The Daily Northwestern Friday, February 2, 2018
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A multiracial look at tackling whiteness
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Students examine financial barriers Quest Scholars to find strategies for getting resources By ALAN PEREZ
daily senior staffer @_perezalan_
Brian Meng/The Daily Northwestern
Marley Dias, a 13-year-old author, speaks at Evanston Township High School with Evanston eighth-grader Taryn Robinson on Thursday. Dias spoke about her recently published book and her social media campaign.
13-year-old author talks success Marley Dias comes to Evanston to share literature experiences By SAMANTHA HANDLER
the daily northwestern @sn_handler
When Marley Dias sat in her fifth grade class, she was interested in reading but found one problem: All the books her class was reading had “white boys and their dogs” as the main characters. She said she knew books about black girls like her existed because
she had the opportunity to read them outside of class, but she wanted to make sure others had the chance as well. So, when she was in sixth grade, she launched her #1000blackgirlbooks social media campaign, landing her on the Forbes “30 Under 30” list and The Ellen Show. “I know a lot of black kids who rely on their librarians and their teachers to give them information about what’s important to
be reading about, learning about, educating themselves about, but it seems as though they only want them to learn about one experience,” Dias said at Evanston Township High School on Thursday. “So I thought of the idea to collect 1,000 books that have black girls as the main characters and get them into schools.” Dias — a 13-year-old from Philadelphia who recently published her book “Marley Dias
Gets It Done: And So Can You!” — spoke at an event sponsored by Family Action Network. She discussed her campaign, new book and how she has dealt with her newfound fame. ETHS principal Marcus Campbell told The Daily though the school hosts FAN events often, there has never been a crowd “this young, this engaged.” » See DIAS, page 6
As co-president of the Quest Scholars Network, Yakira Mirabito says her access to University officials can generate concrete resources if students voice concerns. “We can get stuff done as the (executive) board,” the McCormick fifth-year said at a Thursday town hall. “We definitely can take all of your thoughts and considerations and make it a reality.” Mirabito began the discussion at the Black House — which was open to all low-income and firstgeneration students, as well as their allies — by listing programs created after students shared the financial barriers they’ve encountered as low-income students, including the Student Activity Scholarship and Student Emergency and Essential Needs Funds. About 15 students discussed those obstacles and potential strategies to get the broader Northwestern community involved. To overcome these barriers, students suggested they ask professors for assistance, appeal financial aid decisions and attend an upcoming
Community Dialogue to advocate for their interests. Among students’ concerns was the administration’s perceived lack of public support for initiatives to aid low-income students. Madisen Hursey, vice president of Quest, said University officials should communicate their support with comparable publicity to their stance against sexual violence. “If the University demonstrates that they care about the issue … and take these definitive actions,” the Weinberg junior said, “then the larger campus can see this is a value that the campus as a whole, demonstrated by these representatives of the University, (upholds).” Hursey also said it’s important students know who in the administration is taking concrete action, noting students’ lack of awareness regarding Provost Jonathan Holloway’s approval of a textbook assistance program last fall. Hursey criticized University President Morton Schapiro’s previous comments that it “doesn’t matter who gets the credit” as long as something “right” is done. “It does matter that we know,” Hursey said. “We have to be able to point to someone and say, ‘We are supported by these people and maybe not these other ones.’ It definitely matters where it comes from.” Additionally, students » See QUEST, page 6
Vulgar comment Local high schooler eyes Olympics ousts state official Northbrook senior also researches dementia, takes math at NU Evanston’s Blair Garber resigns after ‘shithole’ tweet By CATHERINE HENDERSON
the daily northwestern @caity_henderson
Illinois Lottery Control Board chairman Blair Garber resigned and apologized after describing East St. Louis, Illinois, as the “shithole of the universe” on Twitter. Garber, an Evanston resident and representative on the Republican State Central Committee, used language reportedly invoked recently by President Donald Trump to describe the city in southwest Illinois. Garber declined to comment when contacted by The Daily. The State Journal-Register of Springfield first reported that Garber used profanity in response to a tweet from country singer Charlie Daniels. On Jan. 16, Daniels mocked U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) for being offended by President Trump referring to African nations as “shithole countries.” “Mr. Durbin, I’m so sorry
that your virgin ears were blistered by the absolutely horrible language president Trump used in front of you,” Daniels tweeted. “The president actually thought he was addressing a meeting of members of congress, not a kindergarten class.” Garber responded to the tweet, saying, “Charlie, Durbin’s hometown is (get this) east St. Louis Illinois! The shithole of the universe! Just do a google search,” the Journal-Register reported. His tweet has since been taken down, according to the Washington Post. East St. Louis, a city across the Missouri River from St. Louis, is a predominantly black city, according to the Post. About 44 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Politicians on both sides of the aisle denounced Garber’s comments and called for him to resign, the Journal-Register reported. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner accepted his resignation and an apology on Wednesday, according to media reports. Nikki Baim contributed reporting chenderson@u.northwestern.edu
Serving the University and Evanston since 1881
By CLARE PROCTOR
the daily northwestern @ceproctor23
Ethan Schonfeld walked into room 107 of Lunt Hall on the first day of Northwestern’s Fall Quarter. A Glenbrook North High School senior, Schonfeld anticipated being the only high school student in Mathematics 291, Intensive Linear Algebra and Multivariable Calculus. The first person he saw, however, was his friend from math team, another high school senior. “To find out I was not unique was a shock, was a nice surprise,” Schonfeld said. “What also shocked me on the first day was just how welcoming everyone was.” Schonfeld is now in his second quarter of the 291 sequence, balancing homework that is “nothing like high school” with the rest of his life, he said. After a full day of classes, both at Glenbrook North and NU, Schonfeld heads to Glenview Titan Aquatic Club for swimming practice, he said. Schonfeld started swimming in third grade, and said he “just wanted out” for the first two years, but his parents encouraged him to continue with it. Nine years
later, Schonfeld is training to earn a national championshipqualifying time in the 100-meter breaststroke, he said. “That’s the goal this summer,” he said. “And it’s a pretty lofty goal, but it’s an expectation I have for myself.” Steve Iida, Schonfeld’s coach at the aquatic club, has been coaching the senior for just over a year, he said. The “elite club” attracted Schonfeld, particularly because Iida previously coached an Olympic swimming champion, Olivia Smoliga, Schonfeld said. Schonfeld’s determination, as well as his “willingness to fail,” struck Iida when he first started coaching the swimmer. Iida said he doesn’t want to put “a grain of doubt” in Schonfeld’s head about his goal to qualify for the Olympic trials in 2020. “If Ethan thinks he’s going to do it, I don’t see why not,” Iida said. “In Ethan’s case, he has a lot of talent, and I don’t put it over on him.” When Schonfeld isn’t swimming laps in the pool or doing his math problem sets, he spends time shadowing and researching with Dr. Ricardo Senno at Senno Group Wellness & Rehabilitation. Since eighth grade, Schonfeld has immersed himself in the lives
Noah Frick-Alofs/Daily Senior Staffer
Ethan Schonfeld. Schonfeld is training for the swimming Olympic trials.
of dementia patients who are under Senno’s care. Seeing the suffering caused by the disease was “shocking,” Schonfeld said. “I watched people fall, I watched people go to the bathroom in the middle of the building,” he said. “As a 14-year-old, it was jarring to see that.”
The research Schonfeld has done with Senno centers on the correlation between hearing loss and falls in people with dementia, Schonfeld said. The pair will be presenting this research, as well as an algorithm Schonfeld created to » See SCHONFELD, page 6
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