Council fails to provide plan for Harley Clarke» PAGE 2
SPORTS Football With classes starting, Cats look to maintain momentum» PAGE 8
OPINION Johnson Black House dispute reveals lack of transparency» PAGE 4
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The Daily Northwestern Tuesday, September 22, 2015
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Hurdles remain for city police body cameras Up to Date
Zack Laurence/The Daily Northwestern
CAMERA CONCERNS It is unlikely the Evanston Police Department will implement police body cameras within the next few months. Body cameras were legally permitted in Illinois last month.
By SOPHIA BOLLAG
daily senior staffer @SophiaBollag
Catch up on the biggest ongoing news stories affecting Northwestern and Evanston with The Daily’s new
explainer series: Up to Date. Although Illinois legalized police body cameras in August, Evanston’s police chief says it will be months before such cameras could be used in the city. The new law explicitly permitting body cameras cleared up confusion for police
departments across the state about whether such cameras were legal. However, even with that roadblock cleared, the future of body cameras in Evanston is still murky. Evanston police Chief Richard Eddington said he isn’t sure his force will begin using the cameras in the foreseeable future considering concerns over cost, privacy and
Housing plan moves forward By ALICE YIN
daily senior staffer @alice__yin
Northwestern funded an $11.5 million revamp of on-campus housing this summer, ahead of the construction of five new residence halls as part of the University’s 10-year Housing Master Plan. Many students moved in to heavily refurbished buildings this year, as Residential Services financed improvements to several on-campus residences. North and South Mid-Quads opened to students from the Public Affairs Residential College and Shepard Residential College with a complete makeover of mechanical, plumbing and air conditioning facilities. PARC, Shepard and Goodrich House will reopen in their
original spaces next fall. Many other buildings also reopened their doors this year, featuring new carpeting and furniture, including FosterWalker Complex, Jones Residential College and East and West Fairchild. Jones’ Great Room has also added a retractable bleacher seating system. Jack Heider, president of the Residential Housing Association, said the renovations were a dramatic improvement. “The first time I walked into NMQ it just looked old and small,” the McCormick junior said. “They tore it open, and it has a big lounge and it’s almost social. It’s not just a place to live but a place you want to hang out.” The first new building to debut as part of the Housing Master Plan will be a residence hall on 560 Lincoln Street that will serve as a makeshift “hotel” for other
residence halls that are slated for either renovation or demolition, said Paul Riel, executive director of Residential Services. “For us to continue to renovate spaces, existing buildings have to be offline so we can do work,” Riel said. “560 Lincoln starts off as a hotel as we move various groups out of the buildings for a year, then they come back to their space.” Set to open its doors September 2017, the 422-bed residence hall will be a suite-style building open to students of any year. Residents throughout the seven floors will be able to peer through the building’s tall glass walls overlooking North Beach. The new home will be located next to Kemper Hall, on the old Peanut Row. Floors will be gender neutral with » See HOUSING, page 7
necessity. The 2014 shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, generated scrutiny across the country of racial disparities between police forces and the communities they are charged to protect. Limited evidence in the case also spurred many to call
for police officers to record interactions with civilians on body-worn cameras. “If it wasn’t for the events in Ferguson, Missouri, I doubt this bill would’ve passed,” Eddington said in a meeting with Evanston media last month.
Amid state budget crisis, city increases parking fines
At their meeting last week, aldermen approved a similar fee hike increasing ambulance fees by $150 for Evanston residents and $200 for non-residents. Two weeks after the state started its fiscal year without a budget, city manager Wally Bobkiewicz directed his staff in July to plan for budget cuts. He also proposed a slew of fee increases and a furlough day, which the council will consider in upcoming months of budget negotiations. Bobkiewicz told The Daily last week that if the state doesn’t approve a budget until the end of the city’s fiscal year on Dec. 31, Evanston will have at least dodged the consequences of budget cuts for 2015. “At some point this house of cards has to fall,” Bobkiewicz said. “It’s not a matter of will it fall; it’s a matter of when it will fall.”
Evanston residents will begin paying $5 more for parking fines starting next month. As part of the city’s efforts to increase revenue amid uncertainty over state funding cuts, aldermen unanimously approved fee hikes to fines on violations such as parking without a permit in city-owned lots or parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant. Late fees for such fines will also increase by $5. Effective Oct. 1, if individuals are fined for parking illegally on a snow route, they will be charged $60 instead of the previous fee of $55. There will be no fee increases for certain parking infractions under state law.
» See CAMERAS, page 7
— Julia Jacobs
RHA announces plan for new bifurcated structure By PETER KOTECKI and ALICE YIN daily senior staffers @peterkotecki, @alice__yin,
Daily file photo from Sean Su
RHA REDONE Starting this year, students interested in hall government have two routes to choose from: social programming and administration. The change is intended to help organize residential hall activity.
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
Starting this year, residence hall governments will be split in two: one side for social programming and one side for administrative duties. Residence Hall Association created a programming board for each residence hall to provide social and educational programming and three area councils — located in Foster-Walker Complex, Allison Residential Community and Kemper Hall — to govern and improve the halls. “The goal is to completely divide essential programming for students in
halls, while improving student life in other ways, because in the past the boards of each hall had to do both,” said McCormick sophomore Nathan McCardel, RHA vice president. “They did munchies, but also the water fountain broken on the second floor.” In the past, government boards for residence halls were responsible for both social and administrative duties and were overseen by RHA, said McCormick sophomore Chris Chen, the RHA publicity chair. This year, RHA is adding a level between the hall board and executive board that will be called area council, he said. Twelve residence halls will be included in the three area councils, while each residence hall will have its own
programming board. To communicate more effectively, RHA will focus on having fewer people contacting Residential Life at a time, McCardel said. Students can run for up to two positions in each of their respective area councils and programming boards, he added. “I’m really excited to see how it goes. I hope we get a good turnout for elections and I hope a lot of people are interested,” McCardel said. Area councils will also host open forums every other week that will serve as town hall meetings for residents to come to, said McCormick junior Jack Heider, » See RHA, page 7
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