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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Monday, October 1, 2012
Find us online @thedailynu
Shooting on Church Street
Sea of red lays Coleman to rest
superintendent, praised Coleman’s personality. Witherspoon urged the many young people in the audience to remember Coleman and follow his example. “As a young man, he was making the right decisions and doing the right things,” he said. Witherspoon encouraged the young people in the church to stand up for what they knew was right. Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl
For the first time since 2008, Northwestern is among the top 25 football teams in the country in the Associated Press’s weekly poll. The Wildcats are ranked No. 24 with 143 points in Sunday’s poll. NU was ranked No. 22 in the penultimate AP poll of 2008, which was released the day before the team lost to Missouri in the Alamo Bowl. NU first received votes after beating Syracuse on Sept. 1 and steadily acquired more as the season progressed. Last week, the Cats received the most votes of any team not ranked in the poll, just three points away from No. 25. The Cats are also ranked in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll, coming in at No. 22,according to the survey of 59 coaches in Division I. The Cats most recently appeared in this poll in 2010, coming in twice at No. 25. These rankings came after NU started 5-0 and later in the season after an upset against then-No. 13 Iowa. NU has not won a football game while ranked in the AP poll since 2000, when it was No. 23 and beat Illinois in the final game of the regular season. The Big Ten as a whole has two other teams ranked in the AP poll: Ohio State at No. 12 and Nebraska at No. 20. In the coaches’ poll, the conference has only two representatives because Ohio State is ineligible to be ranked in a Bowl Championship Series poll. The BCS formula to determine the national championship game includes the coaches’ poll, the Harris rankings and six computer polls. The AP poll was removed from the equation after the 2004 season.
» See COLEMAN, page 10
— Josh Walfish
By Ciara mcCarthy
the daily northwestern
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday morning for the funeral of 14-year-old Dajae Coleman, the Evanston Township High School freshman who was shot and killed Sept. 22. Mourners filled the pews and standing areas inside the First Church of God Christian Life Center, 1524 Simpson St. Those who couldn’t fit gathered on As a the sidewalk young man, he outside. Unlike typi- was making the cal funerals, right decisions the congregaand doing the tion was not a mass of solid right things. black. Instead, spots of red Eric Witherspoon, District 202 — Coleman’s superintendent favorite color — were scattered throughout the black. Girls wore red bows in their hair and men wore red ties, while others pinned red flowers to their lapels. Alison Fero, an ETHS freshman, even dyed a portion of her hair red in honor of Coleman. Last Monday, the entire high school was a sea of red, she recalled. Coleman’s wake began at 10 a.m. By 10:15 a.m., the church was standing room only, and the funeral hadn’t even begun. About 1,500 people attended in total. Pastor Kenneth Cherry, Sr. officiated the funeral and called the ceremony a celebration of life. “We won’t worry about events surrounding Dajae’s death,” he said. Most refrained from discussing explicitly the details of Coleman’s death. The day before the funeral, Evanston Police announced that they had arrested an Evanston man and charged him with
“
Ciara McCarthy/The Daily Northwestern
Funeral Mourners carry Dajae Coleman’s coffin out of the church after funeral services, which were conducted by Pastor Kenneth Cherry. Coleman, 14, was fatally shot on Sept. 22 after leaving a high school party.
first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm in relation to the boy’s murder. Instead, those who spoke during the services Saturday focused on Coleman’s life, recalling his smile as well as his success in school and on the basketball court. Some speakers knew him well; others had never met him. Nibra White, Coleman’s middle school basketball coach, told the congregation about the way Coleman supported
him during a difficult period in his life. Although Coleman was a gifted basketball player, he was also a remarkable person, White said. “It never READ MORE really was In-depth coverage, about basketpage 10 ball,” he said. “It was about a younger man teaching an older man about being a good character.” Eric Witherspoon, District 202
Associated Press poll ranks NU football at No. 24
Harsha Maddula
Police revisit interviews in Maddula investigation By Patrick Svitek
daily senior staffer
Evanston Police are revisiting interviews in the investigation of Harsha Maddula’s death as the McCormick sophomore’s family demands more answers about the fuzzy narrative surrounding his disappearance. “Who was Harsha with last? Who did he speak to last? I still don’t know. All these questions need to be answered,” Sushma Maddula, Harsha’s cousin, told reporters Friday. “And we really need the students to speak up. Something happened at this party.” EPD Cmdr. Jay Parrott told The Daily on Sunday that investigators are re-examining interviews with anyone who may have crossed paths with Maddula before he was last seen leaving an off-campus party in the early morning hours of Sept. 22. Parrott said taking a closer look at the interviews will hopefully provide a “clearer picture” of what transpired after Harsha stepped out of a Ridge Avenue house shortly after midnight.
Mariam Gomaa/Daily senior staffer
Remembrance University officials joined the hundreds of students honoring the life of Harsha Maddula at Deering Meadow on Friday.
Double-checking the interviews should also help authorities figure out whether any information is being withheld, Parrott said. On Thursday evening, Harsha’s body
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
was found near Wilmette Harbor in Lake Michigan. Nearly two dozen law enforcement agencies and fire departments had combed through the waters a day before to no avail.
Harsha died as a result of drowning, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Officials from the office do know yet READ MORE not whether the In-depth coverage, drowning was page 10 an accident. Toxicology results will not be available for several weeks, Parrott said. The identification of the body sent shockwaves through NU’s campus on the first day of classes, with hundreds of students gathering on Deering Meadow on Friday night to honor the Long Island native. Family members have characterized Harsha as a devoted bookworm who was not likely to put himself in a dangerous situation. He “begged” his parents to send him to Northwestern to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, Sushma told reporters. Harsha’s parents arrived on campus late Monday, hours after the University sent out an emergency alert about their son’s disappearance. According to family friend and spokeswoman Padma
Sonti, Prasad and Dhanalakshmi Maddula left Evanston on Saturday but will remain involved in the investigation into Harsha’s death from their home in New York . Harsha’s mother reportedly fainted and was rushed to the hospital after investigators from the Wilmette Police Department found Harsha’s body between several boats near the Sheridan Road Bridge . Sonti said the tragic news was “just emotionally too much to handle” for Harsha’s mother but she is now doing OK. “They stayed positive throughout,” Sushmasaid of Harsha’s parents. “Not one time did anyone in the family say, ‘What if?’” After a news conference Friday, Sonti told reporters that the Maddulas remain dissatisfied with the level of detail surrounding their son’s last known movements. “As a family, no information is ever enough,” she said. Harsha’s funeral is planned for Monday in Garden City Park, N.Y. patricksvitek2014@u.northwestern.edu
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