The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, April 17, 2018
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OPAL defends Nichols principal Group announces support following segregation claims
By SAMANTHA HANDLER
the daily northwestern @sn_handler
The Organization for Positive Action and Leadership announced its support of the equity work at Nichols Middle School, following a piece in Crain’s Chicago Business that claimed the separation of faculty for a training session was indicative of segregation. On March 23, Peter Kirsanow — a commissioner at the United States Commission on Civil Rights — wrote a letter to Nichols principal Adrian Harries, saying Harries’ practice of separating teachers into racial affinity groups was “beyond appalling.” His letter came after the Wall Street Journal published a Nov. 14 email from Harries to staff members about a meeting on equity. The email said employees separated for the staff meeting according to affinity groups based on race, with those identifying as “white” going to one room and those identifying as “people of color” to another. Harries did not respond to a request for comment. In a Monday news release, OPAL called for Evanston/ Skokie School District 65
members to express their support of Harries, who they said is “courageously carrying out” the district’s mission of increasing equity. Board president Sunith Kartha said the board supports Harries and the “bold and brave” work he has done. “Calling what is happening with the affinity groups segregation is just a complete misunderstanding,” Kartha said. “Not just a misunderstanding, but an intentional mischaracterization of the work.” Kirsanow’s letter to Harries, while written on official government letterhead, does not reflect the views of the commission, according to an email from commission chair Catherine Lhamon obtained by The Daily. Kartha said there has been a sense that the district is in trouble with the commission, which is not the case. Kartha added that breaking up into affinity groups is part of the equity training that staff, board members and administrators in the district have undergone since the release of an equity report in May 2017. One of the recommendations from the report was to create district-wide employee affinity groups to develop a plan to address racial representation of teachers and increase the hiring of “individuals that have an equity mindset.” After exploring the issue of » See OPAL, page 6
Allie Goulding/Daily Senior Staffer
Weinberg sophomore Samantha Flood speaks Monday at the one-year memorial of Mohammed Ramzan’s death. Ramzan died last April during crew practice after falling off a nine-person shell.
Students gather to honor Ramzan
Friends hold memorial on 1-year anniversary of student’s death By CATHERINE KIM
daily senior staffer @ck_525
As a group of students gathered Monday for the one-year memorial of Mohammed Ramzan’s death, Samantha Flood fondly recalled the special bond she shared with Ramzan. “Even though we were friends for only six months …
you meet that one person in your life and you know –– you know that nobody else will compare,” the Weinberg sophomore said. Ramzan died last April during crew practice, after he fell off a nine-person shell on the North Shore Channel in Lincolnwood. About 30 people gathered in front of The Rock on Monday to share stories of how Ramzan had touched their lives. F lood said she was
“infatuated” by Ramzan when she first met him. It was inspiring to see another low-income, first-generation student diligently pursue his dreams, she said. She also admired how he showed pride in his identities as gay and Muslim. “He made me feel so empowered,” she said. “When I was with him, I felt like my life was complete and to have that taken away from me, it was really one
of the hardest things I’ve gone through.” Weinberg sophomore Abby Wolfe, who used to row with Ramzan, said she was constantly amazed by Ramzan’s optimistic attitude. The two first bonded over having asthma, she said. But unlike her negative attitude toward her condition, Ramzan was excited to row and improve » See RAMZAN, page 6
City to open first self-serve taproom D202 talks student Nevin’s owners will serve local brews, pork dishes at Midnight Pig By JULIA ESPARZA
daily senior staffer @juliaesparza10
Shortly after Tommy Nevin’s Pub closed in November, Sonas Hospitality Co. announced its plans to open a self-service taproom in an event space inside of Pete Miller’s Steak and Seafood. Though the taproom was quickly dubbed “new Nevin’s” by fans of the downtown Evanston pub, the company’s CEO Ed Carella said Midnight Pig — 1557 Sherman Ave. — is a completely different concept. The beer bar, which will feature pork dishes and beer-infused comfort food, is set to hold a soft opening Wednesday and will have its grand opening May 3. “After closing Tommy Nevin’s, we wanted to bring something back to Evanston from our brands and we wanted to be a casual beerfocused concept,” Carella said. Sona’s Hospitality Co. owns the Nevin’s chain, Pete Miller’s and the Midnight Pig taproom in Evanston, as well as their own brewery in Plainfield, Illinois. Carella added that the name of
journalism policy Board introduces changes following censorship concerns By CATHERINE HENDERSON
the daily northwestern @caity_henderson
Katie Pach/Daily Senior Staffer
The Midnight Pig, 1557 Sherman Ave. Evanston’s first taproom will open Wednesday with a Prohibitionthemed atmosphere.
the taproom is also the name of the beer brew, which the company creates itself at that brewery. It is a nod to how alcohol was transported during the Prohibition era, in so-called “pig jars,” he said. He said the tapwall will feature about 30 different locally
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
sourced beers, 12 of which are Midnight Pig brews, and that it is the first establishment of its kind in Evanston. He said patrons of the taproom will receive a card when they enter and be able to pour from 1 oz to 16 oz of beer to taste as many kinds as they would
like. The card keeps track of how much beer customers sample and charges them appropriately at the end of their visit, Carella said. While the taproom wants to invoke the same casual and » See TAPROOM, page 6
In response to student complaints about censorship, the Evanston Township High School/ District 202 board introduced policy changes to improve communication between student publications and the administration. Board members briefly discussed the proposal at their April 9 meeting. The changes would create a distinct procedure for redacting content from student newspapers to ensure students are aware of the justification behind administrative decisions, District 202 superintendent Eric Witherspoon said. “This policy will provide all of the protections of student publications that already existed,” Witherspoon said. “It won’t in any way restrict those, but it is not expanding those beyond the
statute. … We want to be as transparent as possible with our policy.” The proposal comes in response to an incident in the fall when administrators pulled an issue of ETHS student newspaper The Evanstonian within hours of publication. The paper included a two-page spread about marijuana use that administrators deemed unbalanced. Witherspoon said students approached the board with concerns about communication after the censorship. He said though the administration contacted the paper’s faculty adviser, the student editors and staff did not receive an explanation for pulling the issue. At the April 9 meeting, board member Jonathan Baum, who proposed the policy changes, praised Witherspoon for agreeing to write the procedure, saying it “cut to the heart of the problem.” He said it is essential to notify students of any restrictions on their content. “It was a good day for freedom of the press,” Baum told the Chicago Tribune after the meeting. » See POLICY, page 6
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