ASG launches CourseDJ to help class scheduling » PAGE 3
sports Volleyball NU loses Saturday to in-state rival Illionis » PAGE 8
opinion Dunbar NU has lost valuable source of religious exploration » PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Find us online @thedailynu
Theater closes after 34 years By paige leskin
daily senior staffer @paigeleskin
Evanston nonprofit Next Theatre Company closed Monday after years of financial trouble put the theater in significant debt to the city. The company, which operated of the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St., for 34 years, was unable to stay open after experiencing decreased attendance for its performances, according to a news release from the theater. “Unfortunately, the theater’s audiences have shrunk dramatically in the past few years and it has not been able to build a contribution base to compensate for that,” said Rob Andalman, president of Next’s board of directors. “The Board concluded that it was not responsible to continue operations.” Since its opening in 1981, the company has provided innovative programming and played an integral part of the theater scene in the Chicago area, city manager Wally Bobkiewicz said. Bobkiewicz said the show’s progressive themes failed to attract ticket sales to sustain Next. “I think there’s always a balance in producing theater by companies like Next, to make sure you have a balance of things that are a little edgier, as well as things that are a little bit easier for folks to understand and appreciate,” he said. In July, aldermen allowed Next to remain a tenant in the art center for the
PHA to establish diversity chairs after ‘Jail N’ Bail’
Northwestern’s Panhellenic Association will establish diversity and inclusion chairs in each chapter in response to controversy last month surrounding Kappa Kappa Gamma’s “Jail N’ Bail” philanthropy event, PHA president Frances Fu announced Monday. In a statement, the SESP senior apologized for the Kappa event, which the sorority canceled two weeks ago, after students criticized it online for being insensitive on racial and socioeconomic grounds. Zeta Beta Tau, which was co-sponsoring the event, withdrew its support during the controversy. The event, which planned to feature Kappa members in a mock jail asking for “bail” money as donations, was organized to raise money for Kappa’s national philanthropy Reading is Fundamental, a children’s literacy
4 plead not guilty in shooting death of Skokie student
The four men arrested in connection with the September shooting of two Skokie high school students pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of first degree murder and attempted murder. The four men, all 19, are charged with the first degree murder of Maxwell Gadau, 17, and the attempted murder of a 17-year-
2014-15 season, despite the company owning the city more than two years of rent. The theater had accumulated more than $75,000 in overdue lease payments by July. “It’s an unfortunate occurrence — the Next Theatre has been a tremendous asset,” Bobkiewicz said at the July meeting. “It has put on some of the most interesting, innovative theater in Evanston. It has seen the growth and the emergence of several national actors and national playwrights.” The committee allowed Next to stay at the art center for its season, running from September through May 2015. Bobkiewicz recommended to aldermen in July that the company remain due to the production it had already scheduled. Bobkiewicz told The Daily on Monday that Next’s closing coincided with the end of its most recent production. “We look forward to hopefully attracting another theater company to continuing in that tradition at Noyes,” he said. “They’ll never replace Next, but certainly they’ll bring other interesting types of theater productions to the Noyes center.” The closing of the theater is a huge loss to Evanston’s art community, said Joanna Pinsky, artistic director of Art Encounter, another tenant at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, whose space was once adjacent to Next’s room. Pinsky called Next a “first-rate company” whose cultural significance was » See nexttheatre, page 7 nonprofit. Students commented on the public Facebook event page and wrote in letters to the editor in The Daily that the event, which used a photo of women in the sorority quad dressed in orange prison jumpsuits, was offensive in light of systemic issues of mass incarceration in the United States. “I know that it is unfair that our prison systems are disproportionately filled with black and brown bodies while Jail N Bail is advertised by white people in outfits that represent largescale oppression,” Fu wrote in her statement. “Our Greek community used someone else’s narrative to raise money for our philanthropy, and although we did not act out of malice, we should be ashamed of our ignorance.” In a letter to the editor published in The Daily in October, Weinberg sophomore Ajay Nadig noted that PHA groups are 71 percent white and favor wealthier students, while about 40 percent of prisoners are black and many are poor. Nadig called the event old female who has not been identified by police, authorities said. In a Cook County court appearance Monday morning, the defendants, three from Chicago and one from Skokie, were arraigned on the charges, according to the clerk’s office of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The four were indicted in front of a grand jury on Oct. 28. Since their arrests Oct. 5, the men have been held by the Cook County Department of Corrections after being denied bond at appearances before Cook County
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Football Nathan Richards/Daily Senior Staffer
A BITTER END Senior linebacker Collin Ellis, left, played only four games this season as he battled multiple concussions. Coach Pat Fitzgerald announced Monday that Ellis will retire from football
Ellis to retire from football By joseph diebold
daily senior staffer @JosephDiebold
Northwestern senior linebacker and team captain Collin Ellis will retire from football, coach Pat Fitzgerald said Monday at his weekly news conference. Ellis missed four games this season, including the last three, after suffering multiple concussions. He recorded 33 tackles on the season for a total of 147 “a blatant belittling of the realities of mass incarceration and the prisonindustrial complex.” Critics also said children who are supported by Reading is Fundamental are often affected by having family members incarcerated. In her statement Fu announced that PHA groups will host talks with Lesley-Ann Brown-Henderson, executive director of campus inclusion and community, or host Sustained Dialogues in each chapter. PHA will also host an association-wide Sustained Dialogue in addition to establishing a diversity and inclusion chair in each chapter. It was not immediately clear when the changes would take effect. Fu asked NU students to forgive the Greek community and said in her statement PHA’s goal “is to change the culture of Greek life, the culture of Northwestern.” Fu did not respond to a request for comment Monday evening. — Jeanne Kuang
judges on Oct. 5 and 6, police said. A 17-year-old who police believed to be the gunman was arrested on the morning of Oct. 6, but released from custody the next day because of rights under the Illinois Juvenile Court Act, officials said. Police believe that the two students were shot on Sept. 28 after an arranged drug deal turned violent, authorities said. Officers responded to calls of shots fired around 9:40 p.m. on Sept. 28 and found the two students in a car in the 9200 block of Kedvale Avenue, police said. Both Gadau, whose parents are from
career tackles. “We’ve been in a lot of private conversations, Collin and I,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s the right decision short-term and obviously it’s the right decision long-term.” The highlight of Ellis’ career came in last year’s season opener against California, when he returned two interceptions for touchdowns in NU’s 44-30 win over the Golden Bears. Fitzgerald praised Ellis’ leadership, saying he has taken a mentoring role with freshman Anthony Walker, his replacement at middle linebacker.
“It’s really sad and disappointing that he won’t get a chance to put on the helmet again and the jersey and go out and play,” Fitzgerald said, “but he’s had a wonderful career. He’s doing a great job passing on his knowledge, his love, his passion to Anthony and the rest of our linebacking corps.” Last week, Walker called Ellis’ presence on the sidelines “a blessing.” “Me being a young guy, you want to » See ellis, page 7
SHAPE, MARS give advice on romance By alice yin
the daily northwestern @alice__yin
Northwestern got a crash course in romance and hookups at a Monday night kickoff for Ask Someone Out, a weeklong initiative to encourage students to be more expressive in their relationships. Hosted by Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators and Men Against Rape and Sexual Assault, the event featured a panel of students who discussed personal viewpoints on communication in dating and hookup culture. About 70 students crowded into a Locy Hall classroom to hear the panel. Evanston, and the girl were transported to Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Ave., where Gadau was pronounced dead, police said. An autopsy showed Gadau died from a gunshot wound to the back, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. His death was ruled a homicide. Gadau and the girl were both students at Niles North High School, according to a statement from the school. “This terrible crime has affected our entire school community,” Niles North principal Ryan McTague said in a
Weinberg junior Erik Baker, a MARS member, moderated the event. He said that although the initiative’s name suggests the focus is on asking people out, the event aimed to promote communication on both ends of a relationship. “While we encourage people to ask someone out, we want to recognize it is completely valid if you are not interested in a romantic or sexual relationship,” Baker told The Daily. “The other side of this coin is rejecting someone … taking no for an answer, allowing someone to be comfortable telling you no.” Panelists discussed consent in relationships and sex, agreeing that a “maybe” means “no” and that consent » See dating, page 7 statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Max’s family, with the family of the injured girl, and with the families of all the students who are affected by this event.” A memorial service for Gadau was held Oct. 5 at the First Presbyterian Church of Evanston, 1427 Chicago Ave. A candlelight vigil was held the night of Oct. 6 on Kedvale Avenue where the shooting took place. The four men are scheduled to appear next in Cook County court in January. — Paige Leskin
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