Illinois Gov. pardons former NU football player » PAGE 3
SPORTS Volleyball Cats claw their way to consecutive victories » PAGE 8
OPINION Caracotsios Shutting down Silk Road is a federal vicory » PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, October 15, 2013
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ASG aims to fill diversity spot Cabinet moves forward with plans to find a new nominee for top diversity position By SOPHIA BOLLAG
daily senior staffer @SophiaBollag
After internal discussions and consultation with outside officials, Associated Student Government has released an updated job description for its top diversity official in hopes of filling the vacancy next week. The position of diversity and inclusion associate vice president has been empty since Hayley Stevens’ (Weinberg ’13) term expired in the spring. In May, Senate voted down the confirmation of Stephen Piotrkowski, then a Medill sophomore, whom the cabinet selection committee selected as Stevens’ replacement. In response to criticism raised by some senators about the nomination of Piotrkowski — a white, straight male — the changes specify that ASG will not discriminate against applicants based on race, gender or sexual orientation. “There is no identity requirement for this position,” said ASG president Ani Ajith, a Weinberg senior and former Daily staffer. “You don’t have to look a certain way or be from a certain place, be in a certain group or identify as something to be in this position, and if that’s something we didn’t make clear enough in the spring, then we’re certainly going to make it clear this fall.” Three weeks after Piotrkowski didn’t win confirmation, the second person to be nominated for the position, Aanchal Narang, then a Weinberg junior, declined the nomination shortly before Senate was scheduled
to vote on her confirmation. This year, ASG cabinet members rewrote the position’s description in consultation with representatives from the Coalition of Colors and Lesley-Ann Brown, director of campus inclusion and community. “The fallout from last year, a lot of it, in my opinion, was because there wasn’t a clear description of what this role actually was and what it wasn’t,” Brown said. “So my suggestion to them was to be as clear as possible to be able to get the kind of candidates that they were lookThe ing for and the ones that fallout from last would be successful.” year, a lot of it, in The new my opinion, was specificabecause there tions state wasn’t a clear that applicants must description of have worked what this role for a minimum of one actually was and academic what it wasn’t. year in a diversityLesley-Ann Brown, or inclu- director of campus sion-related inclusion and student community group or committee. It also says applicants must have made “tangible contributions” to diversity and inclusion at Northwestern. Sofia Sami, ASG’s academic vice president, said the updates also clarify how the diversity and inclusion associate vice president will work with Brown and her department’s student committee, the Inclusion Task Force. “When that position was created, she wasn’t here,” said Sami, a Weinberg senior. “The position wasn’t created to be malleable when she arrived. We’ve had discussions with her about what
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» See DIVERSITY, page 7
Annabel Edwards/Daily Senior Staffer
‘GRANDE’ PLANS City manager Wally Bobkiewicz and Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl listen to citizen comments at Evanston City Council on Monday. Liquor license approval for the downtown Evanston Starbucks is postponed.
Starbucks booze on hold City delays vote on coffee shop’s liquor license By KELLY GONSALVES
the daily northwestern @kellyagonsalves
Aldermen on Monday night held off on approving a liquor license that would allow Northwestern students to find a different type of buzz at the Starbucks in downtown Evanston. City Council voted Monday night to postpone a decision on whether to grant a liquor license to Evanston’s newest Starbucks location, 1734 Sherman Ave., which would allow the coffee shop to serve beer and wine during evening hours. With the license, the store would become the eighth Starbucks in the Chicago
Pols answer questions on ACA By KELLY GONSALVES
the daily northwestern @kellyagonsalves
Kelly Gonsalves/The Daily Northwestern
MANAGING MISCONCEPTIONS Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) speaks during a panel discussion Sunday at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave. The talk focused on how Evanston residents can benefit from the Affordable Care Act.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
Almost two weeks after the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces opened, a panel of Illinois government officials praised the law’s benefits but said they hope for a statebased exchange in the future. In the fourth installment of his Critical Issues Series of panel discussions, state Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) and five other speakers Sunday sought to ease their constituents’ concerns about the health care overhaul, President Barack Obama’s signature legislation. About 50 people, mostly senior citizens, came to the discussion at the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave. The panelists included Biss, state Rep. » See CRITICAL ISSUES, page 7
area to participate in the “Starbucks Evenings” pilot program. The aldermen voiced a variety of concerns regarding the license provision, ranging from approving the license too hastily to the use of false identification by underage Northwestern students. Harlan Powell, an attorney who spoke on behalf of Starbucks regional director Paul Groshko, assured aldermen that all employees would be formally trained in serving alcohol and checking IDs. Every customer would be limited to one drink at a time, Powell said. Powell said the casual atmosphere would not provide “incentive to have four cocktails at Starbucks” and that
Northwestern gives $188K to youth groups
Northwestern announced Monday it will donate more than $188,000 to six youth organizations in Chicago and Evanston. The money comes from the football bowl revenues relinquished by Penn State to other Big Ten schools earlier this year. Each group will receive about $31,000, according to the University. “These organizations provide important services to protect and assist children and youths in Evanston and Chicago,” University President Morton Schapiro said in a news release. “We are pleased to be able to provide this financial support to help them carry out their important missions.” In Evanston, the donation will benefit Metropolitan Family Services Evanston/ Skokie Valley, the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy, YWCA Evanston/North Shore and Youth Organizations Umbrella. The Chicago groups are the Night
all drinks would be served in glasses to deter buy-and-run attempts. He emphasized the purpose of Starbucks Evenings is to replicate the early and mid-morning social environment with the addition of small plates and relaxing beverages at night. Despite the attorney’s assurances, Ald. Don Wilson (4th) said the council should have more time to discuss the issue. Powell said Starbucks applied for the license under an accelerated process in hopes of having the pilot program ready for the holiday season. Ald. Ann Rainey (8th) questioned » See COUNCIL, page 7 Ministry, which helps homeless young people, and Northwestern Settlement, which offers preschool and after-school programs to children and families in the West Town area.
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We are pleased to be able to provide this financial support to help them carry out their important missions. Morton Schapiro, University president
In July, all 12 schools in the Big Ten agreed to donate what would have been Penn State’s football bowl revenues to youth causes. Penn State would have earned almost $2.3 million during this year’s bowl season if it were not banned due to NCAA sanctions stemming from assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s sexual abuse of children. — Patrick Svitek
INSIDE Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8
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Around Town Illinois educator discusses Affordable Care Act By BAILEY WILLIAMS
the daily northwestern @news_BaileyW
A state health care official took questions Monday about the Affordable Care Act, the latest opportunity for Evanston residents to learn more about the law. The information session at Northminster Presbyterian Church was another stop for Giovanni Gomez, regional outreach coordinator for the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace. He has been speaking in the area about the ACA and helping enroll people in health insurance, said Lesley Williams, head of Adult Services at the Evanston Public Library. Gomez emphasized that the more affordable health insurance is, the more accessible it will become. “This culture of coverage is simply creating a social norm within society to know that it is normal ... to have health insurance,” he said. Interfaith Action of Evanston hosted the event at the church, 2515 Central Park Ave. More than 40 people showed up, some of them expressing concerns about how their family members would fit
Bailey Williams/The Daily Northwestern
HEALTH CARE HELP Giovanni Gomez speaks about the Affordable Care Act to city residents. Gomez addressed the audience at Northminster Presbyterian Church on Monday night.
into the program. In response to a question about how young, healthy people can be a part of the pool of insurance applicants, Gomez called those people the “young invincibles.” He discussed the ACA’s “catastrophic
plans,” which have low premiums and deal with individuals under the age of 30. However, Gomez pointed out that the deductibles and co-pays for these plans are higher. The audience asked questions about younger
Jewel-Osco sees 2 liquor thefts in 5-hour span
west, hopping over a fence along the way. Parrott said the bottles of whiskey are valued at about $82 and the bottle of tequila at $35. Jackson, of the 4200 block of North Broadway Avenue, was charged with retail theft and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 15.
people, especially family members. One audience member said she was frustrated with the lack of youth interest in the ACA. As an example, she mentioned her 28-year-old son, who was invited to the event but declined the offer. Gomez responded by explaining that he focuses on beginning with the parents, who would then inform their children. With a laugh, Gomez said his parents made him get insurance. Gomez also addressed a variety of other topics, including the open enrollment period, which ends March 31. In response to a question on whether individuals who need insurance outside of the enrollment period could attain it, Gomez listed a few examples of lifechanging events that would allow someone to enroll after March 31, including a divorce or wedding. Gomez also spoke of the four factors that determine an individual’s premium price: age, family size, residence location and smoking. Gomez also discussed health insurance fraud, advising the audience not to accept calls soliciting insurance. baileywilliams2017@u.northwestern.edu
Police Blotter Roof worker threatens coworker with utility knife
A roof worker threatened a coworker with a utility knife earlier this month atop a downtown Evanston building, according to police. At about 6 p.m. Oct. 1, the worker pulled out the knife and threatened to hurt the colleague, Evanston Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott said. They had been arguing about a project on the roof in the 1500 block of Chicago Avenue. No one was injured in the incident, Parrott said. Parrott said the man who was threatened waited until 10:45 a.m. Saturday to report the incident and did not want police to further investigate.
Hard liquor was stolen twice Saturday from the Jewel-Osco near Dempster Street, according to police. Officers arrested an Evanston woman in connection with the first theft, which happened at 5:11 p.m. Katrina Jackson, 36, put two bottles of Jack Daniel’s whiskey in her purse and tried to walk out of the grocery store, Parrott said. Less than five hours later, a bottle of 1800 Tequila was taken from the same Jewel-Osco, Parrott said. Security guards tried to stop a 19to 20-year-old man in a blue hooded sweatshirt from leaving the store, but he made it out and fled
Whole Foods tirade leads to aggravated assault charge
An Evanston man who was taunting Whole Foods employees refused to leave the grocery store and attacked police officers Saturday afternoon, according to police. Shortly before 9:50 p.m., police responded to an unwanted person call at the grocery store, 1640
Chicago Ave., Parrott said. The employees told officers the man was swearing at and threatening them. The officers advised Patrick Toran Montress, 45, to leave the store, but he refused, Parrott said. Police surrounded him in a circle and pepper sprayed him before taking him into custody. Parrott said no one was hurt. Montress, of the 1400 block of Chicago Avenue, was charged with aggravated assault to a police officer, resisting a police officer and criminal trespassing. He is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 20. — Patrick Svitek
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On Campus Quinn grants former NU’s football player’s clemency request
A former Northwestern football player is among 65 people whose clemency requests were granted Friday by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. Charged with battery in 2004, ex-linebacker Braden Jones is now eligible to expunge his court records. The Illinois Prisoner Review Board did not specify the incident that led to the charge, though Jones had a history of violence before then-football coach Randy Walker announced Jones’ exit from the team and NU in March 2004.
NU updates child abuse prevention policies for employees
Northwestern has updated its child abuse prevention policies to better align them with Illinois law, the University announced Monday. The policy now requires all NU employees — even those who do not have regular contact with children — to acknowledge their status under state law as “mandatory reporters� of cases of suspected child abuse or neglect. All employees coming into contact with children must undergo a mandatory training. Pam Beemer, associate vice president for human resources, led the University’s Child Protection and Safety Task Force. Beemer said the University attempted to make the new requirements as easy as possible on employees. “We understand that requiring that each employee of the University to complete the DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) Acknowledgement of Mandated Reporter Status form is a new obligation,� Beemer said in a news release. “However, it is required by state law, and we have made it as easy as possible by having the form available online.�
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We didn’t expect such an increase in numbers, but I think it speaks to what a great organization Dance Marathon is and how there are so many ways to get involved.
�
THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 3 DM breaks committee member record Page 6
—Anna Radoff, Dance Marathon executive co-chair
A year earlier, Jones pled guilty to two misdemeanor charges of battery and unlawful use of a driver’s license in connection with an altercation at a fraternity party. He was accused of assaulting and trying to rob a cab driver in March 2004, though the charges were dropped after further investigation. Six months after leaving the team, Jones was arrested at an NU football game and charged with attacking two security officers as they tried to escort him out of Ryan Field. Jones transferred to Southern Illinois University, where he played as the team’s tight end. He subsequently joined the Minnesota Vikings. — Patrick Svitek
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services launched its “You Are Not Alone� campaign last month, in an effort aimed at curbing child abuse by publicizing efforts in schools.
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We hope everyone will join us in these important efforts. Pam Beecher, associate vice president for human resources
Under the policy, any member of the University community with reasonable cause to believe a child may be abused or neglected is required to notify the department. In emergencies, they are also required to notify University or Evanston police. “Northwestern is committed to the safety and security of everyone on our campuses, both members of our community and visitors, and especially children,� Beemer said. “We hope everyone will join us in these important efforts.� — Joseph Diebold
New library exhibit showcases city history
Visitors walking the corridor between University Library and Deering Library will get a trip back in time, thanks to a new University Archives exhibit. The exhibit features 40 photographs of campus and the surrounding area taken by Alexander Hesler, a Chicago-area photographer who lived from 1823 to 1895. The images were first published in an 1887 book, “Photographic Views of Picturesque Evanston, State of Illinois.� About 100 images were digitized by library staff for the exhibit, which is part of the celebration of Evanston’s 150th anniversary. Hesler was best known for his portraits of President Abraham Lincoln and his landscapes, most notably of Chicago. Although many of the subjects of the photographs are gone, some remain, including University Hall and the Frances Willard House, as well as the L.D. Norton House, which became the John Evans Alumni Center. The exhibit was curated by University Archives staff and Janet Olson, assistant University archivist. — Joseph Diebold
Setting the record straight In “Video game event supports youth jobs� in Monday’s print edition, the article misstated what college Bobby Burns attended. He is currently a student at Northeastern Illinois University. The article also misstated Burns’ status finding job opportunities for the tournaments participants. He is in the process of looking for jobs at Evanston Youth Job Center and Curt’s Cafe. The Daily regrets the error.
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PAGE 4
Silk Road infractions show need for authorities JULIAN CARACOTSIOS DAILY COLUMNIST
The War on Drugs is considered by many to be an abject failure. Our prisons teem with inmates incarcerated from drug offenses, marijuana use is ubiquitous and at times it seems like the billions of dollars spent have gone straight down the drain. I am quite skeptical of the approach the United States has taken toward dealing with drug abuse, but at times I’m forced to remember that as much as everyone loves to hate and complain about the cops, we need them. Oct. 2 was one of those times, when the FBI shut down the anonymous online market known as “Silk Road.� Though anything could be bought and sold on Silk Road, using a system of virtual currency known as Bitcoin, the site was infamous for being a source of “anything ranging from prescription drugs
to heroin,� which makes up about 36 percent of all sales. According to The Guardian, as of March 2013, of the more than 10,000 items listed on Silk Road, about 7,000 were drugs. Fortunately, child pornography and weapons sales are prohibited, but heroin and other narcotics are not. The FBI has now apprehended the man it believes to be the mastermind behind Silk Road, a 29-year-old American by the name of Ross Ulbricht, although eight more have been arrested as of Oct. 8. Ulbricht, known to his roommates as “Josh� and the online community as “Dread Pirate Roberts,� conducted his business at his home computer or lounging at an internet cafe in San Francisco. His roommates had absolutely no idea what he was doing, and to them he “shared a temporary home and had few possessions,� despite amassing a fortune of $80 million in Bitcoin. I had heard of Silk Road before all of this hit the news, but hadn’t thought too much of it. Just another way to get illegal drugs, right? As a matter of fact – as The Atlantic claims – it’s likely that purchasing these drugs online,
where one can read user reviews much like Amazon.com and one need not enter the dangerous physical world of drug dealing, is a much safer alternative to the traditional black market. I’m no expert on the drug market, but I’m comfortable agreeing with them for now. At the same time, however, I fully believe that Silk Road should have been shut down, and can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that it has been. No, I don’t believe this because I think the entire online drug industry has been destroyed — there are other websites similar to Silk Road and more will certainly rise to take its place. The pragmatic effects of the Silk Road bust can be debated by people more knowledgeable than me. However, what I do think absolutely needs to be enforced is the notion that the government should have some degree of authority over economic transactions. Silk Road thrived because it used an encryption system called “Tor� to hide its users’ identities, which made it effectively impossible to track who was buying and
selling what. Some libertarians and Internet activists hailed this as the ultimate freedom from undue regulation. A Gawker profile of the site back in 2011 quoted its administrator — who was then completely anonymous — as saying, “The state is the primary source of violence, oppression, theft and all forms of coercion ‌ Stop funding the state with your tax dollars and direct your productive energies into the black market.â€? That kind of thinking, above all, is what we should be weary of. It sounds liberating and lofty in theory, but in reality, we have no idea what can of worms we’d be opening up if the government sat by as websites like Silk Road operated, or allowed some legal version of it to operate. Surely, the policies the United States has taken to on drugs could use some work, but I doubt a place like Silk Road is the right direction in which to look. Julian Caracotsios is a Weinberg senior. He can be reached at juliancaracotsios2014@u.northwestern.edu. If you want to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.edu.
Government shutdown hits U.S. shouldn’t tailor movies to Chinese standards for profit science programs hardest SAI FOLMSBEE
DAILY COLUMNIST
Today marks the 15th day of the shutdown of the federal government, but amid the closure of national parks and delays in passport processing, science itself has been placed in a stranglehold. This shutdown of science is directly affecting individuals in need of healthcare, halting ongoing research and risking the public health and safety of the nation as a whole. If the cause of the shutdown truly is not a concern for patients under healthcare reform, then the shutdown itself is a hypocritical and unacceptable risk to the very people that should be proScience cannot tected. This kind of scientific hiatus does simply be more than just inconturned on and venience the pursuit off; it cannot be of knowledge in this country; it puts all of opened and us at real risk of epidemics and halts the closed like a of future national park or development medical treatments. museum. At the National Institutes of Health, 73 percent of its staff has been furloughed, and, as a result, the NIH has halted the admission of most new patients into their clinical trials, which normally recruit about 200 patients per week. These individuals are suffering from a variety of devastating disease and include children suffering from cancer. Not only does this directly prevent high-risk patients from getting potentially new and lifesaving treatments, it also halts the clinical research necessary to determine if these treatments are even useful at all. Basic scientific research itself is also being stalled, at an extreme cost to the scientists and the NIH itself. Many of the ongoing experiments use mouse models of genetic changes and disease, which require precise control of experimental timing and animal upkeep. With the shutdown, the interrupted research goes to waste, and thousands of these mice may have to killed — a completely meaningless loss without scientific merit. It is absolutely nonsensical that clinical and laboratory research even be considered shut down for political reasons, and now it only serves as a reminder to how integral government support is for scientific progression. The shutdown has also proven to be an international embarrassment for American scientists. During the shutdown, NIH scientists have been barred from presenting their research in conferences in both the United States and around the world. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was scheduled to give the
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keynote address on the state of AIDS vaccines in Spain last week, but he and all the other scientists supported were unable to attend. From the perspective of scientists around the world, the United States has abandoned its pursuit of medical science for political maneuvering. If the United States is to remain a leader in science and technology, we cannot treat our researchers as simply a disposable part of the expenditure of the federal government. However, these cutbacks all pale in comparison with those in the department hardest hit by the shutdown: NASA. A staggering 97 percent of its staff has been furloughed. Not only does this halt the planning of missions and satellite launches into space by NASA, but it also brings the vast amount of scientific research that NASA itself provides to a standstill. And historically, interruptions to NASA projects have led to unexpected malfunctions, such as the antennae failure in the Galileo probe to Jupiter in 1991, a mistake attributed to delays to the project. In the end, we may not be able to predict what consequences this shutdown may have on the future of space exploration. But despite these scientific losses, the shutdown the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the most worrisome. The CDC is the major entity that tracks the epidemiological movements of disease throughout the country, which informs healthcare professionals of the current risks posed to patients. These include diseases that normally come each season, such as influenza, but also include new and potentially dangerous diseases. Even now, the CDC is attempting to manage a food-borne salmonella outbreak with a skeletal staff, a problem exacerbated by the furlough of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety inspectors. These are not minor inconveniences of the shutdown; they are the dangerous consequences of losing scientific oversight of our public health. This has already forced some furloughed staff to return to the CDC, which began the shutdown with only 15 to 20 percent of its staff working. Even though it now has been allowed to grow to 30 percent, it is still far below what it normally needs to operate. Federally supported science has been shut down, and the consequences, from mildly inconvenient to potentially dire, are just beginning. Regardless of the politics involved, the shutdown is an unnecessary waste of important scientific research, and it also put us all at risk from a lack of action from many of the governmental organizations we rely upon. Science cannot simply be turned on and off; it cannot be opened and closed like a national park or museum. There are real consequences to how scientific research affects us all, and they are becoming increasingly apparent as the shutdown continues. Sai Folmsbee is a Feinberg graduate student. He can be reached at sai@fsm.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a letter to the editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com.
ANTONIO PETKOV
DAILY COLUMNIST
It seems endorsing endeavors that will come back to haunt us is an enduring part of our national character. This time, I’m not referring to backing the mujahideen, Pinochet or Saddam Hussein, although those are the staples of my fatuous political diatribes. Future TV, one of seven firms streaming media to Chinese homes via the Internet and Smart TVs, has been giving Hollywood a bit of a headache due to their evasion of tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees and uploading copyrighted films. Ironically, one of the organizations originally willing to back Future TV when it was a startup was the Motion Picture Association of America. Since then, it has become apparent that Future is not really a startup, given that its largest shareholders are China’s official state-run television provider, Tencent Holdings, and Xiaomi Corp. Tencent is the No. 1 Internet provider in China, and Xiaomi Corp is Apple’s chief rival in China when it comes to the sale of mid-priced smartphones. Conveniently, Xiaomi sells cheap set top boxes ($50) which stream free content. Another conflict of interest arises when we examine Tencent’s deals with both Disney and Future TV regarding streaming content, despite Disney’s claims that Future TV has not paid to use much of Disney’s content. Instead of blacklisting China though, Hollywood has responded to this activity by actively pursuing China as a market, even arousing suspicion from the Securities and Exchange Commission as to whether executives bribed Chinese government officials for gain market access. The theater-building boom during the past decade is part of the reason for the suddenly lucrative cinema scene in the People’s Republic. Another compelling reason is Disney’s potential to earn 38 percent of box office profits if
its films are U.S.-Chinese co-productions. This would involve part of the films being shot on Chinese soil and bearing up to the scrutiny of Chinese censors. Hollywood’s Digital Media Group has been at the forefront of courting the all-important censors and regulators, whose influence determines the fate of U.S.-Chinese co-productions. In 2009, DMG co-produced “The Founding of a Republic,� supposedly a state-backed propaganda film. There are several ironies in this whole situation, not the least of which is Hollywood’s hypocrisy. They are concerned with what is effectively state-sponsored Chinese piracy and distribution of their content, and yet they are currently sidling up to Chinese state censors and government officials (not exactly pillarsaints when it comes to freedom of expression or ideas) to tap the burgeoning Chinese box office market. They are willing not only to co-produce Hollywood films with state TV in order to gain a 13 percent greater profit, but also to co-produce Chinese propaganda films and pander to government bureaucrats and censors to get that profit. Lucrative? Yes. Ethical? Not particularly. If Hollywood is going to lecture on piracy, maybe it shouldn’t be so proud of seeking corruption of Chinese officials to afford them a toehold in the Chinese film market, regardless of how lucrative it may seem. Besides, such actions have the potential to alienate viewers at home. The “if you can’t beat them, join them� mindset does not mesh well with our desire to lead by example; sinking to their level is not the solution. Moreover, if the United States is to remain the world’s foremost promoter of free speech, it might be best to decrease the collaboration with Chinese censors and the tailoring of American movies to Chinese regulations purely for monetary gain. It’s like Clinton-era outsourcing all over again, albeit with slightly less at stake than our jobs and production techniques. Antonio Petkov is a McCormick freshman. He can be reached at antoniopetkov2017@u.northwestern.edu. If you want to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com.
The Daily Northwestern Volume 134, Issue 18 Editor in Chief Michele Corriston
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DM sees record year for committee applicants By PAULINA FIROZI
daily senior staffer @paulina_milla
As Northwestern University Dance Marathon plans its 40th anniversary throughout the fall, it will have the help of another record number of committee members. The organization received more than 600 applicants and increased its overall size by about 70 students. DM accepted 391 students this year, up from 320 last year, to the groups that will plan and execute the University’s largest philanthropy, scheduled for March 7-9, 2014. This year’s primary beneficiary, Team Joseph, is an organization that aims to find a cure or treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. “We definitely advertised a little bit more with the applications and worked on getting the word out there,” executive co-chair Anna Radoff said. “We didn’t expect such an increase in numbers, but I think it speaks to what a great organization Dance Marathon is and how there are so many ways to get involved.” Radoff, a Weinberg senior, said the co-chairs of each committee approached her and fellow cochair Josh Parish about increasing the number of members in each group. Each of the 10 teams saw a boost. The Northwestern and Community Relations committee experienced the largest proportional growth, increasing from 9 members last academic year to 29. NCR co-chair Samir Datta said he was excited about the jump and said it would help reach out to the “underutilized” alumni network in the Evanston community and beyond. The committee works closely with the organization’s secondary beneficiary, the Evanston Community Foundation.
“There are a lot of alumni who are so enthusiastic about DM but they haven’t had anyone to reach out to them about getting involved,” said Datta, a Weinberg senior. Datta said some of the group’s projects this year include bringing a mini dance marathon to local high schools, which has been a project in the past, reaching out to international alumni groups in places such as Beijing and Singapore and analyzing the impact the organization has had on past beneficiaries. “We feel that a lot of people see DM as, we fundraise for a year, throw money at a charity and walk away,” he said. “People don’t really know the impact it has, and we want to research that more.” Richard Goldring, a Weinberg senior who has been a member of the NCR committee since his freshman year, said seeing how people within the community from ECF and Evanston Township High School look up to and benefit from DM brought him back to the group each year. He said it was difficult with the smaller group last year to accomplish everything it initially planned. “Even though the committee as a group worked a lot better because we were all working on the same projects, we lacked the manpower to get everything done,” Goldring said. “With 29 people this year we’ll hopefully be able to make stuff happen.” Radoff said the next step for all of the committees is to get through dancer registration, which opens next week. She said she is confident all the co-chairs will be able to accommodate their expanded membership. “I think our exec board is going to rise to the challenge and lead these larger committees,” she said. “And with our 40th anniversary, we really have an incredible opportunity to show the entire campus and the community what we can do.”
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Infographic by Susan Chen and Nova Hou/The Daily Northwestern
paulinafirozi2015@u.northwestern.edu
Campus Wire Lifting the veil off the true costs of college
WASHINGTON — A new online app called College Abacus is making it easier for students and their families to get estimates in advance of how much financial aid colleges and universities will give so that they can compare schools for costs. It comes at an opportune time, since the shutdown of many government programs because of the political standoff over the federal budget has disabled College Navigator, a tool also designed to help families figure out college costs and operated by the Department of Education. Until about two years ago, financial aid was a mystery until a student got a college acceptance letter
and a financial aid package. Change began in 2011, when the federal government required schools to offer online net price calculators, which compute a school’s full cost of attendance, minus estimated scholarships, based on family income and other information that individuals enter. College Abacus is a free, one-stop shop. It taps the net price calculators at three schools a student selects. Then, based on personal information entered once into College Abacus, the site retrieves the estimates. More schools can be entered, three at a time. “Even if the government has stopped working, parents still need to find financial aid for their students to go to college,” said College Abacus cofounder Abigail Seldin.
Referring to a popular travel accommodations search engine, Seldin calls College Abacus the kayak. com of net price calculators. It takes 10 minutes or more to copy financial information from a tax return and answer other questions on many net price calculators. College Abacus lets a user log in via Facebook, Google-plus or Twitter and save the data so that it only has to be done once. The free service isn’t without some glitches. It requires the patience to wait a few minutes for some estimates. In some cases, as when schools take their calculators down for revisions, College Abacus can’t get results. Seldin said her staff of 10 checks the school websites to make sure they’re working and that it should take no more than one week before the
estimate will be produced on another try. Another issue with the estimates is the quality of the net price calculators. Many schools use a simple calculator developed by the Department of Education, rather than ones developed by the College Board and others that ask more detailed financial questions. One important question the Department of Education calculators don’t ask is the amount of parents’ assets. The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), a form required of all students who hope to get financial aid, asks about assets, and schools use FAFSA information when they decide on aid amounts. — Renee Schoof (McClatchy Washington Bureau)
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the qualifications should be, how she would help to work with them.” Applications for the position are due 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. ASG plans to have a nominee for Senate to vote on by its Oct. 23 meeting, executive vice president Alex Van Atta told senators at their meeting last week. “Our administration will be making a concerted effort this year to ensure that the Senate is at the center of these decisions,” Ajith said. “It is the Senate’s call. It is the ultimate decisionmaking body of our organization.”
Alleged plotter in ‘98 U.S. embassy bombings held in New York
From page 1
sophiabollag2016@u.northwestern.edu
Council From page 1
what type of precedent the city would set if it approved the liquor license for Starbucks. She said she wondered if it would lead similar businesses to ask to serve alcohol, such as McDonald’s or Curt’s Cafe. “Wine shops can’t sell wine by the glass. Why would coffee shops be able to We are not serve beer and alcolooking to do hol if wine shops can’t anything but to serve alcohol? These extend the core are questions I can’t answer,” Wilson said. concept of what Ald. Delores Holmes (5th) suggested Starbucks is amendment to the into the evening an proposed ordinance hours. to only allow Starbucks to serve alcoHarlan Powell, holic beverages after Starbucks attorney 5 p.m. and to clearly state these hours of service. The aldermen will address the license request again at their Oct. 28 meeting. “This is a situation where we are not looking to become a bar. We are not looking to become a tavern,” Powell said. “We are not looking to do anything but to extend the core concept of what Starbucks is into the evening hours.”
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kellyagonsalves@u.northwestern.edu
Kelly Gonsalves/The Daily Northwestern
CRITICAL QUESTIONS State Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) speaks to Evanston residents Sunday about the Affordable Care Act. The event marked the fourth installment in Biss’ Critical Issue Series.
Critical Issues From page 1
Laura Fine (D-Glenview), state Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Illinois regional outreach coordinator Charles Watkins. They offered cheery views of the ACA’s implementation so far. “What we see unfortunately across the country is a really ugly, irrational fight about (the ACA),” Biss said. “This is a really extraordinary offer the federal government is making to states, saying to states, ‘If you are willing to provide insurance to many of your poorest residents, we’ll pay for it.’ Not a hard decision!” Gabel cited the success of the state’s health insurance enrollment portal, GetCoveredIllinois. gov, saying it processed 1,100 applications in the first 18 hours Oct. 1. She compared that number with the 3,000 applications per month the state received prior to the ACA as an argument for a solely state-based exchange. In addition to avoiding some of the technological problems the ACA’s national rollout, Gabel said having a state exchange would give Illinois independence from the federal government. “If Illinois does not have its own state exchange, it abdicates all oversight and decision-making
powers in terms of decertifying or certifying organizations to be on the exchange,” Gabel said. “It loses our ability to enable stronger quality care measures, and we will also lose those federal dollars that we already got if we don’t have an exchange.” Gabel said the Illinois General Assembly hopes to approve a similar bill by 2015 or 2016 at the latest. She urged attendees to ask their elected representatives to support it. The panel also highlighted Illinois’ Medicaid expansion, federal subsidies for private insurance costs and removal of pre-existing conditions as an obstacle to health care. Attendees mostly asked individualized, case-based questions and raised some concerns about tax increases. After the panel discussion, Biss told The Daily he believed most of the audience’s questions and his constituents’ concerns in general spawn not from disapproval of the act, but from a lack of understanding it. “It’s a complicated law. There’s a ton of conflicting information out there about it, and people are confused and need to know,” Biss said. “That’s why we did this. We wanted to have information there.” kellygonsalves2016@u.northwestern.edu
WASHINGTON — A Libyan al-Qaida leader accused of helping to plot the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa was in federal custody in New York on Monday, nine days after a Delta Force raid captured him outside his home in Tripoli, and following a week of presumed interrogation on a Navy ship in the Mediterranean. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said he expected Abu Anas al-Libi, whose formal name is Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai, to appear before a federal magistrate judge or district judge on Tuesday. “Anas al-Libi was transferred to law enforcement custody this weekend and was brought directly to the Southern District of New York, where he has been under indictment for more than a decade,” Bharara said in a prepared statement. Al-Libi had been one of four fugitives among 21 people indicted in the August 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which killed 224 people, including two CIA agents and 10 other Americans. A team of Army Delta Force, CIA and FBI agents nabbed al-Libi on Oct. 5 in the Libyan capital as he returned from morning prayers. He is believed to have then been questioned on a Navy ship for a week before his transfer to New York. “It’s a really good get,” said Jack Cloonan, a retired FBI agent and former member of the bureau’s Osama bin Laden unit. “It’s unfinished business.” Cloonan, who said he tracked al-Libi “for a very long time,” said U.S. prosecutors shouldn’t have any difficulty putting him on trial in federal court instead of a military tribunal. With President Barack Obama having renewed his pledge to close the U.S. prison for alleged terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, holding a federal trial for a former bin Laden lieutenant such as al-Libi might set a precedent for how the 164 men still being held there will be tried. Other accused al-Qaida militants at Guantanamo _ including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks _ have been tried before military commissions at the prison. — James Rosen and Marisa Taylor (McClatchy Washington Bureau)
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SPORTS
ON DECK
ON THE RECORD
Men’s Soccer 15 NU at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. Tuesday OCT.
That’s just to get us past it, get the smiles on our faces and get a little pep in our step. —junior center Brandon Vitabile, on NU’s water balloons
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
@Wildcat_Extra
NU sweeps Big Ten foes in Indiana By KEVIN CASEY
the daily northwestern @KevinCasey19
It took the full 10 sets, but the Wildcats pulled out a pair of crucial victories over the weekend. For the second straight week, Northwestern (11-7, 3-3 Big Ten) faced two Big Ten squads on the road. The first installment offered up a disappointing result, with NU falling to No. 5 Michigan State and No. 16 Michigan. In the sequel though, the Cats rebounded. On Friday night, NU traveled to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the Hoosiers (8-9, 0-6), a team that had dropped six straight coming into the match. The losing skid aside, Indiana had dragged No. 17 Ohio State to five sets before ultimately coming up short. Against NU, that same fight remained. Indiana won two of the first three sets and appeared to have its visiting foes on the ropes. Unfortunately for the Hoosiers, the Cats retained that fighting spirit. NU burst out to a 9-2 lead in set number four and cruised to a 25-15 victory. A new stanza brought similar vibes, with the Cats producing a 15-8 showing that sealed the win. The Hoosiers amassed 17 attacking errors and hit at a -.078 rate in the final two sets, a sign that the squad may have felt some discomfort down the stretch. Coach Keylor Chan said he felt his squad’s execution facilitated Indiana’s slide. “We did really well on our first contacts,” Chan said. “We forced them to do things that they weren’t necessarily comfortable doing, and we were able to execute some scouting things we had been working on. It really made a big difference in sets four and five. We were able to take certain things away from them and it worked.” If that first match was a barn-burner though, the Cats’ second one quickly became an instant classic. The opponent was No. 20 Purdue
(11-6, 2-4), and following an easy 25-13 opening set victory from the BoilermakIndiana ers, matters got rather hectic. The Cats pulled out the Northwestern second stanza 25-23 and captured the third 29-27, after five No. 20 Purdue set points had been exhausted between the two squads. The craziness continued, as Purdue snuck through 25-21 in set four and gave themselves two match points in the fifth and deciding set. The Boilermakers couldn’t capitalize on either opportunity, and after NU dropped the ball on four chances of its own, the visitors finally closed on the fifth occasion, sealing the set 21-19 and the match 3-2 when Purdue misfired on its final attack. In the two matches, NU hit at a .221 rate, a week after a .134 percentage prevailed against Michigan and Michigan State. Redshirt junior Katie Dutchman attributed the improved performance to confidence and teamwork. “It was much better,” Dutchman said. “Last week, we weren’t aggressive. This past weekend, we were finding more ways to score and there was just a lot more communication on helping each other out where to swing and where to find open spots.” That attack also involved a number of parts. Against Indiana, five players had at least eight kills and the Purdue match put four Cats in double-digits. Setter Caleigh Ryan, who claimed her second Big Ten Freshman of the Week award after these matches, was pleased with the all-around effort. “We were really balanced and it goes back to the passing,” Ryan said. “But Northwestern
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DAILY SPORTS @DanRyan_NU
Fitzgerald said senior quarterback Kain Colter and senior running back Venric Mark are day-to-day with lower body injuries. Both players were injured in the loss to Wisconsin. “Like always, we’ll limit (injured) guys early in the week,” Fitzgerald said. “But we hope to have those guys going later in the week.” The coach also spoke about what he called a “great relationship” with Minnesota coach Jerry Kill, who suffers from epilepsy and is currently on a leave of absence as he focuses on treatment. Fitzgerald and Kill first got to know each other when Kill was coaching at Northern Illinois from 2008 to 2010. “There’s no one more respected and more loved by our coaching fraternity in the Big Ten than Jerry,” Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald was praising of Carter’s performance against the Badgers, saying the lineman, who was named the team’s defensive player of the week, played one of his best games at NU. The team did not name an offensive player of the week, the first time this season the coaches declined to fill one of their weekly awards.
Remember that time Wisconsin absolutely crushed Northwestern? Man, that was a tough one. For you students out there, it was the equivalent of spending 36 hours studying unit one for a Russian literature midterm only to discover the exam is actually on unit two, and this is quantum mechanics, no calculators permitted. As a result many of us, myself included, spent a large portion of our Saturday officially giving up on this season. Because failure is an easy thing to accept as a fan of the Wildcats. Two Big Ten losses. No Rose Bowl. Season over. Well it turns out that hope is still alive, as it is so often with the Cats, and I’m thinking maybe we could all use a bit of cheering up as a fanbase. So I’m going to do something that thousands of depressed-yet-still-hopeful NU fans before me have done: I’m going to walk through the slightly unlikely scenario that needs to unfold for us to go the Rose Bowl. And then maybe we can collectively move on from these past two weeks. We all love doing this. Just let it happen. But to get it out of the way, the Cats need to win their remaining games. There, man, I dropped the bombshell. Assuming that happens, which, for the sake of argument and sanity, is an assumption I’m absolutely prepared to make, NU will still need a little help along the way. Given that Ohio State and Wisconsin are not in our division, we no longer care about them. They’re like that “B” you got in organic chemistry sophomore year; it sucked that it happened, but it’s not going to prevent you from getting into medical school. And there’s really nothing you can do about it now anyway, so stop beating yourself up. NU’s main threats are Nebraska and Michigan. The Wolverines have already lost a conference game, are looking far weaker than many predicted at the start of the season and will travel to Evanston to play the Cats. I’ll take those odds. The Cornhuskers, by contrast, have yet to lose a conference game, are trending up the power rankings and play host to NU this season. And that’s a little scary. In order for the Cats to fulfill my (read: our) hopes and dreams, they will need Nebraska to lose another game in addition to that hypothetical loss to NU we gave them a few paragraphs ago. Woo, man. If that sounds like an unlikely scenario, that’s because it is. On the positive side, NU is back as the underdog, a position with which the team is probably more comfortable. On the negative side, there’s everything else that I just wrote. The idea behind this exercise, in case you’re curious, is to officially flush those two bad losses. It’s time to stop worrying about what the Cats are or are not, or what they did or didn’t do. It’s not constructive. This team can still make the Rose Bowl. That’s all that matters. I want that to happen, and you want that to happen. We can start by going to the Minnesota game and screaming really loudly. We’ll cross the other bridges when we get to them.
alexputterman2016@u.northwestern.edu
danielryan2014@u.northwestern.edu
Annabel Edwards/Daily Senior Staffer
CAT CALL Freshman setter Caleigh Ryan celebrates with her teammates during the Wildcat Classic in September. Northwestern defeated both Indiana and Purdue in five-set thrillers on the road this weekend. Ryan received the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award for her efforts.
everybody was taking hard, aggressive swings, which really helps me distribute the offense and know that different people can get kills at different times.” The defense played its part too, as NU was able to gather up 34 more total attacks than Purdue in their match in West Lafayette, Ind. All the cogs meshed together in these two victories and Chan walked away
proud of that fact. “The whole entire team pulled together and did what they could to help our team to the result we wanted,” Chan said. “That’s what you have to do in the Big Ten, you have to win and lose as a team and that’s what our team did a great job with.” kevincasey2015@u.northwestern.edu
Water balloons revive the Cats’ low spirits More press conference notes:
By ALEX PUTTERMAN
daily senior staffer @AlexPutt02
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Brian Lee/Daily Senior Staffer
TAKE A CHANCE Defensive tackle Chance Carter brings down Wisconsin’s James White in Saturday’s game. The junior was named the Cats’ defensive player of the week following the performance, in which he made six tackles. On monday, Carter had a front row seat for NU’s coaches’ water balloon attack.
it. That’s just to get us past it, get the smiles on our faces and get a little pep in our step.” Eventually the conversation reverted to football — to the Wisconsin game in particular — and the mood veered toward somber. Vitabile, sophomore superback Dan Vitale and junior defensive tackle Chance Carter hit their talking points. They explained that the Cats (4-2, 0-2 Big Ten) lost because of poor execution and miscommunication. They mentioned that they’re looking forward, trying to “go 1-0 every week,” not worrying about other teams or longterm Big Ten championship goals.
Getting a ‘B’ in organic chemistry DAN RYAN
Football
Media members at coach Pat Fitzgerald’s weekly press conference Monday couldn’t figure out why their seats were wet and the ceiling above them waterstained. At the end of the Wildcats’ team meeting minutes earlier, Northwestern’s coaches surprised the team with an ambush of 300 water balloons, drenching players in camaraderie and team spirit. As it turned out, the soaked meeting room was all about setting the mood, creating motivation and moving on. A literary mind might consider the balloon bath a cleansing of Saturday’s sin, the Cats’ 35-6 loss to Wisconsin. A football coach will tend to look at things differently. “You’ve got to have fun when you’re doing this,” Fitzgerald said. “I talk to (the team) about the glue that keeps everyone together: having fun … Every once in a while you’ve got to shake them up a little bit.” When Fitzgerald was done and three of his players took the podium, the tone was light as they shared war stories of ducking behind chairs and searching for escape routes from the bombardment. They were aware of the psychological intent of the balloons and appreciative of the pick-me-up gesture. “Everyone was still upset about the game,” junior center Brandon Vitabile said. “People are still getting over
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This kind of flat reflection on previous failures, which has been constant for the players since Saturday’s loss, is dangerous for morale. The Cats, it stood to reason, needed a distraction, an energy boost. Hence the water balloons. The splashy attack’s victims are already dry but its impact could linger, hopefully through this weekend’s game against Minnesota (4-2, 0-2) and beyond. “It just has to set the tone for the rest of the week,” Vitale said. “We want to have a lot more fun — stay focused but have a lot more fun this week and get the attitude that we want back.”
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