Maryland was the first state to enact a shield law for journalists in 1898 and it could be the first to extend that privilege to student journalists.

Delegate Sandy Rosenberg (D-Baltimore City) introduced Bill 257 to the Maryland House of Representatives last week proposing amendments to a law that already provides certain testimonial privileges to employed journalists.

If passed, the right to refuse to testify as to information or sources obtained during the newsgathering and dissemination process would extend to include postsecondary journalism students.

Rosenberg was motivated to sponsor the bill because of the current court battle between the Medill Innocence Project and Cook County prosecutors over the rights of student journalists.

The Project, run by Professor David Protess, provides undergraduate students with investigative journalism experience through investigating potentially wrongful convictions.

In November 2009, the Cook County state attorney subpoenaed grades, notes and other information developed in the case of Anthony McKinney from Medill students. The students and Protess are claiming protection under the Illinois shield law, the Reporter’s Privilege Act.

“I read in the New York Times what Cook County was doing to those students involved in the Medill Innocence Project and I said, they deserve the protection that professional journalists have,” Rosenberg said. He also explained why he has introduced the bill in Maryland now: “We shouldn’t have to wait until somebody is subpoenaed because by then it’s too late.”

“By specifically protecting student-journalists, the Maryland legislation is an important step in the right direction,” Protess said in an e-mail Friday.

“I hope it will be a model for shield laws across the country. Student-journalists deserve the same legal rights as mainstream reporters, particularly against harassment by prosecutors. If our case proves it be a catalyst for reforms that expand the rights of budding reporters, the battle will have been worth it,” Protess said.

Currently, 37 states and Washington, D.C. have shield laws but none include specific language concerning journalism students. Existing shield laws have been interpreted to include student journalists like in the case of a San Francisco State University student in July 2009.

As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, the photojournalism student was on an assignment when he witnessed the murder of 21-year-old Norris Bennett. The student refused to surrender his photos and invoked California’s shield law. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Tomar Mason ruled in his favor.

Rosenberg said that “it would be great” if the Maryland bill could be a model for other states to extend their shield laws. Lucy Dalglish, Executive Director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said that while the amendments to the Maryland law would be effective within the region, a federal law would have a wider national affect.

The Free Flow of Information Act of 2009 passed the U.S. House of Representatives last March and is currently awaiting consideration by the Committee of the Judiciary in the U.S. Senate.

If passed, the Act would create a federal shield law that would apply in federal courts. While the current wording of the bill clearly states that the “covered person” be a professional journalist, Dalglish said that the Reporters Committee is helping to craft an amendment that would explicitly include student journalists.

The hearing on the Maryland House Bill will take place on February 10. If enacted, the bill would take effect on October 1, 2010.

The fifth annual Green Cup campus-wide energy efficiency competition kicked off last week.

The competition, sponsored by the Students for Ecological and Environmental Development (SEED), includes all residence halls. This is also the first year that the Greek community will be participating. The contest spans the month of February and provides prizes of up to $1,000 to the winning dorms and Greek houses.

SEED holds events every Wednesday night to promote energy efficiency during the month of the Green Cup competition. The most recent of these took place on Wednesday night at Swift Hall. SEED hosted guest speaker Mark Witte, a professor of economics at Northwestern, and gave away free compact fluorescent light bulb (CFLs) to encourage energy conservation.

Students take the competition quite seriously. “Some may refrain from showering during the duration of the competition. There haven’t been too many radical acts, though unplugging of vending machines and other common-area appliances has been known to happen,” said McCormick senior and SEED Green Cup Chair Phil Dziedzic.

Four divisions exist in the Green Cup competition: residences with dining halls, residences without dining halls, fraternities and sororities.

In previous years, Green Cup has successfully encouraged major reductions in energy and water use.

GREEN house won first place last year in the no-dining-hall division by reducing electricity 45% and water by 70%. Willard (1st place with dining hall) cut their electricity consumption by about 32% and Elder (2nd place with dining hall) reduced water intake by about 40%.

For more information, visit the Green Cup facebook group.

More than 30 years after the Dirty War, Argentina is struggling to address an identity crisis, explained anthropologist Lindsay Smith, a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies on Friday afternoon. Children kidnapped during the war, now young adults, are forced to confront their biological reality with mandatory DNA tests.

“Young adults raised in military families completely rejected the genetic rhetoric of identity,” Smith said. They consider public DNA banks an invasion of privacy and have no interest in reuniting with biological family.

Smith spoke to an audience of 32 graduate students, faculty and Evanston residents as part of the Faculty & Fellows Colloquium.

More than 30,000 Argentinians disappeared in paramilitary operations from 1976 to 1983. Left-wing parents were killed and the children were raised by loyal military families.

The Argentine government recently made DNA testing compulsory in the spirit of reunifying families. However, young adults would prefer to remain blissfully ignorant of their biological roots.

“They love their adoptive families,” Smith said. This is true even when adoptive parents committed violent crimes against biological parents. “There is still a huge stigma associated with subversives.”

Smith gave the example of Victoria, a happily married 20-year-old, who was subjected to DNA testing. Victoria’s identification as a “daughter of the subversion” changed her life. Her children were ostracized at school, her husband lost his job, and her appropriated parents were charged with war crimes.

“The moment the biological family is revealed, the appropriating parents are arrested,” Smith said. “The child has no say.” A press conference is then held to announce the findings.

“The individuals are forced to reconcile within themselves,” Smith said of the DNA test results. “That’s a lot to put on these young adults.”

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo lead the push for compulsory DNA testing. The civil rights group wants to reunite families and seek justice against kidnappers. Parents and grandparents who lost children during the war believe they have a right to find their children.

However, with the current policy nobody wins. Victoria refused to ever meet her biological family and the majority of young adults tested make the same choice.

“It becomes one group’s rights versus another group’s rights,” Smith said. She spent two years in Argentina doing field work where she interviewed countless young adults who have undergone DNA testing. Smith has also spoken to the Grandmothers and government officials and she is writing a book about her research.

“It sounds like a terrible national policy,” said Evanstonian Mike Dunn, 64. “The government should strengthen the family unit, not break it apart.” Others agreed that the currently policy exacerbates a delicate situation.

“It should be more private,” said Marissa Brookes, 26, a political science postgraduate student. Without all of the negative consequences, more young adults would likely reach out to their biological families.

“They would like to know, but don’t want to face all of the ramifications,” Smith said. Along with the social stigma and criminal prosecution of the adoptive family, passports are taken away for correction. It often takes years to get them back.

Smith suggested an anonymous DNA bank to replace the existing state national bank, so that individuals have the option but are not forced to submit DNA.

“We should be looking for a way that everyone’s rights can be met.”

A&O will release fewer than 50 tickets to “A&O Presents: Tracy Morgan” at noon on Saturday, Feb. 6 — the day of the show.

Tickets will be physically sold at the Norris Box Office rather than the Web site, and students will be able to purchase one ticket per WildCard.

Tickets to see the “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live” star sold out in 30 minutes when they were first released on Friday, Jan. 29. Fans who missed out still have a chance to cram into Pick-Staiger Concert Hall at 7:30 p.m. to see the show.

Kevin Sullivan contributed reporting. More updates will be provided as news breaks.

The student run Northwestern University Living Wage Campaign held a small press conference on Monday night to encourage the community to put pressure on the administration to establish a living wage for all Northwestern employees.

The campaign’s main priority is to convince the university to provide all campus workers a minimum of $13.23 an hour and health care coverage. According to the campaign, many Northwestern employees are not receiving sufficient compensation to provide economic security for themselves and their families. Just last year, an employee in one of the campus dining halls was discovered to be homeless.

The press conference gave the outcome of the campaign’s third meeting with Eugene Sunshine, the university’s Senior Vice President of Business and Finance. Matthew Fischler, a Weinberg senior and a National Policy Strategist in the Equal Justice Center of Roosevelt Institute, said that the two parties had yet to reach a concrete solution.

In the meeting, Sunshine said that the campaign failed to take into account certain employee benefits. He also suggested that requiring their staffing contractor to raise wages would mean that some employees would necessarily be laid off. They also discussed the technical impediment that students are not in the position to negotiate with the workers’ union.

However, Fischler remains optimistic as to the feasibility of implementing a living wage. According to him, the proposed increase would translate into an additional “two to five million dollar increase annually, which would be a small portion of Northwestern University’s yearly discretionary endowment.”

Adam Yalowitz, a campaign member and Weinberg junior, pointed out that a living wage would be a fulfillment of the commitments that the university has already made. “[President] Schapiro himself said that ‘no university financial budget should be balanced on the backs of any of our employees’. But we need to stop his words from just being empty rhetoric to actually impact workers’ salaries.”

Northwestern University Living Wage Campaign will hold an open organizational meeting on Thursday in Swift Hall 107.

The student chapter of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago at Northwestern University held its quarterly blood drive Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SPAC. The club organizes three blood drives a year and has seen steady improvement in the number of donors since beginning the tradition last year.

According to Weinberg junior and co-president of NU Red Cross Deanna Mei, participants donated 54 units of blood, helping the club reach its goal of coming within 5 units of 55.

Donated blood goes toward accidents, transfusions, and surgeries, but universal donors are not always a possibility. Exact matches must be found for many blood recipients, Mei explained.

“It’s really important to provide an adequate amount of blood to hospitals so they have enough supplies,” she added.

The blood acquired by the Red Cross club is relayed to the Red Cross of Greater Chicago, the organization that distributes it to hospitals in the area. January was National Blood Donor month, according to the Red Cross website, so closing out the month with a local effort was important for the club.

Though 77 people volunteered to donate, a greater number than the units acquired, some potential donors had to be turned away because they did not meet certain requirements, such as not having lived abroad for more than three years or donating too often (within three months).

NU Red Cross hasn’t been doing these blood drives for long, because the club is in the process of gaining ASG recognition and gaining more publicity on campus. However, with each one since last year, the club has seen a greater turnout and amounts in donations.

“I think that we’re definitely improving every time, especially in regards to our attendance and outreach,” said Weinberg junior and co-president of NU Red Cross Jenny Yu. “I thought that the blood drive went well and I’m thankful to all the people who donated.”

Yu added that for next quarter, the club hopes to improve on publicity in the Evanston and Northwestern communities to increase the number of units of blood collected overall. Friday’s drive did, however, see a significant amount of non-NU affiliates who had seen fliers in Evanston and volunteered to donate.

Fifteen teams participated Saturday evening in Dance Marathon’s annual Top Chef competition at Now We’re Cookin’. Each team of three prepared an appetizer, entrée or dessert. During each of five rounds, one team presented their submission in each of the three categories. Two of six judges, including Northwestern President Morty Schapiro, Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald and Evanston Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl, tasted and reviewed each dish.

Almost every team dominantly featured the secret ingredient, ginger, in either their team name (including everything from The Ginger Snaps to Gingervitus) or dish choice. Sponsor Whole Foods Market donated all of the contestant’s ingredients.

The DM 2010 MCs Jerred Roggensack, Chika Nwosu and Wade Askew hosted the almost three-hour long event, giving the audience a taste of what’s to be expected at next month’s thirty-hour marathon.

“I was just back in the kitchen and it’s insane,” said Roggensack between rounds. “But you know what they say, ‘if you can’t stand the heat, don’t come in!’”

In true Dance Marathon fashion, speakers from the beneficiaries and student performers entertained between breaks in the competition.

Eric Fox, one of the first Chicago volunteers with primary DM beneficiary Stand Up For Kids, described working with some of the city’s 6000 homeless youth. Naria Santa Lucia, Executive Director of the Evanston Community Defender Office, described the organization’s work providing legal service to low-income Evanston residents. The Community Defender Office is one of the organizations under the umbrella of secondary DM beneficiary The Evanston Community Foundation.

A cappella group Extreme Measures sang and stand-up comedy group NSTV’s Pat and Chris played guitar. Norris’s famous “sandwich guy” Maurice Nix competed with two audience members to make the best sandwich in 8 minutes.

The crowd overfilled the venue, located at 1601 Payne Street. Audience members cycled between watching the judges evaluate the dishes and observing the contestants prepare their dishes in the kitchen.

After the final round, the appetizer finalist was 1905c’s Ginger Soup, Salad and Sandwich Trio, the entrée finalist was Gingerlicious’s Garlic Ginger Seabass and the dessert finalist was Man versus Food’s Vanilla Ginger Ice Cream.

Audience reaction determined the ultimate winner between the finalists. Cheerleaders in banana and German milkmaid costumes represented Man versus Food while Gingerlicious’s supporters carried signs reading “Gingerlicious can wrap me in parchment paper,” nodding to their sea bass’s preparation method. In the end, the costumed supporters won the spirit competition, making Man Versus Food’s Jason Erickson, Michael Friedman and Joe Teno the Top Chef 2010 winners.

Photo by Florence Sit / North by Northwestern.

In a continued response to the recent earthquake, NU Stands for Haiti hosted a panel with eight professors and non-profit representatives on Thursday night. Approximately one hundred Northwestern students and faculty gathered in Swift Hall to hear the talk, “Haiti: History, Politics, and Culture of a Country in Crisis.”

The event was one in a series of events organized by NU Stands with Haiti, established less than a week and a half ago.

According to Doris Garraway, associate professor of French, the student organization has shown “the most substantial degree of activism in [her] 10 years of teaching at Northwestern.”

Panelists addressed such topics as the effects of Haiti’s colonization and fight for freedom, its current economic and political instability and occupancy by foreign countries.

Professor Garraway discussed the longstanding history of Haiti, attributing its political and economic volatility to the shaky transition from French colonization and slavery to its struggle to become Africa’s first independent country.

“It is no accident that we know so little about Haiti, a country that emerged overnight from obscurity to an unprecedented level of visibility. Until now, it was neglected by other countries and was consequently under-developed,” Garraway said.

Another panelist, Alie Kabba, from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, brought up the recent news of U.S. granting undocumented Haitians temporary protected status. Until the day of the earthquake, when Haitians arrived in the states, they were sent back home.

“Why does it take an earthquake for Americans to realize that Haitians need protective status in the states,” he asked fervently.

After the panelists’ speeches, the floor was opened to an engaging question and answer session.

A Haitian in the audience rose up and expressed frustration that, “Haitians are paying the consequences of our freedom,” and that foreign countries place embargoes and other policies against Haiti, which contributed to its current situation.

Ehren Dohler, Communication senior, said that he felt compelled to attend the event as he was “generally ignorant of Haiti’s situation and decided it was about time to learn.”

The teach-in session also attracted college students outside of Northwestern. Emily Williams, a graduate student in gender studies at Depaul University, came to learn from Northwestern students’ examples.

“I am forming an activist group for Haiti at DePaul, and I came to this event to see what the Northwestern community is doing for the cause, in the hopes of collaborating with Northwestern student organizers.”

More information about NU Stands with Haiti can be found on their blog.

Students raced online to the Norris Box Office website to buy tickets for “A&O Presents: Tracy Morgan” on Friday January 29th at 10:30 AM, only to find it sold out 30 minutes later. The star of “30 Rock” and “Saturday Night Live” will perform on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

While A&O did not release the exact number of tickets sold, Sierra Tishgart, Medill sophomore and co-director of promotions and public relations for A&O, said that Pick-Staiger had reached its capacity of 989 seats.

The student reaction was positive to Morgan’s show. “I’m a pretty dedicated ‘30 Rock’ fan. I love him and I really wanted to get tickets, but they sold out extremely fast,” said Weinberg freshman Moira Ryan.

Many students complained about Norris Box Office technical issues. Tishgart responded with: “It’s not our system. It’s not perfect, but there weren’t any huge issues or problems [in selling the Tracy Morgan tickets.]”

Tishgart was apologetic to the students who did not receive tickets.

“We’d like it so all the students who want to go could, but we have limited venues. Hopefully students still want to come to A&O events,” Tishgart said.

Tracy Morgan’s stand-up show is the third A&O performance in recent memory to sell out, joining the ranks of Demetri Martin and Ludacris.

Gone are the days when sci-fi buffs scoffed at the scientific inaccuracies of TV shows.

TV producers have recently called in the help of Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering professors after getting annoyed by complaints about the unrealistic portrayal of science in their shows.

One TV series in particular, Caprica, has solicited McCormick professor of biomedical and mechanical engineering Malcolm MacIver to review and analyze its scripts. A sci-fi buff himself, MacIver was first to admit that he was “always dismayed by the scientific untruths in movies.”

MacIver is now the technical script consultant for Caprica, a Battlestar Galactica prequel, whose two-hour premiere debuted on the Syfy Channel on Jan. 22.

Initially, MacIver had joined a program called the Science and Entertainment Exchange, which connected writers, producers and directors in the entertainment industry with scientists and engineers from appropriate fields of research to improve the quality of science portrayed in shows and films.

It was through the SEE that MacIver became the script consultant for Caprica, who wanted MacIver’s expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence and neuroscience.

MacIver has brainstormed with Caprica’s writers, identified scientific details that would complement their storyline and reviewed and fact-checked the script for each episode. 

“I introduced the concept of a generative algorithm for constructing artificial life to the writers, which refined the scientific basis of their storyline,” MacIver said.

Working behind-the-scenes on  Caprica has been an exciting opportunity for MacIver.

“I’ve had the chance to work with extremely good writers who are brimming with interesting ideas, and it’s been a pleasure working with them,” he said.

MacIver said that while he has benefited from working on Caprica, the process is a two-way exchange.

“TV shows benefit from the improved scientific validity and possibilities in their storylines, and scientists benefit because the entertainment industry provides an outlet for audiences to come into contact with scientific cutting-edge research,” MacIver said.

An example of scientific research featured on TV shows is Professor Dirk Brockmann’s reconstructed human mobility network, which has found its way from the halls of Northwestern’s Technology Institute to the CBS hit show NUMB3RS.

Brockmann, McCormick’s associate professor of engineering science and applied mathematics, recently utilized data from WheresGeorge.com to find out patterns and regularities that govern human mobility.

WheresGeorge.com tracks the circulation of American dollar bills. Any US citizen can enter his local zip code and the serial number of the bill.

Using this information, Brockmann reconstructed a comprehensive human mobility network for the United States that tracks commutes made by U.S. citizens.

In the Jan. 8 episode of NUMB3RS, investigators use fractional diffusion equations from Brockmann’s work with human mobility networks to determine the area where the thieves stealing lottery tickets will strike next.

MacIver said many contemporary concerns that revolve around science and technology, such as robots killing civilians in Afghanistan, are what creative writers and producers “feed off.”

“Even though science and the entertainment industry are two different worlds, they have ample room to exchange and benefit from each other in the future,” MacIver said. “And who knows? Truth is stranger than fiction – maybe a pseudo-invention created by Hollywood producers will find its way into scientific reality.”

McCormick senior Kelsey Stoerzinger received one of the greatest honors and surprises of her college career this week when she was awarded a scholarship from the Winston Churchill Foundation, which will go toward her graduate studies in physics at the University of Cambridge.

Stoerzinger was among 81 students from eligible universities to receive the award. These universities represented the top schools in the nation, with only 14 available scholarships. Each school is allowed to nominate only two applicants who personify high academic achievement and potential to advance knowledge in their field.

“I wasn’t even sure that I’d get one of the two NU nominations,” the materials science and engineering major said. “There are a lot of accomplished students both here and at the other universities which are eligible to nominate.”

According to a University press release, the Churchill Scholarship includes all tuition and fees, airfare and a living allowance for one year of support toward a postgraduate degree in engineering, mathematics or the sciences at Cambridge. Stoerzinger is the seventh Northwestern student to earn the scholarship.

Since the Minnesota native hopes to become a professor at a research university, the opportunity to study at an institution with such a strong history in physics is ideal for her.

“I’m beyond excited for the opportunity to go to Cambridge and use state-of-the-art equipment to investigate phenomena that are just now starting to be explored,” she said. “I’m absolutely ecstatic, and am incredibly grateful for all the help I’ve received along the way.”

Stoerzinger also anticipates travel and new people to meet while in a different country and has very few worries about her upcoming time abroad.

“I just hope no one says something that is obviously English, but so distinctly British that I have no idea what they’re saying,” she said.

Update: All Chicago campus buildings, including Rubloff, are now open. The investigation concerning the armed man continues, a Northwestern University report said.

Update: Following a completed search, Chicago and Northwestern Police have ended a lockdown of the Rubloff Building on the Chicago campus, a Northwestern University report said.  Police remain on site and will continue to investigate. Persons already in the building are now moving freely but access to Rubloff remains restricted. School of Law classes will be held this afternoon.

A report was issued at approximately 10 a.m. Wednesday concerning a man with a gun in his waistband who was seen in the eleventh floor elevator of the Rubloff Building on the Chicago campus, according to the Northwestern Emergency Management alert system. The man is described as a white male wearing black jacket, blue jeans and a button-down shirt. The alert warned everyone in the Rubloff Building to stay in their offices and lock their doors.

The Arthur Rubloff building is one of Northwestern’s School of Law facilities. Members of the Northwestern University Police Department and Chicago Police Department are currently searching the building.

The alert response was sent as both an SMS and email to the Northwestern community, in addition to a phone call and voicemail.

No further details are available from University Police at this time.

According to Chicago Sun Times, “as of 10:45 a.m., no arrests had been made and no further incident had been reported from the scene,” and the University Campus Police have been searching the building as of 10:55 a.m.

At 11:34 a.m., an update on the report of a man with gun was issued, stating: University Police and Chicago Police are continuing their search of the Rubloff Building, 750 N. Lake Shore Dr., on the Chicago campus of Northwestern University. The building remains locked down. No injuries or threats have been reported.

Following is an updated description of the man reported seen with the gun: He is described as a white male in his 20s, approximately 5 feet 9 inches tall, brown-blonde hair, wearing a button-down shirt, blue jeans and a black jacket.

More to come.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is the first head of state ever indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Following his arrest warrant, al-Bashir expelled more than 10 international aid organizations.

Students met Tuesday, January 26 to discuss the role of the ICC in dealing with al-Bashir’s human rights violations in the main library lounge.

The discussion, “The Globalization of Justice,” marked the second event of International Justice Week, the Northwestern chapter of Amnesty International’s week-long campaign to raise campus awareness and engage students.

ICC accused al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. But according to the ICC, the member states are responsible for investigating and punishing criminals. This means the Sudanese President’s arrest warrant is in the hands of his own government, the least likely body to act upon his indictment for crimes in Darfur.

“It has no police force,” said Weinberg senior Akhila Kolisetty, the president of Northwestern Amnesty International, while leading a discussion during International Justice Week. “The court must rely on individual states to carry out punishments.”

“I want to raise awareness about international justice in a perspective that’s different from what you might learn in a classroom or see on the news,” said Weinberg junior Joanna Tang, Campaign Manager for international justice.

The ICC has 110 member states and can issue arrest warrants for people from any of those countries. However, only one person has ever been arrested and gone through the entire court trial process. Students questioned whether resources could be better spent.

“I’m not convinced that we shouldn’t prosecute people at all,” said sophomore Hayley MacMillen, “I just think we should be asking, ‘how can we move forward?’”

In addition to addressing the ICC’s lack of success intervening in Darfur, students questioned why the U.S. hasn’t signed on to the ICC and whether it should.

“The U.S. has not signed on to it because it doesn’t want U.S. officials to be arrested or committed,” said Kolisetty, referencing the U.S. detention of prisoners linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda in Guantanamo Bay since 2002.

Alongside the discussion, Kolisetty displayed photos taken by students and photojournalists in Brazil, the Philippines, Burundi, Kenya and Malawi through the non-profit International Bridges to Justice. The organization works to ensure that people around the world have access to a lawyer and understand their legal rights, explained Kolisetty, a former intern with IBJ.

International Justice Week began Monday night with a benefit party for Haiti at Blu Lounge.

The next event will be a screening of “The Reckoning — the Battle for the International Criminal Court” on Wednesday at 7pm. Northwestern Law Professor David Scheffer, Director of the Center for International Human Rights will speak Thursday at 7:30pm. Both events will take place in Annenberg G15.

Dr. Joseph Weistroffer, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Feinberg Medical School, will depart for Haiti on Friday. He will be in the second wave of a Chicago-wide medical response to the Jan. 13 earthquake.

Weistroffer is part of a medical response team collaborating to send medical supplies and health care relief to Haiti, according to a press release. Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Rush University will contribute team members.

“We want to assist with the identified needs of people on the ground in Haiti,” said Dr. Robert Murphy, director of the Northwestern Center for Global Health and leader of Northwestern’s relief effort.

According to Murphy, more than 45 Northwestern volunteers, comprised of clinicians, surgeons, nurses and x-ray technicians wanted to contribute to the response.

The Chicago-wide medical team is partnering with the International Medical Corps (IMC). The IMC will be responsible for ground logistics, such as accommodations and physicians’ schedules in Port-au-Prince.

Northwestern’s Center for Global Health is responsible for the international activities of the medical school, taking control of dispatching various medical teams to Haiti. With a two week rotation, the slotting of various physicians to Haiti is only part one, according to Murphy.

It’s like a round robin,” said Carolyn Baer, deputy director of the Northwestern Center for Global Health. “We had a general team of three leave yesterday, including one from Northwestern. Another group of eight is leaving Friday, two of whom are from Northwestern. Additional teams are scheduled to depart Feb. 1 and Feb. 3.”

The next phase of the medical response is “taking patients here,” according to Murphy. With the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern’s specialization in spinal cord industries, patients with severe spinal cord damage may be treated at Northwestern’s Chicago facilities starting Wednesday.

While Northwestern is donating a large number of supplies, the University of Chicago has offered two private planes.

In addition, there has been a very generous response from the private community in Chicago, said Murphy, citing select wealthy individuals who have loaned the team airplanes.

Other Chicago hospitals have also volunteered equipment and Walgreens donated prescriptions and supplies.

Departing from Northwestern on Friday, Weistroffer said his main goal was to provide orthopedic care to patients. He expressed his dedication to the efforts, stating: “If I need to sleep on the ground in a bed roll, that’s fine.”

Photo by Emily Chow / North by Northwestern.

The International Student Association (ISA) formal at the Hilton Garden Inn ended two hours earlier than expected on Friday, after paramedics arrived on scene.

One hundred fifteen friends and members attended ISA’s first formal. The aim of the ISA, a two-year-old organization, is “to promote interaction among students from different cultural and religious backgrounds.” The formal encouraged traditional clothing and raised money for building a community center in Chincha, Peru, a city destroyed by an earthquake two years ago.

“The beauty of ISA is that it gives people an opportunity to meet people with wide experiences around the world. It’s a unique paradigm to promote diversity,” said senior and social committee member Ankur Bhatia.

Outside the entrance to the dance floor, ISA displayed Brazillian good luck bracelets, Turkish evil eye necklaces, and traditional earrings from different countries. ISA members brought these goods from their home countries for fundraising.

The event culminated a postcard event, during which male and female guests were each given half a postcard. At 11 o’clock, the male and female attendees were supposed to find the person with the other half of the postcard and slow dance with him or her.

However, at 10:55 p.m., social chair and McCormick sophomore Sung Hwan Park announced that a man had passed out in the bathroom, the managers were mad, and the formal was over.

Paramedics were seen wheeling a person on a stretcher out of the men’s bathroom. McCormick freshmen Nicolás Grosso described him as looking “blond” and “like he had passed out.”

Former ISA president and Weinberg senior Alex Jeffers claimed that no one from the ISA board recognized the man. “He was from Wisconsin and not wearing formal clothes,” Jeffers said.

When asked why the event was shut down, a hotel staff member, who declined to give his name, said, “everyone was having too good of a time. It was a joint decision by the organization and the hotel to end the party.”

On Saturday, ISA issued a formal apology for the event, stating:

“We were forced to close down the formal after the Hilton’s manager-on-duty approached us with liability concerns caused by a combination of incidents, the most urgent of which involved Hilton staff finding an underage guest of the event sick in the bathroom. The manager had no choice but to call an ambulance and was not willing to risk personal responsibility for this violation of hotel policy. As a result, the Hilton left us with no choice than to end the event in face of the safety and liability concerns that had arisen.”

Weinberg senior Harrison Shih still had a good night, despite the early recession. “It was really fun. We’re just going to relocate elsewhere.”

Additional reporting done by Emily Chow.