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The Daily Northwestern Monday, May 22, 2023
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BURSAR’S TAKEOVER 55TH ANNIVERSARY
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Evanston looks toward home energy actions from Forbes. Program, residents to aIfMayshereport was still financially seek cost-effective, focused on raising her children or for retirement, Neumann efficient solutions saving said, it would’ve been much more By LILY CAREY
daily senior staffer @lilylcarey
Jacob Wendler/Daily Senior Staffer
Cydney Hope Brown speaks at the “Black to Front” symposium. Brown uses poetry to share her experiences with grief and pride.
Symposium honors Black Studies ‘Black to Front’ event celebrates pending department renaming By JOANNA HOU, JESSICA MA, KRISTEN AXTMAN
daily senior staffers @joannah_11 / @jessicama2025 / @kristenaxtman1
The Department of African American Studies celebrated its renaming to Black Studies in a Friday symposium titled “Black
to Front.” In April 2008, the department voted unanimously to change its name. According to the formal name change proposal, the new title aims to better reflect “the breadth of its scholarship and teaching” by expanding beyond U.S.-centric boundaries. The formal change will occur in the
next few months, pending final approval by Northwestern’s Board of Trustees. “Black Studies is inclusivity and community,” said SESP freshman Noelle Robinson, who served as an emcee during Friday’s event. “I am Black, African American and Jamaican American. It validates all of our Black
histories and ancestors, not only the ones to live in this country.” The event featured two keynote speakers, student creatives, a faculty roundtable and a graduate student panel. Speakers and artists also selected Black music interludes to play ahead of their
» See BLACK STUDIES, page 10
Eighth Ward resident Jane Neumann recently installed solar panels on her home — a “pretty easy” choice for her household — she said. Yet solar panels aren’t as common a sight in her neighborhood as they are in other parts of the city, she’s noticed. In wards of the city with higher concentrations of wealthy residents, clean energy systems are far more visible, she said. “You drive around neighborhoods and just look around — the north end of Evanston has a few more solar systems,” Neumann said. Home energy-efficiency upgrades, like solar panels and heat pumps, have long been praised as a key way to cut carbon emissions in housing, which city Sustainability and Resilience Coordinator Cara Pratt said is one of Evanston’s biggest sources of emissions. Yet many of these technologies require upfront investments of tens of thousands of dollars.The average solar panel installation in Illinois can cost more than $12,000, even with federal tax credits, according
difficult to prioritize an investment in green technology. As Evanston pushes toward carbon neutrality through its Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, government leaders and advocates are looking to make energy-efficient upgrades more accessible for lowerincome residents. With officials looking to bridge the gap between affordability and efficiency, some residents said the city needs to prioritize the former. “If our society is to make more energy efficiency a high-enough priority, (the city) needs to attach some dollars to that in a significant way,” Neumann said. A main way the city is working to make energy efficiency more affordable for homeowners is through its One Stop Shop Housing Retrofit pilot program. The program will use American Rescue Plan Act funding to help income-qualified residents make home improvement upgrades to their electrical, mechanical, heating and cooling systems. According to Robinson Markus, worker-owner and general manager at the Evanston Development Cooperative, the goal of the program
» See SUSTAINABILITY, page 10
Rebuilding Exchange repurposes home accessories
Nonprofit diverts materials from landfills, provides sustainable deconstruction services and workforce training By SHANNON TYLER
daily senior staffer @shannonmtyler
Rediscovery is a closely held value for Rebuilding Exchange, a construction material reuse store in Evanston. At the establishment’s storefront, customers can find reclaimed wood, sinks, doorknobs, light fixtures and other large or little items that are looking for a new home. Rebuilding Exchange is also a nonprofit that sells reclaimed home renovations goods, provides sustainable deconstruction services and free, paid workforce training programs. “Our mission is achieved when objects can be reused,” Director of Social Enterprise Nika Vaughan said. “The things that come to us are fixtures that are very long lasting, quality made. And when another person buys it, the cycle has been completed.” When longtime customer Kate Thomas moved into her apartment in a 1920s-era building in Chicago, she said there had been damage to the original kitchen flooring. She either needed to match about 4 square feet of the original hardwood flooring or
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replace the entire floor, she said. Thomas said Rebuilding Exchange had the exact materials she needed. She was able to replace the section of hardwood flooring with wood flooring Rebuilding Exchange pulled and repurposed from the old Masonic Lodge in Wilmette, which has been undergoing redevelopment. “I have always had just an extraordinary experience with them,” Thomas said. “Both the quality of their merchandise and the interfacing with their staff has been great.” Thomas said the Rebuilding Exchange’s great customer experience and its core values and mission brings her and her family back to the storefront for their home improvement projects. While sustainably deconstructing homes and reclaiming materials is Rebuilding Exchange’s specialty, building community is a passion for the nonprofit, said Marketing Manager Zach Share. With a loyal customer base and regular community events, Share said the Rebuilding Exchange fosters a connection between the organization and community by encouraging people to make an impact on their environment and delve into their creativity.
“We are making it accessible to the community to find materials they need and to inspire our community to use reclaimed materials,” Share said. Rebuilding Exchange has two storefronts, one in Evanston and another in Chicago, which have both been operating for about 12 years as separate companies. The Evanston location was formerly called Rebuilding Warehouse. Then, in 2022, the Evanston store and the Chicago store officially merged under the name Rebuilding Exchange. Share said Rebuilding Exchange diverts 3 million pounds of materials from landfills every year. The items in the storefront have all been collected from deconstructions or walk-in donations. At the storefront and warehouse, people can also participate in workshops to learn how to craft and build projects from pictures frames to benches. Share added that support goes for those in the apprenticeship program as well as customers and those who participate in the organization’s workshops. The warehouse hosts several workshops ranging from topics like building a bench to artistic workshops to “everything you
Shannon Tyler/Daily Senior Staffer
All the items in the Rebuilding Exchange stores have been collected from deconstructions or walk-in donations.
need to know about your HVAC system,” Share said. These workshops are a space to learn and socialize, he added. Rebuilding Exchange is a “system of support” for many, Share said. Vaughan added that most materials and items at the store have increased value since many older things were made with higher quality materials to last longer. She said an investment in
these materials is also an investment in the community. “Things that are either made super cheaply, like fast fashion for construction, unfortunately, are hard items to reuse,” Vaughan said. “Which then kind of plays into the idea of like, ‘Okay, should we be consuming those in the first place?’” Share said as one of the only nonprofit building material reuse stores in the country, Rebuilding
Exchange’s sales from the storefront and deconstruction service help fund its workforce training program. The program serves as a jumpstart for those looking to pursue a career in the trades or gainful employment, according to Share. Rebuilding Exchange has two different workforce training programs: a pre-apprenticeship program and a transitional
» See REBUILDING, page 10
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Arts & Entertainment 8 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12