The Daily Northwestern Monday, November 20, 2017
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 12 SPORTS/Football
3 CAMPUS/Student Groups
NU routs Minnesota in difficult conditions
NAISA, NU community remembers Sand Creek Massacre over weekend
Find us online @thedailynu 4 OPINION/Letter to the Editor
Students need to stop stealing from Nevin’s
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Alumnus’ suicide spurs federal law U.S. Senate passes act, gives protection for whistleblowers By ALAN PEREZ
daily senior staffer @_perezalan_
During a regular day of work at a Veterans Affairs hospital, Chris Kirkpatrick (SPS ’99) bragged of his dog training abilities. But when he issued a command, his dog would not obey. This was just one illustration of the humor Kirkpatrick brought to the workplace, said Lin Ellinghuysen, his union representative. “He could take a joke,” she said. “He was very light-hearted. But he took his career, what he was doing, very seriously.” Kirkpatrick took his own life after he was ousted from his position in 2009 at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Tomah Medical Center in Wisconsin, according to a police report. Before leaving, he had raised concerns about the overmedication of opiates, namely that it made patients inattentive and therefore untreatable during therapy sessions. Last month, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Dr. Christopher Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 to provide more safety for whistleblowers in government agencies. The act, introduced by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), seeks to send a “strong message that federal
whistleblowers like Chris deserve protection.” “Chris Kirkpatrick did the right and honorable thing when he raised concerns about the overprescription of opioids to veterans,” Johnson said in a October news release. “Today we are sending a strong message that … attempts to intimidate or silence whistleblowers are unlawful.” At Northwestern, Kirkpatrick earned a degree in clinical psychology to pursue his long-desired goal of counseling veterans and working toward a license to practice. It was a “natural progression,” his sister Katy Kirkpatrick said, because he loved people and wanted to serve others. “To finally reach a goal that you’ve been working toward for quite some, (he was) very elated,” she said. “We were all very, very proud of him.” Chris Kirkpatrick also loved animals growing up and was a natural caretaker, his sister said, noting his deep affection for his dog, Kali. At the Tomah Center, patients affectionately referred to Chris Kirkpatrick as “Dr. K,” Katy Kirkpatrick said. Even during his termination hearing, supervisors praised his clinical professional skills, according to Ellinghuysen’s notes from the hearing. The reasons for his termination were insubstantial, Ellinghuysen said. The termination notice cited timekeeping errors, due in part to
Robbie White scans the field. The junior goalkeeper came out publicly in October and is recognized as the first known men’s soccer player from a Power Five conference to come out during his college career.
» See KIRKPATRICK, page 3
» See WHITE, page 7
Kate Salvidio/The Daily Northwestern
White makes history coming out By ELLA BROCKWAY
the daily northwestern @ellabrockway
Robbie White went to his first Engage meeting with a plan to sit in the back and just listen. It was February 2017. White, then a redshirt freshman goalkeeper on the Northwestern men’s soccer team, had played in two games during the 2016 season and was in the midst of grueling rehab for a broken foot. He had heard about Engage, a program launched in 2014 by
Northwestern Athletics to give student-athletes a space to learn about building inclusivity in the athletics community, and decided to check it out. He entered the room and saw a circle of 20 chairs, with no option to sit quietly in the back. So he took a chance and sat down, striking up a conversation with his academic adviser and another student-athlete. Taking a seat in the circle was another step on his journey, one that had taken him from the fields of Glenbard West High School and the Chicago
Fire Academy club program to a starting position between the posts for a Big Ten program. It was a journey that would eventually include a defining moment in the locker room after NU’s final spring practice in May. His best friend, fellow junior goalkeeper Braden Thuraisingham, walked out of the locker room as White was on his way in, and told him the whole team was in the room. Thuraisingham was the first person at NU that White had told what he was about to share with the rest of the team. White was hesitant at first, but
he too knew that this was the best opportunity he’d have until the fall. So he walked in. “Hey, I’ve got an announcement.” The room went quiet. “I’m gay,” he said. “Carry on with your day.” White wasn’t expecting much of a reaction. There was a twosecond pause. And then there were cheers. “Literally, it was like a scene from a movie,” Thuraisingham said. “(There was)
EPL social worker talks resources Locals look to add Justine Janis seeks to provide expanded services for patrons, staff
Following Albion approval, leaders seek stricter rules
By KRISTINA KARISCH
daily senior staffer @kristinakarisch
When Justine Janis was applying for jobs in the Chicago area, she learned of an Evanston-based social worker position. Despite not knowing where exactly she would be based, she was intrigued. Janis — who holds a master’s degree in social work — had previously worked with veterans as a psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery fellow and at Thresholds, a rehabilitation center in Chicago. But she said she prefers helping community members in their everyday lives, outside hospitals and clinics. “I really value community work, that’s what my training has been in,” Janis said. “It’s really important to see people in different settings, (and) I don’t really like to be in an office.” Her wish to work directly with the community came true in February, when she became the first full-time social
affordable housing By RYAN WANGMAN
daily senior staffer @ryanwangman
Oreste Visentini/The Daily Northwestern
Justine Janis, the Evanston Public Library social worker. Janis said she hopes her position in the library helps break down barriers traditionally associated with seeking assistance.
worker at the Evanston Public Library. Since starting her job, Janis said, she has formed relationships with both library patrons and staff members, assisting them with outreach
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
and programming. “The staff and the patrons depend upon her,” EPL director Karen Danczak Lyons said. “If they’re having a good day, they’re happy to be here, and if
they’re having a bad day, they know they can talk to her and it’s really comforting to them.” EPL board president » See JANIS, page 6
Local affordable housing community leaders said though City Council approved a new 15-story Sherman Avenue apartment tower, developments should be required to meet a minimum number of housing units without exceptions. Aldermen voted 5-4 to approve construction of the Albion Residential building at the Nov. 13 City Council meeting, in a contentious decision that some say could set a new precedent for development in downtown Evanston. Within the first half of next year, developers aim to break ground on the tower, which will include 15 units of affordable housing out of
the total 273 units. According to city documents, nine units will be priced between 50 to 60 percent of the area median income and the other six will be priced at 80 percent AMI. To comply with the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, developers have four options: make 10 percent of their total units affordable, give a fee-inlieu payment, suggest an alternative equivalent proposal or petition for a reduction of the requirements. Sue Loellbach, director of development at Connections for the Homeless — a nonprofit that works to help people achieve stable housing — said a plan for 15 affordable units isn’t ideal: The number was lower than the roughly 27 units that would have been created had Albion chosen the “10 percent” option. However, she said, there was “no way” Albion’s original proposal of a $2.9 million fee-in-lieu payment and two on-site » See ALBION, page 6
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