The Daily Northwestern — March 4, 2022

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The Daily Northwestern Friday, March 4, 2022

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City Reparations Committee gathers Talk next steps for Restorative Housing Program

By ALEX HARRISON

daily senior staffeer @alexhairysun

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta

Mixed sentiments on NU-SHIP

Low-income and international students have varied experiences

By IRIS SWARTHOUT

daily senior staffer @swarthout_iris

When McCormick junior Antonio Rocha first arrived at Northwestern, he opted out of Northwestern’s Student Health Insurance Plan thinking his personal one was sufficient.

But after running into

medical issues during his freshman year, Rocha realized his plan didn’t cover much. He contacted the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid in the middle of the academic year and asked for coverage, which he obtained after some hesitation on their end, he said.

“The specifics of figuring out if your plan was a comparable plan was a little bit too complicated,” Rocha said.

“They have all these things listed out and it was just very difficult to parse through the information.”

NU evaluates personal health insurance plans through a yearly online questionnaire that students must fill out, or else they will be automatically enrolled in NU-SHIP. The University determines essential health benefits as those defined by the Affordable

Care Act, ranging from outpatient care and emergency services to prescription drugs and maternity care.

If students answer “no” to any of their personal plans’ requirements, they are required to enroll in NUSHIP to ensure full coverage while on campus.

Though NU- SHIP is

» See NU-SHIP, page 6

High 41 Low 39

Evanston’s Reparations Committee reviewed next steps for the Restorative Housing Program Thursday, including meetings with recipients for orientation, providing supplementary benefits from other programs and addressing potential tax implications.

Interim Parks and Recreation Director and committee staffer Audrey Thompson said city staff met privately with nine of the first 16 recipients for program orientation.

This includes reviewing the program’s guidelines, explaining how their benefits will be managed and asking how the recipient will spend their benefit across their three options: home purchase, mortgage assistance and home improvement.

Because all of the initial recipients are senior citizens, Thompson said private orientation meetings have been useful for answering their questions in detail.

“We are literally able to go through every page of the documents and explain, and have them ask questions that they might not ask if they were in a group of 16,” Thompson said.

Thompson said recipients are using their benefits flexibly. Three recipients plan to spend their $25,000 on both mortgage assistance and home improvement, and one wishes to transfer their benefit to their son.

The committee also discussed other city and nonprofit programs recipients can apply to in order to supplement the primary reparations benefit.

Restorative Housing Program recipients can receive free home repair services from nonprofit home improvement organization Rebuilding Together North Suburban Chicago, thanks to a grant from the Evanston Community Foundation.

Three of the first 16 recipients also signed up for the Benefit Card Program, which gives subsidized transit, a discounted wheel tax and free home repair services, among other assistance to low-income seniors in Evanston.

» See REPARATIONS, page 6

City’s COVID-19 NUDM returns to the in-person tent cases on decline The event returns for the first time in three years and is mask-optional Positivity rate reaches lowest since July 2021

By ANGELI MITTAL

daily senior staffer @amittal27

Evanston’s COVID-19 positivity rate reached its lowest since July 2021, having trended downward since its 8.12% peak in December.

The seven-day moving average positivity rate this week reached 0.39% — a 0.51 percentage point decline from last week’s 0.90%.

The city reported 59 cases

this week — a 36% reduction from last week’s 92 cases — continuing a streak of having fewer than 100 positive cases reported in a week.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in the last seven days have approximately doubled.

Cook County and Illinois have also seen low positivity rates similar to those last summer. The county’s test positivity rate this week declined to 2.4% from last week’s 3.2%. The state’s test positivity rate saw a similar percentage point decline,

» See COVID, page 6

By IRIS SWARTHOUT

daily senior staffer @swarthout_iris

Northwestern University Dance Marathon — an annual event where students dance for 30 hours in an effort to fundraise for local beneficiaries — will return to the tent in-person this weekend for the first time in three years.

For many students, like Weinberg sophomore Reese Rosental Saporito, this weekend marks their first dance marathon at NU. After roughly a year and a half of planning, Saporito, who captains the green team, can enjoy the full extent of the

event on Friday and Saturday.

“This is my second year doing DM, and my first year in the tent,” she said. “(Being a team captain) is a great way to make sure everyone involved in DM feels like they have a place and they’re welcomed.”

Students registered for NUDM are arranged into four separate teams — green, red, blue and yellow — each with roughly 200 dancers. Each team is headed by two team captains selected by executive board recommendations last year, Saporito said.

Dance Marathon will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and continue until 7 a.m. Sunday. A livestream will be available for those unable

Joanne Haner/The Daily Northwestern

to participate for the full 30 hours. Masks will be optional, but according to Medill senior Samara Lipman, dancers will have access to masks, gloves and sanitizing stations, among other

items, throughout the event.

All dancers must present a negative COVID-19 test result within 24 hours of entering the

» See NUDM, page 6

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

AROUND TOWN

Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) kickflips into City Council

By OLIVIA ALEXANDER

daily senior staffer @oliviagalex

You might catch Evanston’s newest City Council member skateboarding at the park.

City Council confirmed Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) as Evanston’s 9th Ward councilmember on Monday.

An Evanston resident since 1993, he has dedicated himself to serving the city’s Latine community and advocating for skateparks.

Eric Pitt, one of Geracaris’ friends for almost 20 years, said the two first met at a skatepark. After Pitt landed a position at the Kellogg School of Management, they would often skate together after work.

Geracaris said he’s a life-long skateboarder, and he’s committed to bringing skateparks to Evanston.

He helped bring an informal skate park to Ridgeville Park District in 2021 after seeing high school students bring homemade ramps to an unused basketball court. Geracaris helped them build and repair ramps and eventually started Evanston Skates, a grassroots organization that advocates for skate parks in the city.

Pitt said Geracaris’ interest sets him apart from other local politicians.

“47-year-old skateboarders are getting rarer and rarer, so that’s exciting that he does that,” Pitt said.

“That’s definitely something that no other councilmember before or probably after will be doing.”

Geracaris is also a founding board member of Evanston Latinos, a nonprofit organization which works to support the city’s Latine residents by

5411 Empanadas has plans to open fourth restaurant in Evanston 5411 Empanadas, a Chicago area empanada restaurant, has plans to open up shop on Davis Street this spring.

5411 was named after the international dialing code for Buenos Aires, Argentina, the owners’ home city.

The company originated as a food truck in Chicago in 2009 and opened its first permanent location on Clark

translating COVID-19 information into Spanish and delivering meals.

The group connects people with resources that are already in the community, Geracaris said.

“There’s a lot of gatekeeping with how aid and things are given out,” Geracaris said. “Being that intermediary and helping people find what’s available to them, I think was really important and helped a lot of families.”

Though he has been deeply involved in the community, Geracaris said he didn’t plan to enter local politics. But when the council seat became vacant, he said friends and family encouraged him to be involved and to be a representative for local Latine residents.

Kate Veraldi, who has also been friends with Geracaris for more than 20 years, said the councilmember remains humble despite his accomplishments. Veraldi said she didn’t know much about Geracaris’ community service before he decided to run for council.

“Sometimes even his close friends, like us, just fail to notice how much he’s doing or he’s accomplished,” Veraldi said. “He does a lot. He knows a lot. He’s really smart. He’s really funny, but he’s just really quiet and humble.”

Veraldi said Geracaris is “annoyingly knowledgeable,” but is quiet about those things he knows a lot about. Pitt said he’s not a political shark, and he’ll lead with humility on the council.

During his tenure, Geracaris has said he’ll prioritize communication with 9th Ward residents. He started a Twitter account and will live-tweet City Council meetings to increase transparency. He said Spanish-speaking residents can call or email him, and that he’ll respond Street in Chicago in 2012.

General Manager Tomas Ovejero said the restaurant plans to open the new store at 809 Davis St. by the end of March. He said it’s important for the company to bring a piece of Argentinian culture to Evanston.

Empanadas are a type of either baked or fried turnover of Spanish origin that usually include fillings with a pastry wrapping. The dish is common within many Latin American countries.

“Our main goal is for everyone to be able to know what a baked Argentinian empanada is,” Ovejero said.

“What makes us stand out is our different fillings.”

5411 Empanadas offers 16 different fillings, with

Photo courtesy of Juan Geracaris

Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) skateboarding with his children. He is a founder of Evanston Skates.

in Spanish.

“It would be daunting for someone who’s a nonnative English speaker to jump in and try to figure out what’s going on at City Council,” Geracaris said. “I’m

planning on releasing notes on City Council meetings after they happen.”

savory options including beef and spinach and cheese empanadas, to sweet options like banana nutella.

The company launched a delivery service in 2020 to ship frozen empanadas across the country. Leticia Perez, the Evanston location’s general manager and store director, said the restaurant decided to open in Evanston because many of its delivery orders came from the Chicago suburbs.

“Once those doors open, it’ll bring a little bit of heaven to all of our potential customers,” Perez said.

Perez said the restaurant aims to extend the company’s outreach to college students in the area.

The new spot in Evanston will be the company’s

fourth location in the Chicago area. ”Chicago is where 5411 was born, so the opening of a new location nearby is something that we look forward to,” Perez said.

Owner Nicolas Ibarzabal (Communication ’07) said the restaurant plans to offer free empanadas around lunch time on the opening day.

“The goal for us is to get a little piece of our culture into Evanston,” Ibarzabal said. “Empanadas for us in Argentina is a main food for when we get together. We really want to bring a part of us to Evanston.”

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

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ON CAMPUS

Medill Prof. Patty Loew to retire in 2023

By JOSHUA PERRY

Editor in Chief Isabelle Sarraf

eic@dailynorthwestern.com

daily senior staffer @joshdperry

Medill Prof. Patty Loew, former director of Northwestern’s Center for Native American and Indigenous Research, is phasing in her retirement and plans to depart the University in August 2023.

Loew, who is a member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, helped found CNAIR, built a community of Indigenous scholars at NU, worked to create a Native American and Indigenous Studies minor in Weinberg and fostered relationships between NU and tribal communities.

Lois Biggs (Weinberg ’20) said Loew started teaching at NU in 2017 about the same time she started her freshman year. Biggs, who is White Earth Ojibwe and Oklahoma Cherokee, was part of the Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance when she met Loew.

She said Loew has been a vital presence in the Native and Indigenous community on campus.

“Patty’s impact has been beyond what I can fully articulate,” Biggs said. “When I think about all of the changes that have happened and all of the really incredible strides that we’ve made … I can connect so many of those efforts to Patty.”

Biggs said Loew has done incredible work furthering institutional growth and relational growth of the Native and Indigenous community at NU. In particular, Biggs said Loew has always been an advocate for Native and Indigenous students, connecting them to opportunities and networks to support their academic development.

SESP senior Isabel St. Arnold, who is Keweenaw Bay Ojibwe and co-chair of NAISA’s Council, said she got to know Loew during her freshman year when the professor looped her into a summer research opportunity. St. Arnold said Loew’s dedication to supporting her students is remarkable.

“She’s always trying to help everybody out,” St. Arnold said. “She just gives back so much to the community overall.”

Before her career as an educator, Loew was a broadcast journalist and documentary producer. Loew said working with communities and amplifying the voices of others has always been key to her journalistic practice. She said she was committed to taking special care

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to represent Indigenous communities in the media with accuracy and respect.

Storytelling and oral history is an indispensable element of Indigenous culture, she said. As a journalist, Loew said capturing the richness and nuance of those practices is important, especially when the media often misrepresents or warps Indigenous narratives.

“For me, to collect those stories is a really humbling gift,” she said. “When somebody trusts you with their values, their vision or their history, that’s a gift, and it is also an onus. You have to be responsible and hold that story and share it in a way that honors the person who gave it to you.”

Post-retirement, Loew said she wants to work, perhaps residentially, at tribal colleges, continuing to teach digital storytelling. As a former travel journalist, she said she loves the idea of visiting different communities and sharing what she has to offer.

Loew said she’s leaving the future of the Native and Indigenous community on campus in good hands.

She said she has confidence in CNAIR’s current leadership and is optimistic about the impact its scholarship will have and the opportunities it will be able to create for students at NU. Loew doesn’t see herself leaving NU behind entirely, though — as an emeritus faculty member, she said she hopes to maintain a relationship with the

community she’s found here.

Loew wouldn’t forget about her relationships in a place just because she doesn’t work there anymore, Biggs said. But still, she said it will be hard to lose such a beloved figure in NU’s community.

“Of course it will be a bittersweet moment, because Patty has such a warm and brilliant presence and has brought so much to people’s lives here,” Biggs said.

“But I think the overwhelming feeling will be gratitude for what she has offered, what she has worked for and who she is to us.”

Loew said her career has enriched her life in many ways. As a broadcast journalist, she could meet with people and report on stories she might not ever have been exposed to otherwise. She said she’s honored to have had the opportunity to be a part of such a distinguished department at Medill, working alongside passionate faculty whose work she admired greatly.

However, she said she may have gained the most experience during her time teaching. Working with NU students, whom she’s built close bonds with, has been one of the highlights of her time here, she said.

“Every time I step into the classroom, I’ve learned as much as I’ve taught,” Loew said. “And what a blessing that is.” joshuaperry2023@u.northwestern.edu

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FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

arts & entertainment

A&E Illustration by Olivia Abeyta

The last episode of “Euphoria” season two premiered Sunday on HBO.

HBO’s “Euphoria” season two is not for everyone

By ANDRES BUENAHORA

the daily northwestern @andresbuena01

Content warning: This article contains mentions of addiction, suicide, kidnapping and abuse.

This article also contains spoilers.

The second season of “Euphoria” was harrowing, emotional and entertaining, and saw viewership ratings increase by nearly 100% from its first season.

The HBO sensation explores the very real, yet horrifying perspective of a drug addict spiraling out of control. The series has already been renewed for a third season, with HBO making the decision halfway through its season two run.

There’s a poignancy to the subject matter the show tackles. “Euphoria” features a dark tone full of violence and sexually explicit content, which makes it a show that only appeals to certain audiences.

Zendaya deserves another Emmy nomination for her latest performance as Rue, elevating our understanding of the character in an empathetic, honest

and real way.

Creator Sam Levinson is brilliant and immerses us in a riveting metaphysical perspective that takes over the show. This gives viewers a glimpse into Rue’s mind during her episodic highs, whether she’s defying the laws of gravity by walking on walls or hallucinating people that aren’t really there.

D.A.R.E. and countless other critics have accused the show of glamorizing drug abuse, sex and violence.

But “Euphoria” also addresses topics such as mental health, depression and suicide in a way that, while frightening for some, is also authentic.

We see characters that are real. We see Rue at her worst, verbally abusing her mother, sister and girlfriend. We see Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) reliance on a relationship with Nate (Jacob Elordi) lead to her own mental breakdown. We see Cal (Eric Dane) scarring his children in a profoundly devastating way through his abusive parenting.

We see Fezco (Angus Cloud) watch his younger brother shot and killed by police — the red dot from the sniper still reflecting in his mind, as in the minds of countless heart-broken fans who took to Twitter to express their anger with the season finale.

While new additions like Elliot (Dominic Fike)

influence Rue’s dynamic with other characters, create conflict and shift the plot forward, many familiar faces become lost in the mix.

Kat Hernandez’s (Barbie Ferreira) character arc has done nothing but disappoint since the season one finale, with much of season two painting her as Maddy Perez’s (Alexa Demie) obedient sidekick.

Chris McKay (Algee Smith) completely disappeared from the show, as does Laurie (Martha Kelly), the drug dealer who threatened to have Rue “kidnapped and sold to some real sick people” if she didn’t come up with the money for their business deal.

Rue’s family and friends flush thousands of dollars of drugs down the toilet in an effort to stop her addiction and Laurie never comes back into play. Many of these previous plot lines fail to connect to each other or have any satisfying form of resolution.

This season’s score was a significant part of the narrative, with church sounds like organs, choirs and aural aspects of the Black Pentecostal church being employed to evoke a more spiritual tone. This is explored most in the season’s final scene, which sees Rue walking through a church reminiscing over the loss of her father.

Later reflecting on staying clean for the rest of the

school year, Rue contemplates in her final monologue: “I remember Ali said, ‘The thought of maybe being a good person is what keeps me trying to be a good person.’ Maybe there’s something to that.”

The song “I’m Tired” — which Zendaya cowrote with “Euphoria” Composer Labrinth — plays through the final sequence of the season.

“Hey Lord, you know I’m trying … Hey Lord, you know I’m fighting,” she sings in a voiceover as her character walks into the distance in what becomes a vulnerable, touching and beautiful moment of uncertainty and hope — the same hope to overcome addiction that Rue’s sponsor Ali challenged her to find after her recent mental breakdown.

Season two of “Euphoria” gives us an even more intense display of what Levinson’s Emmy-winning masterpiece is known for: stunning cinematography, tragic loss of love and life and extremely entertaining television.

For those who don’t enjoy it, it’s an overly graphic, disturbing and terrifying show. For those who do, it’s a brilliant work of storytelling that values taking artistic risks. andresbuenahora2024@u.northwestern.edu

Neo-Futurist performance group TBD uniquely tells truth

By KARA PEELER

the daily northwestern @karapeeler

Emotional whiplash and utter honesty is what TBD, a Neo-Futurist-inspired performance group, promises its audience.

Since 2015, TBD has held a quarterly mainstage show along with occasional special events like open mics or speed dating games. Each show boasts a series of short plays written by the performers. The twist? The plays are performed in a random order that changes with each show. Each play is assigned a number, and then the audience selects the order with notecards.

This creates what TBD calls emotional whiplash. Communication senior Bennett Petersen said the plays range from chaotic screaming and sprinkling toy bed bugs onto the audience

The Block Museum’s new exhibit shows art against anti-Black violence After six years of planning, “A Site of Struggle” has opened to the public at the Block Museum of Art. The exhibit features various works of art that showcase the ways artists

from the balcony to processing deep emotional experiences.

“It’s going to be something that you’ve probably never seen before,” said Lola Bodé, a Communication freshman and TBD ensemble member. “It was something that I had never seen before until I saw TBD. And there’ll be a lot of things that are unexpected. There’ll be a lot of spectacle.”

TBD will perform “TBD Presents: Portrait of a Student Group on Fire” 10 p.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. and 10 p.m Saturday in Fisk Hall 217.

All TBD plays are nonfiction and non-illusory, meaning there is no traditional acting.

“The single rule we hold ourselves to is that at no point on that stage are we lying,” Petersen said.

“We are always playing ourselves. We are always putting ourselves in that moment in that space.”

The tenant allows TBD to write stories with messages they want to express and also reflect

the community’s needs.

Communication senior and ensemble member Rick Hilscher, a member of the group since his freshman year, noticed TBD plays became increasingly absurd after the pandemic — likely as a way to take a break from the world.

“It’s like a living newspaper, so that every single play we write and every single thing we share is a reflection of the modern times and what our and what Northwestern students at this time are thinking about,” Hilscher said.

Bodé said the unconventional formatting and topics are like “a breath of fresh air” compared to fully staged productions.

Bienen and Communication freshman Mya Vandegrift said TBD transformed her writing and has brought her out of her comfort zone in both the silly and serious works.

“It’s just constant creativity,” Vandegrift said.

“It’s like being a kid again. I hope (the audience)

have used art to protest, process, mourn and memorialize anti-Black violence. It’s split into three sections based on the different art styles featured in the exhibit: “Written on the Body,” “Abstraction and Affect” and “A Red Record.”

In this video, we spoke to Janet Dees, the Steven and Lisa Munster Tananbaum Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Block, and the curator of this exhibit. For the exhibit, Dees chose to feature artwork created in the

time following the post-Reconstruction era to the conception of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2013. Although there aren’t more contemporary pieces in the exhibit, Dees said these works contextualize modern-day racial violence. With this exhibit, Dees said she hopes attendees will understand the long history of anti-Black violence in the U.S. — Katrina Pham

appreciates the chaos and also the really personal quiet moments.”

The team of 15 members has formed a closeknit environment with one another, but also with the NU community. TBD frequently gets the audience involved with interactive plays, something that blurs the line between audience and performers according to Hilscher.

Though TBD shows are far from standard theatre, they have the audience hooked. In fact, Bodé and Petersen decided to join after watching a TBD performance for the first time.

“You’re getting sort of the full spectrum of human emotion and the human truth, in such a short period of time,” Hilscher said. “That can be a little disorienting, but in a way that I think our audience enjoys, and it’s a big reason why people keep coming back.” karapeeler2025@u.northwestern.edu

Scan this QR code with Snapchat or your smartphone camera to view an accompanying video on “A Site of Struggle,” the new exhibit.

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

5

JTE premieres student plays at A Night of New Work

By NIXIE STRAZZA

the daily northwestern @nixiestrazza

Student-written plays “All-In” by Communication junior Andy Hartman and “The Attendant” by Communication senior Ilana Zahava Abuschwill premiere at the Jewish Theatre Ensemble’s “Night of New Work” from March 4 to 5.

Executive director and Communication senior Lily Feinberg said the productions provide commentary on the human experience through the lens of essential Jewish values.

As one of Northwestern’s largest student-run theatre boards, JTE is committed to producing faithbased theatre with support from Northwestern Hillel. Artists, literary managers and Jewish education experts work to promote messages in every production that are “specifically Jewish, universally human,” Feinberg said.

“Night of New Work” is one of two special events JTE hosts each year, in addition to three full scale productions. Plays included in the 2022 season were selected last spring to allow creative teams ample time to build a show from the ground up.

NU Hillel executive director Michael Simon serves as the faculty advisor for JTE, which was founded under Hillel in 1995. Simon said the two organizations share a parallel mission: to create an inclusive space for self-expression based on the cornerstones of Jewish faith.

“Dance, theatre and visual arts are universal

expressions of creativity with particular cultural perspectives,” Simon said. “Providing the frameworks to examine these variations of Jewish identity is the

Sondheim’s classic musical including narration, fairytales and a strong familial unit reflected the Hebrew motto “‘L’dor vador” meaning “from generation to

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta

Director Alexa Goldstein said A Night of New Work emphasizes tolerance and shared experience through the use of Jewish values.

special sauce that JTE brings.”

The exploration of Judaism in the arts encompasses more than religious teachings, Feinberg said.

Storytelling and community connection play a prevalent role in Jewish culture and are principles JTE has championed throughout their 27 seasons of existence.

In 2019, JTE performed “Into the Woods” as part of their winter season repertoire. Though not Jewish in nature, Feinberg said integral aspects of Stephen

generation.’ ” Feinberg said the adoption of less overt religious themes is what makes JTE welcoming to all students regardless of religious affiliation.

Hartman first tried his hand at creating an original piece in Communication lecturer Julie Marie Myatt’s “Intro to Playwriting” class offered here his sophomore year. Throughout the quarter, Hartman said he drew upon interactions from his own life to build

the basis of a story.

The inspiration for “All-In” came from Hartman’s experience as a high school student learning to drive in New York City. Loosely based on the instructor who taught him the rules of the road, Hartman said the play looks more broadly at the relationships between teachers and students and the emotional development of young adults in the intimate atmosphere of a car.

The Jewish ideal of Tzedakah, or “giving back,” is a prominent theme in the play. Hartman said he grappled with the difference between helping someone and saving someone while writing the show, especially in the wake of pandemic devastation.

“The play revolves around the question of ‘What does it mean to help another person?’” Hartman said.

“That is not just a tenant that Jewish people aspire to, but all people.”

“The Attendant” director and Communication sophomore Alexa Goldstein said Abusch’s play leans similarly on religious ideals to portray the blending of modern and traditional Jewish forces in regards to feminism.

Through her work with JTE, Goldstein hopes audiences realize the factors that unite us rather than tear us apart. In a world where viewpoints are constantly evolving, Goldstein said a Night of New Work shines a light on tolerance towards others no matter their religious affiliation.

“Understanding is not always the key,” Goldstein said. “But acceptance always will be.” nixiestrazza2024@u.northwestern.edu

Panini Players serve sandwiches with a side of

By NICOLE MARKUS

daily senior staffer @nicolejmarkus

While Northwestern’s mask mandate is ending, The Panini Players will keep theirs on.

The group performs commedia dell’arte circa the 18th century bubonic plague pandemic. The Italian theatre form combines comedy, improv, stock characters and masks reminiscent of plague doctors.

The Panini Players pair this traditional type of theatre with a not-so traditional twist: The quarterly show features a make-your-own panini bar.

“Our group is about 11 years old, and it’s just something that the founders thought would be cool,” Weinberg junior and Producer Haley Mailender said. “It’s so quirky of us, just good old-fashioned dinner and a show, you can’t beat it.”

On Saturday, The Panini Players hosted “Much Ado About Horses,” a unique take on the stock character Capitano. Communication junior and Artistic Director Barbara Burns said the character is

traditionally a foreigner from Spain, but the group decided to change Capitano to characterize a stereotypical American cowboy.

The change is part of the group’s efforts to keep the traditional tropes of commedia dell’arte while adjusting the cultural aspects to be relatable to their audience.

“I really like the idea of modernizing Capitano to be a character that can be really familiar to us,” Burns said.

“Much Ado About Horses” is the group’s second show of the academic year and back in-person.

Burns said she was excited to bring the tradition back to the stage.

“Each character has a very specific walk and set of movements that you act with,” Mailender said.

“Getting back after being on Zoom for a long time, it took a bit to get back in the habit and refresh our memories.”

Unlike typical improv groups, which make up their routines entirely on the spot, The Panini Players prepare for the show ahead of time.

This preparation includes assigning stock characters, structuring the basic plot and running

through the show. Despite this, Burns said all the dialogue is improvised during the show and no two shows are the same.

“At the beginning of the quarter, we’ll figure out what characters we want to play, and then, with those characters, we will start to come up with a plot,” Mailender said.

Weinberg junior Kabeer Kishore said joining The Panini Players in the fall pushed him outside of his comfort zone with acting. He decided to play Pantalone, a miserly old man.

Assigning different stock characters every show is another departure from tradition, Burns said.

During the Renaissance, actors played one character for their entire career.

While Mailender said actors may “gravitate” towards a specific character, she noted that changing characters is an integral part of keeping audiences entertained.

“We find that it’s really fun to find what each new person brings to a different character,” Burns said. “We really enjoy that variety and what kind of refreshed perspectives people can bring to these roles as we come together as a troupe.”

Daily file photo by Madison Smith

Actors perform in The Panini Player’s production of “Blood and Beans” in the fall. The group specializes in commedia dell’arte, a traditional Italian theatre form.

Kishore said the group has five members, but they encourage others to audition. He said the more actors are in the show, the longer and more diverse performances will be. nicolemarkus2025@u.northwestern.edu

Vertigo Productions to premiere 10-Minute Play Festival

By ANNIE XIA

the daily northwestern

Surrounded by blackboards in a Lunt Hall classroom, Vertigo Productions’ playwriting chairs led five students in a class about writing 10-minute plays.

Vertigo will premiere the five plays in three shows on March 11 and 12 in Mussetter-Struble Theater. The plays feature a wide range of stories, from unusual events in a Southern town to guys working out.

Communication junior Anelga Hajjar, one of the playwriting co-chairs, said the playwrights polish and reshape their work over the quarter.

“The core theme and intention behind the play is still completely the same. It’s just the conveying

of that message that has changed,” Hajjar said.

“The revision is only magnifying what was already there.”

During the Vertigo classes, the co-chairs and playwrights follow workshop guidelines created

by Communication Prof. Laura Schellhardt. They focus on specific moments and use phrases such as “I’m craving this” or “I got very excited at this moment.”

Communication senior Mariana Reyes said guiding the weekly playwriting sessions has taught her the benefit of diverse feedback.

“You can get very conflicting feedback on what you’re writing,” Daza said. “It’s good to get all the different opinions and try to find something that is best suited for you.”

One of the shows, “Paternity,” which Vertigo describes as a “queer drama-comedy,” explores

how people fill emotional gaps through unconventional companions.

In another story that questions societal norms, “No Homo Bro Jonas Just Broness” pushes back against expectations of masculinity in a play that breaks the fourth wall.

“Welcome, Grim Reaper!” tells the story of a town where nothing ever dies and a narrator for whom death might actually be a blessing.

Also weaving in the premise of death, “The Exit Interview” is a comedy about the comfort in knowing that life is absolutely chaotic and makes no sense, Hajjar said.

With a more serious tone, “The House” conveys a deep message about relating to the elderly and leaning on people during times of pain, said Communication freshman Declan Franey, the show’s director.

What’s happening on campus this weekend

By RAYNA SONG and ALEXA CROWDER

the daily northwestern @raynayu_song @alexacrowder

If you’re looking for weekend plans, here are some of the student performances you can find on campus.

“The Attendant” — Jewish Theatre Ensemble Shanley Pavilion Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 8:30 p.m.

“All-In” — Jewish Theatre Ensemble Shanley Pavilion Friday 6:30 p.m., Saturday 8:30 p.m.

These two free student-written plays are part of JTE’s Night of New Work.

Portrait of a Student Group on Fire — TBD Fisk Hall 217 Friday 10 p.m., Saturday 7 and 10 p.m. $5 The Neo-Futurist student performance group will perform a series of nonfiction short plays in a random, audience-selected order.

B.O.D. (it’s an anagram) — Out Da Box Harris L07 Saturday 8 p.m.

Free

Check out the student comedy group’s secret winter improv show.

Imagine U: The Ballad of Mu Lan — Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts Josephine Louis Theater Friday 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. $6 to $15 Produced by the children’s theatre section of the Wirtz Center, this retelling of the classic story of Mu Lan unites Chinese tradition and contemporary theatre. raynasong2023@u.northwestern.edu alexacrowder2024@u.northwestern.edu

The playwrights have until Sunday to turn in their final draft, which means the story evolves from week to week. Franey said the changing script for “The House” challenged him as a director to focus on the characters.

“Even when the script changes, or tech changes, we can still go at it with those core emotions and relationship between the characters,” Franey said.

Franey said he believes there are benefits to Vertigo’s 10-minute plays compared to longer shows.

“Just like we have specific moments in our lives we remember more than big spans, I think people can remember these short plays and really be impacted by them, sometimes more than a full two-hour production,” Franey said. anniexia2025@u.northwestern.edu

arts & entertainment Editor Rayna Song Assistant Editors Alexa Crowder, Audrey Hettleman. Kaila Nichols Designer Sara Gronich Staff Andres Buenahora, Kara Peeler, Nixie Strazza, Nicole Markus, Annie Xia

6

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

NU-SHIP From page 1

optional for all undergraduate and graduate students who reside within the U.S., international students are required to enroll in NU-SHIP — even if they have a comparable plan in their home country.

The annual premium cost of NU’s insurance plan is $4,386. Still, in-network provided care will cost students a $250 deductible before NUSHIP begins its coverage and an annual out-ofpocket limit of $2,000. The deductible amount increases to $500 for out-of-network care.

Low-income students have varied financial aid experiences Students who cannot afford to pay the full premium receive support from the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid. For McCormick sophomore Jasmyn Rieff, need-based financial aid covers the program’s enrollment fee.

Rieff said NU-SHIP covers her medical fees to a reasonable extent, as long as referrals are made through Northwestern Medicine. When she visited urgent care for a dislocated knee cap, she said she was still left with around $500 in remaining fees.

“I had to go to urgent care because Searle (Hall) was apparently booked for the entire day,” Rieff said. “I think part of (why I still have to pay) is that I didn’t get a referral. They just told me verbally to go to urgent care.”

Some students, like Weinberg senior Elizabeth Wolf, are not reimbursed for physician copays such as for mental health services. Wolf said while the reduced cost of therapy is helpful, $20 per session adds up.

Wolf has also endured two hospitalizations during her time at NU as a result of chronic migraines — one of which resulted in a $1,500 bill not covered by her insurance plan. However, Wolf said NU-SHIP reduced this amount from the original $7,500 fee.

“The coverage is pretty great,” Wolf said. “I do know that any of your mental health care doesn’t go towards your deductible even though I think it’s still pretty good coverage.”

In an email to The Daily, Director of Media Relations Hilary Hurd Anyaso said the University covers the entire cost of the NU-SHIP insurance plan for low-income individuals. She did not comment on this variability of medical fee coverage on NU-SHIP between students on financial aid.

“The Financial Aid Office contacts all incoming students who are eligible for the assistance and provides the money directly to them,” she wrote. “The Financial Aid Office contacts all

eligible students proactively to ensure they are aware of this benefit before they even come to campus.”

International students are required to enroll in NU-SHIP Students holding a J-1 or F-1 U.S. visa are required to enroll in NU-SHIP regardless of their insurance plan back home. For Côté, this means she has to pay the full price of the insurance plan.

Côté, who is from Montréal, completed her undergraduate degree in Canada. She said she used her mother’s insurance for dental, vision and other specialized insurance policies that Canada’s public health care plan doesn’t cover.

Since coming to NU, she said she wishes a tiered system existed where she could opt out of certain expenses she doesn’t need covered.

“I find it frustrating that there wasn’t a yes or no, like I couldn’t come if I didn’t get (the insurance),” Côté said. “I’m paying at least $5,000 more than I was expecting to come here, which is significant when you don’t have a lot of money.”

Côté added she acknowledges she is a relatively able-bodied person who is lucky not to need all the coverage NU-SHIP provides.

For other international students, like Weinberg junior Evelyn Long, the price of NU-SHIP is comparable to other plans for students.

Because Long has U.S. permanent residency, she said her family thought it would be easier for her to stay on NU-SHIP. Long said the program’s flexibility appealed to her. Students can choose to either purchase full-year coverage or can opt in whenever they’d like, as long as it’s at the start of one of the academic quarters.

“Because more people use NU-SHIP, it seemed more convenient,” Long said. “The school already provides you with the information and you just know that it will work with Northwestern’s health center.”

Still, some students believe NU-SHIP’s high cost doesn’t align with the coverage students actually need. Côté said the important aspects of health care coverage include seeing a general practitioner, emergency room visits and mental health services.

Côté added that, if NU allowed it, she’d still be on her mom’s insurance plan.

“Until I’m 26 I’m covered under my mom’s plan … it also does cover medical expenses when you’re abroad,” Côté said. “ I totally could have just stayed with that, but I still had to get NU-SHIP.” irisswarthout2023@u.northwestern.edu

and just over 71% are fully vaccinated. The state saw 80.8% and 71.7% for both groups, respectively.

Last week, Evanston lifted its mask and vaccine mandates. Individuals are no longer required to show proof of vaccination or wear masks in most indoor public spaces unless the establishment specifies otherwise.

NUDM

From page 1

tent along with a green badge on their symptom tracker. Visitors outside of NU and Dance Marathon will not be allowed inside the tent.

Each year, Dance Marathon fundraises for two beneficiaries. This year, the primary beneficiary is Chicago Youth Programs, which provides longterm academic, emotional and mental support to young people in low-income neighborhoods in Chicago. The secondary beneficiary for the past 25 years has been Evanston Community Foundation — a public charity dedicated to serving the Evanston community.

SESP junior Chloe Lim, NUDM’s special events co-chair, said the process of choosing NUDM’s beneficiary involves sifting through a multitude of organizations.

“It’s definitely not a … quick process,” she said. “It’s very comprehensive. We’re really excited that even through COVID-19, we were able to engage with (CYP) and work with them.”

Chicago Youth Programs’ mission Through navigating societal inequities, CYP focuses on aspects of education related to early literacy programming, academic tutoring, crisis intervention and restorative justice programming, according to a University news release.

Founded in 1984, CYP has served about 18,000 youths.

Lipman said funds raised through Dance Marathon will go toward expanding CYP’s organizational needs.

She said being an NUDM beneficiary is a “huge deal,” as these organizations benefit from both the publicity and monetary gain of being chosen. Because the selection process is competitive, it starts as early as May the year before.

According to McCormick and Communication senior Gillian Finnegan, an NUDM beneficiary is an organization the executive board thinks NUDM will have the biggest impact on.

And to her, everyone on the executive board has had a close connection with CYP.

REPARATIONS From page 1

COVID

From page 1

reaching 1.7% compared to last week’s 2.5%.

Weekly vaccination rates in the city have slowly increased. There was a 0.1 percentage

point increase to 97.2% in residents ages five and older who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In this age group, 87.4% of residents are fully vaccinated.

In Cook County, 78.3% of individuals ages five and older have received at least one dose

Committee member Claire McFarland Barber said the committee should inform all future reparations recipients of supplemental resources they’re currently eligible for.

“Number 20 should not have to wait to know that they qualify for the Evanston Benefit Card,”

While masks are still required on public transportation services and in high-risk locations such as healthcare facilities, Evanston Township High School District 202 and Northwestern made masking optional in most indoor shared spaces. amittal@u.northwestern.edu “We’ve been working with the same liaison with Chicago Youth Programs for the whole time,” Finnegan said. “We’ve tried to be as connected as we can be to make sure we are always putting them first.”

Recent changes to NUDM Before this year, NUDM allowed students to register with their own groups, whether through friends or organizations around campus, Lipman said. As a result, she said, larger groups like sororities or fraternities raised the most.

“On the one hand, it’s great that a single team can raise $200,000,” Lipman said. “(But) what message are we sending by encouraging that versus encouraging a more inclusive environment?”

Although COVID-19 forced an in-person break from NUDM the past two years, she said a variety of societal changes have shifted the course of the organization.

Lipman said the Abolish Greek Life and Black Lives Matter movements both caused NUDM to restructure the organization for more inclusivity.

NUDM established an accessibility and inclusion committee this year, something Lipman said should have been installed years prior.

However, Lipman said having four relatively randomized dancer groups creates less incentive for students to fundraise due to their sheer size.

Still, Lim said dancer turnout is “very high” and she is excited to see a lot of new people in the tent.

Dancers have spent the past several months fundraising for the big event. Saporito said participating in NUDM events throughout the year, like can drives at football games, helped her raise money. She added she also took the traditional route of emailing family and friends.

After months of preparations and fundraising, and a two-year long waiting period, Saporito said students are excited to return to the tent.

“I look forward to getting to dance with everyone for the next 30 hours, and I can’t believe it’s in a day,” she said. irisswarthout2023@u.northwestern.edu Barber said. “There are programs that we could let them know about and help them to sign up for.”

The city is waiting for all 16 initial recipients to complete orientation and confirm details on selected benefits before paying the reparations benefits. alexharrison2023@u.northwestern.edu

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ACROSS 1 With 41-Across, “Cloud Shepherd” Dadaist 5 RR depot 8 Elbow grease 14 Hoosier 16 Storied restaurant 17 *Throw for a loop 18 *Traditional jack-o’-lantern sources in the British Isles 19 Worthlessness metaphor 20 “__ Weapon” 22 1921 robot play 23 Surfers’ find 25 Warring son of Zeus and Hera 26 __ Scarlett 27 Only Canadian MLB city 28 Half-Betazoid sci-fi counselor 29 Draw to a close 30 Four quarters 32 Spanish inns 34 Incapacitating agent of pulp detective and sci-fi novels ... and a hint to solving this puzzle’s starred clues 36 Illegal “Risky Business” business 37 NRC forerunner 38 Avatar of Vishnu 39 Blanket __ 41 See 1-Across 44 Copacetic 45 Nickname of NBA great Oscar Robertson 46 Branch headquarters?

47 Actress Gardner 48 Songlike 50 Homer’s bartender 52 *Adele and Cher, e.g.

55 *Buffet variety 57 Flora and fauna of different regions 58 Liqueur made with coffee beans

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59 Actress Dash 60 Sun. delivery 61 Hat-tipper’s address DOWN 1 Wink 2 Beat the draft?

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4 Penpoint 5 Dagger of yore 6 Fish-and-chips sauce 7 Studiers of human ancestry 8 Viscounts’ superiors 9 Winter bug 10 Be the right size 11 Panpipe relatives 12 Picture puzzles 13 Winter Palace figures 15 Cutting the mustard 21 Vital quintet in English literature 24 *Gourmet 26 *World’s secondlargest island country

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34 Volcano in the Sunda Strait 35 Russian milk drink 36 Go out into the storm, say 40 Dorm pal

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42 Ride-hitching fish 43 Everycity, USA 44 Door parts 45 Very low 46 __ paper 49 Skyrocket 51 Red-wrapped cheese 53 LAX tower service 54 Issa of “Awkward Black Girl” 56 Emeril catchword

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2022

7

OPINION

Join the online conversation at www.dailynorthwestern.com

Nevo: Philanthropy doesn’t fix the harms of Greek life In philanthropy, given that the work is done for free and supposedly at the cost of only the philanthropist, it is difficult for those on the receiving end to critique the service because they are expected OPINION EDITOR to believe that any help is better than no help, she added. In turn, this means that the actual needs of This is the second of a two-part series examining the communities philanthropists claim to be supporting are rarely at the center of their efforts. the harms of the supposed benefits of Greek life: social This is particularly an issue in Kappa Alpha relationships and philanthropy work. Read the first Theta’s beneficiary, National Court Appointed part on social relationships here.

Special Advocates Guardians ad Litem Association for Children, which provides advocates to Greek organizations say they exist to give members opportunities for personal growth through the abused children as they navigate the legal system. It connections they make and the acts of service they is unclear, however, that CASA/GAL volunteers, commit. This is abundantly clear in the mission many of whom are white women, understand how statements of various sororities to provide trauma-informed and fraternities. support. Additionally, when “Kappa Delta Sorority the court gives these volunteers the power to speak for provides experiences that build child, it assumes that the confidence in women and Greek philanthropy is a the volunteers know what is betinspire them to action through the power of lifelong friendlackluster and performative ter for the child than the child ship,” KD’s website states. attempt at repairing the themself.

Similarly, Zeta Beta Tau values As this article in the City “Intellectual Awareness, Social injustices that Greek insti- University of New York Law Responsibility, Integrity and explains, transfertutions actively perpetuate. Review ring the power of advocacy Brotherly Love, in order to away from the children and prepare its brothers for positions of leadership and service families reinforces saviorism within their communities.” among volunteers and overrepresents white voices.

On paper, the commitment to give is honorable.

Ironically, this white saviorism is mirrored in Greek Yet community service, in Greek life and beyond, is philanthropy as a whole, as the very premise of phinot automatically ethical merely because it requires lanthropy is to center the privileged in their efforts to help others. a privileged person to give up a small fraction of Though direct service may appear to be more their time or money. In fact, community service is meaningful than monetary donations, the experilargely problematic because of the way we consistently celebrate it as such a moral act. ence is often only more meaningful to the volunteer, as it makes them feel like they are making an “(Philanthropy) is always centering the emotional experience of the volunteer, and the experiimpact. Therefore, fundraising efforts, though they ence of a volunteer and doing what they felt was seem distant, allow the communities philanthropies good, but it doesn’t ever have any accountability aim to serve to choose the most effective way to use mechanism with it,” global health studies Prof. resources. In some ways, the distance between the Noelle Sullivan said. philanthropist and the donation recipient is a more

LILY NEVO

”

Greek organizations partner do not address the genuine representation of the spaces recipients occupy since it does not comfort the philanthropist systemic issues that Greek life perpetuates. KD supports Girl Scouts of the USA and Prevent Child with an illusion of closeness.

Abuse America, Alpha Phi raises money for womBut even some fundraising events have sparked en’s heart health, ZBT supports Children’s Miracle backlash. In 2014, Kappa Kappa Gamma and ZBT Network Hospitals and Delta Gamma funds Serplanned a “Jail N’ Bail” event, where participants would dress up as prisoners and raise their required vice for Sight, which advocates for people who are blind or visually impaired. “bail” amount. The event was designed to raise All of these causes are undeniably reputable, but money for Reading is Fundamental, an organization that seeks to increase child literacy rates. Yet sororities and fraternities cannot use such philanthropy to justify their existence when their work in treating incarceration as a game, this event made does nothing to address the harm Greek life causes. light of the oppressive systems that plague the very While their fundraising is communities the organization seeks to help. usually harmless, participants in Greek life do not Though monetary relinquish any of their donations are often more privilege in hosting these useful than donated time events. In fact, many of or goods, it goes without The commitment to give is hon- their fundraising events saying that philanthropy mere photo ops — a is an attempt to use orable. Yet community service are chance to wear a formal privatized wealth to in Greek life and beyond, is not red dress at A Phi’s Red solve problems that Gala or stand on stem from privatization automatically ethical merely Dress Sheridan Road in a hot itself. Admittedly, philanbecause it requires a privileged dog costume for Alpha thropy provides shortterm benefits through Pi’s Dog Days. person to give up a small frac- Epsilon monetary support, but It is difficult to say that tion of their time or money. it fails to acknowledge these efforts cause harm; that the roots of poverty they often don’t. Yet it is and discrimination are clear that philanthropy entrenched in capitalism. In this way, Greek phidoes not rectify the longstanding problems with lanthropy is a lackluster and performative attempt Greek life. Thus, I do not believe that philanthropy at repairing the injustices that Greek institutions is a strong enough justification for maintaining the actively perpetuate.

Greek system as a whole.

Yet, whether Greek philanthropy is performative or genuine is not important, because the impact of their service is what matters. However, it is Lily Nevo is a Weinberg sophomore. She can be contacted at lilynevo2024@u.northwestern.edu. If you also important to acknowledge that participants would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a in Greek life could have an even greater impact if Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern. they simply donated their dues and the amount of com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarmoney they spend on hosting philanthropy events ily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily directly to the charities.

Furthermore, many of the nonprofits with which Northwestern.

”

Ortiz: The Latine Greek path to winning elections STERLING ORTIZ

ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR

I woke up this past Tuesday reasonably stressed out. I love my fraternity and the entire global multicultural Greek landscape, and I love following elections with quality candidates.

On this day, my interests combined in the Democratic primary for Texas’s 28th Congressional District, which includes downtown San Antonio, some San Antonio suburbs and South Texas, including Laredo.

The insurgent candidate, Jessica Cisneros, is an immigration lawyer running on an American social-democratic platform, focusing on transitioning Texas from fossil fuel energy to wind and solar energy, and empowering workers. She came within almost four points of winning the primary in 2020 and by the end of Tuesday, Cisneros was only 1.5 points behind the conservative incumbent Henry Cuellar, securing her spot in the runoff.

Most importantly to me about Cisneros is that she’s a proud sister of Sigma Lambda Gamma, and her winning means another Latine Greek in political office.

Greek chapter alumni in the traditionally white American councils are no stranger to political office.

Neither are any Divine Nine alumni, the historically black fraternities and sororities. Some quick

examples of the Divine Nine in politics are Vice 2.8% of becoming the mayor of San Juan, Puerto President Kamala Harris, a soror of Alpha Kappa Rico.Though polls and conventional wisdom gave Alpha, Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, him little chance of winning the election, the fact a fellow soror of Alpha Kappa Alpha and Jasmine that Natal came within a cat’s whisker of becoming Crockett, a Delta Sigma Theta soror. On the other the mayor of Puerto Rico’s largest city gave me hope. hand, Latine Greeks are relatively new to political Garza became a brother of Sigma Lambda Beta, power. the most prevalent Latino-founded fraternity, at When I crossed into Omega Delta Phi almost the University of Texas at Austin. In 2020, he successfully primaried the incumbent district attorney three years ago, the most prominent Latine Greek alumni in elected office was U.S. Sen. Robert Menen- of Travis County, Texas, Margaret Moore. He ran dez (D-N.J.). Menendez is an honorary brother of on a harm reduction platform for low-level drug Lambda Theta Phi, a offenses, focusing Latino-founded fraternity county resources on based in his home state of only dangerous criminals. Garza has lived New Jersey. up to these promises Since I’ve been a Not only are these people repre- over the first year of his brother, we’ve had a recently rejectfew more Latine Greek senting the overall Latine Greek tenure, ing more than 80 felony alumni run for high mission, but they are also traildrug charges for lack of political office. In addition to Cisneros, who importance. blazers politically. first jumped onto the Gutiérrez is a sister political scene in 2019, I of Omega Phi Beta, a want to highlight Manuel Assistant Opinion Editor multicultural sorority Natal Albelo, José Garza, based in New York.

Jennifer Gutiérrez, Jalen She serves as the councilmember of New York City Council District 34, McKee-Rodriguez and Aarón Ortíz to present the encompassing neighborhoods along the Brooklyn Latine Greek path to winning elections. and Queens border. Gutiérrez governs on the left of Natal is a Hermano of La Unidad Latina, the Democratic caucus and “campaigned on increasLambda Upsilon Lambda, a Latino-founded fraternity. He joined their founding chapter at Cornell ing language access and extending housing vouchers University. In 2020, as a candidate for the new party to undocumented immigrants.”

Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana, he came within Finally, I’d like to highlight McKee-Rodriguez

”

- STERLING ORTIZ,

and Ortíz, both fellow brothers of Omega Delta Phi, a Latino-founded multicultural fraternity. Last year, he won a primary to become a councilmember in San Antonio District 2, where he currently fights for more monetary investment in his district. In 2018, Ortíz became the State Representative of Illinois’s 1st District, around Archer Heights and Gage Park in the southwest side of Chicago. In both cases, these ODPhis unseated long-time representatives by presenting a new vision for their districts, and they have both followed their promises in office.

Not only are these people representing their chapters and the overall Latine Greek mission, but they are also all trailblazers politically. From Natal Albelo to Gutiérrez, we see these people break ideological molds with social democratic platforms and responsive governance. In the runoffs for Texas’ 28th Congressional District, I hope Cisneros prevails and succeeds in winning the November general election. It’s one thing to have an honorary brother — Menendez — in the U.S. Senate and have Latine Greek alumni in locally elected offices; it’s quite another to have a recent Latine Greek alumni in Congress.

Sterling Ortiz is a SESP fourth-year. You can contact him at sterlingortiz2022@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern. com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

The Daily Northwestern Editor in Chief Isabelle Sarraf Opinion Editor Lily Nevo

Volume 144, Issue 13 Assistant Opinion Editor Divya Bhardwaj Sterling Ortiz

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SPORTS

Friday, March 4, 2022

@DailyNU_Sports

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Cats beat Minnesota 65-60 at Big Ten Tournament

By MARYKATE ANDERSON

the daily northwestern @mkeileen

Northwestern’s Thursday matchup against Minnesota was a must-win for the squad and its NCAA Tournament dreams.

“The last thing we said when we came out of the locker room was, ‘This is all about survive-andadvance,’” coach Joe McKeown said.

And survive they did. The No. 7 seed Wildcats kicked off their Big Ten Tournament appearance with a 65-60 win over No. 10 seed Gophers in Thursday’s second round.

NU fell 74-68 in Minneapolis on Feb. 11, one of their poorer showings of the year. But the Cats flipped the script on Thursday night, finding victory in a game that was neck-andneck from the start.

Their triumph was headlined by senior guard Veronica Burton, who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. But a lone noteworthy performance does not hand NU wins — Burton was supported by her teammates more than ever on Thursday night.

Graduate guard Lauryn Satterwhite came up big for the Cats in the second half after a scoreless first, topping off her night with 15 points, seven rebounds and the game-clinching block.

With NU protecting a three-point advantage and eight seconds on the clock, Minnesota drove down the court and got the ball out to junior guard Sara Scalia in the right corner.

Scalia is ordinarily the Gophers’ best

shooter, but her normal finesse could not earn her the game-tying three.

Satterwhite leapt up and blocked the shot, securing the Cats one final possession and ultimately sealing the victory.

“I had my eyes locked on (Scalia),” Satterwhite said. “And right when I saw her get it, I knew she was going up right away. So, I just put my hand up there and I got a piece of it.”

Senior forward Courtney Shaw closed out the game with 11 points and 11 rebounds, her eighth doubledouble of the year. Burton said Shaw often does the dirty work that may not get the glory, but her setup for NU’s most crucial play of the game put her tenacity on full display.

With just over three minutes left in the game, Shaw grabbed an offensive rebound and threw it back inbounds to Burton as she fell to the ground.

Burton sent it out to junior guard Laya Hartman and, with less than a second on the shot clock, Hartman drained a bank three from the top of the arc and gave the Cats a twopoint lead.

But Hartman didn’t stop there.

On the very next possession, she stole the ball and set up a Satterwhite layup, increasing NU’s lead to four.

“That was huge,” Satterwhite said.

“That changed the game. It gave us the momentum that we needed going into the last three minutes of the game. I’m super thankful for Laya being confident and shooting her shot.”

That jolt of energy kept the Cats alive through the end of the game. Ultimately, the victory gave

Angeli Mittal/Daily Senior Staffer

NU another chance to prove that they are worthy of the NCAA tournament — and a chance to play a familiar rival.

The Cats will face No. 12 Iowa in the tournament quarterfinal 5:30 p.m. Friday. The squad is 1-1 against the Hawkeyes this year. They took

them down in Iowa City in January but later fell in a bizarre overtime loss in Evanston.

“That (loss) stung for sure,” Burton said. “But we talked about it after: if we see them again, we have to go hard and do what we can do.”

Burton, now three-time Big Ten

SOFTBALL

Defensive Player of the Year, will face off against Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year, in Indianapolis on Friday with NU’s future postseason hopes in the balance. marykateanderson2023@u.northwestern.edu

BASEBALL

NU goes to in-state tournament Wildcats hope to turn 2022 season around

By NATHAN ANSELL

the daily northwestern @nathanjansell

By LUCAS KIM

No. 17 Northwestern faced numerous top teams in its last three tournaments. As the only ranked team in the Southern Illinois Invitational field, however, the Wildcats will enter their next tournament as the presumptive favorites.

NU (10-4, 0-0 Big Ten) had mixed results at last weekend’s Mary Nutter Classic, posting victories against teams such as then-No. 5 Washington and No. 9 Oregon but dropping games against Cal State Fullerton and Texas Tech. Coach Kate Drohan hopes for more consistent results across this weekend’s slate of five games.

“When I saw our team on Tuesday’s practice, after an off day, they were outstanding,” Drohan said.

“Really locked in, really focused on the adjustments that we were working on.”

The Cats’ tournament schedule will be bookended by showdowns against Northern Kentucky (7-7, 0-0 Horizon League). These two games will be NU’s first against the Norse in program history.

Northern Kentucky has lost three consecutive games by a combined score of 32-1.

After that, the Cats will continue their tournament run against Murray State (9-5, 0-0 Ohio Valley), another first-time opponent for NU. With two new foes right off the bat, Drohan said the Cats’ scouting efforts have been as valuable as ever.

“We’ve done a lot of work and we’ve tried to get as much information as we can,” Drohan said. “We know what we know, and we’re

the daily northwestern

Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman

Senior infielder Maeve Nelson throws the ball within the infield. Nelson is one of three Wildcats with multiple home runs.

going to have to go into it with our best stuff.”

The Racers’ offense is propelled

by Logan Braundmeier, who leads Murray State in hits (19), home runs (3) and RBIs (15). Braundmeier is one of six Racers with double-digit hits this season.

Tournament host Southern Illinois (6-6, 0-0 Missouri Valley) will stand in NU’s way in the second half of Saturday’s doubleheader. The last time the Salukis faced Big Ten opposition was in 2020, when they lost to Ohio State and Purdue early in the season but defeated Michigan State 2-1 right before COVID-19 canceled the remainder of their games.

The game also has personal significance for senior catcher Jordyn Rudd. Rudd’s younger sister Alexis is a pitcher and designated player for Southern Illinois. The sisters were high school teammates in 2018, but they will take the field wearing opposing uniforms this time.

Drohan believes the Rudd family will have a large contingent in attendance.

“The big reason why we’re coming to this tournament is so that they could play against each other,” Drohan said. “It’s going to be a neat opportunity for Alexis and Jordan, and for the whole family.”

The fourth and final opponent is Ball State (4-6, 0-0 Mid-American).

The Cats own a 9-3 all-time series record against the Cardinals — their last meeting came in 2015, a 13-0 blowout for NU. Drohan, who referred to last weekend’s final two games as an “emotional hangover,” is confident her squad can finish the weekend stronger this time.

“Our team made it pretty clear when they showed up for practice on Tuesday that they were ready to go,” Drohan said. “I’m not concerned.” nathanansell2022@u.northwestern.edu

Northwestern’s first two series have not exactly gone the way the team envisioned before the season started.

The Wildcats (1-7, 0-0 Big Ten) are off to their worst eight-game start since 2017, when the team also started out 1-7.

Looking back on how the season has started, sophomore center fielder Ethan O’Donnell points to a lack of consistency and focus as main reasons for the team’s lackluster showing.

“We’re beating ourselves. We’re not doing the simple things. This team has a ton of talent, and I think we’re still trying to find our identity,” O’Donnell said. “This coming weekend, we’ve got to do the simple things, make the outs when we’re given them, throw strikes and take advantage of opportunities to score.”

Following two tough series against the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Santa Clara, respectively, NU hopes to turn it around during its four-game matchup against Cincinnati (3-3, 0-0 AAC).

Fresh off a comeback walk-off win against Ohio State, Cincinnati is the last of three consecutive weekend road trips to begin the season for the Cats.

Despite falling in three out of four games in its previous series, NU saw some important steps of progress for many younger players on the roster, according to O’Donnell.

“In the Santa Clara series, there were some good things to come out of it,” said O’Donnell. “Seeing the

young guys like Alex Roessner and (Andrew) Pinkston, those guys killed it, along with Sean Sullivan. You see that young talent, and it’s exciting to see that build.”

In the Santa Clara series, Roessner notched a pinch-hit single while Pinkston went 3-for-3 with a double on Sunday.

Sullivan, who has been the team’s most impressive player thus far, put up six scoreless innings, struck out nine and allowed only five hits in the Cats’ first victory this season, a 10-0 shutout on Saturday.

Shortly after his performance, Sullivan was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. With two collegiate starts under his belt, the left-hander ranks third in ERA (1.00) and is tied for sixth in strikeouts (15) in the Big Ten. NU will also look for continued success from players like O’Donnell and sophomore infielder Vincent Bianchina to lift the team toward victory.

In the Santa Clara series, O’Donnell hit .500 and notched three RBIs, including a 4-for-5 performance in the sole victory. Bianchina also showed out during Saturday’s win, knocking in three runs on two hits, including a triple and a stolen base.

With the disappointing start to the season, the Cats hope to turn the young season around sooner rather than later.

“In this long season, it’s not too much of a panic, but there is a sense of urgency to get back to playing baseball how we know we can play it,” said O’Donnell. lucaskim2025@u.northwestern.edu

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

AROUND TOWN

Increased community aid to continue post-COVID

By AVANI KALRA

the daily northwestern @avanidkalra

When the pandemic started, Evanston Public Library’s Communications and Marketing Director Jenette Sturges found herself struggling to digitize the library’s large catalog of in-person resources with very little notice.

Now, she said she and her colleagues at EPL are able to offer more programming than was previously possible.

As COVID-19 restrictions gradually lift in Evanston and across the country, Sturges said the library will continue offering some of its digital spaces in addition to its physical ones.

EPL joins many community groups and institutions around Evanston in continuing programs initially created to accommodate stay-at-home orders and other pandemic-related health concerns.

“Our students, and our younger students in particular, now have more options than ever,” Sturges said. “Things really do work well on Zoom.”

These expanded options are not beneficial to just young children, Sturges said. Evanston residents of all ages are able to attend talks and book clubs in an online format.

Over the course of the pandemic, EPL began author talks with Illinois Library Present, a statewide collaboration among over 200 public libraries — something Sturges said wouldn’t have been possible without Zoom. Illinois Library Present hosts evenings in which authors talk about their writing processes and life experiences.

EPL and ILP will host Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation on April 27, an event Sturges said is best suited for an online format. Sturges said the opportunity to offer both online and in-person opportunities led to higher quality programming.

The community response has been overwhelmingly positive, Sturges said, and EPL plans to continue offering joint programming with other libraries across the state.

The library’s extended online programming will include online tutorials and videos for library resources and programs. Sturges said last year,

EPL ran its annual “Cardboard Carnival” online, an activity where students build an arcade game out of cardboard to learn about engineering and programming.

Though it will offer its Cardboard Carnival in person again this year, EPL plans to upload video explainers to YouTube for students who may not be able to make it to the library regularly.

Tech tutorials will also be available for adults –– Sturges said EPL will upload more tutorials in Spanish and continue to emphasize ebooks and other downloadables.

“Even as the pandemic eases, we will be continuing to invest in those resources and make sure people know they are available,” she said. “We’re adding more of basically any opportunity we find where we can make it accessible and available over a computer.”

For Mary Beth Roth at Interfaith Action of Evanston, the pandemic revealed new possibilities for the organization. She helps coordinate “Producemobile,” which delivers fresh fruits and vegetables to Evanston residents.

The Producemobile has been operational for almost a decade, and is centrally coordinated by the Greater Chicago Food Depository but relies on local volunteers.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was unsafe for older volunteers to work, and many people in their 30s, 40s and 50s stepped in since they were no longer commuting to work,” she said.

Roth said involvement from new parts of the community built a sense of camaraderie in Evanston.

Other organizations, like food justice initiative Evanston Grows, experienced a similar collaboration, partnering with other community institutions to serve the city.

During the pandemic, Evanston Grows developed a relationship with social workers at Evanston/Skokie District 65, according to Evanston Grows Board President Jean Fies.

Through that partnership, Evanston Grows is able to directly reach District 65 students and families who are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

Evanston Grows also expanded its operations during the pandemic to accommodate increased

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta

Resource distribution programs developed during the pandemic have found a permanent place in the daily work of some Evanston organizations.

need. The organization partnered with EPL, having quarterly operations meetings to ensure other Evanston residents were aware of their services even without school-aged children in the house.

“Those relationships as a whole really appeared during COVID-19,” Fies said. “All of the organizations appreciate sharing space and conversations with others who have the same objectives.”

Fies said COVID-19 made it clear just how life-saving produce distribution can be since some residents lack consistent access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Now, she said, there is a national supply chain disruption, and produce prices are skyrocketing.

As a result, Evanston Grows decided to focus on growing produce locally in order to cut out distribution costs. To sustain this practice, the organization is looking at new sites to develop, grow, harvest and pass out produce. The organization has plans to develop a site at Eggleston Park, and Fies said it is working with faith-based groups

to develop vacant land in the city.

Although these high prices are not direct consequences of the pandemic, according to Fies, the last two years helped the program identify where there is a specific need for fresh produce.

“One thing we learned during the pandemic certainly is that having fresh produce on a weekly basis, or some other reliable and consistent basis, is very helpful in health equity issues,” Fies said.

“The pandemic clearly highlighted many of these inequities in who it most affected.”

Looking to the future, Fies said she hopes to develop a relationship with Northwestern to further expand Evanston produce cultivation and distribution.

“It’s important to make this as widely available as possible because if people have access to healthier choices and the ability to choose what they’re eating, there are real health benefits,” she said. avanikalra2025@u.northwestern.edu

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

3

ON CAMPUS

Researchers make COVID-19 discoveries

The Daily Northwestern

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Wearable COVID-19 monitors

Nanoparticle-based COVID-19 vaccines

NU researchers developed a new nanoparticlebased vaccine against COVID-19, which focuses on the presentation of components key to a successful vaccine to the body.

“It might seem rather intuitive, because any drug, any pill, they all have a very unique structure,” said chemistry postdoctoral fellow Michelle Teplensky, a co-first author of the study. “Structure plays a very

sports@dailynorthwestern.com Olivia Abeyta/The Daily Northwestern

The Daily examined some of Northwestern’s most innovative and influential COVID-19 research.

important role, but it wasn’t something that people in vaccine design actually focused on.”

Teplensky said this vaccine targets the receptorbinding domain, a small portion of COVID-19’s spike protein, which is the part of the virus that ultimately leads to infection.

This unique method, termed rational vaccinology, could provide a host of benefits, including reduced side effects, more potent delivery and a maximized response, Teplensky said.

While the vaccine is not yet in clinical trials, it has already shown a positive response in mice. Teplensky said the patented technology could be used to fight future pandemics.

“We’ve already got the structure figured out, we’ve already shown we can get great immune responses,” Teplensky said. “We’re thinking a bit more down the road, demonstrating that this is a platform.”

Large-scale testing

To monitor COVID-19 infections within populations, NU researchers are working on new diagnostic and antibody testing.

Typically, antibody testing requires venous blood tests, but anthropology Prof. Thomas McDade and his team developed testing that features a minimally invasive finger prick. The filter paper used preserves

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As the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed scientists across the world to new frontiers of medical innovations, Northwestern researchers have been among the leading contributors.

Over the past two years, NU scientists have laid the groundwork for testing, vaccines and environmental monitoring in the case of future pandemics.

The Daily examined some of the University’s notable research accomplishments since the beginning of the pandemic and spoke to the people behind them.

Healthcare workers can remotely monitor patients in recovery with a wearable COVID-19 sensor that NU researchers have developed.

The soft, flexible sensors sit at the base of the wearer’s neck at the suprasternal notch. McCormick Prof.

John Rogers, who led the project, said the location is optimal because it is “at the crossroads” of important bodily functions like the respiratory, cardiac and neural systems.

“It’s kind of like a Fitbit for the neck,” Rogers said.

According to Rogers, the sensors measure coughing, a vital indicator of respiratory illness that hospitals often don’t track. As a monitoring tool, he said the device created “peace of mind” for patients worried about self-monitoring symptoms after being released from the hospital.

Rogers said the technology could be applied to other pandemics and respiratory illnesses.

“Being able to (track vitals remotely) has opened up all kinds of different collaborations,” Rogers said.

“In fact, we’re kind of strapped to just keep up with the demand.”

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the blood, allowing for an easier test.

“Our approach combines the convenience and the safety of collecting blood in people’s homes by themselves with the rigorous and accurate quantification that’s possible in a lab,” McDade said. “It’s sort of the best of both worlds.”

The test can determine the difference between antibodies created by vaccines and those created by infection so that users could determine whether they had ever had COVID-19, he said. Scientists can gather information about large numbers of people at relatively low cost, he added.

McCormick Prof. and principal investigator Julius Lucks worked with his team to develop a one-step diagnostic tool that could similarly be used for monitoring. The goal of the test is to be as accurate as a PCR test, but more easily accessible, Lucks said.

Researchers are testing the tool to see if it can monitor a population’s wastewater, which allows for infection detection two weeks ahead of potential hospitalization, he said.

“This could be a platform for surveillance and monitoring of immunity with future pandemics,” McDade said. nicolemarkus2025@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

A&E arts & entertainment

Isabelle Butera/The Daily Northwestern

Performance groups integrate mental health practices

By AUDREY HETTLEMAN

daily senior staffer @audreyhettleman

Communication senior Samara Malik’s freshman winter was anything but stress-free. With five classes and as much theatre as she could handle, she said her work-life balance was unsustainable.

“I was miserable,” Malik said. “It was to the point where I think that if that had continued, I wouldn’t have made it to my fourth year.”

Then the pandemic began, and classes, rehearsals and performances were moved online. Malik said that break forced her to learn the importance of not overextending herself and how important mental health is to creating great theatre. Many theatre groups have since reimagined how to integrate good mental health practices into performance life.

Communication sophomore Jason Sekili joined a cappella group Extreme Measures his freshman winter. He said it was difficult to stay motivated to rehearse when the group was singing

over Zoom. In lieu of its typical in-person performances, Extreme Measures put together videos, featuring each individual recording their piece, which were then mixed together.

Now the program’s president, Sekili said this year the group has taken advantage of in-person practices and performances, emphasizing community over perfect performance.

“I’ve definitely seen a huge change looking at our rehearsals and our performances this year, just being in person, being able to sing together,” Sekili said.

“There’s a huge difference between everyone singing muted on Zoom on their laptop compared to getting to sing in a circle and really listen to everyone.”

Extreme Measures recently updated its attendance policy to allow space for members to take time for their mental health, Sekili said. Even so, he said he has seen an uptick in how many people attend rehearsal, which he attributed to the group’s sense of community.

Weinberg junior Maddie Banich joined Graffiti Dancers just before the pandemic started. Since the start of the pandemic, she said her “social

battery” has had less capacity than it did when she was a freshman, so dancing six days a week was no longer as effortless as it once was.

“Regardless of whether or not they’re in the dance community, people are much more open about asking for mental health days or just asking for time away,” Banich said. “It’s an interesting balance because I want to be dancing in-person a lot because I missed it so much, but I also care a lot more about balancing my life.”

Banich, who now leads the group as artistic director, said she’s noticed a similar trend within the rest of her group, as attendance is not at prepandemic levels. The executive team is trying to reimagine its attendance policy, she said, implementing measures like allowing members to skip one or two practices no-questions-asked each quarter. Leaders also plan to host more social events that will encourage the sense of community that initially made Banich so committed to Graffiti.

As a woman of color, Malik said she’s often felt like she has to do more work than her white peers to be recognized at the same level. During last year’s

festival, “Visions and Voices, A Black Playwrights’ Reading Series,” Malik said students of color felt like they had to run “double duty,” working on the festival in addition to their other productions.

She said she hopes Northwestern theatre can do a better job at ensuring POC voices are heard, while also considering how its methods for doing so can have a positive impact on mental health.

Malik is directing her senior thesis, “The Haunting of Hill House,” which is set to premiere this week. Through her directing, she said she hopes to impart the importance of not taking on more than you can handle, even if that means missing out on a show or two.

“In the pandemic, I think it was a lot of just creating art for art’s sake and there’s a lot less pressure on (needing) to make this perfect thing,” Malik said. “It was more like, we just want to make something that feels worthwhile.

Post-pandemic, it’s been a lot of passion projects and saying ‘Yes’ to the silly ideas.” audreyhettleman2024@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

5

Artists adapt to increased free time and new struggles

By KARA PEELER

daily senior staffer @karapeeler

Some artists, and their relationships with their craft, have grown and evolved in the two years since the pandemic first struck.

Quarantine and restrictions have meant more time for art, but even the creative world isn’t immune from the virus’s impact.

For Medill freshman Angel Jordan, the increased free time during quarantine encouraged her crafts.

Jordan began painting more and even learned how to crochet during the initial phases of the pandemic and said this form of artistic creation was comforting.

“I am someone who is very social,” Jordan said. “I need to interact with people. And when you’re in a pandemic, you can’t really do that.”

One of her favorite projects in the last two years was using her dead pointe shoes as painting canvases. In honor of the anniversary of her studio’s spring dance show, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” Jordan made a character-based pointe for every character. She also made miniature wardrobes to present them.

But this boost was not the same for all of her art forms. As a ballet dancer, Jordan said her inspiration was lacking during the shutdown.

“I had a weird relationship with dance during the pandemic,” she said. “I had the space to, but didn’t really have the ideas.”

After the initial stages of the pandemic, and especially since arriving at Northwestern, Jordan said she’s gotten more into dance, with more access to studio space and more classes available.

Weinberg freshman Ava Earl, a singer-songwriter, said she is also familiar with these lulls in motivation to produce songs. She said she had writer’s block during quarantine and described feelings of loneliness, isolation and confusion.

“For a long time, I didn’t (produce new songs) because I feel like I draw a lot on my relationships with people,” Earl said. “I really didn’t have that.”

She also said the pandemic slowed her release process, despite having songs written and ready

before the virus hit the U.S. However, she said this experience isn’t entirely unique to the pandemic because she often experiences cycles of creativity and then lulls.

During the pandemic, Earl released her 2021 album “The Roses,” along with an array of singles.

Without as much social interaction to spark song ideas, Earl found new sources of inspiration. She began taking inspiration from fiction rather than interactions with others.

Earl reread “Enchanted Forest Chronicles,” a book series she first read when she was younger.

She then wrote her 2021 single “Cimorene,” named for a character from the book. She said she also drew influence for the song from Taylor Swift’s album “Folklore” when it was released.

“I wanted to create something similar to a lot of those songs for me, that created the same mental images as the book had,” Earl said. “I wanted to make something that sounded really whimsical and spiritual and magical.”

Together, the book series and album motivated Earl’s songwriting. This was an adjustment from her previous inspiration coming from reallife experiences.

Jordan, who is also a writer, similarly altered her creative process.

“Being in isolation, it expanded my creativity a ton because there was a time where I was literally living by myself,” Jordan said.

This new practice of visualizing and creating art independently bleeds into her other crafts, she said, helping her make all kinds of art.

Jordan and Earl aren’t the only ones whose artistic endeavors transformed after quarantine. Weinberg and Bienen junior Jade Zhang, who plays the violin, said her experience with music was deeply impacted by the pandemic.

Music classes were hit hard without the ability for musicians to rehearse together.

“Personally, I’m a musician and the reason why I love music is because I love playing with other people,” Zhang said. “And that was the core of just what was taken away.”

Instead, Zhang had more time to focus on technique, she said, but she also said she and

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Jade Zhang playing the violin. Zhang is still pursuing a double degree, but does not plan to have a career in music.

her orchestra conductor noticed an overall decreased skill level in playing as a group.

Navigating music alone was a challenge, but she used tools like Zoom to practice with peers and find motivation to play, she said.

Though she is still working toward a dual degree, Zhang said she decided she isn’t pursuing music as a career.

That doesn’t mean she is giving it up altogether though, as she will still pick up her instrument in her free time and for class.

“It was realizing that I can live without it, and that it can be a hobby,” Zhang said. “I love music, but that doesn’t mean I need to pursue it professionally.”

Annie Xia contributed reporting. karapeeler2025@u.northwestern.edu

arts & entertainment Editor Audrey Hettleman Assistant Editors Andres Buenahora Annia Xia Designer Wendy Zhu Staff Kara Peeler

6

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

A close look at how the pandemic impacted NU life

ov th yea

Just over two years ago, classes went remote, most students went home and Northwestern's campuses began to feel the effects of COVID-19. The Daily summarized major COVID-related developments as they impacted students, faculty and staff.

— Nora Collins March 4-6, 2020: University puts limitations on travel As COVID-19 spread to more than 40 countries, University administrators canceled all University-sponsored international spring break trips and discouraged nonessential international travel for faculty and staff.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued Level 3 Travel Health Advisories, canceling all University-related travel to China, Iran, Italy, and South Korea, and NU announces a new self-isolation policy for those traveling to the U.S from other countries.

Administrators canceled Dance Marathon two days prior to its planned start date. A Northwestern student studying abroad in Florence, Italy returns to the U.S. and quarantines for potential exposure.

June 19, 2020: Graduation events are moved online Commencement ceremonies and graduationrelated events were held online for the Class of 2020. The University announced it intends to hold in-person graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2020 in Spring 2021.

Aug. 28 - Sept. 1, 2020: University clarifies plans for fall Administrators announced updated plans for Fall Quarter 2020, stating first- and second-year undergraduates are not allowed on campus and are discouraged from moving to the Evanston area during Fall Quarter. NU offered incoming freshmen and transfer students expanded deferral options and reduced tuition by 10% in response to feedback regarding Fall Quarter changes.

April 12, 2021: Students become vaccine-eligible, following faculty and staff NU students became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. NU faculty and staff became eligible in the weeks prior, by March 29 at the latest.

May 12, 2021: NU announces vaccine mandate Administrators announced students must be vaccinated against COVID-19 for the 20212022 academic year. Fully vaccinated individuals were no longer required to wear masks outdoors,

March 15-26, 2020: NU community adjusts to quarantined life March 11-13, 2020: University begins to transition online, announces first COVID-19 case University President Morton Schapiro announced all Spring Quarter classes will be held remotely for at least three weeks and Spring Break would be extended by one week.

Northwestern’s Global Learning Office canceled Spring Quarter study abroad programs and advised graduate students to reassess their travel.

The Big Ten Conference canceled all competitions through the end of the academic year.

University administrators strongly encouraged faculty members to not hold in-person finals and group gatherings of 50 or more people where social distancing is not possible were canceled.

As NU announced its first confirmed COVID19 case, Associated Student Government transitioned to online meetings.

Jan. 3, 2021: Undergraduates are welcomed to campus

Former Provost Jonathan Holloway announced all undergraduate professors must make finals optional. Governor J.B. Pritzker issued a “stayat-home” order for the state.

Schapiro issued a statement to all NU students regarding cancellations of study abroad, Dance Marathon and University plans for Spring Quarter. Summer 2020 study abroad programs were canceled. Over 3,300 students signed a petition for partial refunds for Spring Quarter tuition, resulting in undergraduates receiving refunds for Spring Quarter housing, dining and fees.

“I wish I knew when things will return to normal,” Schapiro wrote in his March 20 letter to NU students. “The pandemic has been likened to a war, and no one can credibly say when it will end … My most fervent prayer is to see you all again soon.”

Freshmen and sophomores moved to campus for the first time. January Wildcat Wellness, a modified quarantine period for students, ran from Jan. 3 2021 to Jan. 17 2021. During Wildcat Wellness, all classes and co-curricular activities are remote while students isolated in their residences, completed COVID-19 tests on-campus and ate via grab-and-go dining services to avoid congregate settings.

At the end of Wildcat Wellness, classes began meeting mostly online, though some were hybrid or in person. All undergraduate students had to be tested weekly, consistent with Fall Quarter testing guidelines.

“We look forward to the start of Winter Quarter, and whether you will study from afar, return to campus, or come to campus as students for the first time, know that you are cherished members of our Northwestern community,” Provost Kathleen Hagerty, Vice President for Student Affairs Julie Payne-Kirchmeier and current Vice President for Operations Luke Figora wrote in a joint statement.

Sept. 22-30, 2021: Wildcat Welcome, classes resume in-person Wildcat Welcome activities for the Class of 2025 and transfer students took place in person.

All undergraduates were welcomed to return to campus, and were required to complete one COVID-19 test, regardless of vaccination status.

Masking requirements remained in effect in all indoor campus spaces. NU researchers developed a 100% accurate, antigen-based COVID-19 test.

December 20, 2021: University announces COVID-19 booster requirement In response to the spread of the omicron variant, NU announced a COVID-19 booster requirement as well as a Wildcat Wellness period in January at the beginning of Winter Quarter.

February 28-March 15, 2022: Masks become optional on campus Masks became optional starting Feb. 28 in administrative spaces, research labs, public spaces, public events, athletic facilities, residence halls, libraries and the Norris University Center . Masks remained required in classrooms, lab-based classes, University health settings and campus shuttles until March 15, when masks became optional. The University still recommended masking in areas where social distancing is not feasible.

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

7

Two years of COVID-19 through the lens of local public policy

ver he ars

For the first time since 2020, Evanston residents have the option to shop and attend school entirely maskless.

Today's conditions are the result of over two years of drastic changes in public policy.

As COVID-19 infection rates fluctuate, the city has sought to balance protecting citizens from the virus, supplementing revenue losses and rehabilitating the local economy.

The Daily took a look back at the public policy changes that have shaped Evanston's COVID-19 response from March 2020 to now.

— Lily Carey March 2020: Renters call for protection Passed shortly after Gov. JB Pritzker’s shelterin-place order on March 20, Illinois’ eviction moratorium prevented landlords from evicting residents if they were unable to pay rent. The state’s moratorium came in response to Illinois residents voicing concerns about their abilities to afford rent amid pandemic-related salary reductions and mass layoffs. It ultimately expired in October 2021.

Evanston residents also petitioned for rent freezes, which would have prevented landlords from raising rent rates. Though Illinois had a longstanding ban on local governments enforcing rent control policies, State Rep. Will Guzzardi (D-39th) introduced an amendment in April 2021 enabling municipalities to enact rent controls if local voters approved. The bill is now in discussion with the House Rules Committee.

March 2020: E-learning begins in Evanston Evanston/Skokie School District 65 and Evanston Township High School/District 202 abruptly shifted to online learning in March 2020.

ETHS continued remote learning for most of the 2020-21 school year, switching to a hybrid model and returning to in-person teaching in April 2021. D65 brought Pre-K through fifth grade students back for hybrid learning in February 2021, allowing for both in-person and virtual options. The decision to return divided parents, teachers and students, many of whom cited safety concerns about sending their children to school after nearly a year at home.

While ETHS and District 65 returned in person for the 2021-22 school year, they briefly returned to online learning following a surge in cases in December 2021 due to the omicron variant. Now, with students back in person for the spring and mask-optional in classrooms, District 65 and ETHS continue to monitor conditions to protect children and families with weekly testing.

December 2020: Evanston reflects on business closures Andy’s Frozen Custard, Barnes & Noble, Burger King, Century 12 movie theatre, La Macchina Cafe, Panera Bread, Unicorn Cafe, Whiskey Thief Tavern – the list of Evanston businesses that have closed since the start of the pandemic goes on.

The Daily reported in 2020 that over 70 of the city’s businesses closed in the first year of the pandemic alone, bringing drastic changes to the city’s commerce areas. Throughout 2020, local business owners struggled with an economic recession, shuttered storefronts and competition from larger online businesses like Amazon as some residents opted out of shopping in-person.

Though the city created several recovery funds for businesses, Evanston still struggles to bring back storefronts and shoppers.The city’s Economic Development Committee is now working on attracting office tenants to boost daytime worker traffic to the downtown area.

December 2020: City budget suffers losses A city typically reliant on shoppers and visitors to boost revenue, Evanston suffered financially during 2020. Without major income from sales taxes, hotel taxes, parking tickets and recreation program fees, the city lost nearly $11.6 million in revenue during the fiscal year.

To offset these losses, the city laid off eight fulltime workers, furloughed employees and instituted a hiring freeze on non-essential employees.

Though the 2021 city budget included more layoffs, revenues have since increased and the city budget has largely recovered.

May 2021: Council opens discussion on hazard pay Last May, Ald. Devon Reid (8th) proposed an ordinance calling for Evanston to issue additional payments to grocery chain employees who worked during the peak of the pandemic. Workers would receive an additional $6 for every hour worked during Phases 1 through 3 of the state’s Restore Illinois program, and $3.50 for every hour worked through Phase 4.

While City Council initially voted to move the ordinance forward, some councilmembers and business owners raised concerns that providing hazard pay would place financial burden on city businesses.

In June 2021, City Council failed to pass the proposed ordinance, a decision Reid later attributed to low citywide COVID-19 positivity rates at the time.

Councilmembers revived the ordinance again this January, and the Economic Development Committee is now discussing it for public review at a future session of city council.

March 2021: American Rescue Plan Act spurs recovery Enacted by the federal government in March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act is a $1.9 trillion federal plan designed to help state and local governments, among other institutions, financially recover from the pandemic. Evanston received approximately $43 million in ARPA funds to offset economic losses, fulfill public health needs and establish a recovery plan.

The city received half of the funds in May 2021, with the second half coming in May 2022. City government will have until December 2024 to designate which civic projects will receive ARPA funds.

Councilmembers have already used ARPA funds to provide masks, vaccination and testing sites for residents. Some funding has also been allocated to longer-term projects, including the Climate Action and Resilience Plan. CARP has set a goal for city operations to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

City Council continues to debate how to allocate these funds, which has sparked some controversy over which projects should be prioritized. Approved last month, the city’s ARPA funding plan outlines several fund categories, including public health, infrastructure and revenue replacement.

Present day: Vaccines facilitate reopening As vaccines and boosters became available throughout the last year, Evanston and Chicago residents scrambled to find local vaccination sites.

When infection rates climbed again in December 2021 with the onset of the omicron variant, the city instituted a vaccination mandate for indoor dining sites and encouraged people to continue getting vaccinated and boosted.

In February, the city lifted its mask and vaccine mandate in accordance with state guidelines, citing a trend in decreasing COVID-19 cases. While school districts and some local businesses are still encouraging patrons and students to mask, the city is proceeding with its optional policy as infection rates decline.

Today, 97.1% of Evanston residents over the age of 5 have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, with 87.7% of the city being fully vaccinated. With two years of pandemic policy growth behind it, city leaders and officials are looking toward the future, working towards economic recovery while prioritizing community health.

8

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

Evanston businesses react to lifted mask regulations

By AVIVA BECHKY

the daily northwestern @avivabechky

When Evanston lifted its vaccination and indoor mask requirements Feb. 28, early childhood center Little Green Tree House decided to wait to see COVID-19 numbers before removing its own mask mandate. “ We just wanted to make sure that there wasn’t immediate backlash of a spike in COVID positive cases,” Betsy Taylor, the school’s enrollment administrator, said. “ We were just doing our due diligence for our parents to make sure that we … were keeping (it) as safe as possible for their children.”

Three weeks later on March 21, she said the center lifted its mask mandate for students and employees.

The city’s Health & Human Services Department stopped requiring masks to be worn in indoor public spaces Feb. 28. It lifted the proof of vaccination requirement for business patrons the same day.

At city-run community centers, mask and vaccine mandates were lifted promptly Feb. 28 in accordance with city policy. However, local businesses have adapted to the changed protocols in a variety of ways, putting their own spin on masking and vaccination policy as they contend with questions of public health and customer comfort.

“Today’s announcement isn’t a declaration of victory over COVID-19,” Mayor Daniel Biss wrote in a Feb. 23 announcement. “We have to assess our policies based on the expectation that they will be kept in place for a long time.”

Audrey Thompson, the city’s interim Parks & Recreation director, said the community reaction to lifting the mandate was largely one of relief, especially from employees who no longer had to ask patrons to put on a mask.

“We are operating normally now,” Thompson said. “The only difference is if a person wants to wear a mask, they can wear a mask. I don’t think that will ever change.”

Jeron Dorsey, the recreation manager at the Robert Crown Community Center, said he was surprised by the number of people who still wore masks in the facility. He estimates about half of patrons have continued to do so.

The center also offers preschool programs, where he said most kids are wearing masks on the recommendation of facility staff. “ We were surprised by the amount of people who were still masked up in the facility, which was to me a great thing,” he said.

“But we also respected that it was an optional thing.”

While private businesses are no longer required to mandate vaccination and masking by the City of Evanston, some chose to continue enforcing their own mandates, at least temporarily.

The Evanston Art Center, which serves children as well as adults, lifted their mask mandate March 28. Paula Danoff, the president and CEO, said the business still requires students to show proof of vaccination before removing masks.

“We have a lot of children and people in the

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After the city lifted its vaccination and indoor masking mandate Feb. 28, some businesses navigated their own safety measures.

Art Center, it’s a public space, and people are here for several hours at a time, so we just thought it would be the safest thing,” Danoff said.

This past week, she said she hasn’t seen much unmasking. However, some students have begun bringing coffees or other drinks to class — a change from when students weren’t allowed to remove masks to drink in the classroom.

Young children mostly wear their masks well, Danoff said. She said this is likely because, unlike older kids, they don’t have a memory of

when they didn’t have to mask.

Taylor agreed, saying the 3and 4-year-olds she works with at Little Green Tree House kept their masks on without problems.

“They’re just like, this is what we do,” Taylor said.

“And they actually like to use them as accessories. They talk about their masks, like they do with their T-shirts.” avivabechky2025@u.northwestern.edu

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

9

Campus activists reflect on pandemic-era organizing

By JOANNA HOU and MAIA PANDEY

the daily northwestern @joannah_11 @maiapandey

Two years ago, despite soaring COVID-19 positivity rates, protests broke out nationwide after police killed George Floyd. At Northwestern that fall — on an otherwise mostly empty campus — community members gathered for more than 30 days of action to abolish University Police and redirect funds toward institutions supporting students of marginalized identities.

NU Community Not Cops is one of several campus activist groups that gained traction after March 2020, even as the pandemic forced activists to organize virtually.

An NUCNC organizer and SESP sophomore who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons said the pandemic highlighted systemic inequities at NU and nationwide.

After its actions throughout fall 2020, NUCNC continued to protest through the spring and hosted a public meeting with administrators. In November 2021, NUCNC protestors joined other campus activists at Ryan Field during a football game.

Still, after an “electric” series of actions last year, the organizer said NUCNC has not been as active in recent months, especially given fluctuations in campus activism as older organizers graduate. But the easing of COVID-19 restrictions adds renewed urgency to NUCNC’s demands, she added.

“It shows the need for community care that’s not rooted in an ableism or carcerality,” the organizer said. Working conditions for immunocompromised students also remain a priority for Northwestern University Graduate Workers, co-chair Rose Werth said. NUGW has hosted spaces for students to vent and discuss how to navigate decreased COVID-19 protections, she said.

“I’ve heard from students who tried to reach out to either AccessibleNU or the Office of

Equity that they have just gotten, ‘Well, there’s nothing we can do,’ or the burden of proving your condition is so high that nothing can actually happen,” Werth said. “It feels like the administration doesn’t care.”

While NUGW was founded in 2016, Werth said the group gained momentum when the pandemic brought light to the University’s treatment of graduate workers. When the University expected STEM graduate students to continue working in person, NUGW held a June 2020 “sick-out” to advocate for a universal funding extension and lab safety protections, among other demands.

“From there, the pandemic wasn’t just affecting laboratory workers. It was affecting everyone,’]” Werth said. “That has turned a lot of students towards unionization.”

Communication junior Lucy London, an organizer with Fossil Free NU, said divestment is a movement where NU is falling behind its peer institutions.

After a year of mostly virtual organizing, Fossil Free hosted an in-person Earth Day March last year.

“People were able to understand how interconnected the pandemic and racism and climate change and all of these issues are,” London said.

At the start of the pandemic, Students Organizing for Labor Rights organizer and SESP junior Neva Legallet said Compass Group told its dining and service workers they would be paid through Spring Quarter 2020. But Compass furloughed hundreds of workers, who were also not guaranteed health insurance.

“These workers at Northwestern, a lot of them live paycheck to paycheck,” Legallet said. “They were abandoned by Northwestern when they needed those paychecks the most in order to support their families and get access to health benefits.”

Dining workers faced challenges with understaffing and low wages before the pandemic. But Legallet said the pandemic highlighted how poorly NU and Compass treated service workers. In the early stages of the pandemic, SOLR shifted its activism to remote and raised mutual aid funds for dining and service workers.

Librarians on campus also unionized for

Evan Robinson-Johnson/The Daily Northwestern

Months after Northwestern shuttered most in-person operations due to the pandemic, NU Community Not Cops hosted over 30 days of actions to advocate for abolishing University Police.

better conditions during the pandemic, creating the Northwestern Library Workers Union, which became officially recognized in December 2021. Jill Waycie, a library assistant, said library workers were disproportionately affected by NU’s pandemic furloughs. She said she was one of about 50 library workers the University placed on unemployment.

“We really had no guarantee that we were going to get our jobs back,” Waycie said.

“Along with being locked down and having a global pandemic, having this insecurity about your job’s status, it was very stressful.”

Waycie said the pandemic was a catalyst for unionizing, especially as it brought issues surrounding work to light globally.

“The unionization, while we have our own issues specifically at the library, I feel like it’s part of a trend that people are looking more closely at what employers can and should be doing for their workers,” Waycie said.

In October 2021, NU dining and service workers voted to ratify a new contract with

Compass. The contract increased worker wages to $19.88 an hour and extended health insurance benefits to all workers.

It was the first time the workers received a raise in more than two years. “ The pandemic has been devastating, but it’s also important to recognize the ways in which it has changed how we treat people,” Legallet said. “My hope is people are more appreciative of all of the people that work to make this community a community.”

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

Two years later, NU reflects on pandemic impacts

By CAROLINE BREW and JOANNA HOU

the daily northwestern @carolinelbrew @joannah_11

As college-aged Americans started getting vaccinated against COVID-19 in April 2021, third-year comparative literary studies Ph.D. student Raina Bhagat felt helpless. Travel restrictions barred her from returning home to India, and she could only watch from abroad as her loved ones suffered.

“My grandmother got COVID and we were just so afraid,” Bhagat said. “Former professors of mine were hospitalized. Some of my friends from India were running around looking for oxygen for their parents. It was terrifying to know that there was absolutely nothing I could do and I was sitting here and getting vaccinated in a country where vaccines were starting to go to waste.”

Bhagat said her professors taught as if everything was normal, but she struggled to learn as the pandemic took an intense toll on her mental health. More than two years after the first recorded COVID-19 case in the United States, Northwestern community members like Bhagat are still feeling the impacts of lasting grief and learning disruptions, even as the University lifts most pandemic restrictions.

NU closed its doors in mid-March 2020, pivoting to a remote learning model and closing residence halls to most students. While the University invited students back on campus for winter 2021, most classes did not meet in person until that fall.

Many students said the long pause in traditional learning has taken away their college experience.

E x per iences w ith remote learning

Third-year anthropology Ph.D. student Anuranjan Sethi said the quality of his education declined as soon as the University switched to remote learning. As anthropology is a seminar-based subject, Sethi said being online restricted his interactions with colleagues.

Many anthropologists also had to rely on digital and distant observations instead of face-to-face interaction to conduct research, Sethi added.

“Being in your bedroom or your dining room and constantly attending classes (from) there, I think it made (learning) harder and less fulfilling,” Sethi said. Bienen sophomore Fiona

Shonik spent her entire freshman year remote.

As a trumpet player, she said she could not interact with fellow students in ensembles or attend in-person lessons.

At the start of the pandemic, Shonik said many students created multitracks, where they synced up individually-recorded parts to create virtual performances. While these projects taught musicians useful audio editing skills, she said the playing experience wasn’t the same.

“Coming back to playing with other people, it’s such an emotional thing and it’s a way of communication and connection with others,” Shonik said.

Challenges in academic fields, virtual teaching

Remote classes also took a toll on instructors, some professors and teaching assistants said. Spanish Prof. Denise Bouras said while she experimented with incorporating technology into teaching, the shift to online was “very challenging.”

With young children at home, Bouras said she struggled to balance her family life and work life. The pandemic sent her children into remote learning and created new distractions. “(My three-year-old) just wanted to come to my door, and I ended up creating this visual image of me on the computer so she could understand that I’m in there working because otherwise for her that was a totally foreign concept,” Bouras said.

The shift was particularly difficult for professors teaching classes that require hands-on components. Communication Prof. Ines Sommer taught an introductory course for graduate students about the technical aspects of filmmaking during the pandemic.

“To demonstrate things you hold it up to your laptop camera,” she said. “The students came away with being able to operate all the equipment, but I think it was pretty challenging.”

Sethi had his first experiences as a teaching assistant during the remote learning period of the pandemic.

He said his interactions with students felt inorganic, so he was happy to return to in-person instruction.

“There’s a different kind of energy which fills the classroom when we are all together in that same place,” Sethi said. “The engagement for the students that I was observing was better.”

Living in two worlds

Weinberg junior Nathan Andriessen, an international student from Indonesia, was one of

the few students who stayed on campus after students were sent home in March 2020.

Because of Indonesia’s strict quarantine restrictions, Andriessen has only traveled home once during his three years at NU. “My parents are at the age where they’re at a higher risk for COVID so I was worried for them, but hopefully I’ll be able to go back home again soon,” Andriessen said.

Meanwhile, McCormick senior Ploen Voraprukpisut spent the rest of her sophomore and junior year at home. As an international student from Thailand, Voraprukpisut is usually only able to go home once or twice a year, so she initially appreciated the time she got to spend with her family.

However, as she watched her friends move back to Evanston, she said she began to feel disconnected from the college experience.

“I missed on a huge part of campus life — my whole sophomore, junior year,” Voraprukpisut said. “It’s the middle years that make your college experience.”

Voraprukpisut said she did not want to go back to campus at all in fall 2021 and even considered taking a gap year to avoid returning.

After being apart from the NU community for so long, Voraprukpisut feared her friends wouldn’t remember her.

But when she did return, Voraprukpisut said she reconnected with the community by reaching out to new people and joining more clubs.

“Being back home for so long made me forget all the fun experiences I made at Northwestern,” Voraprukpisut said. “Coming back really made me realize I really like college and I shouldn’t take it for granted.”

Bhagat said she has more complicated feelings about the return to normalcy on campus.

While NU and her peers became more relaxed about COVID-19 policies, Bhagat said she couldn’t celebrate knowing things weren’t going well in India.

When she visited India in December 2021 for the first time since the pandemic began, both her parents caught COVID-19 and she spent her entire visit nursing them back to health.

“If my sister and I hadn’t been visiting, my parents probably would have had to have been admitted (to the hospital),” Bhagat said.

“It was not the going home experience that I envisioned.”

She wishes NU understood the unique circumstances some students have faced and said University accommodations, like credit/ no credit grading, were helpful but too shortlived. Even though the U.S. has started moving on from COVID restrictions, Bhagat said NU should be more cognizant that its students are not all going at the same pace.

Takeaways and looking forward

At the beginning of her senior year, Voraprukpisut planned to return to Thailand to work after graduating. But after enjoying her first quarter back on campus, she changed her plans.

“I’m so not ready to go into the real world, especially

because I d i d n’ t have that time (to experience college),” Voraprukpisut said. “In Thailand, we had curfews and we were in lockdown for basically the whole two years, so I felt like I didn’t grow at all.”

As a result, Voraprukpisut decided to attend graduate school at NU, which she said she hopes will give her more time to grow before entering the workforce.

During the course of the pandemic, four in 10 U.S. adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder. While some students said their mental health suffered, others said the pandemic gave them an opportunity to prioritize mental health.

“My mental health through COVID got so much better because of the amount of free time that I’ve had,” Shonik said. “It was the first time where I had the opportunity to go to therapy regularly and it was the first time that I had time. I’m grateful that I took that opportunity to work on myself.”

For professors, the pandemic impacted some of their approaches to teaching. Communication Prof. Sommer said while it was difficult to keep students engaged over Zoom, she has also learned some strategies she hopes to incorporate into in-person instruction as well, like small group discussions.

Sommer said she felt exhilarated teaching her first in-person class since the pandemic started.

“I remember vividly the first class where we were back in-person that students were almost giddy,” Sommer said. “They were just sitting there like, ‘Whoa, we’ve spent our first year of grad school on Zoom and now we’re here next to each other.’” carolinebrew2024@u.northwestern.edu joannahou2025@u.northwestern.edu

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

ACROSS 1 Japanese cartoon art 6 Search high and low 11 Bar with beers 14 Like kings and queens 15 Abode 16 Tina Turner’s onetime partner 17 Rolling frictionreducing part 19 After taxes 20 Like a properly sized carry-on bag 21 Regret 23 Condo management gp.

24 Type of pants with a flared leg 29 Flag maker Betsy 31 Southern California Air Force base 32 Indy competitor 35 Fancy neckwear 36 Pay attention to 37 Punk rock offshoot 38 “The Science Guy” 42 WWII command for 16-Across 43 Lowers, as lights 45 Grabbed a chair 46 Juárez coins 48 Still on one’s plate 50 Shaft of light 52 Cotton-picking pest 54 Place to crash 57 Simpson trial judge Lance 58 Lashed out at 61 11-Across drink 63 Stubborn but funloving dog breed 66 “__ Misérables” 67 Prefix with face or lace 68 Visibly sad, say 69 Orchestra space 70 Trunk of the body 71 Twisty turns DOWN 1 Some Wall St. traders 2 Opposite of o’er 3 Inuit home

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

By Chris Sablich

4 Online viruses and such 5 Idris of “The Wire” 6 Oil-bearing rocks 7 WordPerfect producer 8 Apt rhyme for sí 9 Admiral’s org.

10 Sprout again 11 Forest cone droppers 12 Luau strings 13 Wager 18 Goes out, as the tide 22 Salt Lake state 25 Boxer Spinks 26 Person’s yearly celebration, for short 27 “__ Joy”: component of Beethoven’s Ninth 28 Windows predecessor 30 Planet 32 Provide new audio for 33 Type of acid in proteins 34 Most attractive 35 Sandwich initials 39 “Ah, of course”

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2022

11

Two years of COVID-19, as told through the data

By ALEX HARRISON and ANGELI MITTAL

the daily northwestern @alexhairysun @amittal27

It’s been over two years since the first confirmed COVID-19 case at Northwestern. The Daily compiled testing metrics for NU, Evanston and the state, along with the context of mandates and phased reopenings, to provide a full account of the pandemic since campus reopened in Winter Quarter 2021.

Winter and Spring Quarters 2021 (January 1, 2021 to June 10, 2021) After a two-quarter hiatus from campus, students entered Winter Quarter 2021 with a twoweek Wildcat Wellness quarantine period and weekly testing requirements. Campus was not at full capacity, as most classes followed a remote or hybrid model. More than 8,000 tests were returned each week, with the exception of one week in February 2021.

During the week of Feb. 22, 2021, the university declared “Stay at Home” orders for the second floor of Sargent Hall and first floor of Elder Hall in response to local outbreaks. The orders required students on these floors to quarantine in their dorms and test three to four times during that period.

Similarly, Evanston and the rest of Illinois experienced a minor spike in COVID-19 cases in early February of that year. Evanston’s vaccine access at the time was significantly lower than Chicago and the rest of Cook County, partially due to nationwide vaccine shortages at the time.

Spring Quarter 2021 began with a modified Wildcat Wellness period, and a weekly antigen and PCR testing requirement for all students. With more students on campus, more tests were sent and reported than during Winter Quarter.

Undergraduate students accounted for the majority of positive cases during this time frame, except for weeks such as Jan. 22 through Jan. 28, when non-undergraduate students made up about 75% of reported cases. Non-undergraduate students also made up the majority of COVID-19 positive cases during the week of Spring Break.

For most of this time frame, NU and Evanston positivity rates were well below the state’s. However, during the week of Feb. 26, 2021, the city’s

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positivity rate was about one percentage point higher than the state’s.

Summer 2021 (June 11, 2021 to September 9, 2021) At the end of Spring Quarter, Evanston lifted its indoor mask mandate in response to rising vaccination rates and the state’s transition to Phase Five of its reopening plan on June 11. This transition removed capacity limits on businesses and events and allowed large gatherings like conventions and concerts to take place.

The University followed suit on June 15, lifting its mask mandate and ending its weekly testing requirement for fully vaccinated individuals after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidelines advising fully vaccinated individuals to wear masks indoors.

Ten days later, the University saw an increase in its positivity rate, despite most students being home for Summer Break. The number of tests received at NU during the summer drastically declined to fewer than 1,500 tests each week.

With reported NU COVID-19 positive cases in the single digits from May to July 2021, the proportions of cases reported for each group varied greatly from week to week due to each case making up a greater portion of the total than in previous weeks.

After this time frame, reported positive cases increased and category shares largely stabilized.

A wave in COVID-19 positivity rates was also observed statewide that August, coinciding with a peak in delta infections.

Fall Quarter 2021 and Winter Quarter 2022 (September 10, 2021 to March 17, 2022) Students returned to campus in September 2021 for fully in-person instruction. Campus COVID-19 cases stabilized at relatively low levels for almost the entirety of Fall Quarter. From move-in day to the beginning of Reading Period, only one week had a positivity rate of more than 1%, and none had 100 or more new cases. The delta variant was the predominant COVID-19 strain nationwide during the majority of the quarter.

Entering December, this trend began to reverse.

As the highly infectious omicron variant spread throughout the U.S., new positive cases on campus

nearly doubled each week for three weeks straight, despite a rapidly dropping number of returned tests. The campus positivity rate hit an all-time high of 12.9% in the first week of Winter Break, with 228 positive results out of only 1,767 tests.

Evanston and Illinois’ seven-day average positivity rates also dramatically increased to 3.42% and 7.4% respectively, their highest rates since January 2021.

During the remainder of Winter Break, fewer people took COVID-19 tests on campus, so the period from Dec. 17 to 30, 2021, did not have data on positivity rates or returned tests. The University instead relied on self-reported results for its weekly dashboard updates, which yielded a total of 1,415 new positives. During this period, Evanston’s positivity rate more than doubled to above 8.1%, and Illinois’ rate more than doubled to 18.1%.

After this, NU announced Winter Quarter would begin with a Wildcat Wellness period on Dec. 20, 2021, shifting all classes to remote instruction and instating a testing requirement for two weeks. In the first two weeks of January, returned tests exceeded 10,000 for the first time since the beginning of Fall Quarter. These weeks had positivity rates of 5.7% and 3.4%, and the week of Dec. 31 to Jan. 6 posted a new all-time record of 936 new cases.

On Jan. 10, the city issued a vaccination mandate in response to rising case numbers, requiring individuals to demonstrate proof of vaccination prior to entering public shared common spaces like restaurants and fitness centers.

Despite this, NU fully returned to in-person classes on Jan. 18 and extended the testing requirement by one week. In the weeks since, the number of returned tests has fallen back to about 4,500 each week.

After the first three weeks of in-person instruction, both new cases and the positivity rate had declined significantly: Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 had a rate of 2.25% and was the first week since the end of Fall Quarter to record less than 100 cases.

However, the decrease soon reversed, and positive cases began multiplying for undergraduate students. Between Feb. 3 and 17, new undergraduate cases nearly tripled from 57 to 167 while other categories stayed stable or decreased, driving the positivity rate to 4.4%.

After a slight decline to 3.4% between Feb. 18 and Feb. 24, NU’s positivity rate still sat above Evanston’s 0.9% and Illinois’ 2.5%. Despite having

significantly greater spread on campus than the surrounding area, NU lifted its indoor masking mandate in all non-instructional spaces on Feb. 28, aligning itself with similar lifts in Evanston and Illinois on the same day.

The data declined again between Feb. 25 and March 3 to their lowest points since the end of Fall Quarter: NU reported 62 new positives and a 1.8% positivity rate, and Evanston saw 59 new cases and a 0.39% positivity rate, the city’s lowest since June 2021. As the omicron wave subsided, both the state and Evanston lifted their vaccination and mask mandates on February 28.

This trend continued in the final weeks of Winter Quarter. On campus, there were 45 new positives and a 1.43% positivity rate during Reading Period, and 34 new positives and a 1.5% positivity rate during Finals Week. Evanston’s positivity rate increased slightly to 0.69% for March 3 through March 9, with 55 new positive cases.

Spring Quarter 2022 (March 18, 2022 to present) On March 15, NU announced it would lift its indoor masking mandate for instructional spaces at the beginning of Spring Quarter due to improved health metrics.

At the end of Finals Week, Evanston reported a positivity rate of 0.67%, and the state reported its lowest positivity rate since before the omicron wave at 1.2%.

Shortly after, cases rose again as BA.2, a more infectious omicron “subvariant,” composed the majority of new cases across the country. The University only conducted 1,160 COVID tests during Spring Break, but still yielded 45 new positives for a heightened positivity rate of 3.88%. Evanston’s overall rate nearly doubled to 1.21%, and the state’s ticked up to 1.6%.

After the first week of Spring Quarter, Evanston’s positivity rate increased to 1.14%, and the state’s to 1.7%.

All graduate and undergraduate students were required to complete at least one in-person COVID test during the first week of Spring Quarter. This yielded 160 new positives for the week, with a positivity rate of 1.71%. alexharrison2023@u.northwestern.edu angelimittal2024@u.northwestern.edu

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SPORTS

@DailyNU_Sports

Fans pack Welsh-Ryan Arena as restrictions lift

By GABRIELA CARROLL

the daily northwestern @gablcarroll

Northwestern men’s basketball played its entire 2020-21 season without fans in the building. As fans returned to WelshRyan Arena for the 2021-22 season, the Wildcats sold out three games and saw significantly higher student turnout.

Gone were the days of fans writing essays in the student section — NU students packed the stands and provided a legitimate fan presence to build energy amid hordes of opposing fans from schools

like Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana, according to coach Chris Collins.

On Feb. 16 at a game against Purdue, so many students wanted to attend the game that some were turned away at the door. According to Paul Kennedy, associate athletic director for strategic initiatives and communications, that was the first time NU ever turned students away from a basketball game in the new Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“This year is interesting, because people just want to do stuff. You’ve been cooped up for a whole year and a half,” former Inside NU editor in chief and Medill junior Ben Chasen said. “The opportunity to go

out to a sporting event, that was something that we lost for a year and a half.”

NU Wildside, the organization that runs the student section, had new t-shirt, sweatshirt and sweatpants giveaways for every game, and students lined up well before half-time to redeem their vouchers and pick up the newest item.

These giveaways have long been a feature of NU athletic events, but men’s basketball didn’t see similar attendance numbers in the last pre-pandemic season.

The NU student section formerly took up the end zones, but now only includes the center sections, to centralize the crowd on television and increase ticket revenue,

according to Kennedy. The increased student turnout for games against big name opponents this year has the athletic department considering adding those sections back to the student section for certain games.

“The turnout, especially given the record of the team, that gives us the ammunition on the day to decide, ‘Okay, let’s plan for these four games to be sold out, and we’re going to have students and we’re going to reserve a lot,’” Kennedy said. “But it’s costly, because it is a huge loss for us.”

Masks were required for fans at NU athletic events until March 1, when NU lifted the mask mandate. However, the policy was loosely enforced, if at all, and photos

Gabe Bider/The Daily Northwestern

of the crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena show that a substantial percentage of fans did not follow the policy.

Some students on campus expressed discomfort on social media platforms like Twitter and YikYak with the lack of mask-wearing at games, specifically after the Jan. 18 matchup against Wisconsin.

That game came just after the end of the mandatory two-week Wildcat Wellness period, during which students were not allowed to attend classes in person or go to sporting events.

“Just to be able to put on these sporting events is something that’s just tremendous, and to see the students respond to it positively like they have… we really appreciate the student support, and I know that the student athletes do.” Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Derrick Gragg told The Daily in March.

However, the lack of masking didn’t deter many students from coming to games. With the exception of sparsely attended contests against Nebraska and Rutgers, students filled the student section even for midweek conference games.

NU’s sports teams have always suffered from low attendance, especially when they perform poorly, which makes this basketball season a significant outlier. The Cats won just seven conference games, with three of those wins coming on the road.

Of the three sold out games, NU won just one, against an Indiana team down five regulars due to internal suspensions. But, students continued to return to games with the regular season finale against Minnesota seeing a full student crowd.

“It’s a smaller group overall, and compared to your average Big Ten school, it’s a smaller percentage who quote unquote care,” said John Lacombe (Medill ’02), co-host of the West Lot Pirates podcast, which focuses on NU sports. “The people who care really care. The people who care about Northwestern sports care at a level that matches the level that you’ll find anywhere.” gabrielacarroll2023@u.northwestern.edu

Club sports teams look back on the pandemic’s impact

By LUCAS KIM

the daily northwestern

Over the past two years, Northwestern club sports teams have dealt with season cancellations, limited contact, masking mandates and other inconveniences caused by the pandemic.

In the 2021-22 academic year, however, many club sports team members say loosened COVID-19 restrictions have brought a sense of normalcy with more competitions against other schools and enriched connections between teammates.

Water polo player and Weinberg freshman Theo Faugeres said although health-related and logistical challenges have forced the team to adapt, they made significant progress through the reintroduction of intercollegiate tournaments.

“Up until the fall, the school wouldn’t let us play teams that weren’t fully vaccinated, so we were in a tight spot. We ended up not playing a single Big Ten team, and we reorganized our games around teams that were fully vaccinated,” said Faugeres. “This quarter, we’re back in the Big Ten and we’re finally allowed to host home tournaments.”

At NU, approximately 1,200 unique athletes participate in 38 club sports annually, according to NU Recreation data from 2015.

Club sports at the University include options like ice hockey, track, field hockey and taekwondo.

The University initially halted all club sports and closed its recreational facilities for the 2019-20 academic year on March 13, 2020.

Club sports resumed for limited activity the following school year though with masking and distancing protocols in place as well as no intercollegiate competition.

Medill junior and Women’s Crew Captain Andrea Hancock said not being able to practice in person for almost all of her first two years with the team was mentally and physically challenging. She said the crew team was where she made some of her closest friends, but it’s harder to build those relationships remotely.

“A big part of the sport is you’re in a boat with a bunch of other people, and so that’s really motivating to keep going because they rely on you and when you remove that aspect of it, it’s tough,” Hancock said. “We tried to do some social events over Zoom and that was really the extent of the team’s operation.”

The 2021-22 school year began with fewer restrictive protocols, though indoor masking was still required.

After a nationwide outbreak of the Omicron variant in December 2021, the University issued a mandatory Wildcat Wellness quarantine period for the first two weeks of Winter Quarter.

Weinberg freshman William Wang, who is on the club swim team, said the two-week suspension of team activities during Wildcat Wellness impacted the team’s preparation for meets.

“We host our own home meet once a year and that happens to be a month after Winter Quarter starts, so Wildcat Wellness really cut into our recovery time,” said Wang. “We could

Photo courtesy of Jimmy He

go to our own practices and book our own times at the pool, which you can do with a couple friends, but it’s not the same as going to a practice.”

The University lifted the indoor mask mandate Feb. 28 for non-classroom spaces, and there are now virtually no official restrictions on masking or distancing for both indoor and outdoor activities. Wang said these changes will help reestablish some of the intimacy and chemistry club teams enjoyed before the pandemic.

“I think in terms of practice itself, it’s fully gone back to normal,” Wang said. “Everybody comes and shows up. People still wear masks in the pool area, which is fine and that’s all

completely optional, but everything is mostly back to normal, which is actually pretty crazy to say.”

Club athletes, however, are not completely satisfied with their current situations. The pandemic amplified and exacerbated many long-standing challenges to club sports, such as inadequate funding and a lack of communication with the University.

Teams at other colleges around the country, including The George Washington University and Williams College, have also reported a lack of institutional funding and access to practice space during the pandemic.

Hancock said the crew team has been repeatedly forced to move its indoor practice locations and has encountered financial issues – problems that stand out in contrast to the treatment of NU’s varsity sports.

“Obviously I understand that some of the varsity athletes perform in sports that bring in revenue for the university, but it’s really tough,” Hancock said. “ There’s a lot of money that we have to rely on donors and participants for. That’s something that I wish the University could help us more with.” lucaskim2025@u.northwestern.edu