After exchanges between University President Morton Schapiro and NU Community Not Cops this fall, Northwestern Hillel tackled questions about Zionism, anti-Semitism and racial justice in a weeklong symposium this month.
After demonstrations outside his home in October, Schapiro said in an email to the University community the protesters’ rhetoric toward him held anti-Semitic undertones. In response, NUCNC said they condemned anti-Semitism and their words had been misconstrued by Schapiro because “anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism.”
Hillel Social Justice Coordinator Lydia Greenberg, who helped organize the symposium, told The Daily many Jewish students felt “hurt, confused, (and) frustrated” either at the administration or other students after the heated back-and-forth in the fall.
Student group NUCNC meets publicly with central administration to address unmet demands and District 219 community members demand reforms to address racism. The Weekly: Week One Recap breaks down The Daily’s top headlines with the reporters and editors who covered those stories.
ALEX CHUN: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Alex Chun.
JORDAN MANGI: And I’m Jordan Mangi. This is The Weekly: a podcast that breaks down our top headlines each week.
ALEX CHUN: Here’s what’s been happening in the headlines. On campus, Northwestern has opened more dorms and on-campus housing this winter quarter.
JORDAN MANGI: With the return of most freshmen and sophomores, the University has also announced that Compass group is rehiring 97 percent of workers laid off last spring.
In their first public interaction with University President Morton Schapiro and other members of the central administration, NU Community Not Cops organizers expressed their disapproval of the University’s response to police abolition demands on Tuesday.
Five members of NUCNC met with Schapiro, Provost Kathleen Hagerty, Vice President of Student Affairs Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance Craig Johnson and Community Safety Advisory Board chair Clyde Yancy. The students steered the meeting, asking administration to respond to a series of questions, including several prompts they said they sent to administration in advance.
“We understand that you would like for this meeting to be a dialogue,” organizer Liz Curtis said. “However we would like for all of you to understand that you lost that privilege months ago. You had ample time to reach out to us since we sent our petition letter to you 223 days ago. None of you have done so.”
Northwestern “disturbed” by NIPAS threats against student protesters
Northwestern released an official statement saying it was “disturbed” by threats of violence toward student protesters by police officers from the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System.
The threats emails and texts by NIPAS officers, made public via Freedom of Information Act requests included discussions of the use of chemical munitions against protesters on Halloween. Several texts mentioned pava powder, a synthetic riot control agent fired from pepperball weapons.
“My trigger finger was jittering,” one text read. “As much as a shattered kneecap woulda been nice alas I was not ten feet away. Pepper ball did just fine.”
Northwestern condemned the opinions expressed by former English lecturer Joseph Epstein in a viral Wall Street Journal piece on Jill Biden’s ‘doctor’ title.
In the op-ed, Epstein called the future FLOTUS “Madame First Lady Mrs. Biden Jill kiddo.” His arguments, like implying that her honorific title feels “fraudulent” and “comic” have received backlash for being patronizing and sexist.
Epstein pointed to recent honorary-degree recipients and commencement speakers at NU including Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers saying he complained to University President Morton Schapiro about their “low quality” as academic honorands. He went on to describe a degree from NU as a “credential” rather than a university education, arguing that political correctness has diminished the value of honorary doctorates.