The Daily Northwestern - March 5, 2014

Former Clinton adviser talks tech, politics » PAGE 3

sports Men’s Swimming Seitz overcomes mystery heart condition » PAGE 8

opinion Committee/Students Debating whether NU’s Title IX policies are sufficient » PAGE 6

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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

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Students speak out on sexual assault NU responds to petition asking for transparency

By Ciara McCarthy

daily senior staffer @mccarthy_ciara

Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer

‘PROTECT US’ Students tape their mouths and hold signs Tuesday afternoon as part of a protest of Northwestern’s sexual assault policies. The protesters met at Harris Hall before marching to the office of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf.

Sit-in turns into protest of Title IX policies

By Ciara Mccarthy and Ally Mutnick daily senior staffers @mccarthy_ciara, @allymutnick

A planned sit-in of philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow’s class Tuesday afternoon turned into a demonstration outside the office of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Dean Sarah Mangelsdorf, where students demanded greater transparency on the University’s sexual assault policies and protested Ludlow’s continued employment.

University spokesman Al Cubbage said Mangelsdorf would not meet with students waiting on Sheridan Road while members of media organizations not affiliated

with NU were present. Cubbage said Mangelsdorf would see a small group of students in her office, but protesters refused to separate.

Following a forum Monday on Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination by higher education organizations receiving federal funding, students decided to sit in and then walk out of Ludlow’s 12:30 p.m. “Philosophy of Psychology” class to protest his continued employment by the University after a Medill junior filed a lawsuit claiming he sexually assaulted her in February 2012.

Ludlow cancelled the class Monday morning, but about 100 students gathered anyway to discuss

the future of their movement and march to Mangelsdorf ’s office, 1918 Sheridan Road.

Students left the sit-in at Harris Hall and gathered silently at The Rock for a few minutes, after which they proceeded to march through The Arch and down Sheridan Road to protest in front of the office.

Some held signs with messages of support, including quotes from the online petition posted by concerned faculty after the University filed a response Feb. 21 denying any Title IX violations.

Weinberg freshman Angel Ayon opened dialogue by starting » See protest, page 7

Northwestern officials responded Tuesday morning to a petition drafted by faculty asking the University for more transparency in cases of sexual misconduct.

NU’s Title IX Coordinating Committee, which consists of 13 administrators, including Dean of Students Todd Adams, issued a statement agreeing termination could be considered as a potential sanction for violation of the University’s ban on faculty-student relationships, which are expressly prohibited under a new policy introduced in January.

“The Committee agrees that this new policy could specify that discipline for violation can include termination, including termination of tenured faculty,” the committee wrote. “Northwestern is one of very few universities to have a policy expressly prohibiting consensual faculty-undergraduate relationships, and is a leader in this area.”

A Medill junior filed a lawsuit Feb. 10 alleging NU had violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 by not sanctioning philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow after she accused him of sexual assault in February 2012. The University responded to the lawsuit Feb. 21, denying any Title IX violations. Through his attorney, Ludlow has also denied the student’s allegations.

The Change.org petition, drafted in response to the University’s answer to the lawsuit, had received nearly 1,500 signatures

as of Tuesday evening. The petition was addressed to NU’s Board of Trustees.

Students protested Tuesday outside the office of Sarah Mangelsdorf, dean of Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, hours after the committee released its statement.

The protest was not in direct response to the statement, but was planned Monday evening as a way for students to speak out against what some have called a lack of transparency by the University when handling sexual assault and misconduct. » See response, page 7

Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer

SPEAKING OUT A student protests Northwestern’s sexual assault policies with a written sign. Protesters called for philosophy Prof. Peter Ludlow’s termination and greater University transparency.

NAISA open forum pushes NU for more outreach

By Mark Ficken

the daily northwestern @Mark_Ficken

Annabel Edwards/Daily Senior Staffer

‘NO public discussion’ Andrew Johnson, executive director of the American Indian Center of Chicago, speaks Tuesday evening at Harris Hall.

Johnson voiced his support for the efforts undertaken by NAISA.

Serving the University and Evanston since 1881

The Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance held an open forum Tuesday to discuss the indigenous community’s response to Northwestern’s approach to determining John Evans’ role in the Sand Creek Massacre.

NU founded the John Evans Study Committee in February 2013 to examine John Evans’ role in the Sand Creek Massacre. The massacre resulted in the killing of more than 100 members of the Arapaho and Cheyenne nations in the Colorado

Territory while Evans was governor of the area.

During Fall Quarter, the John Evans Study Committee held an open forum for community members to give feedback.

Following the open forum, the University fast-tracked a second committee to determine how it can improve the current campus climate for Native Americans. The second committee was originally set to be formed after the first committee releases its findings in June.

While the committees were founded to reach out to the Native American community on campus, NAISA co-president Heather Menefee, a Weinberg junior, said the University’s approach has not been

transparent.

The John Evans Professor of Sociology Gary Fine said the University has always shied away from facing its troubled past.

He said he questioned the role of John Evans in the massacre in 2004, but the University failed to act until last year.

“The University in my judgment wants to keep this under the surface,” he said, “But will they address the historical record?

Will our president … will he embrace this?

Will he speak from the heart about what he feels about this University?”

Andrew Johnson, executive director of the American Indian Center of Chicago » See NAISA, page 7

INSIDE Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 6 | Classifieds & Puzzles 7 | Sports 8

2 NEWS | the daily northwestern wednesday, march 5, 2014

Around Town Garrett welcomes female president

By Julian Gerez

the daily northwestern @JGerez_news

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, the graduate school of theology of the United Methodist Church located on Northwestern’s campus, inaugurated Saturday the first female president in its 160-year history.

Dr. Lallene Rector, a Texas native who previously was the seminary’s vice president for academic affairs and its academic dean and is also an associate professor of Psychology of Religion and Pastoral Psychotherapy, was unanimously elected by the seminary’s board of trustees last summer. She is also the first layperson to be elected president.

“I’m very excited about having this opportunity and this privilege to lead the school,” Rector said.

Before becoming president, Rector worked as a faculty member at the school of theology for 27 years.

“She knows us,” Garrett spokesman Shane Nichols said. “Most of the presidents that were hired in recent years were external candidates, the majority

Police Blotter Criminal sexual assault reported on North Campus A Campus Security Authority reported Monday a case of criminal sexual assault in a North Campus residence hall, University Police said.

The assault occurred on Feb. 11. The student did not give any specific information about herself or the assault, Deputy Chief Dan McAleer said.

Cigarettes, candy, jumper cables stolen from trunk of parked car in south Evanston

Several items were taken from a locked vehicle in the parking lot of an Evanston retail store Monday afternoon.

Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said someone

of her academic career has been at Garrett.”

The seminary itself was founded by a woman, Eliza Garrett, the wife of a former mayor of Chicago, and Rector said she’d “like to think Eliza Garrett would be very pleased.”

“This was just the right time for it,” she said. “The seminary has almost from its inception had women, and over the years we have been very committed to diversity in our faculty and student body.”

Nichols also said he felt it was the right moment for a woman to become president of the seminary.

“It’s about time,” he said.

Besides the significance of Rector being the first woman to become president of the school, she is also the first layperson to hold the office. Nichols said the school is not only “focused on educating clergy, but also laity.”

Rector said there are a lot of laypeople who are interested in this kind of theological education without necessarily wanting to become ordained.

“There are fewer people pursuing ordination in mainline denominations, and there are more people, young people especially, interested in not necessarily ordained ministries,” Rector said. “It’s possible that the seminary may seem more accessible and

perhaps more relevant to people not interested in ordination.”

The process for her selection as president began as early as last spring with more than 100 applicants.

Rector officially started the job Jan. 1.

“She is a loyal and lifelong United Methodist who brings administration skills and is much beloved by our alumni base,” Nichols said.

Garrett was founded in 1853, two years after NU’s founding. Its newly inaugurated president hopes to continue to foster the relationship between the two institutions of higher learning, as well as to the Evanston community as a whole, through interfaith initiatives and continuing education opportunities.

She said the seminary has a “fabulous” relationship with University President Morton Schapiro, who was present at Rector’s inauguration and even said a prayer in Hebrew during the ceremony.

“He’s just been a real friendly supporter and a person who appreciates the seminary,” Rector said.

“We look forward to a continuing positive relationship with the University.”

broke the window of a 2006 Toyota Corolla and unlocked the trunk, where six cartons of Marlboro cigarettes, $40 worth of candy and a pair of jumper cables were stolen. The owner of the items, a 39-yearold Skokie resident, was parked in the Sam’s Club lot, 2450 Main St., when the burglary occurred.

Parrott said burglaries in this lot have happened several times in the past, and customers may be watched by individuals putting items into their cars before breaking in when the customers go into another store.

resident, left his car unlocked in a private residence in the 1200 block of Isabella Street. Parrott said there appeared to be no signs of forced entry into the 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe. ­ Ciara McCarthy contributed reporting

Apple products stolen from car in north Evanston

An iPod touch, a 14-inch MacBook Pro and a Garmin GPS were taken from an unlocked car in north Evanston on Thursday night.

Police said the crime was not reported until Monday. The owner of the items, a 40-year-old Evanston

juliangerez2017@u.northwestern.edu

— Julian Gerez

Setting the record straight In “NU student-athletes raise nearly $2,900 for DM” in Tuesday’s print edition, a photo caption misspelled the first name of Kaya Abrahamson.

The Daily regrets the error.

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 3

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014

On Campus NU alumnus talks intersection of tech, politics

By MIA HARIZ

the daily northwestern @miahariz

Annabel Edwards/Daily Senior Staffer

THIS TOWN Alec Ross, former senior adviser for innovation to Hillary Clinton during her term as Secretary of State, gives a talk at University Hall on Tuesday. Ross discussed working for Clinton and the ways in which technology is encouraging a shift in geopolitical power.

A former senior adviser of innovation to Hillary Clinton spoke Tuesday night in University Hall about the relationship between technology and diplomacy.

Alec Ross (Weinberg ‘94) worked under Clinton for the duration of her term as Secretary of State, leading the State Department’s efforts to form technological solutions to some of the world’s most taxing problems, including human rights, health care and foreign conflicts.

“If you were trying to break into politics 10 years ago, you had to work within the existing structure and the existing systems that were put in place for you,” Ross said. “Today, because of your sophistication, and frankly, because of the tools available to you, you have the ability to build a campaign, or to build a project that can get big, really fast.”

Ross began his political career in 2008 working on Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

In April 2009, he joined the State Department and began working under Clinton, who created a position specifically for him.

“We created this remarkable team of young people who were working in the office of the Secretary of State and essentially what we did is we sort of hatched solutions to foreign policy challenges,” Ross said.

Lauren Izaak, College Democrats president and organizer of the event, said he thought Ross’ various experiences would draw in a wider audience.

“He’s a Democrat. He works with Democratic politicians, but he’s also on the State Department, which is a non-partisan position,” Izaak said. “We thought it would be a great thing to add new audience members who may not come to strictly partisan Democratic events.”

Ross offered the audience three pieces of advice: First, to cultivate a network of mentors; second, to be conscious of the underlying gender bias incorporated

into the workforce; and lastly, to not fear failure.

His closing words were inspired by Theodore Roosevelt.

“My final piece of advice to you would be to enjoy much and suffer much. Don’t dwell in the grey twilight, that is where mediocrity lays,” Ross said. “And frankly, most people who leave college take safe routes. They fear failure to such a degree that they only ascend to the point of being above average. The people and political movements that really break through are the ones that have a measure of audacity in them from the start.”

Weinberg senior Annas Rahman said he enjoyed hearing Ross speak, particularly because he is an NU alumnus.

“I’m interested in the intersection of technology and government, and he was the main technology guy for Hillary Clinton for so long,” Rahman said.

“It was really insightful to hear from an NU alum and what his career path was.” miahariz2017@u.northwestern.edu

Transgender advocate speaks about legal policies

By REBECCA SAVRANSKY

the daily northwestern @beccasavransky

A transgender advocate spoke at Northwestern Tuesday night about discrimination against transgender individuals and the ongoing efforts to pass legislation targeting the problems they face.

Owen Daniel-McCarter, a collective member at the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois, an organization committed to transgender rights, talked to more than 40 individuals in Kresge Hall. During the event, sponsored by the Gender and Sexuality Undergraduate Advisory Board, McCarter presented his ideas about transgender rights and the ways he is using his legal education to promote transgender equality and justice.

“Transformative justice is really about using the strength of our communities to think about how we can stop violence in our spaces,” Daniel-McCarter said.

Daniel-McCarter also works as the legal director and staff attorney at the TransLife Center, which provides housing and services to transgender individuals in need. Through his involvement in this program and several other organizations, he said he has seen how transgender individuals face discrimination on several levels including housing, employment, education and medical care.

He said he is focusing specifically on the legal rights of transgender prisoners and is currently pursuing legislation to make the process of changing one’s name more attainable for convicted felons. Currently, a convicted felon must wait 10 years after completing their sentence to legally change their name.

“Trans people, we love to change our names,” Daniel-McCarter said. “We think this felony bar is absolutely wrong. We think it’s unconstitutional, actually.”

Daniel-McCarter said he is hoping to impact the legality of name-changes on a larger scale to make the process easier. He said several states have already updated their name-change policies.

A question-and-answer period was held at the end of the event. Students and faculty asked how the name changing process differs in other states and the reasons for a lack of research on transgender males as opposed to transgender females.

Gender and sexuality studies lecturer Amy Partridge, one of the event organizers, said she and the Gender and Sexuality Undergraduate Advisory Board decided to bring Daniel-McCarter to campus because of an interest in learning more about the legal aspects

of transgender individuals.

“Having someone come in and talk about the kind of activism that’s going on right now in Chicago on trans issues and trans laws in particular seemed like an obvious choice,” Partridge said. “I was really interested in hearing about the new legal strategies and legal battles that are coming up.”

Weinberg senior Ryan Lim said he attended the event because it related to his thesis topic and he was curious about the TransLife Center.

“I was interested to see how the TransLife Center was addressing different aspects of homelessness, like housing, legality, medical, employment mental health,” he said. “I just think that it’s a very transformative way of thinking about addressing homelessness and also one that is very effective.” rebeccasavransky2015@u.northwestern.edu

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Opinion

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

PAGE 6

Are NU’s sexual assault policies enough?

Guest Column

Title IX Coordinating Committee responds to petition The following is the response to a petition posted online by faculty and a resolution passed at last week’s Associated Student Government meeting.

The response was first sent to the Northwestern community Tuesday morning. It is reprinted here as an opinion piece at the request of University administrators. It does not reflect the views of The Daily Northwestern.

An online petition created recently and a resolution passed by Northwestern’s Associated Student Government have raised concerns regarding the University’s handling of sexual misconduct complaints. As members of Northwestern University’s Title IX Coordinating Committee, we wish to respond to the issues that have been raised. Our committee is charged with reviewing and overseeing the University’s efforts in Title IX compliance.

The Committee shares the goals of ensuring the safety of everyone in our university community and of furthering Title IX’s objectives of promoting a campus environment free from sexual violence and discrimination on the basis of sex.

The Committee appreciates the valuable ideas contained in the petition and student government resolution, many of which are already in practice at Northwestern, and we will consider those suggestions thoughtfully. In an effort to be both responsive and transparent, we address below some of the concerns raised in those documents.

The petition asks Northwestern to release a 2012 “Resolution Agreement” with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights. Northwestern was not a party to such an agreement and no such agreement exists.

The Committee wishes to clarify the process by which faculty discipline is determined and implemented in sexual harassment and sexual violence matters at Northwestern. After the Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention investigates a complaint, it prepares a written report, including its findings.

The report is then provided to the dean of the appropriate school. The Dean’s Office reviews the investigation report and determines and implements the appropriate discipline based on the specific findings in the case. Under the faculty handbook, a faculty member may file an appeal of any sanctions. A faculty Committee on Cause reviews the report and the discipline, and makes a recommendation on the appropriateness of the sanctions imposed by the Dean. In doing so, the Committee on Cause may propose greater or lesser sanctions.

The petition asks that all University units that receive reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault keep records of each case, including identities of the parties, facts of the case, investigation or hearing outcome, and sanctions. The Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention (which investigates sexual misconduct matters involving faculty and staff), the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution (which handles sexual misconduct matters between students), and the Northwestern

University Police Department (“NUPD”) (which investigates criminal matters on campus when a survivor wishes to file a police report), already maintain detailed logs and files on all complaints received, how they are handled, findings, and sanctions. In addition, the University’s Title IX Coordinator maintains a central log of all matters of reported sexual misconduct. Logs of complaints are not currently shared with the public due to confidentiality concerns and the possibility raised by survivor advocates that public disclosure of this information could have a chilling effect on reporting sexual misconduct. But each complaint is logged and tracked.

The petition asks that survivors be informed of the outcomes of the investigation or hearing, including the sanctions imposed. Northwestern’s current practice is to inform every survivor of the findings of the investigation or hearing, as well as sanctions directly relating to the survivor, such as no-contact orders. The Committee appreciates the petition’s suggestion that survivors be notified of all sanctions imposed, and will make it a priority to consider and clarify practices, in light of applicable confidentiality laws and policies, whereby sanctions in sexual harassment or sexual violence matters would be disclosed to survivors.

The petition asks that positive findings from investigations should be made part of the personnel file of the respondent. This is our practice. The University responds to requests for information about its employees from prospective employers, including information on University investigations, based on the nature of the inquiry and in accordance with applicable laws.

The petition seeks amendment of the new policy on Consensual Relationships Between Faculty, Staff and Students to state that faculty who violate the ban on sexual contact with undergraduates may be terminated. http://policies.northwestern.edu/docs/ Consensual_Relations_011314.pdf. The policy states that violation will lead to discipline in accordance with the disciplinary procedures contained in the relevant handbooks. The Committee agrees that this new policy could specify that discipline for violation can include termination, including termination of tenured faculty. Northwestern is one of very few universities to have a policy expressly prohibiting faculty-undergraduate relationships, and is a leader in this area.

The petition asks for an office independent of Northwestern to oversee University handling of sexual violence matters and to ensure that survivors receive support and advocacy. We do not believe this is necessary. The University already has a Title IX Coordinator and four Deputy Title IX Coordinators who oversee the University’s handling of sexual misconduct matters. Northwestern also has the Center for Awareness, Response, and Education (CARE). CARE is a confidential, on-campus resource for students who have experienced sexual violence, where they can get survivor-centered

advocacy, crisis counseling, help with academic and housing accommodations, medical assistance, information on legal and law enforcement options, and university complaint processes. CARE is staffed by professionals with extensive experience in the field of sexual violence survivor advocacy.

The petition urges that information defining sexual assault be included on Northwestern’s websites and written materials. This is already done. Northwestern’s new policy on Sexual Misconduct, Stalking, and Dating and Domestic Violence provides a detailed definition of consent and describes all types of sexual misconduct, reporting obligations, available accommodations, and disciplinary and law enforcement processes. http://policies.northwestern.edu/docs/Sexual_ Misconduct_011314.pdf. Northwestern’s Title IX website, NUPD website, CARE website, and Women’s Center website all provide information on sexual assault and how to report it. Moreover, the Sexual Harassment Prevention Office, Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, the Women’s Center, all Title IX Coordinators, Counseling and Psychological Services (“CAPS”), and CARE, all advise survivors of their right to file a police report if they have suffered sexual violence and they wish to pursue criminal proceedings.

The Committee is encouraged that members of the Northwestern community agree that sexual misconduct on campus is an extremely important issue, and looks forward to working with faculty, students and others in advancing Northwestern’s efforts to educate our entire community on how to prevent sexual misconduct. Only with a commitment from every member of the university community can we achieve our goals.

Title IX Coordinating Committee Todd Adams, Dean of Students Eva Ball, Sexual Violence Response Services Coordinator Janna Blais, Associate Athletic Director; Deputy Title IX Coordinator Brian Boardman, Associate General Counsel (Counsel to the Committee) Theresa Bratanch, Program Assistant, Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention John Dunkle, Executive Director, Counseling and Psychological Services Julie Anne Friend, Director, Office of Global Safety and Security; Deputy Title IX Coordinator Shaun Johnson, Northwestern University Police Department, Commander Renee Redd, Director of Women’s Center Roberto Sanabria, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity & Access; Deputy Title IX Coordinator Joan Slavin, (Chair); Director, Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention; Title IX Coordinator; Special Assistant to the Provost Laura Stuart, Sexual Health Education and Violence Prevention Coordinator (CARE) Tara Sullivan, Director, Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution; Deputy Title IX Coordinator

Letter to the Editor

Let’s talk about sexual violence, Northwestern

To our fellow undergrads, In the last few weeks, we learned that two years ago Professor Peter Ludlow allegedly supplied an undergraduate with alcohol, took her back to his apartment and sexually harassed her. A university investigation found the claims to be true and warranting discipline. And that’s where the conversation seems to have stopped.

It’s hard to assess what has and has not been done to address the situation, as Mr. Ludlow has been granted an unfounded level of discretion since his fate was turned over to the Philosophy department. The hush-hush nature of the faculty sanctioning process has allowed Mr. Ludlow to remain on campus, despite findings that he did, in fact, harass an undergraduate student. Because of the shadowy judicial system, we do not know whether the findings of Joan Slavin’s Office of Sexual Harassment Prevention were ignored, or whether another factor led the University not to fire Mr. Ludlow. We have no one to hold responsible for this apparent violation of Title IX, and no one to answer if a violation did occur.

The lack of transparency in the process is a disservice to the student body. Faculty have organized a petition with the intent of making a safer NU. While we appreciate the efforts of the concerned faculty, we feel that, particularly in this situation of unequal power, it’s time for students to speak up about this problem that affects all of us. Sexual violence isn’t a pet cause — it’s everyone’s issue.

In not taking the findings of Joan Slavin’s office seriously, the University tells the survivor his or her story is both inconsequential and shame-worthy. We students don’t have to make the same mistake. In order to begin the discussion, we have created a Tumblr account, NU Speaks, which will provide students with a safe space to anonymously share their experiences with or thoughts on sexual violence, sexual harassment, relationship/domestic violence, stalking and sexual norms at NU. It will take more than a blog to remedy the deeply ingrained culture of silence, but dialogue is an important first step. We hope you will join us in conversation.

Let’s talk about sexual violence, Northwestern.

Signed, Concerned Students

Humanist thinking allows us freedom from anguish Tom Cui

Daily Columnist

Ta-Nehisi Coates stepped to the Northwestern podium last Thursday. Although Coates is an editor for “The Atlantic,” he is better known for his blog and his writings on race in America. The seats were filled in Annie May Swift Hall, packed by students from all over, and even a few radical Evanstonians.

He was introduced as a person who “emerged (from college) with a purpose, if not a degree,” saying that “(he) spent more time in the library than in classes; not a bad thing for a writer” — the crowd was rapt.

Coates is, in many ways, the ideal humanities scholar — a broad reader who communicates to his advantage. Even as humanities departments shrink across the nation, humanist thinking — what they claim to teach — thrives outside academia. People need to phone in speeches or like to ponder about life. Humanist thinkers do both with such ease that I and plenty others want to be them. It is this lust that drove me, among other things, to compare student government to communism.

Those who mock the humanities ignore the luminaries among us with Bachelor of Arts degrees: Malcolm Gladwell (history), Mattew Yglesias (blogger, philosophy) and Timothy Geithner (Asian studies). To the surprise of few, none of those named

above are actually in the ivory tower. It is hard to gain fame today as an artist or scholar, so humanists have to colonize. They enter a field, munch up the research and information in it and digest it into comprehensible pieces for the public. These skills are as transferable as one can be; what is a case interview — a rite of passage for any future consultant — if not a task to summarize and speculate about data divorced from reality?

But I think there is nothing good in itself about the humanities. This thought runs against intellectuals like Leon Wieseltier, literary editor at New Republic, who replied to psychologist Steven Pinker’s appeal to make the humanities more scientific. He said the humanist tries to take part in “a grand project of skepticism and subversion,” feels her blood “quicken” when reading great works and “(demands) respect for the way things have always been done.”

Each of those traits have a dark side. Those with easily quickening blood suffer from what Pinker calls the “Igon Value Problem” — reporters whose only education on a topic is through munching on experts generalize to the point of being flat wrong.

Individuals, though, do not know this and likely lack the resources to conduct research, so the proselytizers are off the hook.

Further undermining public trust, a humanist thinker’s “project of skepticism” seems to more like using skepticism as leverage to discredit others who are more qualified. A thinker can, even in the face

of overwhelming evidence, claim it is not enough to believe in a proposition. The result is that non-specialists lose out on what makes researchers accept certain facts: think climate change or the welfare increases caused by free trade. Trust is placed in the thinker, but she always has incentives to mislead those who trust her; it is a classic example of what economists call the principal-agent problem.

I asked Coates whether he ever feels like he is not doing enough to change the world. His response was frank: He could do more, but he is selfish. He knows that he was born with an inquisitiveness that is best satisfied through reading and writing. It makes absolute sense if a writer says this.

For those of us who want to do social research, we forbid ourselves from aloof skepticism and slave over common standards for accepting evidence.

We torture data because anecdotes cannot apply universally.

We are compelled to change the norms of society, because they still allow misery for too many. Our livelihoods will depend on perpetual trustworthiness, and we exert to such lengths only to see humanist thinkers seize upon our labor. The chance to be free from anguish: maybe that is the true power of humanist thinking.

Tom Cui is a Weinberg junior. He can be reached at tianfangcui2015@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com.

The Daily Northwestern Volume 134, Issue 87 Editor in Chief Paulina Firozi Managing Editors Joseph Diebold Manuel Rapada

Opinion Editors Julian Caracotsios Caryn Lenhoff

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Protest

From page 1 a group clap.

“This is a unity clap,” Ayon said. “We are here to protect our rights … we are going to change something here today.”

Weinberg juniors Laura Whittenburg and Jazz Stephens, who coordinated the protest, went into the office while students spoke to the gathered crowd about their demands of the University and their requests that NU handle sexual misconduct cases differently.

The dean’s office is ultimately responsible for Ludlow’s sanctions and recommended disciplinary action including rescinding Ludlow’s endowed professorship, denying him a pay raise for the 2012-13 academic year and requiring him to take sensitivity classes.

University Police, including Chief Bruce Lewis, were present to make sure the protest

proceeded “safely,” said Dan McAleer, UP deputy chief.

Cubbage addressed students and agreed to relay messages to Mangelsdorf. He also reiterated Tuesday’s statement from the Title IX Coordinating Committee, saying NU is committed to protecting the values put forth in Title IX. “I understand clearly it may not have answered all of your concerns,” he said. “We very much do appreciate our students and our faculty and our staff raising these issues.”

While protesting, students demanded a forum with University administrators, Ludlow’s termination and more accountability and transparency from NU regarding its sexual misconduct policies.

SESP sophomore Jessica Arnold told the crowd that the student who filed the lawsuit is not the only one to be sexually assaulted at NU. Many are afraid to speak out, she said.

“When people do come forward and people are so brave, no one will help them,” Arnold said.

While they protested Ludlow’s employment, many recognized the issue was larger than one student’s story.

As students gathered in Harris before the march, Whittenburg thanked them for coming, calling it “a victory” that Ludlow had cancelled his class.

The group has gotten the University’s attention, but the fight is not over, she said.

“They have not made the changes that we are wanting to see here. They have not taken Professor Ludlow out of the classroom and they have not made the changes that we believe are necessary,” Whittenburg said. “Let’s not be complacent and let’s keep going.” mccarthy@u.northwestern.edu allymutnick@u.northwestern.edu

Response

NAISA

“We would like Northwestern to go above and beyond what is required by Title IX,” protest organizer Laura Whittenburg, a Weinberg junior, said at the demonstration.

The faculty petition requests sexual assault survivors be notified of the both the findings and the sanctions imposed following an investigation into a sexual assault complaint.

Currently, survivors are only notified of sanctions that directly affect them, the committee said.

“The Committee appreciates the petition’s suggestion that survivors be notified of all sanctions imposed, and will make it a priority to consider and clarify practices, in light of applicable confidentiality laws and policies, whereby sanctions in sexual harassment or sexual violence matters would be disclosed to survivors,” the committee said in the statement.

Faculty also highlighted the need for the findings from sexual assault complaints to be disclosed in a professor’s personnel file.

“Make a commitment that professors who have been determined to have committed sexual harassment, violence, or abuse shall not be ‘passed on’ to other universities,” faculty asked of the Board of Trustees in the petition.

The committee said this request was already in practice.

“The University responds to requests for information about its employees from prospective employers, including information on University investigations, based on the nature of the inquiry and in accordance with applicable laws,” the administrators wrote in the response.

Ludlow is currently a candidate for a job at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

According to his resume, Ludlow worked as a visiting professor there in Fall 2012, after the internal investigation had been conducted.

“This was not brought to our attention by either the candidate or his employer. We are looking into this matter thoroughly including requesting all relevant information to fully evaluate his candidacy,” Rutgers spokesman Greg Trevor told The Daily shortly after the lawsuit was filed.

Rutgers spokesman Ken Branson had no further comment Tuesday.

The petition also requested the release of a “Resolution Agreement” that NU allegedly entered with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights in 2012. The University’s statement denies NU was a party to such an agreement or that the agreement exists.

and a member of the Cherokee Nation, demanded NU be more open about issues of inclusion on campus.

After the open forum earlier this academic year, several professors and students have asked for a video recording of the event. Despite the requests, NAISA members said, the committee will not release the recording. The first committee has also not released minutes from its meetings, and no members are from Native American nations.

“There is no public discussion about what they are going to do,” Johnson said, “I guess I don’t understand, with what they’re discussing, why they would want to hide something like that, and not bring a community in to address these particular issues.”

Menefee and co-president Forrest Bruce, a SESP sophomore, are part of the second committee and said it plans to meet again next week. They noted representatives from the Arapaho nation were present when the second committee met. However, there is not a representative from the Cheyenne nation, even though several were nominated for the board, including Henrietta Mann, who spoke on campus last November.

“If there’s no Cheyenne member in the second committee, then again we’re excluding the Cheyenne community from determining how this whole process will work out,” Menefee said.

Menefee added the only member of the committee she saw at Mann’s lecture was Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs.

Eli Suzukovich, a post-graduate research fellow in the psychology department, said the University will notice what the group is doing.

“Students have a lot more power than you think,” he said. “By going to the administration and asking for these courses, asking for these requests … means a lot. Your one letter has a lot more power than you imagine.”

mccarthy@u.northwestern.edu

markficken2017@u.northwestern.edu

From page 1

From page 1

Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer

pushing back University spokesman Al Cubbage speaks to protesters Tuesday afternoon. Cubbage reiterated the statement issued Tuesday morning by the Title IX Coordinating Committee.

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SPORTS

ON DECK MARCH

7

Softball NU at Kansas, 10:45 a.m. Friday

ON THE RECORD

When the dust settles this weekend, then we’ll readdress where we are.

— Joe McKeown, women’s basketball coach

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

@Wildcat_Extra

Cardiac Cat: Seitz overcomes heart condition

By JOHN PASCHALL

daily senior staffer @John_Paschall

January 2013, Iowa City, Iowa Junior Andrew Seitz just wasn’t himself.

Actually, the then-sophomore hadn’t been himself for almost two years, and he knew it. His times at Northwestern’s swimming meet against Iowa late in January weren’t of the caliber he posted in high school when he was competing in U.S. Senior and Junior National competitions.

There was one lead to what the problem might be: his heart. Seitz had been experiencing irregular heartbeats for the past two years while racing and even felt dizzy at times. He thought that could be the root of why he was struggling so much in the pool.

But he didn’t know what his condition was. Nobody did. Not even his doctors.

So Seitz wore a heart monitor for the first time after he completed his final event of the Iowa meet to record his heart rate for his doctors in hopes that they could figure out the problem. The good news that night: The doctors were able to get results right away.The bad news: The initial prognosis was not promising.

“Are you okay?” the doctor said on the phone that night to Seitz. “We’re really worried about you.”

August 2011, Stanford, Calif.

All Seitz’ hard work was finally paying off.

The Pleasanton, Calif., native was bound for the Senior and Junior Nationals meets at Stanford just a few weeks before he would head to Evanston to start school and training at NU. He had worked tirelessly at swimming since age 10. Thanks to guidance from his mother, Christine Seitz, who swam in college, he was putting up times that put him in the top 10 in the country in the 400-yard IM for his age.

“I always had a smile on my face every time he raced, regardless of whether he won or lost because you would always see the drive,” Christine Seitz said.

Multiple prestigious schools recruited Seitz, including Harvard and Yale. But when Christine Seitz saw her son exit the

Men’s Swimming

Detroit 7 a.m. Saturday

By ALEX LEDERMAN

the daily northwestern

team has won or lost largely on that newcomers’ success or failure. But in spite of the pressure and criticisms, the squad’s youngest players seem relaxed, not nervous, heading into Thursday.

“I’m excited for it,” Inman said.

“Our coaches prepare us really well, and they prepared all of us, including all the freshmen, for what’s ahead. “ In addition to their usual slots in the rotation, the Cats’ upperclassmen will also play a vital role in mentoring and guiding the freshmen.

Lyon, last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, had some specific advice.

“It’s now or never,” she said. “It’s not a ‘We can play a bad first half and hopefully get it back in the second half.’ The games count a lot more, they mean a lot more ... but I think we have the right mindset and we’re ready to go.”

Barring a run all the way through the Big Ten bracket, NU wont be making the NCAA Tournament. But the Cats will be jockeying for position in the postseason NIT. Even with that at stake, McKeown is hesitant to look too far into the future.

“We haven’t really looked at it that way,” he said, when asked if playing in the NIT was a ‘big deal’. “We know that the winner of the Big Ten Tournament gets to play in the NCAA Tournament. When the dust settles this weekend, then we’ll readdress where we are.”

No. 9 Northwestern (34-9) continues its hunt for playoff glory this weekend at the NCAA Midwest Regional Fencing Championships in Detroit.

“What we’re doing this week is simply getting down to working on the little issues that didn’t come together this past weekend,” coach Laurie Schiller said. “We’re just working a little more on technical or tactical issues.”

The Wildcats are coming off a bronze medal run at the Midwest Fencing Conference Championship in South Bend, Ind. — a strong, but somewhat disappointing, result.

Although conferences have both individual and team meets and include all varsity and club teams from the conference, regionals contain only solo competitions from the Division I teams.

NU fencers will square off against foes from Cleveland State, Detroit, Lawrence, Mercy, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 2 Ohio State and Wayne State this weekend in epee, foil and sabre.

None of these teams are strangers to the Cats. Ohio State and Notre Dame are two of NU’s biggest rivals, and each has defeated the Cats multiple times this season.

Ohio State topped NU 23-4 at the NYU Invitational and 18-9 at the Notre Dame Duals.

The Buckeyes’ foil squad also defeated the Cats’ this weekend in the semifinals at the conference championships. Notre Dame conquered NU in New York, 18-9, and South Bend, 20-7, and the Cats’ epee and sabre squads fell to the Fighting Irish in the semifinals over the weekend.

NU cruised past all of the other foes they will face this weekend in previous matchups.

The team triumphed over Cleveland State and Detroit, 26-1; Lawrence, 24-3; and Wayne State twice, 24-3 and 20-7.

“We know the kids who we have to fence, and we have three days to prepare for it before we’re off to Detroit,” Schiller said.

This time, the teams are not actually squaring off. Instead, individual fencers will compete for the top spots.

NU will send its veterans out for the epee battles. Senior Dina Bazarbayeva (53-13) — the gold medalist at the conference championship — and junior Courtney Dumas (61-17) have been constants in Schiller’s lineup. Sophomore Juliana Barrett (54-22) and freshman Mandeep Bhinder (51-22) — who snatched third at conferences — have also been strong performers for the epee squad this year.

The foil and sabre squads have much younger cores. Sophomore Jen Yamin (28-16), a Daily columnist, and freshman Stephanie Chan (40-18) lead the charge in foil and freshmen Alisha Gomez-Shah (25-5), Cindy Oh (59-26), Ania Parzecki (65-24) and Julia Abelsky (64-31) head up the sabres.

robertpillote2017@u.northwestern.edu

alexlederman2017@u.northwestern.edu

Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer

HEART OF A CHAMPION After complications from an irregular heartbeat slowed his swimming times and threatened his life, junior Andrew Seitz returned to the pool this season for Northwestern.

plane from Chicago wearing a purple NU sweatshirt, she knew he had already made up his mind.

But while she was watching Seitz compete at the Senior Nationals event, Christine Seitz got a call from his coach that sent chills down her spine.

“You never want to get a phone call from the head coach saying they’ve cleared you to come down to the pool deck,” Christine Seitz said. “Because parents aren’t allowed on the pool deck.”

It was especially odd for Christine Seitz because she had just watched her son have a good swim. Nothing about his race struck her as being unusual.

When she finally got down to the pool deck, however, she found out Seitz would have to be admitted to the emergency room.

The initial tests showed no structural damage to his heart, and the irregular heartbeats Seitz claimed he had been feeling intermittently — and only in the pool — since Nationals went away.

The following week he competed in Junior Nationals, but something just wasn’t the same.

“He couldn’t hit the times,” Christine Seitz said.

The irregular heartbeat came back only while he was racing. Initially, Seitz and his family attributed his slower times to fatigue.

But that wasn’t the issue. It was his heart.

“I think we were all pretty naive,” she admitted.

September 2012, Evanston Seitz’s heart wasn’t getting any better.

During his freshman year at NU, the rapid, irregular heartbeat, which he would later find out reached up to 280 beats per minute, would come every now and then while he was racing. He tried running on a treadmill to see if he could get that same irregular heartbeat, but it only came when he was in the pool.

“I took a tremendous step back,” Seitz said. “I wasn’t seeing any success in my swimming. I was having a lot of struggles finishing my races. I was swimming times that I was swimming my freshman year of high school.”

Seitz spent his entire freshman year just trying to be normal and ignoring the unknown issue. But his heart got worse at the beginning of sophomore year, and he eventually had to let coach Jarod Schroeder in on the secret.

Northwestern vs. Ohio State Indianapolis, Ind. 11 a.m. Thursday

Daily file photo by Annabel Edwards

THREE’S COMPANY Freshman guard Christen Inman looks to pass.

Northwestern’s success this season has largely depended on the success of its freshman, who often lead the Wildcats in games and make up three of the team’s five usual starters.

the daily northwestern @BobbyPillote

Northwestern will face a familiar foe Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. The Wildcats (15-14, 5-11 Big Ten) are set to face the Ohio State Buckeyes (15-17, 5-11), a team they lost to less than two weeks ago on Feb. 23. In that game, Ohio State jumped out to a huge first-half lead and cruised to a 71-62 victory. NU will look to avoid making the same mistake twice.

Regionals await for Wildcats NCAA Midwest Regional Championships

The irregular heartbeats had a dramatic effect on Seitz’s racing. His body failed him when he needed it the most during a competition.

“If you were swimming a 200-yard event, you’d swim 100 and feel alright,” he said. “You’d hit the 150 and all of a sudden, you’d push off on the fifth 25 of 8 and you’d feel one missed beat. You just didn’t feel right. You’d feel your entire body rush with lactic acid. Just everything, arms and legs, stopped.”

It even started getting to Seitz mentally, as the problem spread from the boundaries of the pool deck to his everyday life.

Seitz was playing a simple game of broomball with his teammates when he felt his heart rate begin to pick up dramatically.

“Something’s wrong,” Seitz said. “I need to see the doctors.” johnpaschall2014@u.northwestern.edu

Get the full story Visit dailynorthwestern.com/ seitz for the rest of Seitz’ remarkable journey.

NU looks to correct mistakes at Big Tens

By BOBBY PILLOTE

Fencing

“The game started at noon, and we showed up at 1,” coach Joe McKeown said. “We just were terrible in the first half. ... We had 23 turnovers, and we can’t do that again. That’s the big key for us.”

The Cats were in a tailspin to end the regular season, dropping seven contests in a row before finally righting the ship with a victory in their last game against Wisconsin. Despite the rough finish, the players believe that one win is enough to be a shot of momentum heading into the postseason.

“Coming from our game against Wisconsin, we have a lot more

confidence,” sophomore guard Maggie Lyon said.

Freshman guard Christen Inman echoed Lyon’s sentiments.

“Going into post-season play, it’s 0-0,” she said, “but it’s always nice to come off a win. ... Going into Big Ten play, it’s important to have a lot of confidence.”

A similar downward spiral engulfed the Buckeyes during the home stretch of their schedule. Ohio State lost seven of its last eight games, with the only win coming over the Cats. But even with that victory in tow, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff has nothing but high regard for NU. “Northwestern is coming off a win, and they seem to be playing pretty well here at the end of the year,” he said.

“We had a really hard-fought contest with them the first time around, so I think it’s going to be a tough matchup for us.”

McGuff ’s kind words are small consolation. NU will have to perform in the tournament to wash away the sour taste of the end of the regular season.

There are many potential explanations for the Cats’ collapse, but chief among them is the inexperience of the roster. NU has started three freshmen for almost all of this season, and the