Since the Black House first closed for renovations in June 2019, two cohorts of Black students have arrived on campus without ever stepping foot in the space. Most of the underclassmen who used to frequent the building, located on 1914 Sheridan Road, have graduated or will within the next year.
After nearly two years of construction as well as COVID-19 delays, administrators announced on March 31 that the renovations would finish by the middle of Spring Quarter.
The email said Northwestern hoped to host small, in-person events in early June, giving attendance priority to Black members of the class of 2021. But University spokesperson Rochelle Ritchie told The Daily that in-person events held before commencement will be limited to tours of the space. A grand reopening will likely occur during Reunion Weekend 2021, which is scheduled for Oct. 14 to 17, Ritchie told The Daily.
Wildcat Geogame returns for a final quarter after pandemic hiatus
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Northwestern administrators shared updates on racial justice efforts in a Wednesday email, outlining plans for inclusive hiring practices, anti-racism training and campus-safety reform.
The most immediate of these commitments is to reopen the Black House which has been closed for renovation since June 2019 by mid-Spring Quarter. Administrators said in the email they hope to begin hosting events in the house by early June and will give attendance priority to Black graduating seniors before opening the house for community-wide events.
“As we look ahead to the spring and as we approach the one-year mark of student, staff and faculty calls for change we reaffirm our University-wide commitments to social justice,” the email said.
As Northwestern Dining ramps up its efforts to enforce social distancing and reduce crowds in dining halls across campus, some students say they are struggling to find open reservation slots to pick up meals.
In a Feb. 12 email, NU Dining announced it would reduce seating and opening hours at Foster-Walker Complex West, and would offer a new “to-go” meal experience. NU Dining aso said it would limit seating in Allison Dining Hall, Elder Dining Hall and Norris University Center. Dining room monitors have also been stationed to check dining reservations, face mask compliance and proper distancing between tables.
“We are taking precautions to keep you safe but sharing a meal with someone you do not live with increases the risk of contracting COVID-19,” the email said. “Your risk increases the longer you remain in a dining hall where other diners have their masks off.”
A professor at Northwestern University in Qatar has withdrawn from a $700,000 research project after members of the NU-Q community voiced concerns about a racist and sexist article she reposted online.
NU-Q announced in January that political science Prof. Jocelyn Mitchell and two of her colleagues had received a grant from the Qatar National Research Fund to study women entrepreneurs in Qatar. In 2008, two years before she began teaching at NU-Q, Mitchell reposted an email on her blog which said “the ratio of ugly women to not so ugly women (in Qatar) is 9:1.”
Screenshots of the post circulated online in November 2019, and Mitchell apologized in a community town hall and subsequently took part in anti-racism training under supervision of the University. After the post resurfaced online this month, NU-Q released a statement on Feb. 5 acknowledging that the incident “continues to cause pain in our community both within NU-Q and the wider Qatari community.”
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