The Daily Northwestern — February 27, 2020

The Daily Northwestern Thursday, February 27, 2020

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WCAS namesake Judd Weinberg dies at 93 Chicago native, Northwestern trustee died Feb. 20

By ISABELLE SARRAF

the daily northwestern @isabellesarraf

Caroline Megerian/Daily Senior Staffer

Robert Murphy, director at Feinberg’s Institute for Global Health, and Karla Satchell, professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern. The teach-in on the new coronavirus outbreak discusses the ongoing development of COVID-19, along with the racist undertone associated with the disease’s public discourse.

Group hosts coronavirus teach-in Event organized as racism, misinformation around outbreak grows

By AARON WANG

the daily northwestern @aaronwang3257

When Weinberg senior Yichun Chen found articles and video footage of Chinese people combating COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, she said she felt “really heavy.”

Families were separated during Lunar New Year and health care

workers were burnt out from the pressure. Her own family members, despite being far away from the epicenter of the virus breakout in Wuhan, were unable to leave their home in the past month except for going grocery shopping.

“People are really impacted by this disease,” Chen, a first-generation Chinese immigrant, said. “I wanted to do something about it, but it’s really hard when you’re so far away.”

The publicist of Chinatown Health Initiative, Chen organized a teach-in on the new coronavirus outbreak Thursday in Annenberg Hall. To introduce interdisciplinary perspectives to the debate, the event invited public health specialists, a journalist and an ethnic studies scholar to discuss the ongoing development of COVID-19, along with the racist undertones associated with the disease’s public discourse.

Jason Oliver Chang, an associate professor of Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut, joined the panel through Skype. He said the racist dialogue surrounding Asian diseases has a historic root that goes back 200 years. By demonizing Asians and perceiving them as backward, untrustworthy and resistant to assimilation, Chang said, the » See CORONAVIRUS, page 6

Judd Weinberg, trustee, alum and College of Arts and Sciences benefactor, died Feb. 20 at the age of 93.

The Chicago native received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1947 from Northwestern’s School of Commerce, now the Kellogg School of Management. A student at a time when Northwestern had quotas limiting the number of Jewish students, he was elected the first Jewish president of the Interfraternity Council. He led the Council to eliminate physical hazing.

“My father believed in the missions of a great research university: To discover new knowledge, and to train, motivate and empower the next generation of leaders,” Weinberg’s son David said in a Monday release.

Weinberg joined his wife and fellow NU alum Marjorie’s

(WCAS ‘50) family business, D. Gottlieb & Co. (now Gottlieb), after he graduated. The company produced “cuttingedge game technology of the day: non-gambling pinball machines.” He sought to globalize the business in the 1950s and 60s. In 1976, Weinberg sold the company to Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., where he later became a consultant. He eventually founded his own financial services firm, Judd Enterprises.

In 1982, Weinberg joined the University’s Board of Trustees and was elected a life trustee in 1995. He and his family donated a multi-million dollar gift to the University’s College of Arts and Sciences in 1998, which was thereafter named in their honor. Weinberg received the Northwestern Alumni Medal — the highest honor awarded by the University’s Alumni Association — in 2000.

“Judd Weinberg embodied the best of Northwestern,” University President Morton Schapiro said in the release. “What a giant he was. What a life he led. What a legacy he has left.” isabellesarraf2022@u.northwestern.edu

FERC ruling could Senate talks potential advocacy office impact electric bills Legislation introduced forming committee to discuss one-stop student office Residents may see higher costs postDecember decision

By MOLLY LUBBERS

the daily northwestern @mollylubbers

A Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling in December could increase some Illinois residents’ electricity bills, the Citizens Utility Board executive director testified to a Illinois House legislative committee hearing last Friday.

The FERC ruling will expand the “Minimum Offer Price Rule” for PJM Interconnection LLC, which is a regional transmission organization that manages the power grid in northern Illinois

and other states.

MOPR establishes a price control for almost all energy providers in PJM’s capacity market that receive a “state subsidy,” which could mean any financial benefit that would support a new or existing capacity, according to FERC news release.

Capacity is the commitment by an energy source to provide power when needed for a specific period of time, like in the future or during emergencies, according to PJM’s website. In PJM’s capacity auction, energy sources bid to provide capacity to the grid for the chance to receive payments from PJM. Those payments are determined in the auction.

A Grid Strategies analysis » See PJM, page 6

By YUNKYO KIM

the daily northwestern @yunkyomoonk

Associated Student Government introduced legislation at Wednesday’s Senate that would establish a committee to consider creating a one-stop advocacy office for all campus-related concerns.

The bill, authored by ASG parliamentarian and Weinberg sophomore Elizabeth Sperti and cosponsored by four ASG leadership members, would create an “ad hoc” committee, which is tasked with fulfilling the objectives of passed legislation and would expire at the completion of its responsibility or by a majority Senate vote.

In this case, the ad hoc committee would research student needs and draft recommendations to

create a service entitled Student Advocate’s Office.

“A Student Advocate Office could further empower students’ voices by bringing concerns about unjust or poorly-designed policies directly to high-level administrators, and make recommendations for reforms to ensure that Northwestern’s policies reflect the interest of students and the values of the community,” the legislation says.

The advocacy would span academics, conduct, financial aid and more. Members of the new office would be trained by the Office of Equity and the Center for Awareness, Response and Education to consult students under an agreement of confidentiality to protect their privacy. In addition, office leadership plans to meet with the Offices of the » See ASG, page 6

Yunkyo Kim/The Daily Northwestern

Elizabeth Sperti introduces the bill, which would create an “ad hoc” committee to consider creating an advocacy office.

Survey: Socioeconomic status a top cause of marginalization Respondents cited socioeconomic status more than any other social identity as cause of feeling marginalized at NU

By CATHERINE BUCHANIEC

daily senior staffer @caty_buchaniec

In 2017, about two-thirds of Northwestern undergraduates came from families in the top

income quintile, according to a report by The New York Times’ The Upshot. Since then, the University has worked to increase the number of first-generation and low-income students it admits.

Today, Pell-eligible students tend to make up at least

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20 percent of incoming classes, while 61 percent of undergraduates receive financial aid.

However, despite this increase in first-generation and lowincome representation, socioeconomic status continues to impact students’ experience at

Northwestern. According to this year’s Associated Student Goverment analytics survey, many students report feeling marginalization on campus.

The survey, which received 1,359 responses, asked respondents to weigh in on the

statement, “I have never felt marginalized at Northwestern due to race, gender, sexual orientation, ability status, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status or religion.”

Of those surveyed, 39.41 percent responded “disagree” or “strongly disagree” to the

statement, with the socioeconomic status being the leading reason cited at 23.5 percent. Gender and race were cited at 19.9 and 17.5 percent respectively.

When learning of these results, » See SOCIOECONOMIC, page 6

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2 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

AROUND TOWN Students deliberate designs, take to Chicago for tattoos

By MOLLY LUBBERS

the daily northwestern @mollylubbers

When Weinberg sophomore Carter Makice started Northwestern, they didn’t have any tattoos — now, they said they have around 10. However, they initially couldn’t find any local shop options; they said Google Maps once showed them a tattoo place in Evanston, but when they went there, it didn’t exist.

There are no tattoo shops with Evanston addresses listed in The Real Yellow Pages Directory for Evanston. Instead, nearly all 136 listings are based in Chicago.

So, some students venture into Chicago for their tattoos. Since being in college, Medill sophomore Avery Adams said they’ve gotten about 19 or 20 tattoos, and for the majority, they went to Chicago shops.

Adams said they try to go to a different person for each tattoo.

“I’ve definitely hit a lot of the artists I wanted, so I think I might return one day,” they said. “But there’s so many artists that come to Chicago, so I think I’m going to stick to a minimal amount of one or two per artist because there’s so many interesting styles.”

Both Adams and Makice said they follow tattoo artists on social media to decide who they might go to next.

Makice said they want another tattoo, but they are saving up for it. Other students also said they had to consider the price of tattoos.

POLICE BLOTTER Two cars hit A driver crashed into two parked vehicles and received minor injuries during a car accident in the 2900 block of Central Street on Tuesday evening. The other cars were damaged, Evanston Police Cmdr. Brian Henry

Molly Lubbers/The Daily Northwestern

Weinberg sophomore Carter Makice shows off one of their tattoos. To get their tattoos, Makice travels into Chicago or does stick-and-poke tattoos on campus.

SESP sophomore Lucas Vime-Olive said he went to Taylor Street Tattoo during a flash sale to get his first tattoo. He said the cheapness of the sale — the tattoo cost about $40 — was the

biggest draw for him.

Flash sales allow customers to choose from premade designs, rather than get a custom tattoo.

This quarter, Vime-Olive plans to return to the

said.

When police responded to the accident, they said they believed the driver may have been intoxicated. The suspect was taken to receive medical attention and consented to blood and urine tests, which came back positive. The 65-year-old Wilmette man was arrested for a DUI.

Man arrested for vehicular trespassing

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A 42-year-old Chicago man was arrested for vehicular trespassing in the 700 block of Reba Place.

A witness called the police to report a man pulling on car door handles around midnight on Wednesday.

When police responded, the man provided false names, Henry said. The man admitted to being in

shop for its Friday the 13th flash sale, and said that now he has one tattoo, he can’t stop.

“I just enjoy the idea that there’s something on you that you can always have be there,” he said.

“There’s just something beautiful about the permanence of a tattoo that I can’t really formulate into words.”

For Makice, there’s also a cheaper — and closer — option. They’ve learned how to do stick-andpoke tattoos, and said they use ink and needles ordered from Amazon and sanitary supplies from CVS Pharmacy.

Makice tattoos their own body and trades stickand-pokes with friends. They said it’s a much more intimate and sentimental feeling, especially when they receive a friend’s design or give a tattoo of their own art.

“I remember that experience a lot more than some of the tattoos I’ve gotten in shops,” Makice said. “It feels much more like an exchange between people, which is how I feel tattooing should be.”

Makice said they originally wanted tattoos because it was a way to collect art on their body.

As people evaluate their own reasons to get a tattoo, they sometimes have questions. Adams said many ask them for tattoo shop recommendations, but they said ultimately the decision comes down to what the customer wants.

“I definitely share my experiences of which ones I thought were the best but I think it’s very openended,” Adams said. “I think whoever you’re drawn to, you should go for them.” mollylubbers2023@u.northwestern.edu a vehicle that he did not own, and he claimed he intended to sleep. Officers found the vehicle with the door open and the vehicle’s contents ransacked.

The suspect was then found to have an outstanding warrant, leading to arrest charges for the warrant, the trespassing and obstruction. ­— Molly Burke

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 3

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

ON CAMPUS

Explainer: ASG’s amendment process

The Daily Northwestern www.dailynorthwestern.com Editor in Chief Troy Closson

By YUNKYO KIM

the daily northwestern @yunkyomoonk

eic@dailynorthwestern.com

In the last month, Associated Student Government Senate worked on passing a new constitutional amendment, advancing from proposal to debates to the final vote.

The amendment, which was adopted by a vote of 36-1 with two abstentions at Senate’s Feb. 19 session, would reduce the number of Senate seats from 51 to 41 in an effort to battle chronic absenteeism as well as make seats more desirable and representative.

“Change is a slow long process and we took a step in the right direction,” said Matthew Wylie, speaker of the Senate and a Weinberg sophomore, who introduced the amendment.

Senators must pass the bill through a series of procedures to make it an amendment.

The process starts with the “special enacting legislation,” a type of bill submitted by senators that compels action from ASG and its affiliated officers and student groups, according to the ASG code. Alternatively, 100 students can submit a petition that proposes an amendment.

The authors of the amendment are responsible for hosting at least one public forum after introducing it as “new business” and one week before the final vote. If needed, the Senate can vote to waive this obligation if three-fourths of present senators agree.

Additionally, the code states there must be a gap of at least two weeks between proposal and ratification. After the time period, the Senate would then be allowed to pass the bill if at least two-thirds of present senators vote in favor.

Some amendment processes take longer than three weeks. The amendment to reduce Senate seats, for example, took around a month, and its Feb. 12 session adjourned without a vote because Senate did not have a quorum.

A prolonged discussion delaying a vote is natural depending on the topic of an amendment, Henry Molnar, ASG chief of staff and a

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ASG Senators must pass a bill through a series of procedures to make it an amendment.

Weinberg senior, said.

Through his four years of involvement at ASG, Molnar has experience in drafting, developing and presenting a successful amendment. In 2018, he proposed an amendment to replace residential caucuses with school-based seats, which passed unanimously.

“It’s adequate in the sense that it takes more to change the constitution,” he said. “The only issue that I really have with it is (students not attending forums) ... no one cares about the internal politics or the internal affairs of ASG and that’s basically all the constitutional amendments are designed to do like they’re not really anything that affects anybody but people in ASG directly.”

Molnar added that he wished there were larger

incentives for students to attend forums because matters like the number of Senate seats do impact student advocacy through student government overall.

Despite the multi-step process, the number of proposed constitutional amendments have increased as of recent years, Molnar said. In the last three years, there has been an amendment each year, but before that, there wasn’t one for five years.

“The Senate may waive this requirement by a vote of three-fourths of certified Senators but a period of two weeks must lapse between an amendment’s proposal and ratification,” the code writes.

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4 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

A&E arts &

entertainment Courtesy Chelsea Hoy

Ali Doughty performs alongside members of Trinity Irish Dance Company. The organization’s next show is on Feb. 29 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

Feinberg student pushes boundaries through dance

By JENNIFER ZHAN

the daily northwestern @jenniferzhann

For most of the week, Feinberg third-year Ali Doughty spends her time studying physical therapy.

But on the weekends, she applies her knowledge of how the human body moves to a completely different field as a world-class Irish dancer.

Winner of the 2014 World Irish Dancing Championships, Doughty is now a member and artistic associate of Trinity Irish Dance Company. She will perform in the Irish American company’s next show, which runs Feb. 29 at the Auditorium Theatre and will feature a live band and a special appearance by Grammy-nominee fiddle player Liz Carroll.

“Our tagline is ‘Everything you expect, but like nothing you’d imagine,” associate artistic director and dancer Chelsea Hoy said. “We create different dance pieces that are all rooted in Irish traditions, but look

and feel a different way.”

For example, Saturday’s show features work from tap choreographers, as well as a piece Hoy describes as a fusion of Indian and Irish styles. Another piece, co-choreographed by Hoy and company founder and artistic director Mark Howard, takes influence from theater and pays homage to Auditorium Theatre’s long history of housing various musical, dance and comedic acts.

Howard said Irish dancing is often regarded as trite and silly by the public, due to lack of exposure beyond commercialized works like “Riverdance,” but TIDC aims to showcase the artform in a different manner. “(Our company) lives in that performing arts wheelhouse where we want the form to not only entertain, but also matter,” Howard said. “Any serious art has to happen at the level of independence and experimentation. Every artform needs to live and breathe.”

TIDC makes sure its dancers, too, are given space.

Hoy said the company’s unique model allows its members to have a full-time job or academic career — however, they’re expected to prepare on their own time ahead of rehearsals that take place one weekend per month.

For Doughty, balancing her commitments to school and dance means her schedule is usually booked out months in advance. But as long as her legs hold up, she said she’ll continue performing with TIDC after graduating in April and beginning her full-time career.

“At the end of the day, Irish dancing has always been such an outlet for me,” Doughty said. “Whether studio time is spent dancing up a storm and sweating, creating a movement, or collaborating with fellow company members or a guest choreographer, I always leave re-energized and inspired.”

Doughty said she has found TIDC to be an empowering space for her in the often male-dominated world of Irish dance. In TIDC, all dancers are given equal opportunity to demonstrate their skills,

which she finds is not always the case.

“A lot of commercial Irish dance troupes like Riverdance kind of portray women in the background, line dancing with the men out front, stealing the thunder,” Doughty said. “I really love that Trinity Irish Dance Company presents men and women on equal footing.”

Although TIDC doesn’t have principal dancers, Howard said Doughty has several moments during the upcoming show to showcase her formidable skills.

All in all, he hopes the show will help audiences see all of the possibilities that this Irish art form can hold.

“Whether the idea of Irish step dance appeals to anybody or not, I guarantee if they come to the Auditorium Theatre that nobody dislikes like this company, from eight year olds to 80 year olds,” Howard said. “It’s gonna be electric.” jenniferzhan2022@u.northwestern.edu

Bienen presents opera ‘Die Fledermaus’ with new twist

By HALEY FULLER

the daily northwestern @haley_fuller_

When Aryssa Burrs took the stage for her first college opera, Johann Strass’ “Die Fledermaus,” as a freshman, she was a member of the chorus. Now, as a second-year Bienen master’s student, she is set to play Prince Orlovksy, a rite of passage role for mezzo-sopranos.

“When I was a freshman, I specifically remember there were two master’s students that were double cast in the role of Orlovsky, and I was obsessed with their voices,” Burrs said. “I got to college and was inspired by these two women and was like, that’s exactly what I want to be on stage.

It’s been really cool to step into that moment.”

Bienen’s production of “Die Fledermaus,” which is directed by Joachim Schamberger, runs Thursday through Sunday in Cahn Auditorium.

The show is a light-hearted operetta, a shorter opera with spoken dialogue. It tells the story of a Dr. Falke, who throws a party in Vienna, to enact revenge on his friend, Eisenstein, for playing a trick on him years prior. While Eisenstein is oblivious, all of the guests and performers are in on the plan.

As a genre, operetta is often adapted by changing the dialogue, the setting or significant plot points, making each production unique. Although Schamberger chose to keep the setting in the original time period of late 19th century Vienna, he continued the tradition of updating the dialogue to reflect the political and social climate of today’s

Courtesy Todd Rosenberg

The cast of “Die Fledermaus.” The operetta will open Thursday.

world, drawing on current events and quotes from the current president.

“The story is just really witty and funny,” Schamberger said. ‘It’s something that you can look deeper (into) if you like, but you also don’t need to, It’s a piece of great entertainment.”.

While the plot might have dark undertones, “Die Fledermaus” is pure comedy with lighthearted musical numbers. Andrew Payne, a second-year master’s student in voice and opera, plays Frank, the prison warden who accidentally arrests the wrong man before going to the party.

Payne said he has enjoyed taking part in a light comedy because it’s challenging but also incredibly entertaining.

“This story is just so ridiculous,” Payne said.

“It’s something out of a romantic comedy. It’s a good distraction to the chaos that is modern life and being a Northwestern student.”

For this production, Schamberger modernized the show by having the dialogue performed in English and displaying English supertitles above the stage during the original German songs.

The show is a rented production, meaning the costumes and sets were previously made and used for other performances of “Die Fledermaus”. Burrs said the production quality is higher than that of other Bienen operas and allows 19th century Viennese high society to come to life before the audience’s eyes.

“You just feel like you’re in the richest, most amazing house ever,” she said. “(It’s) really cool to be a part of a big production,” she said.

Burrs said although people outside the opera community often consider it to be a dead art form, “Die Fledermaus” shows how opera can be enjoyable and modern, even if they’re performing a show written over 100 years ago.

“It is important for us as artists to not only just make the art that is really, really fulfilling for us and like this small sect of people that really enjoy coming to these types of performances, but also making art that works for a broader audience,” Burrs said. “A piece like “Die Fledermaus” is exactly that.” haleyfuller2022@u.northwestern.edu

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 5

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Lovers & Madmen production takes on satrical comedy

By ISABELLE SARRAF

the daily northwestern @isabellesarraf

When Communication senior Jon Toussaint received the opportunity to direct a musical toward the end of the Winter Quarter, he knew he wanted to put on a comedic musical that would bring a “beacon of light” to campus during a particularly hard time for many Northwestern students. To find a show that fit the bill, he went back to one of his childhood obsessions: the movies and sketches of the famed British comedy group “Monty Python.”

Toussaint is directing one of the largest student theater productions of the year, “Monty Python’s Spamalot.” Student theater company Lovers & Madmen is bringing the musical adaptation of the cult classic film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” to McCormick Auditorium on Friday and Saturday.

The musical comedy parodies the legend of King Arthur’s quest to find the Holy Grail.

Ben Bomier/The Daily Northwestern

The Cast of “Spamalot” performs. The Lovers & Madmen show is opening in McCormick Auditorium this Friday.

Toussaint said the show updates the story to a current context, as the original film’s combination of 932 A.D. Medieval England setting with the 1960s and 70s humor of Python is adapted for a modern audience.

“I think this is an exciting direction for the campus to feel the scope of what classically-inspired stories can be,” Toussaint said. “This is comedy and because we have multiple historical entry points to this story, somewhere in there everyone can connect to this story that is classically-inspired.”

Communication sophomore Jay Towns plays King Arthur, and said the rehearsal room’s high energy has created a very welcoming experience for his first acting role in a Student Theatre Coalition production. He said the meta nature of the show allowed him to create his own interpretation and personality for the Medieval Legend, one aided by the exaggerated comedy of the show.

Though not a trained dancer, Towns said he has valued working with the choreographers for this production. The show combines traditional musical choreography and rigorous tap dancing, and although Towns has found this combination challenging, he has also found it rewarding.

“When I talk about (“Spamalot”) to people, I don’t even realize that I don’t have the words to explain the way I feel in rehearsal because it’s so unlike anything I’ve done before,” Towns said. “I cherish that a lot.”

In casting the show, Toussaint used genderblind casting, resulting in many of Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table being portrayed by femaleidentifying actors. Communication senior Dana Pepowski, who plays Sir Galahad in addition to serving as the show’s dramaturg, said the show’s genderblind casting has created a fresh take on “Spamalot,” as it provides multiple opportunities for female-identifying actors in a heavily male show.

Traditionally, the only female-identifying character of note in the show is the Lady of the Lake, who is meant to be a parody of token female characters in classical works. In this production, the Lady of the Lake is played by Communication sophomore Riley Mulcahy, who said playing the character in the context of the show’s genderblind casting has added to the fourth-wall-breaking, nonstop humor.

In addition to providing “beacons of light” for

Northwestern students, Toussaint has also committed to helping other communities through this production. On Feb. 13, the team the hosted a special event at the Celtic Knot Public House to raise money for Family Matters, an organization that provides a safe space for underfunded schoolchildren to receive educational support, communication and leadership skills.

Communication junior and show producer Jessica Nekritz said although “Spamalot” is exciting to produce because of its many moving parts, including around 50 people in the cast and crew, what she has loved about working on the show is the joyful community it has created. Nekritz said that as a producer, she drops by the rehearsal room more than is common just because she loves the environment she and Toussaint fostered.

“It’s really nice to have that warm and wonderful community to come to every night, and to be able to create something that will hopefully make people laugh and smile,” Nekritz said. isabellesarraf2022@u.northwestern.edu

Prof. brings young adult novel to Steppenwolf stage

By WILSON CHAPMAN

daily senior staffer @wilsonchapman6

When Communication prof. Sandra Marquez was in grad school, she went to see MexicanAmerican writer Sandra Cisneros in a public reading of her short story collection “Woman Hollering Creek.” Marquez was deeply moved by the experience, but she didn’t quite know why.

Eventually, she realized she finally had an example of a Latina succeeding in the arts, showing her she had the ability to pursue her dreams and succeed.

“When you finally see yourself, especially when there’s a dearth of that, that acknowledgement that you exist runs deeper than words can say,” Marquez said.

Marquez is hoping to expose modern Latinx teens to the representation she sought in her youth through her latest play, “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.” The show premiered Feb. 26 at Steppenwolf Theatre, and will

close April 4. “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” is part of the Steppenwolf for Young Adults series of programming, which produces two shows focused on teenage audiences a season and includes special performances reserved for students and schools in Chicago.

“I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” began as a 2017 young adult novel by Erika L. Sánchez, and was adapted to the stage by Isaac Gomez. The book and the play tell the story of Julia, a Chicana high school student who is dealing with the death of her older sister Olga. Julia finds herself struggling with her dreams of being a writer and her complex relationship with mother and the expectations she have for her. To find closure, she begins digging into Olga’s secrets, and discovers that her image as the perfect Mexican daughter was much more complicated than anyone realized while she was alive.

Because it was adapted from a book, “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” is written in an unconventional style for plays, as it is almost cinematic in its approach to the story. According to Marquez, there are 40 scenes in the 90 minute

Courtesy Jessica Van Winkle

The cast of “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” rehearse. The show opened Wednesday, and will close April 4.

play, and as a result the story moves at a very fast pace that is difficult but rewarding to translate to a theatrical context. The show is presented in a very bare space, with only a few cubes used as set dressing. However, the space is painted in a colorful way to evoke the South Side Chicago neighborhoods in which the story takes place.

In addition to outreach to Chicago teens through the student performances, the production will also be working with a program called Storycatchers to tour the show in several juvenile detention centers. Marquez said she feels the show, with its Chicago setting, hits close to home to these audiences, and she thinks the program is important in how it provides them with exposure to healthy outlets.

“We are all creators in some way,” Marquez said. “And if you don’t turn that energy into creating something positive, it will turn into something destructive or negative. And I think when people are exposed to the art, they see that there is an opportunity or a place to channel their energy into something positive.”

Dyllan Rodrigues-Major, who plays Olga, has previously worked with Storycathers through a past Steppenwolf production, and said the experience was deeply rewarding because the students are encouraged to provide feedback to the show, causing some of the most direct dialogue and interaction the cast and crew have with their audiences. Rodrigues-Major said she hopes that through this dialogue, they can feel valued when they are often forgotten and ignored by society.

Rodrigues-Major said this is the first show she’s worked on with Marquez, but the two met briefly while she was in college. At the time, Rodrigues-Major struggled with her Latina identity, and Marquez was one of the few people she met while she was trying to make it in theater who made her feel seen. When the two met again professionally, Marquez remembered her, and Rodrigues-Major said it has been a dream come true to work with her so closely.

“I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Teenage Daughter” has an almost entirely Latinx cast, which Rodrigues-Major said is the first time she has experienced that in theater. RodriguesMajor said the cast has been a joy to work with, and a commonality has formed that has helped them all bond. However, at the same time, the experiences and viewpoints of the cast members have proven to be extremely varied, which to her reflects the vast number of experiences that exist

among Latinx people. Rodrigues-Major said what makes “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Teenage Daughter” special is it doesn’t try to provide one definitive Latinx story, but instead tells a very specific and evocative story about one young Chicana woman’s story.

“It’s a play about a person and the experience of being this person rather than a defined plot,” Rodrigues-Major said. “Which is what I really love about it. You get such a beautiful slice of this young woman’s experience and how she dealt with one of the hardest moments of her adolescence.” wilsonchapman2021@u.northwestern.edu

A&E arts & entertainment

Editor Wilson Chapman Assistant Editor Rebecca Aizin Jennifer Zhan Designer Siying Luo Staff Haley Fuller Isabelle Sarraf

6 NEWS | THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

CORONAVIRUS From page 1

portrayal often creates a general distrust against the Asian population and justifies widespread hatred against them.

“It’s really predictable because of the way people rationalize or what comes after that,” Chang said.

“They deny political facts. They wage war. They pass exclusions and bans. The rhetoric of ‘sick Asian’ corresponds with the policies that imperial powers wanted to use in the first place.”

Reminded of the discrimination, mistreatment

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020 and boycotts during the SARS outbreak in 2003, Chang said he was paranoid and “unprepared” when he noticed a similar reaction toward the coronavirus outbreak.

To address racism around the outbreak, Chang created a public google-doc tilted “Treating Yellow Peril.” He invited people across the globe to contribute to the tracking of racial fears and anxieties in relation to the virus.

“This is a gut check for Asian American political activism,” Chang said. “You can’t sit back and just be okay when there is a model minority image. We need to find allies and stick with other minorities who are

PJM

ASG

estimates the MOPR change could raise costs for northern Illinois consumers up to $864 million a year. However, not everyone agrees that it will impact consumers in this way.The Independent Market Monitor for PJM doesn’t support the claim that the modifications will “result in large increases in capacity market prices,” according to a Monitoring Analytics news release.

Gavin Taves, policy director at the Illinois Environmental Council, said the ruling could negatively impact the clean energy market.

“Essentially, this ruling makes it much harder for renewables to competitively be on the capacity market,” Taves said.

The IEC is part of the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, which supports the Clean Energy Jobs Act. CEJA proposes that the government-run Illinois Power Agency would procure Illinois’ capacity instead of PJM, according to an ICJC news release.

“We’re attempting to remove ourselves from that market and have Illinois administer the capacity market auctions,”Taves said, “so we’re in control of the type of energy we’re looking to procure and we’re not going to fund dirty energy sources anymore.”

Todd Maisch, Illinois Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said that to switch to a staterun auction would mean Exelon, one of the main energy providers in Illinois, could manipulate the energy marketplace.

He said Exelon wants to restrict competition by excluding power producers from other states that can currently apply for the capacity auction.

“In CEJA, we believe they tip the scales to make sure that nuclear power is given an advantage over coal and natural gas and wind to make sure they get the most amount of money,” Maisch said. “This is a complex way to subsidize [Exelon’s] nuclear plants.”

Taves said it wasn’t part of CEJA’s goals to make sure Exelon’s plants would profit. Instead, he said the IPA running the auction would save ratepayers money while also allowing renewable energy to stay competitive.

Discussions around PJM’s capacity market are wrapped up in larger discourse about clean energy legislation as the Illinois General Assembly legislative session continues.

Provost, Student Conduct and Financial Aid. The legislation cites that peer institutions have similar programs. Associated Students of the University of California established a position to advocate for students on issues of financial aid, administration and grievances.

Creating the committee is the first step to establishing the service. The committee will be chaired

by ASG executive vice president and SESP senior Adam Davies, Sperti, five ASG members elected by the Senate and more if deemed necessary.

The establishment of such an office is a result of a long-awaited effort, said Weinberg senior Henry Molnar, ASG’s chief of staff. Emily Ash, ASG’s former president (Weinberg ‘19) introduced the bill

From page 1

From page 1

mollylubbers2023@u.northwestern.edu

SOCIOECONOMIC From page 1

Medill sophomore Imani Harris said she was surprised socioeconomic status was the leading social identity cited.

“I’m really surprised it’s not race,” Harris said, “but maybe that’s just me because I’m black and most of this campus is white so most of them aren’t thinking about race the way I’m thinking about race.”

Harris, who identifies as low-income, also added that the proportion of wealthier students at Northwestern has also shaped her personal experience on campus.

“To be a person that’s not rich and see Canada Goose jackets everywhere and AirPods everywhere and MacBooks everywhere — something I’ll never be able to afford — is really hard.”

However, Harris said she anticipated the difficulties of being a low-income student on campus before arriving, especially after seeing Northwestern’s sticker cost.

ASG executive vice president Adam Davies said ASG plans to work more on issues facing FGLI students heading into Spring Quarter.

They also highlighted several initiatives ASG has worked on this year to improve FGLI campus life.

So far this year, for example, ASG has worked

being persecuted.”

Robert Murphy director at Feinberg’s Institute for Global Health, and Karla Satchell, professor of Microbiology-Immunology at Northwestern, informed the audience about the virus’s pathology and discussed its potential breakout in the U.S. New York Times video producer Muyi Xiao has family in Wuhan and also joined the panel through Skype to discuss the public discourse surrounding COVID-19 in relation to government censorship and political activism.

Weinberg sophomore Revika Singh said she came to the event because she is concerned about the signs of xenophobia around COVID-19. Racist memes and

jokes continue to circulate online, Singh said, suggesting a nationalist sentiment that associate Asian people with inherent unhygienic nature.

“We commonly see things like the Muslim ban and the stuff at the border, but for a lot of young Asian Americans, we haven’t experienced this level of xenophobia during our lifetimes,” Singh said. “It is a good point for Asian Americans to see how the inherent colonialism and nationalism entrenched in the political system are affecting us, and it offers a point of solidarity between all of our communities.” xuandiwang2022@u.northwestern.edu

last year, but it was too late in the academic year to gain traction.

“It’s a big time commitment,” Molnar said. ”There’s a lot of things to consider when you’re making this kind of thing.”

Still, Senate members said they are willing to put in the effort.

SESP sophomore Daniel Rodriguez, an ASG senator, said many students have found the bureaucracy regarding grade appeals, conduct meetings and other University-related functions hard to access.

“We know that a lot of students often struggle with navigating processes or don’t really know where to go, and sometimes to hear those resources in (Senate meetings), like how to navigate them from a student view, was just as efficient as it was like talking to administration,” Rodriguez said.

The problem with Northwestern’s services, Davies said, is that they are so decentralized. Passing the bill would be the first step to find the “link in the middle that is missing,” they said.

Sperti said the impact of the proposed office would go beyond advocacy. It may increase students’ literacy in navigating the many offices and services within the University, and, in turn, teach these resources to other students, she said.

The student government, she added, can make the learning less intimidating.

“It can feel overwhelming to have so many offices and you don’t know exactly where you’re supposed to go for a particular problem that you might have,” Sperti said. “I think the benefits are twofold.”

with Student Enrichment Services on issues such as the Student Emergency and Essential Needs Fund, which provides assistance for emergency expenses which was previously administered through SES and formerly known as the SEEN Fund. Now, the Fund is controlled through the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid. When this change occurred during the fall, ASG advocated for making the fund as accessible as possible to FGLI students, according to Davies. Similarly, ASG worked with SES on the Residential Services Lockout, Lock Change

and Temp Card Fund, which provides waivers for lockout and temp card fees for students with demonstrated need.

However, Harris pointed out that class issues extend beyond campus.

“In general, the amount of times that people say ‘Let’s just Uber’ or I go out with someone one night and they’re like ‘Let’s go get dinner’ the next night, or things that just aren’t realistic monetarily for me, happen all the time,” she said.

yunkyokim2022@u.northwestern.edu

cbuchaniec@u.northwestern.edu

Brian Meng/Daily Senior Staffer

Student Enrichment Services office, located in Foster-Walker Complex. SES formerly ran the SEEN fund, which is now being administered through the Office of Undergraduate Aid.

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FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 27, 2020

DAILY CROSSWORD Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Ottoman bigwigs 5 Wildly 9 Peaks 14 At hand 15 Animated explorer 16 Patterned fabric 17 Authentic piece of a holy relic?

19 Comedian Izzard 20 Sound investments?

21 Like some deliveries 23 Indy guide 25 She walked into Rick’s gin joint 26 Disastrous 29 Comedian Garofalo 31 Folk legend Phil 32 __ Jose 33 Connects with 36 Arles article 37 __ West Records: Nashville label 38 Rosy-fingered goddess who rises in the east 39 AirPod spot 40 Get back in business 42 Product prefix that evokes winter 43 Die down 44 Herbie, in Disney films 46 Outset 47 They don’t last 49 Part of Curaçao 51 Rather 53 Apparel brand with a spinnaker logo 57 Mesh 58 Biblical pronouns read by James Earl Jones?

60 Red-pencil 61 December 24 and 31 62 “At Last” singer James 63 Georgia team, in sports headlines 64 Take a chance 65 Hoarse laugh

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

2/27/20

By Debra Hamel

3 Chills and fever 4 Tibetan leaders 5 Specially formed 6 Saskatchewan city with a 34-foot animal statue named Mac at its tourist info center 7 NHL great Bobby 8 Dodge City native 9 “Up and __!”

10 Cough medicine ingredient 11 Place reserved for one reconciling a dispute?

12 Inventor Howe 13 “Peace out” 18 Marsh duck 22 Schoolyard retort 24 U.S. neighbor to the north 26 One of two in Hank Aaron’s uniform number 27 Proactiv+ target DOWN 28 Unwelcome 1 Tiny colonists leftovers?

2 Structural 30 First words in an engineering piece alphabet book

Wednesday’s Puzzle Solved

Answers to yesterday’s Wildcat Crossword are on page 3.

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32 Largest of New York’s Finger Lakes 34 Tart taste 35 Mega Stuf cookie 37 Great Basin st.

38 One may be civil 41 Message board item 42 South, in Avignon 43 Local news segment

2/27/20

45 Settled in for the night, with “down” 46 Surfeit 47 Fluted on the march 48 Jungian inner self 50 Momentary error 52 Fades to black 54 Bit 55 Stops shooting 56 “Stat!”

59 Gabor of “Green Acres”

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN | NEWS 7

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2020

Rabbi Klein becomes certified Holocaust educator

By ARIANNA CARPATI

the daily northwestern @ariannacarpati1

Rabbi Dov Hillel Klein became a certified Holocaust educator on college campuses after completing a 65-hour training session at Yad Vashem this year, a holocaust museum in Jerusalem.

During the training session, Klein, executive director of the Tannenbaum Chabad House, said he took classes on Holocaust denial, heroism that took place during the Holocaust and photography during the Holocaust, among others.

Klein said in many of the photographs from the Holocaust, three groups of people are present: the perpetrators, the victims and the bystanders.

“As an SS officer, at any point, you could have said ‘No, I’m not going to kill Jews,’” Klein said.

“And what would’ve been the repercussion? The repercussion, ‘would I have been stripped of my rank? Would I have been detained? Would I myself have been put in prison? Would I myself maybe have been killed?’... And the research

shows, nothing (would have been done).”

Klein said one of the courses he took dealt with choices, including those made by the Nazis, the Germans, the Jews and the bystanders. Although the stakes are different, Klein said he feels students must be educated on how to make choices in their daily lives. They make many choices about how to treat others, how to act responsibly and how to deal with racism, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism.

He said both the knowledge of the facts of the Holocaust as well as an education about the philosophies of the consequences of choices made in daily life are important to understand. In terms of anti-Semitism at Northwestern, Klein said, he has seen fewer incidents this year than in the past, but that educating the community on issues like anti-Semitism and racism are always crucial.

In addition, Klein said he believes it is important for the Jewish community and others, such as the African-American, Latinx and Muslim communities, to learn about one another and about their cultures and their different experiences with marginalization.

Sarah Cushman has been the director of the

Holocaust Educational Foundation at Northwestern since 2016. HEF has programs at the global, national and local levels that revolve around the discussion of Holocaust education.

At Northwestern, there is also a four-course certificate of achievement in Holocaust studies.

Cushman said Holocaust education at the university level is important because although many students have had some education at the middle and high school levels, they may not all be mature enough to engage deeply with the topic until college.

“Much of it is sort of individually wrestling with the ways that democracy can be undermined, the ease with which democracy can be undermined, the powerful role of self-interest in how we engage with other people,” she said.

“These are all really complex issues, and this particular moment in history gives us a lot to think about both emotionally and intellectually.”

Prof. Benjamin Frommer has taught several courses on the Holocaust, including the History of the Holocaust for the past five years.

Frommer said the intensity and longevity of a college course means students have the requisite

time to grapple with concepts over the course of a full quarter. “(Museums are) really important to introduce people to general ideas, but in a two hour visit, you really can’t grapple with important questions and have feedback and responses that allow you to realize the complexity of the situation,” he said.

Frommer agreed with Klein that there are lessons to be learned from the Holocaust outside of just learning the historical facts.

He said the extreme circumstances of the Holocaust allow scholars to examine human nature in a unique way.

“Not just the Holocaust, but the war more generally, presents a situation where people were facing questions of life and death and decisions which were, in many cases, choices between something horrible and something even worse,” Frommer said. “Therefore, it allows us to understand aspects of human nature and human relationships that are not necessarily so clear in daily life ,where people are surrounded by their normal environments.” ariannacarpati2023@u.northwestern.edu

Q&A: Alumna on helping young progressives run in 2020 This interview has been edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.

By ISABELLE SARRAF

the daily northwestern @isabellesarraf

Amanda Litman (Weinberg‘12) was fed up with the outcome of state elections across the United States after 40 percent of state legislative races in 2016 ran uncontested.

Litman founded Run for Something, a company that recruits and supports young progressives hoping to run for office, on the day of President Trump’s inauguration. Since then, 48,000 young people have signed up to seek assistance in running for local elections, such as state legislatures, city councils, school boards and mayors.

Litman spoke about her journey from Northwestern to becoming the co-founder and executive director of her own company.

The Daily: Where did you go directly after graduating from Northwestern?

Amanda Litman: I have worked exclusively in political campaigns my entire career. I started working for Barack Obama when I was a senior at Northwestern. I was an intern before I graduated working on the email team doing offline fundraising, worked as a staffer through the election and worked for his non-profit Organizing for Action for a year. (Eventually,) I came up to New York and worked for Hillary Clinton as her email director.

The Daily: What inspired you to found “Run for Something?”

Litman: After the election, I got a Facebook message from somebody I had known from school who (said), ‘Hey, I’m a public school teacher in Chicago,

our budget steepening crashed, I want to run for office to fix it. You know about this — what do I do?’

And I did not have an answer for him, because at the time, if you were young, you were newly excited about politics and you wanted to do more than just vote or volunteer, there was nowhere you could go that would help you. So I decided to solve the problem. I saw a hole in the democratic system and I figured I couldn’t wait for someone else to fill it. I had to do it myself.

The Daily: How are you preparing for the 2020 election cycle?

Litman: Just in the last month, we had nearly 2,000 people sign up to run for office, which is crazy.

It’s exponential growth. Second, we have candidates running for office in 2020 who we’ve been working with for three years. So, this really does take a while to get to that and to be really effective at. We expect to endorse 1,000 candidates this year, more than doubling the lifetime number of people we’re deeply

engaging with. We’re especially focusing our efforts on places where there’s a priority for redistricting, ensuring that Democrats have a seat at the table when it comes to redrawing congressional boundaries after the census.

The Daily: How do you specifically help and interact with each individual campaign?

Litman: Once we identify somebody who wants to run, (we help them with) whatever they need.

Maybe they need help figuring out how to open the bank accounts that will let them actually start their campaign. Maybe they need help getting their voter file. Maybe they need help hiring staff or writing campaign (literature) or building a website or navigating a tricky communications problem. Whatever it is the campaign needs, we will be able to support them.

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SPORTS

ON DECK FEB.

29

ON THE RECORD

We’re just trying to get an offense installed... It’s fair to all the guys to have a clean slate and clean start.

— Mike Bajakian, coach

Women’s Basketball Illinois at No. 14NU, 1 p.m. Saturday

@DailyNU_Sports

Thursday, February 27, 2020

FOOTBALL

Northwestern looks for fresh start after 3-10 season

By CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

daily senior staffer @2021_charlie

Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman

Former Northwestern offensive coordinator Mick McCall introduced the “superback” position to college football, and during his 12-year tenure with the Wildcats he coached several stars at that position.

Now the superback position is extinct. “(Bajakian) said, ‘Can we call them tight ends?’ and I said sure,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “There was not a deep psychological decision.”

NU’s superbacks have been a tight end-fullback hybrid for the last twelve seasons, but now that group of players will simply be referred to as tight ends.

Cam Green, Garrett Dickerson and Dan Vitale earned all Big Ten recognition at the position over the last decade, but in 2019 the Cats struggled at that spot.

Starter Charlie Mangieri finished the year with five receptions for 21 yards, and backup Trey Pugh had just two receptions for nine yards.

New offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said he expects those two players to line up at the line of scrimmage more in 2020 than they did last season.

“The skills of what the superbacks were previously is constantly changing. They’ve had at the history of the

FOOTBALL

position here at Northwestern, they’ve had some really good guys with some dynamic skill sets,” he said. “We definitely need guys with those skills sets, but we’re trying to broaden their horizons a little bit, ask them to do some more inline things that maybe they weren’t doing before.”

Early enrollees off to strong start

Seven new faces joined NU’s returners at the start of spring practice Tuesday. The newcomers are skipping the second semester of their senior years of high school to begin practicing with the football team and taking classes in Evanston.

“It’s a big group, seven. It’s the biggest we’ve had, so that’s exciting to me,” Fitzgerald said. “They’ve attacked early enrolling as best as (any) we’ve had.”

The group is headlined by three-star quarterback Carl Richardson, who adds depth to the offense but isn’t expected to be the starter in September.

NU also adds defensive linemen Jordan Butler, Jaiden Cameron and Te-Rah Edwards, offensive linemen Josh Priebe and Ben Wrather and tight end Hunter Welcing.

“They came ready to attack,” Fitzgerald said. “It doesn’t mean that they’re doing anything spectacular, but they’re attitude is awesome.”

Notable positional assignments

In the Cats’ season finale last year, converted defensive back Coco Azema rushed for 123 yards on just seven rushing attempts. But despite the redshirt freshman’s standout performance in the backfield to end the season and the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award that came with it, Azema will be listed as a defensive back again this season.

One other notable player on the official roster was Jason Whittaker, who was listed as a quarterback.

Whittaker opened the 2019 preseason as a quarterback before being moved to superback at the start of the season. Then after graduate quarterback TJ Green suffered a season-ending injury, Whittaker switched back to quarterback.

He’ll play quarterback during spring practice, but NU has more depth at the position than the team had last year and a move to tight end remains a possibility.

Injury report

The Cats have eight players who will miss the entire spring practice slate: running backs Jesse Brown and Isaiah Bowser, offensive linemen Sam Gerak and Gunnar Vogel, quarterback TJ Green, wide receiver Braeden Heald, safety JR Pace and tight end Hunter Welcing. charliegoldsmith2021@u.northwestern.edu

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Wildcats prepare for NU looks to break losing streak open QB competition

By GABRIELA CARROLL

By CHARLIE GOLDSMITH

daily senior staffer @2021_charlie

Northwestern hired Mike Bajakian to be the team’s new offensive coordinator on Dec. 11, but he wasn’t allowed by rule to watch any of the quarterbacks throw until Tuesday.

So it’s safe to say there isn’t a frontrunner yet in the quarterback competition.

“We’re just trying to get an offense installed, and we haven’t even gotten to that point yet,” Bajakian said. “It’s fair to all the guys to have a clean slate and a clean start.”

The Wildcats started spring practice Tuesday, which was Bajakian’s first chance to install his new offense and work with players on the field. Bajakian took full advantage, holding a blocking pad and pressuring the quarterbacks.

Junior quarterback Andrew Marty got first team reps since he led NU to a win in last year’s finale at Illinois, but all four returning quarterbacks are currently on even ground.

“There’s only one guy that’s on the field, and it’s a good thing that we’re competing against each other,” junior quarterback Hunter Johnson said.

“We’re making each other better. But at the same time, you can’t focus on what everybody else is doing.”

After the Cats had the fourth-worst scoring offense in the country last season, Bajakian is asking the returning quarterbacks to put 2019 behind them.

But Johnson, graduate TJ Green, senior Aidan Smith and Marty each had seasons that were memorable in their own way.

Johnson had the highest ceiling as the former top quarterback recruit in the country and a highly regarded transfer from Clemson, but he finished the year with just one touchdown and four interceptions in six games.

Green competed with Johnson for the starting spot until the end of the preseason, but he was injured in the season opener against Stanford. Smith

started a team-high seven games, but he went 0-7 as the starter with three touchdowns and nine interceptions.

And Marty didn’t get a shot until the final two games of the season because he didn’t perform as well in practice as Smith and Johnson.

“That group learned a lot last year,” head coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “A lot of guys watched Clayton Thorson become the all-time winningest quarterback and they rode the bus and ate the steak and they gave him his hat when he took off his helmet. But they didn’t make plays.”

“It’s a lot easier to stand on the sideline and say, ‘When I’m out there, you know what I’m going to do?’. Well, they didn’t do it. They’ve got to get their confidence up and they’ve got to make plays. Sometimes you’ve got to have that fake it to make it mentality and go loose and play fast.”

All four quarterbacks return for the 2020 season, picking up where they left off in the quarterback competition. The only difference is Bajakian, who took over as coordinator when Mick McCall was fired in December.

Fitzgerald said the installation of the new offense has “put a lot more on the plate” of the returning quarterbacks, forcing them to do more preparation in the offseason.

Bajakian will have 15 chances to work with the quarterbacks on the field before the preseason begins in August, but he regularly meets with them to start installing the new system.

Bajakian said he hopes to identify a starter by the end of spring practice.

For now, the four quarterbacks will be competing for more first team reps on a daily basis.

“There’s a lot of room for improvement, and I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily physical,” Bajakian said. “One of the biggest criticisms and valid criticisms is that the quarterback position did not do a good enough job protecting the football. That’s not a result of poor mechanics or poor techniques, but poor decisions.” charliegoldsmith2021@u.northwestern.edu

the daily northwestern @gablcarroll

Northwestern has a tough challenge ahead of them on Thursday.

The Wildcats have lost 11 straight games. They’re about to face an Illinois team on the upswing after the return of Ayo Dosunmu in a nearly sold-out contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

NU (6-20, 1-15 Big Ten) will play their penultimate game at home this season against their in-state rival, the Fighting Illini (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten).

The Cats have been blown out in their last four games after a series of close letdowns early in the losing streak.

“We’ve got a couple days to have a couple hard practices,” said coach Chris Collins after Sunday’s loss to Minnesota. “That’s what’s going to take. We’re playing an outstanding team on Thursday, and we’ve got to be better on the defensive end, we’ve got to rebound it better. And I feel like the offense will take care of itself.”

NU is one of the weakest teams in the Big Ten defensively, allowing 69.8 points per game. Illinois, led by Dosunmu and breakout center Kofi Cockburn, is top five in the conference in scoring, with 72.5 points per game. In order for the Cats to compete with the Fighting Illini, their defense will need to be in top form.

Freshman center Ryan Young has done his best to hold his own against the conference’s top centers. He has another challenge ahead of him with Cockburn, a strong rebounder — especially on the offensive end — and he’s among the top 15 scorers in the conference.

After NU’s last loss to Illinois on Jan. 18, the team seemed poised for a breakthrough that would allow them to be competitive in the Big Ten. The Cats haven’t won a single game since that contest. Collins has said throughout the season that he thinks they’re almost there, but results since then have grown worse, and Collins has shifted to discussing next season.

“You’re looking at teams this year,

Illinois vs. Northwestern

Evanston, Illinois 7 p.m. Thursday

like Illinois, Rutgers, Penn State,” Collins said. “Teams that have had to go through it as young teams and now they’re emerging as league contenders because they’ve gone through it, and they’ve been stronger from it.

And they’ve gotten better. You’re only going to get better if you learn from it. You can’t let it kill you.”

NU has one of its last opportunities to win a game this season

against Illinois. If the Cats can put together a game like they did on Jan. 18, with good three point shooting and strong performances from players like sophomore forward Miller Kopp and graduate guard Pat Spencer, they might be able to shock the country.

“The thing that really keeps me going is that they really want to win,” Collins said. “You know, they’re taking these losses hard. They really want to win, they want to be a good team.

They want to figure it out, and sometimes it just takes getting that one.” gabrielacarroll2023@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman

Jared Jones shoots the ball. The freshman center scored 3 points in the last game.