The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, February 27, 2018
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City set to loosen hiring restrictions Applicants with criminal records to be considered By RYAN WANGMAN
daily senior staffer @ryanwangman
Aldermen at a City Council meeting on Monday were presented with a hiring policy about applicants with criminal records that city staff will begin following March 1. The new hiring policy will consider various factors in evaluating how such applicants would be suitable for employment. Ald. Cicely Fleming (9th), who was sick and could not attend the meeting, spearheaded the efforts to update the city’s policy, and city staff met with her and interested community members to gather input on current best practices, according to city documents. It will also remove a lifetime disqualification from city employment for certain felony convictions, according to the documents. There is also an additional opportunity for a “thorough review” of an applicant’s background if they have a rehabilitation certificate or are working with the Youth and Young Adult program. City manager Wally Bobkiewicz told The Daily the policy helps the city have more flexibility in making sure past criminal history does not itself completely affect the applicant’s
employment potential. “We want to attract the best people to work for the city of Evanston, and in some cases, the best person has had some criminal history, which we as an organization don’t want to be the sole reason to reject an applicant,” Bobkiewicz said. Ald. Robin Rue Simmons (5th) said as an alderman, she has focused on reducing the recidivism rate and supporting returning citizens when they come home. Rue Simmons said the city has always valued that community, and the hiring policy will put less restrictions on those people. Rue Simmons added that she wants to ensure that returning citizens have chances to gain employment, training and education. “I’m excited that we’re continuing to make sure we’re providing opportunities for our returning citizens,” Rue Simmons said. In the public comment portion of the meeting, Sarah Vanderwicken, who was a part of the committee that worked with Fleming to update the hiring policy, said she was thankful that staff made improvements for people with past incarceration history, but that she was concerned with the legality of some of the language in the policy. According to city documents, if an applicant with a criminal record is hired, the results of the » See HIRING, page 6
Allie Goulding/Daily Senior Staffer
Communication senior Robert Cunningham performs “What’s in a Name” with fellow students Grant Lewis and Ziare Paul-Emile. The play was part of the production “Black Lives, Black Words,” which featured original works by students.
Students perform original works
Actors of color speak about critical issues in ‘Black Lives, Black Words’ By ALLIE GOULDING
daily senior staffer @alliejennaaa
After just a month of preparation, students took the stage Monday to perform their original plays for the second annual “Black Lives, Black Words” production at Northwestern. “All of my peers … have written these words in just one month,” Communication senior
Robert Cunningham told The Daily. “They’re all so powerful and they have all come from a place of hurt, or power, or beauty.” Students performed and sang 10-minute plays responding to the question, “Do black lives matter?” This year, a capella group Soul4Real opened the performance and gospel choir Northwestern Community Ensemble closed out the show. Communication senior Amy Parker, who is a member of
City approves high school permit
Aldermen vote 7-1 in favor of 2nd Ward special education school
By KEERTI GOPAL
the daily northwestern @keerti_gopal
Aldermen voted 7-1 at a City Council meeting on Monday to approve a special use permit for a special education high school in the 2nd Ward to accommodate students with behavioral and emotional needs. The proposed public high school will be located at 1233-35 Hartrey Ave., about three blocks away from Evanston Township High School, and will serve students who have behavioral and emotional needs, according to council documents. The school will begin by enrolling about 22 students with the possibility of expanding to up to 40. With a student-to-faculty ratio of two to one, it will create 12 new jobs with potential for expansion. Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd) said the students who will attend the new school will include those who have previously been bussed out to schools in other districts to accommodate their needs. He added that the school’s goal
is to bring students back into the Evanston community and facilitate a possible transition back to ETHS. “The kids who would specifically go to this school are kids who are … mature enough and are on track to transition back into the high school,” Braithwaite told The Daily. “It’s sort of like a stepping stone.” Ald. Ann Rainey (8th), who voted against the approval, said her concern was related to the school’s location in an industrial area. In 2009, the city denied an application for a school in an industrial zone and was sued by the school. The city won the lawsuit, and Rainey said she is against the location because she feels it violates zoning policy. “We absolutely caved in, and now we watered down the zoning ordinance,” Rainey said. “I’m almost embarrassed for us.” Although the 2009 case was against zoning policy, council has since amended zoning policy to allow for a school in the industrial zone. Braithwaite said the school’s location — which
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Soul4Real, said the group is a “great aspect” of the black community on campus and said she was glad to be included in the performance. “You can’t underestimate the importance of representation,” Parker said. “Having a series of plays that specifically addresses the question, ‘Do black lives matter?’ is so important on college campuses, especially in today’s climate.” “Black Lives, Black Words” — created by playwright Reginald
By ALAN PEREZ
daily senior staffer @_perezalan_
Katie Pach/Daily Senior Staffer
includes a childcare center and services for adults and families on the autism spectrum — will be an asset, and said it is very different from the industrial surroundings of the previously denied school. During public comment, several Evanston residents voiced their concerns with the new school. Darlene Cannon said she fears the school would disproportionately house students of color , pulling them away from ETHS and creating a divide in
the community. “What is it about these students that precludes them from being educated on campus? That’s what we can’t seem to get an accurate and precise answer for,” Cannon told The Daily. “They need to be in ETHS … so they can feel truly like they’re part of the ETHS community.” Braithwaite said the demographic makeup of the school would be similar to that of » See PERMIT, page 6
» See WORDS, page 6
Students report on Winter Olympics Medill graduate students travel to games in S. Korea
Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd) at a meeting. Aldermen voted 7-1 to approve a special use permit for a special education high school, which would serve students with behavioral and emotional needs.
Edmund — is part of an international project that gives a stage to black actors to talk about the issues that are important in their communities, not just what is seen on the news, the production program said. In 2017, NU launched the “Black Lives, Black Words” College Takeover as the first university to host the event. Edmund said often, students don’t get the opportunity to have
A group of Medill students tested their sports and international reporting skills earlier this month at the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Medill Prof. J.A. Adande and five graduate students traveled to Pyeongchang from Feb. 9 to 18 to cover the sporting event as part of Medill Explores, a weeklong suspension of classes that gives students practical experience in journalism. Other students worked on the games from Pyeongchang and the U.S. through internships unaffiliated with the program. The group worked mainly as freelance journalists, choosing what stories to write and submitting them to media outlets for possible publication. Though
the Olympics attract many sports journalists from around the world, stories aren’t restricted to an athlete’s performance. “The Olympics isn’t just about sports, it’s really an international event,” said Anna Kook, a Medill graduate student who was part of the group in Pyeongchang. The 2018 games were overshadowed at times by geopolitical tensions between North Korea and the U.S. Though North and South Korea marched in the opening ceremony under a unified flag and competed for the first time as a unified women’s hockey team, the future of the nations’ diplomatic relations remains uncertain. Kook said her interest in international politics helped her contextualize stories with historical and political implications in mind. For example, she highlighted the geopolitical significance behind a women’s hockey game between the unified Korea and Japan in a preview published » See OLYMPICS, page 6
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