Reactions from both students and aldermen were mixed Tuesday in response to a city committee’s proposal that would extend the Seventh Ward to include several South Campus residence halls and residential colleges.
The Rules Committee proposal, approved at a meeting Monday night, would shift 1835 Hinman, Jones Residential College, International Studies Residential College and Communications Residential College into the Seventh Ward. Evanston City Council, which is composed of the same nine people as the Rules Committee, could decide Nov. 24 to solidify the boundaries proposed in the map.
Jane Lee, Associated Student Government’s external relations chairwoman, said the proposal adopted by the committee is acceptable because students are not split into three wards. But she noted that aldermen considered students’ voting patterns, economic status, age and marital status when deciding the boundaries — something to which they did not submit other groups.
“I’m more upset that students were discriminated against,” Lee said. “It was very apparent.”
The shift in ward boundaries means about 550 students in the four dorms could end up in the Seventh Ward. Currently all South Campus dorms are in the First Ward, represented by Ald. Arthur Newman.
Lee said she plans to contact dorm presidents in those residences affected by the shift to solicit reactions and requests. Ald. Elizabeth Tisdahl (7th) is expected to attend an ASG Senate meeting soon, and Lee said she will notify students who could be transferred to Tisdahl’s ward of when the alderman is coming. ASG Senate meetings usually are held Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the Northwestern Room of Norris University Center and are open to the the NU community.
Tisdahl said both she and her current constituents are happy to have students join the Seventh Ward. But she described her reaction to the “sad and difficult” redistricting process as “a primal scream.”
“It was a very political map in the end and a very political decision,” she said. “At the end what discouraged me was that the only way that I knew to have two majority-minority (black) wards was to sign onto (this proposal) and have a very strange and very political Seventh Ward.”
Despite changes that could extend her ward several blocks south to Clark Street, Tisdahl said she still plans to meet with all her constituents to discuss their concerns.
“We’re going to be just fine,” she said.
The redistricting process began in the spring, and aldermen eventually evaluated more than a dozen proposed maps that attempted to fairly redraw the lines of Evanston’s nine wards. Aldermen also debated whether calculating ward boundaries by considering total population or electoral population would yield a more effective plan, eventually picking an approach that used total population. Both NU students and black voters lobbied the council to maintain cohesive voting blocs and prevent dilution of their vote.
David Kim, ASG senator for 1835 Hinman, said he also was disappointed with the result of Monday’s meeting. He said he feels cheated because the only wards he believes were significantly shifted are those encompassing NU.
Kim said efforts to alert students to ASG’s redistricting initiative fell short and said many students still are uninformed about the issue.
ASG recently passed a bill allowing senators to be deputized to register their constituents to vote. Kim said he hopes to use his deputy status to involve students in local politics.
“I’m also a little upset that my 300 constituents are no longer in Alderman Newman’s ward, so my deputy registrar efforts will no longer go toward representing (the First Ward) effectively,” said Kim, a Weinberg sophomore. “That’s where we’ve felt some of our concerns have not been met.”
But Newman said he already is working for student needs. He cited his efforts to establish a blues club and a movie theater downtown, as well as his attempts to increase lighting citywide.
Newman also noted that other residents were redistricted out of his ward, not just students. He encouraged students to move past the numbers and start discussing issues.
“This idea that students aren’t being represented,” Newman said, “it sounds to me like a rallying point to get people interested in the student government.”
