The Daily Northwestern — February 22nd, 2024

The Daily Northwestern

ursday, February 22, 2024

8

Buie approaches history against the Wolverines

FSL asks for halt of hazing

Greek Life new member season prompts warning

By SAMANTHA POWERS the

daily northwestern @sqpowers04

In a le er circulated to all fraternity and sorority members Wednesday night, Northwestern’s O ce of Fraternity and Sorority Life reminded members of anti-hazing policies and resources.

New member season is underway at NU, meaning that many sorority and fraternity recruits are going through an orientation and education period. e o ce said the email was sent in light of recent events.

“Over the past few days, we have witnessed and received reports about students who have publicly displayed concerning behaviors across campus, such as students allegedly being instructed to wear elaborate costumes or carry objects with them everywhere throughout the day,” FSL Director Keith Garcia said in the le er.

Garcia a ached a message outlining hazing prevention guidelines, and said they will be circulated to all student organization leaders on Friday.

NU FSL’s Guidelines for New Member Education refer students to the de nition of hazing — a Class A misdemeanor — as outlined by Illinois law. Any person who “knowingly requires the performance of any act by a student or other person in a school, college, university, or other educational institution … for the purpose of induction or admission into any group, organization, or society associated or connected with that institution” commits hazing if the act is not sanctioned or authorized by the institution or results in bodily harm, the law says.

NU’s Student Handbook and Code of Conduct say examples of hazing include requiring students to wear “uniforms or apparel that is conspicuous and not normally in good taste” or “carry, possess, or maintain objects or items.” Garcia said violations of the Student Code of Conduct should cease immediately and may be investigated by the University.

“We want to ensure that every student can engage in Northwestern activities free from harm, and you all have a role to play in achieving that aim,” the message said.

samanthapowers2026 @u.nortwestern.edu

3 CAMPUS/Black History Month

NU Dining’s annual Black History Month dinner brings Black American recipies, music to dining

Scan this QR code camera to listen to an audio story on Evanston’s Downtown!

City considers 911 response system

Proposed community responder program could o er alternative to police

By MELISSA DAI daily senior staffer

Tens of thousands of 911 calls stream into the Evanston Police Department every year. From minor disputes to critical encounters, one versatile group is tasked with handling them all: police o cers.

But soon, that may change.

“It is really obvious, if you look at all the di erent things we ask our police o cers to do all day, that the breadth of those tasks is beyond any one person’s set of strengths,” Mayor Daniel Biss said. “It is just not feasible, realistic or fair to expect that the same person who responds to a minor tra c accident should also be the best

Schill announces new committee

Faculty to advise the president on free expression and speech

By SAMANTHA POWERS daily senior staffer @sqpowers04

Northwestern President Michael Schill announced a new Advisory Commi ee on Free Expression and Institutional Speech in a Universitywide statement Monday.

Pritzker Prof. Erin Delaney, who specializes in Constitutional law, will chair the 11-person commi ee. Other members include NU President Emeritus Henry Bienen; Weinberg Prof. Eli Finkel; Weinberg Prof. Vicky Kalogera, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics; McCormick Prof. Milan Mrksich and Medill Prof. Peter Slevin.

“ e panel consists of some of Northwestern’s preeminent scholars from across disciplines, scholars who will examine the issue from di erent perspectives and, hopefully, with di erent viewpoints — the type of intellectual debate that lies at the very core of academic freedom,” Schill said in

the message.

Schill said he tasked the committee with identifying boundaries for free expression and academic freedom on campus, evaluating circumstances in which University o cials should make statements on behalf of their constituents about political or international issues. e commi ee will also consider how the University should incorporate the commi ee’s recommendations into the community.

The University did not immediately respond to request for comment on whether the commi ee’s ndings will be incorporated into the Student Handbook. e formation of the commi ee comes a er the U.S.

Department of Education opened an investigation into Northwestern last month for its handling of alleged incidents of antisemitism. Schill also faced criticism from alumni in December for his response to antisemitism on campus in recent months.

Israel’s continued ground and air o ensive in the Gaza Strip has killed more than

29,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian officials. e o ensive began a er the militant group Hamas’ Oct. 7 a ack on Israel killed about 1,200 Israelis, according to Israeli o cials.

The President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate, formed in November, has been at work under co-chairs

person to respond to something like a shooting.”

The issue of overextended police responsibility has been at the forefront of Biss’ platform since he took o ce in 2021, he said. A community responder program, on the docket for City Council, could be the solution.

In this proposed program, teams of specially trained community

responders will handle low-risk 911 calls to conserve police resources for higher-priority calls.

The program emerged from

Evanston’s Reimagining Public Safety Committee, which includes Biss, Alds. Bobby Burns (5th), Devon Reid (8th) and Juan Geracaris (9th) and community

» See ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, page 6

Mitchell Museum undergoes rebrand

Museum looks to emphasize local Indigenous cultures

By ANAVI PRAKASH the daily northwestern @anavi_52

At the end of last year, sta at the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian found an eagle sta , a Native artifact made with eagle feathers and a deer antler, but couldn’t trace its origins, according to Kim Vigue, the museum’s executive director.

She said the museum gi ed the sta to local Native veterans, who used it for the rst time at the American Indian Center’s 70th annual Pow Wow in December.

“(It was a) really beautiful moment,” Vigue said. “It was a really private moment where we handed it o to them and knew that it would be well cared for.” is repatriation is part of the museum’s broader goal to display and represent Indigenous stories, she said.

The museum is currently

undergoing a rebranding to focus more on Native tribes in the Chicago and Great Lakes region. e rebranding includes a new mission statement, name and logo.

Last year, the museum went through a strategic planning process funded by an Evanston Community Foundation grant. e sta created a threeyear plan that included steps to rebrand the museum, according to Susan Kelsey, the museum’s board president.

The inspiration for this rebranding started in 2022, when the museum’s leadership became majority Indigenous, Vigue said. She said the leadership wanted to respectfully and accurately tell Native stories, something that has been a “proli c problem” in the past.

e museum’s new mission rests on three pillars: education, advocacy and awareness — all focused on Native communities in the Chicago and Great Lakes region.

e museum holds monthly programming about Indigenous

» See MITCHELL , page 6

Illustration by Shveta Shah

City Council is expected to vote on a community responder program at its Feb. 26 meeting.

Daily file photo by Jacob Wendler

The formation of the committee comes a er the U.S. Department of Education opened an investigation into Northwestern last month for its handling of alleged incidents of antisemitism.

Illinois to launch new youth mental health portal

By EDWARD SIMON CRUZ the daily northwestern @edwardsimoncruz

The Illinois Department of Human Services and Google Public Sector will launch a new online portal by July 3 to streamline family access to youth behavioral and mental health resources.

The state is creating the Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation portal as one of its 12 strategies to address youth mental health from a report released last year by the Illinois Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation Initiative, created by Governor J.B. Pritzker in 2022.

Through BEACON, families will be able to upload their children’s required documentation and learn about the resources their children will be eligible to receive. Families will also be able to request resource navigators, who would support them in finding appropriate resources for their children.

The state’s departments for human services, healthcare and family services, children and family services, juvenile justice and public health will all be connected to BEACON, as will the Illinois State Board of Education.

“The new BEACON system will help (the Department of Juvenile Justice) coordinate services with other state agencies for the children in our care and will expedite access to the behavioral health services they need,” DJJ Interim Director Rob Vickery said in an email to The Daily.

BEACON builds on a rudimentary portal launched in June 2022 for the six child-serving

Early voting to begin Wednesday in suburban Cook County locations

Limited early voting for the March 19 general primary will begin Wednesday at five suburban Cook County locations and one downtown

state agencies to securely communicate with each other and expedite access to services, all with families’ consent.

The new portal will promote more equitable access to those services, according to Dana Weiner,

Chicago location.

Evanston voters can go to the Skokie Courthouse, which will be open during business hours on weekdays, to cast their ballots.

Cook County voters will be selecting their preferred candidates for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions as well as for Illinois’ congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Evanston) will

chief officer for the CBHTI.

“The development of the BEACON tool is informed by the diverse perspectives of people with lived experience,” Weiner said. “The blueprint itself outlines strategies that have to do with

run unopposed for her congressional seat in either party.

Current Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx will not be running for a third term. Democratic candidates Eileen O’Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III and Republican counterpart Bob Fioretti are running to replace her.

After a surge in post-pandemic crime, Burke is focusing her platform on promoting safety and

redistributing resources and community-based services to the areas that need them the most.”

The initiative’s report also recommends improving coordination and oversight for those services, adjusting facility and program capacities and promoting earlier interventions for behavioral or mental health challenges like universal mental health screenings in schools and pediatric offices.

Illinois will also create “resource referral technology” to more directly connect families to service providers. This technology is expected to be developed in the next 12 to 18 months and will eventually be connected to BEACON, Weiner said.

Google Public Sector will protect privacy by ensuring all information transmitted through BEACON is encrypted and accessible only to “relevant state employees so they can make informed decisions and be accountable for the outcomes,” Director of Public Sector Engineering Chris Hein said in an email to The Daily.

BEACON will be powered by artificial intelligence and cloud computing technology from Google Cloud. The tool will use AI algorithms to more efficiently match people to relevant services, but AI will not replace interpersonal interactions involving healthcare providers and other employees, Weiner added.

“Right now, all of these people spend a lot of time looking for things and trying to figure out all of the complex eligibility criteria to link families with services,” she said. “If we can use technology to do that, then people can spend time helping people.”

edwardcruz2027@u.northwestern.edu

justice, while Harris is focusing on gun violence and sexual assault cases. Fioretti has run his campaign on general crime and education. Voters will also be choosing the delegates who will cast votes for the presidential candidates during each party’s national convention this summer.

— Shreya Srinivasan

Illustration by Isabel Su

The Behavioral Health Care and Ongoing Navigation portal will make it easier for families to identify the behavioral and mental health services for which their children are eligible.

Dining honors Black History Month

By JOYCE LI daily senior staffer @joyycee_li

Students enjoyed a variety of dishes originating from Black American culture at Northwestern Dining’s Black History Month Celebratory Dinner Wednesday evening in Sargent Dining Hall.

Recipes including hickory smoked pork shoulder, high mesa peach and blackberry cobbler, rice with pigeon peas, and ginger and brown sugar candied sweet potatoes were served in all NU dining halls. Dessert stations featured baked goods from Caribbean American Bakery on Howard Street, including bulla, gingerbread and caramel cake.

While special recipes were served across dining halls,

Wendler named e Daily’s next editor in chief

Medill junior Jacob Wendler will be the next editor in chief of The Daily Northwestern, Students Publishing Company — The Daily’s publisher and parent company — announced Monday night.

Wendler, a print managing editor for The Daily, has previously served as campus editor, special edition editor, copy editor and city beat reporter. He also worked at Medill News Service as a national security reporter as part of the Medill on the Hill program

Sargent Hall had several additional offerings, including music from Chicago-based DJ Corey Bless, a station takeover by local Black-owned restaurant Soul & Smoke and a BLK & Bold affogato station manned by guest chef Jerl Griffin.

Griffin, a regional executive chef at Thompson Hospitality, was hired for the event last year. He said he was excited to reconnect with NU students Wednesday.

“I hope they really can capture a connection to African American food, and really get any questions that they have answered,” he said. “It’s just about drawing connections to different foods and different ethnicities and spices and textures and flavors.”

The event spotlighted dishes from the National Museum of African American History and

in Washington. This summer, he plans to work at Forbes as an editorial intern on the tech and innovation team.

“I am really excited for the opportunity to continue giving back to the paper that I feel has given me so much over the last couple of years,” Wendler said.

Wendler said his biggest priorities for his tenure as editor in chief are broadening The Daily’s reach, strengthening newsroom culture, and building trust with the campus and Evanston communities.

SPC Board of Directors Chair

John Byrne said the board expects that Wendler will be a “terrific” editor in chief.

“The board was impressed with

Culture’s “Sweet Home Cafe Cookbook,” which features Black American recipes from across the country. Attendees could scan a QR code for a chance to win a copy of the cookbook.

The annual event was hosted by Compass Group, NU’s food service partner, in collaboration with NU Student Affairs and Thompson Hospitality, the largest minority-owned food and facilities management company in the U.S..

“We strive for our students to partake in an authentic dining experience that immerses them in a cultural celebration while building community with their peers,” Compass spokesperson Sophia Bamiatzis told The Daily in a statement.

While she liked the food, Weinberg freshman Mercy Muiruri said she wished the event had been

Jacob’s thoughtful approach and creative ideas for his vision of where he would like to take The Daily in the coming quarters,” Byrne said. “We especially appreciated his emphasis on listening to all sides and pursuing a collaborative approach to managing the Daily’s newsroom.”

Wendler will assume the position starting in Spring Quarter and his tenure will continue through next Fall Quarter.

At the helm of the campus desk in Fall 2023, Wendler reported on the University’s new approach to affirmative action, cheerleaders’ allegations of sex trafficking, University responses to the conflict in Gaza, the circulation of fake

better marketed.

“If I hadn’t been in Sargent, I probably wouldn’t have known,” Muiruri said. “If they would have made it known that this is happening…then we’d all come. ”

Weinberg freshman Valary Anguzuzu said she saw room for improvement in the variety of food offered. Anguzuzu said when she thinks of Black History Month, she thinks there is room for the inclusion and celebration of all African cultures.

“That would be really amazing if they could include more African dishes,” she said.

Nevertheless, Anguzuzu said she enjoyed the event.

“The music is just top notch — like, oh my god, I love it,” she said. “Kudos to whoever organized this — it’s amazing.”

joyceli2025@u.northwestern.edu

copies of The Daily and ongoing contract negotiations between the University and the NU Graduate Workers Union.

He will succeed Medill junior Avani Kalra, who has served as editor in chief for the past two quarters. Wendler said he’s looking forward to following in Kalra’s footsteps.

“Jacob has covered some of the most difficult stories on campus with so much care and grace, and I couldn’t be prouder of him,” Kalra said. “He is such a thoughtful and compassionate editor and I know he will take the paper so far in the quarters to come.”

Samantha Powers

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Gibson: How not to ght antisemitism at Northwestern

I am a 1973 alumnus of the Medill School of Journalism and a proud Jewish American who supports the state of Israel and its right to exist — although I am fiercely critical of the Netanyahu government and its policies. As a proud supporter of Northwestern, a member of the Alumni Admission Council and a donor for the past 45 years, I am concerned about the spread of antisemitism at Northwestern, both before and since the brutal Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

”

It should go without saying that support for Hamas’ genocidal campaign to kill Jews and annihilate Israel does not belong on any campus, let alone NU’s.

- STUART GIBSON, op-ed contributorFirst, let’s understand what is and is not antisemitism. In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance developed a working definition of the term. As of April 2023, 42 countries have adopted that definition, including the U.S., members of the European Union, nations in Latin America and Asia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania.

The IHRA working definition lists concrete examples of antisemitism, including: denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, such as by claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavor; applying double standards by requiring of Israel a behavior not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation; drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis; and holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel.

To be clear, it is not antisemitic to criticize or call for the removal of the Israeli government. It is antisemitic to call for the elimination of Israel.

Next, it is important to understand Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007. Among other things, its founding principles call for the elimination of Israel as a country. In 1997, the U.S. designated Hamas as a foreign terrorist organization.

Other countries have followed. And they are not alone.

On March 9, 2023, the Islamic Fatwa Council issued a fatwa — a formal ruling on a point of Islamic law — against Hamas, citing extortion, terrorism, corruption, imprisoning and torturing journalists and recruiting a reported 50,000 Palestinian children as soldiers to sacrifice their lives for Hamas.

Students at NU have used the chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” a phrase used by Hamas leaders and many of their supporters around the world, to reference the elimination of Israel. Senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad has promised that Hamas would repeat Oct. 7 “again and again” until Israel is “annihilated.” Supporting Hamas’ justification for and pledge to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7 and remove Israel from the map is antisemitic to the core.

It should go without saying that support for Hamas’ genocidal campaign to kill Jews and annihilate Israel does not belong on

Supporting Hamas’ justi cation for and pledge to repeat the atrocities of Oct. 7 and remove Israel om the map is antisemitic to the core.

any campus, let alone NU’s. Yet, faculty and student groups continue to call Israel a colonizer, even though groups like the Anti-Defamation League, an international organization founded to fight antisemitism, have made clear that Jewish immigration to the area did not equate to European colonial projects at the time.

Despite this distinction, student groups defend their so-called “right” to engage in what the IHRA defines as antisemitic behavior… including by chanting this phrase.

I had hoped that the President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and

Hate that President Schill announced last November and populated last month would be able to get to some of the root causes of Jew hatred on our campus and propose concrete steps to eliminate them.

Unfortunately, the task may simply be too

”

As a proud supporter of Northwestern, a member of the Alumni Admission Council and a donor for the past 45 years, I am concerned about the spread of antisemitism at Northwestern, both before and since the brutal Hamas terrorist a ack on Oct. 7, 2023.

- STUART GIBSON, op-ed contributor

difficult for the committee as constituted. Here are some of the important issues they seem to be avoiding:

The committee should include alumni. Without alumni, an important voice will not be at the table — those of us who not only write checks every year to support NU but also serve as ambassadors for our school. Failing to address antisemitism on campus makes it less likely that Jewish alumni like me will support the school and encourage highperforming Jewish students to attend. Inexplicably, while the committee excludes alumni, it includes one NU professor who signed a petition supporting a terrorist convicted by Israel for her involvement in a bombing that killed two university students in Jerusalem and demonizing the Jewish state. The committee should address school sanctioned student and faculty groups that, in the view of many supporters of Israel, advocate for the elimination of the state of Israel and that harass Jews on campus. This includes groups that hosted convicted terrorists on campus in 2017, and interfered with the right to safety and security of their fellow students who support Israel. Students placed checkpoints on campus during an anti-Israelfest called Israeli Apartheid Week in 2015. The committee should be charged with identifying professors on campus who are

calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, but haven’t called for such measures against other countries with far worse human rights records.

This is antisemitism by definition. This is certainly happening at NU right now by professors who allege the Jewish state is a “colonial” power that oppresses Palestinian people, ignoring the historic ties of the Jewish people to the land of their ancestors and their expulsion from that land many times over the past 3,000 years.

The committee should be charged with addressing whether the University should accept funding from a country that hosts the leaders of Hamas and a NU campus. Additionally the committee should address pro-Hamas rhetoric expressed by some NU professors, such as the NU Qatar professor who took to the radio to claim that reports of some Hamas violence were “kind of fabricated,” despite gruesome images posted to social media on Oct. 7 and in the days following.

While the radio station pulled the interview from national distribution after its original broadcast, the NU administration revised their original statement to merely condemn “any attempt to minimize or misrepresent” what Hamas did on Oct. 7, while seemingly defending the professor’s right to lie about Hamas’ atrocities, citing “academic freedom.”

Perhaps this is a mountain too high to climb, for reasons best expressed by a member of the Harvard committee tasked with addressing antisemitism on that campus. After she was appointed to the committee, Dara Horn, author of “People Love Dead Jews,” described the impossible task her committee was given. Among other things, she said it would require “firing a lot of people,” and getting rid of programs and courses that actively teach the antisemitism Harvard claims to fight.

I can only hope that the NU committee members undertake this important mission in good faith, understand what they must do to actually address Jew hatred on campus and produce a work that honors our motto, ‘Quaecumque sunt Verae’ — “Whatsoever things are true.”

Stuart Gibson is an alumnus of the Medill School of Journalism, Class of 1973. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Le er to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. e views expressed in this piece do not necessarily re ect the views of all sta members of e Daily Northwestern.

Amaral: e emptiness of academia’s empathy theater

In 2023, Earth’s global surface temperature approached 1.5 °C over the pre-Anthropocene level. This temperature anomaly was, however, not spread uniformly across the globe. For Canada’s Northwest Territories and the oceans around Antarctica, the temperature anomaly exceeded 6 °C. Despite these terrifying trends, the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) did not go beyond an awful lot of ‘blah blah blah,’ as Greta Thunberg put so well on another occasion. Things being what they are, we firmly remain on a path for a temperature anomaly that will surpass 3 °C by 2050.

Despite the catastrophic trajectory humanity is on and the lack of actual action, the vast majority of academics in the U.S. have remained publicly silent about this issue, even though, better than most, they have the tools to understand the situation and the risks of inaction. This silence is all the more surprising if one were to believe the so-called warnings about the radicalism, leftism and ‘wokeness’ of university professors.

Some academics justify not speaking out because they worry it will affect their chances of getting tenure, getting promoted, getting a raise or being nominated for an award. At the individual level, this is clearly a rational decision. But, by being individually rational, we forget that heeding warnings about the

future — and cooperating with others — has been the key to human success for tens of thousands of years.

Sadly, the narcissism, cupidity and pettiness of the Ackmans, Bezoses, Gateses and Ryans of the world has convinced many of us to ignore or stay publicly silent about the disastrous conditions plaguing our world — armed conflict, climate change, inequality, superpower competition or worldwide pandemics.

Real action on climate change continues to be suppressed because of greenwashing strategies, such as carbon offsets, which appeal to individual action when the problem is systemic and requires regulatory action. Similarly, technological solutions such as nuclear fusion and carbon capture are too far off from deployment at a scale of any real use. In contrast, the real, necessary solution — degrowth — is neither researched nor supported by those that should know better.

” Editor in Chief Avani Kalra Opinion Editor Ethan Lachman Assistant Opinion Editor Chiara Kim

these academics — frequently following the lead of the powerful — see but do not register, hear but do not listen and claim to empathize but do not really want change.

The emptiness of this empathy theater has been demonstrated recently by staggering displays of lack of courage and peer solidarity. Instead of supporting the brave students taking a stand against the ongoing genocide in the Gaza strip, most academics have remained silent as nearly 2 million people are denied aid, thousands of children have been killed, hundreds of academics, journalists and healthcare workers have been murdered, and dozens of hospitals, universities and schools have been destroyed.

But climate change is not an isolated case. Our greedy, unjust, inefficient healthcare system continues to siphon money away from all of us into the hands of physician groups bought by private equity, health insurance companies and immensely profitable non-profit hospitals. The necessary solutions — strong public health measures and single-payer universal health care — have been deemed a pipe dream and abandoned by those who should know better.

The reason why outsiders feel justified in talking about academia’s supposed radicalism is that many academics willingly engage in empathy theater. They feel comfortable claiming to see, hear and empathize with members of discriminated groups. In reality,

Academics have remained on their knees instead of standing for what is right because the going has been so good, for so many, for so long. But that is changing; more and more academic positions are poorly paid, insecure and with no prospects of advancement. In a world with ever increasing inequality, academics should realize they are no longer in secure positions and that their best interest lies not in serving the powerful but in allying with graduate workers and other members of the working class. They would be wise to see that silence is complicity.

Luís A. Nunes Amaral is a professor of chemical and biological engineering. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Le er to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. e views expressed in this piece do not necessarily re ect the views of all sta members of e Daily Northwestern.

Managing Editors Colin Crawford Jacob Wendler Lily Carey Shannon Tyler Ashley Lee Micah Sandy Danny O’Grady

Concrete Canoe club learns to make concrete float

By JOYCE LI the daily northwestern @joyycee_li

When McCormick junior Vivian Reilly attended McCormick’s organization fair her freshman year, one booth caught her eye: Concrete Canoe.

“I saw this tank of water with floating cylinders of concrete, and I was like, ‘What is going on over there?’” she said. “And then I was hooked — this was just something totally different.”

Two years later, Reilly is one of Canoe’s copresidents. Over the course of a school year, the team concocts a concrete mixture light enough to float in water and uses it to construct a canoe.

“You want to, first of all, design a canoe that’s as light and as strong as possible, ideally using the least amount of materials,” McCormick junior and Canoe member Julia Yazhari said. “You want it to be fast, but you also want it to be able to maneuver it properly.”

Canoe is split into two teams: one that formulates the concrete mix and one that designs the mold which will shape the canoe, according to Yazhari, who leads the latter team. Members often split their time between the two teams, she said.

The teams come together on casting day, a day-long endeavor in January, to make a large amount of concrete and pour it all into the mold.

Aesthetic design also plays a role in the process, members said. After the concrete is given a few weeks to harden, the team paints the canoe according to a theme — this year, it’s “Paddlers of Olympus,” inspired by Greek mythology.

McCormick junior and Canoe co-president Aimee Sze said she appreciates the close community Canoe fosters as a smaller club on campus.

“There’s not tons of people (in Canoe), so you get to do hands-on stuff, like mixing and designing … right off the bat,” Sze said. “I felt like I was actually contributing, so that’s what kept me coming back.”

The club’s efforts culminate in a three-day symposium hosted annually by the American Society of Civil Engineers in early April, in which Northwestern competes with teams from universities across the Western Great Lakes

region. Teams are first scored in three technical categories: a written project proposal, a technical presentation and an evaluation of the final concrete canoe prototype.

Last year, NU’s team placed third in both the project proposal and prototype categories, earning it a third place ranking overall for the first time since 2015.

The teams then race their canoes to show off the speed and maneuverability of their boats. Members said they are both excited and nervous about the racing component of the competition this year.

“That’s the part I think that scares us the

most,” Yazhari said. “Because we can design the canoe, but then racing is the tough part.”

Last year’s race was canceled due to icy conditions. During the 2022 race, the team struggled to steer the canoe in a straight line and fell into the lake, members said.

Sze said the club now has paddling practice built into its schedule. The team reserves the pool in the Norris Aquatics Center and practices using a canoe there.

“I got to do that the past two years and I thought that was actually really fun, because there’s just something so interesting about taking a canoe into the pool at SPAC at 10 p.m.,” Sze said.

Overall, members said Canoe gives them an opportunity to hone their understanding of the chemical properties of concrete, the structural calculations that go into the design process and the project management skills necessary to keep the club running smoothly.

“Concrete is a really important material for civil engineers to be aware of because so many structures in society are made out of concrete,” Yazhari said. “So knowing how to make it with your own hands, how to design it, is pretty important.”

Photo courtesy of Vivian Reilly

Last year, NU Concrete Canoe competed in Duluth, Minnesota with the theme “Rock N’ Row.”

EXPRESSION

From page 1

Kellogg Prof. Efraim Benmelech and SESP Dean Bryan Brayboy. The committee held a listening session with a group of over 40 Jewish students last month and plans to hold sessions with Arab and Muslim students in the future, according to a message from the co-chairs.

Since Oct. 7, Schill has defended his position of institutional neutrality while emphasizing his commitment to free speech and

ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE

From page 1

members.

“If we want to provide the best possible services for individuals in crisis and all Evanston residents, we owe it to everyone to have appropriately trained and specialized personnel for the broad swath of types of emergencies that occur,” Biss said.

In late 2022, the Reimagining Public Safety Committee entered into a contract with Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a criminal justice reform organization that works with cities to develop community responder models.

LEAP spent the next year analyzing 911 call data, meeting with city stakeholders and engaging in extensive research to formulate a program catered to Evanston. Their work culminated in a 104-page report published in November. The report recommends the city establish a program with six teams of two community responders each, housed within the Parks and Recreation Department.

According to the report, once in full operation, community responders could handle approximately 36% of calls currently allocated to police.

“It’s a rough estimate based on existing call data,” said Amos Irwin, the program director at LEAP. “The challenge is that those numbers completely depend on how well the community and officers are aware of the program.”

LEAP Program Specialist Lionel King said community input was integral to the report. Throughout the process, he worked with Rachel Williams, the administrator of the Reimagining Public Safety Committee, on public outreach, gathering residents’ feedback at ward meetings and through an online survey.Both King and Williams said the community had mixed opinions.

“Some people were all for it, saying that this is something Evanston needs,” King said. “However, there were people … who may not be as comfortable with the idea.”

The main hesitation among residents, according to King and Williams, involved the safety of community responders, who would be unarmed. In response, King said the report outlines several safety processes, including a screening

opposition to antisemitism in several messages to the NU community.

“Worldwide events have sometimes strained our abilities to respectfully debate issues that we hold dear — but also have again laid bare why the concepts of academic freedom and freedom of expression are so important not just to the mission of our great University, but to solving the world’s problems,” Schill said in Monday’s message.

samanthapowers@u.northwestern.edu

procedure in which call-takers would analyze

911 calls for possible threats before dispatching community responders instead of police officers.

King, who used to be a child protective investigator, said a pattern of sending unarmed individuals into potentially dangerous situations is not new.

“We already have social workers going into very contentious situations and being able to resolve the situation as best as possible,” he said. “There are few situations that are more contentious than walking into a home and telling a parent that you’re going to have to remove their child, and I often did that with only a clipboard, a badge and my ability to de-escalate.”

According to Williams, the Reimagining Public Safety Committee has spent the past few months reviewing the report, engaging in internal discussions and seeking further feedback from residents. At the committee’s Feb. 6 meeting, members endorsed a program proposal to hire two teams of two community responders, who will work on a staggered schedule seven days a week.

Meanwhile, King said several prominent city and police leaders have been on board from the beginning, including Biss and EPD Chief Schenita Stewart.

“Evanston was a very unique situation because we didn’t have to do much convincing,” King said. “When we spoke with the police chief for the first time, she was supportive, and that was a first in my time with LEAP, to have a police chief say that they believe in the idea of alternative response.”

Though the program is not yet approved, the city has already allocated $400,000 in its 2024 budget for potential implementation.

The program will go to a vote at City Council’s Feb. 26 meeting, Biss said. If approved, he said the hiring process would start immediately, and dispatching community responders could begin as soon as this summer.

“I’m not a fortune-teller, but I’m optimistic,” Biss said. “I think our team has done real work on this, and they’ve put something together that’s exciting and meaningful. My hope is that the rest of council will agree.”

melissadai2026@u.northwestern.edu

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MITCHELL

From page 1

art and culture, Kelsey said. This year, the museum has hosted Native Book Fairs, featuring six books written by Native authors, free of charge to families and children.

For advocacy, Kelsey said the museum is involved with curriculum development in support of Illinois House Bill 1633, which requires the teaching of Native American history in Illinois public schools starting in the 2024-2025 school year. The bill was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker in August 2023.

The museum aims to create awareness about local Native communities in both its Native and nonNative audiences, Kelsey said.

“We have been focusing on education in current Indigenous lives, not necessarily historical parts of it,” she said.

Vigue added that the museum’s localization efforts are driven by visitors who want more information on the Native people who live in the area. She said the museum’s rebranding work also stems from the community to ensure the people whose stories are being told feel represented.

The museum has been collecting feedback from community members through a form on their website. The majority of responses, especially from the Native community, have been “extremely positive,” according to Kelsey.

Some people have told the museum they want to preserve the current name to honor its founders, Kelsey said. But she thinks the museum needs a new name that more closely reflects its core values and new mission, she said.

Kelsey said there is a place to “preserve the legacy” of the Mitchell family by naming an exhibit space or program after them — even if the name is changed.

Internally, the museum’s current priority is making sure artifacts are respectfully displayed and cared for, Vigue said. The gifting of the eagle staff is just one example.

The federal government also tightened regulations relating to the exhibition of Native American remains and artifacts in January. The regulations require museums to get consent from Native American tribes before displaying certain items and return them upon tribes’ request.

The museum has since covered one of its exhibit items until it can be returned to its tribe.

Vigue said the museum is also working to refocus its exhibits on local tribes. The museum’s next exhibit will feature work from contemporary Native artists in the Great Lakes region, according to Joseph Gackstetter, the museum’s development director.

He said this will “shine a light” on the Great Lakes’ Indigenous cultures through art.

Gackstetter said he feels it’s the museum’s responsibility to represent the “complex histories” of the Great Lakes region, where the museum resides. He said he hopes the museum’s work will inspire other organizations to be more inclusive of the people they represent.

“Hopefully it’ll have a broader impact and it’ll help promote practices of more authentic representation in organizations, especially museums, that are looking to and that seek to represent other cultures,” Gackstetter said.

anaviprakash2027@u.northwestern.edu

Anavi Prakash/The Daily Northwestern

The Mitchell Museum is rebranding to focus on Indigenous tribes in the Chicago and Great Lakes region. Their new mission involves education, advocacy and awareness about the tribes.

Evanston Games and Cafe moves to new location

By SHUN GRAVES the daily northwestern @realShunGraves

For Evanston Games and Cafe, moving one block meant moving mountains.

Long located on a quiet block of Maple Avenue just behind the Davis Street Metra station, the store — simultaneously a retailer, cafe and event space — struggled to a ract walk-ins, co-owner Eli Klein said.

“As of January, I had owned that location for seven years,” Klein said. “I still got people at least once a week, if not every day, saying, ‘Oh, I had no idea you were here. When did you open?’ On that street, there’s no visibility. ere’s no foot tra c.”

The store reopened Tuesday in its new, expanded digs at Church Street Plaza in the busier 1700 block of Maple Avenue. Several businesses have opened new locations in the last few months at the now-bustling shopping center, anchored by movie theater AMC Evanston 12.

Since closing at its erstwhile location Sunday, Evanston Games and Cafe rolled everything up the street to its new storefront, which sits at the foot of the escalator up to AMC.

“ e kitchen closed at 6 p.m. so we could wheel the fridge down the street,” Klein said. “It was a combination of car trips — and anything that could roll, we just took down the sidewalk.”

e new space, a former restaurant, already had a bar and kitchen, so Evanston Games and Cafe will still o er patrons food and drinks. e menu lists various sandwiches, hot drinks and snacks for sale alongside the board and card games.

e eclectic combination of food and board games seemed like a no-brainer, Klein added. Many customers stay for hours while playing the

City to replace water main, lead service lines in Crain Street project

store’s scheduled challenges of Magic: e Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons and other games — meaning they’d dash out for food anyway.

Evanston Games and Cafe’s proprietors also own the Bi er Blossom bar, which sits next door at Church Street Plaza. e game store plans to add its own lounge, selling canned adult beverages alongside hosting tournaments, co-owner Drew Lipo said.

“We’re just excited to be able to do everything

10 weeks, the city announced in a ursday release.

e work will include the replacement of the city’s water main — the primary underground pipe for the city’s water distribution system — as well as other water service lines. It will also entail sewer improvements, street resurfacing, and curb and sidewalk repairs — according to the release.

The city will also replace all lead service lines in the construction zone free of charge.

we were trying to do but couldn’t because we didn’t have the people, we didn’t have the area or we didn’t have the space,” he added.

In a downtown still grappling with o ce and retail vacancies, Church Street Plaza has seen strong momentum in recent months. Hot dog hawker Devil Dawgs moved in last month, following the Sky Zone indoor park’s December debut and Egg Harbor Cafe’s November arrival there.

e new storefronts at the shopping center

To participate, property owners need to sign a Right-of-Entry form, which can be obtained from the city’s Water Production Bureau.

Per the Illinois Lead Service Line Replacement and Noti cation Act, Evanston reported in April that about 10,800 of the city’s 14,600 service lines were made of lead as of 2022.

e city is expected to submit a dra lead service line replacement plan to the Illinois Environmental

sandwiched between the Chicago Transit Authority and Metra tracks have reinvigorated the district, Downtown Evanston Executive Director Andy Vick said.

“It really is an exciting rebirth, if you will, for that whole plaza area,” he added. “I hope it continues, and I hope it spreads to other parts of downtown.”

shungraves2027@u.northwestern.edu

Protection Agency this year and nalize its plan by 2027. If the plan is approved, the city is anticipated to replace 3% to 5% of its lead service lines each year. e construction is expected to begin within two weeks. During scheduled construction activities, street parking in the construction zone will be prohibited between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

— Casey He

Shun Graves/The Daily Northwestern Customers showed up to Evanston Games and Cafe’s grand opening at its new location Tuesday.

A section of Crain Street from Ridge Avenue to Sherman Avenue will be under construction for water main improvements over the next eight to

’Cats, Buie look to keep home streak against Michigan

By AAYUSHYA AGARWAL daily senior staffer @aayushyagarwal7

After splitting a pair of games in last week’s road trip, Northwestern returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena to square off against Michigan Thursday night.

Behind graduate student guard Ryan Langborg’s 26 points Sunday at Indiana, the Wildcats (18-8, 9-6 Big Ten) snapped their five-game road losing streak and look to extend their perfect 7-0 home conference record with a win over the lowly Wolverines (8-18, 3-12 Big Ten).

With a victory over Michigan, the hosts can further cement themselves toward a valuable double-bye in March’s Big Ten Tournament.

Meanwhile, the Wolverines sit at the bottom of the Big Ten standings and are 1-8 in their last nine games. Michigan has only one road conference win thus far, but coach Chris Collins told reporters Wednesday that his team must treat every opponent the same.

“You can’t do that in this league,” Collins said. “Every team in this league can beat anybody, if you’re not ready to play … There’s only five games left. The teams that try

to go to the next level are the ones that understand that you’ve got to now take it into another gear.”

Here are three storylines to keep in mind as NU prepares to host Michigan.

Buie looks to put his name in the record books on Thursday

During his time with the ‘Cats, graduate student guard Boo Buie has amassed several personal accolades and set historic records for his team.

Only five points away from surpassing John Shurna’s 2,038 program highmark, Buie is on the verge of cementing himself as one of the best players to don a Northwestern uniform.

“It’s a great opportunity and I’m honored to do it here,” Buie said. “Especially at home with the support and how the fans have come out the last two years, it’s been awesome. It’s a testament to all the work and belief my teammates and coaches have had on me over the years. … It will be a special night.”

Buie’s accomplishment potentially occurring at Welsh-Ryan Arena — a stadium he has built a legacy in — will make the honor even more special, he said. Collins said the almost certain record is a testament to Buie’s unwavering belief in the program.

“It was always going to mean a lot,” Collins said. “It’s a great tribute any time you can do something in front of your own fans and students that have meant (a lot) to you, and also what he has meant to this place. He single-handedly created an excitement around this program. It’s awesome that he’ll have an opportunity to do it in front of our home crowd.”

Michigan loses forward Olivier Nkamhoua for season

Just a week ago, coach Chris Collins announced senior guard Ty Berry would miss the remainder of the season with a torn meniscus.

Flash forward a week later, the Wolverines have been dealt with a similar blow. On Wednesday morning, Jon Rothstein announced Michigan forward Olivier Nkamhoua will miss the rest of the season following a wrist surgery.

Thursday’s contest against the ‘Cats will be the Wolverines’ first game without their second-leading scorer, who averaged 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 26 games.

While Nkamhoua’s absence does not change preparations against Michigan, Collins recognizes the ‘Cats cannot let their foot off the gas pedal.

“He is a terrific player,” Collins said. “When you lose a key guy, teams

MEN’S BASKETBALL BASEBALL

tend to rally around each other. He did a lot of things for (Michigan), but now other guys will look to step up for them. ”

Collins and co. will continue to lean on depth

With about eight minutes remaining in the first half at Indiana, Collins rolled out a lineup that surprised many — including himself.

Alongside regular rotation players

Langborg and sophomore forward Nick Martinelli, Collins slotted sophomore guards Justin Mullins and

Blake Smith and graduate student forward Blake Preston onto the floor.

With a thin rotation, NU will continue to lean on its role players.

“That’s the beauty of how games work. It’s a great testament to those guys for staying ready and coming in every day and continuing to work,” Collins said. “When their number was called, they were ready to come out and help, especially on the defensive end.”

aayushyaagarwal2024@u.northwestern.edu

Northwestern falls to Tulane on opening weekend

By ANNA WATSON the daily northwestern @adub_sports

NEW ORLEANS — Just days after New Orleans’s biggest party of the year, Northwestern traveled down to the Big Easy to kick off the city’s second-biggest party: college baseball season. After a promising Friday night opener, the visitors lost their final two games, dropping the series to Tulane.

“We played really well on Friday night. We played a complete game,” coach Ben Greenspan said, “We pitched well, I thought we threw strikes but we competed in the strike zone … the story of Saturday and Sunday for me is just the free bases that we gave them with walks.”

In Greenspan’s first game at the Wildcats’ helm, NU got off to a hot start.

After sophomore infielder Owen McElfatrick’s single — and a pitch that hit senior infielder Tony Livermore — sophomore infielder Trent Liolios singled down the left field line, allowing McElfatrick and Livermore to score first-inning runs.

In the next inning, freshman outfielder Jackson Freeman doubled to left field on the 0-1 pitch. Senior infielder Vincent Bianchina then brought Freeman home with a single to left field. The ‘Cats remained dormant offensively until the eighth inning, when the Green Wave’s pitching troubles allowed NU to get on the board once more.

After Bianchina was walked, junior catcher Bennett Markinson scored to make it 4-0. A fielder’s choice on the next at bat and a Livermore fly out allowed two more runs to score. The team’s offensive onslaught continued into the top of the ninth inning, as graduate student outfielder Tyler Ganus’ double to right center field yielded three scoring runs.

Offense, however, was not the biggest story of Friday night. Strong pitching performances by senior left-handed pitcher Nolan Morr and freshman right-handed pitcher Garrett Shearer propelled the ‘Cats to victory in the first game. Morr pitched six innings of shutout baseball for the Wildcats, tallying five strikeouts and only allowing four hits.

“He competed and he threw strikes in the zone with multiple pitches,” Greenspan said of Morr. “He was able to pitch in against them really well, which I think opened up his changeup. … I thought he made pressure pitches when he needed to, but I was really proud of the way he competed.”

Following Morr’s impressive starting performance, Shearer continued to dominate, pitching three innings and maintaining the shutout. Shearer added another five strikeouts to NU’s total and allowed one hit.

But after the best start the ‘Cats could ask for, they faced Tulane’s Chandler Welch on a gray and windy day in New Orleans. As soon as Welch started his day off on the mound, NU found trouble.

The ‘Cats were shut out until the sixth inning — Welch’s first inning off of the mound — and only got their first hit in the fifth. Welch pitched five innings for the Green Wave and threw 10 strikeouts.

“I think the cutter to the left handed hitters gave us (fits),” Greenspan said. “When he’s on, he’s really tough.”

Even with Welch off the mound,

NU scored just two runs to Tulane’s six, leaving the series’ spoils up for grabs in a winner-take-all Sunday showdown. Both teams went into Sunday’s game hungry to start their seasons off strong with a series victory. Just as they did Friday, the ‘Cats jumped out to an early lead. Livermore and Markinson both hit singles to bring in runs in the first inning. Additionally, a Liolios ground out allowed Livermore to reach home. NU added to their lead in the top of the third inning thanks to a Markinson single to right field that brought McElfatrick home.

NU’s starting pitcher, senior righthanded pitcher Luke Benneche, pitched a strong three innings, allowing three hits and two runs. However, things started to get shaky in the fourth inning, when Benneche hit Green Wave catcher Colin Tuft with a pitch, who went on to score. The ‘Cats then looked to freshman right-handed pitcher Cole Mascott on the mound, who only allowed one extra Tulane run to score.

As NU appeared to slow down both offensively and defensively, Tulane started to speed up. This trend culminated in the bottom of the eighth inning, where the Green Wave scored seven runs, making the score 12-7 heading into the ninth inning.

While pitching seemed to be NU’s saving grace Friday, it quickly became the squad’s downfall Sunday. Five of the runners that scored in the bottom of the eighth inning were either walked or hit by a pitch. One of the two who earned their way on base was Tulane infielder Connor Rasmussen, who hit a grand slam to right field.

The ‘Cats tried to claw their way back in the top of the ninth inning, but it was ultimately not enough.

Even though NU lost the series, here are three things to be optimistic about after the team’s New Orleans trip.

1. After Friday night, Northwestern seems to have an ace Morr was a bright spot for Wildcat fans and coaches alike. Six innings

of shutout baseball were not to be expected after a season where he posted a 12.81 ERA.

Playing in the Cape Cod league this past summer, Morr took significant strides. His 1.50 ERA from summer ball seems to have given his coaches some confidence in the Friday night starter.

Though this is only the first series of the year, Morr will be someone to look out for as the season progresses.

2. The Wildcats have an offensive “spark plug” in left fielder Tyler Ganus

Ganus, who transferred from Oregon to NU this season, led off for the ‘Cats in all three games this weekend.

He batted .455 this weekend, going 4-of-11 from the plate and drawing two walks. Greenspan said Ganus’ impressive performance was a demonstration of his immense talent.

“Ganus was a spark plug all weekend for us at the top,” Greenspan said. “I think he was on base it felt like every other at bat…. He exemplifies energy, toughness, competitiveness.”

3. The Greenspan era gets off to a solid start

The ‘Cats were unable to take the series, but they did open the season with a victory.

Though it’s a small step on a long journey, NU took 13 games just to nab one win last year. Additionally, this is the program’s first season opening win since 2016.

Postgame, Greenspan emphasized the fact that this year’s team is different — and the stats certainly prove that.

“I was pleased with the way we competed and played defense all weekend,” Greenspan said. “We need to cut our strikeouts down and we need to figure out some stuff on the mound but we’re in a position to win those games.”

annawatson2027@u.northwestern.edu

Anna Watson/The Daily Northwestern

Daily file photo by Henry Frieman