The Monthly - October 10, 2019 by The Daily Northwestern

October 2019

Sweet Like Honey

The student band hopes to bring its unique sound to the top of the charts p.5

‘Stupid Little Funny Videos’ How two comedians journeyed from Northwestern to Twitter stardom p.8

Don’t You Forget About Me RIP New Student Dance A John Hughes Tour of Evanston p.10

Only ’90s kids remember the New Student Dance p.12

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CONTENTS Staff of The Monthly

Sweet Like Honey, Smooth Like Butter

‘Stupid Little Funny Videos’

Don’t You Forget About Me

RIP New Student Dance

Open Tab

Reel Thoughts

Issue 22

Maddie Burakoff Catherine Kim Alex Schwartz Monthly Editors Kristina Karisch Roxanne Panas Designers Ally Mauch Owen Stidman Charlotte Walsh Writers

Cover photo: Evan RobinsonJohnson/Daily Senior Staffer

Editors:

My love for journalism, my dedication to The Daily Northwestern –– it all began with arts and entertainment. My second article ever for the publication was about “NSFW,” a student play by Spectrum Theatre Company that tackled sexual consent and female objectification in the media. The production was put on during a time when rape culture was the dominant subject of discussion during the 2016 election, and as a wide-eyed freshman, I was simply amazed by the show’s fearless approach toward tackling such a sensitive subject. I wanted to learn more about the passionate student entertainers on campus, which is why I became assistant A&E editor. Since then, I’ve taken on a string of different responsibilities: web editor, development and recruitment editor, campus editor. Now as a senior in my last quarter at The Daily, I’ve returned to my roots as an editor of The Monthly. And I’m not the only one who has grown over the past three years. Northwestern’s art community is so much more vibrant than when I was a freshman, with talented groups like PROM D8, Honey Butter and Debbie-Marie Brown & Co. Then again, maybe I’ve just learned where to look for good performers. If anything, I hope I can share the amazing talent I’ve witnessed on campus with all of you in the next few issues. — Catherine Kim When the going gets extra tough at Northwestern, it’s hard to remember that people actually survive this place and go on to be genuinely successful at their crafts. That’s why I get so excited when I see a famous person mention Northwestern or notice a flash of NU memorabilia in a viral video. Watching talented alumni succeed — whether in spite of Northwestern or because of it, or a little bit of both — gives me hope for the future and just a little bit of pride in this admittedly flawed institution. Talking to Nick Lehmann and Eva Victor — two comedians who’ve reached nearly untouchable status — made me realize that, not long ago, these people were in my shoes. Granted, I’ll never act in a sketch, do stand-up or write my own television show, but I stress about my future every second of every day, just as they did when they walked this campus. I worry whether I’ve made the most of my time here: Have I met the right people? Have I produced my best work? Have I learned how to work toward my goals while still taking time for myself? No matter how successful they are now, I’d bet every person who passed through this campus has felt that way before they graduated. Northwestern’s pre-professional culture is pervasive, to our detriment as well as our benefit. It teaches us the importance of strong personal relationships, hard work and discovering our passions. But it also asks us to devalue ourselves in pursuit of commodifying our talents and creating livelihoods from them. Where art — the channeling of human emotion into something many can share — is concerned, that’s a particular drawback. When you ask an artist what piece they’re most proud of, it’s not always the one that went viral or made the most money. But when you can do what you love, impact people in a real way and survive under unjust conditions, you can’t help but feel successful. For now, that’s the ideal we Wildcats strive toward — but it shouldn’t be the only one. Just know that whether or not you tweet something viral, win an award or become the next Stephen Colbert, success is whatever you define it to be. — Alex Schwartz The Monthly has often served as a cool way for us student reporters to get to talk to awesome celebs. Our writers have interviewed Seth Meyers, John Krasinski, Gillian Flynn and Meryl Streep (not to flex). As a bit of a theater nerd myself, I loved getting to interview a bunch of NU grads who made it to Broadway for my first-ever Monthly story. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with recognizing all the great stuff making big waves in the culture at large, and I’ll personally fight anyone who tries to say that just because something is popular or “mainstream” means it isn’t good. But this quarter, even though we definitely wouldn’t say no to an interview with, like, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, we want to also make sure we’re highlighting art from all different sources — whether that’s a Broadway stage or Shanley Pavilion, an Oscar-winning movie or a Twitter video. So many students at this school constantly produce amazing, inspiring work, even though they might not be famous (yet!). And even those who aren’t involved in what we traditionally think of as “the arts” still find ways to be creative and bring their unique perspectives to light. We want to recognize that capital-A “Art” — the kind that gets put on a pedestal, analyzed in film class, think-pieced into oblivion — isn’t the only kind that matters. So, NU: Keep creating, whatever that means to you. — Maddie Burakoff

sweet like honey,

smooth like butter

by Maddie Burakoff

The student band, which released its first two singles this summer, hopes to bring its unique sound to the top of the charts

n a rainy fall night, a warm candlelight flickers on the brick-lined walls as around 50 audience members fill the music hall at Evanston SPACE. The low buzz of conversation turns into cheers as the six members of Honey Butter trot onstage and station themselves among a slew of instruments: Sam Wolsk on keys and trumpet, Austin Klewan on sax, Oliver Holden-Moses on drums, Jacob Galdes on guitar, George Estey on the bass, and Alexa Moster front and center on lead vocals. For the next couple of hours, the group fills the room with smooth music — a blend of R&B, soul, jazz and pop influences. Honey Butter, the eclectic band formerly known as Wop St. Bass Ritual, got its start jamming in basements around Evanston. Among Northwestern students, they’re probably best known for performing at Dillo Day 2018 and providing the “one-third rock and roll” for Mee-Ow last Winter Quarter. Now, though, the group is hoping to break out of the student band bubble and into the professional music industry. They’ve been performing at venues across Evanston and Chicago, and independently released two original singles over the summer: “Pages” and “The Answer,” which have collectively racked up more than 80,000 streams on Spotify so far. “It’s funny. If you’d asked me, like, three months ago, I would have been like, ‘I have no idea (about the band’s

future),’” said Moster, a Communication junior. “And now I feel like all of us see this as a real-life career possibility. We’re hoping to play music festivals, we’re hoping to release more music, to play bigger venues — to kind of do this for real.” *** Galdes originally rounded up the band — or at least the first iteration of it — to play a The .WAV Company show in the Ski House basement during his freshman year, an effort that basically amounted to him texting a bunch of people he knew from the Bienen School of Music jazz program. “We’d like to just hang out and jam and make stuff up. That was what we would do for fun. So I was like, ‘I might as well ask these guys,’” the Weinberg junior said. “That was the genesis of all of it. We had one rehearsal, we’re like, ‘Alright, we’re gonna play this song, this song we’ll just pass around the solos and it’ll be really fun.’” Since then, the band has gone through a few shifts in membership. Though HoldenMoses, Klewan and Estey have been around since the first basement show, two of the other original members ended up transferring out of Northwestern. Wolsk joined the group for its Dillo Day performance and eventually came on full-time. Moster was the last piece of the puzzle. Last spring, the band was in need of a lead singer after its former vocalist, Ogi Ifediora, started focusing on her own music career. They brought Moster onboard after seeing her sing with THUNK a cappella at a charity showcase, which also featured a Honey Butter performance. “(Alexa) came out and started singing, and we all looked at each other like, ‘Who’s that?’ She was tearing it up,” Galdes said. “Then she came up after we played and she’s like, ‘You

guys are awesome,’ and we’re like, ‘You’re awesome!’ And the rest is history.” The name is another story. The group was briefly known as the Jacob Galdes Jazz Band (something Galdes said the other group members have never let him live down), and then switched over to Wop St. Bass Ritual, which was born out of an elaborate inside joke. They ultimately rebranded to the shorter, snappier Honey Butter earlier this year, after many rounds of mixing and matching different words on a whiteboard. “It kind of grew on us,” Galdes said. “We’ve kind of filled out the shoes of what that means — like, a smooth sound, maybe a little bit of old-time influence.” Aside from Moster, who is a theater major, everyone in Honey Butter is currently in the Bienen jazz department or was at some point. Though they don’t advertise themselves as a jazz group, Holden-Moses said that their backgrounds definitely play a role in their music — particularly at Honey Butter’s live shows, which leave a lot of room for improvisation. Giving band members room to riff creates an “organic element” in each performance, Holden-Moses said. That means no two Honey Butter shows will ever be exactly the same. “It was definitely an adjustment for me to be in a room with five jazz musicians,” Moster said. “In theater, everything is very scripted. You walk on stage, and you read the text, and you do the play. Whereas with this, it’s completely creative… It’s a lot of collaboration and listening.” Beyond jazz, the band members cite a wide variety of musical influences. Soul legend Stevie Wonder is high on everyone’s list, Holden-Moses said, as are soul-pop group Lawrence, R&B artist D’Angelo and singersongwriter John Mayer. But each member adds their own eclectic tastes. Holden-Moses admits he sometimes ends up going down random musical rabbit holes, like when he once became obsessed with a bunch of 12th-century French composers. “We really align with lyricism and being able to being able to produce things that are really sweet and nice on your ears,”

Holden-Moses said. “But we also have different sides of us that are a little bit more raw and emotional and erratic … We take a whole bunch of stuff from a whole bunch of different places.” While they started off performing mostly covers, Holden-Moses said the group now focuses on original music. He and Galdes collaborated on a lot of the band’s early originals, including their first two singles, which were written in their respective hometowns of Norman, Oklahoma, and San Francisco. At this point, though, Holden-Moses said every member of Honey Butter is involved with the songwriting process — sometimes writing on their own, other times coming together to flesh out an original. For Holden-Moses, the songwriting process is an important chance to share a piece of his own story with the world.

“

What I love about performing is sharing: I love being able to give a piece of myself to other people. Oliver Holden-Moses, Bienen junior

“I’m a performer. I’ve never seen anything else that I want to do. And what I love about performing is sharing: I love being able to give a piece of myself to other people,” Holden-Moses said. “It’s a lot like having a conversation with a really trusted friend. I need to feel like I have a way of expressing myself and being heard, and that’s a lot easier than, like, yelling about your problems in the street.” A track that’s especially close to HoldenMoses’ heart is titled “Gentle Rain,” which he said is about a difficult personal relationship that defined his childhood. When the band breaks into that song at their SPACE show, the crowd grows quiet. Everyone seems to lean into the stage as

Honey Butter moves through the intensely personal track (“Why must you call me names? / Why must you make me feel ashamed? … Just think of me / I’ll be your gentle rain”), complete with a nearly three-minute-long guitar solo from Galdes. Once the song comes to a close, the crowd breaks into roaring applause. “If you guys look under your seats, you’ll see a box of tissues,” Klewan quips. “Don’t be afraid to break them out.” *** Moving forward, Galdes said the band is juggling a lot of different priorities. They’re looking to continue doing shows in different venues and building relationships with other Chicagoland musicians, while also continuing to write, rehearse and record new music. They’ve even stepped up their fashion, and Moster said she’s become a bit of an unofficial style adviser for the group. Though they don’t necessarily have a single, unified style, she said she tries to help everyone feel confident in their unique concert looks — whether it’s head-to-toe snake print or a retro bowling shirt. “I probably have collectively over 100 outfit pictures from the guys combined,” Moster said. “A large part of music is aesthetic, fortunately or unfortunately, right? When you’re onstage, how you present is a part of the story you’re trying to tell.” The band’s current goal is to release an EP sometime next month, Moster said, with a full album planned for the spring. After that, the band hopes to spend the summer on tour, looking to venture outside the Chicago area. When asked about their visions for the ultimate future of the band, Honey Butter’s members don’t play down their ambitions. Galdes says performing at San Francisco

music festival Outside Lands is a personal dream; Holden-Moses brings up Coachella, “Saturday Night Live,” Madison Square Garden –– maybe even a Grammy. But no matter where Honey Butter ends up as a band, its members said they’re in it for the long haul. “I guess that’s the most encompassing view of what I want it to be for the future: I want it to be my life,” Holden-Moses said. “Of course, I would love to really succeed, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen. But I’m having fun making music with my favorite people. And as long as we can continue doing that, I would love to keep doing it.” In the same vein, Galdes said the things he really values about being in Honey Butter are the personal relationships he’s formed with his bandmates and the experience of performing alongside them. Of course, fame and fortune would be cool, he said, but that’s not why he does it. “There’s no feeling like being on stage and just letting fly. Like, everything you’ve been thinking about and feeling, just let it out,” Galdes said. “When you have good musicians backing you up, then the world is your oyster.” ◊

Scan this code with your smartphone camera to watch our video of Honey Butter’s song “Pages”

Evan Robinson-Johnson/Daily Senior Staffer

alloween gays have a hero in serial screamer Nick Lehmann, a 26-year-old actor and writer who had folks around the world in stitches after a video of him being spooked dozens of times over went viral on Twitter in September. Jackson Rickun, Lehmann’s best friend, recorded himself scaring the Los Angeles resident over the course of a year and posted a compilation of his yelps in an endearing (and hilarious) birthday tribute. Lehmann’s high-pitched shrieks –– prompted by Rickun’s shouts, friends appearing in a doorway and sometimes nothing at all –– amassed over 200,000 likes and over 51,000 retweets at the time of publication. The video captured the attention of folks like Ellen DeGeneres and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and catapulted Lehmann to Twitter icon status. There are definitely worse birthday presents. Just as he’s always been gay and easily scared, Lehmann (Communication ’16) has always been funny. Since graduating, he’s worked his way up the L.A. entertainment ladder, created a popular web series and, most recently, had a show idea about a gay father who comes out to his already out-and-proud gay son picked up by NBC.

What drew you to Northwestern? I have an older brother who went to Northwestern — he was a senior when I was a freshman. As I got older and got closer to going to college, I was visiting Northwestern all the time. And because of that, I went to the Cherubs theater program the summer before my senior year. I wanted to go to Northwestern so badly.

The poor freshmen stuck in Jones right now are dying to know which dorm you lived in. I was in Bobb my freshman year, third

floor. My brother was in Bobb his freshman and sophomore year, and he was actually the president. After I got into Northwestern, the next thing I needed to get into was Bobb.

What kinds of things were you involved in on campus? It was definitely one of those things freshman year where I came in, I was confident, I applied to all these theater boards and different groups. And I kind of got into nothing. I did get into the Titanic Players, which was huge in my time at Northwestern. The comedy community there — it’s a big part of the reason I do what I do now.

You knew you always wanted to be an actor, but did you always know you wanted to pursue comedy specifically? I knew that I loved comedy, but I also loved dramatic acting, so I did both at Northwestern, but it’s very hard to break into the industry, which is kind of why I started writing. Also, I’m a gay man. I was being placed in all these boxes of, “You can only play a gay man,” which I don’t think is true. So I started writing for myself.

A big part of your popularity on Twitter came from that screaming video. Have you always been that easily spooked? Are your vocal cords OK? Yes. I’m still a petrified little boy. If a fork drops, I scream. If a door closes, I scream.

Did you expect the video to go viral after Jackson tweeted it? No. I saw it the morning of my birthday, and I was hysterically laughing because I thought it was so funny. But it picked up speed so quickly. I mean, I now have people coming up to me on

the street scaring me. When I’m with Jackson, they’ll approach us and be like, “Oh my god you guys are the scare guys!” I’m like, “Have I become the ‘scare guy?’ Is that what they’re gonna put on my tombstone?”

Some pretty big names in entertainment wished you happy birthday because of that video. Who did you freak out about the most? I was getting out of my car when Julia Louis-Dreyfus tweeted it, and I think the combination of her being one of my favorite actresses of all time, her going to Northwestern, her being super involved in comedy at Northwestern, that she’s someone I would be dying to work with in my career — I screamed like I screamed in the video. But just all of them— Seth Rogen, Sara Silverman, Chelsea Handler, Julianne Moore, it was just so cool.

You sound like you’re thanking people in an Academy Award acceptance speech. Yeah, exactly. If I ever win an Emmy or an Oscar, I’m just going to thank people who tweeted my birthday video. ◊

Twitter may be a fiery hellscape most of the time, but seeing a side-splittingly funny video makes scrolling through the pain worthwhile. Never longer than a minute or two, comedians spend these short, short films depicting an absurd character or bit. They’re often recorded selfie-style and feature amateur production value. No one knows their origins, and the Twitterverse hasn’t quite decided on a name for them. Nevertheless, behind some of the Evil Bird App’s most popular examples of the art form are two Northwestern alums: Nick Lehmann (@NickStopTalking) and Eva Victor (@ evaandheriud). The two are basically making TikToks, except they’re not teenagers — though Lehmann does call his clips “stupid little funny videos.” I fired up my own front-facing camera to FaceTime them to ask about their lives as Wildcats — and the wild rides that came afterward. These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.

ew can capture the complexity of being an anxious, politically tormented young person in 2019 as well as Eva Victor. Born in Paris (and a self-described “queer Timothée Chalamet”), the 25-year-old New York City resident is known for her 1-2 minute videos covering subjects like awkwardly running into a friend whose life is going way too well, pooping at work and being a woman who definitely didn’t murder her husband. Her most popular video – – c a p t i on e d “me explaining to my boyfriend why we’re going to straight pride” –– was filmed in response to the scheduling of a “straight pride” parade in Boston in June and garnered over 375,000 likes and 106,000 retweets at the time of publication. Victor (Communication ’16) got her comedic start at Northwestern, then moved to the Big Apple. There, she got a job writing and editing for Reductress, the first satirical magazine written for women, by women. She now writes and acts in sketches for Comedy Central and has written for The New Yorker’s Daily Shouts satirical section. Whether she’s explaining pay equity to her boyfriend or imitating a wealthy West Coast mother from “Big Little Lies,” Victor’s comedy

speaks to the news of the day in the most relatable of ways.

What were you involved in on campus? I majored in theater and did the playwriting module. I did NSTV, Titanic Players, Mee-Ow and No Fun Mud Piranhas for a little bit. I was on Vertigo, and I did Griffin’s Tale. I was really afraid to do anything comedy — I had never done it before — but then I was like, “Wait, this looks fun!” And I’m glad I did.

What were your most memorable experiences at Northwestern? One time I went to the Shakespeare Garden to just sit there, because I was having a sad moment, and there was this man laying there — man as in student. He was sleeping on the bench, and he was so hot, and there was this sunbeam streaming down onto his face, and I was like, “Wait, you’re so hot.” That’s probably not what you’re looking for.

What was your next step after graduating in 2016? A few days after graduation, I moved to New York. I had a job lined up from Chicago, a part-time day job at a gym.

Like Abbi Jacobson’s character in Broad City? When I watch that show, I’m like, “OK, well, I’ve been there and done that!”

Your short, front-facing Twitter videos have done really well. Do you call them anything specific? I don’t know what to call them. Someone

at work was talking about them and they were like, “You know, your ‘Me’ series,” and I’m like, “Well, aren’t we all sort of doing that?”

What inspired you to start making them? People have been doing front-facing videos for a long time. It’s a cool form because the pace is really exciting, but there’s so many fucking amazing people who’ve been doing the same style videos. I went on a trip to D.C. to visit my best friend. It was right after a breakup, and I was in her huge beautiful house for a lot of one day alone, and I made three videos that were just random characters. That was sort of the first moment I was like, “Oh my god, this is so fucking fun and helping me deal with things.” It was a nice outlet I could do by myself.

Do you have a favorite video that you made? I’m proud of the straight pride one. That one was fun. I can’t believe those men really did a straight pride. I think about it every day.

More and more comedians are making their own content, whether it’s a web series or viral Tweets. How crucial is creating your own opportunities in the comedy world? It feels really cool that the things I made without anyone telling me the rules of what I could make were things that people responded to. But also, someone should be paying you to make things and supporting you while you make things. So put out the things you want to put out, and then also demand the respect you deserve and the compensation you deserve for these things. ◊

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Don't You Forget About Me A John Hughes Tour of Evanston by Charlotte Walsh

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it — if by “life” you mean “all the spots in Evanston where writer and director John Hughes filmed some of his iconic movies.” As a North Shore native, the city was actually a hot spot for Hughes in the ’80s and ’90s, and the locations are basically unnoticeable if you don’t know where to look. So if you’re tired of hearing about the “Home Alone” house in Winnetka, check out these Evanston sites on your next tour down nostalgia lane.

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Haven Middle School was actually home to shots featured in a couple of John Hughes films, however brief their appearances were. The exterior of Haven is shown as Curly Sue’s new school in “Curly Sue.” For the “Home Alone” movies, the Christmas choir scene in the first “Home Alone” was actually shot inside the middle school despite being preceded by an establishing shot of the Trinity United Methodist Church. A brief shot of the middle school comes before another Christmas choir scene in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”

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The classic coming-of-age film opens with Sam Baker’s (Molly Ringwald) family all but forgetting her 16th birthday as her sister is set to get married the next day. The site of this teen angst is none other than 3022 Payne Street, where the Baker family lives in the movie. Lisa Levy, who moved into the home with her family around a year ago, said it’s been “kind of hilarious” living there. Almost every day over the summer, people will come by and take pictures — some even laying on the lawn, recreating the scene in which the family’s exchange student is “as drunk as a skunk.”

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Based on the comic strip and preceded by a television show –– both of the same name –– “Dennis the Menace” features a well-meaning but accident-prone 5-year-old whippersnapper named Dennis (Mason Gamble), who is the bane of his next-door neighbor’s (Walter Matthau) existence. Mitch Bruski, the homeowner of 1624 Ashland for 36 years, said Hughes was attracted to the two homes because he wanted a Victorian and a Dutch Colonial side by side. As a huge film fan, Bruski said he “would have done it for nothing — just for the experience,” but his wife and neighbors were able to negotiate a good price for the use of the houses.

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Evanston was also featured in the final film of the “Home Alone” trilogy. “Home Alone 3” takes place at 3026 Normandy Place, in which new kid Alex Pruitt (Alex D. Linz — sadly not Macaulay Culkin) fights off bumbling criminals while home sick from school. You know, typical kid stuff. Don’t worry — Macaulay Culkin’s also in this Evanston-based John Hughes film. “Uncle Buck” features John Candy as Buck Russell, a carefree uncle tasked with babysitting his brother’s three children. Despite being one of the lesser-known John Hughes films, homeowner Jim Elesh said the family’s house is still a frequent stop for visitors. Like some of the other houses, the interior was recreated at a soundstage, Elesh said, but that doesn’t stop the fans. He said he’s even had a wedding party visit. And finally, Evanston is home to “She’s Having A Baby,” starring Kevin Bacon. Newlywed Jake Briggs (Bacon) is jealous of his single best friend Davis McDonald (Alec Baldwin) while his wife Kristy is ready to have a baby. The house, on Salem Lane, houses the couple during Bacon’s feature-length freakout. Source: 1. Charlotte Walsh/Daily Senior Staffer, 2. Sixteen Candles/Universal Pictures, 3. Curly Sue/Warner Bros., 4. Home Alone 3/20th Century Fox, 5. Uncle Buck/Universal Pictures, 6. She's Having A Baby/Paramount Pictures, Map: U.S Geological Survey, Dept. of the Interior

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RIP New Student D Only â&#x20AC;&#x2122;90s kids remember the New Student Dance

f you remember the New Student Dance, you’re now officially old. The dance, which was taught to new students during Wildcat Welcome, has been scrapped due to accessibility issues and a lack of student engagement. Goodbye to tacky-but-memorable dance names (Spoons Not Forks! Alligator shoes! March ‘round the hole!) and awkward smiles shared between students as they step on each other’s toes and elbow each other. W hen W ildcat Welcome first introduced the dance in 2013, Director of First-Year Experience Josh McKenzie said he remembers the excitement surrounding the inaugural pick: “Best Song Ever” by One Direction. The pop masterpiece is the quintessential example of a Wildcat Welcome song –– upbeat, free of swear words and absolutely, unironically positive. Back then, the dance was taught during a day-long Purple Pride event held at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Wildcat Welcome has always been informational, McKenzie said, but the dance was a creative way for the team to bring up topics beyond how to register for classes or navigate around campus. The goal was to introduce the broader spirit and traditions of the University, and they found that introducing a unifying song and dance could achieve that objective. “For many, memories can be tied easily to sound and to a song,” he said. “And so when a single song is used frequently in the course of a time period, then you’re more likely to have memories attached to that song. No matter what school you’re in, or (what) advising or registration process you’re going through, that was one of the common pieces that anyone had within that class.” A run of six years, however, has taught his team that the dance presents accessibility issues –– both physically and

Dance

mentally. As his team reconsiders the definition of “fun,” he said they’re recognizing the need for an activity that is more inclusive for all students. The thought process behind creating the programming for Wildcat Welcome has changed, McKenzie said, which is prompting important discussions about creating a program that is welcoming to all students. “Our community is wanting that conversation, but also, (this is) who our students are right now and who we are

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Blasting music (while) walking down the road I miss that.

Jeanne Paulino, Weinberg senior

as a community,” he said. “That’s what we want, that we didn’t necessarily have a voice for in 2013.” Weinberg senior Jeanne Paulino, who has been a peer adviser for the past two years, said she’s glad that the community is doing more to make the programming more inclusive. “Initially, we were really bummed out because we’re all really obnoxious and want to spread our enthusiasm about Northwestern and continue the traditions that we had during Wildcat Welcome,” she said. “But then we realized accessibility issues are certainly an issue of concern, and we need to be mindful and inclusive about those issues.” Student feedback also pointed to a simple fact, McKenzie said: Freshmen were just not into the dance. SESP sophomore Hope Salvador, who was in Paulino’s PA group last year, said she simply didn’t see the purpose of the dance. For Salvador, the dance itself

contributed little to building a sense of community –– which was the activity’s original purpose. Rather, she said it was her connection with Paulino that helped her feel like she belonged at NU, and she hopes that the University focuses more on building such personal relationships during Wildcat Welcome. Without the New Student Dance, the University is still looking for ways to use music as a community builder during orientation, although now in more subtle and voluntary ways. For starters, there’s no longer a single class song. Instead, this year, Wildcat Welcome embraced a number of songs that were picked by the students themselves. Freshmen submitted their favorite pump-up songs in their introduction sheets prior to Wildcat Welcome, and these tunes were then played during activities. The top three pump-up songs, per the class of 2023: “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen; “Dancing Queen” by ABBA; and “Truth Hurts” by Lizzo. These songs were also closely tied to the University’s commitment to encouraging wellness throughout the program. At the beginning of Wildcat Welcome, every student received a note that reminded them to take a breather during their week, which can often be overwhelming and exhausting, by listening to a song recommended by their peers. Paulino said she still used music –– minus the mandated dancing –– as a unifying factor for her PA group by making a group playlist filled with their song recommendations. Her PA group built a community around singalongs to Frank Ocean and Justin Bieber throwbacks, she said. “I would play a song that someone had suggested over email in summer, and then they’d smile and be like, ‘Oh, you remembered,’” she said. “Blasting music (while) walking down the road –– I miss that.” ◊

by Catherine Kim

In a city filled with pan-Asian cuisine, Shinsen stands out from the rest

hinsen is new — so new that they have yet to publish a website or secure a liquor license — but don’t let that deter you. Chef Wetchapan Worawongsatikorn, who goes by Pook, serves up Japanese and Thai fusion with an eye for detail and quality unrivaled in Evanston. The restaurant at 1322 Chicago Ave., just south of the city’s downtown area, opened its doors in early September after the previous eatery in the space, Asian Cajun Too, closed earlier in the year. The space feels somewhat rushed and perhaps a bit unstylish, but try not to let that deter you either. Everything about our meal — from the meticulously presented loose leaf teas to the fresh, tender fish — was pretty close to perfect. Pook, who is from Thailand and works alongside a Japanese chef, told me he strives to incorporate Shinsen — the Japanese word for fresh and honest — in every aspect of the restaurant’s food and hospitality. He said the food is different from other places in Evanston, and after trying as much of the menu as I could with a group of five, I agree. Though Evanston seems to have a plethora of pan-Asian and Asian fusion spots, none feel as carefully thought out or committed to quality ingredients as Shinsen. Take the tea menu, which has several black, white and green varieties along with Thai iced coffee and tea. The prices rival that of a midrange cocktail ($8-$10), but it is well worth it. Each pot of loose leaf hot tea can serve two to Ally Mauch/Daily Senior Staffer

three people, and, because of the quality of the leaves, your server will refill the pot with enough hot water to last you throughout the meal. And the presentation is impeccable: An elegant glass tea pot and small double-walled tea cups sit atop a wooden tray, served alongside bite-sized pieces of banana bread and brown and white sugar shaped into flowers. Our server brought an hourglass to let us know when our tea was ready to pour. Shinsen is BYOB, but I suggest skipping the booze in favor of one of the teas (or at least ordering it in addition to a bottle of “Two-Buck Chuck” from the Trader Joe’s down the road). The extensive food menu is split into a few parts: a selection of sashimi and maki rolls, cold and hot appetizers, rice, noodles and robata. Robata is a Japanese cooking technique where the chef grills food over white oak charcoal, and Shinsen does it particularly well. You can choose from a variety of meats and vegetables — we went with the asparagus (tender, flavorful, smoky) and the skirt steak (a generous amount of

— by Ally Mauch

well-cooked meat served with homemade wasabi and soy sauce). The hamachi (a Japanese yellowtail), sweet and sour calamari and red curry mussels also stood out. The hamachi was notably fresh and high-quality, with just enough yuzu sauce on top to complement the fish without overpowering it. The calamari was fried and covered in an elevated version of General Tso’s sauce, creating the ideal blend of crispy and soggy. The mussels, however, probably elicited the most praise from our group. They were served with pillowy rolls of scallion bread that served as the perfect vehicle for soaking up the leftover sauce (a flavorful curry with rich coconut milk and a touch of Thai basil). The prices at Shinsen are reasonable, especially compared to the rest of the Evanston food scene, but dining here felt like an experience. So save your visit for a special meal — maybe a birthday or with friends visiting from out of town. Order a lot, share a lot and plan to stay awhile. I’ll certainly be back to try the sashimi. And the ramen. And the sticky rice dessert. And everything else. ◊

Reel Thoughts “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” isn’t standard

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Tarantino — and that’s great

Pictures/TNS Source: Columbia

This piece includes spoilers for the movie “Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.” TW: physical and sexual violence against women

uentin Tarantino has made it clear that he only plans to direct 10 films before retiring For those of us keeping track, he released his ninth film this summer. And for the most part, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is the ideal penultimate film for the director. More than anything else, the film is a love letter to both a bygone era and film itself — a perfect project for a cinephile who realizes his remaining years as a pop culture powerhouse are numbered. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” follows washed-up Western star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) as he deals with his declining career, existential dread and being out-acted by a child. At Dalton’s side is his stunt double and best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), whose very different challenges include repairing a TV antenna, sparring with Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) and fighting the Manson Family. On top of all this, living next door to Dalton are up-and-coming celebrity couple Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha). While Dalton and Booth struggle to remain relevant in a rapidly changing industry, the Manson Family plots to murder Tate. That’s a lot of

information for one paragraph, and might suggest the film has a fast-paced, intricate plot. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. With a 2-hour, 40-minute runtime and fewer stylish action sequences that characterize Tarantino’s other projects, this film is arguably the director’s slowest. But in this case, slowness is a benefit. Tarantino’s goal is not to tell an action-packed story, but to immerse audiences in another era. In this sense, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is not like many of the director’s previous films — so if you’re expecting something like “Django Unchained” or “Kill Bill: Volume 1,” you’ll probably be disappointed. But if you’re open to something different, get ready for a fun, meandering ride through hippie-era Hollywood. With its beautiful cinematography, a perfectly fitting soundtrack, and a plethora of periodappropriate film references, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” does exactly what it sets out to do. And the combination of a hilarious script and the undeniable chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt makes this film the type of buddy comedy that only Tarantino could create. But while it achieves its main goal, the film isn’t perfect. In the film’s thrilling finale — which provides Tarantino fans with the overthe-top violence they expect from the director — the audience has to watch Cliff Booth ruthlessly beat up a teenage girl. Although

this girl is a member of the Manson Family, the scene is uncomfortable to watch. This sort of stylized violence against women has no place in a film made in 2019. Tarantino’s poor treatment of female characters doesn’t end there. In a film about Hollywood set against the backdrop of the Manson murders, Sharon Tate’s presence is shockingly insignificant. This decision not only detracts from the film’s Manson-murder story arc, but also deprives Margot Robbie of a chance to fully showcase her acting abilities. Furthermore, Tarantino’s portrayal of Roman Polanski, a convicted sexual predator, is far too sympathetic. Coming from a director who has drawn concern over his treatment of women — both his characters and the actresses playing them — these directorial choices are disappointing, but not surprising. Despite its problems, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” might be the best possible penultimate film for Tarantino. This is not to say it’s his magnum opus. Rather, the film illustrates that Tarantino is entering the end of his directing career with grace. His earnest, nostalgic ode to an earlier time reveals that he knows his directing years are almost over and that he has no desire to fight that. And while longtime Tarantino fans may be saddened by the director’s impending retirement, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” leaves them excited for what he says will be his final film. Let’s just hope it’s not “Star Trek.” ◊

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