The Daily Northwestern - May 26, 2016

SPORTS Curtain Call Alex Olah’s career marked by steady increase in confidence » PAGE 12

NU alumnus creates puzzle hunts » PAGE 5 arts & ‘Stunning’ focuses on intersectionality » PAGE 6 entertainment NSTV sketches feature feminist tones » PAGE 7

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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, May 26, 2016

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Portrait of a Ward

THE CITY’S MELTING POT

2nd Ward residents shun negative perceptions, highlight diverse community

Daniel Tian/Daily Senior Staffer

SCHOOL AT SUNRISE Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Avenue, sits in the northern part of the 2nd Ward. ETHS and the neighborhood around it have a “symbiotic relationship,” said Eric Witherspoon, the superintendent of School District 202.

By NORA SHELLY

the daily northwestern @noracshelly

Marsha and Hubert Fincher have seen a lot of change over the years in Evanston’s 2nd Ward. “It’s starting

to look more metropolitan,” Marsha Fincher said. “There has been within the last six or seven years an influx of people moving into the area.” The Finchers, who live on the 1400 block of Ashland Avenue, said they’ve seen their neighborhood grow in popularity and diversity since they moved in

at the end of 1994. They said the community, however, has still maintained its homey feel. “People seem like they’re looking forward to moving into the neighborhood much more than when we moved in,” Hubert Fincher said. “It’s almost like a little Chicago.” Evanston’s 2nd Ward is

DM names main beneficiary

By SHANE MCKEON

daily senior staffer @shane_mckeon

in central west Evanston, stretching from Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave., in the north to south of Main Street. It includes a piece of downtown Evanston and encompasses residential neighborhoods, industrial areas and retail centers. The diverse residents and

the daily northwestern @davidpkfishman

Keshia Johnson/The Daily Northwestern

BURGERS FOR BUCKS People gather at Epic Burger on Thursday afternoon for Dance Marathon’s profit share.

Nancy Gianni, the nonprofit’s founder, said the funds raised will go toward speech therapy, tutoring, fitness classes and more, all of which the organization provides for free.

Gianni also said GiGi’s hopes to use the money to open mobile carts that can support individuals with Down

Serving the University and Evanston since 1881

syndrome in low-income and rural areas, where resources now are lacking.

Gianni said there remains a stigma toward those with Down syndrome: She said her daughter — for whom the nonprofit is named — is still sometimes » See DANCE MARATHON, page 9

» See 2ND WARD, page 10

Admins hold talk on open student groups

By DAVID FISHMAN

GiGi’s Playhouse, a nonprofit that supports and advocates for people with Down syndrome, is Dance Marathon’s 2017 primary beneficiary, DM announced Wednesday.

“GiGi’s mission statement is to garner acceptance, which we think is something Northwestern’s campus is working toward on many different levels,” said DM spokeswoman Jackie Montalvo, a Medill junior. “They offer programming from prenatal through adulthood. They offer support for parents and families. They’re really working toward acceptance on all levels.”

The nonprofit operates in 30 different locations in the U.S. and Mexico, and it’s programming helped more than 25,000 people in 2015. DM’s executive board approved the nonprofit unanimously after an extensive selection process, Montalvo said.

varied businesses in the ward make it stand out from others in Evanston, Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd) said. “I tell people the 2nd Ward is the most racially and economically diverse ward in Evanston,” Braithwaite said.

University officials held a roundtable Wednesday afternoon in Norris University Center on an upcoming goal to require most student groups to admit all interested students by the end of next academic year.

“We really want to open dialogue, increase inclusivity and detoxify culture,” said Brent Turner, executive director of the Office of Campus Life.

“If everyone’s paying the same fee, they should have access to explore.”

At the first of two planned dialogues, Turner told the eight students in attendance he wanted to hear from community members and understand current recruitment processes before working out how to implement the new goal.

The Daily reported last week that

Campus Life would no longer recognize new non-inclusive groups and was considering a proposal that most groups admit all interested students.

The proposal, Turner said, would affect most groups that recruit new members through admissions processes and came after more than five years of discussion about the exclusionary nature of student organizations.

Turner said a policy like Stanford University’s — which lists applications, interviews and resumes as “unacceptable” membership practices and does not permit membership tiers — “looks pretty good,” but stressed that his office had not yet settled on a mode of implementation. Over the next few weeks and into the summer, he said, his office would continue to solicit student feedback and consider all possible ways to achieve the goal. » See ROUNDTABLE, page 9

INSIDE Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | Opinion 8 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12

2 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

Around Town Activists protest Y.O.U. contracting

By ROBIN OPSAHL

daily senior staffer @robinlopsahl

Evanston organizers protested Wednesday Youth & Opportunity United’s contracting choices for its new youth center across the street from Evanston Township High School.

The demonstration, held at the construction site at 1911 Church St., lasted from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. with more than 75 community members participating, organizer Lonnie Wilson said.

He said the protesters aimed to show community concern over employment opportunities for local minority workers. Wilson said that although these problems are systemic, the action is focused on Y.O.U. because it works with minority youth in Evanston, but was not offering opportunities to the local minority community.

“The problem is that the communities that have been excluded need to be included,” Wilson said. “We talk about things like gun violence and drug use, and all of these problems can be attributed to economic exclusion. In essence, the rules need to be changed.”

A news release from the Committee for Community Developmental Change, which

organized the protest, said Y.O.U. had not been honest with local minority business owners, with whom it has been in negotiations for two years, about how many local area contracts and jobs are being given to Evanston companies and individuals. However, Wilson said that Y.O.U. is not “the enemy” in this situation.

“Y.O.U. is not our target as a group, it’s the ‘business-as-usual’ model that’s our target,” Wilson said. “Business as usual can’t go on if we’re going to save our community.”

Seth Green, Y.O.U.’s executive director, said the organization did consider equity as a large part of its negotiations and contracting process when planning the new youth center. Green said Y.O.U. surpassed its goal of 30 percent of the construction being contracted by minority-, women- and locally owned businesses, but still welcomes dialogue about these topics in the community.

“We’re building a new youth center that is consistent with our values and our commitment to community,” Green said. “We’re proud to be helping our kids to raise their voices on these issues and simultaneously be committed as an organization.”

The new location will also look to employ and work with Evanston minority workers and

Police Blotter

court date is June 27.

Woman arrested in connection with trespassing at Evanston Public Library

Shots fired reported on Foster Street, Grey Avenue

Police charged a 47-year-old woman with criminal trespass at Evanston Public Library on Monday afternoon.

Officers were dispatched to the library, 1703 Orrington Ave. at about 4:15 p.m. after receiving a call requesting assistance removing a trespasser, Dugan said. Upon arrival, the officers met with an employee who said the woman, an Evanston resident, was previously warned that she wasn’t allowed on the premises.

Officers approached her and took her into custody at the police station, Dugan said. Her

Police investigated a report of shots fired Tuesday night at the intersection of Foster Street and Grey Avenue.

Officers were dispatched to the intersection at about 6:30 p.m. after an unidentified caller reported he heard shots fired, Evanston police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan said. The caller said he saw two men on the street and one pulled out a gun and fired. However, police were unable to recover evidence of any shots fired when they arrived at the scene. ­— Robin Opsahl

businesses through jobs like janitorial work, catering services and landscaping. Green said 43 percent of Y.O.U. staff are people of color and 25 percent live in Evanston.

There will be more protests and calls to action for community members to express their frustration with the status quo on Evanston’s employment and contracting opportunities for local minorities, Wilson said.

“Unfortunately going through the government and normal roads isn’t going to work,” Wilson said.

“We’re going to have to stop people’s jobs, we’re going to have to be at these places, we’re going to have to show the community cares and it’s hurting and we’re not going to just die and go away.”

Wilson said Evanston is a progressive city and that these conversations will be different than those in places less willing to work with local communities of color. However, these conversations are important even here, he said.

“This is supposed to be the most liberal city in America,” Wilson said. “If we can’t get fair employment practices here, what does that say about the future for everyone else?” robinopsahl2018@u.northwestern.edu

Setting the record straight An article in Wednesday’s paper titled “Theater community tackles representation” misspelled David Henry Hwang’s name and misidentified the theater board that produced “The Alexander Litany.” Vertigo Productions produced the show.

The Daily regrets these errors.

The Daily Northwestern www.dailynorthwestern.com Editor in Chief Tyler Pager

eic@dailynorthwestern.com

General Manager Stacia Campbell

stacia@dailynorthwestern.com

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 3

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

On Campus ASG passes $1.1 million of A-status group funding

By ERICA SNOW

the daily northwestern @ericasnoww

Associated Student Government Senate approved Wednesday more than $1.1 million in funding to A-status student groups, in addition to granting almost $6,000 in supplementary funds.

The A-status finances committee allocated funds to about 40 student groups, using money from the $58 quarterly student activity fee.

Chaired by Weinberg junior Eric Oringer, vice president for A-status finances, the committee reviews applications from larger student groups that hold campus-wide events that have been “successful” in the past, Oringer said.

Together, A&O Productions and Mayfest take up about half of the A-status funding.

At the meeting, student groups appealed to Senate for more funding in addition to what the A-status finances committee initially recommended. Oringer said the committee does not fund group requests or events in full because funds are limited.

Senate has an amendment pool of nearly $58,000 to pay for approved supplementary funding, but not all of the money was disbursed because funds must be available for allocation in the fall, Oringer added.

Supplemental funding works in three stages: an add round when student group representatives can request additional funds, a cut round when student group representatives can ask for less money and a final add round when student group can re-submit requests for additional funds.

Six student groups were approved for additional funding by Senate: Kaibigan, Muslim-cultural Students Association, Habitat for Humanity, Alternative Student Breaks, Northwestern Community Development Corps and For Members Only.

NCDC was granted an additional $600 and FMO was granted an additional $375 in the second add round. Initially, NCDC asked for $1,200

Sophie Mann/Daily Senior Staffer

DIVVYING UP DOLLARS Weinberg junior Eric Oringer explains the A-status funding process to senators at Associated Student Government Senate. More than $1.1 million was allocated, and student groups appealed for additional funds.

and FMO asked for $2,954. Senate rejected the two group’s first requests but granted the lesser funds in the second add round.

Oringer said the committee could not recommend the additional funding request of almost $3,000 to FMO because the group hosts events with other organizations and it would be unfair to groups that have hosted large-scale events independently.

“While (Ball) was successful, you put it on with A&O,” Oringer said. “It’s not the same as your exec board single-handedly putting on the event. … You guys worked well together, but we just feel like it would be irresponsible to give a huge increase to you without the institutional knowledge.”

Institutional knowledge is the executive board’s ability to manage logistics and train future executive boards to run successful events.

This information is considered by the committee

when allocating funds.

SESP freshman Sky Patterson, FMO’s senator, said the group needed additional funds because the group had faced internal problems with past executive boards. She said FMO has still been able to host successful events, even if it was in collaboration with other student groups.

With additional funding, Patterson said FMO could build the institutional knowledge the committee was encouraging.

“It sounds like they were saying that it would be irresponsible because it sounds like they don’t have a lot of faith we would be able to put on an event single-handedly,” Patterson said to senators. “A-status encourages co-sponsorships.”

Some groups such as Dance Marathon requested funding in both add rounds but were rejected both times.

Earlier in the meeting, ASG also heard a resolution to increase the student activity fee by 5

percent beginning in the 2017-18 school year.

The resolution will be voted on next week, but even if it passes, the increase must be approved by the Board of Trustees.

Senate was also scheduled to vote on a resolution disavowing the potential open student group admission proposal. However, after funding was voted on, Senate lost quorum — the required number of senators in attendance to conduct Senate, parliamentarian Shelby Reitman, a Weinberg sophomore, told The Daily. Senate is scheduled to vote on the resolution next week at the last Senate of the quarter.

“The next bill on the docket presumably is going to be a fight and everyone’s exhausted,” Weinberg sophomore Jake Rothstein said before Senate was adjourned. “ I just don’t think it’s fair to us or to the sanctity of discussion.” ericasnow2019@u.northwestern.edu

THIS WEEKEND IN MUSIC

MAY 27 - 29

27 FRI

Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony, 7:30 p.m.

Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, free

Victor Yampolsky, conductor; Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, University Chorale, Bienen Contemporary/Early Vocal Ensemble, and Apollo Chorus of Chicago (Stephen Alltop, director); Jessica Rivera, soprano; Renée Tatum, mezzo-soprano Three Bienen School ensembles plus the Apollo Chorus of Chicago join forces for a performance of Mahler’s monumental Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”). This exploration of the afterlife and resurrection established Mahler’s compositional style and launched his fame.

Soprano Jessica Rivera has appeared in critically acclaimed premieres of John Adams’s A Flowering Tree and Doctor Atomic. Mezzosoprano Renée Tatum has appeared in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Metropolitan Opera and Houston Grand Opera and joined an international cast in Japan as Flora in Verdi’s La traviata.

28 SAT

Phabulous Philharmonia, 10:30 a.m.

Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, $6/4

Marvel at the magic of combined strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion as the Northwestern University Philharmonia presents a colorful program of orchestral music including Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.

29 SUN

Mahler’s “Resurrection” Symphony, 6:30 p.m.

Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, free

Mahler “Resurrection” Symphony

concertsatbienen.org • 847.467.4000

4 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

Pardoe to take over as director of fellowships office

By ERICA SNOW

the daily northwestern @ericasnoww

When Sara Anson Vaux, the director of the Office of Fellowships, hired Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe to the office roughly 10 years ago, Vaux knew Pardoe could one day be the office’s director.

“I had my eye on her right away,” Vaux said. “She’s everything that I know that a fellowship enterprise should be. … I said, ‘OK, I’m training her.’”

Pardoe (Weinberg ‘92) is currently a senior associate director and will serve as the director of of the office after Vaux retires at the end of August.

The office assists students in applying for competitive scholarships, grants and fellowships such as the Rhodes Scholarship and the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Because the director position is demanding, Vaux said Pardoe must prioritize and manage her time across several projects.

“Although she is multitalented, she has to protect her time,” Vaux said. “She’s got such a good head on her shoulders, but since she is so competent, it would be easy for other people to say, ‘Oh, that’s a superstar, so we’ll just use more of her time.’”

The office first opened its doors in 1998 with Vaux as its inaugural director. The office has since served alumni, undergraduate students and graduate students on Northwestern’s Evanston, Chicago and Qatar campuses.

Vaux said although the office is small, the teamwork and capability of the staff make it a welcoming place for students. The office’s work extends beyond business hours and the working week, Pardoe said, adding that she had hosted a mock interview at her home during brunch on a Sunday.

Pardoe said she prefers when students come to the office without preconceived notions of their preferred program. Instead, she said she wants to fit students to programs compatible with their interests. Asking students where they want to be when they’re older can invoke self-reflection and enable goal-setting, she added.

Connecting students to the appropriate programs to pursue research or higher degrees is a form of “intellectual matchmaking,” Pardoe said.

Pardoe said she enjoys watching students she worked with develop their careers and continue their studies.

“You turn on MSNBC, you’re seeing this person who I first met as a sophomore in college being interviewed as the expert on topics,” she said. “Watching that life trajectory is phenomenal and getting to work with them as they make good choices and develop their interests and pursue them is undoubtedly the best bit.”

Northwestern is tied with Yale University for having the third-most recipients of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants in the 2015-2016 cycle, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education ranking. For 11 consecutive years, NU has ranked among the top 10 producers of Fulbright recipients.

Lauren Duquette/Daily Senior Staffer

NEW DIRECTOR Elizabeth Lewis Pardoe (Weinberg ‘92) stands in front of the Office of Fellowships. She will take over as director of the office after Sara Anson Vaux retires in August.

Andrew Gruen (Medill ‘07) is a Henry Luce Foundation Scholar and two-time Gates Cambridge Scholar. He said working with the Office of Fellowships through an intensive process of essay editing and mock interviewing strengthened his applications.

Gruen said even though essays and interviews are important to the application process, interpersonal skills and confidence are essential tools he

learned under Pardoe’s leadership.

“I came into the Office of Fellowships not really knowing what I was doing,” Gruen said. “The reason why Beth is great at what she does has nothing to do with this and everything to do with her ability to put interesting people together and actually shape the course of their careers and lives.” ericasnow2019@u.northwestern.edu

Readers & Advertisers: Last spring print issue of The Daily publishes this Friday, May 27 Watch for our Graduation Issue: Monday, June 13 Contact The Daily at 847-491-7206 or Email spc-compshop@northwestern.edu to book your ads!

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PI EC E P I EC E

What’s Inside

BY

‘Stunning’ hits on intersection of race, religion, sex Page 6 ‘High School Musical’ looks to utilize nontheater majors Page 6 NSTV sketches feature feminist, political tone

By TORI LATHAM

daily senior staffer @latham_tori

For his 30th birthday, Sandor Weisz hosted an unconventional party — a puzzle hunt.

The only problem: No one could solve it.

“It was a mess. It was not well done,” he said.

“But my friends were really welcoming and forgiving and they had a good time. I was encouraged enough to try it again the next year.”

Weisz (McCormick ‘98) is now the commissioner for The Mystery League, a company based in Chicago that creates puzzle hunts for groups of people. Puzzle hunts are events that require participants to look for clues, play games, solve puzzles and decipher codes. They typically have a theme or story, but individual challenges can take several different forms — from a piece of paper to a box of Legos to a donut, Weisz said.

In the past, The Mystery League has created puzzle hunts at places such as the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Art Institute of Chicago. It’s these types of site-specific puzzles Weisz said he enjoys most.

“They’re more unique,” Weisz said. “It’s way more fun to have to use your legs and your eyes and your body to walk around a space, pick up material, look at it, spin it around, explore the relationship of information that’s given to you in something like a guidebook and what’s in the real word.”

Weisz said the most exciting project he has worked on was The Last Defender, an immersive theater experience and live action game he created puzzles for in collaboration with The House Theatre of Chicago.

Chicago-based writer James Kennedy, a friend of Weisz’s, said he participated in The Last Defender and was impressed. He added that the game exemplified Weisz’s ability to bring people together through his puzzle hunts.

“People don’t have a script or expectations in a way to act, but if there’s a task they have to do, everyone gets along much better,” Kennedy said. “You see that in his games. Even when I did The Last Defender, by the end of it you felt like you had gone through a special experience with everybody.”

Although puzzle-making now takes up a large chunk of Weisz’s time, it’s not what he originally set out to do as a career. He graduated with a degree in computer science and worked as a programmer until about a year ago, when he officially made the switch to creating puzzles.

He said his background in computer science, which included programming, didn’t necessarily lead him into puzzle design, but that the two disciplines come from the same foundational skills. He emphasized that being analytically-minded and good at problem solving were attributes that contributed to his programming as well as his current career.

And in both cases, much success comes from being inclined toward design.

“Design of any discipline has a lot of the same things at its core, its foundation,” Weisz said. “It’s understanding your end user. …

Whoever it is that’s using your product … you have to think about their experience first and foremost. And that’s whether you’re designing for the web or you’re designing products or you’re designing puzzles.”

Many of these computer-based skills might have come from his classes as a computer science major, but Weisz said his time spent

A&E

arts & entertainment

Page 7

NU alumnus uses design skills to create puzzle hunts outside of the classroom also helped contribute to his aptitude for puzzle design. He said he worked as a print designer at The Daily for most quarters during his undergraduate career and lived in Communications Residential College, where he often played games, as well as pranks, with his dormmates.

At CRC, Weisz met Luke Seemann (Medill ‘98), now the digital managing editor at Chicago Magazine. Seemann said he’s participated in almost all the puzzle hunts Weisz has hosted for his own birthdays and recalled the “way too hard” hunt Weisz made for his 30th birthday.

Since then, Seemann said, Weisz has only gotten better at knowing his audience and designing his puzzles.

Because Seemann has known Weisz for so long, he has also been able to see the progression of Weisz’s career. He said he admires Weisz’s choices and even considers him a mentor.

“He’s always done courageous things with his career,” Seemann said. “He’s gone freelance a few times which is terrifying and leaping out of a pretty safe career to do this which is uncharted territory. … (But) it’s no surprise that he’s such a good computer programmer

as well as a puzzle maker.”

Although he’s only been making puzzle hunts professionally for a little more than a year, Weisz said he hopes to continue doing more of the same but on a larger scale, emphasizing the inclusivity larger puzzles would allow for.

“Maybe I’ll make some big puzzles for the public,” Weisz said. “Almost all of my puzzles have been for private companies or private groups, but I’d like to build something that anyone can join.” torilatham2017@u.northwestern.edu

Source: Sandor Weisz Graphic by Jerry Lee

6 A&E | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | A&E 7

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

‘Stunning’ hits on intersection of race, religion, sex

By RACHEL YANG

daily senior staffer @_rachelyang

When Meryl Crock and Jenna Levin searched for plays to produce, they said they wanted to find a show that would explore themes ranging from sexuality to ethnicity to self-determination.

While considering more than 40 plays, they found what they were looking for in “Stunning.”

“It was encompassing all of the different things that we wanted to talk about,” said Crock, a Communication sophomore and the play’s producer.

“Representation of race on stage, representation of women characters on stage and all with this through line of faith-based theater and so it just was this crazy combination of everything that we were looking for.”

“Stunning,” which is Jewish Theatre Ensemble’s spring play, focuses on Lily, a 16-year-old girl from a Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn, who marries a much older man but later enters into a romantic relationship with her black female live-in maid. The play by David Adjmi, will run Thursday through Saturday at Shanley Pavilion.

Crock and Levin said they were adamant about selecting a female-driven production that showcased strong women and intersectional themes like race and sexuality.

Crock said Lily grows up believing that women and men were supposed to be together, but when she meets Blanche, her maid, she realizes “that’s not how love works.”

Characters also grapple with questions of identity and assimilation, Levin said, as people in the play identify as white American Jews even though they are Syrian.

“It’s about being white, adapting to the American

Katie Pach/The Daily Northwestern

FINDING YOURSELF Students rehearse for the upcoming play “Stunning,” which will run from May 26 to May 28 in Shanley Pavilion.

dream like a lot of other groups,” said the Communication junior, who is the play’s director. “Especially for the men, becoming white men, (and) very much casting off their Syrian heritage and really subscribing to the ideals of materialism and working hard and being a business mogul and having a nice house.”

Because characters in the play can range from Syrian to black, Crock and Levin said there were challenges when it came to casting and making sure

actors could do the diverse characters justice.

Another challenge came from trying to strike a balance between navigating the different themes in the production, while making the story feel real, Levin said. She added that it’s important to explore topics like “queer politics,” but she also wanted people to relate to the characters and be invested in the love story between Lily and Blanche.

One of the more surreal elements of the production is its design, Levin said, where the set resembles

a fish bowl.

“It’s this fake, constructed world that’s really beautiful … but it’s all fake and it’s encased in glass so you feel trapped,” Levin added. “(You) can look out, people can look in, and that’s it. It’s just about what it means to live in a community where it’s all about being looked at (and) things being fake or materialistic.”

Hayley Himmelman, who plays Lily, said she was drawn to “Stunning” because she wanted to work with Crock and Levin, who she described as “boss ladies,” and could relate to Lily’s experiences and personal growth.

“She’s really impressionable and I think that’s true for me as well,” the Communication senior said.

“That’s something I’ve learned especially in college, is to take everything with a grain of salt, figure out who I really trust … and not just believe everything that everyone else is telling me. It’s me trying to grow out of my naivete and Lily does that as well.”

As for a moral in the play, Levin said it’s more important to ask questions than answer them.

Instead, she hopes it will incite discussion about the “gray spaces” in topics like gender, sexuality, religion and ethnicity.

She also said the themes explored in the play are not limited to Jewish identity, but everyone, especially college students, can relate to the questions it poses throughout.

“College is the first time in our lives where we’re away from our families, we’re away from the traditions we grew up with,” Levin said. “It’s about, ‘OK, I’m away from what I grew up with, what do I want to keep? What do I want to completely run away from? What do I want to cast off that I can’t because it’s just a part of me at this point?’” weizheyang2018@u.northwestern.edu

‘High School Musical’ looks to utilize non-theater majors

By STAVROS AGORAKIS

the daily northwestern @stavrosagorakis

The cast and crew of this year’s Freshman Musical decided to demonstrate their enthusiasm for being new on campus by presenting a show that dates back to their childhoods: “High School Musical.”

“As freshmen, it is a really natural inclination to show the campus who we are and what we can do as artists,” director Noah Watkins said. “So, why not do a show that cannot possibly take itself too seriously?”

Entirely produced by and cast with freshmen, this year’s musical tells the story of Troy and Gabriella, two high school sophomores from different cliques, who audition for the lead roles of their school’s theater production. “High School Musical” is a Disney Channel original movie that was later adapted for the stage. The show opens Friday in Harris Hall.

Watkins, a Communication freshman, said the show is meant to act as a learning experience for all students. He added rehearsals for the musical offered a judgment-free space for actors to make mistakes and experiment.

“We have given people the opportunity to (take) risks (with the production) and to improvise around different things,” he said. “Some of our

favorite scenes in the show even come from those moments.”

The cast and crew are working on a more “lowtech level” than many other student theater productions at NU due to their limited resources, co-producer Lucy Farnsworth said. She added the creative team was really excited to get a positive response from students outside the University’s theater department, who usually tend to hesitate to break into the scene.

Going into the interviews for crew members and casting calls for actors, Farnsworth said the creative team aimed to feature a wide array of experience levels in the rehearsal room. She added these included students majoring in areas other than theater.

“It wasn’t the plan (to have many non-theater majors), but it was definitely the hope for this process,” the Communication freshman said. “We were very happy when we started hearing from people who weren’t majors but were still excited to be part of our team.”

Out of the 46 members in the cast and crew of “High School Musical,” 21 are not enrolled in NU’s theater department, Farnsworth said.

In addition to trying to include cast and crew members of all backgrounds, theater-related or not, co-publicity director Meredith Mackey said the marketing team tried to use “big and funny” advertising to reach out to new theatergoers on campus.

“In marketing the show, we have been trying to

Leeks Lim/The Daily Northwestern

GO WILDCATS Students rehearse for the upcoming production of “High School Musical,” produced by and cast with a team of entirely freshmen students.

make sure that we reach a very broad audience of people, that we’re not having the same audience that comes to every student theater show,” the SESP freshman said.

Mackey, who also serves as the incoming community representative for the Student Theatre Coalition — a group of 10 theater and two dance boards on campus — said acting as the voice for students who are not theater-board members or theatre majors is especially important in the theater community because those people represent a large

part of it.

Mackey added that the first-year experience in theater needs to be positive, which is why part of her mission for next year is to emphasize the significance of having freshmen working on productions.

“It is an incredible opportunity to kind of expand theater’s horizons, and really set a precedent from the get-go that you do not have to be a theater major to get involved,” she said. agorakis@u.northwestern.edu

Performance explores humanity one cup of tea at a time

By SOPHIE MANN

daily senior staffer @sophiemmann

In “The Tea Project,” a performance that will be part of the upcoming Arts Circle Celebration on June 4, the complex power of humanity will be demonstrated through something seemingly simple: cups of tea.

The Tea Project is a performance and conversation created by Aaron Hughes (Graduate School ‘09). In the performance, Hughes acts as the host of a tea ceremony, he said. As the host, he tells stories and asks questions to engage audiences in dialogue about the dehumanization of imprisoned people around the world and in their own backyards.

The project stemmed from experiences Hughes had when he was deployed in the U.S. Army in Iraq, and the ones his friend, Chris Arendt, had working at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.

Hughes served in Iraq in 2003. During this time, Hughes said he was told to never interact with Iraqi citizens, who often approached soldiers to offer them gifts, such as Iraqi tea.

In 2009, Hughes attended the International

Labor Conference in Erbil, Iraq. He said, because Before beginning his studies at Northwestern, of his previous experience, he had never tasted Hughes worked at OPENSOURCE Art, an artist Iraqi tea until the conference and decided he space in Urbana-Champaign, where he met curwanted to bring the Iraqi people’s generosity rent partner for “The Tea Project,” artist Amber home in the form of an Ginsburg.

Ginsburg focuses art project.

Arendt’s experience much of her work on lost also contributed to “The histories, often lost miliTea Project,” Hughes tary histories, and recreHE HAD TO GO FROM CELL ating them through art. said. Arendt worked at the Guantanamo TO CELL COLLECTING THESE Because of their similar interests and her experiBay detention center STYROFOAM CUPS THAT at about the same time ence creating models of WERE SCAWLED ALL OVER Hughes was deployed to artifacts, Ginsburg said Iraq and Kuwait. There, Hughes contacted her WITH FLOWERS ... in 2013 to help him with Arendt’s job was to con-AARON HUGHES, CREATOR “The Tea Project.” fiscate the styrofoam teacups that detainees “Aaron asked if I was OF THE TEA PROJECT used to drink. interested in becoming “He had to go from part of ‘The Tea Project’ to make 779 tea cups,” cell to cell collecting Ginsburg said. “Making these styrofoam cups a cup of tea with a single that were scrawled all over with flowers, and he thought it was ridiculous person can point to one of the most striking and that these cups were somehow a security threat,” disturbing points in American human rights hisHughes said. “That’s where the project comes from tory. That shift in scale is what threw me instantly — these two stories of dehumanization.” into participating in the project.”

“ ”

The 779 teacups represent the number of detainees that have been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002, each cup a representation of their humanity, Hughes said. Most of the teacups will be brought to the performance at NU, he added.

Practice program assistant Matthew Martin explained the complex themes in Hughes’ work is one of the reasons he is being featured in the Arts Circle Celebration next weekend.

“It’s not something that gets brought up at celebratory events like this,” Martin said. “It’s a nice counter to some of the other (more whimsical) events throughout the day.”

Through bringing this project to his alma mater in particular, Hughes said he wants to challenge people through his art. Especially in light of International Torture Awareness month in June, Hughes said he wants people to consider their part in the legality of torture because it’s not as far from home as people may assume.

“We want to create a space where people think about torture,” he said. “We can look at the underpinning Islamophobia and racism of these policies, and we can look at the humanity and generosity (that exists) despite this.” sophiemann2018@u.northwestern.edu

NSTV Premiere Series of sketches features feminist, political tones

By AMANDA SVACHULA

daily senior staffer @amandasvaschula

Northwestern Sketch Television will premiere a school year’s worth of sketches on Friday, with several of them embodying feminist themes.

“We find humor in what it means to be a woman in the world and a woman in comedy,” said NSTV head writer Jackie Quinn. “Half of our writers’ room is female and the director is female and this is the first time NSTV has had a female director.”

NSTV functions as a year-round collaborative group that produces sketches, said Communication junior Lizzie Frieder, the group’s executive

producer. She added this year’s premiere has no one overarching theme but features a quirky cast of characters, feminist tone and varied political perspectives.

During 12 weekends each year, Frieder said, NSTV produces a variety of sketches that are compiled to make up the premiere. These are produced by writers and an art and production crew that sometimes travels off campus to film, she said.

Writers bounce around ideas for sketches in a writers’ room that meets twice a week throughout the year, head writer Ben Gauthier said.

Because there are a variety of writers who participate, Gauthier said the type of humor NSTV embodies often varies from sketch to sketch and from year to year.

“It’s kind of like a big family that makes sketches together,” the Communication junior said. “It’s a huge collective effort.”

In the end, writers find ideas for sketches in unexpected ways, said Quinn, a Communication senior. Some of their content is inspired by watching comedy TV, while other sketches are influenced by simple everyday occurrences — “extraordinary in the ordinary.”

The head writers and other members of the leadership team ultimately decide what sketches will actually be produced and included in the premiere, Quinn said.

During the year, the sketches are filmed on campus and even in different places, such as real doctors’ offices and movie theaters, Frieder said.

She added that once the sketches are shown at

the premiere in Ryan Family Auditorium, they will be put up on YouTube.

As for participants in the group, Frieder emphasized NSTV’s role in serving as a “comedy conglomerate” in the NU community. Students who participate in groups such as Comedy Forum and Mee-Ow are often involved in NSTV as well.

She said she’s excited to finally show off the work the group has been working hard on for the entire year.

“It’s super, super funny,” Frieder said. “ (On campus) we’ve seen a lot of improv and stand up, but it’s cool to see all kinds of things … and no other group is like NSTV.” amandasvachula@u.northwestern.edu

Studio 22 Premiere emphasizes diversity, inclusivity

By KELLEY CZAJKA

the daily northwestern @kelleyczajka

Communication junior Jack Birdsall spent his 2015 spring break in Hyderabad, India, collaborating on small film projects with other students from Northwestern and the Annapurna International School of Film and Media.

After completing a stop-motion animation film, he and his friend, AISFM student Revanth Levaka, decided to pursue something bigger — a cross-cultural short film called “Fighter Kites,” which will be shown as part of Studio 22’s annual premiere on June 4.

The premiere is a chance for Studio 22 to present the films it has produced over the course of the year.

The event will also feature works from other student groups as part of the group’s initiative in promoting diversity as well, said Studio 22 outgoing executive co-chair Marion Hill, a Communication senior.

Like previous years, the premiere will showcase a film produced by the Northwestern University Women Filmmakers Alliance and the Niteskool music video in addition to the eight Studio 22-funded films, Hill said. But for the first time, the premiere will also feature films produced by Inspire Media, the Multicultural Filmmakers Collective and Studio 20Q—Studio 22’s sister production company at NU’s Qatar Campus.

“We have been working really hard to promote more diversity in what we’re including in our programming and being more inclusive and especially just trying to get away from this sort of old system of just screening our own films,” Hill said.

Studio 22 provides grants for students to produce 10- to 20-minute films outside of class, while providing financial oversight and general support throughout each film’s production process and making sure everyone involved in each production has a learning experience, Studio 22 executive co-chair Erin Manning said.

“We promote ambition, quality and education,” Manning, a Communication junior, said. “Because we’re providing extracurricular opportunities that they’re not getting in production classes, we are just seeking to make sure that everyone can learn something.”

A different number of films is produced each quarter, and the grants are given the quarter before shooting begins, Manning said. All films created over the course of the year are showcased at the annual premiere before Finals Week.

Birdsall and Levaka’s film was the recipient of Studio 22’s special projects grant. “Fighter Kites,” came out of Birdsall’s spring break trip which was part of the Indian Cinema Seminar. In this program, which is now-discontinued, RTVF students could take a class on Indian film during Winter Quarter before traveling to India to work with students at AISFM, Birdsall said.

Birdsall’s film is a drama about a woman in the United States and a man in India who are in a longdistance relationship, and how their complete reliance on technology to sustain their relationship ultimately fails them.

Half of the film was directed in the language of Telugu by Levaka in Hyderabad, while Birdsall directed the other half in English in America.

Birdsall said co-directing a film with someone on the other side of the world was incredibly challenging,

but that he learned a great amount about directing and communication throughout production.

“Getting past cultural barriers and language barriers, I learned how to be 100 percent clear with everything that I wanted to communicate about the movie because I could have just sent them my script and told them ‘translate it, shoot it, do whatever you want,’” Birdsall said.

Levaka, as well as the film’s Indian co-star and cinematographer, hope to come to the premiere, making it the first time in over a year the two directors would speak face-to-face, Birdsall said.

Manning and Hill said they are excited about all of the films at the premiere, and that it always

Jewish Theatre Ensemble presents: “Stunning” at 7:30 p.m. in Shanley Pavilion

friday A&O Films presents: “Zootopia” at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. in McCormick Auditorium Jewish Theatre Ensemble presents: “Stunning” at 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. in Shanley Northwestern Sketch Television Premiere at 8 p.m. in Ryan Family Auditorium MFA Lab Series presents: “Middletown” at 8 p.m. in The Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts

kelleyczajka2019@u.northwestern.edu

Source: Vivek Venkatraman

GOING GLOBAL Actors perform in the short film “Fighter Kites.” Communication junior Jack Birdsall collaborated with Revanth Levaka to direct the film.

CALENDAR thursday

brings together a wide range of people — from RTVF students to young child actors and their families to NU professors to, now, film students from across the globe.

“There’s red carpet, there’s a photographer, there’s snacks,” Manning said. “We kind of just like to make it a big celebration of all the work that all members of the film community, whether you’re a film major or not, have put in over the past year because this is how we spend a lot of our time, this is what we’re passionate about, and having a way to celebrate that in one confined space is really exciting.”

The Freshman Musical presents: “High School Musical” at 11 p.m. in Harris Hall

saturday Jewish Theatre Ensemble presents: “Stunning” at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in Shanley MFA Lab Series presents: “Middletown” at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the Wirtz Center A&O Films presents: “Zootopia” at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. in McCormick The Freshman Musical presents: “High School Musical” at 8 p.m. in Harris Refresh Dance Crew presents: “X” at 9 p.m. in Ryan Family Auditorium

sunday MFA Lab Series presents: “Middletown” at 2 p.m. in the Wirtz Center

A&E

arts & entertainment

Refresh Dance Crew presents: “X” at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. in Ryan Family Auditorium Editor Amanda Svachula Staff Stavros Agorakis Kelley Czajka Tori Latham Sophie Mann

Assistant Editors Emily Chin Rachel Yang Designers Rachel Dubner Jerry Lee Rachel Silverstein KT Son

OPINION

Join the online conversation at www.dailynorthwestern.com

Thursday, May 26, 2016

PAGE 8

Discussion sections should fit NU students’ needs NICOLE KEMPIS

DAILY COLUMNIST

The awkward silence following a Teaching Assistant’s question seems like an inevitable part of discussion section. The instructor, usually a young graduate student, tries to gently prompt students to respond, their desperate questions becoming progressively simpler until someone takes pity and finally answers.

I’m fairly certain that this experience is not one that most freshmen anticipate when they enroll in their first discussion sections. Many people envision college as a locus of fiery debates, a place where students are actively involved in political and social issues and are not afraid to voice their opinions. Although the public dialogue at Northwestern does have passionate moments, I’ve noticed that the topics of general conversations tend to stay light and relatively superficial.

Conversations during discussion section are no different. Although I have had a TA that did an excellent job of getting students

to engage personally with the class material, the sense in the overwhelming majority of my discussion sections has been that the students, and often the TA, would rather be anywhere else.

This is frustrating not only because the section often feels like a waste of everyone’s time, but because discussion sections have the potential to inspire the kind of dialogue that seems to be lacking elsewhere on NU’s campus. Often it seems like TAs think that more people will participate if they dumb down the discussion, but this is completely counterproductive. Simplifying the class material denies students the opportunity to engage in nuanced dialogue and it renders what could have been an interesting class that much more boring.

Discussion should be an opportunity for students to get aggressive about their positions, to make stupid claims and learn from them and to hear a diverse array of opinions from their peers. You cannot truly understand your position on a complex subject until you’ve voiced it to someone else. These discussions are integral to the college experience because discussing our views with someone else helps us to better understand how our opinions fit into the context of a

larger debate. More importantly, hearing, understanding and respecting another person’s opinion often helps us to refine our own arguments in ways that we can’t by ourselves.

When the time comes to voice a complex opinion in a professional situation, or even in a casual conversation, having engaged in multiple discussions before hand allows us to present a much more refined perspective.

Moreover, discussion section could be a space for students to learn to speak publicly.

It’s undeniable that people we meet form an impression on us based on how we speak.

Too often students get decent participation grades just by providing answers, regardless of the logic of their arguments or ability to articulate their thoughts. I don’t think that’s good enough. The current system is failing to prepare NU students for a world in which they will not be rewarded simply for speaking, but will be judged instead on what they say and how well they convey their perspectives.

I can see the challenge TAs face. If they offer students criticism then students will be less likely to respond for fear of being chastised. Yet if TAs always acknowledge every point students make as “good,” the standard of the discussion becomes obscenely low and

no one gains anything.

The solution is twofold. Firstly, TAs should work to engage students in debate by introducing questions that are personally relevant to students and pertain to topics that don’t have easy answers. Secondly, once people are participating, TAs should demand more from students’ answers. Thoughtful and original answers should be an expectation, as should our ability to express ourselves clearly without saying “like” every other word. These criteria may sound harsh, but how well or poorly students articulate themselves will affect how they are perceived by future colleagues and employers.

By focusing on fostering real dialogue and introducing higher standards, discussion section could become an avenue for students to develop thoughtful views and teach them to express these opinions in a more fluid way that would benefit them in the future.

Nicole Kempis is a Weinberg sophomore. She can be reached at nicolekempis2018@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern. com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

Friendships are just as important as academic degrees ALEXI STOCKER

DAILY COLUMNIST

As we hurtle toward the end of the academic year, each day flying by faster and faster, members of the class of 2016 chatter about how much we’ll miss our friends, our feelings about leaving Northwestern, and our hopes and fears for the future.

No matter how we feel about leaving NU, one thing remains true for just about every member of the class of 2016: Making close friends becomes a lot harder after college.

Sociologists agree there are three crucial conditions for making close friends, many of which vanish once we leave college: proximity, repeated unplanned interactions and openness on the part of both parties. No matter where we’re heading after graduation — even graduate or professional school — those three categories are highly unlikely to be met again. Sure, we’ll have colleagues we can grab a drink with after work and casual

friends we see on a regular basis, but the development of close friendships will become more difficult after college.

Close friendships are incredibly important. Strong interpersonal relationships are beneficial for mental and physical health.

Close friends give us a sense of purpose and belonging, make us happier, increase our self-confidence and self-worth, provide support in times of personal crisis and often influence us in positive ways. Sadly, a growing percentage of American adults don’t have any close friends. Adults may have plenty of acquaintances and contacts, but genuine friendship falls by the wayside as we age.

The friendships we developed here at NU matter. College is a period of rapid personal growth and development, and our friends have been a part of our journeys into early adulthood. Many of my closest friends have inspired, influenced and guided me as I have grown. Our closest friends know us better than anybody else, largely because they’ve been with us as we’ve developed and changed.

What does it take to maintain strong friendships? Intensity of effort matters. We

need to do more than occasionally text and message our friends. Regular phone calls, Skype sessions and in-person conversations are crucial for maintaining the openness, empathy and compassion that define genuinely strong friendships. Phone calls and Skype sessions are a greater time commitment than electronic messaging. They require coordinating busy schedules and actively setting aside time for our friends.

Planning dinner or drinks with friends in the same city still carries the burden of figuring out transportation and coordinating schedules. Long workdays and heavy professional and graduate school course loads leave us tired at the end of each day, sapping motivation to meet our friends for an event or a relaxed evening out.

Traveling to visit friends, or hosting friends in our homes, is an even bigger commitment. We put countless other commitments on hold to spend time with a visiting friend, or spend money on bus, train or air travel to make the trip to someone else’s home. Simply finding or making time for an open weekend is difficult enough, not to mention the real financial costs of such visits.

Politics are more than presidential elections AKASH BORDE

DAILY COLUMNIST

It’s hard to escape coverage of the 2016 US presidential election. Even before March 2015, when the first major candidate — Ted Cruz — declared his candidacy, media pundits had already begun speculating about who would run for office. The national election is half a year away, but that hasn’t stopped Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders from dominating the news for the past year.

Being informed about the presidential election is important, but it is equally important to be informed about local politics at the city and state level. The president may play a significant role in shaping the country’s future, but local governments play more significant roles in our daily lives.

If you went to public grade school in the United States, your education was shaped mostly by local governments. In the 20112012 school year, 87.7 percent of education funding came from non-Federal sources, and areas such as developing curricula were largely the responsibility of local communities and state governments.

Although people seem to know the national debate about education policy better

than their local policy, it is at the local level that the majority of the work is done. For example, Chicago Public Schools fall under control of current mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is responsible for negotiations with unions over policies such as teacher wages.

Funding for Illinois state colleges is under the domain of the Illinois legislature, which passed a $600 million education bill last month after nearly a year without agreeing on a budget.

But it’s not just The president education — the economy is another may play a domain where significant role national politics overshadows the work in shaping done by local politithe country’s cians. Presidential future, but local candidates often spar about job growth, governments but local officials play more are the ones that significant roles establish ordinances impact busiin our daily lives. which nesses development.

Decisions about residential and commercial zoning for counties and cities happen at the local level, not the presidential.

Given how much more impactful local politics are to our everyday lives, it is crazy how little attention they get. Local media

“

often do not have the same sort of resources as national media to cover happenings at the local level, nor does local media have the same sort of incentives. Watching a debate between nonpartisan community members for city council usually isn’t as exciting as the primetime Republican or Democratic presidential debates.

Sadly, low media coverage of local politics has a serious effect on citizen engagement.

A joint study between George Washington University and American University reported that low coverage directly links to low voter turnout. This makes sense. If people don’t know who their candidates are, they are less likely to go out and vote.

We need to actively divert some of our attention from the neverending presidential election coverage and educate ourselves on our local elections. Even when writing this column, I had to look up who Evanston and Illinois’ elected officials were, and who will be up for election in the fall. It’s time we stopped over analyzing every single thing that presidential candidates do and learned a little more about what’s going on in our city councils and state legislatures.

Akash Borde is a McCormick freshman. He can be contacted at akashborde2019@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

I personally use, and suggest, an Excel spreadsheet for organizing friendships. It may not be difficult to keep in touch with our five to 10 closest friends at first, but as working weeks fly by we easily forget when we last spoke to them. Centralizing such data allows us to better manage our friendships. It may sound strange, and perhaps a little cold and calculated, but it works.

Committing to our friends requires effort.

No matter how much we enjoy our friends’ company, no matter how much we love them, the realities of life after NU set in, and a myriad distractions take over our lives. Close friendships are a source of purpose, self-confidence, stability and happiness in our lives.

As we move forward, let’s keep in touch. As life changes, remember that the friendships we made are as or more valuable than the degrees we earned.

Alexi Stocker is a Weinberg senior. He can be reached at alexistocker2016@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

The Daily Northwestern Volume 136, Issue 133 Editor in Chief Tyler Pager Managing Editors Julia Jacobs Tori Latham Khadrice Rollins

Opinion Editors Tim Balk Angela Lin Assistant Opinion Editor Nicole Kempis

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.

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 9

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

Group encourages NU to use fair trade products

By JULIA DORAN

the daily northwestern @_juliadoran

A new student group is working to certify Northwestern as a “fair trade university,” starting with advocacy and outreach.

Proponents of fair trade push for fair and livable wages for workers, safe and healthy working conditions, local sustainability and fair terms of trade for farmers, said Anne Debertin, who founded Fair Trade at NU during Winter Quarter.

“It goes beyond just wages,” the Weinberg junior said. “It goes to workers’ entire livelihoods and toward their ability to lead a life that doesn’t degrade them and put them on the outskirts of society and marginalize them to a point where they really have no voice of their own.”

Dance Marathon From page 1

stared at in airports “like she’s less-than or they’re afraid of her.”

“We want all individuals in this world to be accepted, embraced and given the tools they need to succeed in their lives,” Gianni said. “Having a campus embrace our children is going to open this up to other campuses embracing our kids or anyone who is different. This group of students was able to see that.”

In addition to fundraising for GiGi’s, DM will also sponsor tutoring sessions taught by NU students for children with Down syndrome. Montalvo said the sessions, held on campus, will provide more service opportunities for students, some of whom would rather volunteer than fundraise.

“There are people on this campus who have reached out to people on our executive board, feeling like they wanted to do more and have an opportunity to do more,” Montalvo said. “It makes it more accessible to students who have been reaching out to do service.”

After facing criticism, DM took steps to increase inclusivity, which included increasing funding for scholarships for students who couldn’t afford the $50 registration fee, which has now decreased to $35. In April 2014, more than two dozens students published a letter in The Daily calling on the organization to be “bigger than a tent” and become more accessible for low-income and non-Greek students.

Montalvo also said DM will launch a new grant

The fair trade movement lessens demand for cheap products, which often require dangerous working conditions, meager wages and general neglect of workers’ basic needs, Debertin said. Fair trade products, though more expensive, ensure better conditions and fair pay for the workers, she said.

Fair Trade at NU is focusing on raising awareness through campus events such as Philfest and documentary screenings that challenge assumptions about the movement, Debertin said.

“Almost every other Chicago university and college had a fair trade group, and Northwestern is so social justice oriented that I was just shocked that we didn’t have our own,” she said. “I wanted to have some way that we could contribute as well, and I think as a very privileged campus, we have a lot of resources, and we have a lot that we can offer.”

Weinberg sophomore Natalie Burg, a member of Fair Trade at NU, said there are about 10 students program next year, aiming to raise $17,200 to help low-income students and smaller teams with fundraising. Montalvo said DM hopes alumni and parents will help raise the funding goal, which is $400 times 43, the number of years DM has been on campus.

“We don’t want to limit people’s opportunity to be in the tent and to dance for the 30 hours,” she said.

Fundraising and volunteering for the nonprofit will also let students work against ableism on campus and beyond, Montalvo said.

“When you realize the challenges people with Down syndrome face every day, like dealing with so much discrimination, you realize NUDM has the power to not only improve the futures of these people, but also to change the way the rest of the world sees their differences by spreading awareness and acceptance,” SESP junior Jenny Halpern, one of DM’s executive co-chairs, said in the release.

SESP junior Ian Pappas, the other DM executive co-chair, said GiGi’s far-reaching message appealed to him and the rest of DM’s executive board.

“It’s about global acceptance and global awareness,” Pappas said. “It’s about celebrating difference and really allowing people to grow as people no matter what their abilities are.”

DM’s secondary beneficiary will be the Evanston Community Foundation, a local nonprofit being supported by DM for the 20th year in a row.

Dance Marathon will begin March 3, 2017. shanem@u.northwestern.edu

in the group and a four-person executive board that meets weekly. She added the group plans to recruit heavily in the fall.

The group will focus on getting fair trade products into dining halls next, starting with bananas. Members have already started communicating with local banana distributors, Debertin said.

Real Food at NU, which pushes for a more ethical and sustainable dining system, focuses some attention on the human rights component of food consumption, including support of fair trade, said Morgan McFall-Johnsen, Real Food at NU’s codirector and analyst.

The group plans to help Fair Trade at NU once it begins efforts to introduce new products into the dining halls, McFall-Johnsen said.

“Real Food will probably serve as the liaison between Fair Trade and Sodexo and NU Dining, because we do have those relationships already built

Roundtable From page 1

At times discussion between students at the roundtable grew heated, as support for the new proposal was almost evenly split between those in attendance. Some students said it would force groups to reassess their reasons for exclusivity, while others, like Joseph Raff, executive director of Supplies for Dreams, said a unilateral policy would not work.

“There is a significant problem with the culture of exclusivity,” the McCormick junior said.

“But imposing a policy like the Stanford one to force a single solution across a wide variety of groups is just going to push people farther apart and farther underground.”

Raff said he would rather the University sit down with groups and work on a case-by-case basis to review application processes before it took action. In the past, he added, University policy seemed to come from the top down.

Turner said culture change could not occur in that manner, but must instead come from students themselves.

Steven Bennett, a Weinberg junior, said he disagreed with the implicit notion that some students deserved membership more than others.

“It’s really evidence of how toxic campus is that people think they can interview someone once or twice and say, ‘You’re better than this

YEA

ARE

FRIDAY 5/13 at The Rock 10am–2pm MONDAY-FRIDAY 5/16–5/27 at Norris 10am–3pm

up, and we work with them on a pretty regular basis,” the Medill freshman said.

Sodexo spokeswoman Rachel Tilghman said NU Dining is committed to supporting fair trade because of its partnership with Real Food at NU, as well as the University’s recent pledge to increase “real food” in dining halls to 20 percent by 2020.

She also said although she has not yet heard directly from Fair Trade at NU, NU Dining is eager to work with students to further the effort, which has been particularly successful in advocating for fair trade coffee in dining halls and the cafe in University Library.

“If there are other products or other areas students would like to see under that fair trade umbrella, we are more than happy to research and understand what purchasing options are available to us,” she said. juliadoran2018@u.northwestern.edu other person,’” Bennett said. “What kind of 18or 19-year-old has business experience … unless they’re super privileged or have parents that have lots of money?”

But not all student groups share the goal of inclusivity, said Aashrey Tiku, president of AIESEC, which provides cross-cultural internships and international volunteer experiences. Some organizations exist to perform specific functions, he said, while others serve as communities. The former might not strive for inclusivity in the same way the latter does, the Weinberg junior added.

Isaac Rappoport, co-president of Deering Days, said students did not need more exclusivity at a university that admits just over 10 percent of applicants. Instead, he said, the current system caters to those who come from wealth and excludes students who can’t meet arbitrary standards. He added that use of University space and funding is a privilege, not a right.

“This is a systematic way by which people are excluded from the Northwestern community based on standards that Northwestern has already identified as negative things,” the Weinberg junior said.

Next Wednesday, Associated Student Government Senate is scheduled to vote on a resolution that disavows the potential proposal. davidpkfishman@u.northwestern.edu

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NUsyllabus.com

10 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

2nd Ward

the high school benefits from being closely surrounded by a residential area, and the neighbors to the school have easy access to athletic competitions and other events taking place at ETHS. “The high school is … part of the neighborhood,” he said. “We have a long-time, generational relationship with the 2nd Ward and the community around us.”

From page 1

Braithwaite — who was appointed alderman in 2011 by Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl after former Alderman Lionel Jean-Baptiste was appointed to the 9th Subcircuit Court of Cook County — said although the diversity in businesses and residents can sometimes lead to clashing opinions, the ward works “cohesively together.”

A common misconception

Community building

Psychotherapist Dickelle Fonda has lived on Darrow Avenue in central west Evanston since 1980, and said people need to get to know the 2nd Ward.

“People talk about Evanston as being diverse racially and economically, but it’s not integrated,” she said. “(The 2nd Ward) is historically the most integrated in the community.”

The diversity in the ward is represented on every block, Fonda said, and it is what has attracted many of her neighbors to move to the area. Fonda has been part of her neighborhood association since she moved into the area in the 1980s, and says it’s how people connect socially and stay on the same page with one another about neighborhood news.

But it’s not just the diversity of residents that makes the 2nd Ward unique. An enclave of manufacturing businesses in the blocks surrounding Dodge Avenue and Dempster Street coexist with everything from grocery stores to artists’ and writers’ studios to residences in the rest of the ward.

“We have a very thriving business community in the west end — both the shopping center and the west end industrial businesses,” Braithwaite said. “We have homeowners who have lived in town for many, many years and we also have a piece of the thriving downtown.”

The members of the Evanston WestEnd business district range from the brewery Temperance Beer Co., 2000 Dempster St., to manufacturing companies such as IRMCO Advanced Lubricant Technologies, which makes lubricants for automotive parts.

IRMCO has been at 2117 Greenleaf St. since 1917, said Jennifer Kalas, the president of the company. In recent years, they too have seen a lot of change in the 2nd Ward. Along with city officials and other manufacturing businesses in west Evanston, Kalas helped start Evanston WestEnd in 2010.

“We were kind of a forgotten area,” she said.

“Since we started the association, the city pays way more attention to us.”

Since they started WestEnd, Kalas said she has seen the industrial area around IRMCO become not only cleaner but also an increasingly popular place for businesses to set up shop.

Another business organization, the Evanston West Village Business Association, started at about the same time to support other businesses

Daniel Tian/Daily Senior Staffer

STOMPING GROUND Penny Park is in the eastern part of the 2nd Ward. Residents in the ward say their community is both diverse and tight knit.

in the ward.

Jean Kroll, the owner of Sugar & Spice Extraordinary Sweet Treats, 1205 Hartrey Ave., said being part of Evanston WestEnd has helped both the industrial area and the neighborhood around it improve. The business district was needed, she said, because “the needs of manufacturers are quite different” than those of traditional retail businesses.

After outgrowing its previous location on Foster Street, Kroll said the business needed a larger space with amenities such as a loading dock that would support it. The company moved into the Hartrey Avenue location three years ago.

“It’s in the right type of industrial area,” she said. “There’s really not that many options in Evanston that were able to offer those amenities.”

Economic development has also taken off in other areas of the ward, such as in the Main Street Plaza as well as the Evanston Plaza, Braithwaite said.

As the 2nd Ward has grown over the years, the area’s property values have increased, Fonda said, making her anxious about the neighborhood’s future.

“I have concern about the fact that property values are so out of range for young people in our city,” she said. “Our ward is still considered fairly affordable — if you consider $500,000 affordable.”

Fonda, who is on the board of the Evanston West Village Business Association, said she

worries that younger people who want to stay in Evanston and raise their families won’t be able to buy houses and will instead move to cheaper areas outside of the city.

“What that means in the long run is that we will not be a diverse community,” she said.

However, as of now, much of the ward remains largely residential, with larger singlefamily homes and a few small apartment complexes dotting the streets. A main draw for some to the neighborhood is its proximity to ETHS.

Home of the Wildkits

Evanston Township High School is located in the northern part of the ward. Although much of the ward extends south from the high school, it is still an advantage to be able to walk to school, Fonda said.

“The high school is literally at the epicenter of town,” said Braithwaite, who has four children, some of who have attended ETHS. “The four walls of the high school is what brings all the various wards of Evanston together.”

ETHS’ location in a neighborhood, rather than at the edge of a town or in a more isolated area, is a benefit, said Eric Witherspoon, the superintendent of School District 202, which serves only ETHS. When the high school’s current location was established in the 1920s, it was on the edge of Evanston, but the neighborhood has “grown up” around it Witherspoon said.

The relationship between ETHS and the surrounding area is “symbiotic,” he said, because

The 2nd Ward is often characterized as having more crime than other wards, but that assumption isn’t fair, Fonda said.

“To characterize the 2nd Ward as a dangerous place or a crime-ridden place is totally false and totally stereotypical,” she said.

A heat map compiled by the Evanston Police Department shows the number of “shots fired” reports from Jan. 1 to July 31, 2015. The reports are filed when someone calls in to EPD that shots have been fired, not necessarily when a gun has been discharged. The map shows the area immediately surrounding ETHS as having a higher density of shots fired incidents, but most of the 2nd Ward has either a low density of reports or no reports at all over the time period.

The ward is relatively stable, said Evanston police Cmdr. Joseph Dugan, although issues do pop up from time to time.

A break-in earlier this month on the 1300 block of Dewey Avenue got a lot of neighborhood attention, Dugan said. However, Dugan said this is rare for the area, and attributed the generally low amount of crime to neighborhood vigilance.

“The thing about the ward is that the residents there definitely call and let us know when stuff is going on when they see suspicious stuff and try to get a hold of stuff before anything can get a foothold in the area,” he said.

Neighbors in the 2nd Ward tend to watch out for one another, Marsha Fincher said.

Fincher said she can remember times when neighbors worked with Braithwaite or the former alderman, EPD officers and other city officials to try to combat drug issues in the area. She said those issues have improved in recent years.

“We walked the streets constantly. … A whole bunch of that has left,” she said. “It’s just not tolerated.”

Although neighborhood safety was an issue he was looking to address when he became alderman, Braithwaite said the issue has “remained stable” over the years, partly thanks to input and cooperation from the ward’s residents.

Fonda said neighbors get to know each other and generally keep on eye on things.

“Lots of young families have come into our neighborhood over the last ten years and they’re raising their children here,” she said. “They wouldn’t come here if it was not safe. It is.” norashelly2019@u.northwestern.edu

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | SPORTS 11

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2016

Olah

From page 12 still coaching at Duke in the 2013 NCAA Tournament and was getting ready to face Michigan State in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis. The two had been texting and Olah’s host family drove him from nearby Zionsville down to the hotel where his new coach was staying.

Olah and Collins spoke for more than an hour, and what the young center said during their first meeting stood out to the rookie head coach.

“The one thing that struck me when I first met him was him saying to me, ‘I really want to be a good player,’” Collins said. “He told me, ‘I want you and your staff to work with me and believe in me, and I’ll do anything it takes because I really want this.’”

Collins said his first step was to get Olah’s confidence back. The struggles from his freshman year had taken a toll.

To get his center to believe in himself again, Collins said he needed to remind him about who he was. That first offseason, every time he saw Olah in person, Collins made him look him in the eyes and tell him he was a beast.

“He was having fun with it, and he started adding some choice adjectives to the beast, a choice f-word before the beast,” Collins said. “That’s when I knew that he was really getting it.”

What started as a lighthearted motivational tactic turned into a t-shirt and a nickname that Olah fully embraced, and eventually elevated his play on the court.

Olah boosted his numbers to 9.1 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore, more than doubled his block total and improved his field goal and free throw marks by almost 10 percentage points each. As a junior, he took the next step and was named as an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention by the media after averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He also became NU’s all time leader in blocks in late February.

“I thought I had a chance to be one of the best centers in the Big Ten, and I went in every season and every offseason with that mindset,” Olah said.

In his senior season, everything came full circle for Olah.

He continued his production from the previous year both before and after an injury caused him to miss some time mid-season, and was an integral part of getting the Cats to a program-record 20 wins.

He developed into a leader for the younger guys in the locker room, especially freshman center Dererk

Pardon.

“He was like a mentor to me, a big brother,” Pardon said. “He taught me a lot of things I couldn’t learn from the coaches … he took me under his wing and helped me out a lot.”

Both Collins and Pardon reflected on Olah’s role as the emotional leader of the team, with Pardon recalling Olah giving numerous pump-up rants in his Romanian accent during practices.

As a person and a player, his growth was complete, Collins said.

“The thing that I loved was seeing that growth, that confidence, that kind of swagger, where by the time we got to this year, seeing him walk with his head held high, seeing how well-loved he was, and seeing how proud he was of himself,” Collins said.

But something was missing — his parents had still never seen him play at NU. Collins and Olah had been working for a year to sort out the flights, paperwork and schedules, and their efforts paid off at the end of his senior season.

On March 4, 2016, Olah’s family arrived in the U.S. for the first time, much like Olah himself had done nearly five and a half years prior. A few days later, they were in the Welsh-Ryan Arena stands to watch him lead the Cats to a victory over Nebraska on Senior Day. “To see them be able to come out on his Senior Night and get that ovation, and have them walk hand in hand with his host family, kind of put it all into perspective of what this place has meant to him, to see his emotions,” Collins said. “There’s no one I’ve coached that loves this place any more than Alex.”

Alex Olah slid across the court.

Everything had built up to that moment in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament. He had transformed from a timid freshman to a senior confident enough to take, and make, two clutch shots late in a postseason game.

Looking back, Olah said there’s nothing he would’ve done differently. Looking forward, he’s not giving up on his dream of playing in the NBA. Olah and his agent have found a few NBA workouts, and he plans on trying to play in the Summer League with the hopes that a team will give him a shot. If not, he’ll head back across the ocean and play professionally in Europe.

Olah said Collins has told him he could be an excellent coach someday, too.

“You never know, in 10 years you might be seeing me here on campus again,” Olah said with a grin. williamragatz2019@u.northwestern.edu

Demps

From page 12 greatest weakness,” Collins said. “And Tre cares so much. And he takes a lot on his plate. … Eventually, that can overflow and be a negative because you don’t relax. And then you play always a little bit too frantic because you want it so badly.”

Demps’ breakdown caught the team off guard, but perhaps even more shocking — at least in the eyes of the senior guard — was the response he received.

“Just seeing how the guys just supported me and loved me after that moment just speaks volumes about them,” Demps said. “From there I really realized I had brothers who were for me.”

For a player who often struggled to put feelings into words, the moment gave him the opportunity to connect with his teammates, albeit in an unconventional manner. Collins said Demps was able to share the pressures he felt and open up to his team in a manner he struggled to do prior.

Afterward, the team began to play better basketball, winning crucial games down the stretch to earn a bye in the Big Ten Tournament and played Michigan nearly even in an overtime thriller in the tournament.

“He was more open with us, he was more honest about what he was going through — some of his struggles and some of his worries,” McIntosh said.

“It made us closer as a team and we started winning because of that.”

Demps, too, began playing some of the best basketball of his career. His efficiency improved, as did his confidence.

And although the team ultimately fell short of acquiring the coveted NCAA Tournament bid, the year as a whole proved to be another step forward for the growing squad.

“To see that level of play, to see where we’re at and to see what we’re on the verge of doing,” Collins said.

“We’re not there if not for Tre Demps.”

Pounding the rock

“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” – Jacob Riis, The Stonecutter Credo When Collins joined the fray, he brought with him the Stonecutter Credo, an adage first adopted by the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs to stress the importance of perseverance and incremental progress.

“It represents a lot of what we’re trying to (do),” Collins said. “We’ve got this boulder in front of us that we’re trying to break. 75 years of futility, of not

getting to the tournament.”

Today, the credo — often seen condensed in the team’s pervasive “Pound the Rock” branding — can be found in the Cats’ locker room, as can a purple stone for the players to pound to remind them of that ultimate goal.

Despite joining NU with the intention of helping the team make history, Demps won’t be a part of the roster that eventually sees the boulder break.

However, the guard departs satisfied knowing that the program is in better shape than when he joined.

“Just to see the respectability that this program has now is a great honor and something that I wouldn’t trade for anything,” Demps said. “Not a lot of people would stick by and continue to go through the growing pains so that recruits two, three years from now can go into a program that’s already established. It’s honoring to be the dirty work person and do things from the bottom up and now see the program in a place where it’s definitely starting to reach its peak.”

Demps is ready to move on; after five years in Evanston, he knows it’s time to take the next step.

What that next step is remains unclear. In the short term, Demps has his sights on a summer camp invite from an NBA franchise. From there, he’ll look to get a partial deal with a professional team, either in the NBA or abroad.

He’ll face a similar uphill battle as he did as an underappreciated recruit, but that chip on his shoulder and his unparalleled drive bode well for his ability to find success, his teammates and coach say.

“I know he’s going to be successful,” Collins said.

“He’s not afraid to go through that journey.”

But even as he moves on, Demps said he will remain invested in NU basketball. Though his name may not appear on the roster, he knows he’s still a part of the brotherhood, and that he played a role in shaping the program’s future.

And according to his grateful coach, Demps’ lasting legacy won’t be soon forgotten if and when the team eventually takes the next step.

“I want (Tre and fellow senior Alex Olah) to feel amazing joy when they see us get to the mountaintop,” Collins said. “Because it doesn’t happen without those two guys.”

Demps knows there’s still work to do before NU’s rock finally cracks. But he’s confident the program’s moment isn’t too far off in the distance.

And when it finally comes, it’ll be a moment he’ll cherish as much as anyone.

“I feel like I’ve hit that rock a lot of times,” he said.

“And I know when it breaks, a couple of my pounds will have done something.” garrettjochnau2019@u.northwestern.edu

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SPORTS

ON THE RECORD

I want (Tre Demps and Alex Olah) to feel amazing joy when they see us get to the mountaintop. Because it doesn’t happen without those two guys.

— Chris Collins, men’s basketball coach

Thursday, May 26, 2016

@DailyNU_Sports

HAMMERING AWAY C

urtain all

Alex Olah’s career marked by steady increase in confidence

By WILL RAGATZ

the daily northwestern @willragatz

Olah was born in Timisoara, Romania, roughly 5,000 miles away from Welsh-Ryan Arena. As many European children do, he grew up playing soccer.

However, he never developed the love for the game that many of his peers did. He said he tried other sports like tennis, volleyball and handball, but none of those fit him either.

It took until eighth grade for Olah to discover the sport he loves, beginning when he would casually “mess around” on the basketball court behind his school. But after a while, an adult at his school saw Olah playing and suggested he join the high school team, as he was already much taller than his classmates.

Instant success at the high school level led to an offer to join his local club team. When he dominated that level too, Olah wound up playing for Romania’s under-16 team in the 2009 European Championship, where he posted averages of 10.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in eight games.

Olah said his size and talent caught the eye of Ivan Vujic, a former NU assistant coach and inter-

Daily file photo by Daniel Tian

The first time Olah walked into the gym inside Traders Point Christian Academy in Zionsville, Indiana, it was to watch his host sister play in a volleyball tournament. Olah had met his host family only a few hours earlier.

As soon as he stepped in the building, Olah became the center of attention. Whole families stopped and stared at the giant teenager who looked quite unusual in a small private high school.

Olah said a cheerleader went up to him and asked how tall he was, but he forgot the U.S. doesn’t use the metric system.

“I just started saying, ‘Oh, I’m 2 meters and 10 centimeters,’” Olah said. “She was like ‘what?’ and I’m thinking ‘Oh my gosh, I totally forgot I’m in a different country.’ That’s when it hit me. I went to the bathroom and splashed my face, that was the moment I realized everything was different.”

Although he didn’t know it then, Olah would be spending a lot more time in that gym over the next few years. When he first got to the U.S., Olah thought at 16, he was going to start playing for NU right away.

But before he could suit up for the Cats, Olah had to finish high school. At Traders Point, his graduating class was just 12 students. The basketball team had to use seventh and eighth graders to fill the roster, but that didn’t stop Olah from leading it to new heights.

As a junior, Olah led Traders Point to its first Indiana Christian Schools state championship in school history. Then as a senior, he averaged 18.5 points, 13.1 rebounds and 4.6 blocks per game and won a second consecutive title.

After two successful years, he headed to Evanston.

In college, Olah experienced adversity for the first time in his basketball career.

He started 29 games as a freshman under Carmody, but the talent level in the Big Ten was a big change from anything he had previously faced.

“It’s hard as a freshman who did not know anything about college basketball to come in and go against guys like (future top-5 NBA Draft picks) Alex Len and Cody Zeller,” Olah said. “It was a learning curve.”

Olah averaged 6.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting just 41 percent from the field and 58 percent from the free throw line. The struggles shook his confidence.

Throughout his brief basketball career, Olah had generally been bigger and better than much of his competition. That wasn’t the case in year one at NU, and he said it led him to question his abilities as a player.

However, he used that as motivation to improve.

When Collins was hired as Carmody’s replacement at NU, Olah was the first player he met.

Collins was » See OLAH, page 11

By GARRETT JOCHNAU

the daily northwestern @garrettjochnau

Tre Demps had never heard of Northwestern.

As a junior in high school, Demps found himself in the Chicago area alongside his father, NBA executive Dell Demps, who was at the NBA Combine.

After playing pickup at DePaul, Demps visited Evanston where he was introduced to NU’s basketball program — then helmed by coach Bill Carmody.

Naturally, he also learned about to the team’s infamous reputation as the only power conference school to never compete in the NCAA Tournament. But rather than be turned off by the team’s unimpressive track record, Demps saw an opportunity.

“You wanted to be a part of history,” he said. “Be a part of something special.”

That decision set the tone for his career — a career distinguished by hard work and unrealized payoffs.

From the start, Demps was not only willing, but eager to put the program first. And for a program that soon found itself in flux, there was perhaps no better player to spearhead such an effort.

Humble beginnings

Demps found himself on NU’s radar following his visit. NU gave him an offer after his first AAU game of the NCAA’s live recruiting period. He accepted a month later.

Still, despite the immediate initial attraction, Demps ran into his fair share of growing pains in his first few weeks at NU. After a high school career spent in the limelight, balancing personal expectations with the reality of being a smaller fish was jarring, he said. However, an early-season injury forced him into a redshirt and offered Demps a new vantage point.

“I had to take a step back and realize that the program and everything about Northwestern was bigger than myself,” he said.

Even after coming to terms with his new role, Demps’ career began with a few speed bumps. The guard said that he and Carmody failed to establish an early rapport, which was difficult on both parties.

“I think just in life and in basketball, certain people jell together and certain people don’t,” Demps said. “Just based on personalities and just based on the chemistry and vibe of different people — and it doesn’t make either person a bad person — but there just wasn’t ever really a connection there between coach Carmody and I.” The coach-player relationship he yearned wasn’t far off, though. At the end Demps’ redshirt freshman year, Northwestern hired Duke assistant Chris Collins.

For the young guard with lofty aspirations, the coaching change — and ensuing culture change — fit right in with Demps’ personal approach to the game and helped point the program in the direction that Demps envisioned it going from the start.

A new era

In his first year, Collins found himself overwhelmed with work. With everything from hiring a staff to recruiting on his plate, the Cats’ new coach was in his office “morning, noon and night” — working as much as 20 hours a day.

But he wasn’t alone. Collins’ office is situated above a practice court at Welsh-Ryan Arena and as he worked through the transition, he was often accompanied by the sound of a bouncing ball.

“I would peek in, like ‘Who is that?’ It was always Tre,” the coach said. “I wanted a team full of those guys.”

Demps’ reputation as a gym rat accompanied him through high school and under Carmody. But in the Collins era, with strict training regimens introduced and a greater emphasis placed on hard work, Demps said his purpose at NU began to make sense.

“Coach told me that year that my role was to be a key guy,” Demps said. “When I heard that, it was really exciting. I really wanted to do everything I could to make that possible.”

He and Collins immediately clicked. Their shared hunger “to get this program to a new level” served as the foundation of their relationship, Demps said.

That Collins quickly understood and appreciated his player’s introverted ways helped the friendship

flourish further.

However, Collins also understood that Demps would need to accept a role as a leader in order to transform the culture into what they both wanted.

“Leadership was always a tough thing for me personally,” Demps said. “But coach just always told me to … lay the foundational example day in and day out. You know,

working as hard as I could and that the younger guys would just follow suit.”

Sophomore Bryant McIntosh is perhaps the greatest benefactor of Demps’ foundation.

The star point guard entered NU with a similar undying passion, but even he was taken back by how hard his teammate worked. Immediately, he felt pressure to elevate his own work ethic. “(Demps) pushed everyone else,” McIntosh said.

“Coach Collins would say, ‘He’s working, are you?’

It was a follow-the-leader kind of a thing and he was the guy that started it all, and then I followed suit when he took me under his wing and then everybody else just did the same.”

The two began working together in the weight room and in the gym, pushing each other and looking to collectively help the team grow.

Eventually, it evolved into a competition to see who could beat the other to the floor, McIntosh said.

It wasn’t just the two guards, though. As more and more younger players looked up to Demps’ example, the culture evolved accordingly. Soon, Collins’ goal of having a team of workers in the mold of his veteran guard was realized.

“It’s crazy to see seven, eight guys in the gym working on their game,” Demps said. “A long time ago it was just me.”

Now, after his third season, with the Cats seemingly on the verge of transforming into a bubble team, Collins is quick to credit his team’s growth to the changes in culture — changes, he says, Demps helped to spark.

Daily file photo by Jacob Swan

Alex Olah slid backward with all four limbs pointed toward the ceiling and both fists clenched in celebration.

He slid all the way past the half-court logo inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. As he slid, his face bore a look of calm satisfaction. While his teammates went crazy, Olah was cool and composed.

What he had just done hadn’t surprised him.

A few minutes earlier, Northwestern was in real trouble. With only 28 seconds remaining in their first round matchup against Michigan in the 2016 Big Ten Tournament, the Wildcats trailed by 4 points and needed a big shot. Olah set a screen for sophomore guard Bryant McIntosh and rolled to the corner, where McIntosh found him with a perfect pass. The seven-footer, a career 27 percent shooter from beyond the arc, caught the ball, stepped into his shot and confidently drained a triple to pull NU within a point.

Then, after Michigan made one of two free throws, Olah grabbed a Tre Demps missed jumper and, while falling backward, made the shot just before the final buzzer, sending the game to overtime.

It had been an inspired performance throughout the entire second half by the senior center, who scored 16 of his 20 points and grabbed 10 of his 13 rebounds in the period in an attempt to prolong his college career.

Although the Cats would go on to lose in overtime, coach Chris Collins said he is incredibly proud of how Olah refused to lie down in his final game.

“It was really cool as a coach to watch that and see, ‘Man, look how far he’s come,’” Collins said.

national recruiter under Bill Carmody. The Wildcats offered him a scholarship, giving Olah an opportunity to continue his basketball career in the United States.

He would have to leave behind everything he had ever known and travel to a faraway country with little idea what to expect, but Olah said the decision was an easy one.

“I knew I was going to have a better future with this decision,” Olah said. “I knew I was going to come here and get a better education than I would’ve gotten in Romania. I knew I was going to get better at basketball by coming here. The hardest part was just leaving my family, my friends and everything, but the decision was not hard at all.”

Tre Demps helps lay foundation for Northwestern’s future

Final chapter

Midway through the 2015-16 campaign, Demps hit a rut.

After a historic run through nonconference play, the team as a whole had returned to earth.

The month of January was largely characterized by missed opportunities and blowout losses — save for a rout of Minnesota and a narrow win over Wisconsin.

Through it all, Demps was in a slump. In five separate outings, the senior failed to eclipse 30 percent from the floor and, on the month, went just 14-of-64 from long range.

After falling 85-71 to Iowa — the team’s fifthstraight loss and one that was far more lopsided than the 14-point margin suggests — Demps’ emotions boiled over in a film session.

“A lot of times your greatest strength can be your » See DEMPS, page 11