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Monday, April 18, 2022
DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM 12 SPORTS/Lacrosse
2 CITY/Follow Your Nose
5 A&E/Dungeons & Dragons
Seniors lead NU to Senior Day victory
Evanston’s only locally-owned pet store talks two decades in service to the city
Students talk Dungeons & Dragons, community
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Books & Breakfast supports students Longtime program promotes health, literacy initiatives By ASHLEY LEE
the daily northwestern @ashley_yw_lee
Growing up in Evanston, Kara Roseborough said she enjoyed volunteering at Books & Breakfast at Dewey Elementary School. Years later, she returned to a new version of the organization, directing its site at Dewey Elementary School. Roseborough said it was a full-circle moment seeing how much care and thought was still put into the program for students that look like her. Books & Breakfast works in collaboration with Evanston/ Skokie School District 65. The nonprofit assists teacher-recommended students who qualify for free and reduced lunch with physical, emotional and academic support on an individual basis. The program runs one hour before school starts and provides resources to help students start their school day successfully, Executive Director Kim Hammock said. “We’re hoping that the push of resources (at the breakfasts) makes schools places where
all kids have what they need to be supported,” Hammock said. “Not just in our words and our intention, but actually in a lived out day-by-day engagement so all children are valued and successful.” When students come in, they are greeted by volunteers who serve a selection of breakfast food options. The menu switches daily with a mix of low-sugar cereals, fresh fruit and some form of protein. After eating, each student is matched with a tutor who helps with homework during a period called a “brain break.” Once students complete their work, they choose a book from a book cart to read aloud to their paired tutor. Roseborough said the books students can read are selected intentionally. The protagonists and characters of the books reflect the identities and cultures of the students enrolled in the program. Roseborough said about half of the students participating at the Dewey Elementary School site are Black and half are Latine. “There’s just so much thought and intention that goes into representation and care,” she said. Tutors are Northwestern students and other members of the community. NU students can sign up to volunteer through the
» See BREAKFAST, page 10
Photo courtesy of Jason Hegelmeyer
Hegelmeyer, Cusick win election
Taking more than 70% of the vote, slate to be sworn in Wednesday By MAIA PANDEY
daily senior staffer @maiapandey
Weinberg junior Jason Hegelmeyer and SESP sophomore Donovan Cusick have won the Associated Student Government presidential election with over 70% of the vote. The slate won 1,385 of the 1,950 total votes cast. Hegelmeyer and Cusick’s opponents raked in 529 votes, while 36 students submitted a vote of no confidence, according to Election Commission Chair Jo
Scaletty. The number of votes cast increased from last year’s 1,353 total votes, is down from 2,064 in 2020 and higher than the 852 in the uncontested 2019 election. Both students will be sworn in during Wednesday’s Senate meeting. Hegelmeyer said addressing the recent surge in COVID-19 cases will be a priority during the slate’s first weeks in office, along with determining the ASG executive board. “We want to make sure (personal protective equipment), specifically KN95s, are available for students when they need it,
which is now,” Hegelmeyer said. “If we could talk to the University about getting some sort of testing, at least for the time being while cases are spiking, that will probably be necessary.” Hegelmeyer and Cusick have both served on ASG since their respective freshman years, with Hegelmeyer currently serving as chair of the Campus Life Committee and Cusick as ASG’s chief of staff. Ahead of its victory, the Hegelmeyer-Cusick campaign announced endorsements from eight student groups, including For Members Only, the Middle
Eastern and North African Student Association, Alianza, the South Asian Students Alliance and the Rainbow Alliance. Hegelmeyer has also previously served as FMO senator and worked to pass legislation to permanently instate a Senate seat for FMO. Prior to this, the organization had to reapply for a Senate seat every year. In their four-pillar platform, Hegelmeyer and Cusick pledged they would work to improve University accommodations for
» See ELECTION, page 10
Edible Evanston fosters local food COVID-19 rate Organization promotes community, food growth, food sharing By KARA PEELER
daily senior staffer @karapeeler
To Co-Leader Tim Sonder (Medill ’83), Edible Evanston is all about connection. By connecting residents to food sources, the earth and Evanston, the nonprofit aims to promote community through food growing and sharing. Edible Evanston was born in 2013 as one of the top 10 ideas to improve the city proposed by Evanston 150, a group that designated beneficial projects to commemorate the city’s 150th anniversary. The organization joined
Recycle Me
Citizens’ Greener Evanston, an environment-focused nonprofit, as an independent program in 2016. One of Edible Evanston’s main initiatives is the Eggleston Park Food Forest. The Food Forest uses the principles of permaculture to grow an array of edible plants, designed to mimic a natural ecosystem. “There’s so much to share about how to grow in an ecologically sensitive way where we understand how biological systems all work together, how everything is connected,” Sonder said. “We can be more successful by supporting the diversity of life instead of fighting it and having a kill, kill, kill attitude
skyrockets at NU Positivity reaches its second-highest peak of pandemic By ANGELI MITTAL
daily senior staffer @amittal27 Kara Peeler/The Daily Northwestern
(toward) pests and problems.” The forest aims to grow a diverse range of crops, including lesser-common fruits like pawpaws, gooseberries and honeyberries. At the first volunteer event for
the Food Forest on Saturday, volunteers picked up trash, planted new seeds and set up a five-layered “lasagna” compost area for future plants.
» See EDIBLE EVANSTON, page 10
Northwestern’s positivity rate reached the second highest reported throughout the pandemic at 5.91% in the absence of testing and masking requirements on campus. The highest positivity rate, 5.98%, was reported at the end of Fall Quarter when about 3,400 tests
were received and most students had already left campus for Winter Break. This week’s rate is 0.21 percentage points higher than the thirdhighest positivity rate reported on Jan 7., coinciding with the peak of the omicron wave, when the University reported the highest number of cases in a single week. At that time, students were required to complete entry testing — with about 16,400 tests conducted that week — and the masking mandate in all public spaces was in place. With fewer than one-third the number of tests conducted this
» See COVID-19, page 10
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | A&E 5 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12