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Thursday, January 28, 2016
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Family, friends honor dead students during memorial Student: ‘He was a blessing to me’ Leah Nicolini Assistant News Editor
DeKalb | The Black Student Union held a memorial where 120 friends and family of former NIU students Quintonio LeGrier and Joseph Graves shared memories Wednesday in the Holmes Student Center, Sky Room. LeGrier, 19, was shot six times by a Chicago police officer who was responding to a 911 dispatch call of domestic disturbance on Dec. 26, according to a Jan. 14 Northern Star article. Former NIU student Graves, 19, was found dead with a bullet wound to the back of his head in Chicago’s south side, according to a Dec. 14 Northern Star article. In attendance was LeGrier’s mother, Janet Cooksey, who wore a “We want justice for Quintonio” T-shirt. Members of Delta Sigma Theta and Black Male
Alex Chettiath | Northern Star
Quintonio LeGrier’s mother Janet Cooksey thanks everyone who was in attendance for the memorial honoring deceased former NIU students Quintonio LeGrier and Joseph Graves.
Initiative also attended the event. LeGrier was a former member of the Black Male Initiative.
During the memorial, a slideshow with pictures of LeGrier and Graves was shown to the audience.
“Going through the orientation process [of Black Male Initiative], we ask you a question,” said Jacob Clayton, Black Male Initiative president. “So I walked up to [LeGrier] and said ‘What position do you see yourself holding?’ [LeGrier] looked me dead in my eyes and said ‘president’... . He was starting to take himself serious.” Noah Baker, junior elementary education and teaching major, said he recalled when he first met Graves. “He was like my little brother,” Baker said. “Being my roommate he taught me different things. He taught me how to play spades. He taught me a lot about patience. Overall, he was a blessing to my life.” After the event, Anthony Williams II, vice president of the Black Student Union, led a prayer and balloon release in the Martin Luther King Jr. Commons in memory of the deceased students and anyone else who died as a result of gun violence.
Ordinance decision postponed to receive more local feedback Alexander Chettiath News Editor
DeKalb | DeKalb’s unlawful assembly ordinance has moved to the Human Relations Commission for more public input after more than 15 people, including four NIU students and two NIU staff members, voiced their concerns at Monday’s City Council meeting. The draft of the ordinance, which DeKalb Mayor John Rey pushed from Monday’s City Council agenda in an effort to gather more community input, declares it to be a violation of city code for a person to fail to obey a command of a sworn peace officer or fail to disperse after a reasonable effort is made to advise the participants that the assembly is unlawful and must disperse, according to the draft of the ordinance in Monday’s City Council agenda. A total of 21 NIU students attended Monday’s meeting. “This is something that we feel very strongly about which is why we came out in such strong attendance,” said Adewale Adetunji, president of the Black Student Union. “If you take a look around, the majority is students and I’m sure that isn’t the case at a typical council meeting.” The first reading of the bill was passed unanimously at the Jan. 11 City Council meeting. NIU classes didn’t begin until Jan. 19. “To have the first reading of this ordinance, that deals with the assemblies, without the vast majority of people who actually assemble... feels like a bit of a sneak attack,” said senior biology major Asim Muhammad. History Associate Professor
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DeKalb to increase art activities, create color Scott Nichol Staff Writer
DeKalb | DeKalb plans to increase the number of art activities and artists residing on the NIU campus by creating a Arts, Culture, Entertainment Corridor, presented at Monday’s City Council meeting. The Arts, Culture, Entertainment Corridor is based on existing arts-related businesses, venues and educational spaces and would formally designate this area as an arts concentration with work, retail, event and visitor spaces according to the Proudly DeKalb website. “Ultimately, if you can imagine a designated area within the community [where] sidewalks can’t be gray, light posts can’t be black or gray, utility boxes have to have murals on them,” said Cohen Barnes, DeKalb’s Revitalization Plan project CEO of the branding component. “With Northern [Illinois University] and local artists we could have sculptures, we could have murals, we could have sidewalk art.” The Arts, Culture, Entertainment Corridor, which is projected to spread from the Holmes Student Center to Lincoln Highway and end just east of downtown DeKalb, will provide students with a colorful walk to and from class, Barnes said. The corridor is part of the seven step DeKalb Revitalization Plan that a committee of volunteers created in order to be eligible for the $3 million prize from America’s Best Community, a competition to promote economic growth within smaller communities, according to the Proudly DeKalb website.
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“The competition revolves around communities that can come up with a revitalization plan. A way they can move their community forward.” Cohen Barnes Project CEO of branding for the DeKalb Revitalization Plan
Alex Chettiath | Northern Star
DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery shows security footage from the December 2014 Black Lives Matter protest during Monday’s City Council meeting at the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 S. Fourth St. The ordinance declares it to be a violation of city code for a person to fail to obey a command of a sworn peace officer or fail to disperse after a reasonable effort is made to advise the participants that the assembly is unlawful and must disperse.
Rosemary Feurer said the ordinance reminds her of the Patriot Act, but commends DeKalb Police for their sensitivity in the matter.
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To have the first reading of this ordinance, that deals with the assemblies, without the vast majority of people who actually assemble... feels like a bit of a sneak attack.” Asim Muhammad Senior biology major
Public input was initially meant to be postponed but was then heard after 6th ward Alderman Dave Baker said many NIU students and citizens had come to the meeting to have their concerns heard. “I represent the students and the
whole idea of trying to interpret the Constitution raises the hairs on the back of my neck and I want to hear from the public before we decide what we are going to do with this,” Baker said. After hearing the public’s input, City Manager Anne Marie Gaura asked DeKalb Police Chief Gene Lowery to comment. Lowery presented a nine-slide presentation explaining the city’s rationale behind the creation of the ordinance. “This had nothing to do with the tragic loss of an NIU student in the city of Chicago, it had something to do with some of the events we had here. We have had some situations, whether planned or not, went awry ... .” Lowery said. Lowery said the situations in DeKalb included an unsanctioned event where 600-800 people took
over Greek Row in summer 2012 for three days, as well as the demonstration in December 2014 for the Black Lives Matter movement when a pregnant demonstrator was hit by a car. If DeKalb does not have an ordinance in place then police will have to rely on state law, Lowery said. Illinois statutes define mob action as the knowing or reckless use of force or violence disturbing the public peace by two or more persons acting together and without authority of law. “Every university city of any size in this state has an ordinance of this nature,” Lowery said. “I think the biggest mistake was timing on our part. In some ways I think it could have been very easily offensive to people and I’ll take the hit for that and I apologize for that.”
DeKalb progressed to the quarterfinals, winning $50,000, and in April moved to the top 15, according to the Proudly DeKalb website. As a quarterfinalist, DeKalb was given 6-8 months to help develop the Revitalization Plan. The city received $15,000 from a sponsor, according to the Proudly DeKalb website. “The competition revolves around communities that can come up with a revitalization plan,” Barnes said. “A way they can move their community forward.” Barnes said that the seven proposed projects would not only help attract students to NIU, but also attract tourists to DeKalb. “One of the big reasons we think we can do it is because the community is overwhelmingly behind the principles of the plan,” said Brett Brown, DeKalb Revitalization Plan project CEO of the business incubator. Input was taken from somewhere between 300-400 people, Barnes said.