on Wednesday, Robinson said the team’s feeling pressure to play their best volleyball in the stretch run of the season. Robinson said she is hopeful that the team continues to have a sense of urgency for the rest of the season.

“The teams that keep improving at the end are the ones that are going to be winning,” she said. “And we are climbing a mountain so fast and increasing that no one’s going to be able to touch us.” charliegoldsmith2021@u.northwestern. edu