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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Friday, May 2, 2014
Find us online @thedailynu
Del Prete released with help of Justice Project By tyler pager
the daily northwestern @tylerpager
After about 10 years in prison, Jennifer Del Prete was all set to leave. Her family was waiting outside and ready to take her home. But when an officer told Del Prete there was a group on its way to see her, she decided to stay just a little while longer. “I’m going to wait for Northwestern,� Del Prete told the officer. After more than two and half years of investigating her case, Medill Prof. Alec Klein, the director of The Medill Justice Project, did not want to miss Del Prete’s exit from prison and was on his way to Lincoln, Ill., with some of his students. “That kind of touched me because when you’ve been in prison for that long, the faster you can get out, the better,� he said. “She said she wanted to wait.� Del Prete, a former daycare worker who was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2005 after being accused of shaking an infant to death, was released on bail Wednesday after U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kennelly ordered Del Prete’s release while the courts examine her claims. The Medill Justice Project was cited in Kennelly’s decision.
Although Del Prete is out of prison, her claims must still process through the courts, which could take years. The Medill Justice Project, which began investigating Del Prete’s case over two and half years ago, found a letter from 2003 in which the lead police commander on the case said the doctor who performed the infant’s autopsy had doubts about whether the infant had actually died from shaken baby syndrome. However, the letter was never presented in Del Prete’s trial. The Medill Justice Project’s finding played a large role in the motion that was filed in the federal court in Chicago requesting the consideration of the new evidence. Klein said seeing Del Prete exit prison was “a humbling moment.� “I think about how proud I am of our students at Northwestern and how our students were able to uncover revelatory information about Jennifer Del Prete’s case that played a role in the judge’s decision to release her from prison on bond,� he said. “If you think about it, that’s a tremendous achievement for students to have such an impact. It’s really a reminder of how journalism can really change people’s lives.� Following Del Prete’s release, Klein and the other members of the Medill Justice Project helped Del Prete cross off two things on her post-prison bucket list:
Annabel Edwards/Medill Justice Project
‘i’M GOING TO WAIT FOR NORTHWESTERN’ Jennifer Del Prete smiles minutes after being released from prison Wednesday afternoon more than 10 years before her scheduled parole. Del Prete’s first stop was Cracker Barrel for dinner with her daughter Tia (right), other members of her family and The Medill Justice Project.
They accompanied her to Cracker Barrel, where she was able to eat steak for the first time since 2005. Medill senior Alex Hampl was part of the second team that worked on Del
Prete’s case when he was a student in Klein’s Investigative Journalism course during Winter Quarter 2013. He was in Lincoln when Del Prete was released. “Throughout the whole thing, I was
really amazed by her resilience and the strength of her spirit,â€? he said. “I’m so happy for her and her family and for her Âť See del prete, page 8
Parents speak out PWild to launch low-income fund against food policy By jordan harrison
the daily northwestern @MedillJordan
Kelly Gonsalves/Daily Senior Staffer
FOOD FIGHT Evanston/Skokie District 65 school board member Sunith Kartha talks about district food policy. Parents and district officials met Thursday to discuss a proposed rule that would require all food served at school events to be commercially prepared.
By kelly gonsalves
daily senior staffer @kellyagonsalves
District 65 parents voiced heated opposition Thursday night to a proposed district policy that would require all food served at school events to be commercially prepared. The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 school board and parents have been
working to craft safety guidelines for food and beverages available on school campuses after receiving a request last March from the Evanston Health Department to develop a more concrete policy on how to safely harvest and serve produce from school gardens. Based on existing food regulations from the Illinois Department of Public Health, the proposed policy would ban schools from serving locally prepared foods at school or school-sponsored events. While conducting research on IDPH food policies, the district also discovered and interpreted a state law to mean that potlucks are banned statewide in all public places, said district school board member Sunith Kartha at the Thursday meeting held by the District 65 Wellness Team. “The law is the law,â€? Kartha said. “It’s pretty clear, and it does prohibit potlucks on school property.â€? At the meeting, parents expressed strong disapproval for the draft policy, which many claimed will lower the nutritional quality and cultural variety of food served at schools. “I can tell you my kids are not going to die of salmonella. They’re going to die of cardiovascular disease brought forth Âť See food, page 8
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Several Project Wildcat counselors are creating a new financial aid fund to allow more incoming students to participate in the pre-orientation program. Communication junior Aileen McGraw, a PWild counselor, and others will begin raising money for the fund, unofficially called the “Camper Financial Aid Fund,� during Philfest on Saturday. McGraw said she has been working to start the fund since Winter Quarter
because many prospective students asked during Wildcat Days if there was financial aid given to students for preorientation programs. “This is a question that comes up every year during Wildcat Days, at least for me,� McGraw said. “’Do these pre-orientation programs offer financial aid?’ The answer is yes, and I think this a great way to make sure that our counselor body knows why and what we’re saying yes to so no incoming student doubts their ability, financial or otherwise, to experience (PWild).� McGraw said she wants the fundraising efforts to be activity-based during Philfest, adding that the effort
includes many PWild counselors. During the event, counselors will be selling make-your-own trail mix and PWild merchandise with the proceeds going toward the fund. The Center for Student Involvement works with the Office of Financial Aid to accommodate students for preorientation trips, said Andrea Bell, the student community service coordinator at CSI. She said when students apply for aid, the financial aid office ranks them by need and communicates to CSI who qualifies so the individual programs can incorporate financial aid into Âť See pwild, page 8
D65 expands place-based learning By sophia bollag
daily senior staffer @SophiaBollag
Evanston/Skokie School District 65 plans to expand a program that teaches about local water issues using federal money awarded to the district last month. LakeDance, a “place-based� education program, aims to educate students about Lake Michigan and local water issues through a kineticfocused method of learning.
Clare Tallon Ruen, who started the LakeDance program, said elementary school students have told her acting out scientific concepts through dance or with their hands forces them to understand the concepts they are learning. In contrast, simply writing down information does not require them to actually understand the concepts, she said. “Kinesthetic learning is a big thing for me because it helps me learn,� Tallon Ruen said. “And as a parent, one of the heartbreaking things about visiting any school is that kids
are sitting a lot.� The program is already in place in third-grade classes in half of the elementary schools in District 65. The roughly $40,000 grant the district received last month will allow it to expand the program to all third- and sixth-grade science classes. The money is part of $1.6 million in federally-funded grants for conservation and environmental education initiatives in Illinois that Gov. Pat Quinn (D) awarded to schools  See D65, page 8
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