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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Newest class of Cats officially announced
Rohan Nadkarni/Daily Senior Staffer
NEW CATS ON THE BLOCK Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald delivers his annual Signing Day news conference. Fitzgerald welcomed 15 high school seniors who have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Wildcats.
By rohan nadkarni
daily senior staffer @Rohan_NU
Pat Fitzgerald could not help himself Wednesday. After opening his Signing Day news conference with a joke, the winningest football coach in Northwestern history just kept rolling. One reporter made the mistake of amending Fitzgerald’s favorite phrase to “stats are ‘sort of ’ for losers” during a question, tossing up a
soft lob to the confident coach. “Sort of?” Fitzgerald said. “C’mon man. The shirt doesn’t say sort of.” Fitzgerald’s flippant attitude set the theme for the rest of the conference: one of absurdity. From the coach’s philosophical musings on the Internet, his love, takedown and then subsequent re-defense of Twitter and constant criticism of the recruiting process, Fitzgerald bordered on performance art in his effort to downplay the hype surrounding National Signing Day. The coach’s entertaining style did lead to some contentious moments. During the conference, Fitzgerald noted that “systemic changes” within NU now allow him to enroll players early, or even grayshirt signees. When asked to expand on those changes, Fitzgerald retreated to his Cold War bunker. “No, (the changes) have nothing to do with (early enrollment or grayshirting), it just gives us an opportunity to do that,” Fitzgerald said. “You confused? Good. That’s code for none of your business.” Later, Fitzgerald admitted he helped sell recruits on joining the Wildcats by teasing the new oncampus athletic facility to be built near Lakeside Field. Although the recruits are told projections of when the facility will open, Fitzgerald declined to share those projections publicly. The “none of your business” attitude is an extension of Fitzgerald’s regular season, during which injuries were comically classified or at times outright hidden from the public. » See signing day, page 7
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Dunkin’ ahead of schedule By jordan harrison
the daily northwestern @MedillJordan
Construction began in late January on the new Dunkin’ Donuts franchise set to open on the ground floor of Norris University Center. The renovation of the former south counter of Frontera Fresco is tentatively scheduled to finish in the first or second week of March, said Steve Mangan, district manager for nuCuisine. Construction, which began Jan. 21, will be followed by two to three weeks of staff training before the new franchise’s scheduled opening at the beginIt’s pretty low- n i n g of Spring Quarimpact. It’s ter, Mangan an easy flip. said. It’s not a huge Norris execuundertaking tive direcin terms of the t or Ke l l y Schaefer said construction the construcwork. tion would not disrupt Kelly Schaefer, t r af f i c to Norris executive other Nordirector ris dining locations, and Norris dining hours would remain the same. “The way that we’ve got the construction cordoned off doesn’t impede any traffic,” Schaefer said. “It’s pretty low-impact. It’s an easy flip. It’s not a huge undertaking in terms of the construction work, but it’ll have a big impact for students in terms of bringing them some additional variety.” Schaefer added, however, that
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Sean Hong/Daily Senior Staffer
NORRIS RUNS ON DUNKIN The south counter of Frontera Fresco in Norris University Center is under construction to become Dunkin’ Donuts. Construction is tentatively set to finish in the first or second week of March.
there could be a few days in midFebruary when staining counters might produce a slight smell in Norris. Currently, the Dunkin’ Donuts construction is ahead of schedule, she said. Mangan said Dunkin’ Donuts will not offer espresso because of the University’s contract with Starbucks but will offer regular coffee and other breakfast items. New equipment will be installed and the workspace reorganized to turn the former Frontera dessert counter into a Dunkin’ Donuts. “We’ll have the breakfast sandwich and the lunch sandwich components, so that has to be added in,” Mangan said. “We’ve got a significant change in the flow, so the counter has to be adjusted for that.
And then we’ll have a major coffee production going on.” The hours for the new Dunkin’ Donuts still have not been set, Schaefer said. She has been conducting surveys through various campus groups, such as the Norris Center Advisory Board and Associated Student Government, to determine when the counter should be open. “We would like to know when students think that they might use the Dunkin’ Donuts,” Schaefer said, “so we are looking for input on when students think they might visit.” Schaefer said she thinks the coffee shop is a good fit for Norris. “We’re excited because it meets » See DUNKIN, page 7
City preps apprentice program 3 arrested in theft of NU lecturer’s violin By edward cox
daily senior staffer @EdwardCox16
Evanston will launch a pre-apprenticeship program to train residents for unionized construction jobs, including those on Northwestern’s campuses. In a news conference at the end of the month, the city will announce details about the program, said Joe McRae, director of parks, recreation and community services and deputy city manager. The program is the brainchild of Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, who has discussed the project with University President Morton Schapiro. The initiative dovetails with the mayor’s efforts to create more job opportunities for Evanston residents, especially youth. Contractors have observed requirements to hire certain percentages of minorities but have neglected to prioritize hiring of local residents for jobs, Tisdahl told The Daily. “These are not jobs Evanston residents are getting,” Tisdahl said. “I hope (contractors) have a policy of looking at Evanston residents first.” Construction work on NU’s Evanston campus accounts for a large proportion of new development in the city.
Although residents often have access to non-union jobs, many are shut off from more skilled union jobs. Creating a pre-apprenticeship program, advocates say, would help address the problem of underrepresentation of city residents on NU construction sites. In its experimental phase, the program will include 25 Evanston residents who will prepare for a test necessary to qualify for a union apprenticeship program. The program may grow later on, Tisdahl said. The city’s Community Engagement Division has been involved in developing the program. The city and NU’s public information offices have also collaborated on the project, McRae said. The program is the fruit of a longstanding relationship between NU and Evanston, said Kevin Brown, the city’s Youth and Young Adult Program manager. Brown said he will be spreading news of the program while McRae is responsible for how the program will run. “The city and Northwestern tries to create a pipeline for Evanston residents to qualify for union membership,” Brown said. “The way to do that is through the apprenticeship.” The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is one of the unions with contractors working on
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
construction projects at NU. IBEW Local 134 and the Electrical Contractors’ Association’s apprenticeship program is open to Cook County residents. During the apprenticeship, trainees will be paid to learn on the job and take classes, Local 134 Vice President Maurice King said. King said he is receptive to the city’s pre-apprenticeship program. The union’s apprenticeship training program provides a flow of young electricians who can replace retirees, he said. Some unions provide pre-apprenticeship programs, which are usually a year or less. The apprenticeship programs that follow can take multiple years to complete. As part of a related endeavor to increase job opportunities for residents, the city is holding an apprenticeship readiness training program overseen by the Chicago Urban League on Feb. 6 in the Morton Civic Center. In the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, NU sends representatives to hire from within the community, Brown said. “This is part of the increasing goodwill between Northwestern with Evanston and the great relationship the mayor has with the current Northwestern president,” Brown said. edwardcox2011@u.northwestern.edu
By ally mutnick
daily senior staffer @allymutnick
Three suspects were arrested in connection with the theft of a Stradivarius violin, taken from Bienen lecturer Frank Almond in Milwaukee last week, investigators announced Wednesday. The nearly 300-year-old instrument remains missing. The Milwaukee Police will seek charges against the three individuals, who were taken into custody Monday. Police are confident of the trio’s involvement in the case, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said at a news conference. The violin has not been found, but members of the Milwaukee Police and the FBI, who has been assisting in the investigation, said they have no reason to believe it has left the Milwaukee area. Flynn said police would make clear when questioning the subjects the violin is not an object worthy of theft because it is only of value to a collector, who will not want the instrument without proper documentation. “This is not something that can easily be disposed of at some future date. It will never be valuable for a thief,” Flynn said at the news conference. “There is not a
Source: Facebook
CLOSING IN Milwaukee police have arrested three people in connection with the theft of a 300year-old violin in the possession of Bienen lecturer Frank Almond. The violin has not been found.
market for it. It is not a good trophy.” Flynn would not say if Almond had identified the subjects. Investigators believe they were acting alone. Police were familiar with one suspect before the arrest because of possible involvement in other crimes. Flynn described the suspects as a 32-year-old woman and two men, ages 36 and 41. Several tips led investigators to the suspects, including physical evidence at the » See VIOLIN, page 7
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