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Residents dissent, delaying Biss’ vision
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‘Urgent’ Envision Evanston slow-walked amid citywide
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Global students fear travel ban
Impending Trump admin policies spark worry on campus
By ALEXIA SEXTOU the daily northwestern
When returning to Northwestern from her trip home to Iran during the Winter Recess, Weinberg freshman Rosha Sodeif said she was excited to be back on campus. But what she didn’t expect was the fve-hour questioning she received from authorities at the U.S. border, she said.
In light of President-elect Donald Trump’s potential reinstatement of a travel ban in 2025, some international students are expressing fear and anxiety over what the ban could mean for their travel obligations.
Ofce of International Student and Scholar Services continues to monitor domestic and international developments and plan for potential scenarios to ofcial immigration policy changes.
With airport security already executing thorough port of entry checks and passport inspections, Sodeif said she was worried that traveling home may become even more difcult afer Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20
By SHUN GRAVES daily senior staffer @realshungraves
As the frigid dusk fell above them, the voices of Evanston residents rose with dismay and a tinge of rage in a cozy downtown basement Tursday.
Te residents had gathered
over Mayor Daniel Biss’ oncenebulous project, Envision Evanston 2045. Unveiled as a transformative vision on everything from afordability to sustainability, the plan has quickly become a lightning rod. Why, some residents asked, must it happen all at once — and now?
While the 1st Ward meeting
Students fund L.A. wild fre relief
Palisades have) been completely destroyed is so hard for me.”
By LEAH SCHROEDER daily senior staffer
Weinberg freshman Nate Berman has lived in the Palisades for his entire life. Over the past week, he has watched a fire blaze across his hometown from more than 2 , 000 miles away.
The Palisades fire was the first of several wildfires to break out last Tuesday and may go down as the most destructive in state history. This fire is also the largest of the series of wildfires spreading across Los Angeles, all of which have been powered by gusts from the Santa Ana winds.
“When this all first happened, it was really shocking and devastating, and it almost didn’t feel real,” Berman said. “Just seeing the footage of how (the
Being so far away from home, Berman said, contributed to a feeling of helplessness.
This feeling manifested as an intense fear — for his family, his friends and all of the small business owners in the Palisades and L.A. as a whole, Berman said. “Right now, what’s weighing on me most is just thinking about my house and the place where I grew up, and all those memories and pictures that we wouldn’t be able to get back,” Berman said. “I’m really just hoping that it’s still standing.” Medill freshman and Daily staffer Nonso Kojo Onwaeze is also from L.A. and attended Palisades Charter High School, which was significantly damaged by the fires.
This loss, Onwaeze said, was particularly painful. “This was the community
took place beneath Orrington Avenue, the residents’ push against Biss’ vision has hardly stayed underground. Aghast at Envision Evanston’s brisk pace and sweeping proposals — such as nixing single-family zoning — the dissidents have organized against it.
Tey contend that Biss has fnally met his match. And the
dissidents have already notched their frst victory.
A fer hearing an earful of criticism, City Council decided Monday to rein in Envision Evanston. It separated its two chief components and delayed the contentious rezoning to August. Jef Boarini, challenging
Several universities across the U.S. — such as the University of Southern California and Cornell University — already urged their international students this January to adjust their winter break travel plans, advising them to return before Jan. 13 and Jan. 21st, respectively.
“When I came back (to the U.S.), they stopped me and they searched all my luggage,” Sodeif said, recalling her experience at O’Hare International Airport. “ Tey took me to another room and questioned me and everything,” she said. Upon entry to the U.S., international students are expected to have their I-20 documentation available and answer any questions asked by Transportation Security Administration ofcers. Refusal to answer questions by non-citizen visa holders may result in denial of entry, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Sodei f said she was “very annoyed” during the inspection because she is a dual Canadian citizen but felt that she was being treated diferently due to her Persian background.
» See ENVISION, page 8 » See TRAVEL BAN, page 10
While international students at Northwestern did not receive such instructions due to the early start of the quarter system, a University spokesperson said the
Judge retires in Ryan Field lawsuit
New twist in courtroom batle draws out long-brewing dispute
By SHUN GRAVES daily senior staffer @realshungraves
For a dispute that launched in a public uproar, the courtroom debate over Northwestern’s plans to commercialize Ryan Field has rarely dropped a bombshell.
So the long-simmering lawsuit’s latest twist Tuesday offered some familiar news: The courtroom battle has only begun.
Judge Pamela McLean Meyerson told the attorneys gathered at a virtual Cook County Circuit Court hearing that she would retire by Feb. 1 . She set a date — March 12 — for the next hearing, where a different judge will preside.
Transferring the case filed by Ryan Field foes to the unnamed judge could lengthen a case that has already brewed for more than a year. In her brief remarks to the attorneys, Meyerson hinted at its already long history.
“I do want to move the case along,” Meyerson said.
Most Livable City
Association and allied Evanston residents filed the lawsuit against the city in November 2023 . That followed Mayor Daniel Biss’ tie-breaking vote in favor of NU’s plans to host public-facing concerts once it rebuilds the stadium.
The plaintiffs argued that Evanston had engaged in “secret negotiations” with the University to allow a “capricious” zoning change that would allow commercial events. Furthermore, they argued the city had violated various procedural rules in approving NU’s rezoning bid for its $850 million stadium rebuild.
The battle arrived in Meyerson’s hushed downtown Chicago courtroom last April.
Attorneys for Most Livable City clashed with lawyers for the city and NU, which had intervened in the case.
Later that week, Meyerson handed down her first decision, which dealt a blow to the group. Her dismissal of three counts from Most Livable City’s lawsuit left only one remaining.
Yet the group hit back.
In May, Most Livable City amended the dismissed claims and added some more.
In December, the plaintiffs sought to stop “burdensome” subpoenas by NU of the group’s communications. Both motions remain
pending, and with Meyerson’s retirement, a new judge will pick them up. Most Livable City, the city and NU each declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.
Shun Graves/The Daily Northwestern
May, Mayor Daniel Biss touted his leadership over
testy
in Evanston politics. Now, with Envision Evanston, his foes have sought to tee up the fight of his political life.
Shun Graves/The Daily Northwestern Construction continued Tuesday on the new Ryan Field, the subject of a
City Council divides, delays Envision Evanston
By HANNAH WEBSTER daily senior staffer @hannahe_webster
Facing vocal backlash from residents over the pace and scope of Envision Evanston 2045 , City Council on Monday delayed the wideranging plan’s controversial zoning rewrite and split off the comprehensive plan.
The decision comes two months before the intended date to adopt Envision Evanston and follows several community meetings where residents expressed concerns over the impacts of the zoning proposals and the plan’s fast-approaching deadlines.
Mayor Daniel Biss publicly announced Envision Evanston last February, promising a 20 -year development plan that includes targets for zoning, transportation and economic development. The proposal outlined a five-phase plan to solicit community feedback before officially adopting the plan. Currently, the city is in the final phase, which is anticipated to end this March.
On Monday, in response to a referral by Alds. Clare Kelly ( 1 st), Thomas Suffredin ( 6 th) and Devon Reid ( 8 th), city staff asked the council for direction concerning the program’s timeline.
The council voted to suspend the meeting’s usual public comment rules, allowing almost 100 speakers to address the council for a minute each. Most residents advocated for more time to fully develop the proposal, with many specifically criticizing the zoning plan.
Then the council had extensive conversations
Giordano’s
Pizza serves up its fnal slice on Chicago Avenue
with staff and Matt Rodgers of the Land Use Commission. With Ald. Bobby Burns ( 5 th) absent, the council voted 8 - 0 to divorce the zoning plan from Envision Evanston’s comprehensive plan. And many councilmembers echoed community concerns over the current timeline.
“I think it’s possible to act with urgency without rushing,” Suffredin said. “I think that’s the balance that we need to hit tonight.”
Later in the meeting, the council voted 5 - 3 to ask the Land Use Commission to make a recommendation on the comprehensive plan
Afer 13 years of dishing up its signature pizzas, the Giordano’s Pizza on Chicago Avenue has quietly shutered.
A sign posted on the restaurant’s window says the company is looking to relocate to a new storefront nearby. The company’s logo has also been removed from its place on the building’s facade.
“Afer many years at this site, we have decided it’s time to relocate to a new location within the
by the end of February, in line with Envision Evanston’s original deadline. Kelly, Suffredin and Ald. Krissie Harris ( 2 nd) voted against the motion.
The vote followed an unsuccessful motion led by Kelly to push the comprehensive plan to the end of the summer and the zoning plan to March of next year.
“I feel bad for our city,” Kelly said. “It just feels like we’re really not handling this to the best that we could on behalf of our residents and this beautiful city.”
community,” the sign reads.
Te sign says the company, which is widely known for its deep dish pizza, is still searching for a new property.
Giordano’s corporate ofce did not respond to a request for comment. Organizers at Downtown Evanston and employees from some surrounding businesses, including Todoroki, were initially
The council then voted to request the Land Use Commission provide a recommendation on the zoning plan by the end of August. Only Kelly voted against the motion. Biss, who previously called delaying Envision Evanston “immoral” in an interview with the Evanston RoundTable, expressed a less urgent sentiment Monday. He encouraged councilmembers not to vote for the project until they felt it was ready.
hannahwebster2027@u.northwestern.edu
unaware of the relocation.
Te Evanston Giordano’s moved into the building on 1527 Chicago Ave. in 2011 afer 30 years of business on the corner of Davis Street and Hinman Avenue. It temporarily closed in 2015 due to an issue with ownership.
Sophie Baker
Daily file photo by Shun Graves
Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) was the sole vote against the motion to consider Envision Evanston’s zoning plan in August.
Community vigil held in honor of MLK
By RIDHIMA KODALI
daily no()hw,-),(n
Northwestern faculty members, students and Evanston community members lit up Alice Millar Chapel with candlelights, clapping and singing to gospel tunes Sunday afternoon for the .5th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Vigil. The Alpha Mu chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity hosted the event.
“As we set aside this day to acknowledge Dr. King’s spirit, let us remind ourselves that we can and should continue to uphold and transcend his vision so that his dream manifests this reality,” SESP senior Andrew Pinkston, president of the Alpha Mu chapter, said during the vigil.
The vigil featured the Northwestern Community Ensemble singing gospel tunes such as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Bro. Rev. Michael Blake as their guest speaker. Blake is a Medill alumnus, a former Alpha Phi Alpha, Northwestern Community Ensemble member and a New York City mayoral candidate.
Blake said he thinks King wants everyone to think about the future. In his 33-minute speech, Blake also said that talking only about the present and the past prevents people from living out King’s legacy.
“King gave us lessons to remind us that our jobs, our goals (and) our purpose is to help,” Blake said.
Blake, who spent time with the King family during Barack Obama’s first inauguration, said this event was important for him to support younger generations and remind his audience of attendees that they have a responsibility to keep honoring King.
“The MLK ceremony here in (NU) is one of the critical ones in this country,” Blake said. “It’s hard not to be inspired and motivated when someone has that perspective, and so in the midst of the attacks that are happening now, if (King) was able to do it, so can we.”
Medill Prof. Ava Thompson Greenwell, who taught Blake during his time at NU, said that Blake’s speech was about making sure students
apply King’s ideals to their lives.
“The idea is remembrance,” Greenwell said.
“And that work starts with each individual making sure that they are a believer in themselves first, so that they can then begin to believe in others and help others.”
The vigil ended with attendees singing “We Shall Overcome” and a benediction given by Rev. Dr. Karen Mosby. The event also offered a beneficiary to March of Dimes, an organization that supports the health of mothers and babies.
“As you go forward from this place, go forward with the courage of Dr. Martin Luther King,” Mosby said. “Go forward with the vision of a king. Go forward with the confidence of a king and queen that stride. Whether your next
steps are nice or anxious, go forward.”
Weinberg sophomore Kunmi Faseru said she wanted to take the time to attend the vigil and that it was important for her because of the upcoming holiday.
She also said that the United States has a “long way to go” considering King’s dedication and what he achieved.
“When we take the time to think about what (King) wanted and all the things that he did, to get to where we are now — but also to have the freedom to think of what else we can do — I think that’s super important,” Faseru said. We just don’t want that to die.”
ridhimakodali2027@u.northwestern.edu
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Gabe Hawkins/The Daily Northwestern Religious Educator Dr. Karen Mosby leads the chapel welcome at the beginning of the ceremony.
K-Dance’s winter showcase a whirlwind of energy
By MARISSA FERNANDEZ the daily north,e-tern
Dynamic performers and eager audience members
.lled the auditorium in Lutkin Hall for the K-Dance Music Awards winter showcase Sunday night, leaving only a few seats open for latecomers.
e hour-long show featured 13 performances by various small groups, ranging in size from four to eight members. In addition to the dances, there were also awards announced like “Best Choreography” and “Best Girl Group.”
A group of four dancers performed to “Midas Touch,” by KISS OF LIFE, which was a clear fan favorite judging by the sheer volume and frequency of audience cheers. e group’s movements o en mirrored the lyrics, as seen when two members touched hands while the other two exchanged air kisses as the lyrics “touch ya, kiss ya” played.
e group’s smaller size allowed for each member to shine, showcasing each member’s individual personality. is seemingly small artistic decision made the number personal — and therefore noticeable — for viewers.
Another group, dancing to aespa’s “Armageddon,” featured unique and a ention-grabbing formations. At one point, all of the dancers were in a line leaning back, each one making an almost 90-degree angle with their bodies before they broke apart to continue dancing. is explosion of movement was nothing short of exhilarating, making it di cult to look away. e group also created dynamic visuals in which some group members crouched down to highlight the members who stayed standing.
“Supersonic” by fromis_9 was an eye-catching number. e group started on the oor, a refreshing change from the standing opening positions done by many other groups. e group constantly cycled through new formations and kept an incredibly high
energy level throughout the performance.
e show also had a so-called “newbie piece,” in which any performer could sign up, regardless of prior experience and without audition requirements.
e newbie piece contained two very di erent aesthetics. e .rst group featured fast-paced music with performers dressed in all black and wearing cop hats. e second part of the piece featured dancers dressed in pastel colors dancing to slightly slower music with a strong and entertaining beat. It was clear the choreographers took the diverse interests and skills of each dancer into account when creating the piece.
A group performing to “Supernatural” by NewJeans was also one of the night’s standout performances. Dressed in all white, the group’s mostly instrumental track allowed audience members to really enjoy the clean movements. e sharp movements of the dancers were not only physically impressive but matched the music well in a visually appealing number.
e last group of the night performed to “Chk
Chk Boom” by Stray Kids, a . ing song choice as they ended the show with a bang. While some of the formations were similar to ones seen earlier in the show, the group had their own unique air and their crisp movements suited the music perfectly. is last number le viewers satis.ed with the show, but still craving more.
e only part of the show that could be improved upon was its technical elements. Audio issues with a few of the tracks forced dancers to restart their performances and temporarily took audience members out of the moment, but regardless, the performers bounced back to deliver stunning performances.
Despite some technical di culties at various points throughout the show, the energetic crowd and upbeat performances throughout the night created an amazing experience for both performers and audience members alike.
marissafernandez2028@u.northwestern.edu
New Dittmar Gallery exhibit inspired by Powwow regalia
By DALTON HANNA the daily north,e-tern @daltonhanna06
A new exhibit, “Regal Adornment,” opened at the Dittmar Memorial Gallery Thursday, displaying large fringe pieces inspired by and meant to honor the vibrant culture of Native American Powwows. The exhibit features 11 fringe pieces and is on display until Feb. 3 Chelsea Bighorn, a graduate of School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the artist behind all 11 pieces featured, said she drew inspiration from her childhood in the creation of the exhibit.
“I wanted to focus on the fringe, the adornment, of the outfits seen at Powwows that I grew up going to with my family,” Bighorn said. Bighorn used a handful of unique, natural materials in the creation of the art, including beads, artificial elk teeth, buffalo teeth and buffalo yarn handspun by Bighorn herself.
However, despite the different shape and texture of each piece in the exhibit, there are similarities that tie some of the pieces together, Bighorn said, such as the fringed fabric and deeply saturated dyes that were also made by Bighorn.
“I’m just really drawn to fringe as a whole,” Bighorn said. “It’s always an adornment. It’s always the extra thing on clothing, jackets, bags, weavings. I just wanted to play with the idea of fringe.”
The idea for the exhibit was sparked after the gallery supervisor and curator, Communication junior Maggie Munday Odom, saw Bighorn’s work in the window at the Center for Native Futures. Struck by Bighorn’s pieces, Odom contacted her and the two began discussion about featuring Bighorn’s work at Dittmar this winter.
Assistant Director of Arts and Programs at Norris University Center Kimberly Mills said she was grateful Odom found Bighorn and quickly fell in love with Bighorn’s work.
“The care that Chelsea puts into her craftsmanship is really striking to me,” Mills said.
“Not only is it rich within the culture of Powwows and regalia, but seeing it in person and taking your time in exploring Chelsea’s hand within the work is really, really striking.”
Weinberg sophomore Elyse Malamud, who is also a supervisor and registrar of the gallery, said she found that the bold colors and the unique materials in the fringe fabrics helped make the exhibit stand out.
While she appreciated the physical work, Malamud said she was especially struck by the backstory behind Bighorn’s pieces.
“The message in Chelsea’s work is amazing,” Malamud said.“We’re really excited to highlight Native American voices and stories in the gallery.”
Like Malamud, Bighorn also said she values uplifting and giving a platform to Native American art.
This is the first time Bighorn’s fringe
pieces have been displayed, and she said she is thrilled to contribute to Native art in the Chicago area.
“In Chicago, I know there’s so many amazing contemporary Native art shows that are
happening,” Bighorn said. “It’s really allowing Native artists to showcase all their talents and skills. I’m super happy to be a part of it.”
daltonhanna2028@u.northwestern.edu
Dalton Hanna/The Daily Northwestern
Chelsea Bighorn’s fringe work honors Powwow regalia. Her tribal a iliations are the Lakota, Dakota and Shoshone-Paiute.
Marissa Fernandez/The Daily Northwestern
‘Shucked’ musical commits to a-maize-ing absurdity
By GABE HAWKINS and REGAN HUIZENGA the da&l( )orth,e-ter) @gabe./violin / @reganmichele2.5
As told by “Shucked” — the eccentric and corn-obsessed Broadway musical that opened at Chicago’s CIBC Theatre on Tuesday — corn reigns supreme as God’s greatest invention.
The curtain rises as two storytellers, played by Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis, recall the origin of corn. The number, aptly titled “Corn,” somehow elicits audience excitement about the crop through its high-caliber vocals and choreography.
The premise of “Shucked” is nothing short of absurd. Set in the fictional Cobb County, a locale where pride and joy lie in its fecund crops of corn, the story offers a glimpse into small-town life.
When a dry spell decimates Cobb County’s corn supply, no amount of corn-inspired dad jokes can save its impending doom as a town that once lived in “perfect hominy” is thrown into flux. Therein lies a show that features an exhaustive assortment of corn-related puns, pithy one-liners and enough high-energy musical numbers for the ages.
A show almost entirely grounded on corn should certainly elicit skepticism. Nonetheless, “Shucked” is endearing enough to make it work.
The story follows Maizy (Danielle Wade), a young woman desperate to escape Cobb County and find a cure for corn-related plights. In her obstinate pursuit of a remedy, she ventures to Tampa, leaving behind her doting fiancé Beau (Jake Odmark).
In Tampa, she enlists the help of Gordy (Quinn VanAntwerp), a foot doctor whom she believes holds the cure to Cobb’s corn crisis. Unbeknownst to her, Gordy is a grifting con artist staring down towering debt. Desperate to relieve his financial troubles, Gordy masquerades as an infatuated lover and follows Maizy back to Cobb County. When Gordy arrives in Cobb County, he falls in love with Maizy’s cousin, the ever-assertive Lulu (Miki Abraham), while Maizy and Beau rekindle their own romance.
Dynamic performances by the show’s ensemble cast complement its bizarre premise, ultimately making “‘Shucked”’ an entertaining night at the theatre. Standout vocals and a larger-than-life stage presence make Abraham’s performance Tony-worthy, while Lagerstam’s impressive range (in both vocals and character work) should elicit high praise.
“Shucked” is the kind of musical that should not be as heartwarming and entertaining as it ultimately becomes. It luxuriates in corniness (pun very much intended), and features characters that are so cartoonish in their mannerisms that they seem fresh out of a Disney
movie. With the exception of “Independently Owned,” Lulu’s power ballad, the songs are forgettable and relatively colorless. Moreover, the puns in “Shucked” are milked to the absolute extreme and are just as overdone as they are well-crafted. However, “Shucked” commits doggedly to the bit, even as it binges on cringe. The
musical’s charm lies in its unabashed ability to embrace the absurd.
“Shucked” runs through Jan. ./ , and just like corn, audience members are sure to be all ears for this delightfully absurd show.
gabehawkins2028@u.northwestern.edu
reganhuizenga2028@u.northwestern.edu
Dolphin Show works magic to bring ‘Cinderella’ to life
By GABE HAWKINS the da&l( )orth,e-ter)
Most students headed home for winter break the minute their nals were nished, hoping to escape the cold. However, for Communication junior and Dolphin Show associate lighting designer Alex Yang, winter break meant work for the nation’s largest student-produced musical was just ge ing started.
e Dolphin Show, a beloved campus tradition with origins tracing back to ./3/, requires much manpower to run. As actors and technical workers gear up to present “Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella” ahead of a Jan. 24 opening night, Yang and roughly 20 other production members opted to stay on campus during winter break for an action-packed week consisting of set-building, assembling lights on lighting rigs and nalizing technical logistics in a process known colloquially as “Winter Build.”
“ e whole week [is] purely dedicated to building the set and seeing all di erent parts come together,” Yang said. Winter Build demanded a lot of its workers. Along with helping to build the set, Yang juggled responsibilities like brainstorming lighting ideas and taking notes on lighting design.
Yang recalled that assembling lights in Cahn Auditorium took two days. Building the set was another undertaking entirely, he said, and won’t be completed until the end of the rst week of Winter Quarter.
e intense week of production design o ered Winter Build workers a unique opportunity for cohesion and bonding, Communication senior and “Cinderella” director Rachel Rubin said.
“I found it really helpful to be there and spend so much time with the design and tech team,” Rubin said, adding that Winter Build made her con dent that the design and technical teams are “all on the same page” about the upcoming production.
As the production’s leader, Rubin was eager to lend a hand during Winter Build. She o ered
support to the costumes team, aided the hair and makeup department and assisted with scenic design.
e Dolphin Show also relies on student producers who work long hours over break to coordinate logistics for the production and spearhead initiatives to boost engagement.
Communication senior and “Cinderella” producer Rachel Olkin assists with production-related purchases, budget management and day-to-day scheduling, while Communication junior and coproducer Jay Jeon facilitates marketing initiatives like capturing social media content and budgeting paid advertisements with community newsle ers.
e production managers, Communication junior JingXi Yap and Medill sophomore Sophia Casa, also balanced demanding responsibilities during Winter Build, working an average of .0 hours per day to ensure operations ran smoothly. Yap and Casa were responsible for coordinating schedules for those involved in Winter Build, assigning jobs to production workers and working with designers, among a plethora of other tasks.
“A lot of us artists come into the space with a lot of ideas,” Yap said. “ As production managers, it’s our job to help hone those ideas and shape them into one fully realized production vision.” Students involved with the Dolphin Show are not strangers to large projects. In previous years, the Dolphin Show has presented renowned Broadway musicals like “Kinky Boots,” “Matilda” and “Li le Shop of Horrors.”
Looking to the future, Casa hopes “Cinderella” will outsell “Kinky Boots,” which set the record for the highest-grossing Dolphin Show in the production’s history last year, a perfect accomplishment to encapsulate all the love the crew gave to “Cinderella” during Winter Build. “ I love Winter Build,” Yang said. “It’s really so much fun because it’s a whole week purely dedicated to building the set and seeing all different parts come together, and you’re just surrounded by the people who are part of the process.”
gabehawkins@u.northwestern.edu
As TikTok ban looms, students fear for fate of pop culture
By CAROLINE KILLILEA the da&l( )orth,e-ter) @c_killilea
As the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a Biden administration law forcing the sale of TikTok, some Northwestern students say the ban could mean changes to pop culture, club recruiting and social media outreach. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, requires TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American buyer by Jan. ./ or face a blockage of TikTok from U.S. app stores and internet-hosting services.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Friday regarding whether the law interferes with First Amendment rights. According to
The New York Times, the Court seemed open to upholding the law permitting the ban and is likely to announce its ruling by the end of the week after fast-tracking the case.
McCormick sophomore Olivia Paik uses TikTok to make edits and said she thinks a ban will heavily influence pop culture.
“I’m really upset,” Paik said. “I feel like I also keep up with the pop culture jokes and the current memes and celebrities through TikTok.”
A TikTok ban could also affect news and media consumption. An increasing number of millennials and members of Gen Z rely on the app for news and information, with 3/% of adults under 30 saying they regularly access news on the platform, according to a study by Pew Research Center.
Medill freshman Yamandú Capalbo also said he uses TikTok to access a variety of videos
serving different purposes.
“Most of the things that I’m streaming — like music, series, TV shows, films — come from TikTok,” Capalbo said. “It’s really great to shape my personality and also get to know more about the world. I don’t see it as the villain here. I see it as a great tool.”
Other students use the app for creating personal content. McCormick sophomore Crystal Cooper runs a TikTok account with over .2 , 000 followers where she posts “Get Ready With Me” and dance videos.
Her content is also often geared toward prospective and incoming NU students. Cooper said she likes providing future students with a “perspective on how the school is from people your age, rather than from an administrator.”
“I like to talk about my life at Northwestern, and I have made a Northwestern advice video, and I know freshmen have seen it,” Cooper said. “So if it was banned, obviously, no one would be seeing that.”
Cooper added that she worries about student groups that use TikTok as a recruitment tool, saying she thinks TikTok can be “advantageous” in spreading the word about ways to get involved on campus.
Even students who do not use TikTok see its popularity and impact. Weinberg freshman Anjali Ajmani said she doesn’t use TikTok, but she has still seen its impact on her everyday life.
Ajmani said TikTok’s influence on pop culture and daily life can be “pervasive” as videos from TikTok find their way onto other social media platforms.
“A lot of jokes and things my friends say come from TikTok,” Ajmani said. “I feel like a lot of the music that we recommend to each other and things like that come from TikTok as well.”
A ban on TikTok would also have
implications for pop culture, impacting the accessibility of video content. Director of the Center for Communication & Public Policy and Communication Prof. Erik Nisbet said that the question of how a ban would affect those creating videos using the app remains salient. Nisbet said he anticipates that a ban would force content creators to move from TikTok to other social media apps — like Instagram and Facebook — and would have wide-ranging impacts on content creators who use TikTok as a form of income.
“If TikTok is banned, would it be the end of the world? No,” Nisbet said. “But would there be winners and losers? Yes. Some content creators might come out on top that have the larger communities on other platforms. Others might lose out.”
carolinekillilea2027@u.northwestern.edu
arts & entertainment
Editor Madeline King
Assistant Editors
Marissa Fernandez
Dalton Hanna
Design Editors
Danny O’Grady
Rachel Schlueter
Illustration by Cayla Labgold-Carroll Northwestern students are grappling with the potential ban of TikTok as the Supreme Court prepares to announce its decision on the law.
Photo courtesy of Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Maya Lagerstam and Tyler Joseph Ellis tell the story of corn in “Shucked.”
OPINION
Oh: Te dual degree life is not for the faint of heart
On a Tuesday afernoon afer my last class of the day, I stand in the dust glancing between the impenetrable windows of Ryan Center and the intimidating dystopian building of University Library. Which will it be today? Will I lock myself in a practice room and perfect those four bars of an impossible fute excerpt or fnish up a story for my Medill class, triple-checking my writing to avoid the Medill F?
Northwestern is widely recognized for its dual degree program, an opportunity for students to combine two contrasting disciplines in order to obtain two degrees within just four or fve years. I, like many others in the program, cram in eight or nine classes a quarter, equating to 5 5 or six credits, sometimes more.
Te dual degree program is NU’s version of Pandora’s box. I cracked open the box in curiosity, lured by a promise of opportunity only to release a barrage of evils — all in exchange for the hope of obtaining not one, but two glossy diplomas!
Don’t get us wrong, dual degree students are well aware that we’ll have to choose one or the other eventually. Some of us decide to postpone this decision. Others are unable to lay down one of their lifelong
passions. Whatever the reason, we are enticed by the freedom of exploration and the school’s promises that it’s actually easier than it seems. Here’s a rundown of one of my busier days during Fall Quarter. Depending on my bedtime, I’ll wake up at 7 or 8 a.m. for a morning practice session — a commitment I ofen fail to keep. I drag myself to my dreaded aural skills class at 10 a.m., where hoarse voices are already singing Do-Re-Mi in unison. I move one classroom down to music theory, holding my marked-up scores that end up being disastrously wrong.
Afer a 30-minute break, I head over to our fute studio class, then run to ensemble, a two-hour block of intense rehearsal onstage. As soon as we’re dismissed at 4:30 p.m., I dash to Downtown Evanston to tour a potential apartment for the coming year and make sure to get back to campus by 6 p.m., just in time for rehearsal with my chamber group.
At 7:30 p.m., I sprint to Shanley Pavilion for a run of a student-produced show I’m reporting about for Te Daily. Ten I fnish up my piece, then head to the newsroom for late-night pub. Time to go home? Not just yet. An 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. practice session is the perfect way to close out the night. Crazily enough, I seem to have it easy. My mechanical engineering friend used to start her practice sessions at 10 p.m. every night, arriving at Bienen afer EA meetings and projects. We would
get locked out of our practice rooms afer midnight on the regular, siting in the hallways waiting for a custodian to pass by.
In just the winter quarter of my sophomore year, I stand by while the dual degree system picks of my colleagues one by one. Rather than completely dropping the major, some push back required sequences to focus on their non-Bienen majors. Others “ghost-drop” their musical disciplines, only enrolling in lessons and ensembles for the quarter.
Tis endless workload feels futile, a constant balancing game of countless commitments. “Why are we doing this again?” my friends and I ask each other in desperation. What drowns us in deeper grief is the knowledge that each one of us has deliberately chosen — and continues to choose — this way of life, every day.
So what’s keeping us sane? For me, it’s the comfort of knowing I’m not alone on this batlefeld. My friends and I understand exactly where the others are coming from — we grumble together as we struggle through melodic dictations and as we sit in the library for hours. We don’t blame each other when we can’t fnd a single overlapping time to hang out.
While writing this column, I wavered between writing a brilliantly optimistic piece praising the opportunity for interdisciplinary education and a scathing critique of the sky-high expectations dual
degree students face. But mirroring my indecision between the two disciplines, my love-hate relationship with the dual degree life cannot be confned to one side of the scale.
Yes, the program may drive me insane and occasionally hinder my ultimate quest for happiness, but each discipline gives me a well-needed break from the other — breathing space from the harshly fuorescent-lit practice room prison and a moment to rewind from the hit-and-run momentum of reporting.
I’m a strong believer that everything I learn will be useful at some point in my life. A career in music will require the ability to network and collaborate with people, a skill I hadn’t acquired until reporting came along. A career in journalism will beneft from my extensive knowledge of the art scene and classical music’s intricate history.
So no mater which road we fnd ourselves standing on at the end of this journey, the countless career crises and sleepless nights will bring to fruition a group of capable individuals flled with colorful perspectives.
Alice Oh is a Medill and Bienen sophomore. She can be contacted at aliceoh2027@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Leter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. Te views expressed in this piece do not necessarily refect the views of all staf members of Te Daily Northwestern.
Hernandez Gonzalez: Trump will impact dual citizens
ALEXANDER
HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ
OPINION EDITOR
Ever since President-elect Donald Trump entered the political sphere, he has expressed interest in ending birthright citizenship. Now, as he steps into ofce in less than two weeks, dual citizens are lef with uncertainty and fear.
Birthright citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment. It is a right that doesn’t only apply to those born in the United States, but also those who are naturalized and subject to jurisdiction. Immigrant, undocumented and international community members are safe under Section 1
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the frst president convicted of felony crimes said that once in ofce, he plans to “absolutely” get rid of this right. Birth tourism — the act of traveling to a country in order to give birth in said country — is one of Trump’s main reasons for this decision, along with the “misinterpretation” of the widely discussed amendment. As a result, many, especially in states like Washington, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusets, have shown increased interest in dual
citizenship, with a nearly 400% increase in inquiries since the election results were released back in November.
In the U.S., citizens and non-citizens are able to hold dual citizenship. If a foreigner is seeking U.S. citizenship, they have to immigrate to the country and become a permanent resident before becoming eligible. On the other hand, citizens have to fnd out if the country of their choice recognizes dual citizenship with the U.S.
Yet, as Trump plans to end birthright citizenship, the process to become a U.S. citizen will become more difcult and will cause lots of hiccups for those who are born afer Trump steps into ofce.
Growing up, my family and I would take our annual December trip to Valparaíso, Zacatecas, México, where my parents were raised and met as teenagers before moving to Colorado together. Eating beans and prickly pear for breakfast, accompanying my father to make bales of alfalfa with his tractor and riding horses with my twin brother, Juan, in the afernoon are memories that I look back fondly on.
Living in Zacatecas for a part of my childhood not only allowed me to fully immerse myself in my family’s stomping grounds, but it allowed me to appreciate the opportunities and security that the U.S. provided to those who reside within the land. Unfortunately, that
mindset would be abruptly changed.
When Trump won the presidency in 2016, my family was constantly worried about how his policies would have detrimental impacts on our livelihood. The idea of moving back to Zacatecas seemed daunting at first, but with the constant attacks and demonization made on Mexicans by GOP politicians, I was ready to take the next step: becoming a Mexican citizen.
On Feb. 19, 2020, I, along with my siblings, fled for Mexican dual citizenship. About a month later, we became dual citizens and now have the opportunity to vote in elections, own property and access public healthcare, which has become increasingly valuable as I grow up.
When the possibility of Trump winning the 2024 election was in the air, many family members, childhood friends and social media users deemed dual citizenship as the only way out. Even when I was in Zacatecas, my cousins — U.S. citizens who never lived in México — applied for citizenship and were ready to use it to prepare for the worst.
Now, as I return back to campus, I have noticed the spike in conversations about moving to another country, studying abroad and even coming to the U.S. to atend college. Tese discussions are ones that don’t have a clear, defnitive answer.
Institutions like Harvard University, Cornell University
Hernandez Gonzalez: Find freedom in fashion
ALEXANDER
HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ
OPINION EDITOR
In our society, self expression takes many shapes and forms. From the art of dance to the craf of photography to the beauty of journaling, there are many ways to express yourself that satisfy your needs. However, there is one form of self expression that easily takes the cake.
Fashion is not just wearing a gray sweatsuit, a pair of Adidas Sambas and carrying a $2,030 Louis Vuitton Mini Bumbag to your weekly grocery shopping trip at Whole Foods. It’s about what allows you to be confdent, empowered and ready to take on the day, no mater what you wear.
Ever since I can remember, I was always afraid of talking to others, regardless if I knew them or not. Classmates, teachers and even my own family members worried that I was going down an introverted hole. Te idea of having a conversation with another human being sent chills down my spine. But the only thing that would give me a sense of happiness was fashion. Gisele Bündchen’s early 2000s Dior bag campaigns, members of Banda MS de Sergio Lizárraga in matching suits and my parents’ colorcoordinated party outfts always took me to a world that made me feel comfortable talking.
At the age of fve, I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and began to meet with a speech pathologist at my elementary school. Tese weekly
sessions allowed me to see a new form of communication without speaking: fashion.
Even though my parents always honed in on the importance of looking your best (while actively doing it), the pathologist told me that if I wasn’t comfortable with speaking, that this form of self expression would help out immensely. In other words, become the conversation starter rather than starting the conversation.
I started to wear diferent-colored baseball caps, shoes and shirts in my everyday life, which made me more confdent in myself. Aferwards, I began to not just wear fun clothes, but also style them and see how they could be interpreted by others.
With the liberty of self expression through fashion came some unexpected challenges and scenarios. Many people made assumptions about my identities, my fnancial status and even if I was dressing this way for “shock value.” Because I didn’t dress like other guys, I became a target, which made me reevaluate if fashion was the best means of self expression.
Afer dressing the exact same as others for years, a moment of self-realization hit me hard. Why am I allowing myself to be subject to others’ words? Why should I care about what they think about my style?
Tese questions, along with Prada and Gucci runway shows, caused me to fall in love with fashion and the meaning of our clothing.
Fashion designers Willy Chavarria, Telfar Clemens and Pyer Moss brought their backgrounds, experiences and innovative ideas to the fashion industry, which is predominantly made up of white designers, executives and staf Tese designers solidifed that I,
as a Mexican young adult, can have as much creative liberty with the way I dress as anyone else.
Whether you like it or not, fashion is the defnition of self expression. It allows individuals to try new outfts, have fun with how they look and send messages without saying a single word. Fashion is like a moving autobiography that we wear — it tells people how we feel, what we think and how we can move forward with our day-to-day life.
If we can look up to designers that create masterpieces that receive lots of attention, imagine the smaller, local talents that are constantly pushing the envelope in this industry. Gente Fina, Knitwrth and EFJ Collections, amongst many others, are doing exactly this.
So, if you struggle with wanting to try something new, take that fashion risk — you’ll learn a lot about yourself and those you surround yourself with. You’ll notice how great it makes you feel. Tinking about that childhood dream bag? Get it for yourself, you deserve to wear it with pride and joy.
I know that fve-year-old Alexander would be immensely proud that he can not only have great chats with others, but that he allowed fashion to become a part of his life, no mater when, where or what he is doing.
Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez is a Medill sophomore. He can be contacted at alexanderhernandezgonzalez2027@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Leter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. Te views expressed in this piece do not necessarily refect the views of all staf members of Te Daily Northwestern.
and the University of Southern California have urged their students to return to campus before Trump’s inauguration, which will potentially have travel bans and xenophobic policies set in stone on the first day.
So, if you have the desire to connect with your roots or need a backup plan just in case something goes incredibly wrong, dual citizenship is a great solution. As a dual citizen and frst-generation student, this second term is one that not just impacts me, but countless other students and individuals who aren’t deemed “American” enough for the Trump administration. Tis new chapter will be one that is flled with harmful rhetoric, policies and discrimination towards underrepresented, minority communities.
The guaranteed harm and pain that will be felt by millions and the potential reality of dual citizens being unjustifiably deported is a scary thought. Only time will tell if the law and the U.S. Constitution will be on the right side of history, especially during a chaotic time.
Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez is a Medill sophomore. He can be contacted at alexanderhernandezgonzalez2027@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Leter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. Te views expressed in this piece do not necessarily refect the views of all staf members of Te Daily Northwestern.
The Daily Northwestern Volume 148, Issue 1
Editor in Chief Lily Ogburn
Opinion Editor AlexanderHernandez Gonzalez
Assistant
Opinion Editor
Alice Oh
Managing Editors
Henry Frieman
Lexi Goldstein
Betsy Lecy
Emily Lichty
Kelley Lu
Jillian Moore
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR may be sent to 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, via fax at 847-491-9905, via e-mail to opinion@ dailynorthwestern.com or by dropping a letter in the box outside THE DAILY office.
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Editorials reflect the majority opinion of THE DAILY’s student editorial board and not the opinions of either Northwestern University or Students Publishing Co. Inc.
Two Evanston councilmembers campaign unopposed
By JACK BAKER
the daily northwestern @jdowb2005
While several Evanston wards are gearing up for competitive City Council races this spring, Ald. Juan Geracaris ( 9 th) will run unopposed — in stride.
“The fact that no one is running against me, I’m taking that as a vote of confidence from my constituents,” Geracaris said.
Mayor Daniel Biss appointed Geracaris to City Council in 2022 , and the alderman was then reelected in a 2023 special election. Geracaris said he was “flattered” upon learning he lacks a challenger this year.
He now plans to go door-to-door, introducing himself to 9 th Ward residents following Evanston’s 2023 redistricting process. Geracaris said he believes most voters are “appreciative” of his work and plans to continue focusing on issues like affordable housing and sustainability.
Meanwhile, Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma ( 4 th) faces a write-in challenger, 4 th Ward resident Margaret “Meg” Welch.
Nieuwsma said while he welcomes opposition, the absence of a challenger on the ballot speaks to his effectiveness as a council member.
“Some older council members reminded me that running unopposed is, in and of itself, validation of my work,” he said. “If no one steps up to challenge my candidacy, it means the community at large thinks I’m doing a good job.”
Nieuwsma challenged an incumbent council member who had run unopposed “a couple of times” when he was first elected in 2021 Compared to his predecessor, Nieuwsma said he has strived to build more personal connections with his constituents.
Nieuwsma said he has hosted 41 ward meetings since taking office, in addition to monthly office hours where he converses with constituents at a local coffee shop. He said his lack of a formal challenger will allow him to focus on serving the needs of 4 th Ward residents.
“When the filing period to get on the ballot closed without a challenger materializing, I felt good,” Nieuwsma said. “I thought, ‘Hey, rather
than stressing out about keeping this job over the next four months, I can continue focusing on actually doing it.’”
Nieuwsma said he still plans to attend this year’s candidate forums and complete questionnaires distributed by interest groups.
Meanwhile, Welch, who works for the Social Security Administration, said she declined to gather signatures to secure an official spot on April’s ballot due to legal concerns about the Hatch Act, which restricts the political activities of federal employees. However, after the Democratic Party of Evanston declined to endorse a candidate in the nonpartisan race, she launched a write-in campaign.
Welch similarly plans to attend candidate forums and pointed to the success of other write-in campaigns as proof of her electoral viability. She rejects the notion that Nieuwsma’s lack of an official challenger represents a validation of his work.
“Unopposed incumbents tend to believe they have a mandate, and that is one reason I’m running. It’s important to provide an alternative point of view,” Welch said. “Part of holding our elected officials accountable is having candidates that challenge their reelection campaigns.”
Welch said she has observed a “top-down” approach to governing in Evanston, where
SKYLINE PIANO ARTIST SERIES
decisions are made without sufficient input from the community.
Specifically, Welch criticized what she called “faux progressive” reforms, arguing that while many Evanston residents are rightfully concerned about issues like climate change, her opposition to some proposals is warranted. She called for a more “thoughtful” progressivism and a results-driven approach.
“Not all that glitters is gold when it comes to achieving the progressive goals Evanston is known for,” Welch said. “There’s still work that needs to be done.”
jackbaker2028@u.northwestern.edu
JEFFREY AND GABRIEL
KAHANE DUO
Saturday, January 25 7:30 p.m. | $40/15 Galvin Recital Hall
Daily file photo by Shun Graves
Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) will run unopposed in the April 1 municipal election.
From page 1
Biss for the mayoralty, cheered the decision. e mayor had long maintained that the entire plan must happen at once and before the April 1 election. But Biss, who towers over Evanston’s politics, ultimately lauded City Council’s decision to deconstruct the timeline he’d once heartily endorsed.
Fighting re with re
Biss knows how to handle the heat. He sometimes exes it.
In old campaign ads and in front of fellow Evanston political bigwigs, Biss has juggled aming torches to a ract donations or simply to entertain. He picked up juggling — even joining a circus — during his formative years in Bloomington, Indiana.
“I still bet that I’m the only person on here who ever had a paid job on a circus,” Biss told his City Council colleagues in April 2024. “Not a metaphorical circus.”
Claiming a grassroots pedigree as a mathematician-turned-state legislator, Biss previously angled for the governor’s mansion. He (nished second in the 201) Democratic primary behind current Gov. JB Pritzker.
e longtime le -wing political organizer soon set his sights on the Evanston mayoralty, scoring a landslide electoral triumph in 2021. But the circus Biss once trained for, or at least the heat, eventually arrived. Northwestern’s bid to rebuild Ryan Field as a commercial venue rocked the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center. Many of the football stadium’s neighbors fulminated. Its commercialization would despoil life in the peaceful 7th Ward, they argued. In its initial October 202, vote, City Council se led on a tie. Biss broke it.
Ahead of Biss’ vote in favor of NU, a scu-e broke out in the audience. Shortly a er, the “Be er than Biss” campaign launched to topple the mayor in his next election. Its founder, Parielle Davis, has turned her a ention toward running for the open 7th Ward seat.
“If you draw corollaries with Ryan Field, we had the same situation where if it were not for residents making a big deal about the community bene(ts agreement, we wouldn’t have go en it,” she told e Daily. at pact between NU and the city did not satisfy many of the residents who had railed against the project. But as the Ryan Field debate shi ed into a Chicago courtroom, Biss frequently lauded the deal and made it a central plank of his May State of the City address.
He had already inaugurated Envision Evanston that February. e same day as his speech, however, Biss’ most extensive explanation yet for his “bold” vision appeared on doorsteps around the city. In his Chicago Tribune op-ed that morning, Biss lamented the o en intractable debates that de(ne politics. “As mayor, much of my job is striking a balance between these competing priorities,” he wrote. “But what if I told you that sometimes, by thinking di.erently, we can avoid tradeo.s altogether?”
His answer: Envision Evanston.
A dense debate
“It’s not too o en that you come across a chance to advance so many di.erent priorities at the same time rather than having to choose between them,” Biss told e Daily on Jan. 9
Envision Evanston originally combined two items. It created a new comprehensive plan, which will guide city policymaking on everything from stormwater management to a racting families. And it rewrote the city’s zoning code, which dictates what sort of buildings can be built — and where. e mayor strongly argued for integrating both initiatives. Rezoning the city would “ensure that the comprehensive plan is actually followed through on,” he said.
e new zoning code would eliminate singlefamily zoning across the city, allowing up to fourplexes to rise where single-unit homes stand today.
e comprehensive plan further calls on allowing a wide range of housing in “all neighborhoods” and eliminating minimum parking requirements for new developments.
And the zoning code would loosen height requirements, meaning developers could propose a skyscraper of any height in parts of downtown Evanston, provided they adhere to oor-to-area ratios.
Envision Evanston’s convoluted plans arose from a similarly complex process. ough he has posed as the plan’s foremost spokesman, Biss said city sta. have created its nuts and bolts, such as the elimination of single-family zoning.
“I didn’t know for sure it was going to be four, as opposed to three or two, as opposed to di.erent numbers in di.erent kinds of places,” Biss said. “ at bubbled up from, again, a combination of the input we got from the community and the technical expertise of sta. and consultants.” Biss, too, stands among a number of Envision Evanston supporters. Evanston-based Connections for the Homeless has vocally advocated for the project, writing online that “by adding more homes, zoning reform means there are fewer losers in the housing game.”
A rising tide of residents swears otherwise.
At public meetings like ursday’s 1st Ward gathering, residents have argued that loosening zoning requirements would unleash pricey developers on once-quiet neighborhoods around the city. ey say that the changes will push out poorer longtime residents and fail to improve a.ordability.
“Evanston’s already very crowded by any reasonable standard,” Je. Smith, an a orney and Evanston resident, told e Daily. “Adding not only population to that plate, but mass, is likely to have immediate e.ects.”
ese residents see other avenues for building an a.ordable future for Evanston. In a statement to e Daily, Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) said the city should “establish mechanisms like land trusts or limitedequity co-ops to secure long-term a.ordability.” e debates over Envision Evanston metastasized far beyond the merits of increasing density. Several residents lambasted the process — originally hurtling toward a March deadline for adoption — as rushed and its outcomes as predetermined. ey rued what they see as a lack of transparency and hard data.
e mayor remained resolute. He recently told the Evanston RoundTable that “it is irresponsible — I would argue it’s immoral — to wait longer than necessary.”
“I do regret that turn of phrase,” Biss later told e Daily. “Hopefully, I’ll be more careful in this interview.”
But to Biss’ dissidents, the (ght of his political life had already begun.
Envision to division
Monday dealt a delay, if not a blow, to the mayor. Kelly, who helmed last week’s 1st Ward meeting
and pushed to slow down Envision Evanston, has long scorned Biss. e two sparred over Ryan Field. Kelly said Biss “mocked” her over discussions around relocating the Civic Center. eir divergent visions have extended to Envision Evanston.
“Calling residents ‘immoral’ for speaking up and challenging this inadequate, hurried and patched together comprehensive plan and zoning rewrite is counterproductive to cra ing a document that should re ect genuine community engagement and support,” she wrote to e Daily.
Several vocal residents argued that the original March adoption deadline, ahead of the April 1 municipal election, seemed overtly political. Resident Eric Herman (Weinberg ’)7), another Ryan Field foe, told e Daily that Biss is “not a guy who is receptive to dissenting points of view, and he is willing to become very sanctimonious when anyone resists him.”
On Monday, dozens of residents resisted, and the council obliged. e comprehensive plan will stick to the original timeline. But the council recommended that the zoning rewrite, now a separate item, be considered in August instead. Still, Biss struck a conciliatory tone during the meeting.
e mayor told e Daily on Tuesday that the council ultimately “struck a balance between two critical priorities: the need to do this right and acquire community input, and the need to act with urgency.”
Steve Hagerty, Biss’ mayoral predecessor, told e Daily that Biss likely “calculated” that his vision would eventually have to look di.erent. Boarini, meanwhile, lauded the decision — and the resistance.
“Mayor Biss was forced to back down last night from the rushed Envision Evanston timeline he was trying to impose on the City of Evanston,” Boarini
wrote in a statement. “Concerned Evanston residents made their voices heard. I hope that, going forward, he understands that honestly listening to constituents is be er than lecturing them on morality.”
When told Tuesday about his challenger’s statement, Biss laughed. He maintained that he, too, would applaud the council for the decision. And earlier, in response to Boarini’s December statement asking Biss to “stop and think” about Envision Evanston, the mayor hinted that his opponents had made it political.
“It’s a real shame to try to politicize this project,” Biss said last week. “Disappointing, honestly. You know, the politically safe thing to do is always nothing. I don’t think that’s what I was elected to do, though. I don’t think that’s what the people of Evanston want.”
Biss has meanwhile bolstered his six-(gure war chest. According to state records, recent donations include $6,900 from Chicago Cubs co-owner Laura Ricke s and $5,000 from the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council, a politically active builders union.
His upcoming campaign, Biss said, will re ect successfully pushing reforms, passing budgets without property tax increases and “making Evanston fun as well.”
Now he faces the task of convincing a city that spurned his vision for “urgent” action. The veteran political tactician has less than three months.
Dov Weinstein Elul and Hannah Webster contributed reporting.
shungraves2027@u.northwestern.edu
AUC ramps up programming ahead of
By MELODY XU
the dail( )orth,e-ter)
@_melodyxu
Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to o.ce Jan. 20, Northwestern’s Advancement for the Undocumented Community has more than quadrupled its number of events for undocumented students.
AUC aims to provide comfortable spaces for students with connections to undocumented status, co-president and Medill junior Maria Jose Arango said.
Arango said this is even more necessary considering Trump is returning to o.ce — and that these issues are close to her heart as a formerly undocumented person.
“I’m not undocumented anymore, but I was until I was 13 . I remember being so scared,” Arango said. “By Trump being president, I think he gives permission for people to be (insensitive) to other people who are of color like myself. Seeing how in the room (during meetings), other people are scared, I see how these spaces are so important.”
AUC is hosting ve events in January alone — though they had, until recently, planned about one event per quarter, including workshops and a free immigration consultation.
Faculty adviser and Weinberg Prof. Marcelo Vinces said AUC increased its number of events in January speci cally because Trump is taking o.ce. “ is will be a very hostile government to undocumented students and to international students,” Vinces said.
Weinberg junior and co-president Yoel Sanchez echoed this concern. Sanchez said AUC is continuing to broadcast information such as students’ rights and ways to respond when approached by law enforcement.
“I think Trump’s policies about undocumented individuals have been pretty loud on what he intends to do,” Sanchez said. “He wants as many people out of the country. He’s fine separating families, regardless of if kids have status or not. ” Sanchez said they are working on connecting with Chicago organizations — such as the HANA Center, which empowers Korean immigrants in Chicago. One of this month’s AUC events is a
term
workshop with HANA Center community organizer Glo Choi on Jan. 15 e HANA Center is an example of the diversity of undocumented people, according to Sanchez, which he says is o en misconstrued.
“I think there’s a growing idea that undocumentation mostly centers around Latino origin individuals,” Sanchez said. “I think just seeing the student body, the people who come to our meetings and then the people who are willing to support, there are stories that aren’t really told.”
AUC’s recent success has also been its co-creation of a new NU website sharing resources for the undocumented community.
Vinces said that the new website — which, coincidentally, came out on Election Day — was the culmination of years of collaboration with University departments.
“It’s one step in the right direction, but websites are only as good as the people behind those resources,” Vinces said. “Another big change is convening all of the people from all those resources that are listed there together, to make sure that we’re on the same page about how we communicate to students.”
Vinces said the club’s eyes will be on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which temporarily delays the deportation of undocumented people
who arrived in the U.S. as children. Since DACA is an executive order, it can be legally overturned at any time regardless of the election results, Vinces said. However, he said DACA cases will be more “up in the air” with Trump in o.ce. According to Arango, AUC welcomes all students, whether they’re undocumented, have familial connections to undocumented individuals or just want to be allies. AUC’s next event is its internship and job workshop for undocumented students on Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center.
melodyxu2027@u.northwestern.edu
Alexia Sextou/The Daily Northwestern
“ Tey asked me why I’m coming to America, if I have any family here, my fnancial situation and stuf like that,” Sodeif said. “I had all the right documentation and everything, so it felt excessive.”
In 2017, Trump ordered Travel Ban 3 0, which ultimately placed visa and entry restrictions on travelers from many Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including Syria and Iran.
Medill freshman Ali Mohammad, who is from Syria, said he is already facing travel restrictions because F-1 student visas are only granted for 90 days to Syrian citizens. Since his visa expired in October, he can legally remain in the U.S. but cannot return to Syria, he explained.
“When it comes to these next four years, I defnitely plan to lay low,” Mohammad said. “I don’t
GOFUNDME
From page 1
that raised me for the last four years, and I truly would not be who I am today without Pali and a lot of my friends live in the Palisades,” Onwaeze said. “It is just really sad to see all the homes go down and so many memories from this town, just all gone in two days, has been really painful.”
The experience of feeling helpless motivated the two freshmen to launch a GoFundMe in order to raise money for those affected by the fires.
All of the money raised is donated to the California Fire Foundation, an organization that provides emotional and financial support to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they serve.
“For the majority of the week, we felt very helpless,” Onwaeze said. “The fear and hopelessness still lingers in there, but with more support and the spread of awareness on this faster, I started to get better and gain more hope.”
RYAN FIELD
From page 1
Construction on the new Ryan Field has advanced briskly. After demolishing the 97 -year-old former football fortress early last
have the courage to go anywhere. I don’t have the courage to leave the U.S. I don’t have the courage to do any study abroad programs.”
Mohammad said this was a conscious decision given that a potential travel ban could mean a total inability to renew his F-1 visa if he were to leave the country.
After Trump claimed in his 2024 presidential campaign that he would bring back a travel ban “even bigger than before,” students said they now fear the potential policy may affect even more countries and even limit the number of international students attending U.S. colleges.
“I might stay here for the summer,” Sodeifi said. “It isn’t ideal, because I do want to see my friends and family and be back in my hometown, but (the potential travel ban) does change the course of plans I had arranged before.”
Some international students whose countries
So far, the two have raised more than $4 , 500 , but they have no plans to slow down. Their fundraising goal is $10 , 000
In the midst of this devastating tragedy, both Berman and Onwaeze said they encourage people to check on anyone they know from L.A. and donate to organizations supporting those affected.
“We’re already so humbled and honored by the way that the Northwestern community has come through for this initiative,” Berman said. “It’s been really incredible. I don’t think either of us thought it would get this far, but we’re excited about the opportunity to reach more people and hopefully help even more.”
For now, NU is working to support students affected by the fire by offering support and resources for those in need, according to a University spokesperson.
“NU will continue to monitor the situation and support our students and their families as they navigate these unprecedented events,” a University spokesperson said.
leahschroeder2026@u.northwestern.edu
year, the University plans to open the new Ryan Field in time for the 2026 football season.
It also plans to open the facility to public concerts, which drew harsh criticism from neighbors.
The debate before City Council in 2023 on whether to allow that change brought
were not listed in the previous travel ban — such as Greece and Brazil — also expressed feelings of insecurity about what to expect during Trump’s second term.
Weinberg sophomore Kalypso Tzimourtou, who is from Greece, said that while she didn’t adjust her travel plans after winter break, her brother — an international student at Boston University — is considering changing to an earlier flight.
Students also shared thoughts on their sense of belonging and safety on campus, specifically how their feelings may have changed since Trump was named president-elect.
“One of the moments I felt concerned about my safety here was after the Brazilian community and I had painted the Rock,” said Medill freshman Yamandú Capalbo, who hails from Brazil. “We had been there and 30 minutes later,
we saw the Rock’s live camera, and there was the MAGA sign over Brazil’s flag. So in that moment, I was like, ‘Okay, these people don’t want me.’”
When asked how NU could support international students during this time, Sodeifi said she’d prefer if the University contacted affected students. Sodeifi said she wished to have more guidance such as instructions about border control and resources on border documentation.
“I was hoping in the future, Northwestern would reach out to students, especially those from the Middle East, so that it can be easier to travel,” Sodeifi said. “Because I want to go back, I want to see my family and my friends, and be back in my hometown.”
alexiasextou2028@u.northwestern.edu
town-gown rifts to Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center. Many residents organized over their shared complaints against NU’s commercial plans, and Most Livable City emerged to lead the eventual legal opposition.
The group, which often blasts Biss on social
WEEKLY CROSSWORD
Purple Pride
By: Henry Frieman
media, has also issued endorsements for the April municipal election. They include Jeff Boarini for mayor, Thomas Suffredin for the 6 th Ward and Parielle Davis for the 7 th. shungraves2027@u.northwestern.edu
Illustration by Alexia Sextou
Many international students said their sense of belonging and safety on campus has changed since Trump was named president-elect.
District 65 Board hears Reduction Plan options
By ANAVI PRAKASH daily senior staffer @anavi_52
Te Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education heard four options for the district’s Structural Defcit Reduction Plan at its Commitee of the Whole meeting Monday.
Te plan started in February 2024, when the district reduced its spending by $6 5 million for fscal year 2025 Te rest of the plan is made up of three phases, which run through fscal year 2027 Phase 1 included a hiring freeze and the development of the SDRP’s framework.
Te plan is currently in Phase 2, where the board will determine its plan to cut $13 2 million — the defcit for the 2025 budget — in spending with the help of stakeholder input. Te district will hold three community engagement sessions from Jan. 15 to 17. Phase 3 focuses on sustainability and avoiding a budget defcit.
Susan Harkin, a Student-Centered Services consultant for the district, presented four scenarios to reduce spending in the district and emphasized that each one was created in “the most humane way possible.”
None of the scenarios impact social-emotional learning resources, mental health resources, resources for students on individualized education programs or resources for students who are English language learners, said Superintendent Angel Turner, who held the creation of these scenarios.
“ Tis team did a really amazing job to ensure we preserved a lot of things that I believe are the identity of Evanston,” Harkin said. “ Tis could be a lot worse.”
With every scenario, the district would remove all bus aides except for those approved through individualized education programs or 504 plans. It would also consolidate bus routes and eliminate afer-school, summer school and non-mandatory preschool routes.
District 65 would also see a 10% reduction of supplies, a 50% reduction in summer learning programs, a 5% reduction of “other objects” and the elimination of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief-funded Academic Skill Centers. It also would eliminate purchased service contracts that have minimal impact on student learning.
Te diference between each scenario lies in the staf positions it would cut, which determines how much of a spending reduction would be generated.
Scenario 1 eliminates 72 5 full-time equivalent positions across the district’s central ofce and non direct instruction staf and follows new guidelines for class size. Tis scenario reduces district spending by $15 2 million. Scenario 2 cuts 76 full-time equivalent positions, reducing spending by $15 6 million.
Scenario 3 decreases the number of non-direct instructors more signifcantly to eliminate 80 5 full-time equivalent positions and reduce spending by $16 1 million. Scenario 4 cuts 79 full-time equivalent positions, but cuts some social-emotional learning staf positions, which none of the other scenarios do, Harkin said. Te scenario reduces district spending by $15 5 million.
Turner said positions were reduced based on the state’s evidence-based funding model, which determines how schools are allocated state funds. Te model predicts the number of positions a school should have based on its enrollment, she said. Turner added that this shif from a “one-sizefts-all” model allows the district to personalize the needs of each school.
“Our goal is to not just do this for the sake of ‘Hey, we’re in Phase 2, and we need to do a plan,’” Turner said. “What does long-term sustainability look like in this district moving forward as we reimagine what we will look like?”
Board member Omar Salem said he would like to fgure out ways to reduce costs in areas such as purchased services to retain more student-facing staf positions. Board member Donna Wang Su echoed this sentiment as she said position cuts have
external impacts on educators’ families.
Board President Sergio Hernandez said preserving preschool bus routes was important for him because one of the district’s goals is to close learning gaps and District 65’s preschool programs are primarily geared toward marginalized populations.
Board member Joey Hailpern emphasized that while there are several aspects of the plans the board would rather avoid cuting, the SDRP is how the board can start “righting our wrong.”
“We have lived outside of our means,” Hailpern said. “As a board, we have not forced that situation to correct itself. It’s not coldhearted. Tese are people. But we have to do this. Tings have to change.”
anaviprakash2027@u.northwestern.edu
Daily file photo by Seeger Gray
District 65’s four Structural Deficit Reduction Plan options impact the number of staf positions and transportation available in the district.
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
QB Jack Lausch to join NU baseball for ’25 season
By HENRY FRIEMAN daily senior staffer @HenryFrieman
In the ten games he started this season, Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch took a beating.
Te grind on the gridiron through a college football season is no small task. From enduring hits from the fercest defensive linemen the Big Ten has to ofer to explosive tackles while stretching for the frst down marker on a scramble, Lausch has seen his fair share of bruises. But come springtime, as a new season glimmers on the horizon, Lausch won’t have to worry about taking any more proverbial punches.
Well, unless you count pitches too close to the belt.
Coach Ben Greenspan announced Lausch as an outfelder on the NU baseball squad for the 2025 season via a press release Monday. Lausch will remain on the Wildcats football team and plans
to continue practicing with the group through spring.
“Jack is an elite athlete with a highlevel skillset and has an opportunity to make an immediate impact,” Greenspan said in the release. “His leadership qualities and character atributes are exactly what we look for in players, and we are thrilled to have Jack as part of our program.”
Te Chicago native, who started all but two games this football season as NU’s signal caller, threw for 1714 yards and seven touchdowns while tossing eight interceptions. Lausch also rushed for 213 yards and two scores.
Tis spring, the tight spirals will be crow hops from the outfeld. Te scrambles for frst downs will be sprints to frst base.
A three-sport athlete at Brother Rice Christian Academy, Lausch was the No. 23-ranked outfelder in the 2022 class and a top-250 MLB prospect. He received ofers from baseball blue-bloods such as Vanderbilt, Texas and Notre Dame.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
“Te best practice for the fourth quarter of a football game is hiting with two outs in the seventh inning with guys on base,” Lausch told Te Daily last fall. “Just being in a competitive atmosphere helps you be a beter player, regardless of the sport.”
Lausch’s monumental senior season yielded 2022 Chicago Catholic League Baseball Player of the Year honors. He hit 386, mashing fve home runs and bating in 43 runs on top of stealing 33 bases in his senior season.
Te signature moment of Lausch’s high school career, which caused his phone to ring of the hook with calls from scouts and recruiters, came in a tournament against the best high school team in the country. Knoted up 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth, Lausch smashed a walkof home run. His teammates mobbed him at home plate as Brother Rice took down No. 1 IMG Academy 7-5
While Lausch commited to Notre Dame for baseball in June 2021, he found a true passion for playing football and
Doubles lineups still uncertain
By ELI KRONENBERG
daily senior staffer
@EliKronenberg
Northwestern women’s tennis
Head Coach Claire Pollard lef Friday’s exhibition match against Notre Dame with some thinking to do.
“I honestly do not have a clue what to do in doubles yet,” Pollard said.
Te Wildcats won two of the four doubles matches they played on the day. Te pairings of graduate student Britany Lau and freshman Maia Loureiro, as well as freshman Erica Jessel and junior Jennifer Riester, each won their sets, yet Pollard came away taking responsibility for not maximizing the talent at her disposal.
“Our doubles, I need to do beter,” Pollard, entering her 27th year at the helm of ’Cats tennis, said. “I spent most of the singles thinking about doubles. I don’t know that I’m any of the wiser, but I’ll get there.”
NU’s success last season could be signifcantly atributed to its strength in doubles — the team went 21-6 in doubles points, meaning it usually only needed three singles wins to emerge victorious.
Tis year, the ’Cats will need to f ll the void lef behind by their graduating seniors — including both parts of last season’s No. 1 pairing, Christina Hand and Justine Leong, and fourtime All-Big Ten player Maria Shusharina, who fnished the dual season a remarkable 18-2 in doubles (topped only by her regular partner Lau, who went 19-1).
In the fall, NU found great success with the pairing of Lau and freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman. Lau and Dagan Fruchtman reached the semi fnals of both the ITA Midwest Regional and ITA Central Sectional, just one win short of qualifying for the 2024 NCAA Doubles Tournament. Against Notre Dame, Pollard split the two up, opting to put Dagan Fruchtman alongside sophomore Neena Feldman. Yet, Pollard indicated that might not be a long-term decision.
“I like Brit and Mika,” Pollard said. “We know that’s good, so I don’t really need to see that anymore.”
On Saturday, Lau and Dagan Fruchtman were back together for another exhibition match against Colorado, losing a tight set 6-4. Feldman and senior Kiley Rabjohns won their set 6-1, while Jessel and senior Sydney Prat won 6-4
Afer that match, Pollard confrmed she was happier with the pairings this time around.
“ Tat was much more like it,” she said.
On her singles lineup, Pollard was coy. When asked if she had an idea of how the lineup was starting to take shape, Pollard told Te Daily: “I do, but I’m not gonna tell you. Tey need to hear it before you guys.”
With NU’s top three singles players all graduating at the end of last season, an opportunity has emerged for established players and freshmen alike to step up to a top spot.
Dagan Fruchtman is the biggest wildcard. Te 21-year-old is a freshman in name only — having joined the ’Cats’ roster afer completing mandatory service in the Israeli military, she has made appearances for her country’s Billie Jean King Cup team, the highest level of international team competition.
Dagan Fruchtman was not able to play singles on Friday or Saturday afer spraining a ligament in her lef foot in the fall, but indicated to Te Daily she would be ready to go for next Saturday’s season opener against Butler.
Afer the Notre Dame match, Pollard played up Dagan Fruchtman’s importance to the team in singles.
“Mika didn’t play singles, which obviously changes our lineup dramatically,” she said.
On Saturday, Pollard made a similar proclamation about Rabjohns, who also only played doubles against Colorado. “We played without Mika and Kiley, so I mean that changes a lot of people’s roles,” she said.
drew the atention of former NU head coach Pat Fitzgerald. He fipped his commitment in December 2021 and has been a ’Cat since.
Lausch is NU’s frst baseball-football dual-sport athlete since Dan Kubiuk played for both programs in 2015-16
Beyond those two, Prat also fgures to feature in the lineup afer riding a strong start to last season at the No. 6 and No. 5 spots to moving up as high as No. 3. Lau is the team’s most experienced player, having played four years at Brown before transferring to NU last year and fnishing with a 9-4 dual season singles record, mostly at No. 6
“I think everyone’s always wanting to move up,” Lau said of the lineup.
“I’m just focusing on myself and really being able to become the best player I can, and hopefully the results follow and the lineup follows.”
Lau mostly split the No. 6 spot last year with Feldman, who recovered from a singles loss against Notre Dame with an impressive 6-4, 6-4 win against Colorado’s Ema Bubalo.
Perhaps the star of the weekend was sophomore Autumn Rabjohns — Kiley’s sister — who won her singles matches on Friday and Saturday. Against Notre Dame, she won 7 -5 , 7-5 against Bianca Molnar, a fve-star recruit freshman who she handily lost to in the fall.
Autumn Rabjohns sat out last year’s dual season, but said she has gained more clarity in her game in recent months.
“We’re always competing,” Autumn Rabjohns said. “Either way, I just wanna be the best teammate I can be — whether it’s down here or up there.”
When asked if Autumn Rabjohns was in her plans this time around, Pollard reiterated her policy of secrecy surrounding the lineup.
“I think all 10 players deserve a look,” she said.
elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
Te ’Cats kick of their baseball season on Friday, Feb. 14, when they travel to Long Beach, California, to take on Long Beach State in a weekend series. Jake Epstein contributed reporting. henryfieman2027@u.northwestern.edu
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Late push falls short in third straight loss
By AUDREY PACHUTA daily senior staffer
@AudreyPachuta
Ahead of Northwestern’s Sunday morning clash with No. 16 Michigan State, coach Chris Collins joked at a Friday press conference that he had burned the film from his team’s most recent loss to No. 20 Purdue and was eager to see his group bounce back from what he called a “disappointing day.”
But with 2 : 57 left in the first half Sunday and the Spartans ( 14 - 2 , 5 - 0 Big Ten) up by 22 , it became clear that another lopsided loss was in the cards for the Wildcats ( 10 - 6 , 1 - 4 Big Ten). Collins’ hopes for improvement in NU’s week off after falling to Penn State and Purdue seemed increasingly out of reach. By the final buzzer, the visitors had handed the ’Cats a 78 - 68 loss — their first double-digit defeat at home since NU fell to Michigan in February 2023
“I’m just not pleased with the breakdowns we’re having in the games,” Collins said after the loss. “Our guys are doing a great job in practice, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not carrying that over for 40 minutes of the game.”
After being held to a scoreless first half against Purdue last week, junior forward Nick Martinelli came out firing from the opening tip against Michigan State Sunday, scoring NU’s first six points on his signature floater on his way to a team-high of 27 points.
Following Martinelli’s first three field goals, a dunk by graduate student center Matthew Nicholson and back-to-back buckets for graduate student guard Jalen Leach, the ’Cats found themselves up by five after five minutes of game time.
Less than two minutes later, the Spartans unleashed a lethal 27 - 5 run that included a nearly five-minute scoring drought for NU. By then, Michigan State was up 43 - 21 and the ’Cats’ early momentum had evaporated. By the end of the half, NU had trimmed the deficit to 19 but was eviscerated on both ends of the court by a dominant Spartan squad that was shooting 62 1% from the field, compared to the hosts’ 32 3%
At the break, the Spartan bench had already racked up 24 points, while Collins’s entire team had only managed 28 — 13 of which were from Martinelli. Senior guard Brooks Barnhizer, who averages 19 3 points per game, was held scoreless in the first 20 minutes.
Graduate student guard Ty Berry opened the second half by scoring for the ’Cats on a breakaway layup — his only points of the game in 16 minutes of play. When NU beat the Spartans at home just more than a year ago, Berry led the team with 22 points, but as Berry has struggled to produce any sort of significant output in recent contests, he’s taken a reduced role. In the team’s last three losses, Berry has played less than 20 minutes a game and has scored just five points.
Barnhizer scored his first points with 13 : 56 left to play. He finished the game with just four points — his lowest scoring total since NU lost to UCLA in the second round of March Madness during his sophomore season.
While NU was never able to threaten a serious comeback, it was able to shrink what had been a 22 -point deficit into single digits by the game’s final minutes.
The ’Cats forced eight Spartan turnovers in the second half, compared to just three in the first. Leach had 10 second-half points and Martinelli added 14 . No one else had more than five.
“It’s just about getting stops,” Leach said postgame. “That’s the only reason why we got back in the game, to be honest with you, we just got stops and we were more aggressive.”
With 4 : 18 remaining, Nicholson exited the game with an injury and graduate student center Keenan Fitzmorris played the game’s final minutes. Fitzmorris had already seen a season-high minutes Sunday as the ’Cats were without redshirt sophomore forward Luke Hunger, who also missed the game with a foot injury.
Following three consecutive losses, Collins’s squad will look to regroup ahead of its next home game against Maryland Thursday.
“There are still 15 games to go, but it starts with finding a way to win on Thursday night,” Collins said.
Henry Frieman/The Daily Northwestern
Sophomore Neena Feldman serves against Notre Dame as her partner freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman awaits at the net.
Daily file photo by Henry Frieman
Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch celebrates afer beating Purdue in overtime last fall. Lausch will join Northwestern baseball as an outfielder for the 2025 season.