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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, February 22, 2024
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FSL asks for halt of hazing Greek Life new member season prompts warning By SAMANTHA POWERS
the daily northwestern @sqpowers04
In a letter circulated to all fraternity and sorority members Wednesday night, Northwestern’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life reminded members of anti-hazing policies and resources. New member season is underway at NU, meaning that many sorority and fraternity recruits are going through an orientation and education period. The office said the email was sent in light of recent events. “Over the past few days, we have witnessed and received reports about students who have publicly displayed concerning behaviors across campus, such as students allegedly being instructed to wear elaborate costumes or carry objects with them everywhere throughout the day,” FSL Director Keith Garcia said in the letter. Garcia attached a message outlining hazing prevention guidelines, and said they will be circulated to all student organization leaders on Friday.
NU FSL’s Guidelines for New Member Education refer students to the definition of hazing — a Class A misdemeanor — as outlined by Illinois law. Any person who “knowingly requires the performance of any act by a student or other person in a school, college, university, or other educational institution … for the purpose of induction or admission into any group, organization, or society associated or connected with that institution” commits hazing if the act is not sanctioned or authorized by the institution or results in bodily harm, the law says. NU’s Student Handbook and Code of Conduct say examples of hazing include requiring students to wear “uniforms or apparel that is conspicuous and not normally in good taste” or “carry, possess, or maintain objects or items.” Garcia said violations of the Student Code of Conduct should cease immediately and may be investigated by the University. “We want to ensure that every student can engage in Northwestern activities free from harm, and you all have a role to play in achieving that aim,” the message said. samanthapowers2026 @u.nortwestern.edu
Illustration by Shveta Shah
City Council is expected to vote on a community responder program at its Feb. 26 meeting.
City considers 911 response system
Proposed community responder program could offer alternative to police By MELISSA DAI
daily senior staffer
Tens of thousands of 911 calls stream into the Evanston Police Department every year. From minor disputes to critical encounters, one versatile group is tasked with handling them all: police officers.
But soon, that may change. “It is really obvious, if you look at all the different things we ask our police officers to do all day, that the breadth of those tasks is beyond any one person’s set of strengths,” Mayor Daniel Biss said. “It is just not feasible, realistic or fair to expect that the same person who responds to a minor traffic accident should also be the best
person to respond to something like a shooting.” The issue of overextended police responsibility has been at the forefront of Biss’ platform since he took office in 2021, he said. A community responder program, on the docket for City Council, could be the solution. In this proposed program, teams of specially trained community
responders will handle low-risk 911 calls to conserve police resources for higher-priority calls. The program emerged from Evanston’s Reimagining Public Safety Committee, which includes Biss, Alds. Bobby Burns (5th), Devon Reid (8th) and Juan Geracaris (9th) and community
» See ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, page 6
Schill announces new committee Mitchell Museum Faculty to advise the president on free expression and speech By SAMANTHA POWERS
daily senior staffer @sqpowers04
Northwestern President Michael Schill announced a new Advisory Committee on Free Expression and Institutional Speech in a Universitywide statement Monday. Pritzker Prof. Erin Delaney, who specializes in Constitutional law, will chair the 11-person committee. Other members include NU President Emeritus Henry Bienen; Weinberg Prof. Eli Finkel; Weinberg Prof. Vicky Kalogera, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics; McCormick Prof. Milan Mrksich and Medill Prof. Peter Slevin. “The panel consists of some of Northwestern’s preeminent scholars from across disciplines, scholars who will examine the issue from different perspectives and, hopefully, with different viewpoints — the type of intellectual debate that lies at the very core of academic freedom,” Schill said in
Recycle Me
the message. Schill said he tasked the committee with identifying boundaries for free expression and academic freedom on campus, evaluating circumstances in which University officials should make statements on behalf of their constituents about political or international issues. The committee will also consider how the University should incorporate the committee’s recommendations into the community. The University did not immediately respond to request for comment on whether the committee’s findings will be incorporated into the Student Handbook. The formation of the committee comes after the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Northwestern last month for its handling of alleged incidents of antisemitism. Schill also faced criticism from alumni in December for his response to antisemitism on campus in recent months. Israel’s continued ground and air offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than
undergoes rebrand Museum looks to emphasize local Indigenous cultures By ANAVI PRAKASH
the daily northwestern @anavi_52
Daily file photo by Jacob Wendler
The formation of the committee comes after the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Northwestern last month for its handling of alleged incidents of antisemitism.
29,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials. The offensive began after the militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel killed about 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli officials.
The President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate, formed in November, has been at work under co-chairs
» See EXPRESSION, page 2
At the end of last year, staff at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian found an eagle staff, a Native artifact made with eagle feathers and a deer antler, but couldn’t trace its origins, according to Kim Vigue, the museum’s executive director. She said the museum gifted the staff to local Native veterans, who used it for the first time at the American Indian Center’s 70th annual Pow Wow in December. “(It was a) really beautiful moment,” Vigue said. “It was a really private moment where we handed it off to them and knew that it would be well cared for.” This repatriation is part of the museum’s broader goal to display and represent Indigenous stories, she said. The museum is currently
undergoing a rebranding to focus more on Native tribes in the Chicago and Great Lakes region. The rebranding includes a new mission statement, name and logo. Last year, the museum went through a strategic planning process funded by an Evanston Community Foundation grant. The staff created a threeyear plan that included steps to rebrand the museum, according to Susan Kelsey, the museum’s board president. The inspiration for this rebranding started in 2022, when the museum’s leadership became majority Indigenous, Vigue said. She said the leadership wanted to respectfully and accurately tell Native stories, something that has been a “prolific problem” in the past. The museum’s new mission rests on three pillars: education, advocacy and awareness — all focused on Native communities in the Chicago and Great Lakes region. The museum holds monthly programming about Indigenous
» See MITCHELL, page 6
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