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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, May 4, 2023
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ASG freezes College Republicans funding & Harassment. Motion comes one Discrimination The policy states examples of day after club hosts harassment can include displayand circulating “offensive controversial pundit ing objects and pictures that are By JULIAN ANDREONE
the daily northwestern @julianandreone
Katie Chen/The Daily Northwestern
A protester in the crowd outside Swift Hall held the transgender pride flag.
Students protest Lindsay event NUCR and YAF host conspiracy theorist and anti-LGBTQ+ activist By JOANNA HOU, RUSSELL LEUNG and MAIA PANDEY
daily senior staffers
More than 150 demonstrators gathered outside Swift Hall on Tuesday evening to protest a lecture by James Lindsay, an author, conspiracy theorist and anti-LGBTQ+ activist. Northwestern College Republicans and NU’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom hosted Lindsay, who helped popularize
“groomer” rhetoric. The rhetoric, which has been debunked and labeled as anti-gay by PolitiFact and the Anti-Defamation League, accuses LGBTQ+ people of enabling pedophilia. Lindsay has also promoted “white genocide theory,” which claims there is an intentional effort to replace white populations in majority-white communities. Historians have traced the white genocide theory to having antisemitic roots. Prior to the event, several NU
students emailed University President Michael Schill expressing concerns about Lindsay’s invitation to campus. They also raised questions about the event’s funding — particularly why Lindsay chose to speak at NU for free. SESP sophomore Katherine McDonnell, a former Daily staffer, said students can help shape the values of the University through protest. “Mobilizing for students today, even if it doesn’t mean
administration will or can do anything, is an act of recognizing that we will hold each other accountable, and that we expect each other to actually think critically, to question conspiracy theorists (and) to lead with love,” McDonnell said. Lindsay speaks for free, ASG discusses funding NUCR and YAF did not pay
» See LINDSAY, page 6
Associated Student Government froze funding for Northwestern College Republicans Wednesday night. The body passed the motion using emergency legislation. The vote, which went through with a large majority, came after NUCR and NU’s chapter of Young Americans for Freedom hosted James Lindsay, an author, conspiracy theorist and anti-LGBTQ+ activist, on Tuesday for a speaker event. While NUCR receives funding from ASG, YAF currently does not. ASG co-President and McCormick junior Molly Whalen said ASG froze the funding because of flyers the two organizations posted advertising the lecture. One flyer featured sunglasses with a queer pride flag and a skull and crossbones superimposed over the lenses. The legislation is based on ASG’s belief that the flyers advertising Lindsay’s lecture violate NU’s Policy on
based on a protected class.” Whalen said neither the speaker’s ideology nor NUCR’s political affiliation played a role in the suspension of funds, which was strictly based on a “pretty explicit violation” of University policy. “We can’t prevent a speaker from coming to campus as student government. That’s done by administration,” Whalen said. “We focused on the part that we could control, which is student group conduct and student group finances.” Weinberg freshman Malik Rice, ASG’s co-executive officer of justice and inclusion, co-authored the legislation. He said when marginalized groups on campus don’t feel heard, it is ASG’s responsibility to amplify their voices. “There is a side of injustice and (one of justice),” Rice said. “ASG does not want to be on the side of injustice.” According to the legislation, NUCR’s finances will be frozen until the ongoing University investigation into its conduct has concluded to determine
» See ASG, page 6
Evanston aims to revitalize relationship with Chicago Mayor Daniel Biss hopes to work with newly elected Windy City mayor on racial equity, climate, public safety By ARIA WOZNIAK
daily senior staffer @ari_wozz
With Chicago’s newly elected mayor, Brandon Johnson, set to be sworn in on May 15, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss said he hopes the relationship between Evanston and Chicago’s local governments will have a more collaborative dynamic. Biss, who endorsed Johnson prior to April’s mayoral runoff election, emphasized the importance of building a stronger and more prosperous Chicago area by working together with the larger city. He said he sees this happening with Johnson as mayor. “On the things that are our top priorities — whether that’s public safety, racial equity, climate, action, sustainability, affordable housing — I think we’re going to have a partner who shares our values,” Biss said. “A partner who we can really get some good things done with.” He added that Evanston’s relationship with Chicago is a fundamental part of the smaller city’s identity since Chicago is an economic and cultural center of the region.
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According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in 2019, 37.8% of Evanston residents work in Chicago. He thinks many people are drawn to live in Evanston because of the greater Chicago region’s cultural vibrancy. Both cities have already begun collaborating on multiple collaborative efforts, including the “One Howard Street” project. The border between Evanston and Chicago sits along Howard Street. Evanston’s 8th Ward is just north of the street, while Chicago’s 49th Ward lies south. The “One Howard Street” project aims to increase and support business in the Howard Corridor and bridge the border between the two cities. Kyle Ryan, Chicago’s 49th Ward Manager of Economic Development, said he has been working directly with Evanston’s business affairs management team, Economic Development Manager Paul Zalmezak and Ald. Devon Reid (8th) to collaborate more closely on projects on Howard Street. They hold a working committee meeting every two weeks, Ryan said. “I’ve already seen things in the last two months that we’ve been able to coordinate a little
bit better,” Ryan said. “It’s already given both municipalities a little bit of push to say ‘we’re not working against each other, and if we work together it’s more beneficial for both parties.’ ” Ryan said he feels optimistic about the committee’s work so far. He added that the committee recently noticed Howard Street is wide enough to support protected bike lanes without removing parking from either the Chicago or Evanston side of the street. Ryan said it was exciting to learn the cities could work together to ensure both sides of the street are paved with bike lanes. Additionally, Ryan said the committee wants to help integrate the Chicago and Evanston communities to show that the border line, specifically at the Howard station, doesn’t mean the two cities operate separately. “We need to start acting like a region rather than separate municipalities,” Ryan said. The partnership between the two cities is crucial for safety and crime prevention, according to Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew. He said the Evanston Police Department and the Chicago Police Department have a long
Illustration by Lily Ogburn
history of working together to keep the areas safe, and he is confident the partnership will continue. “We will always look to maintain our relationships and two-way communication with all our law enforcement partners in the area,” he said. “(With) somebody new coming to the conversation, you’re hopeful and anxious anticipating their approach and what benefits that’s going to bring.”
He said given a significant number of common crimes like car theft in both cities, law enforcement stakeholders have taken a proactive approach about staying in communication and exchanging crime and safety information. However, despite some public safety concerns and economic challenges, local government authorities Glew, Biss and Ryan have expressed optimism about the
future of the relationship between Evanston and Chicago. “I ran for this office because I saw a confluence of a time and a set of issues that I thought create room for really bold transformational change in areas like housing and public safety,” Biss said. “I think we are putting the pieces together to make that change happen.” ariawozniak2025@u.northwestern.edu
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