1. Storm Floods Library, DormsOctober 3, 2006Various buildings across campus flooded and lost power at night on October 2 as Northwestern was hit by a severe thunderstorm that showered down hail and up to eight inches of rain.The overnight storm elicited flash flood warnings across northern Cook County.At the University Library, rainwater flooded the main hall, stretching by the computer lounge and soaking the carpet.Roads throughout South Campus were flooded, with Foster Street submerged in a tire-deep pool that covered part of the sidewalk, but dorms and sorority houses did not stay dry either. Sewage water also filled the basements of Chi Omega and Pi Beta Phi. And at the Communications Residential College, about six inches of water built up behind the main door after mulch clogged the building’s drains. The storm also knocked out electricity in dorms across North Campus, drawing police cars and firetrucks to the Fraternity Quads. 2. Muslims’ Request For Space RejectedFebruary 20, 2007Members of the Muslim-cultural Students Association were denied a designated prayer space at sporting events held at Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan by athletic officials, said John Mack, Northwestern’s associate athletic director of external affairs.Instead officials granted Muslim students certain concessions, such as allowing prayer rugs into the stadiums and letting students pray in places that do not block traffic flow.The decision came after Muslim students expressed a need for clean prayer areas in January. Associated Student Government passed a resolution asking the athletic department to meet with the Muslim-cultural Students Association to explore possible accommodations.
3. Security Enforced Throughout Campus March 27, 2007; May 7, 2007The permanent placement of alarms on all but the main doors of university residence halls and residential colleges went into effect March 25, leading to questions about how to best balance safety and convenience.The fire doors were alarmed by university officials after outside security consultants made recommendations regarding dorm safety. Suggestions followed by the university included using only one door as the building’s entrance and placing video cameras at the entrance of the dorms. But just about a month later, administrators announced that 14 fire doors in residence halls and residential colleges would no longer be alarmed 24 hours a day, though they gave no indication as to when the policy would take effect.University Police Assistant Chief Dan McAleer said dorm leaders made 39 requests for exemptions this quarter, 25 of which were denied.Foster-Walker Complex was granted the most exemptions, receiving all six it requested. The exempted doors all lead from stairwells to the exterior of the building.
4. Virginia Tech ReactionApril 17, 2007Northwestern administrators said they were saddened by the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, which left at least 33 people dead, including the gunman.”It’s a tough day for anyone in higher education,” said William Banis, NU’s vice president for student affairs.Two different attacks took place on the Blacksburg, Va., campus in the morning. Two people were killed in a dorm at about 7:15 a.m. Two hours later, 31 more people, including the gunman himself, were killed in a classroom building about a half-mile from the dorm.In the days following the attacks in Virginia, Banis said there would likely will be an increased police presence on campus.
5. Protesters March For DarfurApril 26, 2007The sing-song chant of the protesters rang out as they marched from The Rock to University’s President Henry Bienen’s office.”Hey Bienen, we’ve got pride. Divest us from this genocide.”But Bienen had nothing to say back to the more than 75 protesters who participated.The group, led by the Northwestern University Darfur Action Coalition, was told they would have to wait for an answer on whether NU would continue to remove all university investments in companies doing business in the Sudan.Weinberg sophomore and NUDAC Coordinator Alyssa Huff said NUDAC was told by NU Chief Investment Officer William McLean that the university likely still has investments in four companies doing business with the Sudanese government. However, Bienen said almost all of NU’s holdings in the Sudan are indirect.
6. Student Sexually Assaulted, May 10, 2007Detectives located an Evanston resident on July 20 who allegedly forced a Northwestern student into her apartment at night on May 7 and sexually assaulted her.The man, Darryl Deshawn Preston, 24, approached a 22-year-old student from behind as she tried to enter the front door of her apartment building on the 1200 block of Simpson Street, only a few blocks from NU’s campus, according to an Evanston Police Department press release.Preston was charged with Home Invasion, Aggravated Criminal Sexual Assault Unlawful Restraint and Residential Burglary.His bail is currently set at $750,000, and he is set to appear in court on August 16.
7. NU Partners with Qatar, April 9, 2007Northwestern is finalizing plans to open an undergraduate communication and journalism school in the Arab state of Qatar, with classes scheduled to begin as early as 2008, university officials said.The NU campus will be in Education City, a compound of colleges sponsored by the Qatari government in the capital city of Doha.The Daily reported in April that plans were being finalized for an NU school to join schools sponsored by Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Georgetown, Texas A&M and Virginia Commonwealth universities, which are all funded by the Qatar Foundation, a private nonprofit organization founded in 1995. In July, Al Cubbage, vice president of university relations, said negotiations to open an NU campus in the Persian Gulf country of Qatar are continuing.
8. Towering Over Evanston, April 27, 2007If city officials and developers have their way, Evanston’s skyline and downtown will be transformed by a 49-story skyscraper that would be almost double the height of the city’s tallest building.The project faces several hurdles before construction can begin on the proposed condominium and retail building at 708 Church St., including issues of preservation, funding, rezoning and approval by the Evanston City Council. But the developers’ aggressive timetable – completion is scheduled for 2010 – and the absence of the city’s usual skyscraper skepticism makes this project stand out.
9. Women Denied Tenure, May 25, 2007The official announcement of this year’s tenure appointments on May 25 gave new life to old arguments that Northwestern discriminates against women when granting tenure to faculty members.The issue came to light when news spread that former religion Prof. Sarah Taylor did not receive tenure, sparking an outcry from students and faculty who said she more than meet qualifications. Taylor’s supporters said gender discrimination was at the forefront of the decision to deny her tenure, but some administrators disagree.Though President Bienen denied the accusation, evidence shows NU has struggled with this problem since 1981, when a former professor filed a lawsuit against the university, charging that gender discrimination prevented her from receiving a tenured or permanent position at NU as an associate professor.
10. ETHS Murder, July 5, 2007An Evanston Township High School senior was found dead in an alley a block from his school by Evanston Police in late June, and police arrested the alleged shooter, a Skokie teenager, a week later.Theo David Wright, of the 4900 block of Church Street, is suspected to have shot fellow student Darryl Shannon Pickett, 17, after what police said they believed was a fight, although its causes were unknown. Wright, also 17, turned himself into EPD on July 4.On June 28, the Evanston Police Department found the victim lying unresponsive in the alley. Pickett was immediately transported to Evanston Hospital, where he died of his injuries less than an hour later.If found guilty, Wright will be charged as an adult for one count of homicide, said Police Cmdr. James Elliot.- Compiled
by Emily Glazer
