The Daily Northwestern Friday, March 8, 2019
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 12 SPORTS/Basketball
5 CAMPUS/Research
NU falls in second round of tournament
Northwestern researchers create sensor to track premature newborns’ vital signs
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Saying goodbye to the Opinion section
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SEEKING A LEGACY As the Multicultural Greek Council evolves, students still face institutional hurdles, lack of name recognition By RISHIKA DUGYALA
daily senior staffer @rdugyala822
This is the first story of a two-part series on the majority-POC Greek councils. The second part will focus on the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which is composed of historically African-American sororities and fraternities. Yuri Villa wanted no part of Greek life. Unaffordable fees, social events, pressure to live in a common house — that’s what she imagined of “mainstream” sorority and fraternity culture. Villa initially dealt with impostor syndrome, the feeling that the Northwestern experience wasn’t meant for her. As a Latina, she searched for a space to interact with people who would
understand her cultural references, focus on uplifting the Latinx community and believe in the same issues with the same rigor (like, Villa said, protesting a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement public relations officer visiting campus in May 2017). She found that space late freshman year after joining the NU chapter of Lambda Theta Alpha, the nation’s first Latina sorority. At Northwestern, it’s one of six active Latinx, Asian and multicultural service-social organizations that make up the Multicultural Greek Council. Northwestern’s MGC was founded in 2002 by multicultural fraternity Omega Delta Phi and Latina-interest sororities Lambda Theta Alpha and Sigma » See IN FOCUS, page 6
Finding footing as Police officers mentor young men low-income at NU Officer and Gentlemen Academy rallies community around youth Students struggle with school’s culture of wealth By LINNEA LIPSON
the daily northwestern
Communication first-year Brett Mayfield grew up in Welch, Oklahoma, a small town of about 600 people, where it was normal to have few clothes. At Northwestern, Mayfield soon realized that his new friends found it strange that he wore the same few outfits. When one of his professors commented on him wearing the same thing everyday, his classmates chimed in. “It was kind of embarrassing,” Mayfield said. “I guess people thought I was messy or something. Like I didn’t take care of myself, but it’s just because I can’t afford a ton of clothes.” The social culture of NU is challenging to keep up with for low-income students like Mayfield. At least 66 percent of Northwestern students had come from families from the top 20 percent of the income distribution, according to the most recent data collected in 2017 by the Equality of Opportunity Project, which can create an environment filled with a set of norms and social practices that are unfamiliar to low-income students.
Finding his voice
Mayfield said he struggles to afford going out to socialize with his friends. Often, he said that he gets to know new people but they begin to push away when he can’t afford to go out.
“I do feel like a burden sometimes,” Mayfield said, “Like I’m just being the bummer of the group.” This feeling led Mayfield to share more about his background on Twitter. “by low-income, i mean that my family hit the poverty bracket this year; our crop failed for the 4th year in a row on our farm,” the post read, accompanied with a picture of Mayfield in a purple NU sweater and black jeans. “this is what i wear every day, not only because i love NU, but because it’s pretty much all i have.” The thread, which currently has 1,730 likes and 345 retweets as of Thursday night, pushed Twitter users to offer an outpour of support, from money to clothes and school and home supplies. “I didn’t really want that to happen,” Mayfield said. “I mean, it’s a nice offer. I don’t want to seem like a charity. The point of the post was not really ‘Someone help me out and buy me clothes.’ My hope was not only that people would start treating me differently for wearing the same thing, or not being able to afford to go out, but also that we would be more aware of that in general.”
A space for support
Mayfield’s experience is one example of the many struggles low-income students encounter at NU. Although members of the Quest+ community, which includes not only QuestBridge scholars but all first-generation/ low-income students as well, are » See LOW-INCOME, page 8
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
By SYD STONE
daily senior staffer @sydstone16
Growing up in a single-parent household in Chicago’s south suburbs, Evanston Police Department Officer Adam Howard lacked a positive male figure. To him, being a role model for Evanston’s youth is deeply personal. “I’ve learned so much about myself in working with the young men,” Howard said. “These young men, they depend on us for social and emotional support. And for some, we’re father figures.” When Howard co-founded the Officer and Gentlemen Academy with Nichols Middle School Principal Adrian Harries, Howard wanted to “break the barriers” between police officers and the black community in Evanston, starting with young black men. Now in its third year, OGA works with middle and high school students to minimize disparities in education and empower young men. “One of the things that I witnessed in our community is a lack of direction, particularly for young black men,” Howard said. “Throughout my career I have observed a number of young men just lose their lives to the streets, get involved with the wrong crowd, start hanging with people that just have a negative impact on (their) decision-making.”
A need for male mentorship
While the program is open to students of all races, Howard said he wanted to initially focus on young black men who were
disproportionately struggling academically compared to their white counterparts. According to the Evanston/ Skokie School District 65 2017 Achievement & Accountability Report, only 30.6 percent of black students met the reading college readiness benchmark compared to 83.7 percent of white students, and only 22 percent of black students met the math benchmark compared to 80.2 percent of white students. Howard said the current climate and “historical barriers” between the police and black communities have given these kids a negative perception of law enforcement. OGA, he said, allows young people to develop their own perception of police officers based on personal experiences. Howard, who has been an officer for 11 years and was one
of last year’s Officers of the Year, said OGA leads lessons on topics like conflict resolution and accountability.
Expanding the Officer and Gentlemen Academy
The group now meets about once a week after school at the Evanston Township High School Transition House on Lemar Avenue. The lessons range from how to tie a necktie to financial literacy. In its first year, OGA was only open to students at Nichols Middle School. It then expanded the program to include all District 65 middle schools, and the first class of OGA students are now freshmen at ETHS. Tre Wright was in that first class. Wright, 14, started the program when he was in seventh grade at Nichols and is currently running to be president of his
OGA class. Howard said Wright gave “an amazing speech” as a candidate. In his speech, Wright talked about his communication skills and the respect and responsibility he’s learned from OGA. “I feel like my brothers can come to me when they need something,” he said. “I feel like I’ve matured as a leader.” Officer Ervin de Leon, Howard’s partner at the EPD, said OGA organizers are constantly reevaluating the program to ensure it benefits and engages all students. He said it’s his responsibility to give the students the confidence to be leaders in the community. “We want every one of these men have a voice, and even if they’re uncomfortable voicing their opinion, it’s important for » See OFFICER, page 8
Alec Carroll/ Daily Senior Staffer
EPD officer Ervin de Leon and Adam Howard pose with ETHS freshmen Demetrius Campbell, Tre Wright and Michael Burrell. The three students are “big brothers” in the Officer and Gentlemen Academy and serve as mentors for the younger students.
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