23 Comments

I had a little trouble with the coding this morning so comments were not initially enabled. Apologies!

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Hi guys! I have adapted my communication stylings to reflect the changing times. I use the nongendered plural "they" and "them" in place of "his or hers." I use "you guys" whether addressing my mixed gender family or my colleagues. And, I add superfluous exclamation points to messages to indicate the harmless and friendly nature of my thoughts!! One thing will never change: few people are receptive to a message from an messenger they perceive as threatening--whether it's your boss or your baby.

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My first thought on the NU hazing was similar to EZ regarding the rest of the staff. But I also cannot understand how an investigation that found serious hazing violations could also result in no discipline for any of the perpetrators or any team members that were aware and did nothing. Unless the allegations are so old that all of the perpetrators have graduated and nothing new was discovered in the last four years.

I also think that the ineptitude of the new president and his whipsaw response will result in significant legal costs from Fitzgerald's suit for improper termination in violation of his contract and also violating the oral agreement for his suspension.

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At Northwestern, the excising should end where the rot ends. A pity the gangrene was allowed to set in in the first place. Inevitably, without prompt intervention, the taint spreads.

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RE NU hazing. Seems like NU dumped the report on the media on Friday and on Monday they saw the story had legs so made a show of firing the coach. Now the whole thing is a circus. I live in Evanston and can tell you that two issues that reliably will get many Evanstonians riled up are NU and construction. Many people cite that NU does not pay property tax and that is why the City of Evanston has financial challenges. And trying to build anything reliably brings strong opposition -- even proposals to build on vacant land.

The latest scandal will bring out the NU haters and the NIMBY's. I probably should avoid reading any local news for a month, but I can't help myself.

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Kind of ironic that Coach Fitzgerald was against his players forming a union. Had a union been formed, I would guess any hazing issues would have been raised by some sort of player rep.

Fitzgerald wanted complete control over his team and basically was saying the buck stops with me.

Now it is a bit troublesome that Fitzgerald pleads ignorance. The team was his only job, he did not have to publish like NU academic staff and he had hand picked assistant coaches to help monitor the team.

I think he got blindsided and some of the assistant coaches bear responsibility. But this was suppose to be HIS team and yet he seems a bit clueless on the situation.

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Eric…were you sad that Big Blue will not play the Wildcats this year? Would you have placed a W beside your team before they even started the game if they were going to play?

Should the Wildcats drop out of the Big 10 or 11 or whatever?

Maybe play Rice, Dartmouth, Navy, Boston College - teams more their size and not in a power football conference?

A 1 - 11 record gets you fired at Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, Georgia as well as Michigan.

Not NU…okay at least NU / Illinois is competitive.

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Why would IBM play the Wildcats?

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Huh….explain?

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Wait…I get it finally…answer is NU has a much better chance at beating Big Blue IBM than Big Blue Michigan…a two win season would double their victory count from last year.

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Strictly speaking UM is Maize & Blue.

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Yes, but the alma mater is “the yellow and blue."

This is almost certainly going to be an excruciating year for wildcat fans. And I’m just as glad that Michigan is not playing Northwestern this season because it would not be considered a quality win, and they may need quality wins to make the playoffs.

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That's just because the alma mater is so old, they hadn't invented "maize" as a color yet. It's probably not even in the 64-set of Crayolas. It also doesn't follow the meter scheme very well. Speaking as a member of the class of LSA '62, what a dismal example of an alma mater it is.

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A few thoughts relative to the NU hazing debacle...

1. It's so predictable and pathetic that people in positions of authority take a tentative stand, then lick their finger and hold it above their head to see which way the wind is blowing. Would anybody doubt that Fitzgerald was fired only after the president and trustees saw the negative reaction to their initial suspension?

2. Does anyone seriously believe that Fitzgerald would have been fired if the team was coming off an 11-1 season instead of a 1-11 season preceded by another very poor season? If the Wildcats had continued doing very well and going to notable bowl games, you can bet that the NU leadership would have done whatever rationalizing and wordsmithing necessary to justify a strong rebuke without his firing.

3. Totally agree with you Eric that it is shamelessly opportunistic for the opponents of the stadium makeover to try to seize upon this to buttress their position. I watched the same very loud and intimidating group sink more than one proposed high-rise development in downtown Evanston. Their stated objection was that the 10% planned allocation for subsidized housing was not adequate, but then after they sunk the plan there was -0- subsidized housing on the site.

4. I was struck by the specific hazing allegations that constituted nude gay sexual themes - what in the world is that all about??

P.S. Some of the proposals coming out of the Brandon Johnson transition team (10 mph residential speed limits, city snow removal of city sidewalks, a reparations bureau, etc.) are probably very disturbing to many Chicagoans. But to the extent that they voted for Johnson without understanding what he is all about, or worse yet, did not vote in the election, shame on them. And this is what you get.

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Mayor Johnson's speed proposal is "insane" not just because it would bring out the pitchforks, but because it exhibits a failure to take the consequences of policy seriously in any way. It would mean that it would take longer for people to get where they're going, lengthening commutes and delivery times. It would slow down buses too, which often go 30 when they can. Most drivers in Chicago are not wealthy. Any enforcement of such a draconian speed limit would hurt ordinary folk hardest, people least able to afford tickets.

My view on speed limits is similar to my view on most rules. They should be (1) realistic, and (2) consistently enforced. That's why I was heartened to hear on a recent Freakonomics podcast about traffic casualties that experts really like my preferred solution -- speed cameras. I actually think speed limits could be increased along many stretches of arterial road and expressways, and I think 20 around parks and schools where nobody is around is a trap for the unwary, but ubiquitous camera enforcement of realistic limits (including, or maybe especially, on highways) is fair and should do a lot to reduce accidents. As it stands, savvy drivers look for the cameras and slow down in their vicinity -- they're announced, after all, with signs, road markings (i.e., "Safety Zone"), and even symbols on map apps -- and so they probably do little good except along those little stretches. But if they were pretty much everywhere, drivers would adjust their behavior.

(You could even use the speed camera infrastructure for general law enforcement cameras. I'm a big fan of lots of cameras, similar to what I understand they have in London, hardly a fascist dystopia, for the purpose of deterring, catching, and pursuing criminals.)

I would also make fines proportionate to some measure of income or wealth to avoid the unfair result of all flat fines that poor people are functionally punished much more severely than rich people for the exact same wrongful conduct, but fixing that glaring injustice is, I suppose, a bit "utopian."

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Re Midwest-as-climate-haven, uh, no don't "forget that." It remains a valid point, as the article itself concedes:

"Cities around the Great Lakes are often floated as climate destinations — places where people imagine they’ll be safe from the worst impacts of the changing climate. In some senses, that will remain true. The lakes won’t dry up, wildfires don’t burn here like they do in California, and hurricanes that strike the South hard usually show up as just a little rain. ... But the region isn’t immune."

Classic straw-manning. Nobody said the Midwest would suffer no effects at all. On the whole, though, it seems like among your best bets, at least in this country.

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LIke I always say, Chicago has the best weather in the country. No hurricanes, no landslides, no sinkholes, no tsunamis, no earthquakes,, no wildfires, and only occasional tornados. So it's a little sloppy in January. A small price to pay.

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Prepandemic, every time a restaurant server called my wife and me "You guys", I would mentally deduct 25 cents from the tip. I don't think I ever really made the tip smaller, but it was nice to think about.

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I don't know if most women would think it strange when a mixed group is referred to as "you guys", but I know most men would think it strange if a mixed group was referred to as "you gals".

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Although I no longer listen to Adam Carolla I still like his characterization of people when they deny they had any knowledge of wrongdoing right under their nose. Stupid or Liar. Pat Fitzgerald was either so incompetent he didn't know what was happening in his locker room or he knew but is smart enough to realize he can't defend his knowing about it so he pretends he has no knowledge of what was happening in his locker room. Stupid or Liar. Either way he needs to go,

The solution to hazing is simple. Allow it only if you talk freely about it. "Yes, we haze the incoming freshman. They have to carry our equipment on and off the field and they are served last during meals. Would anybody be embarrassed to discuss that with their familes during the holidays? I think not. But if the scenario is something different. "Yes, we haze the incoming freshman. We get naked in the shower and lather up our whole bodies and form a line and make them run naked through the line where the object is for us to make them rub up against our junk." I don't see grandma approving when being told that last sentence at Thanksgiving dinner. People, even young people, know the difference between right and wrong. They freely talk about it among their families and complete strangers.

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I have a child who attends NU. According to him, there as a rule against hazing of any kind. It seems like they don't consider the details of the actual hazing activity, which does not make sense. So tasking new members with picking up in the locker room is not allowed because it is hazing. Definitely anything that risks physical, psychological or reputational damage should not be allowed. Individuals who get hazed are presumably consenting to the activity, they are are legally adults (mostly), which I think should provide some latitude. But even then getting caught up in the moment or having a scholarship depend on being on the football team will cause some people to not make a rational decision when they consent. IMO, there should be protections for that risky activity. What I have read about the NU football hazing definitely crosses the line if it is true.

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A 10-20 MPH proposal is cringy. It’s childish. It shows Johnson and team to be embarrassingly unserious. Free snow shoveling is aspirational, visionary, something to dangle in front of voters. 10-20 MPH says “This is why children can’t vote.”

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You missed Indiana on your list of places that you wouldn’t move to after college. The Indiana Supreme Court recently upheld the law passed (1st in the Country!) banning abortion. A lower court judge granted an injunction from it being enforced and the Supreme Court just said Nope. So. I believe as of Aug. 1, abortions will be illegal in Indiana

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