The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, November 20, 2018
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12 SPORTS/Men’s Basketball
How NU ended up in the Wooden Legacy
High 32 Low 29
PAGES 5-8
NU outpaces Illinois for in-state recruits
NSFP focuses on inclusiveness University updates programming for first-year students By CAMERON COOK
the daily northwestern @cam_e_cook
Yasmine Diara is a seasoned Peer Adviser — 2018 was her third year leading activities during Wildcat Welcome, facilitating discussions and giving first-years much needed advice. This year, though, the Weinberg senior got to do the same things with other PAs as well. These extra sessions, called affinity groups, allowed students of color and students who identify as LGBTQ+ to connect outside the normal rush of PA training. Eager to try something new, Diara volunteered to facilitate the affinity group for black PAs. “Honestly, it felt natural,” Diara said. “It was so nice to be in a space where everyone understands you.” The affinity groups helped make a hard job more enjoyable, Diara said. Being a PA comes with a lot of difficulties, she said, but “being a black PA, a lot of
those things are amplified.” As colleges have become more diverse, administrators have struggled as students from these backgrounds have pushed them to focus more on creating an inclusive environment. PA affinity groups are one of many ways New Student and Family Programs and Multicultural Student Affairs have been trying to present NU as a more welcoming environment to students of color this year, said NSFP Director Patricia Hilkert. “When the Black Student (Experience) Report came out two or three years ago, that kind of did get us thinking ‘What more can we be doing?’” Hilkert said. “This is a continuation of that, how can we keep it going and try to make Northwestern be a friendly and welcoming place for everybody?” The report, published in 2016, recommended the University adopt long-term goals like increasing the number of black students, faculty and staff at NU, to creating more spaces for black student organizations. “I think it’s really important that everybody feels welcome when they come to campus,” » See INCLUSION, page 10
Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer
Evanston Police investigate at the First United Methodist Church at 516 Church St.
Woman found dead near church Body found Monday, thought to have been there for up to 24 hours By KRISTINA KARISCH
daily senior staffer @kristinakarisch
A person was found dead in an alcove outside of the First United Methodist Church in
downtown Evanston on Monday in what is being investigated as a homicide. Evanston Police Department officers responded to a call shortly before noon reporting there was a person in an alcove on the Hinman
Street side of the First United Methodist Church, 516 Church St. Police came to investigate at the church, and discovered a person who appeared to be deceased, said Evanston Police Cmdr. Ryan Glew.
Evanston police have not given a description of the individual. In an email to students, University Police Chief Bruce Lewis said police found an unresponsive woman with » See DEATH, page 10
Evanston records requests skyrocket NU stays mum FOIA requests reach new high for 2017, city clerk’s office says By SNEHA DEY
the daily northwestern @snehadey_
The number of Freedom of Information Act requests made in Evanston reached a record high of 1,300 this year. This follows a steady growth of requests since 2016, according to information from the city clerk’s office. An October report said the city received 759 requests in 2016 and 924 requests in 2017. Almost half of those requests go to the Evanston Police Department, but the information technology department has seen the most drastic increase in requests, city clerk Devon Reid said.
Former NU student faces assault charges
Former Northwestern student Nicholas Nelson, 22, faces three charges of felony sexual assault and battery. Nelson, a former McCormick junior, was attending a party on the night of Feb. 3 and going into Feb. 4, according to Evanston Police Cmdr. Ryan
Reid said the increase in FOIA requests has partly to do with his focus on expanding access to city records. “More residents are generally aware of FOIA as a tool for holding the government accountable,” he said. “I’ve had some disagreements since being in office with the law department … There are have been instances where I’ve said, no we need to disclose this.” Resident and former interim deputy city clerk Bobby Burns said recent high profile cases in Chicago — in which key evidence was revealed through FOIA usage — could have contributed to the increase of requests in Evanston. For example, he said, the video released of Laquan McDonald’s shooting led to the conviction of
police officer Jason Van Dyke. Burns has filed 10 FOIA requests himself, all within the past two years. He recently filed a FOIA request regarding the
public record services in Evanston. “I’m very concerned about a decision that was made to keep
Glew. A female Northwestern student who was attending the same party who said she had been friends with Nelson for “several years,” told police Nelson sexually assaulted her at the party. She filed a Title IX report with the University, Glew said, and made statements during the proceedings that substantiated the filing of criminal sexual assault charges. The University said in a statement that Nelson was expelled after the
University’s Office of Equity investigated the incident and the matter was adjudicated through the student conduct process. Glew said the woman remembers being attacked and choked by Nelson. Her injuries were consistent with assault and strangulation, Glew said. Following the Title IX report, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office initially did not find probable cause for
assault. But police continued the investigation, Glew said, and eventually arrested Nelson on Oct. 31, when the charges were filed. According to Patch.com, civil proceedings resulted in his expulsion from the University and prosecutors approved the felony charges. Nelson is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 20, Glew said, and will most likely be brought before a grand jury.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
on Harvard trial Trial could affect Affirmative Action rules at colleges By ALAN PEREZ
daily senior staffer @_perezalan_
Colin Boyle/Daily Senior Staffer
City clerk Devon Reid speaks. Reid said the number of Freedom of Information Act requests made in Evanston reached a record high of 1,300.
» See FOIA, page 10
— Kristina Karisch
As treasured secrets of Harvard’s undergraduate admissions process were forcefully spilled in the lead up to the high-profile trial against the university, colleges began to quiver. It was the first time the public saw documents that granted a look into how exactly the country’s most coveted college accepted its students. Now, Harvard’s practices have been laid bare for pundits and politicians to seize and proclaim prejudice. Universities that had committed to diversifying their student bodies — many of them among the most elite in the country — were facing an expanded likelihood that their admissions practices would be scrutinized, especially after the Justice Department launched a probe into Harvard and Yale in the last two years. Amid mounting political pressure, 16 schools signed an amicus brief in defense of Harvard this July, and spoke broadly in support of Affirmative Action policies. Besides the University of
Chicago, Northwestern was the only top-10 university in U.S. News’ 2018 rankings that did not sign onto the brief. The absence of Northwestern — which continues to climb in national prestige — was noteworthy. Much of the higher education community has viewed Harvard’s lawsuit and the probes by the Justice Department as yet another political attack against their field. Perhaps more importantly, they see the suit as a referendum on Affirmative Action. “I know how hard the admissions office works to review applicants from a holistic perspective,” Provost Jonathan Holloway said in an email of Yale, where he served as a dean. “I am concerned that their diligence will be mischaracterized and that really good people who care deeply about creating a pool of students that represents the complexity of the world — in all manner of dimensions — will pay some type of political price.” University President Morton Schapiro has not hesitated to speak out against political attacks against universities like Northwestern. In 2016, Schapiro launched himself into the political arena when he said people who do not believe in trigger warnings are “lunatics.” He has since written op-eds in » See HARVARD, page 10
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12