Updated 4/10/12, 10:00 a.m. According to EPD Communications Coordinator Perry Polinski, the charges against Johnson of giving or selling liquor to a minor have been dismissed. Vice President of University Relations Al Cubbage further confirmed that prior to this incident SafeRide did not have a policy regarding alcohol in vehicles. They currently still allow drivers to use the cars on breaks. Johnson is no longer affiliated with SafeRide. (Reporting by Shiraz Ahmed, Jeffrey Cattel) See past updates on this story, after the jump.
Updated 3:27 p.m. Upon further investigation, Commander Guenther confirmed that the passenger, Hamilton, was additionally given a citation for possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana.
Updated: Evanston Police Commander Tom Guenther confirmed that SafeRide driver Jennifer Johnson was arrested and charged with delivery of alcohol to a minor Saturday night. The passenger, Britany Hamilton, was cited with underage possession of alcohol. There was no citation for possession of marijuana. (Reporting by John Irvine)
A female SafeRide driver was arrested Saturday night outside of EV1, says a source who has requested to remain anonymous. The driver parked her car, with a passenger inside, and then proceeded to buy alcohol inside the store. When she got back in the car, she gave the alcohol to the minor passenger inside her car. The police who were stationed outside of EV1 saw this transaction and searched the car. Not only did they find the minors in possession of alcohol, but they also found marijuana in the passenger’s bag. Saferide chose not to comment at this time. Evanston is obviously tightening the leash on students’ alcohol use; it seems intuitive not to be so brazen. (Reporting by Shayna Starr)
Was it really necessary to call these students out and embarrass them by name? I don’t know either of them, but you’ve now made this easily accessible to the public in a permanent online forum.
if youre dumb enough to buy an underage drinker alch WHILE on the job then you deserve to be publically shamed for it
Naming the people was pointless.
1) totally unnecessary to name these individuals.
2) charge: distributing alcohol to A MINOR (note* only 1 minor involved) –> who bought the liquor? [the driver] Was the handing of the bottle simply for convenience, so it wouldn’t be rolling around the backseat? [or would you prefer that the driver kept it in her lap, or better yet, under the driver's seat where it could roll out and get stuck under the pedals?] Furthermore, did this minor drink from the bottle? I think not, therefore, the blatant distribution and the intent to distribute is undetermined. (even more so b/c this driver was on the job. Knowing Saferide protocol, passengers being transported sit in the back of the car, not shotgun. If she were buying for her passenger, said passenger would be sitting behind her instead of accompanying her through the duration of her shift.)
3) Under this “arm’s length” law, 40 yr old parents can’t have alcohol in the car with them if they are driving their 17 yr old children around. Oh wait, they can? Double standard? or shall i say “age discrimination?”
Lastly, Dear Evanston PD,
Students are being mugged at 3pm (aka: broad daylight). How about we take some of those 7 responding patrol cars and put them in locations that may be more conducive to protecting the general population from violence.
While I agree that underage drinking can be considered a problem, the reality of the situation is that we happen to live in a “college town,” whether we choose to admit it or not. I foresee very strained relations between the town and Northwestern students, particularly between the police force, (*protect and serve*) and students, if the main focus of their efforts is directed at playing “gotcha” to “teach a lesson to Saferide” and other Northwestern affiliated groups. I know this is a rather volatile topic for the town dubbed “the epicenter of prohibition,” but it’s worth acknowledging the recent societal shifts that have produced a “new” (’cause let’s face it, the 60s/70s/80s were worse) paradigm shift with regards to college partying.
Yeah, naming the students is wildly inappropriate. The Daily had some dignity, why not NU Intel?
It was truly bad taste for Miss Shayna Starr to name the students. Is she not a northwestern student herself? Considering these charges have not yet led to convictions, and will most likely be dropped as so many other ‘distributing alcohol to minors’ charges are, it was completely unnecessary to call the students out by name. Explain to us what exactly was the point in that? You would think someone with a name like Shayna Starr could appreciate the desire to want to remain anonymous. Have you contacted the accused to ask for their side of the story? I have never even heard of NU Intel before, and will quickly spread the word of your poor reporting.
To Shayna Starr:
At what point in writing and updating this story did you feel it necessary or a good idea to call students out by name and post it on the internet? As a journalist, I do not mind being the 5th or 6th person to let you know that was ridiculously poor taste. You should be ashamed and I would go as far as to say you owe these students an apology. You have far surpassed the line of professionalism with the details you included in this “article”. I hope you that you are happy posting for NU Intel because stories like this one would get you laughed at or fired with an real publication.
I’m confused after reading the comments why people aren’t bashing john irvine… he’s the one who did the reporting and included the names. the article should not include names and the original article did not include any names.
To those who are bashing Shayna: Do you know how to read??
Clearly the names were published by John Irvine, NOT Shayna.
She should not have to suffer your tasteless comments when it was your own error for not reading carefully.
Shayna Dorothy (hideous name) Starr are you kidding me? You’re trash just like this publication and are a pathetic excuse for a journalist. Nice touch that you chose to use an anonymous source, shows how professional you are.
Potatoes! This is pure potatoes and livestock I tell you!
A note from NU Intel’s edit board:
It is important readers realize the decision to publish the names of the students involved in this incident falls solely on Jeffrey Cattel and Shiraz Ahmed, NU Intel’s editor in chief and executive editor, respectively. The decision in no way involved the two reporters, Shayna Starr and John Irvine, like four commenters have presupposed. After receiving confirmation of the events that occurred on February 18 by Evanston Police Commander Tom Guenther, the NU Intel edit board decided to publish the names of the two students because of the nature of the events. More specifically, the edit board determined that the involvement of a Northwestern employee, Northwestern-owned vehicle, and Northwestern-operated service warranted full disclosure of the parties involved.
–Jeff Cattel and Shiraz Ahmed
ok, modified: jeff cattel and shiraz ahmed, you’re both idiots too. they were also students. there is nothing in the policies about alcohol in a vehicle and these are as of now allegations. good job pissing off all 10 of your readers.
UPDATE: February 21, 2012 10:00 p.m.
to jeff cattel and shiraz ahmed:
the nature of the events doesn’t have a damn thing to do with publishing the students’ names. so if you would like to take the blame, then so be it. it does not change the fact that publishing students’ names is tasteless and ridiculous and you should know better seeing as you are both a part of the “edit board”. since you found the time to comment, why don’t you take the time to further explain your decision to publish names about about ALLEGATIONS. i’m sure the few readers you have would like to hear your reasoning for your unprofessionalism.
So, now you change the article to “by: NU Intel Edit Board.” im assuming this is to protect Shayna Starr on some level. How about some respect for the students who’s names you unrightfully published. This entire piece is trash and clearly should be taken down; a poor excuse for a publication; a poor excuse for updates; a poor excuse for journalism. Your entire staff should be ashamed to write or work for you.
Oh well.. it sucks when people use your name and you are blamed for something you may not have done…. now Shayna Starr can
relate.
It’s pretty standard to publish names of people who get arrested. It’s not like the students were minors.
By minor, I mean under 18. Like, they’re legal adults.
Those of you who are crying “bad journalism” seem naive and clearly don’t know much about journalism. Do any of you actually read actual news publications besides blogs? You may think this site is supposed to represent your interests, but in fact it is a news organization.
The editors were absolutely correct in identifying the alleged offender’s identity, particularly given that she is an adult and allegedly abused her authority as a University employee. As a member of the Northwestern community I personally hope that she is not guilty and, should she be acquitted of the charge, NUIntel ought to follow up their reporting accordingly. That said, the editors did their jobs well in this case.
[NTM, the alleged offender's name had already been made public record and appeared in other media outlets including evanstonnow.com.]
I agree that it may be good journalism or appropriate for the situation, and I admit that I know nothing about journalism. For me, students calling out other students just sucks.
I HATE YOU ALL!!!
YOUR COMMENTS ARE AS ATROCIOUS AS MY USE OF CAPS LOCK!!!!
HONESTLY, DOES ANYONE CARE? WILL ANYONE HERE SLEEP AT NIGHT BETTER KNOWING THE NAMES OF EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER COMMITTED A CRIME, OR HAVE TROUBLE SLEEPING KNOWING THAT PEOPLE’S NAMES ARE OUT THERE?
-T. LORL
LMFAO so you change the name to NU Intel Editors???? SHAYNA STARR YOU ARE PATHETIC. You write something then don’t even back it up by changing your by line. PA THE TIC.
LMFAO so you change the name to NU Intel Editors???? SHAYNA STARR YOU ARE PATHETIC. You write something then don’t even back it up by changing your by line. PA THE TIC. little bitch.
HOW BRAZEN of you Shayna Starr. don’t want people to know you wrote this garbage? Good thing I already got a screenshot of it
jokes. nuintel i guarantee you won’t lose readership over this.
It’s just frustrating that NU Intel will playfully avoid naming people when they report on a weekend of parties and stuff, but when it’s about someone getting arrested for buying for an under-21 they have no scruples about publishing names. It’s not like this is some big, shocking thing. It’s not like she was driving dangerously or that her friend was sloshed or that she had a fake ID or that they were drinking while driving.
The reason why this story is a story is because it’s interested that a SafeRide car got pulled over and arrested. And because it is a continuation of the alcohol enforcement crackdown that Evanston seems to be executing this winter. WHO the victim of the charges was is not the interesting thing about this story, as she is just another student out of the over eight thousand undergrads here and nothing more than a name to the overwhelming majority of people.
I mean… she’s innocent as far as we know, right? Do journalists have a duty to tell all the information? No. Especially when we are in a college bubble where there is still a sense of camaraderie and having-each-others-back. But now, thanks to your sensitive and thoughtful editorial decision, their names will be out there for everyone, including potential employers.
I guess none of us should be surprised, though. It just cements NU Intel’s position as the gossip rag of Northwestern – the place that gives you all the dirty details.
TAKE THEIR FUCKING NAMES OFF OF THIS SHIT! It shows up when you google them. And it is pointless to include it. You are now fucking with someone’s future and their reputation! I know as a Medill student they have taught you better than this or are just some freshman who does not know any better because you have not even made it to Ethics! And I am even more angry at your editors who have allowed it to stay up this long.
Just as badly as you want a job or an internship this summer so do these girls and you are FUCKING THAT UP FOR THEM. TAKE THEY NAMES OFF!
You guys need to calm down.
To everyone who is saying this is bad journalism: I doubt you even know what good journalism is. I can tell you it is not an article that only tells you what you want to hear.
To people who are saying this is going to hurt these girls professionally: No shit. Any employer can Google this and find their names, but they could also do a background check and find anything as well. Also like someone else mentioned, their names have already been published on other websites.
To “Ashleigh/A friend”: You’re biased. Also, you mention ethics but I don’t even think you know what you’re talking about. They are not rape victims, nor are they minors or anyone else that would make it wrong for their names to be published.
To everyone coming at the publication and the writers as if they stole something from you: Hop off. I have no affiliation with this website, but you people just look crazy.
@ Calm Down
Since she is not convicted of a felon, which was proposed by mayor tisdahl of Evanston because the possession is LESS THAN 10 GRAMS, this will not show up on her record!
If the writer was smart enough to to include this in his piece he is WELL AWARE or Evanston Law! Meaning there is no point in including her name because it is NOT A FELONY!
Don’t tell me that I do not know what I am talking about. And if this were you or a friend you would be a little disappointed as well. I will just assume that you are friends with the author or something.
So… for your information THIS WILL NOT SHOW UP IN A BACKGROUND CHECK it will just show up in Google, dumbass.
And just because it is published in other places does not make it right. Take their names off.
as an unbiased student (meaning i do not know the people mention nor the editors or reporters) i have to say that i would not have expected this of a publication that is supposedly written by and for students. yes their names may already be on other publications, however, i’m almost positive that NU Intel was the first to release names and its just not very tasteful because you have students writing about students. if these were friends of your own you would feel just as strongly as ashleigh or anyone else on here who seems to know thats its wrong.
MOST IMPORTANTLY: i would hope that everyone is paying attention to the fact that it doesn’t seem that the people mentioned were even contacted for comments or their take on the situation. and that is what makes this poor journalism.
A good reporter tries to get as much detail as possible for the best well-rounded story. Shayna Starr, John Irvine, AND the NU Intel edit board clearly did not even attempt which makes this come off as ass-holish as it does.
THIS PUBLICATION SHOULD BE TAKE DOWN. but im pretty sure NU Intel is just loving the attention.
The person above me is right in that NU Intel was pretty diligent about updates with names and charges and there is NO attempt to obtain commentary from the parties who’s names you dragged through the mud with this piece of hot garbage. NU Intel: YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THIS. To both of the reporters and the “edit board” (edit board my ass. if you’re an editor you know better than this shit) you should probably consider taking down the names or the article entirely. No simpler way to put that.
@ Ashleigh/A Friend, u mad?
I actually do not know the author, so your assumption is wrong. I’m seriously unbiased and I just think you and everyone else needs to calm down.
I mean the bottom line is this shit happened. As reported.If an employer wants to know about them they will find out by either Googling it or asking them about their history with the law. You think an NU Intel article disappearing means this incident didn’t happen?
Of course I would be disappointed if this were me. Absolutely. But would I think it was wrong of them to keep my name up? No, not in terms of what is acceptable in journalism. But attacking the staff probably wouldn’t get me what I wanted either…
@Calm Down. Just get the fuck off. Honestly, you sound ignorant as all hell. Just because something is “acceptable in journalism” does not make it right. Bottom line: this shit is bogus. If these were friends of the editor or the reporters, names would not have been included. This publication is no more than a gossip column. They included names because they thought it would get a rise out of people. Kudos to them. Doesn’t make it anymore right just because they could.
Secondly, if they did so much investigating, the two people before you were right in that they should have at least tried to contact the people who’s names they just decided to throw up on the internet.
These students should have been addressed and asked whether or not they were okay with their names being included in the publication, out common fucking courtesy.
To the bleating clowns who are irrationally pissed off at NU Intel for doing its job: Are you also lobbying the other media that identified these alleged offenders to pull their names?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
I honestly hope none of you are Medill students, because you’re fucking clueless about how journalism operates.
@ Honest. Ah “ignorant”… the money word. You anger amuses me. And LOL at your last sentence too. That’s the way the news works. Four for you, Glen Coco!
@Calm Down go suck a dick. i pray that the day something bad happens to you, its broadcasted to the world
For the record, both of these students were found not liable for all of these accusations because it was a load of shit. Update that shit, NU Intel Edit Board.