Northwestern hazing scandal casts doubt on new Ryan Field project

EVANSTON, Ill. - Could the hazing scandal unfolding at Northwestern University put plans for a new Ryan Field in jeopardy?

A group of six tenured professors have signed and sent a letter to the administration, urging the athletic department to hit pause on the project.

The very ambitious plan to rebuild Ryan Field has a lot of support in Evanston, but it also has its detractors. Namely: neighbors concerned about noise and traffic from concerts and for-profit events, and community organizers worried about Northwestern following through on its promises.

This hazing scandal now has some faculty members urging some major house-cleaning and transparency before pursuing the new stadium.

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"Give us the truth. Release the report. Give us the information," said Elizabeth Shackman-Hurd, a professor of Politics & Religious Studies at Northwestern "Stand down on this project, this over-eager project to rebuild Ryan Field, and get our house cleaned up before we rebuild it."

Shackman-Hurd is one of six tenured professors from different academic departments who sent a letter to Northwestern University's president, urging the now scandal-ridden athletic department to pause plans for the proposed $800 million new football stadium.

"This is not only about winning or making more money or having fancy facilities," said Shackman-Hurd. "As much as all those things are wonderful and fun, if we have unhealthy or abused students, then what are we doing this for?"

The letter calls on the administration to offer more transparency into what the football hazing investigation turned up. Those concerns are amplified by allegations of toxicity within the baseball program, and come just two years after racial discrimination was uncovered on the cheerleading team.

"The administration came forward and said, 'never again. We're going to seek to do right,'" said Sebastian Nalls, an organizer with the Northwestern Accountability Association. "And not even two years later, we're walking down a similar pathway."

"We all want to see Northwestern flourish and thrive, including the sports complex, but first we need to focus on sorting out what's going on in the Athletics Department," said Shackman-Hurd.

Northwestern President Michael Schill sent a campus-wide email addressing the hazing on Monday, but Shackman-Hurd said otherwise it's been "crickets" from the administration, who she and other faculty members are eager to see stand up and speak publicly about it.

As for the new Ryan Field, the first major City Council vote on that project is – as of now – expected to happen this fall.