The Daily Northwestern - February 16, 2023

The Daily Northwestern

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

Students talk early graduation, benefits

Quarter system’s flexible framework allows head start

By KATIE JAHNS daily senior staffer @katie_m_jahns

The American college experience is often idealized as “the best four years of your life.”

But, out of those who choose to attend four-year institutions, some consider graduating early. Those who take this road say that graduating early from a four-year institution can be a chance to get an early start on their careers, save on tuition or free up extra time to pursue passions.

At Northwestern, where the quarter system can offer flexibility and opportunities to take more classes than a school on the semester system, it is not uncommon for students to finish their graduation requirements early.

Some students unintentionally finish their credits early, as was the case for Medill senior Elbert Xie, who came to NU with several AP credits.

Xie said cost was a big factor in his decision to graduate after Winter Quarter. Given the University’s current $249,564 cost for tuition over four years, graduating one quarter early can save some

students over twenty thousand dollars.

Xie, who is graduating with a double major in economics and journalism with a business institutions program certificate, said he is excited to have a break from classes in the spring.

“There are just a lot more things in your life than school,” he said. “When I started to check out (junior year), I realized maybe it’s healthier for me to also graduate a quarter early … I really wanted to take a break.”

With six months between now and when he plans on starting his job, Xie said he intends to ease into the transition between college and career.

An avid dancer, Xie said he wants to devote himself to his hobby by taking hip-hop classes downtown and rehearsing with the Refresh Dance Crew.

Also, after four years of academic prioritization and limited social interaction during the COVID-19 pandemic, Xie said he wants to maximize his time with friends.

Graduating early can also allow for an early start to students’ careers.

Emily Makedon (McCormick ’22), who graduated within three years, began her job as a product manager at Microsoft in January.

» See GRADUATE , page 10

More than 300 students houseless Local resources struggle to meet demand as D65 housing insecurity surges

By SKYE GARCIA and BEATRICE VILLAFLOR the daily northwestern @skyeagarcia, @beatricedvilla

More than 300 students in Evanston/Skokie School District 65 are houseless this academic year, according to District 65 social worker Allison Harned.

In the current 2022-23 academic year, the district registered more than 60 additional students as houseless compared to the

previous academic year. This was the highest surge since the 20122013 school year, according to District 65 data, even though overall enrollment has lowered since then.

“Our numbers are definitely increasing,” said Harned, who connects families experiencing housing instability with local agencies. “We have people coming in every day.”

She said a variety of factors contribute to this growth, such as rising housing costs and the

Students charged for ‘free’ Starbucks

Connectivity issues with the right-side register revealed retroactive fees

By FIONA ROACH daily senior staffer @fionaroach03

Bing Crosby once sang “The Best Things in Life Are Free.”

But, unfortunately for Northwestern students, free Starbucks at the Norris University Center did not last forever.

For a few weeks of Winter Quarter, it appeared the Starbucks register on the right side of the counter in Norris was not charging students who paid for items with dining dollars.

News of the malfunction spread quickly through the student body. But, with the issue now resolved, some students are seeing new, retroactive deductions from their meal plan accounts.

Weinberg sophomore Caitlyn Hill said she heard about the malfunctioning register from her friends and decided to test it out.

“I didn’t get charged and I was like ‘Oh my gosh,’ so I came back to spread the good word,” Hill said. “My other friends (were) like, ‘We need to go load up. We need to go take full advantage of this moment.’”

She wouldn’t have minded being charged on purchase, she said, but was disappointed to be charged retroactively. She said she began with $80.86 in dining dollars prior to learning about the malfunction but now has $27. Like her, she said many of her friends spent a majority of their dining dollars.

Those who overdrew on their dining dollars have not faced any penalties or seen “negative” dining dollars in their GET Mobile accounts, though, according to Hill.

Assistant Vice President of Communications Jon Yates described the malfunctioning register as a delay in the charging

of dining dollars, but did not comment on when or how the issue arose.

“Northwestern University and its dining partner Compass Group are aware of a network connectivity issue that may have created a lag in processing

» See NORBUCKS , page 10

lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Research shows a lack of housing disrupts students’ education, mental health and social life.

A report from the Institute for Children, Poverty & Homelessness found that even after being rehoused for six years, formerly unhoused students continue to struggle academically compared to classmates with permanent housing.

“Many students at Northwestern

benefited from having educational stability throughout their life,” said Jen Feuer-Crystal, director of housing and youth programs at Connections for the Homeless. “We want to have those same outcomes for all of our District 65 kids and make sure they get what they need to be amazing students and amazing community members in Evanston.”

» See HOUSELESSNESS , page 10

NorthShore grants $4 million in funds

Recipients venture to promote, expand community health

By ELLA JEFFRIES daily senior staffer @ellajeffriess

Nine Chicago and Evanston health organizations received a total of $4 million in funding from NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Community Investment Fund.

The fund, which was formed last year, has awarded about $6 million to seven initially selected organizations, which will continue to receive funding in 2023 in addition to the nine new groups. The goal of the fund is to create or expand programming that promotes overall community health needs, such as access to health care, behavioral health care and prevention and management of chronic conditions and diseases.

This year’s recipients include groups that serve the LGBTQ+ and Latine communities, as well as ones that provide mental and behavioral health services.

PEER Services and Treatment

Alternatives for Safe Communities, two organizations receiving grants, both focus on providing Northern Cook County residents with treatment and recovery services for drug and alcohol addictions.

With a $1 million grant, distributed over the next three years, PEER and TASC will partner to create a program connecting individuals within the criminal justice system to substance use prevention and treatment services, according to Anne Brown, development director for PEER services.

“PEER and TASC have been working to identify what’s needed in the community,” Brown said. “We just haven’t been able to meet that need before due to the pandemic when the court system was closed.”

She said the new program will allow TASC to have a full-time case manager at the Skokie courthouse who can connect clients to PEER and other substance use treatment resources in the community. TASC operates primarily in Chicago, but Brown said the grant will help bring its work to Northern Cook County.

Bradley Bullock, director of operations for TASC’s adult criminal justice and treatment services division,

» See NORTHSHORE , page 10

Illustration by Ziye Wang

Illustration by Ziye Wang Students

trash bins at the Starbucks in Norris University Center during

providing seemingly “free” food and coffee.

Northminster Presbyterian celebrates 100 years

By JORJA SIEMONS daily senior staffer @jorjasiemons

On Oct. 27, 1929, congregation members gathered for the first service in their new Evanston church. They had organized themselves six years earlier as Northminster Presbyterian Church, and now they had a place to worship.

But the young church was in jeopardy. Two days earlier, the stock market crashed, thrusting the country into the Great Depression. Northminster was unable to pay its mortgage, and the building was to be sold.

That is until the congregation members raised $76,000 in 11 days in 1938 by knocking on their neighbors’ doors — an achievement still discussed by Northminster members today.

“We owe a part of our existence to the generosity of Evanston,” Senior Pastor and Head of Staff Rev. Michael Dale Kirby said. “That creates kind of a deep emotional connection to the entire city.”

This year, Northminster celebrates 100 years since the community first began as North Evanston Presbyterian Bible School in 1922. Today, the Presbyterian church has about 500 members and hosts worship services, a nursery school and service programs.

Centennial celebrations began last month with a gala and worship service. One hundred silver stars will hang in the church through Ash Wednesday, when they will be scattered throughout the building.

Additionally, a “Northminster at 100” art exhibit is on display in the church’s Tower Gallery through May 28, showcasing photographs of the church during each decade of its history.

Beyond the exhibit, the church has kept archives dating back to its founding.

“We’re really lucky that people have been saving a good portion of all of this,” church archivist Lori Osborne said of the century-old Sunday bulletins and newsletters the church still has today.

Osborne, who also works as a historian at the Evanston History Center, compiled photographs and records into a digital, interactive timeline on

Northminster’s website charting major events and changes from the last 100 years.

She said records show Northminster donating monetary contributions and Christmas gifts to two Chicago organizations serving low-income communities in the Christmas season of 1922-1923.

This year, Osborne said, the church donated to the original organizations’ successors, Erie Neighborhood House and Onward Neighborhood House.

Though there have been continuities within Northminster’s history, the past century has also brought about changes to the Presbyterian community at large.

The United Methodist Church and what would become the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), of which Northminster is a part, ordained its first women ministers in 1956.

According to Northminster’s archival timeline, Marian Waitley and Marge Fergusson became the first female elders of Northminster in 1967. The church hired its first female associate pastor, Elaine Klausen, in 1985.

For Associate Pastor Rev. Jessica Gregory, her lived experiences as a woman and a parent are central to her work as a Presbyterian leader.

“I am grateful to have been called to Northminster because it fully embraces women as pastors,” Gregory said. “The church’s willingness and understanding of women’s unique gifts to ministry, I think, really brings to the community an important, different perspective.”

Kirby also noted Northminster’s inclusion of LGBTQ+ congregation members.

He said in the regional presbytery, Northminster played a central role in encouraging the changing of national rules as it relates to the ordination of LGBTQ+ people and the affirming of same-sex marriages.

“When Northminster was founded … if you had told them that 100 years from then, the senior pastor would be an openly gay man and the associate pastor would be a woman, they would be rather shocked at that,” Kirby said, referring to himself and Gregory. “But that’s part of the progression.”

While the centennial is a time for celebration, Kirby said it’s also an opportunity to examine and

address elements of the church’s history.

This includes reflection on Northminster’s role in social justice efforts.

“Like most predominantly white congregations in the suburbs of Chicago, I think if we look back over our history, we see that there was probably a disconnection with some of the very important work that was being done for racial equity (and) injustice in Chicago at the time,” Kirby said. “It’s important for us to confront that reality.”

Today, Northminster has a Racial Justice Task Force and is a member of Interfaith Action of Evanston, a nonprofit uniting local religious

communities. Northminster’s Session has made a commitment with other predominantly white communities of faith to support Evanston’s reparations effort.

Both Gregory and Kirby said examining Northminster’s history is a way to not only reflect on the past but also to identify what the next 100 years should look like.

“To know where you are, you need to know where you’ve been,” Kirby said. “That helps you set the trajectory for where you’re going.”

jorjasiemons2024@u.northwestern.edu

Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but when you're rich and famous (soon) or even just looking to donate to a worthy cause, think

Jorja Siemons/Daily Senior Staffer

Northminster Presbyterian Church. This year, Northminster celebrates 100 years since the community first began as North Evanston Presbyterian Bible School in 1922.

Medill class lacks sensitivity, students say

By CASEY HE and JESSICA MA the daily northwestern @caseeey_he, @JessicaMa2025

All undergraduate students at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications are required to take Journalism 201-1: Fundamentals of Reporting and Writing News. For some, it is their first exposure to journalism practices.

But, in recent years, students have criticized some of the course’s assignments.

Some Medill students said the class required them to cover sensitive topics, while non-Medill students described uncomfortable experiences being asked questions about their identities and communities insensitively during interviews.

One of the reported stories, called the “reaction assignment,” was a subject of controversy last spring. Students said that for the assignment, professors required them to speak with individuals and write about their reactions to a newsworthy event.

Medill sophomore Maggie Rose Baron, who took Journalism 201-1 last Spring Quarter — her first Medill course at NU — said her lab professor allowed students to choose between two topics for the reaction assignment: the war in Ukraine or Tiger Woods’ return to golf following a car crash.

Like most students in her lab, Baron said she wrote about the war in Ukraine. She appreciated having the ability to choose which topic to cover, though she said she would have preferred a better second option.

Baron said she believes students shouldn’t have to write about sensitive issues if they don’t feel prepared.

“I don’t think that it should be something you have to do in an intro class,” she said. “Some people just aren’t at the level where they can do it justice and cover it properly.”

Weinberg sophomore Andrew Kupfer had the same professor as Baron. Kupfer also wrote about the war in Ukraine for the reaction assignment and interviewed acquaintances and strangers.

But he said he didn’t think it was appropriate to approach Ukrainian students for the assignment given the timing.

The reaction assignment was a chance to cover a meaningful topic, he said, but covering the war

in Ukraine could also be exploitive of peoples’ experiences.

Kupfer said his lab professor encouraged students to step out of their comfort zones and be bold.

“For this assignment, it was important not to just hover above the subject,” Kupfer said. “That’s difficult but that’s what (the lab professor) wanted us to practice, so I appreciated that.”

At the same time, student journalists have to be empathetic and reasonable, Kupfer said.

Though Weinberg freshman Andre Shportko, a member of Northwestern for Ukraine, was not interviewed for the assignment, he said he knew at least one student who was.

“For (the Ukrainian student), the war was an actual life event,” Shportko said. “For the students who were completing their assignment, it was just schoolwork.”

Shportko said he begins most days by checking for updates on the war in Ukraine.

He said the January helicopter crash that killed

several Ukrainian government officials, including the interior minister, occurred miles away from his village.

“War is not just numbers or statistics or weapons or ammunition. It’s also about the life stories of people,” Shportko said. “I think it will be much more important to understand what it takes to live in the war.”

Kupfer said empathy in journalism requires establishing trust with sources. One way of building trust, he said, is to express care for the source’s story.

Shportko encourages everyone — especially journalists — to learn more about Ukraine and be better listeners.

“That way, it is easier to share and to connect to the interviewer,” Shportko said.

At least seven Medill professors and faculty declined to comment or said they did not feel comfortable speaking on the controversy.

caseyhe2026@u.northwestern.edu jessicama2025@u.northwestern.edu

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Illustration by Ziye Wang

Environmental groups, sustainNU grow together

By RUSSELL LEUNG daily senior staffer @rjleung7

Northwestern has almost 20 different environmental student organizations and while each club is independent, Associate Director of Sustainability Julie Cahillane said she saw the potential for these groups to work together on larger initiatives and events.

In that spirit, Cahillane and sustainNU, along with NU’s Institute for Sustainability and Energy, invited more than 10 environment and sustainability student groups to a Jan. 23 meeting. Cahillane said while the purpose of the informal meeting was to acquaint the representatives, she hopes it will spark lasting partnerships.

“The last couple of years, there’s been fewer opportunities for engagement and collaboration with limited events and health and safety protocols,” Cahillane said. “It was time to have an opportunity for a face-to-face meeting and conversations with the groups that we often work with.”

The collaboration, currently called Sustainability and Environmentalism Oriented Organizations, is still in its early stages. The member clubs haven’t met a second time since then, though they communicate in a Slack channel. But student representatives said they are excited about the possibilities of collaboration.

Cats Who Compost education chair and Weinberg sophomore Quinn Correa said the January gathering allowed her organization to talk to groups they haven’t worked with before, like In Our Nature, an environmental publication.

“Part of our meeting initially … was to

actually clarify what the meaning or purpose of all of us meeting there was,” Correa said. “This opened up new opportunities for us to build connections.”

Many of the invited groups had worked together in the past. According to Weinberg junior and Campus Kitchen President Sean Pascoe, his group often collaborates with CWC and Wild Roots. The three groups are co-hosting the Snowstainability Ball later this month, which will incorporate sustainable practices like composting and vegetarian food.

Weinberg senior and Wild Roots President Molly Schneck said she hopes SEOO will facilitate sustainability advocacy partnerships between student organizations and the University.

“I would like for things at Northwestern to take less time,” Schneck said. “I think that’s my main goal for Wild Roots, being a part of this coalition and creating a stronger unified front in terms of sustainability.”

Callihane said sustainNU has worked with the University on improving infrastructural sustainability on campus, such as implementing efficient lighting and posting educational content on reducing waste. But direct student appeals to the administration can be just as powerful as sustainNU proposals, she said.

Many SEOO representatives also want to include more student groups in their work, even if they aren’t directly focused on sustainability.

Weinberg junior Alexandre Brunet, communications chair for Outdoors Club, said environmental groups should put on programming that attracts non-members, similar to initiatives like the campus bird safety petition that garnered support from a wide variety of students.

“If we can find a way to make environmental and sustainability initiatives that are not super requiring (of) a time commitment, then you

Local Viet Nom Nom locations, including the ones on Church Street in downtown Evanston and in Norris University Center, will permanently close after Feb. 24, owner Alan Moy posted on Facebook Tuesday.

Originally a catering service, Moy and Noah Bleicher (Kellogg ’15) later opened the Church Street location in 2016. Almost two years later, Viet Nom Nom set up shop in Norris.

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might be able to achieve a little more,” Brunet said.

Associated Student Government is another organization aiming to involve students in sustainability efforts.

ASG’s Sustainability Committee is hosting a “Green Week” in April in which different environmental organizations will host activities, like gardening classes and food waste challenges. Participating groups include SEOO members like Wild Roots and Cats Who Compost, but

“I’ve been able to follow in my grandparents’ (and) parents’ footsteps as a third-generation restaurant owner and literally live out my lifelong dream,” Moy wrote in the Facebook post.

Having served more than half a million meals, Moy said he was grateful for the more than 100 individuals he’s employed at the restaurant.

The restaurant chain is known for its array of Vietnamese dishes, including rice bowls and banh mi.

Weinberg sophomore and SusComm co-Chair Alexis Schwartz said the goal is to work with as many clubs as possible.

“Sustainability is in everything,” Schwartz said. “Sustainability and environmentalism intersect with every facet of our life. That means it intersects with every student group on campus, any event that happens, any meeting that happens.”

russellleung2024@u.northwestern.edu

He did not disclose the reason for the closure in the post.

“There’s no reason to hang our heads, only a million reasons to keep them high,” Moy wrote. “These final days are going to be a celebration on so many levels.”

Illustration by Pavan Acharya

Environmental student organizations are aiming to extend a green thumb to all students.

Northwestern community members and Evanston residents will nom nom on Viet Nom Nom no more.

— Pavan Acharya, Kaavya Butaney, Fiona Roach and Lexi Goldstein

Viet Nom Nom to close local locations Feb. 24, owner of restaurant says

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

Letter from the editor: Celebrating athletes ‘Spring’-ing into their next chapter at NU

When I found out prior to the start of Winter Quarter I would be The Daily Northwestern’s next sports editor, I was ecstatic but also extremely nervous to com- mence my time in this new role. Despite my past edit board expe- riences and my time on the sports

desk, I was afraid I would not be capable of running an entire desk.

And yet, my biggest accomplishment this quarter is design- ing, creating and producing The Daily Northwestern’s 2023 Spring SportsFromPreview. the reporters, the design

team, print managing editors, copy chief and editor in chief, the Spring Sports Preview has been a whirlwind of a ride, and I’m thankful to see all this hard work come to fruition.

With that being said, I am grateful for this opportunity to

showcase the Wildcats’ spring sports teams and engage readers with what’s to come from The Daily Northwestern’s sports desk.

Thank you,

— Skye Swann, Sports Editor

What To Watch For: NU gears up for WCWS return

By ALEX CERVANTES daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

Fresh off its first Women’s College World Series appearance in 15 years, Northwestern is looking to return to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 2023.

The Wildcats finished 2022 with a sterling 45-13 record, including a 19-4 showing in Big Ten play, which earned the program its eighth conference championship. NU went on to secure a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament and marched all the way to Oklahoma City on the back of a regional site win and a super regionals victory against No. 8 Arizona State.

Coach Kate Drohan returns much of the core that nabbed the WCWS berth, although the Cats will be without 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Lewis, who led the team in RBIs (62), runs (67) and home runs (23), while finishing second in batting average (.353). Still, the returns of several first-team All-Big Ten team honorees means NU could be set for another dominant run.

Here are three things to keep tabs on for NU as the season gets underway.

1. Not one, not two, not three, but four First-Team All-Big Ten players are back.

Though Lewis may be gone, Drohan not only commands the presumptive Big Ten favorites — NU is the only team in the conference ranked in D1Softball’s preseason top 25 — but she also boasts a quartet of first-team All-Big Ten returners leading the way in softball this season.

Graduate student pitcher Danielle Williams, the unanimous Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, is back for one final season in Evanston. Williams’ dominance in the circle for NU in 2022 was extraordinary, leading the Big Ten in ERA, strikeouts and wins — all while pitching

a career-high 251.0 innings.

As for the position players, it all starts with graduate student catcher Jordyn Rudd. Her chemistry with Williams behind the plate aside, Rudd returns having led the team in batting average (.370) last season. She was also the first ever recipient of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award at catcher. Her list of accolades are bar none, but she’ll be looking to add national champion alongside it.

Rounding out the first-team All-Big Ten returnees are graduate student infielder Nikki Cuchran and junior infielder Hannah Cady. Cuchran had a career year in 2022, posting career-highs in batting average, hits, home runs

and RBIs, among other metrics. Cady, meanwhile, started all 58 games at third base and was a monster in Big Ten play, hitting .371 and tallying seven homers.

The quartet will be leaned on to carry this team back to the WCWS, with Rudd, Cady and Cuchran all looking to step up to replace some of Lewis’ production at the plate.

2. Who emerges as the No. 2 pitcher behind Williams?

Williams will shoulder the majority of NU’s load in the circle — and rightfully so — but

equally critical to the Cats’ success this season will be who emerges as the No. 2 pitcher.

Senior pitcher and first baseman Sydney Supple pitched 32.1 innings last year, highlighted by a seven-inning shutout of Iowa. She conceded just two runs in five innings in NU’s comeback win over No. 6 Texas to start the 2023 campaign.

Also vying for that secondary spot is junior pitcher and infielder Lauren Boyd, who pitched 47.0 innings in 2022, recording 51 strikeouts and a 2.53 ERA. However, she was hobbled by some injuries throughout the season. Graduate student pitcher Cami Henry, who transferred from DePauw University after the 2022 season, offers another option in the circle. In four seasons at DePauw, Henry compiled a 71-18 record and a career 1.71 ERA in more than 500 innings.

3. Can NU repeat as Big Ten champion?

Ahead of the 2023 season, the Cats were the lone Big Ten representative in D1Softball’s preseason top 25 rankings. Despite starting the season 2-2 in the NFCA Leadoff Classic, NU remains squarely in the Top 25 but dropped six spots to No. 13 nationally this past week. After a 4-1 start, Big Ten cohort Maryland joins NU in the rankings at No. 24.

In the Cats’ first four games, it was clear Drohan was trying to sort out the team’s pitching rotation, with Williams, Boyd, Supple and Henry all making appearances in the circle. Still, NU is more than a month away from the start of conference play — a home series against Minnesota from March 24 to 26.

Marquee matchups in non-conference, in particular No. 6 Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, will test the mettle of this squad ahead of the Big Ten gauntlet.

alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

Drohan sisters dominate the world of collegiate softball

By PALOMA LEONE-GETTEN and LEAH SCHROEDER the daily northwestern @pleonegetten, @lmschroeder

Kate and Caryl Drohan have started softball seasons together since childhood. However, after they led Northwestern softball to its first College World Series in 15 years, this season will be among their most anticipated.

Since 2002, the Drohan twins have coached together at NU, with head coach Kate Drohan starting in 1998 and hiring her sister, associate head coach Caryl Drohan, in 2002. The dynamic duo leads the Wildcats in all-time softball wins, having tallied more than 640 career wins with NU. After a historic last season, the team enters 2023 ranked seventh in preseason softball rankings. The sisters got their first taste of collegiate softball as teammates at Providence College.

After graduation, Caryl Drohan remained with Providence as an assistant coach and Kate Drohan became the assistant coach at Boston College.

Kate Drohan made her debut with the Cats as an assistant coach to Sharon Drysdale. In 2000, she climbed the ranks to become the associate head coach; just a year later, she was named head coach.

After her time at Providence, Caryl Drohan went on to coach at Hofstra University for five years before Kate Drohan hired her as an assistant, marking the start of the Drohan era. She has spearheaded NU’s offense since then, coaching several players to batting titles, All-American status and Big Ten Player of the Year honors.

Players have reported that the Drohan sisters have a strong connection — so strong, in fact, that it is like they can read each other’s minds. While the two still have coaching disagreements,

as Kate Drohan told CBS Chicago in 2019, “It is really healthy … to be challenged in that way and I am grateful for it.”

The powerful pair has amassed three Big Ten championships, appeared in twelve NCAA tournaments and qualified for three College World Series. In 2019, the twins were also responsible for the Cats’ longest win streak since 1985, with 20 straight games won. Kate Drohan has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year four times. sit at a 2-2 record, with a notable victory against No. 6 Texas. NU is set to begin the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with two matches apiece against Clemson and Notre Dame, and one against Flor ida A&M, this weekend.

Division I softball preseason rankings, along with being led by the Dro hans and the highly decorated

Swann: Wildcats to reach new heights

By SKYE SWANN daily senior staffer @sswann301

With the seats for the selection show filled, the Wildcats gave it their all in hopes of clinching a ticket to last June’s Big Dance. Sure enough, the Wildcats secured their spot for a trip to the Women’s College World Series — the program’s first visit in 14 years.

And yet, despite the hard-fought battle, NU fell short against a solid No. 1 Oklahoma squad, returning to Evanston without a championship in its clasp.

However, the most bittersweet losses fuel the greatest revenge journeys. For the Cats, the 2023 season is the place and platform for the squad to come back to the grand stage and finish victorious. With the return of graduate students pitcher Danielle Williams, catcher Jordyn Rudd, infielder Maeve Nelson and outfielder Skyler Shellmeyer for this campaign, NU has the ability to exceed expectations and reach new heights this spring.

All four Cats players were integral to coach Kate and Caryl Drohan’s 2022 success at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. NU finished last spring ranked tenth nationally and first in the Big Ten Conference with a .826 win percentage.

Ahead of the 2023 slate, the Cats are coming into their schedule piping hot from past successes. However, the most important task for the group to continue its ongoing achievements is to hold high batting averages and limit their

opponents chances at plate.

Last year, Rudd and Shellmeyer concluded with first and third place finishes over the squad with batting averages of .370 and .348, respectively. The loss of infielder Rachel Lewis will be a major factor to NU’s offensive production, but with a ton of upperclassmen remaining on the team, Kate Drohan said she has strong confidence in the squad to fill the missing hole Lewis left behind.

In fact, the Cats (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) had a dominant showing this past weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Defeating heavy hitters South Alabama and No. 6 Texas, NU set the tone for the season, saying they are ring chasing and planning to make it back to the Women’s College World Series in June.

Senior utility Angela Zedak, freshman outfielder Kelsey Nader and junior third baseman Hannah Cady led the charge in the big faceoff against the Longhorns with two runs apiece. Rudd added to the initiative with a run of her own to seal the blow over the team ranked sixth nationally in college softball. After a dominant 2022 campaign, NU’s showing in the preliminary tournament indicates promise for a strong regular conference schedule and a dance in the postseason.

As one could say, the Cats are possibly stepping into a “sophomore” season of success with big shoes to fill on whether the group can replicate last spring’s dominance, the record and statistics speak for themselves. A majority of the starters from last year’s squad are returning and NU

welcomes some new players to the ballpark who hold their own against the conference.

In addition, the backing of two of the greatest college softball coaches in the NCAA gives the Cats a blueprint for a commanding presence — not only in the Big Ten but also in Division I collegiate softball.

NU continues its highly eventful season this weekend at the annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Clemson.

While it is still early in the season, the Cats know what it takes to be great in the league. And, if we saw anything from their record last season, one should not hesitate to place bets on this impeccable NU squad to per form, no matter the spotlight. The Wildcats have the players, the coaching staff and the schedule to prove themselves again.

palomaleone-getten2026@u.northwestern.edu

leahschroeder2026@u.northwestern.edu

returning battery of pitcher Danielle Williams and catcher Jordyn Rudd, NU looks ahead to a promising season.

Jorge Melendez/Daily Senior Staffer

What To Watch For: Fresh start after rocky season

By SKYE SWANN daily senior staffer @sswann301

When Northwestern entered the 2022 season, it was ready and eager for a full schedule season since 2019 not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Wildcats’ future turned sour early, going on a losing record and finishing eighth in the conference. The result: multiple players leaving the organization and NU firing an established coach.

They say you need to hit rock bottom before you can start making changes and aim for success. This upcoming run is a shot at redemption for the squad.

NU hiring of coach Jim Foster and signing 10 new players to NU’s roster mean the Cats could have the potential to have a comeback of the ages. With the contests beginning this weekend, there are plenty of steps NU needs to take to ensure a strong conclusion to the season and stake a contentious claim to the Big Ten Title.

Though it is still early, building the Cats’ groundwork for a triumphant season begins now. A new coach, new players and the return of some key fielders will be crucial components to the squad’s seeking of a winning record during springtime.

Here are key takeaways to look for as NU embarks on its 2023 run.

Takeaways

Coach Jim Foster’s first season under the position sets the tone for the Cats

After a tumultuous 2022 season, coach Spencer Allen announced his choice to not return as the head of the realm for the upcoming spring. With NU seemingly coachless and urgently in need of a replacement, the Cats hired former West Point baseball coach Jim Foster to fill the void this spring. Foster’s reputation as the head coach for Army solidified the program’s potential for a turnaround this spring. At West Point, Foster led his squad to NCAA appearances in the last

four full seasons, concluding his final run with Army by securing the 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year.

His arrival to a struggling NU unit is more than needed and could fuel the Cats to new heights this year. Despite the squad having the blueprint to clinching a positive outcome in last year’s campaign, they lacked a piece to the puzzle that could activate their ability to garner wins.

Foster could be that missing piece. With his first sea son fastly approaching, Foster’s influence will be a focal point to gauging NU’s success throughout the season and whether they’ll reach the Big Ten Tournament.

The Wildcats have big shoes to fill after losing key players at the end of last season

Similar to coach Allen’s departure, multiple Wild cats announced their intention to enter the transfer portal in light of NU’s depressing 2022 season.

Freshman infielder Patrick Herrera, freshman lefthanded pitcher Sean Sullivan and sophomore center fielder Ethan O’Donnell issued statements by the end of the 2022 term on their wishes to join new programs. The three were essential players and arguably the best parts of the squad’s 2021 run. With their absence, the Cats will have to step up and fill their shoes this spring at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park.

The graduation of senior infielder Anthony Calarco last season will also impact the squad’s field performance this spring. Even though his younger brother — junior center fielder Alex Calarco — is returning to the mound, NU’s older Calarco was a vital part to the squad’s minimal success.

The Cats must look to their evidently younger group as they begin their season this week in San Mar cos, Texas. This year appears to be one of rebuilding for the team, so if the younger players can step up, the season could end in a positive outcome.

NU’s batting average needs to improve to guarantee success

The Cats’ fairly young group has to become destruc tive offensively when they go up to plate.

Last season, the Cats struggled on the attack, aver aging only .277 batting, leaving them ninth in the conference for the category. NU must immensely improve their batting game if they wish to be a seri ous contender this conference season.

A strong batting percentage becomes even more important when considering the Cats’ Big Ten docket. NU is set to face Rutgers, Purdue and Illinois this spring, all three of which finished in the top 5 last sea son for the conference’s attacking units. Against these opponents, NU will need to produce strong numbers at the plate and in the field to secure runs at bat.

And yet, the crucial leaders who the Cats need to deliver are still undetermined as the squad embarks on this jam-packed season. As matches come and go this spring, be sure to watch out for who will be the next offensive produced for the squad.

With all these changes, can NU make real progress this season?

Despite all the incoming changes and new progress

New head coach Jim Foster to establish winning culture

By LUCAS KIM daily senior staffer @lucaskim_15

When Jim Foster signed on to be the head coach at West Point Military Academy in 2016, he inherited a squad that had gone a combined 37-58 (a .389 win percentage) in the two seasons prior.

In the next five full seasons, Foster guided his team to two Patriot League regular season championships, four Patriot League championships and four NCAA tournament appearances. Foster was also named 2022 Patriot League Coach of the Year.

Now head baseball coach at Northwestern, Foster recognizes the challenge of rebuilding a program that has not finished above .500 since 2000 and has only made it to the NCAA tournament once.

“It’s hard to become good. And Northwestern baseball hasn’t been good,” Foster said. “So, we’re gonna make it good, real quick.”

Foster is no stranger to winning. Prior to his six seasons at West Point, Foster spent nine seasons at Rhode Island –– becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach –– and two seasons as associate head coach at Boston College.

In his playing career, Foster was a star catcher at Providence, earning MVP honors at the 1992 Big East Tournament. Foster was selected in the 22nd round of the 1993 MLB Draft and subsequently played eight seasons in the minors, being named Baseball Weekly’s Minor League Catcher of the Year in 1997.

Because catchers are uniquely positioned as a crucial piece in a team’s pitching and batting,

Foster has been able to observe and learn the game from multiple angles even during his playing days.

“I think I had 27 ex-catchers as managers, so I took a little bit from each one of them,” Foster said. “Catchers –– you can see the whole field, and you’re always thinking about everybody else.”

As the Wildcats coach this spring, Foster succeeds interim head coach Josh Reynolds,

who led the team to a 24-27 record in 2022. Reynolds was named interim head coach in 2021, replacing Spencer Allen who stepped down from the role after six seasons.

Foster has his work cut out for him, however, as NU –– who was one win away from qualifying for the Big Ten Tournament –– finished in the bottom half of the Big Ten in both batting average and ERA this past season. Perhaps even more glaring is the massive

departure of Cats through the transfer portal during the offseason.

All four of NU’s top batters last season left for other programs, including 2021 First Team All-Big Ten selection Anthony Calarco, and 2022 Second Team All-Big Ten selections Ethan O’Donnell and Patrick Herrera. Pitcher Sean Sullivan, who was named to the 2022 Big Ten All-Freshman Team,also transferred.

“We can’t just go up there and expect threerun home runs,” Foster said. “That’s what Northwestern has been (in) the past –– like doubles, home runs –– some decent offenses but couldn’t create. So hopefully, you’ll see more of an opportunistic offense.”

To help ease the transition, Foster brought in pitching coach Jon Strauss from Baylor and retained hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Dusty Napoleon, who has been with the Cats since 2016.

Foster also named three team captains for the 2023 season, something that NU has not done recently, according to Foster. The captains are senior outfielder Stephen Hrustich, junior infielder Vincent Bianchina and junior righthander David Utagawa.

For now, Foster must rely on an unproven team reeling from several unexpected departures. But, after working with players since his arrival last June, Foster believes they can establish a winning culture.

“They’re hungry. They’re great guys. And their willingness to learn has been impressive,” Foster said. “I can’t wait to give these guys more each and every day. Building the relationship up and getting that belief and trust in each other is more important than the baseball.” lucaskim2025@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Mika Ellison

What To Watch For: Lacrosse chases championship

By JAKE EPSTEIN the daily northwestern @jakeepste1n

The 2022 season ended on an especially bitter note for Northwestern.

The Wildcats appeared on the cusp of their first NCAA Championship appearance 10 years ago, when the squad won its seventh national title.

Last May, NU shot out to a 6-0 lead in the first frame of a Final Four matchup with then No. 1 North Carolina. The Cats carried momentum as the contest progressed, leading 13-6 at the start of the fourth quarter. Then it all came crashing down.

The Tar Heels tallied nine fourth-quarter goals and NU fell 15-14, leaving Baltimore empty-handed.

Eight months later, NU regrouped and returned to regular season action. The Cats fell 15-16 to then No. 5 Syracuse in their season-opener on Feb. 11, but an early season loss should seldom sound any sirens. The pieces seem to be there for NU — it’s just a matter of whether coach Kelly Amonte Hiller can put them together and lead the team on the path to the promised land.

Here are three takeaways to keep note of as the season progresses.

1. Replacing attacker Lauren Gilbert

When Lauren Gilbert was on her A-game, the Cats always had a chance to pull off a victory. Gilbert, a highly athletic and skilled attacker, scored 79

goals in the 2022 season. Tallying team-highs with 106 points and five game-winning goals, Amonte Hiller could always count on her attacking star to try and right the ship.

Gilbert’s gamesmanship was on full display in the Final Four loss to North Carolina, and she seemed to have her way with the Tar Heel defense whenever the ball was in her stick. Her team’s seven-goal lead at the cusp of the final period was built on the back of her five-goal effort and when the team stumbled at the finish, it failed to get the dynamic scorer involved late.

After a standout collegiate career, Gilbert turned pro, leaving massive shoes for NU to fill.

Whether her production can be emulated by one player, or if several must step up in Gilbert’s stead, remains to be seen. A 15-goal performance in the season opener proves promising, but Gilbert’s absence

may weigh on the squad’s offensive firepower.

2. The Scane Train is back on the rails

After being named a 2021 Tewaarton Award Finalist, expectations for attacker Izzy Scane’s 2022 season were sky-high.

However, Scane went down with what appeared to be a serious injury in a fall scrimmage against Notre Dame. She heard the dreaded “pop” and MRIs all but confirmed her fate: the All-American would miss her entire senior season with a torn ACL.

The Cats’ leading scorer was officially derailed.

In her first competitive action since the 2021 season, many wondered how long it would take for Scane to shake off the rust.

It took the graduate student attacker all but

one quarter.

Scane put on an offensive clinic against the Orange this past Sunday, scoring five goals and tallying two assists for good measure. Despite the NU loss, fans should hop on the bandwagon before the Scane Train departs the station.

With Gilbert’s graduation leaving the Cats in search for the missing piece to its offensive puzzle, Scane’s return to the field appears to be the answer to concerns regarding NU’s offense. Finishing the 2021 season as the NCAA’s leading scorer — and setting a new program record — the high-powered threat will arguably be the Cats’ leader in offensive production to get the squad back to a deep run in the NCAA Division I tournament.

3. A shot at revenge against the National Champs

Due to unpredictable Evanston weather, the Cats play a large chunk of their season inside the Ryan Fieldhouse. On March 19, Amonte Hiller and company will welcome defending NCAA National Champions North Carolina, who entered the season ranked No. 1. While the matchup will be played inside the climate-controlled confines of Ryan Fieldhouse, tensions will most certainly be ablaze.

After losing both contests to the Tar Heels last season, NU looks to defeat the national powerhouse at home. There couldn’t be a better mid-season test for the Cats, and the team holds a chance to avenge its heartbreaking 2022 season finale.

jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

Wildcats find future in recruiting class, veteran stars

By JAKE EPSTEIN the daily northwestern @jakeepste1n

No. 5 Northwestern is no stranger to the bright lights — the team thrives on the nation’s biggest stage.

The Wildcats (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten) have made three consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances, but the last time coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s team progressed to the NCAA Championship game was in 2012.

Last season, NU’s offense paved the way for a deep playoff run. The Cats tallied 333 goals in 2022 and gave up just 247.

However, the team bid farewell to three of its top five scorers at the season’s end. Lauren Gilbert, Jill Girardi and Brennan Dwyer provided an attacking threat whenever they took the field for NU. The squad’s defensive anchor, All-Big Ten star Ally Palermo, also departed for graduation.

With NU in need of a new defensive cornerstone this year, the Cats must now look for other key contributors to step up in their place

Despite the flurry of talent that departed the program, the Cats remain stacked with starpower. Senior attacker Erin Coykendall, graduate student goalkeeper

Molly Laliberty, graduate student attacker Izzy Scane and sophomore midfielder and defender Samantha White all received Tewaaraton Award Watch List nods in preseason — meaning they’re all in consideration for college lacrosse’s top female player.

Coykendall adds a much-needed veteran presence offensively, as she can score and assist at will. Laliberty was a standout at Division III powerhouse Tufts, where she picked up both conference and national accolades, including Division III Goalie of the Year.

If Scane can approach her record-breaking scoring ability of 2021, NU will be in tremendous shape offensively. Meanwhile, White is the ultimate hybrid player, capable of logging minutes at attack, midfield or defense. The second-year stud makes her presence felt on every inch of the field for the Cats.

NU proved it can still score in bunches in its seasonopener, firing 15 goals against then-No. 5 Syracuse. The defensive effort, however, left much to be desired. Although the Cats held the Orange to just four goals when the two sides met in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, Syracuse converted 16 goals in the Saturday tie.

Amonte Hiller’s team can certainly right the ship in its upcoming slate, especially if it leans upon White, the 2022 Big-Ten Freshman of the Year, to take charge

of protecting Laliberty’s net. NU should also reap the benefits of a talented 2022 recruiting class, where several players appear ready to immediately step into the rotation.

Seven freshmen arrived in Evanston as part of the Cats’ 2022 recruiting class, but none stepped into the fold quite like midfielder Madison Taylor.

In her first collegiate contest, Taylor scored five goals on seven shots. The two-time high school AllAmerican formed a two-headed monster of a goalscoring duo with Scane, and Taylor didn’t let the pressure of a debut disrupt her collected presence from the eight-meter. While she will have to clean up the turnovers, Taylor may be the missing puzzle piece that can carry NU beyond the Final Four.

Hailing from Parkland, Florida, freshman attacker Carli Fleisher and freshman midfielder Rachel Weiner were both highly-touted signings for the Cats. Fleisher was named the 2022 USA Lacrosse National High School Player of the Year, and Weiner snapped just about every scoring record at North Broward Prep. While the pair didn’t feature in the season opener, the club teammates at national powerhouse Florida Select add even more offensive options to a team that knows how to light up the scoreboard.

Inside Lacrosse ranked freshman attacker Abby LoCascio the No. 10 player in her recruiting class, and freshman attacker Lucy Munro featured briefly in the Syracuse matchup, winning a ground ball. While the coaching staff brought in a star-studded crew of offensive talent, Amonte Hiller made sure to cash-in on several defensive reinforcements. Boston College, the 2021 national champions, pursued a certain high profile New England recruit, but freshman defender Kathryn Welch decided to take her talents to North Beach — or at least the practice facility and home field adjacent to the icy shore of Lake Michigan. Plus, high school All-American goalkeeper Francesca Argentieri provides much-needed depth between the pipes. Argentieri likely won’t see significant action this season in a three-woman goalkeeper room, but the netminder adds stability at a crucial position for years to come.

With the emergence of Taylor as a breakout star, and the potential of any one of these talented All-American recruits to come into their own this season, NU has as good a shot as any team of taking home the national title.

jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

No. 4 NU falls short in nail-biting thriller at No. 5 Syracuse

By JAKE EPSTEIN the daily northwestern

@jakeepste1n

Eight months and two weeks removed from a Charm City crunch-time collapse versus North Carolina, No. 4 Northwestern readied for a heavyweight bout at No. 5 Syracuse. The Wildcats (0-1, 0-0 Big Ten)

showed significant scoring prowess, but the Orange (1-0, 0-0 ACC) crushed hopes of a second-half comeback in a 16-15 victory Saturday.

Syracuse controlled the opening draw and quickly went on the attack. Just 37 seconds into the contest, the Orange drew first blood from graduate student Megan Carney’s shot that ripped the upper right corner of the goal.

NU answered right back with a goal. Sophomore midfielder Samantha Smith won the draw, and the Cats quickly progressed offensively. Senior attacker Erin Coykendall found freshman midfielder Madison Taylor inside the 12-meter, and the New York native fired home her first collegiate goal. Less than 40 seconds after the Orange conversion, NU leveled the score at 1-1. Coykendall nearly hit paydirt with 8:54 remaining in the first quarter, but her shot hammered off the pipe. Not to be denied, the senior attacker put the Cats in front 2-1 off a feed from graduate student midfielder Elle Hansen.

While NU held Syracuse relatively in check since its early go-ahead goal, Carney added a second to her tally in the waning seconds of the first frame, leveling the score at 2-2 with just five seconds left in the primary period.

After a relatively quiet first period,

graduate student attacker Izzy Scane scored what appears to be the first of many goals this season, courtesy of a Coykendall assist. The All-American put the Cats in front 3-2, but Orange sophomore attacker Olivia Adamson evened the score at 3-3 with 11:50 to play in the second quarter.

Moments later, Scane relinquished possession before committing a foul and receiving a yellow card, sending her to the sidelines and forcing the squad into a man-down situation. Syracuse senior midfielder Emma Tyrrell capitalized on the opportunity, lifting her squad up to a one-point advantage with under 10 minutes remaining prior to halftime. Flying high with much of the contest’s momentum, Orange junior midfielder Emma Ward extended the lead to 5-3.

Despite the contest being her first competitive collegiate action, the Cats’ Taylor appeared right at home, converting a crucial second goal of the contest that halved the deficit. The two-time All-American’s efforts were nullified by Syracuse to end the half, with three consecutive goals by Adamson, graduate student midfielder Tessa Queri and junior midfielder Maddy Baxtersolidifying an 8-4 halftime lead.

In need of a quick turnaround, Smith controlled the opening draw, and Scane fed Elle Hansen, who sailed a shot into the net. Smith then won her second consecutive draw before adding a goal of her own, thanks in part to Scane’s second helper.

Thirty seconds later, Scane continued her dazzling display, adding her second goal to bring the game back within one. Syracuse graduate student attacker Meaghan Tyrrell responded to the NU offensive onslaught, but Scane completed her hat trick on a man-advantage to bring the score to 9-8 with 8:15 to play in the third quarter.

While the Cats’ quarter was filled with veteran heroics, Taylor’s dream debut continued on a free

position shot, which she buried beyond the reach of Orange senior goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer. With three goals apiece from its seasoned veteran scorer and freshman phenom, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s team stormed back to level terms. Both sides traded scores as the quarter ran on, but Ward capitalized on a player-up scenario, sending Syracuse into the final quarter up 11-10.

Baxter opened the final frame scoring tally for the Orange, but Taylor continued to be lethal from the eight-meter, notching her fourth goal of the day to bring the score to 12-11. After Syracuse pulled two in front by way of Carney’s third goal, senior attacker Dylan Amonte responded with a free position goal before hitting Scane for her fourth goal of the contest. With 10:23 to play, the matchup was deadlocked at 13.

Carney put the Orange back in front 14-13 with 8:16 to play, and after three minutes of scoreless play, Amonte Hiller called a timeout.

With 4:23 left in the game, Syracuse committed a foul inside the eight-meter, putting the ball inside the scalding-hot stick of NU’s newest offensive weapon. Taylor piled on her fifth goal of her collegiate debut, knotting the game once more at 14 all.

However, the Tyrrell sisters each scored goals in response, and the Orange jumped out to a 16-14 advantage with 1:10 to play.

A late fifth Scane score put the contest within a goal, but it was too little, too late for the Cats as Syracuse held on to win 16-15.

NU returns home for the first of a two-game homestand at the Ryan Fieldhouse against Notre Dame on Thursday.

jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Jorge Melendez

Aytemiz: Earthquakes shook our community at NU

to over 41,000, more than 35,000 in Turkey and 5,500 in Syria. Many have been rescued by search and rescue teams. Being rescued, however, doesn’t put an end to the victims’ pain.

Content warning: This article contains mentions of death

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria at 4:17 a.m. on Feb. 6. Just nine hours later, another hit with magnitude 7.5. Turkey declared a level four alarm, which includes an international call for help. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called it the “biggest disaster in the last century,” yet, many in the United States seem to be indifferent to the situation.

For Turkish students, the news has seriously affected our daily schedules and abilities to focus on our studies. We are struggling to keep up with the fast-paced life in the U.S. while life is on pause back in our home country.

We have been raised in collectivist cultures, where a group is prioritized over an individual — where one’s pain is everyone’s pain. The fact that most of our family members and friends are safe and healthy doesn’t mean we’re not affected by the situation. Turkish people have been mourning since the news broke. Watching the death toll rise, we start and end our days in tears.

As of Wednesday, the death toll has risen

In Turkey and Syria, as many as 5.3 million may be homeless as a result of the disaster. Survivors are left in freezing conditions under the rubble, with dead bodies and body bags everywhere. There is limited food and water, as well as a lack of warm clothes — all essential for them to stay alive.

Northwestern’s Turkish Student Association and many other TSAs around the U.S. immediately started fundraising the day after the earthquake. The fundraising attempts at NU included organizing a donut sale in front of the Technological Institute and The Rock, reaching out to the administration, collaborating with other student organizations, packaging physical donations at the Turkish Consulate General in Chicago and hanging posters around campus.

We managed to raise over $8,000 in four days with the help of the NU community. The donations are all sent to Ahbap, a Turkish organization that provides aid to those in need. A small proportion of future donations will be used to buy heated outdoor blankets, certain vitamins and other crucial items that are harder to find in Turkey.

Search and rescue teams have been pulling people out of rubble day in and day out, but these efforts are sure to lose steam. Considering the extent of the destruction, there will

be a constant need for help in the foreseeable future.

As the TSA, we will continue fundraising for the next month, at the very least. We are currently collecting physical donations and organizing a panel in collaboration with the International Student Association. We are also trying to reach out to any Syrian students on campus to help them fundraise as well.

The

of the situation some are. The professor simply told me that I could already submit a day late with a penalty and didn’t even ask if I was OK. Speaking for the other Turkish and Syrian students on campus — we are not OK. The invisibility of our mourning is commonplace. The lack of support has left us feeling like many faculty and teachers at NU do not know how extreme this situation is for all Turkish and Syrian community members on campus.

“I think some professors are trying to stick to class rules and not to favor students, which I understand and respect,” Turkish Weinberg sophomore Deniz Uzun said. “However, this is an extraordinary situation and showing some compassion is not favoring a student, it is just being human.”

Watching the death toll rise, we start and end our days in tears.

- YA Ğ MUR AYTEMIZ , op-ed contributor

The awareness and support is much lower than it should be. An unfortunate interaction I had with one of my professors when I asked for an extension made clear how unaware

“If I am sitting in a library trying to finish some homework for a class, I feel as though I am betraying my people. This is an indescribable feeling of guilt and helplessness.” Uzun said. A Turkish Weinberg freshman, Duru Genç, said “the idea of prioritizing academics over aid for our country at such a heartbreaking time seemed morally wrong.”

As part of the Turkish community on campus, we will continue our fundraising efforts in every way we can, and we’re inviting everyone to take action. In the words of NU Turkish Prof. Oya Topçuoğlu, “rebuilding what has been lost will take years.”

yagmuraytemiz2025@u.northwestern.edu

Amaral: Our policing debates lack institutional memory

University of Texas at Austin or Virginia Tech? Or, shouldn’t we place armed police in every classroom?”

Content warning: This story contains mentions of anti-Black violence.

Northwestern is extremely demanding — yet, undergraduate students have a 94% six-year graduation rate. This outstanding outcome shows both the intellectual caliber of our students and the University’s ability to successfully guide them through numerous demanding majors. But as each class graduates, an inevitable issue is created: a lack of community consciousness and a loss of institutional memory. Because of this, I fear many current students are not aware of the organizing undertaken by NU Community Not Cops.

The murder of George Floyd in 2020 prompted a period of student organizing and public action in Evanston. NUCNC played a leading role in those actions by hosting teachins educating NU students on the problem of relying on armed police for public safety. In response, the University allowed the Evanston Police Department to call in the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System Mobile Field Force. Their response was violent and out of proportion, as reported by former Daily staffer and Medill masters student Alex Harrison and Zach Watson (Medill ‘22).

NUCNC’s calls for abolition were met with ridicule. “What about school shootings?” critics asked. Today they say, “Don’t we need armed police in order to respond appropriately to another Michigan State University, The

Fires can have deadly consequences, but we don’t have firefighters continuously patrolling our streets carrying fire extinguishers and axes. So, why do we have armed police continuously patrolling streets as if our cities are battlegrounds?

- LUÍS NUNES AMARAL, columnist

Early police were established as state-sponsored slave patrols. By the mid-19th century, urban police were flooding the streets, aiming to intimidate immigrants and suppress workers’ organizing efforts. Perhaps the most important detail is articulated by Harvard historian Jill Lepore in a 2020 article in The New Yorker. She writes, “Modern American policing began in 1909, when August Vollmer became the chief of the police department in Berkeley, California.” He militarized police in Berkeley, and his peers followed suit, adapting colonial violence — “the kinds of tactics and weapons that had been deployed

against Native Americans in the West and against colonized peoples in other parts of the world, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.”

Vollmer is still celebrated as the father of American policing. His influence spans the nation, even in academia, due to his teaching at the University of Chicago beginning in 1929.

The tactics he promoted are still being used daily. According to Mapping Police Violence, hardly a day goes by without at least one person being murdered by police — in fact, since MVP started keeping records 2013, one person has been murdered by a police officer about every eight hours. This astonishing rate doesn’t include those who are shot but somehow survive, as was the case of Jacob Blake, a Black man who was shot over six times at close range by a Kenosha Police officer.

Every time a police officer commits a particularly gruesome or unjustifiable murder, there is a renewed debate about what to do. Sadly, these debates also lack institutional memory. They seem to start from scratch, and well-trodden facts must be established once more.

But what are these facts? People of color are over-policed and over-criminalized. As Lepore reminds us, “prosecutors indicted Black people disproportionately; juries found Black people guilty disproportionately; judges gave Black people disproportionately long sentences; and, then, after all this, social scientists, observing the number of Black people in jail, decided that, as a matter of biology, Black people were disproportionately inclined to criminality.” And we must not forget that, until recently, these prosecutors, juries, judges and social scientists were nearly all white.

We need to accept that “reform” doesn’t work. As the thin-blue-line flags, T-shirts and bandanas demonstrate, police force culture is predicated on an “us against them” ethos. A barrier to meaningful reform is the warrior cop mindset, which encourages police to see their beats as a battlefield.

Unlike de-escalation and civil rights training, which are attended purely out of obligation, warrior cop training by the likes of David Grossman is voluntarily attended by police around the nation, gaining enthusiastic support. The result is stark: even though very few offenses are eligible for capital punishment, our society allows police officers to execute Black people, many still children, on sight with no pretense of due process.

The warrior cop mindset traumatizes members of oppressed groups by forcing them to fear for their lives every time they interact with police. The fear instilled by generational trauma cuts years from their lives and is misinterpreted as suspicious behavior. The outcome of a mere traffic stop or a casually aggressive police officer can be severe bodily injury and death.

University Police Chief of Police Bruce Lewis recently presented crime statistics for the Evanston and Chicago campuses. The takeaway: despite a rise in reported rape cases in recent years, these are extraordinarily safe places for white people. Some bikes get stolen. Some people are scared by interactions with individuals they perceive as threatening. Seeing armed police officers gives white people a sense of security. Is it worth the trauma we are inflicting on people of color in our community? Is it worth another life?

opinion@dailynorthwestern.com

HOUSELESSNESS

From page 1

The

surge

in houselessness

Fethiya Idris, chief executive director of Family Promise Chicago North Shore, said the organization’s shelter has seen more families in need this year. The Glencoe-based organization provides housing to families with at least one child under the age of 18.

Idris attributed the surge in houselessness to an increase in housing costs, especially since she said incomes largely remain unchanged.

“If rent is now $3,000, and your take-home (salary) is still only $2,000, how is that going to work?” she said. She added that the cost of raising children makes it harder for parents to meet the rising costs of rents.

Harned said the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of the economy further exacerbate housing insecurity.

“Housing insecurity existed even before the pandemic,” she said. “The increase in rental and housing prices in Evanston, and the increase of taxes, does not help.”

Racism as a barrier in the search for affordable housing

According to the 2021-2022 Opening of Schools Report, the district found that out of the 236 students without stable housing, 79% lived in shared housing during the school year. The rest stayed in emergency and transitional shelters, hotels and motels. Two percent of students were reported unsheltered. This marked an 18% increase from the 2020-2021 school year. As a result of increased housing costs, some families turn to loved ones for help. Harned said the majority of families she works with are “doubled-up”: They live in shared housing units with family and friends.

NORBUCKS

From page 1

transactions at the Starbucks located in the Norris University Center,” Yates wrote to The Daily.

Yates said any students with questions about their dining dollars or specific charges should reach out to Compass Group’s Chef Manager Patrick Cleope.

Weinberg sophomore Tommy Ouyang said he expected the University would charge for items purchased through the malfunctioning register. He also said he noticed longer lines at the Starbucks — along with overflowing trash cans nearby — during the period the items were assumed to be free.

Ouyang said even juniors and seniors who did not have dining plans were able to purchase items from Starbucks without seeing changes in their accounts. For students who didn’t realize they weren’t

Harned works in accordance with the McKinneyVento Act, which allocates federally funded assistance to students without a “fixed, adequate or regular nighttime residence.”

Sometimes, families have to relocate to other parts of the state, said Harned. The McKinney-Vento Act requires that home school districts subsidize transportation costs so students without permanent housing can stay in the same school district, even if they’re temporarily housed outside the district.

However, Harned said this means some students commute for over an hour to attend school in District 65.

“There’s never a simple solution. To find housing, a person needs a great credit score, plus economic stability, plus money saved up,” Harned said. “That’s a pretty privileged position to be in – there’s not a lot of people that fit all of those criteria.”

When Harned makes inquiries about housing for families in the district, she said she noticed that some landlords treat her — a white woman — and families of color differently.

Feuer-Crystal has also had similar experiences as a white woman. She said landlords question Black and brown households more intrusively than white households.

“I get a more positive response from landlords than some of our families who are BIPOC,” Harned said. “It’s really unfortunate, but that’s the reality.”

In Cook County, a majority of the residents without housing are people of color.

Katie Eighan, the continuum of care director for the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, estimated that 70% of the people her organization serves are people of color.

“A larger portion of people we serve are Black and brown families,” Feuer-Crystal said. “And it’s because of institutionalized racism.”

This trend is mirrored in District 65: Harned said a large proportion of the students she assists are from Black and Latine families.

being charged, Ouyang said they may not have noticed how many dining dollars they were actually spending.

“I do realize that it’s hard to distinguish between the people who decided to take as much advantage of the system as they could and the people who just genuinely didn’t know,” Ouyang said. “But I think that because part of it was just a mistake, they should not charge every single person beyond their dining dollar balance.”

Hill said she and her friends were excited about the seemingly free food and coffee during the stress of preparing for and taking midterm examinations.

But, she added that she feels the University has other problems to deal with instead of missing dining dollars.

“Nothing happens to (the University) if they don’t charge us dining dollars — it’s fake money,” Hill said. fionaroach2025@u.northwestern.edu

Finding solutions for students

But finding long-term solutions depends on money, bureaucracy and other challenges. Although McKinney-Vento provides District 65 with federal assistance, funding is limited.

“There’s an impending crisis,” Harned said. “(Partner organizations) predict that funds are going to dry up by March.”

She said she expects more financial assistance to arrive in July, but she is unsure of how much. Families in crisis cannot wait for more money to come in and grant applications to be approved, she added.

Harned said she hopes Evanston residents will assist families by donating and volunteering. She asks residents to join the Facebook group Back On Their Feet, an organization raising awareness of homeless, transitional and crisis resources in Evanston. But grassroots efforts like Back On Their Feet are struggling to meet high demand.

Eighan said she encourages residents to demand change from officials.

“The solution to all of this is more affordable housing,” she said. “To make those changes, that means speaking to our local decision makers.”

Eighan added that more attention is being given to the issue of affordable housing, attributing this to advocacy efforts.

Feuer-Crystal said she is optimistic about the future of housing in Evanston.

The simplest of actions, like organizing donated clothing or making sandwiches, have an enormous impact on the community, she said.

“We are super hopeful about our work. We believe we can end homelessness. That’s why we do this,” Feuer-Crystal said. “We hope we’re out of work one day.”

skyegarcia2025@u.northwestern.edu beatricevillaflor2026@u.northwestern.edu

NORTHSHORE

From page 1

said the two organizations have worked together to address issues in the past, including the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Bullock said he hopes the new program will be up and running by September.

“It’s awesome because it’s two organizations working side by side, really looking at a vulnerable group of people to address needs on the ground level by getting them linked to the immediate services that they need,” Bullock said.

Howard Brown Health, which provides healthcare services for the LGBTQ+ community, also received a grant from NorthShore this year.

Wren O’Kelley, communications manager at Howard Brown, said the center plans to use the money to fund a new two-year project within their behavioral health department. She said the project will allow the staff to perform

GRADUATE

From page 1

Once she realized she could graduate from NU early, she said she wanted to join the workforce earlier.

“A lot of tech companies are having layoffs along with hiring freezes,” she said. “Of course, I didn’t know about that when I realized I could graduate early, (but) I’m happy that I was able to start before a lot of this happened.”

This past year, major tech companies including Google, Amazon and Microsoft have laid off over 70,000 employees.

Talia Schulhof (Medill ’22) said she was also drawn to the professional world after she graduated from NU early in December.

After working both part-time and full-time alongside a course load during college, Schulhof said she began to enjoy work more than her academics.

“I didn’t want to be tethered down by another quarter of classes,” she said. “I didn’t want that to stop me from taking a job that I was really passionate and excited about.”

She began a job in January as a TikTok content strategist at MrBeast in North Carolina. Schulhof said she’s confident she made the right decision.

But, for some, graduating early could result in lost academic opportunities. Makedon said because she graduated early, she chose not to pursue a Segal Design Certificate.

Meanwhile, Xie said he felt “a little overloaded” at certain points while squeezing extra classes into his already busy schedule.

But for Schulholf, she said she’d even have graduated earlier if she could.

“If you feel like you’ve accomplished what you wanted to do, and you have the chance to do something great, I say do it, (but) I really don’t think there’s a wrong choice,” she said.

katiejahns2023@u.northwestern.edu

two types of advanced trauma therapy: eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy.

“The idea is to enhance the behavioral health team’s ability to track and treat complex trauma, rather than just having a couple specialized team members equipped with these skills,” O’Kelley said. “The overall goal is to reduce health inequities and disparities and drive impact on the communities we serve.”

Both O’Kelley and PEER Services Executive Director Noy Frial-Lopez emphasized that the goal of each of their programs is to improve treatment for their clients. As recipients of the fund, the groups are also part of NorthShore’s goal to form meaningful and lasting partnerships through their community impact efforts, according to NorthShore’s press release.

“We’re very happy and honored to receive the grant,” Frial-Lopez said. “I think we’ll be able to reach a good number of folks that really need support.”

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN is not responsible for more than one incorrect insertion of an ad. Corrections must be received by 10am on the day before ad runs again, call 847-4917206. All Classifieds must be paid in advance and are not accepted over the phone. To run online, ad must run in print on same day. The Daily does not knowingly accept misleading or false ads and does not guarantee any ad or claim, or endorse any advertised product or service. Please use caution when answering ads, especially when sending money.

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ellajeffries@u.northwestern.edu

DAILY CROSSWORD

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

EPL spearheads local newspaper digitization project

By ROSIE NEWMARK the daily northwestern @newmarkrose

The Evanston Public Library is working to make sifting through newspapers less tedious and more inclusive.

Jeff Garrett, a current part-time reference librarian at EPL, is spearheading a newspaper digitization project to upgrade EPL’s online search system and make historical newspapers more accessible for the Evanston community.

“One of our big purposes with the Evanston Review project, and combining it with African American publications, is to digitally desegregate the city of Evanston,” Garrett said.

The project aims to completely digitize the Evanston Review print newspaper, which ran from 1924 to 2009, and its three predecessor newspapers that date back to 1872, Garrett said.

He said the library contracted NewsBank, Inc. to do the same for the Evanston Review.

Garrett is also collaborating with Dino Robinson, the outgoing executive director of Shorefront Legacy Center, to digitize Evanston’s historically Black newspapers, including the Evanston Newsette and the Concerned Citizens Commitment.

Garrett and Robinson said they want to make Evanston’s historically Black newspapers more accessible,because they felt that the history of the city’s Black community was largely missing from EPL’s other newspapers.

“It’s about accessibility and discoverability,” Robinson said. “Without having these things readily available, it runs the risk of being ignored in the general narrative. Making files as discoverable as possible helps with adding more to the historical context.”

Cherese Ledet has been named CEO of the organization effective March 6, YWCA Evanston/North Shore announced Thursday.

While serving in her most recent role as chief community development and equity officer for YMCA Metropolitan Chicago, Ledet

The database containing the digitized Evanston Review and historically Black newspapers will be available on the EPL website. Community members will be able to search the newspapers with keywords, Garrett said.

According to Garrett, the newspapers will be entirely accessible on the library website for cardholders by the end of 2023.

The EPL board unanimously approved the project in May. Robinson, Grace Lehner from the Evanston History Center and University archivist Kevin Leonard all wrote letters of endorsement for the project.

Leonard said his patrons’ research and interests

led programs to eliminate racism, empower women and create equitable and sustainable communities.

Ledet, who joined the YWCA in 2004, led shelter operations as part of the social justice organization’s emergency COVID-19 response plan and managed the association’s reopening after pandemic-related closures. She also provided oversight for a housing relocation partnership that involved securing and providing

often overlap with community sources that are not easily accessible to members of the university community.

“Evanston newspapers are full of information that is useful to me and to my patrons,” Leonard said. “It’s another wonderful source of information that is readily and easily searchable and very rewarding to those of us who need to investigate instant history.”

Garrett said the ultimate goal of these projects is to create a platform where every Evanston newspaper, including The Daily, is available through just one search.

He said the digitization project will also help with reparations research by allowing anyone to trace the

alternative housing for more than 100 residents.

“Our YWCA Board believes wholeheartedly that Cherese is the right person to take the organization to the next level,” Shabnum Sanghvi, YWCA Evanston/North Shore Board Chair, said in a press release. “We are excited to warmly welcome Cherese to the YWCA family.”

Ledet will succeed Karen Singer, who will retire after holding the position for nearly two decades. Under Singer’s leadership, the

generational history of an Evanston family through a simple online search.

According to Garrett, he used to spend hours looking through yearbooks and phone directories in order to validate residents’ claims for reparations. Once the project is complete, anyone will be able to accomplish the same task within a matter of minutes.

“I feel that we basically restored the memory that the city of Evanston has of itself,” Garrett said. “This is now available without coming to the library and without calling. Anybody can do it from their home computer or from their phone.”

rosienewmark2024@u.northwestern.edu

organization more than doubled in size, according to the YWCA website.

YWCA Evanston/North Shore was established in 1931 as a branch of the Chicago YWCA. The multicultural women’s organization focuses on racial justice and civil rights, empowering women economically and advancing health and safety for women and girls.

Divya Bhardwaj

Esther Lim/The Daily Northwestern

EPL took on a project to digitize Evanston’s historical newspapers, which part-time reference librarian Jeff Garrett said should be completed by the end of this year.

YWCA Evanston/North Shore names new CEO

Northwestern secures another ranked conference win

By ALEX CERVANTES daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

In a year in which both Purdue and Indiana have been two of the most consistent and dominant teams in the Big Ten, Northwestern completed a clean sweep, winning all three games against its Indiana conference opponents. The Wildcats (19-7, 10-5 Big Ten) also nabbed their third consecutive win over the No. 14 Hoosiers (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten) on Wednesday in a roller coaster 64-62 victory.

The NU defense was up to the task early, frustrating Indiana’s bigs, namely Trayce Jackson-Davis and Malik Reneau, with the team’s patented post doubles. After roaring out to a 10-7 start in the game’s opening minutes, the Cats held the Hoosiers to just 10 points over the final 15 minutes, including a 5:40 scoring drought midway through the half. Indiana was also held without a field goal for the final 6:49 of the first frame.

Indiana’s struggles offensively were compounded by a 17-1 run from the hosts. Indiana coach Mike Woodson called timeout to stop the bleeding. Still, NU’s defense stood strong, holding the Hoosiers to just 20 points.

Out of the intermission, Indiana, which entered as one of the hottest teams in the country, began to pick up steam. Behind superstar forward Trayce Jackson-Davis, the Hoosiers began to pick apart the Cats’ half-court defense. After posting just 0.714 points per possession in the first 20 minutes, Indiana totally reversed course, tallying 1.355 points per possession in the second frame. It was end-to-end action over the final minutes, but NU ultimately exited victorious, securing sole second-place in the Big Ten.

Here are three takeaways from the Cats’ clash.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

1. Tale of two halves for Audige and Buie

Coach Chris Collins has hailed his veteran backcourt tandem of Buie and redshirt senior guard Chase Audige as the conference’s best guard duo. Both Audige and Buie are averaging over 15 points per game, while also being the only teammates inside the top-10 in conference scoring.

The pair combined for 45 points in NU’s upset victory over the Hoosiers in Assembly Hall last month.

When Woodson and a Hoosier assistant were assessed technical fouls for arguing with an official, it was Buie who stepped to the line. He buried all four free throws and knocked down two more ahead of halftime.

As the whole NU offense spiraled, so too did Audige’s performance in the second frame. Audige, still inspired from his first-half display, knocked down his first attempt from deep, but missed his next eight.

Meanwhile, when the Cats needed a bucket most, they turned to Buie. Every time the Hoosiers would chip away at the lead, Buie would seemingly counter with a floater in the lane. The most pivotal came on NU’s final possession, though.

After Jackson-Davis brought the score level, it was Buie who delivered the final blow. As the seconds ticked away, he drove right, stopped on a dime and buried the game-winner. In another outstanding performance against a top-15 foe, Buie totaled 21 points, six rebounds and four assists against Indiana.

2. Indiana roars to life behind JacksonDavis in second half

Aided by NU’s propensity to settle for threepoint attempts — the hosts shot 3-of-15 in the

Cats continue losing streak, fall to Rutgers

By JAKE EPSTEIN the daily northwestern @jakeepste1n

Northwestern and Rutgers faced off Wednesday at Jersey Mike’s Arena, with each squad looking to flip frigid February scripts. The Wildcats (8-18, 1-14 Big Ten) shot out to an early advantage, but a win was written in the stars for the Scarlet Knights (11-16, 5-10 Big Ten).

After a turnover-fest in the contest’s opening, Rutgers guard Erica Lafayette broke the deadlock before sophomore forward Caileigh Walsh drew a shooting foul and knocked down both foul shots.

Walsh quickly made her presence known in her home state, converting a post hook off a nifty move through contact. She then sank the ensuing free throw, capping an early 7-0 NU run.

Midway through the primary period, Walsh’s seven points proved the difference in the contest, as the Cats carried a 9-4 lead into the first media timeout.

NU cooled off offensively, as coach Joe McKeown’s squad was held scoreless in the first frame’s final two minutes. But a 3-of13 Scarlet Knight shooting clip helped the Cats hold a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Cats rushed out to a 22-12 lead, forcing Rutgers coach Coquese Washington to call a timeout with 8:22 to play in the second period.

Walsh’s overpowering post presence granted the Scarlet Knights respite when the sophomore picked up her second foul three minutes into the frame, forcing NU’s leading scorer to the bench.

Rutgers capitalized off the Cats’ foul trouble, riding a 15-4 run to take its first lead since the matchup’s opening minutes. Fresh off a break, graduate student guard Sydney Wood scooped an errant Scarlet Knight pass and scored a layup to regain the lead.

Following 20 minutes of end-to-end action, NU held a slim 30-29 halftime lead.

Walsh opened the Cats’ second-half scoring tally with an outside jumper just

moments after missing inside the paint. But Rutgers drove directly into the sophomore forward, forcing her into a troubling third foul 1:09 into the third quarter.

NU once again struggled in Walsh’s stead, tallying just four points and carrying a 2:46 scoreless run into a media timeout with 3:21 remaining in the third frame.

After two and a half minutes without offensive production from either team, Brown cashed in a corner three. This appeared to activate the dormant Scarlet Knight offense, which catapulted off a 6-0 run into a 42-40 lead. However, Walsh went 2-of-2 on a late charity stripe trip, and the teams entered the final frame deadlocked at 42.

Junior forward Paige Mott sank a layup to open the fourth quarter and propel the Cats back into the lead. But Rutgers guard Awa Sidibe turned defense into offense, snatching a steal and converting an and-one to give her squad a 45-44 advantage with 9:13 to play.

With less than five minutes remaining, Rutgers guard Kaylene Smikle drilled a downtown take, extending the Scarlet Knight edge to four. Wood scored at the other end of the floor, but Smikle forced Walsh into her fourth foul and hit 1-of-2 free throws to tally her 18th point of the evening.

McKeown’s squad then collapsed on both sides of the ball. NU kept the contest competitive for the bulk of the evening, holding the lead for 25:46, but Rutgers ultimately usurped momentum when it mattered most. Washington’s squad shut down the Cats’ offense and carried a 17-2 run to the contest’s close.

In a lesson on how not to tote the rock — with the teams combining for 47 turnovers — the Scarlet Knights put the pedal to the medal in crunch-time and won 62-48.

NU will return home to WelshRyan Arena Saturday in a battle of the Big Ten’s bottom dwellers versus Minnesota.

jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

second half — the Hoosiers gradually chipped away at a 19-point halftime deficit.

Jackson-Davis, who was limited to five points on three shot attempts in the first half, began to play like the All-American talent he is. Operating all over the floor, the senior carved up the Cats’ doubles in the post.

In the opening six minutes of the second frame, Indiana ripped off a 14-6 run, of which Jackson-Davis scored or assisted on eight. Midway through the half, he had assisted or scored on 18 of the Hoosiers’ 24 points.

After posting a near triple-double in the two teams’ first meeting in January — 18 points, 24 rebounds and eight assists — Jackson-Davis completed or nearly completed the feat with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.

It was a spectacular display from one of the nation’s premier players. However, the Cats denied him a victory in Evanston.

3. Miller Kopp struggles in another return to Welsh-Ryan Arena

The former ‘Cat turned Hoosier was the subject of intense ridicule from the NU student section for most of the game. Kopp, who transferred from Evanston to Bloomington following the 2020-21 season, made his second return to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday night.

In his voyage back to Evanston last season to face the Cats, Kopp scored just three points, shooting a dismal 1-of-7 from the field. When NU traveled to Indiana earlier this season, Kopp attempted just two shots, making one in a five-point performance. Kopp’s struggles persisted once again versus the Cats — he scored three points on six shots — as he was handed his third consecutive defeat in crimson against his former team.

alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Why I Play: Guard Jillian Brown

By DIVYA GUPTA the daily northwestern @divsgupt

Ever since basketball games in elementary school , Northwestern guard Jillian Brown has had aspirations to play Division I collegiate basketball.

A second-year from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Brown continues to impress this season for the Wildcats, increasing her minutes on the court in the wake of Veronica Burton’s departure to the WNBA. She was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week last season and had a seasonhigh record of 17 points against Michigan this season.

Brown’s dedication to the sport is shared by her family: one of her sisters currently plays college basketball at St. Bonaventure and the other plans to in the near future. Her father, Spencer Brown, said Jillian excelled as a child, and watching her has always been impressive.

“She’s amazing to me,” he said. “I have so much respect for her as a young woman and athlete.”

The Daily spoke with Jillian Brown about why she continues to play the sport and how she sees her future as a member of the Cats’ women’s basketball team.

“Why I Play” is a Q&A series where Wildcats discuss their love for their sports and how they got their starts. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

The Daily : How did you start playing basketball?

Brown : I was always around the game growing up. My mom had this basketball league she would play in and we would go to watch, so I always grew up in the gym and around basketball.

The Daily : What made you want to play in college?

Brown : Since high school, it was

always assumed I wanted to play in college. I just loved the game and I just love playing it. I got to a point where I worked hard enough so I was good enough to play in college. I liked (Northwestern’s) team and the coaching staff. I knew it was somewhere I’d fit in well and could make a difference.

The Daily : What do you see for your future in basketball after college?

Brown : If I’m able to, I would love to continue playing. Last year Veronica (Burton) was a senior when I was a freshman, and she set such a good example for me, and I learned a lot from her. Seeing how hard she works was inspiring. I love the game; it’s taken me places and given me opportunities that I’m grateful for,

so I want to play for as long as possible. I just want to impact the game.

The Daily : How has your family influenced your playing and your love of the sport?

Brown : They’ve been very supportive and given me so many opportunities and always been there for me. They’ve kind of, like, just taken me to every practice, every tournament, and really have been supportive. In high school, they would rebound for me before every game. Basketball is a really big part of my family and both my sisters play too, so if they weren’t into it or (weren’t) as supportive as they are, I just wouldn’t love the game as much as I do and wouldn’t be where I am.

divyagupta2025@u.northwestern.edu

Gabe Bider/The Daily Northwestern

Daily file photo by Alyce Brown Sophomore guard Jillian Brown looks to inbound the ball at Welsh-Ryan Arena.