The Daily Northwestern — April 6, 2023

4 CITY/Election Results

Voters turn out for consolidated races

Returning students struggle with housing

New roommates, dorm relocations cause frustration

By ERICA SCHMITT daily senior staffer @eschmitt318

While some students spent Winter Quarter in San Francisco and others were in Washington D.C., many came back to campus with the same problem: an uncomfortable new living situation.

When students embarked on Northwestern’s winter offcampus programs, including the Bay Area Immersion Program and Medill on the Hill, they moved out of their oncampus residences. Since their return, they’ve been assigned to new dorms.

Some students and their former chosen roommates said they faced mental health challenges after experiencing significant changes to their living situations.

Medill sophomore Emiliana Betancourt attended Medill on the Hill this winter. Prior to the program, she lived with her friends in a Schapiro Hall suite.

Betancourt called Residential Services in Fall Quarter with concerns about losing

her room. She said Residential Services seemed uninterested in helping her navigate her problem.

“If a student is calling you in distress, don’t be mean about it,” Betancourt said. “I just feel like they aren’t really here for the students.”

One of Betancourt’s concerns was storing her belongings. As an international student from Venezuela, she said she had to pack large bags and almost all of her things with her to D.C.

McCormick sophomore Rishi Kothari is an international student from Mumbai. Before attending the Bay Area Immersion Program, Kothari said he had to move his stuff to an off-campus storage unit a mile away with no personal vehicle to help him with the move.

“Some people are able to go home and stuff. But all my stuff is here in the University and stays within Evanston always,” Kothari said.

He said that he thinks Residential Services should offer accommodations, like on-campus storage options, to international students. Otherwise, international students face increased barriers to

» See HOUSING , page 7

WEBSITE / Softball

Cats

Incumbents sweep across the board

Residents rush in rain to vote in aldermanic, school district elections

By COLE REYNOLDS and KATE WALTER the daily northwestern @charcole27 / @katewalter03

Residents sprinted from the parking lot into Robert Crown Community Center to cast their votes Tuesday, using books to shield themselves from golfball-sized hail and torrential rain. Despite a severe thunderstorm

warning, voters across Evanston still came to the polls, many saying the tangible impact of local elections brought them out.

“I think it’s really important to be engaged in local politics as well as just local happenings,” resident Dalton Long said. “How else are we going to go ahead and have our voice heard?”

Tuesday’s consolidated election saw incumbents Ald. Krissie

Students demonstrate for gun safety

Protestors, residents call for national firearm restrictions at The Rock

By KRISTEN AXTMAN daily senior staffer @kristenaxtman1

Content warning: This article contains mentions of death, suicide and gun violence.

Since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, there have been 377 school shootings in the U.S., according to data from The Washington Post. On March 30, three children and three staff members were killed in a shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.

About 35 Northwestern students and community members joined thousands of students across the country to protest gun violence, gathering at The Rock Wednesday to advocate for gun control legislation.

During their 10-minute speech, four members of NU Students Demand Action called attention to The Covenant School shooting.

“Together, we remember the six beautiful lives lost,” said Weinberg junior and

SDA co-Lead Lily Cohen said. “We remember the (more than) 9,800 people killed by gun violence since the start of 2023.”

The protesters held a moment of silence while the speakers read the names and ages of the victims from The Covenant School shooting.

Weinberg junior Mirabella Johnson, co-lead of SDA, said guns don’t just kill people in mass shootings. She said each year, domestic violence, identity-targeted gun violence, death by suicide and unsafe gun storage contribute to thousands of deaths nationwide. There were more than 20,000 firearm deaths in the U.S. last year, excluding suicides, according to The Trace.

SESP freshman Anusha Kumar said gun violence is rooted in colonialism and white supremacy, which disproportionately affects marginalized people.

“Gun violence in America is a racial justice issue,” said Kumar, SDA’s events lead. “We should not live in a community where Black Americans are 10 times more likely

as white Americans to die from gun violence.”

Kumar added members of the LGBTQ+ community are twice as likely to be victims of gun violence. These facts are often left out from conversations about gun violence, she said.

Evanston resident Jacob Goldsmith came to the protest with his wife and 7-yearold son. He said he’s tired

of hearing “dishonest” arguments from pro-gun groups. Goldsmith said he hopes events raising awareness about gun violence and direct action can eventually contribute to substantive change. He compared the U.S.’s response to gun violence to that of other countries like Australia, where gun violence

» See GUN SAFETY, page 7

Harris (2nd) and Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) win their aldermanic races in the 2nd and 9th Wards.

Mirah Anti, Monique Parsons, Liz Rolewicz and Leah Piekarz earned posts on the Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education. Mya Wilkins, Sergio Hernandez Jr., and Omar Salem will fill the three open seats on the Evanston/Skokie School District 65

board.

Even with only City Council and Board of Education races on the ticket, voters said the importance of the local races motivated them to brave the rainstorm.

School boards attracted much of voters’ attention on Tuesday, with 2nd Ward aldermanic candidate Darlene Cannon crediting » See ELECTION DAY, page 7

Ryan Field groups present priorities

Construction firms share goals in initial community forum

By SHANNON TYLER daily senior staffer @shannonmtyler

Northwestern University announced a partnership March 23 between Turner Construction Company and Walsh Construction to oversee the Rebuild Ryan project. The university and the two companies hosted an initial community outreach session to introduce the team and announce new project plans Wednesday morning.

Pamyla Fountain-Brown, Community and Citizenship Director of Turner, made promises to “look local first” when it comes to the project’s contracting in construction, food and T-shirts, to ensure the stadium is a community asset.

“We are visitors to your community,” Fountain-Brown said. “We are visitors here and so we’re going to need your partnership to help us understand.”

Turner Construction Company is headquartered in New York City, while Walsh Construction hails from Chicago. Community neighbors and businesses interested in working on the project –– along with representatives who traveled from other cities and states ––gathered in Welsh-Ryan Arena to hear about the project plans. The University announced plans to renovate Ryan Field following a $480 million donation from the Patrick and Shirley Ryan Family last September.

In its initial announcement, NU declared it would ensure 35% of its total subcontracted spending is local, minorityowned and woman-owned businesses, with priority given to businesses and individuals located in Evanston.

Fountain-Brown said the Evanston community is integral to the agency’s work on Ryan Field. NU executive director of Neighborhood and Community Relations Dave Davis said the school chose to hire Turner because of their commitment to

» See RYAN FIELD, page 7

Kimberly Espinosa/Daily Senior Staffer

Kimberly Espinosa/Daily Senior Staffer The Rock. NU Students Demand Action staged a rally for gun safety there Wednesday.

NU-Q students take on Evanston campus

By FIONA ROACH daily senior staffer @fionaroach03

The Northwestern Evanston Communication Exchange program allows 10 Communication students from NU’s Qatar Campus to study in Evanston for winter and spring quarter each year. For many Qatar-based students, the program provides an opportunity to both receive a minor or certificate not offered at NU-Q and connect with fellow Wildcats across the globe.

The program is organized through the Qatar Support Office, which helps coordinate logistics and plan social events for exchange students, according to Office Manager Taya Carothers.

“The main focus is academics,” Carothers said. “But also, like any other exchange program, we hope that students have a nice cultural experience to get to explore a little bit about the culture of NU’s main campus, and also different cultural aspects of the Chicago area and the U.S.”

NU-Q students can apply to the Comm Exchange program during the summer and, if selected, travel to Evanston in December of their junior year. According to Carothers, the application process is competitive.

For Communication junior Rhassan Rachdi, the program allows him to complete the Segal Design Certificate, which is not offered in Qatar. He described the classes at NU-Q as more “theoretical,” whereas courses in Evanston promote hands-on experience.

Both Rachdi and Communication junior André Visperas said they have enjoyed opportunities the Comm Exchange program provides, both academically and socially. In Winter Quarter, Visperas joined Kaibigan, the Filipino student group, which they said has connected them with other students of Filipino heritage.

“I was looking for some sort of cultural community that I can bond with,” Visperas said. “I found (that) to be very important, especially because back on the Qatar campus there’s only like two Filipino students, and I’m one of them.”

Rachdi said he finds it easier to meet peers with

similar interests on the Evanston campus, which has more students than the Qatar campus.

NU-Q is situated near many other universities in Doha, but the campus is housed in one large building.

“(In Evanston), I can sit in a group of people and just connect, based on our interests, because there’s just that many students,” Rachdi said. “Whatever your interest is, you’re going to find someone that has the same.”

Despite opportunities for connection, both Rachdi and Visperas said they wished Evanston campus students would reach out and be more inclusive.

While Rachdi said Evanston campus students are typically friendly when he initiates conversations, he feels “it doesn’t happen the other way around.”

“I would say there is a fair bit of stigma around the Qatar campus,” Rachdi said. “I don’t feel like people consider NU-Q people as Wildcats the same way (Evanston campus students) are.”

Rachdi said he feels like most students he has

interacted with on the Evanston campus don’t even know about NU’s Qatar campus.

To resolve this, Rachdi said he wants to interact more with Evanston campus students, even in casual settings.

“It’s not about one group reaching out to the other or the other way around,” Rachdi said. “It’s just a community that everyone should be involved in, just be one university, because it doesn’t feel that way.”

Visperas said the Qatar and Evanston campuses have similar academic cultures, hosting “collaborative” students who are willing to help each other.

All 10 Comm Exchange students will return to Doha after spring quarter to complete their degrees.

“I’ve enjoyed every moment of this,” Visperas said. “Even though we’re like 7,000 miles away, we’re still Northwestern Wildcats, so we really want that bridge to connect.”

fionaroach2025@u.northwestern.edu

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Photo courtesy of André Visperas

Students at the NU Qatar campus pose for a photo with Willie the Wildcat during Wildcat Welcome.

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The Daily Northwestern is published Monday and Thursday during the academic year, except vacation periods and two weeks preceding them and once during August, by Students Publishing Co., Inc. of Northwestern University, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208; 847491-7206.

First copy of The Daily is free, additional copies are 50 cents. All material published herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright 2022 The Daily Northwestern and protected under the “work made for hire” and “periodical publication” clauses of copyright law.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Daily Northwestern, 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. Subscriptions are $100 for the academic year. The Daily Northwestern is not responsible for more than one incorrect ad insertion. All display ad corrections must be received by 3 p.m. one day prior to when the ad is run.

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EVANSTON ELECTIONS 2023

T hree incumbents, one newcomer take D202 seats

By JESSICA MA daily senior staffer @jessicama2025

Evanston voters elected Monique Parsons, Liz Rolewicz and Leah Piekarz to serve four-year terms on the Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education on Tuesday. Current school board member Mirah Anti won a two-year term.

Three incumbents and two newcomers vied for four positions on the board. Of the 9,962 ballots cast, incumbent Parsons won with 31.95% of the vote, while newcomer Piekarz followed with 28.61%. Incumbent Rolewicz had 21.15%, and first-time candidate Kristen Scotti came close with 18.29%. Anti, who was appointed to the board in 2021, ran as the only declared write-in candidate to keep her two-year seat, so she was guaranteed to win.

Parsons has been on the District 202 board since 2015 and served as its vice president during her last term. Parsons is also the current president and CEO of the McGaw YMCA.

She said she’s “still processing” her win. For her, the election wasn’t about personal gain — the students will always be her focus.

“This work is so important, so I’m a little emotional right now,” Parsons said. “I’m just overwhelmed that the community I love so much trusts me to make the best decision for our students.”

Anti, who was appointed to the board in 2021, told The Daily she advocates for community schooling — a model where schools partner with outside organizations to provide resources like therapists for students. She works as the director of equity and inclusion at Township High School District 113.

Anti was not immediately available for comment.

First-time candidate Piekarz worked as an

ETHS counselor for 21 years before retiring in 2022. As a union leader, Piekarz headed several collective bargaining efforts, advocating for better working conditions for teachers and learning environments for students.

As a newcomer, Piekarz said she may experience a “learning curve” when becoming familiar with the board’s procedures but anticipates the current board will support her.

“Right now, I’ll be really educating myself and doing my homework, so I can be a really informed, effective board member,” Piekarz said. Incumbent Rolewicz ran for a second term, having served on the board since 2019. She is the communication chair of the PTA Equity Project, which works to distribute PTA funds equitably across Evanston/Skokie School District 65.

Rolewicz told The Daily her next step is to revise District 202’s four district goals: equitable and excellent education, student well-being, fiscal

accountability and community engagement and partnerships. The revision is conducted every five years.

“We have a huge job ahead of us,” Rolewicz said. “We’re looking to update (the goals) to make them more relevant for our students.”

Scotti, an ETHS parent, told The Daily she ran to work toward better outcomes for students with disabilities.

As an outsider candidate, Scotti said they faced a “tall hill to climb.” But they said they did succeed in sparking conversations about the treatment of students.

“I’m not going anywhere, so people are going to keep hearing from me,” Scotti said. “Now is the time to hold the board accountable and to make changes that are necessary.”

This is a developing story. The Daily will update it as more information becomes available.

Anti-racist education supporters reelected to D65 board

By JACOB WENDLER

daily senior staffer @jacob_wendler

Omar Salem, Mya Wilkins (Kellogg ’06) and Sergio Hernandez Jr. won the three open positions on the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education Tuesday in a tight five-way race.

Salem, a teacher in the department of special education at Niles North High School and a member of the city’s Equity and Empowerment Commission, won the highest percentage of any candidate with 24.68% of the vote. Salem told The Daily he wants to prioritize district-level communication, fiscal responsibility and fostering an inclusive classroom environment during his term.

Wilkins and Hernandez both successfully defended incumbent seats; Wilkins has served on the board since she was appointed to fill a vacancy in October, and Hernandez has served since his appointment in 2017. Hernandez has also served as school board president for a year.

The three winners, elected to four-year terms,

will join the four other members of the board who are not up for reelection.

Diversity, equity and inclusion policy was one of the most salient issues in Tuesday’s race, with candidates divided on the best approach to implementing anti-racist learning into curricula. Equity has long been a key issue in District 65 school board elections, with students, parents, educators and candidates highlighting places for improvement in past races.

Wilkins said Tuesday night she sees the results of the race as a vote of affirmation from the community for the board to continue the work it has begun.

“I think that there was a very clear difference and I think that we really came forward and talked about what our values are and what we’re trying to accomplish,” Wilkins said. “I think the voters for District 65 agreed that we need to continue doing the work that we’re doing and make sure we’re taking care of students.”

Wilkins said she hopes to focus on implementing and refining these policies that have been approved by the board.

All three successful candidates campaigned on bridging opportunity gaps and prioritizing fiscal responsibility, emphasizing their support for recently implemented anti-racism curricula. Wilkins and Salem both said raising children who attended District 65 schools has given them a unique lens into the issues that matter to students, parents and teachers in the community.

Salem was not immediately available for comment.

District 65 parents John Martin and Ndona Muboyayi, whose children attended Evanston public schools, came in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Martin said he was surprised by the “maliciousness” of the election, but remained inspired by the voters during the campaign.

More than a dozen District 65 parents, teachers and students — including Wilkins, Hernandez and former school board President Anya Tanyavutti — organized Saturday to express their opposition to pushback against anti-racism education.

Martin denied allegations that he has been involved in a local organization that has

campaigned against diversity and inclusion programs in education.

“It was a very robust campaign,” Martin said Tuesday night. “We saw a lot of passion in the community and certainly wish the best for and congratulations to the elected and wish the district the best of luck.”

Muboyayi finished sixth among eight candidates in her first bid for a seat on the board in 2021.

Muboyayi was also not immediately available for comment.

Hernandez, the first Latine president of the Board, said he’s excited to get back to work expanding the initiatives the board has put in place to address opportunity gaps and improve racial equity.

“We have a community that has spoken in favor of ensuring that we continue (to) operationalize equity and racial equity work in the school system and really trying to address the opportunity gaps via addressing the root causes,” Hernandez said.

jacobwendler2025@u.northwestern.edu

Harris to continue representing 2nd Ward on council

By WILLIAM TONG daily senior staffer @william2tong

Ald. Krissie Harris (2nd) will continue to serve as Evanston’s 2nd Ward Councilmember after winning Tuesday’s election. She received 696 votes — 54.25% of the total — according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

Her opponents, Darlene Cannon and Patri cia Gregory, received 39.91% and 5.85% of the vote, respectively.

A fifth-generation Evanston resident, Harris has worked at Oakton College for 25 years and currently serves as the manager of student life and campus inclusion. Harris is also a trustee of Second Baptist Church and has served on the boards of YWCA Evanston/North Shore and the Dajae Coleman Foundation.

“I think people have seen the work that I’ve

She also said she wants to dedicate time toward interacting with 2nd Ward residents regularly to best serve the community and hone her governing style.

Gregory said the results reflect “what the majority of the people want,” and she hopes Harris continues to work on her current initiatives, especially regarding safety.

She appreciates her election opponents for running, she added.

“Even the people that ran — Patricia and Darlene — to make yourself vulnerable like that is huge,” she said.

Harris’s new term ends May 2025.

This is a developing story. The Daily will update it as more information becomes available.

williamtong2026@u.northwestern.edu

Geracaris beats Hayes, reelected to 9th Ward seat

By CASEY HE the daily northwestern @caseeey_he

Ald. Juan Geracaris (9th) will continue to serve as the 9th Ward’s councilmember on City Council after winning 67.41% of the vote, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

Geracaris ran against Kathy Hayes, a former Cook County administrator, who received 32.59% of the vote.

“I think (the result) really shows that I have the support of the ward,” Geracaris told The Daily Tuesday night. “This confirms that people think I’m doing a great job, so I’m pleased with the results.”

Geracaris graduated from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering in 1997 and now works as a senior network systems engineer at the Kellogg School of Management. He also serves as vice president of Evanston Latinos and co-founded Evanston Skates to advocate for a permanent skate park in the city.

After former Ald. Cicely Fleming (9th) stepped down, Mayor Daniel Biss appointed Geracaris to the 9th Ward councilmember seat in February 2022.

In an interview with The Daily in February, Geracaris said his top priority is to increase affordable housing availability in Evanston.

“Affordable housing is a problem that we need all hands on deck,” he said Tuesday. “I’m ready to do the work.”

Geracaris said his other priorities include advocating for cyclist and pedestrian safety and furthering the city’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan by helping residents modernize homes with energy-efficient technology.

Hayes previously worked as a sexual assault and domestic violence witness court advocate and later as an African American community liaison for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

In an interview with The Daily, Hayes said her top priority is to keep families in Evanston. She added that she wants to strengthen reentry programs for people exiting the prison system,

as it can be difficult for them to secure employment and housing.

Hayes said she also wants to improve the city’s reparations initiative.

She did not respond to the Dai ly’s request for comment Tuesday night.

By winning Tuesday’s elec tion, Geracaris will remain in his seat until 2025.

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

Brandon Johnson voted next mayor of Chicago in runoff

By KAAVYA BUTANEY daily senior staffer @kaavya_butaney

Cook County Board Commissioner for the 1st District Brandon Johnson won the Chicago mayoral runoff at 51.42% of the vote with 99% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, with former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas trailing at 48.58%.

The election was predicted to be tight. A poll conducted by political consulting firm Victory Research, forecasted Vallas to receive 49.6% of the vote and Johnson with 45.4%.

“To the Chicagoans who did not vote for

me, here’s what I want you to know: that I care about you, I value you and I want to hear from you,” Johnson said in his victory speech. “I want to work with you. And I’ll be the mayor for you, too.”

Before a couple of months ago, Johnson was not a well-known name in Chicago but he emerged as one of the two top candidates in the general election.

His win comes after incumbent Lori Lightfoot came in third in February’s general election, with 16.81% of the vote. Vallas and Johnson proceeded to the runoff with 32.90% and 21.63% of the vote, respectively.

Johnson positioned himself as ideologically left of Lightfoot and has a history as an

organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union.

In 2022, before Johnson had announced his mayoral campaign, CTU had already endorsed him.

“Tonight is a gateway to a new future for this city,” Johnson said.

He said he plans on conducting an “efficiency review” to see where city government spending is higher than necessary. He also advocated for higher business taxes on large, Chicago-based companies.

Vallas also ran for Chicago mayor in the 2019 election, finishing ninth, and for Illinois governor in 2002 and lieutenant governor in 2014. In this election, he was the only white candidate.

Vallas, a moderate Democrat, prioritized

tough-on-crime messaging during his campaign after increased homicide and property crime for the last four years.

“I’m honored and humbled by all of your support … it is clear, based on the result tonight, that the city is deeply divided,” Vallas said in his speech.

Vallas was CEO of CPS from 1995 to 2001, the first public school district CEO.

After Johnson’s victory was projected, Vallas gave Johnson his full support for the transition.

“It’s time for all Chicagoans to put aside their differences … better, brighter days are on the horizon,” Vallas said.

kaavyabutaney2026@u.northwestern.edu

Without University support, Dillo Day may cease

by 60%. We acknowledge that much of this is due to financial restructuring and inflation. In response, our members have worked tirelessly to collaborate with the administration: going in person to offices that didn’t reply to emails, cutting committee budgets across the board, trying to fundraise through donors and seeking out corporate sponsors.

rely on this type of external support to hold the festival afloat in future years.

Dear Northwestern Community Members,

We love putting on Dillo Day. For the past 50 years, we at Mayfest Productions have produced the nation’s largest student-run music festival, an event that has garnered recognition from industry professionals and other universities. It’s a privilege to be able to organize an event the NU community can be proud of and look forward to each Spring Quarter. We feel compelled to leave Dillo’s legacy as NU’s music festival better than we found it. However, it has become clear to us that, unless a change is made at the administrative level, Dillo 2023 could be NU’s last.

This year has brought unprecedented financial struggles. Associated Student Government’s Student Activities Finance Committee supplies the core of our budget, and we request senior administrative funding to fill in the gaps. This year, we received 13% of the funding from the senior administration that we received last year, but production costs have increased

When we reached out for support, we were ignored until it was too late.

Our difficulties are amplified by the administration’s lack of accountability and responsiveness, leading to the loss of our originally booked headliner only 30 days before our originally scheduled talent booking deadline. Our Corporate Committee spent weeks looking for the right office to process sponsorship funds, tirelessly contacting administrators only to be referred elsewhere every time. Surprisingly, an office to process corporate sponsorships doesn’t seem to exist. We spent months working toward a solution only to learn that this critical revenue stream was cut short.

The sole reason we can expect Dillo Day 2023 to happen anywhere near the quality the NU community has come to expect is because of the help of an anonymous donor. A month passed before the administration allowed us to accept the donation, and funds were only secured after the donor directly reached out to senior administration to intervene. We have an unbelievable amount of gratitude for this donation, but we cannot

The lack of clarity from administration with regard to our budget since the start of the academic year has severely impacted the way our Booking Committee has operated. With each day, the pool of available talent shrinks while the costs of artists and production elements continue to grow.

If funds continue to be cut in future years, as we anticipate, Dillo Day will be in jeopardy. At the very least, the NU community should temper its expectations for this and future Dillo Days.

Dillo Day is a free event for all undergraduate NU students, and it is one of the University’s most beloved traditions. The University even uses Dillo Day to draw in applicants by mentioning it on campus tours and featuring it in promotional materials. Live music can be inaccessible to many NU students, with the ticket prices of many Dillo Day-scale artists being $100 or more. Our festival is a rare example of a completely barrier-free event on campus, available to students of all financial backgrounds. Above all, Dillo Day is an essential piece of the shared experiences that unite the NU community.

We understand that these problems aren’t unique to Mayfest. Student organizations are one of the largest sources of community on NU’s campus, and, as a significant presence on campus, we feel a responsibility

to bring attention to these issues. We encourage other student organizations that have felt similar pains to also speak out about their experiences.

The Mayfest Executive Board would like to thank our advisor, K. Parker Hess, as well as Brent Turner, Joe Lattal and Tracey Gibson-Jackson for their support so far this academic year. None of these individuals were aware of this letter, nor should they be held accountable for the real and/or perceived lack of support. They have done their best to help us given the information and resources that they and the Office of Student Organizations and Activities have.

We would also like to thank Assistant Vice President of Student Engagement Kelly Schaefer for taking meetings with us and for her interest in understanding our concerns.

We urge the administration to find a solution that ensures a sufficient amount of continued and stable financing for Dillo Day and other events that are essential to the student experience at NU. A more attentive senior leadership is critical to fulfilling the needs of student organizations like ours and, thus, the larger NU community.

We’ll see you soon on Planet Dillo.

With so much dillove, 2022-2023 Mayfest Executive Board

Transfer Ticket: Don’t take living in a single for granted

Residential Life: Housing Assignment & Roommate Information Now Available.”

I requested a double, somewhat reluctantly, but I was determined to do the whole college thing by the books — to have a roommate, a communal bathroom, a shower caddy and a closet space far too small to hold

least, I began to tolerate it. I Zoomed with my random roommates, who were lovely people, and we discussed how we would decide which bed each of us would claim when we arrived at school. Coins were flipped, straws were drawn and a plan was made.

time from NU Residential Services. I skipped over the name of the dorm and the floor information, and finally, my eyes found the word I had been hoping for: single.

The summer before my freshman year of high school, I kicked my little sister out of the room we’d shared since she was old enough to sleep in a bed without a railing. I was freshly 14 and a big girl now, so it was only fair that I had my own space to paint my nails, FaceTime boys and conjure spells like all of the rest of the teenage girls of the world.

With the help of my parents, we removed my sister’s twin bed from the room and replaced it with a new rug à la Pottery Barn. My dad put up new peel-and-stick wallpaper while my mom and I critiqued his technique. We hung posters and arranged bookshelves until my room had transformed into a sanctuary of super-secret teenage girlishness.

For all four years of high school, I was blessed with the privilege of my own room — of throwing my dirty clothes on the floor, leaving makeup strewn haphazardly across my bed and having solo dance parties whenever I desired. So when I signed my housing contract for my freshman year at Boston College, it barely occurred to me that things could change so drastically when living with another person.

But a few weeks before I left for college, I was out running, taking my time on the trails in Golden Gate Park and drinking in the last few weeks of San Francisco summer when I got The Email™ — “Boston College

my winter coat. At BC, where everyone seems to have the incredible social stamina of a kindergartener after a double chocolate chip frappuccino, I was told that requesting a single would kill my social life before it had even begun.

I paused in the middle of the trail and opened the email. “Booking Assignment: LOY-431-3, Room Type: Triple Room.”

I refreshed the portal.

The screen reloaded, and the word “triple” repopulated on the screen, almost bolder and more menacing than before. It almost dared me to refresh one more time, and I did.

Eventually, I came around to the idea of a triple. Or at

But when I walked into my sweaty triple on move-in day in 101-degree weather, sweating like a San Franciscan in Boston, it was clear that the flipped coins and drawn straws meant nothing. My roommate had moved into the bed that was meant to be mine.

It soon became clear that whoever designed the algorithm for the BC roommate matching survey had missed a few fundamentals of computer science classes. While I went to bed at midnight, my roommates had been asleep since 8 p.m. When we couldn’t open our windows for three days thanks to a blizzard, one of my roommates decided it was a good time to make stew in her contraband Crockpot. And when I came back to my room looking for some solace from the BC buzz, at least one of them was always just … there.

The little things began to add up until I was spending more time doing homework in the hallway after my roommates had turned the lights off than actually sleeping in my room.

Needless to say, when I decided to transfer to Northwestern, I knew I couldn’t risk being exiled to the hallway because I needed to do homework with the lights on past 9 p.m. ever again. So I ranked as many solo dorms as I could on the housing preference form and hoped that maybe there was a god of single dorms somewhere up there who could answer my prayers.

I was running when I got The Email™ Pt. 2, this

Illinois politicians chose profits over prairies

Gov. J.B. Pritzker should have worked harder to prevent the destruction of Bell Bowl Prairie. Environmental organizations put forth alternative plans to prevent losing Bell Bowl, like building new roads around Bell Bowl Prairie, but environmental organizations said he was unreceptive to their proposals.

greedy decision to keep employees working during a weather emergency. Instead, he blamed the warehouse’s structure and did not mention Amazon throughout his media speeches after this tragic accident.

And now, I’m staying in my single on North Campus, lying on my rug surrounded by a protective circle of Cheez-Its, Scandinavian Swimmers and peppermint tea — a position I never would have assumed in my dorm at BC. I would have interfered with my roommate’s 5 a.m. exit to the gym.

People are sympathetic when they hear that I live in a single. They assume I fell victim to the fate of hundreds of transfers before me who have been crammed into the multi-colored walls of Foster-Walker Complex. The thought never crosses their mind that maybe I picked my dorm deliberately.

After a year of living with two other people in a cramped pre-1970s dorm, I truly believe that every human deserves to have their own space and that said spaces should also be decorated with whatever peeland-stick wallpaper that you can get your dad to put up for you.

I’m not lonely in my single. I’m just alone, and I love it.

Tabi Parent is a Medill sophomore. She can be contacted at tabiparent2025@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 Volume 146, Issue 2

Editor in Chief Alex Perry

Managing Editors

Pavan Acharya

Aviva Bechky

On March 9, bulldozers destroyed Bell Bowl Prairie. A high-quality remnant prairie in Rockford, Illinois, Bell Bowl contained one of the most undisturbed natural plant communities in the state. But now, that land has become an ordinary, dirt-dominated, vacuous construction landscape.

The Greater Rockford Airport Authority owns the land on which Bell Bowl Prairie once existed. Today, the Rockford airport is the fastest-growing cargo airport worldwide and is home to megacorporations like Amazon and United Parcel Service. In 2018, the airport announced an expansion plan to keep up with everincreasing shipping demands, which would destroy Bell Bowl Prairie to make room for new roads, parking lots and warehouses. Passionate conservation advocates came together to fight back, to little avail.

Illinois, the so-called “prairie state,” has less than 0.01% of its original 21 million acres of prairie remaining. Despite the parochial notion in America that the Democratic Party cares about our ecosystems, our state politicians — who had the power to save Bell Bowl Prairie — allowed it to be destroyed in favor of megacorporations’ profits.

But Pritzker had been elected on a platform involving environmental consciousness. During his 2022 campaign, Pritzker voiced support for clean energy to fight against climate change and for a conservation initiative known as the “30 by 30 Act,” an act with the goal of conserving 30% of Illinois’ natural land and water by 2030.

The Illinois government enables companies like Amazon and UPS to expand by offering them generous tax subsidies. Amazon alone has received $731 million in tax subsidies from Illinois, allowing it to build more warehouses in the state.

Though this may generate jobs, Illinois residents should not be enthusiastic about supporting a megacorporation that has reported grueling working conditions. Those conditions include unrealistic productivity quotas leading to high injury rates, creating a culture of fear by surveilling workers with technology and terminating employees through a phone app instead of face-to-face conversations.

Despite this, Pritzker in recent years has shown favoritism to corporations like Amazon. For instance, when the Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, collapsed after a tornado — killing six people — Pritzker did not blame the deaths on Amazon’s

All of this to say, it is obvious to me why Pritzker favored megacorporations like Amazon over Bell Bowl Prairie. It also does not help that other Illinois politicians, like Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin, persuaded the U.S. Department of Transportation to allocate $5.8 million for the expansion of the airport.

Though the prairie is now gone, Illinois voters should learn an important lesson from this: Do not count on Illinois politicians to choose our ecosystems over big business. A notion exists in American society that Democrats support environmentally friendly initiatives and Republicans do not — but make no mistake, politicians from both parties are susceptible to the money of megacorporations. After all, the state of Illinois will likely profit far more from an expanded cargo airport than from a remnant prairie.

So keep Bell Bowl Prairie in mind when elections come around. Remember you are still choosing evil if you choose the lesser of two evils.

Melissa Duda is a Weinberg first-year graduate student. She can be contacted at melissaduda2024@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.

Opinion Editor Micah Sandy

Opinion Editor Micah Sandy

Assistant Opinion Editor Grant Li

Assistant Opinion Editor Grant Li

Avani Kalra

Russell Leung

Ava Mandoli

Erica Schmitt

Wendy Zhu

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR may be sent to 1999 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, via fax at 847-491-9905, via e-mail to opinion@ dailynorthwestern.com or by dropping a letter in the box outside The Daily office.

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Letters, columns and cartoons contain the opinion of the authors, not Students Publishing Co. Inc. Submissions signed by more than three people must include at least one and no more than three names designated to represent the group.

Editorials reflect the majority opinion of The Daily’s student editorial board and not the opinions of either Northwestern University or Students Publishing Co. Inc.

I’m not lonely in my single. I’m just alone, and I love it.

- TABI PARENT, Columnist

ELECTION DAY

From page 1

those citywide races for driving much of the turnout. Final turnout for the 2nd and 9th Ward races was 20.84% and 23.03%, respectively. School board election turnout stood at 17.16%.

“There is a significant race happening: the school boards!” voter Murphy Monroe said. “Nothing is more important than what goes on in the classroom.”

ETHS parent Berry Gustafson said he has kids in the school’s special education program and cares about having advocates for students with disabilities on the board. Administrators, he said, haven’t been accessible enough to families of disabled students.

Despite these issues bringing voters to the polls, the rainy weather and school spring breaks coinciding with Election Day may have led to lower turnout, said former Ald. Peter Braithwaite (2nd).

Some Evanston residents said the contentiousness of the 2nd Ward race surprised them.

Emily Guthrie, a former alderperson and poll watcher during this election, said she was surprised at how “nasty” the 2nd Ward race became throughout the campaign season. She pointed to the presence of campaign donation controversies in the election and Mayor Daniel Biss’ endorsements of incumbent council candidates.

Another voter, Chris Lysy, said local elections like this one are particularly important because of the smaller scale of the races.

“In smaller elections, the individual voter has more of an impact than the bigger, more publicized ones,” said Lysy, who said he’s been trying to learn more about local politics since moving to Evanston in 2021.

Although all ballot options were local, Evanston voter Juneitha Shambee said she saw her decisions as bigger than that.

Shambee said she was interested in determining how reparations for Black residents proceed. A national audience, she said, is watching that Evanston program as a blueprint.

“Local decisions can be heard on a national level,” Shambee said. “People can emulate our decisions.”

Voters weren’t the only ones who braved the conditions. Candidates, and sometimes their families, huddled in the rain outside polling locations, making their final pitches to residents.

Parsons, a current District 202 board member who won reelection, said she didn’t want her mother to sit out in the cold. But her mother came anyway, determined not to miss her daughter’s third election bid.

The moment offered Parsons a chance to reflect on her first two terms.

“Campaigning is a reckoning,” she said. “Now, I have to face the people I was making decisions for.” colereynolds2026@u.northwestern.edu katewalter2025@u.northwestern.edu

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RYAN FIELD

From page 7

communities and diversity.

“I’m going to ask you for your hand, your partnership in getting this done and getting this done the right way,” Fountain-Brown said.

One of the company’s major goals in the rebuild, according to Fountain-Brown, is breaking down the barriers that have historically kept local minorityand women- owned businesses out of large construction projects.

Some business representatives expressed concerns about NU’s payment terms for smaller minority companies, who may have a challenge waiving payments for more projects.

Project Executive for Walsh Construction Dan Welsh talked about the company’s streamlined payment process, intended to help break down these barriers.

“We’ve already been talking about facilities about how to make sure their processes are especially streamlined for this project,” Welsh said.

Irma Holloway, CEO of Phoenix Construction and Consultancy Inc. and chief executive director of Black Contractors Owners and Executives, said she was excited to see the university’s outreach efforts.

“It’s never too early to start outreach,” Holloway said. “It is so important and it’s instrumental to the success of community engagement.”

For the plan to move forward, City Council would need to approve changes to the stadium’s

HOUSING

From page 1

off-campus program offerings.

After coming back this quarter, Kothari moved from a Foster-Walker Complex single to a Sargent Hall double. Kothari said he was annoyed by the inconvenience of moving elsewhere.

“I would think that if someone’s lived in a certain situation for a certain period of time, they should be able to request that particular room and get preference so it doesn’t disrupt their lifestyle,” Kothari said. “It could affect my academics. It could affect my social life.”

Despite requesting a room change back to a single, Kothari said Residential Services said they were “unable to fulfill the request even with his accommodations.”

In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Jon Yates said students are required to cancel their housing contracts during quarters where they are off campus so they don’t have to pay for the vacant room. Because of high occupancy rates in dorms, he said there is a “high likelihood” vacated spaces will be assigned to a different student.

Betancourt said she struggled with the new room assignment she was given on March 2: an Allison Hall double. In her freshman year, she said she was also assigned a random roommate in spring quarter, which brought challenges.

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

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Complete

each

current zoning uses.

Evanston Resident Fred Waldman said he came to the meeting to learn more about the project as a whole. He had questions about how the university plans to incorporate Evanston businesses in the general operation, especially those in the surrounding Central Street District.

“You have a lot of local businesses stretching the course of Central Street or Green Bay Road, and that will be impacted by the nature of ongoing operations within the facility,” Waldman said during the Q&A.

Waldman said he was concerned the field’s new amenities would take business away from those down the street on game days and proposed concert days throughout the year.

Luke Figora, the University’s vice president for operations, said while it is too early in the process to make solidified plans for partnerships with vendors, the facility will bring infrastructure to these partnerships, which NU will focus on once the construction has taken place.

Fountain-Brown told businesses to stay engaged with the project, as they may need services or goods during the process. She encouraged businesses to fill out a vendor inquiry form on the Ryan Rebuild website to let them know what services can be provided.

NU is set to send its Planned Development Application this month. Hearings will follow at the Land Use Commission and City Council in the coming months.

shannontyler2025@u.northwestern.edu

“I’m not going through the, ‘Let’s do a Russian roulette and see if this roommate is going to get along with me or not’ again,” Betancourt said. Requiring that students cancel their housing contract during quarters abroad also affects the roommate left behind.

Even though Communication sophomore Andrew Chang stayed on campus through Winter Quarter, his former roommate attended Medill on the Hill. His resulting housing problems meant he changed rooms on Feb. 10.

Chang initially lived in 1838 Chicago Ave. The day before he arrived back to campus for Winter Quarter, he received an email from a new, randomly assigned roommate.

Yates said in most cases, roommate reassignments are made through housing software that accounts for student preferences and answers to lifestyle questions that account for sleeping and living habits.

Still, Chang said he faced mental health challenges and was unable to get proper sleep or function well in the new environment after his new roommate moved in.

“I want to live with someone that I know, someone that I can live comfortably with,” Chang said. “Once it was with a random person, that’s where I feel like that went away.”

Chang made the request to change dorms the first day he was back on campus Winter Quarter,

GUN SAFETY

From page 7

significantly reduced after legislation was passed.

Communication senior Alia Marshall also joined the protest to show her support for stricter gun control legislation. She said everyone needs to continue fighting for legislation that should have passed years ago.

“Every mass shooting is one too many,” Marshall said. “We have to keep demanding action from our senators and representatives.”

Bienen junior V Matthew Steinbaum, SDA’s advocacy lead, ended the speech by informing protesters about ways to take action.

Steinbaum said protesting makes a difference. As an example, he cited the Illinois state legislature banning the manufacturing and sale of assault rifles after the July shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. He encouraged protesters to call their representatives.

On April 14, SDA will host another protest at the Rock, advocating for community divestment from the gun industry.

“Our future safety lies in the hands of Congress and state legislators, and if we do not force them to listen then more people will die,” Steinbaum said.

kristenaxtman2025@u.northwestern.edu

but had to wait five weeks until he could move out to a Plex single. Chang said the process was expedited because of his accommodations, but he still had to wait five weeks before feeling comfortable in his own space.

Chang said his Plex single still has bare walls — seven weeks later — because of the stress of the moving process.

“It’s been so much of an ordeal just to move in and get all my things from one place to another,” Chang said. “We’re at this point that we’re not going to try to live together again (on campus), which is really sad because he’s one of my closest friends.”

Betancourt was reassigned to housing she preferred on March 9. She said she is grateful she got to make the change, but knows many other students that faced difficulties with housing.

Betancourt said she hopes Residential Services considers the impact moving has on students in the Bay Area and Medill on the Hill programs going forward, especially for sophomores who have to live on campus.

“Sophomore year, if you’re living with someone, it’s sometimes because you guys went out of your way to live together and this was somebody that you knew you were going to feel comfortable with,” Betancourt said. “I think that Residential Services needs to respect that.”

ericaschmitt2025@u.northwestern.edu

DAILY CROSSWORD

SOLUTION

Why I Play: Maeve Nelson knocks it out of the park

By ARIA WOZNIAK daily senior staffer @ari_wozz

As a kindergartner, graduate student infielder Maeve Nelson’s mornings began with more than just coloring and playtime. Each morning after breakfast, her father would take her to the library to read, then to practice hitting at the softball field behind it.

Nelson’s father played Minor League Baseball, so her family would often joke that since her three sisters played

volleyball, she had to “take one for the team” by playing softball.

Since coming to Northwestern in 2019, Nelson said she has achieved many personal and team accolades, including playing in the Women’s College World Series. The Daily spoke with Nelson about the impact of being recruited to play softball since age 12, her time at NU and her best memories on the field.

“Why I Play” is a Q&A series where Wildcats discuss their love for their sports and how they got their starts. This

interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

The Daily: Why did you decide to pursue softball seriously?

Nelson: (I was) put in a really interesting position. I started getting recruited when I was in seventh grade. I had no idea where I wanted to go to high school, and then I had to decide where I (wanted) to go to college. That was just the nature of the game at that point.

I committed my freshman year of high school, so I was 14 when I decided I wanted to come here. I never really thought about it much until I got older. No one ever asked me if I wanted to play softball in college. No one ever asked me if I’d wanted to be a normal student or what else I wanted to get out of my college career, so I think that’s something I struggled with a lot my junior and senior year of high school.

As I got here, my life was so much different than my (high school) friends. A lot of the time they would go visit each other’s schools and I couldn’t go beside softball.

The Daily: When you were recruited, you were really young. Did you understand what it meant to be recruited for Division 1 softball?

Nelson: I think I did a little bit. I thought it was cool, but weird because no one around me was experiencing it. It was really hard to talk about. It’s kind

BASEBALL

Listless Cats thumped 12-0 by Fighting Irish

By LAWRENCE PRICE daily senior staffer @lpiii_tres

Northwestern’s bats were hotter than an iron on dress clothes March 28 at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. Behind 18 hits, three doubles and two home runs, the Wildcats were on fire at the plate and beat Northern Illinois 15-11.

And yet a week later, NU (3-20, 1-2 Big Ten) couldn’t muster up a single run versus Notre Dame (15-11, 5-7 ACC) Tuesday, losing 12-0. The Fighting Irish crossed the plate in all but three innings, whereas the Cats only recorded three hits following the second inning.

Instead of the run-of-the-mill game recap, here are a few takeaways from the afternoon massacre:

1. Pitching staff struggles continue

After allowing eight hits and six runs in three innings during his last three outings and then striking out two of four batters faced in the first inning, junior right-handed pitcher David Utagawa looked like he finally got the monkey off his back.

However, Utagawa’s success against Notre Dame’s first four batters didn’t hold up in the second. The Fighting Irish batted around in the half-inning as the right-hander gave up six runs on six hits, ending his day.

Although Utagawa’s underwhelming performance wasn’t favorable, he was only a microcosm of the madness. With five other relievers entering the contest after the starters, all but one gave up a run, illustrating how the problem expands outside just one pitcher.

With these troubles, NU has given up 10 or more runs in 12 of its 23 contests, proving to be the top issue the team needs to address.

2. Bats can’t get hot when facing top pitching

With only three wins so far, it’s easy to push the negative narrative onto a pitching rotation that holds the worst earned run average in the Big Ten. However, following the loss, the Cats officially hold the second-worst batting average in the conference.

Granted, Notre Dame’s pitching staff isn’t the easiest to face — a rotation stocked with talent that has already played 12 games against some of the country’s top hitters in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish’s group of arms can give most teams across the nation a difficult time at the plate.

That said, the Cats’ remaining season consists of conference threats and big names, so they must get used to this level of accuracy, effectiveness and polish from opposing pitchers. However, the struggles that NU faced Tuesday do provide concern on what’s to come.

3. Loss to Notre Dame may affect NU’s series versus Illinois this weekend

Notre Dame’s dismantling of NU is troublesome, considering the Cats are in the thick of their conference season, meaning there is zero time to step back and recover.

Luckily for the Cats, their next opponent is Illinois (12-13, 2-4 Big Ten), a program not at the top of the conference, nor much different than NU’s last-weekend opponent Purdue in terms of record. On top of that, the Cats will host their first home series of the year — a chance to get an extra boost from the favoring crowd.

Hopefully, NU can put the Tuesday game in the rearview mirror quickly and find its groove like it did in its three wins on the season.

lawrenceprice2024@u.northwestern.edu

of isolating … so I kind of hid from it and didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t celebrate as much as I probably should have at that age, but my family always made a really good point to make sure I knew how big an accomplishment it was. It made me grow up pretty quickly too.

The Daily: Do you feel content with your choice?

Nelson: I think now as I’m almost 23 and looking back at my college career, I would not trade it for a single thing in the entire world.

I think (when I was younger), I was so interested in little moments of pleasure like partying and Instagram posts. Now looking back on it, I’ve learned so many life lessons and have so many more valuable moments in my life than I could have gotten from going to some random party school. How many people can say they hit a walk off home run? How many people can say they went to the World Series?

I love Northwestern softball. I’ve loved how much being a student athlete has taught me as a person and I’m just taking away so many great lessons.

The Daily: What is your biggest accomplishment? What are you most proud of?

Nelson: One core memory I have of last year: We played this extra inning, a really intense game against UCLA. At the time, we were ranked (No. 23).

LACROSSE

I was blessed to have the opportunity to end the game and I hit a walk off home run against the No. 3 team in the country.

It was a surreal moment. I remember walking in the dugout after we won and my dad (was) sobbing, saying “I’m so proud of you.” That was the proudest I’ve ever been of the work I put in. When I took time (to think) after that game, I thought everything that I’ve done has led me to this point.

The Daily: What was going through your head while you were on the field, playing at the Women’s College World Series?

Nelson: I was just thinking about me as an eight-year-old, thinking, I would be so proud of myself right now and I would think (I was) the coolest person in the entire world. Another thing that makes it hard to be present is the dayto-day. (When) you’re in the rough of things, you don’t take a second to (realize): “I am so freaking cool.”

Little kids come up and ask for my autograph and wear (my jersey) number four. You don’t realize how many people you touch because you’re just focused on yourself and getting to the next day and getting through practice. I’m not changing the course of the world by any means, but I’m affecting small girls’ lives. I think as far as I can touch, that’s really meaningful to me.

ariawozniak2025@u.northwestern.edu

Surging NU faces lowly Rutgers

By JAKE EPSTEIN the daily northwestern @jakeepste1n

A week after a second-half scoring surge against then-No. 18 Penn State, No. 2 Northwestern will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, for a conference clash at Rutgers on Thursday. The Wildcats (11-1, 3-0 Big Ten) carry an 11-game win streak and expect a convincing victory over the Scarlet Knights (4-6, 0-4 Big Ten).

NU presently possesses pole position in the conference standings, but while No. 10 Maryland remains unbeaten in Big Ten play, every game holds major seeding implications for the conference tournament later this month.

Rutgers aims to flip its fortune and nab an elusive first conference win at SHI Stadium. Still, the Cats must pick up where they left off in Ryan Fieldhouse to jumpstart a successful three-game road trip — and soundly defeat the Scarlet Knights.

Here’s a few factors to focus on as NU attempts to extend its winning streak to 12 games:

Matchup to Monitor: Izzy Scane vs. Meghan Ball

Graduate student attacker Izzy Scane appears unstoppable, as the Tewaaraton Award favorite possesses an insatiable appetite for goals. While opposition coaches have tried to halt her high scoring antics with face guards and double teams throughout her remarkable campaign, they have failed to silence her. Scane capitalizes off the tightest windows of space to launch missiles toward the top of the cage, despite the defensive looks thrown her way.

The nation’s leading scorer — with 60 goals in 10 appearances — will once again be the focus of the Cats’ attack Thursday, but she’ll be challenged by a staggering shot stopper seeking to sidetrack the “Scane Train.”

Scarlet Knight defender Meghan Ball is the cornerstone of her team’s defense and overall success. The two-time First Team All-Big Ten selection has tallied a

team-high 40 caused turnovers in 10 starts and serves as a crucial component in Rutgers’ draw circle. If the Scarlet Knights are to keep the contest competitive, Ball must throw Scane off her typical game with persistent pressure.

Rutgers’ recent losing run:

The Scarlet Knights’ swords seem rather dull recently. The New Jersey outfit opened its conference campaign with a close-run 9-7 loss to Penn State March 11. Since then, Rutgers defeated Vanderbilt 12-10, but Maryland and Michigan trounced the Scarlet Knights in back-toback bludgeonings.

While Rutgers coach Melissa Lehman’s team held a six-goal advantage in its last outing at Johns Hopkins Saturday, the group conceded seven straight scores and dropped its third consecutive contest.

With a winless record in Big Ten play, the Scarlet Knights face stacked odds against a soaring squad.

Player to Watch: Senior attacker Erin Coykendall

Coykendall provides a diverse skill set in her attacking position. While she scored a career-high six goals against Stanford on March 26, the senior attacker showcased her elite passing vision last Thursday with four assists against Penn State.

Scane and Coykendall play off one another, and Thursday’s contest should prove no different for NU. Expect Coykendall to act as the primary facilitator–– but

she’ll pounce on any defensive lapse with a quickfire effort.

Tale of the Tape: Offensive Production

With the two teams sitting at opposite extremes of the Big Ten standings, the scoring juxtaposition immediately jumps off the page. NU averages a conference highmark of 18.08 goals per game, and Scane, graduate student attacker Hailey Rhatigan, Coykendall and freshman midfielder Madison Taylor each sit inside the Big Ten’s top 10 scorers in goals per game.

Meanwhile, the Scarlet Knights struggle to sharpen their shooting sticks, recording a conference-low 94 goals in 10 outings. While Rutgers midfielder Cassidy Spilis and attacker Marin Hartshorn have registered impressive individual campaigns — tallying 27 goals and 36 points respectively — the rest of the team’s offensive production lags severely behind the veteran duo.

The Bottom Line:

The Scarlet Knights cannot compete if the contest turns into a shootout, and the Cats’ significant attacking firepower breeds barrages on opposing nets. Thursday’s contest should not be a matter of whether NU will win — but rather a measure of how wide the margin will extend. jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

Seeger Gray/Daily Senior Staffer

Joshua Hoffman/Daily Senior Staffer