SPORTS BASEBALL Paul Stevens still has ‘fiery’ approach after 27 years of coaching » PAGE 8
OPINION Cui Experiencing total, abject failure » PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, may 14, 2014
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Mayfest plans for Dillo Day 2014 App, rotating stage among new features 2 Chainz confirmed as nighttime headliner
Nathan richards/daily Senior Staffer
TALK DILLO TO ME tori Zuzelo, university relations chair for mayfest, explained several updates about dillo day during a community meeting.
By PaiGe LeSKin
the daily northwestern @paigeleskin
Mayfest representatives announced the launch of a smartphone application for Dillo Day at a dialogue on Tuesday night with representatives from the Northwestern and Evanston communities. The application will provide users with a detailed timeline of the events of Dillo Day, as well as the music lineup and a shuttle schedule, Mayfest co-chair Patrick Leonard said.
“That is going to be for us a really useful tool to make sure that we’re communicating with everyone in the community that day of,” said Leonard, a McCormick senior. “We’re just making sure that it’s a centralized source of information for anybody that is either an Evanston resident or a guest of somebody.” The announcement came at a Community Conversations event, hosted in Fall and Spring Quarters with the goal of connecting offcampus students and their neighbors through a discussion about city issues. Attendees included Evanston and NU policemen, aldermen,
the daily northwestern @news_BaileyW
Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board members and parents are petitioning the Illinois General Assembly to ask that having a concealed gun be illegal anywhere on school grounds. “We believe that all school property, including school grounds and parking lots, should be exempt from the Concealed Carry Law regardless of where and how those guns are stored,” the District 65 School Board said in a draft of a letter to the state legislature approved May 5. Illinois passed the Firearm Concealed Carry Act in July 2013, making
» See CONVERSATIONS, page 6
By tYLer PaGer
the daily northwestern @tylerpager
2 Chainz has been confirmed as the nighttime headliner for Dillo Day this year, Mayfest announced Tuesday evening. Mayfest and Northwestern Ski Trip teased the name Tauheed Epps, 2 Chainz’ legal name, on the Dillo Day website Monday night. 2 Chainz, a rapper who hails from College Park, Georgia, released his debut solo album, “Based on a T.R.U. Story,” in 2012. He has collaborated with many well-known artists including Kanye West, Nicki Minaj and Jason Derulo. Michael Bass, Mayfest’s director of concerts, said 2 Chainz’s performance at Lollapalooza, a musical festival in Chicago, solidified his committee’s desire to bring the artist to Dillo Day. “The energy was just so incredible,” the Communication junior said. “This is something we want for our nighttime headliner. We want the energy to increase throughout the day.” Although Chance the Rapper has already been announced as the festival’s daytime headliner, Bass said his committee was not focused on specifically having two rappers serve as the main acts for the event. “We were trying to capitalize on
trends,” he said. “Just through our understanding of campus taste – via polls, going to parties, talking to people – it seemed like both these acts just have massive popularity.” Bass added that even though both confirmed artists are rappers, their styles are different. “We do think that they have very different styles that complement each other very nicely, so it’s not redundant,” he said. Mayfest spokeswoman Bri Hightower said the results from the group’s campus-wide survey played » See DILLO, page 6
Source: Facebook
ALL I WANT FOR MY DILLO rapper 2 Chainz was confirmed as the headliner for dillo day tuesday. 2 Chainz is well-known for his songs “i’m different” and “Birthday Song” and his collaborations with Kanye West, drake and Nicki minaj.
Panel talks NU workers’ rights
D65 asks to change concealed carry law By BaiLeY WiLLiaMS
representatives of Associated Student Government and Mayfest and University staff, who talked about plans for Dillo Day and the end of the academic year. Leonard said he hoped the smartphone app and other changes will allow the music festival to run more safely and smoothly. Mayfest staff will also be able to send out notifications through the app to provide people with updates in the event of inclement weather, he said. “This year, we’re really focused on making sure we’re giving people as much information as we think they need, and that’s something that hasn’t necessarily been done in the past,” Leonard said. “I think that it’ll help spark a shift in sort of the way people interact and behave,” he said. Among the modifications for Dillo Day are the revised wristband policies, which restrict attendees to those from the NU community, their personal guests and Evanston residents over the age of 19, unless accompanied by a chaperone. Dean of Students Todd Adams discussed an initiative to have Dillo Day events run more continuously, with the goal of keeping students on the Lakefill as much as possible and not wandering through the city. “We’re moving the activities closer into where the people are, the core of the venue … in an effort to really concentrate the programming
By OLiVia eXStrUM
it the last state in the U.S to legalize concealed carry. The act, which allows residents to bring concealed weapons into public places, came after a lawsuit that prompted the state to address the legislation. A provision in the law sparked discussion within District 65. Board members discussed concerns they had with the law in reference to their visitors policy at an April 1 school board policy meeting. Under the concealed carry act, firearms that are locked in vehicles are allowed in school parking lots even though firearms are not allowed on school grounds. Upon reviewing the district’s visitors policy, District » See CONCEALED, page 6
the daily northwestern @olivesocean
Northwestern workers and students spoke Tuesday night about the increasingly corporate culture of universities like NU and announced a petition supporting the rights of campus workers. The talk, “$$$: Workers’ Rights & Neoliberalism at the University,” was held in University Halland sponsored by Peace Project, NU’s oldest social justice and anti-war organization, as a part of Social Justice Week at NU: Oppression at the Academy. Two Northwestern employees, Rafael Marquez and Tom Breitsprecher, kicked off the discussion by sharing their personal experiences as campus workers. On April 16, Marquez, a food service worker in 1835 Hinman dining hall, said
he attended an afternoon meeting with other workers and members of Sodexo management. After an employee was called out at the meeting for working too slowly, Marquez defended her, and members of Sodexo management subsequently threatened to call campus police, Marquez said. He said he was accused of being “overexcited” and “under the influence” at the workplace and was then put on temporary suspension. In an effort to maintain his job, he was required to turn in statements to the Sodexo Human Resources Office. “As my duty as a steward, I will not back down or shut up when it comes to defending one of my coworkers when something unjust is put upon them,” Marquez said. “If I don’t stick up for my coworker, it’s like we don’t have a right to freedom of speech.” Marquez said a week before his accusations, a fellow employee had been laid
off but was not replaced. Instead, the former employee’s responsibilities were allocated to other workers, he said. Students in support of Marquez organized a march from the Arch to the Sodexo Human Resources Office where he turned in his statements. During the suspension, he said he was also called into the office and “interrogated.” Marquez said support and solidarity from students is key in changing the way Sodexo and the University engage with workers’ issues. Breitsprecher, a cook at the Willard Residential College dining hall, said even though there is a union, there are often incidents in which workers are unfairly treated and not represented equally by campus management and the University. “Although this was a single incident, » See WORKERS’ RIGHTS, page 6
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LEND partners with First Bank & Trust By tyler pager
the daily northwestern @tylerpager
“
That LEND is doing these microloans for businesses that are in Evanston is very attractive because we are always looking to invest in the community.
Northwestern student-run nonprofit Lending for Evanston and Northwestern Development has partnered with Evanston’s First Bank & Trust to expand the organization’s loaning capacity. As part of the partnership, the bank has invested $10,000 into LEND’s microfinance fund. LEND provides microfinance loans and training to small businesses in the Evanston community. Traditionally, LEND gives loans between $500 and $10,000 to Evanston businesses that do not qualify for bank loans due to insufficient assets or lack of credit. For future loans, half of the money will come from LEND’s funds and half will come from the bank. All interest generated from the loans will be reinvested into the fund. First Bank & Trust will not make any financial gains from the partnership. Since LEND was founded, it has loaned more than $27,000 to nine businesses. Salil Gupta, president of LEND, said the
agreement is a great opportunity for the group to increase its outreach. “First Bank & Trust has been heavily embedded in the Evanston community for a long time,” the McCormick junior said. “They have been great community partners for Evanston entrepreneurs and to be able to get their help just solidifies LEND’s mission and goal and really shows people that we are really out there to help the community.” On Saturday, LEND finalized its first contract that will use funds from First Bank & Trust to provide a $10,000 loan to Eco Greenergy Properties LLC. The company was contracted by Evanston to replace some windows
Police Blotter
Several rooftop air-conditioning parts stolen
Woman finds three bullet holes in her car A 34-year-old woman found three bullet holes in her car in west Evanston on Friday. The woman found a bullet hole in the rear driver’s side of her vehicle, a gold 1992 Lexus, along with bullet holes in the gas tank and the driver’s side door, Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said. She had parked her vehicle in an alley in the 2100 block of Emerson Street, where police said the incident occurred at about 11:45 p.m.
WEDNESday, May 14, 2014
Michael Corr, First Bank & Trust senior VP of commercial banking
Someone stole parts belonging to three rooftop air-conditioning units from downtown Evanston sometime before Monday. An unknown person removed electrical parts from rooftops in the 1600 block of Sherman Avenue, which could cost about $2,000 to repair, Parrott said. The management company of the building reported the incident, with the damages only being noticed Monday, when the air conditioning was turned on, police said. The incident occurred in the same building in which World of Beer, 1601 Sherman Ave., is located.
in apartment buildings the city owns. The business specializes in environmentally-friendly construction and the owner of the company will use the loan to put a down payment on the windows, Gupta said. Michael Corr, senior vice president of commercial banking at First Bank & Trust, said LEND’s connection to promoting Evanston served as a catalyst for the partnership. “The fact that LEND is doing these microloans for businesses that are in Evanston is very attractive because we are always looking to invest in the community,” he said. “An organization like LEND is able to reach the people in the community who we are not able to reach.” Corr added First Bank & Trust will provide training sessions for NU students. “We are also very interested in providing guidance and training to the students who are eager to learn more and participate in this program,” he said. “There’s a lot that we can teach the students about how the process works from the bank perspective and how it differs in some ways from what they are doing.” tylerpager2017@u.northwestern.edu
Setting the record straight In “Documentary honoring life of alum completed” in Tuesday’s print edition, Jesse Swedlund was misidentified as a current student. He is an alumnus. The story also misstated the documentary’s filming dates and information about the preliminary screenings. The Daily regrets the errors.
— Julian Gerez
Nonprofit trains local businesses in disability awareness See story on page 6
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Trauma Recovery Program
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PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTEST Presented by Students Publishing Company in memory of Presented by Students Publishing(1946-1969), Company inwhose memory of Northwestern alum Kay Krieghbaum dedication Kay this Krieghbaum to Northwestern photojournalismalum inspired event. (1946-1969),
whose dedication to photojournalism inspired this event.
Deadline for submissions: Deadline for submissions: May 20th 3 pm Monday, Juneby 2, 2014 A 1st prizePlace of $100 -will be awarded to the BEST PHOTOGRAPH $200 (any subject) taken by a Northwestern University student and 2nd Place - $150 published in a print or online publication between May 25, 3rd Place - $100 2010 and May 20, 2011.
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For more information, contact Yellowbrick today. 866.364.2300 ext. 233 www.yellowbrickprogram.com 1560 Sherman Avenue, Suite 400, Evanston, IL 60201 TRP Ad-Daily Northwestern 3.indd 1
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the daily northwestern | NEWS 3
WEDNESday, may 14, 2014
On Campus Schakowsky talks youth engagement, voters’ rights By jordan harrison
the daily northwestern @MedillJordan
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) spoke Tuesday at Northwestern about the Voting Rights Act and how college students can become more politically engaged. More than 20 individuals attended the talk, held at Technological Institute and hosted by Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Schakowsky began by speaking about voter registration efforts during the Civil Rights Movement, contrasting that work with a recent trend of “voter suppression” laws and the low voter turnout of young adults in non-presidential election years. “In Texas, you can use as identification your gun registration card,” she said. “You may not use your student ID in order to register to vote.” She announced her support for a new, nonpartisan voter registration effort to help voters who encounter obstacles from new voting laws and gave students a signup sheet to receive more information about the initiative. “The NAACP and the Leadership Council on Civil Rights are going to be conducting a ‘Freedom Summer and Fall’ and start doing recruiting and training and dispatching and organizing and publicity around this idea of getting people out to vote,” Schakowsky said. “Anywhere there are
6 current, former NU students make Crain’s ‘20 in their 20s’ list
Crain’s Chicago Business recently recognized former and current Northwestern students on its annual “20 in their 20s” list, which honors local individuals under 30 who have made significant accomplishments within their industries. The students recognized include one current
Jordan Harrison/The Daily Northwestern
bridging the gap Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) spoke about youth involvement in politics at Northwestern on Tuesday. She encouraged students to vote in off-season elections and spoke about a new initiative to register voters.
these barriers to voting, to physically help people get over them.” After the talk, she held a question-and-answer session, inviting questions and comments from the audience. Several students said they noticed
a trend of political apathy among young people. Others asked her how to encourage women to run for office and how best to be heard by political representatives. Weinberg senior Leah Jones, president of NU’s
undergraduate, one graduate student and four NU alumni. Weinberg senior Zoe Damacela, a fashion entrepreneur, was named to the list for her work in the fashion business. Damacela has been featured on the cover of Seventeen magazine and will continue her career at Macy’s, Inc. after graduation. Graduate student Sam Barnett was also recognized for his work as the CEO of SBB Research Group. Through his position, Barnett will collaborate with film distributor AMC Theatres to
assess the ways individuals react to movie trailers. Barnett is also working toward a doctorate in neuroscience and finance. Four other NU alumni were also given the honor, including Matt Bogusz (Weinberg ‘09) the mayor of Des Plaines, Illinois. During his time in office, Bogusz has shortened the time it takes to get a business license and increased the budget for infrastructure improvements, among other accomplishments. Mert Iseri (McCormick ‘11) and Yuri Melina (Weinberg, ‘11) were recognized for a company
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Theta Alpha chapter of DST, said she met the congresswoman in February at a conference in Washington, D.C., and has wanted her to speak on campus since. “She’s very personable,” Jones said. “I’m glad that the audience asked the questions that we wanted to hear, things that were relevant to the audience and not just things that she had planned to talk about. She was very open to having an open dialogue.” Jones said she thought it was important for Schakowsky to speak at NU because of the relationship between the University and Evanston. “She is representing the Evanston community and Northwestern as part of that,” Jones said. “And I think a lot of times as students, we don’t see ourselves interacting with the greater Chicago area or being a part of it, but we are. It was a great opportunity for people to bridge the gap between Northwestern and Evanston.” Communication junior Maya Collins, a member of DST, said she enjoyed Schakowsky’s talk and admired her candidness. “We appreciated her for just being open to discussing what it’s like to be a woman in Congress because we know Congress is very male-dominated,” Collins said. “Personally, I just appreciated her advice on standing up as a woman and not being afraid to confront conflict.” jordanharrison2017@u.northwestern.edu they co-founded called SwipeSense Inc. The device works as a portable hand sanitizer that clips onto clothing. The device is for use in hospitals in an effort to ensure proper hygiene is maintained. Tristan Meline (Communication ‘07) made the list for his contribution to MillerCoors, where he works as the associate marketing manager. Meline was responsible for guiding a multi-million dollar ad campaign for the company’s in-house line of hard cider. — Rebecca Savransky
SPEND WINTER 2015 IN WASHINGTON D.C. Have you ever dreamed of rubbing elbows with the movers and shakers on Capitol Hill? Would you like to learn how D.C. operates from the inside as legislators, the Obama administration and advocacy groups grapple with key issues facing the country? The Northwestern undergraduate program in Washington is an exciting opportunity for students to gain invaluable knowledge and experience about how DC operates, working as interns in the mix of organizations involved in a variety of important national issues while taking seminars in privacy and civil liberties in an era of National Security Agency scandals, and presidential power versus congressional clout. The program, which provides four units of academic credit through the internship/practicum and two seminars, also gives students the opportunity to forge ongoing relationships with organizations and companies in D.C. that have yielded subsequent internships and jobs. The program is offered every winter quarter so that students are there to witness either an inaugural address or a State of the Union address. Students work out of Medill’s D.C. Bureau at 1325 G Street, NW, Suite 730, about two blocks from the Metro Center subway stop.
If you are interested in finding out more about the Winter 2015 program, attend a meeting on Friday, May 16, at 11am in McCormick Tribune Center, Room 3-127. If you are interested but can’t attend the meeting, please contact Prof. Ellen Shearer at shearer@northwestern.edu.
OPINION
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Wednesday, May 14, 2014
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Consider the effects of too much sun exposure MATT GATES
DAILY COLUMNIST
Walking down Sheridan during January’s Polar Vortex, I never thought I would make the same walk wearing sandals, shorts and a t-shirt. But I guess seeing that even the Midwest has nice weather to offer will be one of the last great parts of my freshman year experience. However, nothing comes without a price, even nice weather. Too much exposure to the sun’s rays comes with negative health consequences, the most infamous of which is skin cancer. At least among many Americans, tanning is considered a summer pastime. However, tanning is known to increase one’s risk of skin cancer. Moreover, sun exposure, especially when it leads to blistering sunburn, is most damaging early in life. One blistering sunburn during childhood doubles a person’s risk of developing melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, later in life. For this reason, the college-aged population should understand the risks that come with tanning. The idea of a “healthy tan” may come from people who get tanned running outside during the summer or playing sports on the beach. However, for those born with a naturally pale complexion, healthy and tan may be at odds. I have heard of a “Health, Fitness and Recreation Center” near my hometown that includes a tanning room. For someone with a high risk of skin
cancer, tanning after a workout is like taking a production of vitamin D, it is also true that UVB smoke break at the gym. There is a difference rays can only result in the production of a limited between looking healthy and being healthy. amount of vitamin D. Dietary sources such as oily “You have cancer” are three words fish and supplements are recommended to prono one ever wants to vide vitamin D. hear. Yet some people It is also important to note that white seem to think people are not the only ones who can that if their suffer from skin cancer, despite the comHealthy diagnosis is mon misconception. Not only can “just skin black, Latino and Asian individusun exposure cancer” als also develop skin cancer, they have these groups are generally Know the dangers nothing to diagnosed with melanoma Avoid tanning worry later and therefore about. have lower surApply sunscreen While vival rates. My Wear sunglasses some doctor started patients lecturing may be me on fortunate the risks Sun risks enough to of skin have skin cancer No such thing as a healthy tan cancer sucwhen I cessfully was old Skin cancer can affect anyone treated with a enough Melanoma can be deadly comparatively minor to be out procedure, not on my own Graphic by Kelsey Ott/ everyone is so lucky. and had to Daily Senior Staffer Melanoma in parapply sunscreen ticular is aggressive and estimated to result in myself. I still get warned 8,790 deaths in the U.S. each year. about it every year. If I were not white, would Many people have told me they know they are doctors have taken the time to explain this to taking risks by not protecting against UV radiame? It is understandable that someone with light tion but they are doing so to avoid another detskin and a family history is more in need of this rimental health condition: vitamin D deficiency. information. However, people should know that While it is true that UVB rays are involved in the anyone can develop skin cancer.
Experiencing total abject failure with no solution TOM CUI
DAILY COLUMNIST
During Spring Quarter of freshman year, eager to expand on my passion for philosophy, I took a class in moral philosophy. I had fallen in love with the idea that ethics could change the world. I spent innumerable hours reading the assigned texts. I was shocked to receive a C on the first assigned paper. “No matter,” I told myself; my passion for the subject is pure, and the long-term benefits of the course material would trump any low grade. Then another C was handed back to me, and another. The grade I received in that class dragged my grade point average down by a tenth of a point. How many reading this column would consider taking that class a good decision? Not surprisingly, I think taking that class was a bad decision. It We know that was not bad in a comical sense — where others total abject laugh along at the story failure is bad. and act like it matters We know very less than it should — little about how because I still love philosophy with a passion. reinvention Its effects were severe enough that its badness works on this cannot be shrugged off. campus. It is an example of total abject failure: an attempt that ended up in a result as bad as I dared to imagine. This notion of total abject failure is not often talked about at NU. For one, we tend not to think of any sign of failure as total. A bad test score in one major class only inspires hopes of making the grade up, and a badly planned student group event evokes soul-searching and restored optimism. For another, failure is not interpreted as abject. If the first major does not work out, switching to a different one takes only some paperwork and processing time. There are so many other opportunities on this campus that you can find the right one eventually. But we must note how this faith against failure is a product of our institutions. Due to the number of faculty and amount of cash slushing through campus offices, the chances of a total failure occurring is low; a class can be dropped and retaken, and groups maintain access to funds despite one bad event. The size of the administration — one administrator for around every five undergraduates — allows for pain-free major
“
changes, counseling and funding. All the above is possible due to a network of tuition, drug royalties, withdrawals from the $8 billion endowment and the like. Institutions buttress our faith, but what institutions give, they also take away. Certainly they are known to suspend support under the guises of “medical leave” or “academic dismissal,” notions shrouded in secrecy. Undergraduates subject to these punishments are ripped away from campus society — and who knows when we will have enough free time to notice their absences? More commonly, we observe cases where institutions notice competition among students, but they let it spread without considering whether more support is needed. Two years down the line, when you are told to commit to the path you have chosen, these cases become more apparent. A premed student knows this feeling all too well, as she haggles with department advisers and pays out of her own pockets for practice standardized exams. A Medill student slaves away through her journalism residency for small stipend. A theatre student stacks onto her back as many production credits as possible until it breaks. The problem, unfortunately, is that we do not talk about total abject failure. There is considerable discussion on campus about restoring success – conquering personal demons in order to get back on track. But this assumes there is a track you can return to. The feeling of total abject failure, whether it starts after freshman chemistry or at the end of junior year, is seeing no further path in sight. Standing on the abyss, a student has to perform something much harder than conquest: She has to reinvent herself by generating new passions for different things. We know that total abject failure is bad. We know very little about how reinvention works on this campus. Its mechanisms are better known by close friends or kept to a Counseling and Psychological Services report. But this means we observe a bad phenomenon on campus without knowing any solution. Is that really tolerable? Since I admit I know very little about the problem at hand, I should not propose any solutions. What I have tried to do is acknowledge the problem exists and, eclipsed by more feel-good efforts, lingers in the corners. Those who have had to reinvent themselves into a newfound profession should continue to speak up, highlighting their unique experiences. This is a necessary first step to improve our community’s general happiness. 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.
Everyone should be able to make an informed decision about tanning. Moreover, no one should be pressured into tanning. Having a family history of skin cancer, I have never appreciated it when people have told me I shouldn’t worry about sun exposure unless I’m spending a whole day at the beach, I should use a lower SPF or skin cancer is not serious. I would rather go without the freckles and coats of red that peel away back to white. Northwestern students seem less likely to tan or at least less likely to pressure others to do so. Maybe we really are smarter or at least better informed. Maybe we spend all our time studying. Maybe we are older than we were in high school and know better. Maybe it’s just the Midwest’s weather patterns, and some of us will be tanning at home this summer. At any rate, skin cancer is something to think about this summer. Luckily, if you are like me and find yourself unable and unwilling to get a fashionable tan, there’s something else you can try. Sunglasses are not only fashionable but also practical: They may help prevent eye cancer. After you finish up classes this year, you might be eager to catch up with your home friends by tanning or relaxing on South Beach if you are staying on campus. We all deserve a beautiful summer after this year of snow, wind and cold. But we also deserve to stay healthy and able to use our NU educations for as many years as possible. Matt Gates is a Weinberg freshman. He can be reached at matthewgates2017@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a letter to the editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com.
Online Buzz: poll results What do you think about the decision to replace Blackboard with Canvas? I never go on my courses’ page anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.
19%
50%
It’s great! Blackboard is too slow and not user-friendly.
31%
Canvas seems unnecessary. Who wants to get texts about their grades? Graphic by Elizabeth Kim/The Daily Northwestern
The Daily Northwestern Volume 134, Issue 121 Editor in Chief Paulina Firozi
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City’s new renewable energy contract part of statewide trend
Evanston approved a contract Friday with a new energy supplier that will allow residents to purchase 100 percent renewable energy, making it one of more than 90 communities in Illinois with such a contract. The new three-year contract with Homefield Energy will replace the city’s existing contract with Verde Energy USA, which expires in August. “This program builds on Evanston’s tradition of environmental stewardship by providing residents and small businesses with 100 percent renewable energy, while also delivering price certainty,” Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl said in a news release. At the City Council meeting April 28, Jonathan Nieuwsma, vice president of Citizens’ Greener Evanston, spoke in support of the city choosing a contract that would continue to allow Evanston residents to use 100 percent renewable energy. “I want to congratulate City Council and the mayor on achieving our first climate action plan goal of 13 percent emissions reduction by 2012,” Nieuwsma said during citizen comment. “Citizens’ Greener Evanston looks forward to working on our next goal of a 20 percent reduction by 2016, and the only way we’re going to do that is if we continue to use 100 percent renewable energy under our aggregation contract.” Evanston is one of 91 communities in the state buying only renewable energy, making Illinois the state with the highest number of communities that offers 100 percent renewable energy to residents, according to the publication Illinois Issues. — Sophia Bollag
V ISIT
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Swimming education program more than doubles in size
A program to teach Evanston second graders to swim has more than doubled in size and moved out of its pilot phase, the Evanston Community Foundation said Monday. Evanston Swims!, which provides free monthly swimming lessons to second graders in Evanston/ Skokie School District 65, started through Evanston150, an initiative to improve Evanston in
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National News French foreign minister says Syria has likely used chlorine gas in recent attacks
WASHINGTON — In comments to reporters Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said there was strong evidence that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons, including chrlorine gas, in 14 small-scale attacks since Syria agreed to join the world’s ban on such weapons last fall. The French minister, however, did not raise the allegations in talks that he held with Secretary of State John Kerry before he met with reporters, the State Department said. Fabius made his comments shortly after the advocacy group Human Rights Watch released a report that said that evidence it has reviewed “strongly suggests” that regime helicopters dropped improvised explosives known as barrel bombs loaded with chlorine gas cylinders on three towns in northern Syria in mid-April. The report noted that only the Syrian government operates helicopters. Rebel activists have accused the Syrian government of using chlorine gas on several occasions in recent weeks. The Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, the international body that monitors compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention, currently is investigating whether chlorine munitions have been used in Syria. Syria agreed to join the convention, which bans such weapons, after the United States threatened it with military attacks after hundreds of Syrian civilians celebration of the city’s 150th anniversary in 2013. The program launched in October 2012 in three elementary schools and has since expanded to include eight elementary schools. “The success of Evanston Swims!, is the result of true community partnership,” Bill Geiger, outgoing CEO of the McGaw YMCA, said in a news release. “Evanston/Skokie School District 65, the YWCA Evanston/North Shore, YMCA, and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, as well as many community volunteers and donors have all come together to support our youth.” Since the program began, ECF collected money to support the program. On Monday, ECF said it
died in a chemical attack last August outside Damascus. Chlorine is found in numerous household and industrial products, but its use as a weapon is banned under the convention. “We have at least 14 indications that show us that in the past recent weeks again chemical weapons in a smaller scale have been used,” Fabius said. “Right now we are examining the samples that were taken.” Fabius said that the evidence suggests that Assad still can produce chemical weapons even though OPCW inspectors have said the equipment needed to manufacture and load chemical weapons has been destroyed. Most of Syria’s chemical weapons stores have been shipped out of Syria, but a small amount remains on a base in Damascus. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel acknowledged Tuesday reports that the last shipment has been delayed because rebels control the roads leading to Syria’s coast. “The problem that we have is that there are security challenges to get those moved to the port and to get the last chemical weapons and the precursors onto the ship,” he told reporters accompanying him on a visit to Saudi Arabia, according to a Defense Department transcript. Kerry and Fabius are to meet again in London on Thursday for further talks on Syria with nine European and Arab governments that also back the flagging, divided moderate Syrian opposition, whose leader, Ahmad Jarba, has been in Washington this week seeking more aid, including heavy weapons. — Jonathan S. Landay (McClatchy Washington Bureau) transferred the more than $17,000 fund for the program to the YWCA Evanston/North Shore. Pam James, who served as chairwoman of the Evanston Swims! committee, helped develop the program. “While Lake Michigan is beautiful, it’s also dangerous,” James told The Daily in 2012, saying the program would promote water safety. “In addition to being life-saving, it’s also something that’s life-long and that’s life-enhancing and that opens the door to so many other opportunities,” she said. — Sophia Bollag
6 NEWS | the daily northwestern
WEDNESday, may 14, 2014
Workers’ Rights
Businesses trained in disability awareness By Katherine Richter
the daily northwestern @krichter_medill
A nonprofit hosted a workshop Tuesday morning in south Evanston to improve business owners’ communications with disabled customers and clientele. The Networking Breakfast and Disability Awareness Boot Camp, held at 824 Dempster St., was hosted by JJ’s List, a nonprofit that aims to integrate disabilityaccessible marketing and confident customer services into core business practices, in collaboration with the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. Participants registered online to participate in the session. Breakfast and networking will began at 7:45 a.m. and concluded at 9:15 a.m. People with disabilities are the fastest-growing minority group in the country with more than $200 billion in spending power, making awareness crucial, according to the JJ’s List website. “After learning from JJ’s List that people with disabilities have over $200 billion in spending power, I’m excited to see what Chamber members can do to better engage their customers and staff with disabilities,” said Jessica VandenBergh, manager of administration at the Chamber, in an email to The Daily. “JJ’s List does a great job of providing that education. Having family members with disabilities, I’m also interested
Concealed From page 1
65 school board members reached out to the Illinois Association of School Boards, a nonprofit organization that offers services to public schools, for clarification of the law. Kimberly Small, a lawyer who works at the IASB, told The Daily the organization does not hold any authority over any state school boards but works with school boards on their policies. Small said that it was a part of the association’s policy to clarify existing laws and then to inform school boards. Small said she has observed the concealed carry law to be controversial. “People don’t like conceal (carry),” Small said. “There’s definitely political discourse about the law.” In the letter drafted and approved by the board, the body called upon state legislators to reconsider the concealed carry law so that the board could “ensure the maximum safety of (the district’s) approximately 7,500 students and 1,000 employees.” The letter states that the interpretation of the law that allows firearms in school parking lots goes against the board’s and others’ understanding of the law, which
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to see what Owners, managers and information I can staff need to ... know take home how to communicate as well.” Busiwith people who have ness owndisabilities. ers could sign up at JJ Hanley, the breakFounder, JJ’s List, fast for the JJ’s List free directory, which connects owners to 30,000 other disability-aware partners. The directory is a part of Search, Inc.and it also helps disabled community members find jobs. JJ’s List provides training to businesses to help them accommodate disabled customers’ needs. Businesses that complete the training receive the “DisabilityAware Business Seal of Approval.” JJ Hanley, founder and executive director of JJ’s List, said training like the kind the organization provides can be beneficial to all types of businesses. “It doesn’t matter whether your business is small or large,” Hanley said in an email. “Owners, managers and staff need to make sure they know how to communicate with people who have disabilities confidently and appropriately.”
we deal with managers all the time who threaten, intimidate and bully workers,” Breitsprecher said. “That’s coercion, and often we’re powerless to stop it.” The discussion continued with Jackson Bartlett, a doctoral student in the Department of African American Studies, who discussed neoliberalism and corporate culture on college campuses. Essentially, Bartlett said neoliberalism is defined as the emphasis on individual accountability as being necessary for success. He added that it is important for those in higher education to be able to critically analyze and empathize. “The unavoidable fact is that most students here have had little experience with working class communities,” Bartlett said. “We should be teaching about these struggles in the classroom.” Communication senior Isabella Pasbakhsh echoed Bartlett’s statements, saying the switch from structural and social responsibility to individual responsibility is a product of “corporations setting agendas and deciding what the University does.”
“Self-interest is the ultimate interest,” she said. “It’s the idea that if you aren’t able to manage academics, student groups and work study, it’s on you for not succeeding.” At the end of the talk, Weinberg sophomore Hazim Abdullah-Smith, treasurer of Peace Project and a member of the organizing committee for Social Justice Week, announced the petition, which lends support to NU workers, and encouraged attendees to sign it. “We implore Northwestern University to ensure Sodexo workers (and workers of other corporations under contract by NU) are respected and able to return to their full-time positions,” the petition reads. Abdullah-Smith said the event was held because “there are a lot of things going on here that require awareness and compassion,” including the workers’ rights issues. “This event was important in order to call attention to the everyday injustices we may overlook and come to understand that things may not be as simple as they appear,” he said. oliviaexstrum2017@u.northwestern.edu
Conversations
Dillo
to them was supposed to exclude school grounds from the discussion entirely. “Any risk of a child entering a car that contains a gun is a risk we do not want nor should be forced to take,” the school board wrote in the letter. The board concludes the letter by asking legislators to take the necessary measures “to extend the complete prohibition of firearms on all public and private school property, including school parking lots.” Four days after the board approved the letter, a Facebook post on the “District 65 Parents” group called on parents of the district to support the letter as well. Candance Parks Chow, who made the post, said she believed legislators agreed with the board on the policy but that “they need(ed) fuel to speak against at minimum this ludicrous loophole in the law.” “There is no possible way a school can enforce that the cars are locked, and this just flies in the face of prohibiting guns on school property,” Chow said in the post. Chow wrote in the post that she hoped District 65 parents and board members’ opposition to the law would go “viral.”
that we’ve got throughout the day,” Leonard said. “There are a lot more opportunities for people to really experience the festival atmosphere.” As part of centering events around the Lakefill, Mayfest leaders said the organization will continue to provide students access to Norris, smartphone charging stations and various food options, including a free breakfast before and after the music festival. In addition to the second performance stage, introduced last year, Dillo Day will feature a new rotating main stage. At the event, representatives from both the Evanston and University police departments shared their input on ensuring the health and safety of all Dillo Day attendees. The app will feature a quick-touch button to call 911 in the case of emergency, Mayfest co-chair Xander Shepherd said. Anthony Kirchmeier, director of off-campus life, said meetings between Evanston and NU community members are integral in keeping the relationship strong and getting past any problems that develop. “We need some kind of forum to discuss these issues in a constructive way,” he said. “It’s good to have them in the same room offering different perspectives.”
an important role in the booking process. “After analyzing our survey results that we sent out in Winter Quarter, it became very clear that our hip-hop slots are one of the most highly attended slots of the day, so we put extra focus on that,” the Communication senior said. In conjunction with the announcement of 2 Chainz’s performance, NU Ski Trip announced the dates of the 2014 trip, which will be held Dec. 13-19. Participants will be flying into Denver International Airport. The official location of the trip will be announced in early October. NU Ski Trip co-president Harris Goodison said the partnership with Mayfest is an opportunity for the group to give back to the NU community. “It’s really exciting new territory for us,” the Weinberg junior said. “Ski Trip has traditionally been confined to one short period of exposure, and we felt like we had a really great opportunity to give back to Northwestern.” Mayfest co-chair Xander Shepherd said the partnership is “a two-way street” and will extend into future initiatives. “We are both really working together to make sure we both get positive outcomes on Dillo Day and then in the future,” the Weinberg senior said. “I think there is good faith that we both have mutual interest in reaching each others communities and doing so in ways that make sense to both organizations.” Dillo Day is scheduled for May 31.
baileywilliams2017@u.northwestern.edu
paigeleskin2017@u.northwestern.edu
tylerpager2017@u.northwestern.edu
katherinerichter2017@u.northwestern.edu
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the daily northwestern | NEWS 7
WEDNESday, MAY 14, 2014
Stevens From page 8
every word he was saying.” When Stevens gets on his players, it’s not just about baseball, it’s about their post-baseball futures. With pride, he lists program graduates who have become bankers, lawyers, businessmen, even Marines, not taking credit for their successes but drawing a line between his hardline discipline and what they’ve gone on to. Stevens admits he doesn’t get along with every player to come through, in part because he hates to see someone fail to live up to his potential for lack of effort. “He expects a My parents lot out of were pretty special. you when you come But a lot of people’s are. in, and Paul Stevens, he’s hard baseball coach on you. B ut h e expects you to do things because he believes in you as a player,” said Jon Mikrut, who played for Stevens from 2002-05 and is now an NU assistant coach. “He cares about the players 100 percent on and off the field. He wants you to be successful baseball-wise, but more importantly he wants you to come out of here graduating with a degree. And he’ll do anything for our guys to make sure they’ve done that.” Former first baseman Patrick Thompson remembered a time in the late 1990s when Stevens gave everyone on the team a copy of Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” with personalized notes penned inside. Through rhyme, the book suggests readers embrace their future, uncertainty and all, while mindful that success is, at best, “98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.” “Now I have kids, and we read that book to our kids. And the book that he gave us had such foresight in terms of life,” Thompson said. “It goes to him caring about us, having a big picture view of life beyond Northwestern baseball and trying to help instill in us a drive to do great things but send us off with a realistic view that life will never be easy. There’s going to be bumps along the way, but the places that we can go because of the foundation that we have in place and the opportunity that we had to play ball at Northwestern.”
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When it comes to Stevens’ heart, every former player has a story, an uncanny number of them regarding the death of fathers. When infielder Chris Beacom’s dad Terry, a former NU coach, died several years after Chris had graduated, Stevens was one of the first to visit the family’s home. When outfielder Jason Anderson’s dad died, Stevens escorted the player home to Rockford, Illinois, two hours away. When just-graduated infielder Chris Pedersen’s dad died around Thanksgiving in 1998, Stevens drove to Lincoln, Nebraska, to attend the funeral. Perhaps Stevens reacts so supportively to players’ paternal tragedies because of his own experience with father-son relationships. When Stevens transferred back home midway through college, his father — also named Paul — wasn’t happy. The elder Stevens feared his son was sacrificing a promising baseball career on his account. Forty years later, the younger Stevens can hardly hold himself together recounting the situation. “That brings back some pretty hard conversations,” he said, eyes welling. “You can just see how a father’s love for you surpasses anything else that’s out there. My parents were pretty special. But a lot of people’s are.” Today, Stevens and his wife, Kenan, have three children, Kara, Cody and Trevor, the latter two of whom joined their father in NU’s baseball program. Trevor graduated in 2013 after starting for four seasons and now plays in the Chicago Cubs’ farm system. Cody is a junior and the team’s starting shortstop. Stevens says coaching his sons has been as rewarding as it has difficult, but he’s glad to have provided Cody and Trevor the chance to attend NU and reap its benefits. And, more selfishly, he appreciates all the time spent with them, on and off the diamond. “There are a lot of (coaches) who don’t get to watch their sons play,” Stevens said. “I’m very fortunate they’ve been along for the ride.”
On the field, Stevens’ tenure as Cats head coach has been relatively successful, but not unequivocally so. He has been Big Ten Coach of the Year three times — in 1991, 1995 and 2006 — each time
after leading NU to the top echelon, but not the pinnacle, of the Big Ten. In Stevens’ 27 years, his teams have finished in the top three of the conference four times but never won the regular season or tournament titles. Stevens has coached and won far more games than anyone else in program history but compiled only a lukewarm .450 winning percentage. NU’s financial and structural disadvantages relative to their Big Ten counterparts surely contribute to the program’s muted success. With about 600 seats, Evanston’s Rocky Miller Park is by far the smallest stadium in the conference, and the Cats’ practice facilities don’t measure up to powerhouses like Nebraska or Indiana. Meanwhile, Chicago’s weather makes recruiting and preparation difficult when competing with more mild-wintered conference rivals and impossible when up against southern schools. For these reasons and more, NU has finished in first place just once — in 1957 — in more than a century of Big Ten baseball. But other NU athletic programs have overcome similar disadvantages to become at least consistent conference contenders. That the baseball team hasn’t gotten there eats at Stevens. Until the Cats win that elusive Big Ten title, if they ever do, Stevens’ tenure will — like his playing career — include an element of near-miss. “We bust our tails with what we have to deal with,” he said. “The only thing I can keep moving forward on is, we’ll keep trying. One of these years, we won’t get hit with this, that and the other, and we’ll find a way to do it. At the end of the day, you always want to do that.” 2014 has been a particularly tough season for NU. The Cats lost five of their best players in 2013 to graduation, then saw their returning star, Kyle Ruchim, forced to undergo seasonending arm surgery. The team started the year losing 22 of its first 26 and currently stands 17-32, with a 5-15 conference record that has it near the bottom of the conference standings. After wins, Stevens bounds around the field, smiling and cracking jokes. After losses, he camps in the dugout to quietly gather his thoughts. At first, he seems solemn, even pained. But inevitably, that disappointment bleeds into optimism. Forget about today. The win streak starts tomorrow.
Twenty-seven years is an awfully long time to hold any job, especially in sports. Of NU’s 19 varsity coaches, only fencing coach Laurie Schiller has manned his position longer, and among baseball coaches, Stevens is second in the Big Ten and tied for 11th in Division I in longevity. Few show up to their first day of work imagining repeating the routine for three decades. And yet Stevens considers himself lucky to have stuck in Evanston so long. Growing up on the South Side, he said, the school had a special air about it, and he hasn’t stopped admiring what he thinks it is that the University stands for. “I felt special being asked to come here as He an assistant,” he said, lowering his voice to expects you a forceful whisper. to do things “And that really hasn’t changed much because because he what I have seen this believes in you University create for as a player. the people that go through their athletic Jon Mikrut, program, the academic assistant coach programs. Whether you’re in one area of this University or another, this University creates an atmosphere for all of (the students) to be successful, for all of them to do something extraordinary.” Still, Stevens is 60 years old and for 27 years has handled administrative minutiae all morning so he could stand in a dirty dugout all afternoon. The question is valid: Will he call it quits any time soon? Then again, he works a dream job at a place he loves, where he mentors young men he considers sons. Plus, scrappers don’t quit. They persist until they can’t anymore, until someone drags them away. Hours have passed since Stevens’ noncommittal response about his future, and in that time the coach has gained some clarity. Now, standing along the first-base line at Rocky Miller Park after a Cats victory, he points to the ground and smiles. “They’ll bury me here,” he said.
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asputt@u.northwestern.edu
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His voice just commands attention He can be on the other side of the field ... and (you would) just know that’s the guy in charge. — Brad Niedermaier
Baseball 15 NU at Ohio State, 4 p.m. Thursday MAY
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
@Wildcat_Extra
After 27 years, Stevens still scrapping By alex putterman
daily senior staffer @AlexPutt02
For once, Paul Stevens doesn’t quite know what to say. Usually brash and decisive, Northwestern’s baseball coach stumbles for a response to a damning allegation from former players: They think he has mellowed. Mellowed? Stevens? The guy who’s spent 27 years yelling at players until his throat hurts? The guy everyone describes as “passionate,” “intense” and “fiery?” The guy whose bellowing voice echoes into the next county? “I don’t know,” Stevens said after a pause. “Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re not right. I may tend to agree with them a little bit, but at the end of the day, maybe things change a little bit, and you have to change with things.” If Stevens’ win-or-die attitude has softened over the years, it’s hard to blame him. It’s possible the monotony of nearly three decades at one job has taken its toll. He recruits and fundraises, analyzes scouting reports and monitors player grades, throws batting practice and coaches the bases. Day after day, year after year. How much longer can he do it? “I don’t think about that,” Stevens said. “It’s like a baseball game. You’ve got to take one pitch, one hitter, one inning, one game at a time. Right now I’m concentrating on today, and then I’ll worry about the weekend. When there’s a plan for me to do something else, I’ll do that.” In many ways, Stevens personifies the baseball-coach cliche. He struts about in sneakers and athletic shorts, a windbreaker over his portly frame and a ball cap, of course, concealing a thinning head of hair. With that booming voice and ship captain’s bravado, he leaves no question who’s the boss. “He’s got the loudest voice I think I’ve ever heard,” former Wildcats pitcher Brad Niedermaier said. “And his voice just commands attention. He can be on the other side of the field, and you would hear it and just know that’s the guy in charge.” Stevens is fond of axioms about grit and hard work and loves a good, sometimes mixed, metaphor. The pitcher rubs his lamp to make magic. The changeup hits a wall and
Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer
watchful eye For 27 years, Paul Stevens has watched Northwestern from the Rocky Miller Park dugout. The team has accumulated a record of 654-799-6 during Stevens’ tenure.
drops off the table. The season is a flowing river building momentum down a mountain. As far as wit goes, Stevens is Casey Stengel on a good day, Yogi Berra on a bad one. Everyone is Stevens’ favorite player, and they all deserve superlatives. Even when forced to acknowledge a hitter’s slump, Stevens qualifies that the guy plays great defense, works extremely hard and “competes” every day. More often than not, to hear Stevens tell it, it’s not a pitcher’s curveball that gets batters out so much as his “intestinal fortitude.” Former players say Stevens’ message is consistent: That they played well was important, but that they played their hardest was paramount. It’s a familiar sentiment of coachspeak but one Stevens believes with six decades’ worth of scrappy fervor. After graduating Luther South High School in 1972, the Chicago native committed to the University of South Alabama to play for former Major League all-star Eddie Stanky. But two years into Stevens’ college career, his father grew sick, and he transferred to Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois, to be closer to home.
Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer
fiery Northwestern coach Paul Stevens is nothing if not intense, but former players say he has mellowed over the years. “Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re not right,” he said.
At Lewis, Stevens was coached by the legendary Gordie Gillespie, who until seven weeks ago held the record for most wins in college baseball history. Gillespie’s impact on Stevens was indelible. “Gordie Gillespie was one of the greatest men I’ve ever been around,” he said. “And what a tremendous coach. His winning percentage was ridiculous, and what he taught us about doing things the right way is still something that I resort back to. He was a special man, and I was very, very blessed for him to allow me to go to Lewis University.” After graduating college, Stevens was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 16th round of the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. In many ways, he embodied the average minor leaguer, suitcase always packed, spending five seasons in two organizations, playing for eight teams in six leagues across five levels. For his career, Stevens hit .259 and stole 79 bases while playing solid defense wherever he was needed, most often in the middle infield. By all accounts, including his own, the switch hitter lacked exceptional natural talent. Generously listed at 5-foot-11, Stevens hit only six home runs in more than 1,500 minor-league plate appearances, and 237 of his 304 career hits were singles. To make up for physical deficiencies, he worked as hard he could off the field and played as hard as he could on it. “He was the player that on the other team you would hate and on your team you would love,” said longtime NU assistant coach Tim Stoddard, who grew up near Stevens and played against him in college summer leagues. “He played the game extremely hard, not dirty in any sense, but he played as hard as you could. He was what you would call a gamer.” More than anything, Stevens found success by focusing on one skill outside the purview of traditional baseball talents: drawing walks. Stevens reached base at a rate that would make Barry Bonds
proud, posting a .424 career onbase percentage, impressive at any level. His best year was 1978, when he averaged more than a walk a game at low-A Grays Harbor, finishing with a remarkable .517 onbase percentage. He figured getting on base by any possible means — using that innate scrappiness to his advantage — would help his team and advance his career. In another time, he would’ve been right. But in the ‘70s, on-base percentage wasn’t quite mainstream, and most talent evaluators looked first to batting average. Stevens said he was often told, “You can’t walk to the big leagues.” He As it was, Stevens learned over topped out time that he with eight could really games at the AAA level. have a big He admited impact on the that had he been born lives of kids at 2 5 ye ars that age. later and played in Mark Loretta, the postformer player
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“Moneyball” era, in which walks are widely appreciated and rewarded, his career could have been different. Decades removed, Stevens’ feelings toward his near-miss playing days and ahead-of-his-time skill set remain complicated. On one hand, he’s bothered to have fallen short of his Major League goal. On the other, he’s a big believer that everything happens for a reason. “There’s always a reason why,” he said. “Maybe if I didn’t get to those scenarios, I wouldn’t have ever gotten the opportunity to come (to NU) and experience the things I’ve been able to experience, to be as fortunate as I believe I am.” Stevens was hired as an assistant coach at NU before the 1985 season and promoted to head coach in October 1987, just before his 34th birthday. Only a few years removed from professional ball, he remained
as good a player as any on his early teams — and at least as intense a competitor. One practice in 1993, Cats ace Chad Schroeder was pitching to Stevens as part of a drill in which the coach would pepper balls to the defense and punish hypothetical runs with pole-to-pole sprints. With the bases loaded and a full count, Stevens reached his bat back and slapped the catcher’s glove for a run-scoring catcher’s interference. “That was a microcosm of who he was,” Schroeder said. “We were geared up ready for the play, and he just went and did that. And we’re like, it’s unbelievable. The lesson that he probably taught us was there’s more than one way to get on base, but the real lesson is that he’s just a scrapper.” In those days, former players said, Stevens was as “fiery” and “intense” as they come. Mark Loretta — who played four years at NU in the early 1990s before enjoying a 15-year Major League career — says Stevens was a “pretty strict disciplinarian,” citing the coach’s disgust after one particular road trip. “We get off the bus in the middle of the night, and he goes, ‘We’re having practice right now,’” Loretta recalls. “It was like 2 o’clock in the morning. And (afterward) he goes, ‘Be back here at 8 o’clock.’ We proceeded to have four practices in one day the next day.” Today, Stevens emphasizes the importance of graduating players, turning them into men and preparing them for life after baseball and other talking points all college coaches trumpet but only some follow through on. Last week, the baseball team was one of 12 NU programs to earn a Public Recognition Award for its Academic Progress Rate. Stevens’ teams have earned the distinction — given to programs with APR scores in the top 10 percent of their sport nationally — in six of the 10 years the measure has existed. But Loretta said when Stevens began at NU, his mindset was different. “When he first was coaching, he was probably more shortsighted in terms of learning about baseball and wins and losses,” Loretta said. “He learned over the time that he could really have a big impact on the lives of kids at that age. I think at first he didn’t realize that as much, but now he realizes that’s a formative time of life for these guys, and he can make a real positive impact on them.” Senior pitcher Jack Quigley hears the murmurs of Stevens’ gradual mellowing but isn’t fully convinced. “Sometimes that’s hard to believe,” Quigley said. “There’s no doubt there are times he can be as intense as anybody I’ve ever met. If they say it’s true, maybe it is, but while we’re sitting in the dugout it certainly feels like he’s as intense as it gets.” Quigley offers an anecdote to prove his coach’s spirit hasn’t gone extinct: “My freshman year, I was pitching here, and I wasn’t throwing strikes,” he recalls. “And coach Stevens ran out to the mound — I don’t even think he called ‘time’ — and he got in my face and yelled at me so loudly to trust myself and throw strikes that I think everybody in the entire stadium heard » See stevens, page 7