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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Website for ranking women removed By Rebecca Savransky daily senior staffer @beccasavransky
A website launched Friday that ranks Northwestern women based on physical appearance was taken down Saturday night. The website, called Morty’s Angels, presented two pictures of female NU students on the home page and asks individuals to rank “who is hotter,” to compile a top 50 page. It also included a section encouraging people to email the name and picture of anyone that should be added to the list. The top 50 page was changed earlier Saturday to eliminate the rankings and instead display a message reading “F**k this website.” Prior to being taken down, the website read Saturday night that “there is no site deployed at this address.” Joan Slavin, director of NU’s Sexual Harassment Prevention Office and Title IX coordinator, emailed the site requesting it be taken down as it may be a violation of the University’s sexual harassment policy, University spokesman Al Cubbage said. In the about 24 hours the site was up, about 224,000 votes were generated, a creator of the website said in an email. The website was taken down due to a request by University administrators, the creator said. Associated Student Government and the Panhellenic Association released a combined statement Saturday night emphasizing their outrage about the website and commending students and the administration for the actions they took to get it taken down. They noted members of the NU community should hold each other accountable for actions taken in an effort to maintain a “safe and inclusive campus.” “This incident, however, must be seen within the greater context of Title IX issues across the nation,” the statement said. “The responses to this website are valid reflections of the belief that the Northwestern community should be a safe and inclusive space for everyone.” The authors of the statement recommended that students who wanted to discuss the incident further reach out to Dr. Renée Redd, director of the Women’s Center or Slavin, for those who want to take legal action. Multiple students posted on social media about the site, and some have encouraged others to file complaints with the Department of Campus Inclusion and Community in an effort to get it taken down. Before the site was removed, Medill senior Elyssa Cherney said » See morty’s angels, page 9
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DM 2015 to benefit Starlight Midwest
In Focus
Protesting the process
Ludlow sexually assaulted her. The student is also suing Ludlow under the Gender Violence Act of Illinois, which guarantees legal protection to victims of gender-based violence. The lawsuit was filed two years after the alleged incident took place, a period filled with anxiety and isolation for the student, she told The Daily in February. She met Ludlow at the beginning of her freshman year in “Philosophy of Cyberspace,” a course about ethical questions of virtual worlds. The student said she developed a professional relationship with Ludlow after interviewing him for a journalism project. Although she enjoyed his class, the student said some discussions were uncomfortable. Course content included the use of Second Life, a program that allows users to interact via avatars. The student told The Daily that at least once in the class, Ludlow showed a “graphic video of virtual people having sex” that “weirded everybody out.” In the professor’s response to the Gender Violence Act suit, he confirmed that some of the video clips included “anthropomorphic ‘furry’ avatars engaged in something like sex.” The next quarter, the student and Ludlow arranged to attend a Chicago art show relevant to his research. On Feb. 10, they went to several art exhibits and bars, and the student said Ludlow repeatedly bought her alcohol despite her protests and fact » See in focus, page 6
» See dm, page 9
Photo illustration by Jackie Marthouse and Rebecca Savransky/Daily Senior Staffers
daily senior staffers @JeanneKuang, @mccarthy_ciara
In the midst of national outcry and campus activism, Northwestern may soon be defending itself against two lawsuits alleging the school mishandled students’ sexual assault complaints. On Thursday, the attorney of an NU graduate student said his client might sue the University, which would mark the second suit against the administration for its response to sexual assault this year. As the first progresses slowly through the court system, students and professors have taken matters into their own hands. The Daily spoke to two other students — one who went through the Sexual Assault Hearing and Appeals System and one who chose not to — whose stories indicate the University’s processes for handling sexual violence don’t always put the survivor first. NU’s student handbook defines sexual assault as any intentional, non-consensual touching or fondling by an individual of another person’s genitals, breasts, thighs or buttocks, as well as any touching or fondling of the individual against the victim’s will and any non-consensual acts involving penetration. An additional policy, issued in January, defines consent to be knowing, active, voluntary, present and ongoing. It also states consent is not present when an individual is incapacitated due to age or physical
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conditions such as intoxication or lack of consciousness. This fall, the University plans to improve its disciplinary system for sexual assault complaints. Though these changes were in motion before a Medill junior filed suit, her story brought NU to the forefront of the national conversation on sexual assault. Administrators have already implemented what they say are progressive policies on sexual violence in an attempt to make NU a model of a safe campus. “I would love to see Northwestern be an absolute leader,” University President Morton Schapiro said in an interview last month with The Daily. “There’s nothing more important than the safety of our students.” At a panel in April, Schapiro spoke about the challenges the Medill junior’s lawsuit raises and the complexities of addressing sexual assault. “It’s a question that’s not always easy to figure out what to do,” he said. “Sometimes we fail miserably with that.”
Behind the lawsuit NU joined the national conversation in February, when the Medill junior filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits sex discrimination in education, which includes sexual assault and harassment. The suit alleges NU failed to adequately address the student’s complaint that philosophy Prof. Peter
the daily northwestern @tylerpager
Starlight Children’s Foundation Midwest, a Chicago-based organization focused on improving the lives and health of chronically ill children and their families, will be the primary beneficiary of Dance Marathon 2015, DM announced Monday night. Starlight Midwest works to improve hospital life for children with chronic illnesses such as leukemia, Duchenne musclar dystrophy, severe asthma, congenital heart disease and epilepsy. The Midwest chapter of the national organization was founded in 1986 and works in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. DM spokeswoman Arielle Miller said working with the organization will allow DM to continue to support the causes of past benWe eficiaries. She added think this is the absolute best there are ways organization to besides engage more dancing to support people within Starlight and beyond the Midwest. Northwestern “If you are not able community. to dance or Arielle Miller, fundraise, DM spokeswoman there’s incredible service opportunities to work with these Starlight children and build very important beneficiary relationships,” the Medill sophomore said. “We think this is the absolute best organization to engage more people within and beyond the Northwestern community.” Starlight Midwest’s work impacts children in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Inside hospitals, the organization focuses on the development of Starlight Sites, which include treatment rooms, teen lounges and playrooms. These sites are known as “no white coat zones,” as they are designed to be safe spaces for chronically ill children. Outside of hospitals, Starlight Midwest plans therapeutic entertainment and educational programs to create opportunities for families to spend time together. Starlight Midwest plans to build up to 10 additional Starlight Sites with the funds raised from DM. The new sites will allow the organization to reach nearly two million children and family members. One of the sites is planned for Evanston Hospital. Joan Steltmann (Kellogg ‘93), executive director of Starlight Midwest, said being chosen as the primary beneficiary is “a dream come true” for the organization. “Not only will we be able to undertake unprecedented levels of projects and programming to help us reach the one in 11 kids who need Starlight, but
As Ludlow case moves forward, NU community looks to change sexual assault procedures
By jeanne kuang and Ciara mccarthy
By Tyler Pager
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