The Daily Northwestern — April 25, 2022

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The Daily Northwestern Monday, April 25, 2022

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Community reacts to curriculum law ETHS students, leaders talk new religious curricula

administrators spoke to The Daily about their experiences with the current religious curriculum and the effects the law could have.

By AVIVA BECHKY

Broad curriculum concerns

the daily northwestern @avivabechky

Evanston Township High School senior Sajeda Yagoub said she doesn’t often feel represented in her history classes.

“When you hear about U.S. history, it’s usually like, ‘Oh, this white guy did this,’ and it’s usually about Christians,” Yagoub, who is Muslim, said.

“But you never hear about the people from other religions that also made impacts on history.

Especially when their faith was a big part of why they did what they did and how they did what they did.”

For students like Yagoub, that sense of absence could be changing. Starting in January, a state law took effect requiring history classes in public schools and schools supported by public funds to teach students about the contributions of Americans of different faiths, including Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist Americans.

Evanston public school teachers, students and

In Evanston/Skokie School District 65, students study major world religions in their sixth grade social studies class.

ETHS classes often touch on events including the Protestant Reformation and the U.S. temperance movement.

But Aaron Becker, who teaches history and social sciences at ETHS, said religions other than Christianity aren’t a huge part of the curriculum.

“It’s definitely not something that’s stressed,” Becker said. “Individual teachers have to do that.”

Becker said he works to include lessons centering multiple religions. Before the pandemic, he encouraged students to conduct a cultural exchange where they visited each others’ homes and places of spirituality throughout the year.

ETHS senior Soumia Kaltimi, who is Muslim, also said history lessons tend to focus on Christianity. While she said

» See CURRICULUM, page 10

Angeli Mittal/Daily Senior Staffer

Students and community members gathered at The Rock on Saturday night to honor Palestinians lost in recent weeks.

SJP holds vigil after recent violence

Group commemorates Palestinians lost to attacks from Israeli forces

By JOANNA HOU and MAIA PANDEY

daily senior staffers @joannah_11 @maiapandey

Content Warning: This story contains mentions of death.

More than 70 community members gathered to honor Palestinian lives lost to violence from Israeli forces at The Rock on Saturday in a vigil organized by Students for Justice in Palestine.

On Friday morning, Israeli

forces entered the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem and injured about 30 Palestinians.

The mosque has been the center of heightened violence in recent weeks, which has also coincided with the holy month of Ramadan.

An SJP co-president, who asked to remain anonymous for safety concerns, said the goal of Saturday’s vigil was to focus on individual people affected by the violence.

“A lot of people have a lot of strong feelings about (the IsraelPalestine conflict), and it gets

reduced down to these concepts of ideologies or identity politics,” the SJP co-president said. “It’s important to remember that it’s people whose lives are being lost.”

In recent weeks, at least 25 Palestinians, both bystanders and fighters, have been killed. After an introductory speech from an SJP organizer, attendees gathered in a circle as another student read aloud the names of 17 lost Palestinians whose names have been recovered.

Community members then turned on their phone flashlights and held

a minute of silence to honor the deceased.

An SJP organizer and Weinberg junior, who asked to remain anonymous for safety concerns, said the recitation of names sought to “humanize” those who lost their lives. People often become desensitized to violence when trauma reports center the numbers of those killed and injured, he said.

As a Palestinian, the organizer said he hopes the vigil raises

» See SJP VIGIL, page 10

Center hosts annual Earth Day event NU continues its Evanston Ecology Center celebrates 15 years of Earth Day Celebrations

By AVIVA BECHKY

the daily northwestern @avivabechky

With attendees gathered outside, white booths lined the grass. At one, visitors made art out of shells and stones. At another, they swapped out seeds and picked up new ones.

Next to the booths, another group embarked on a short nature walk to explore surrounding trees.

The Evanston Ecology Center hosted its annual Earth Day Celebration on Saturday morning. Fifteen local environmental advocacy and education groups set up booths with hands-on activities to engage visitors while teaching them about nature and sustainability.

“Our thing at the Ecology Center is to get people outside and know that they have access to the outdoors,” said Margaret Isaacson (Weinberg `15), a program coordinator at the Ecology Center. “That is the first point of appreciating nature and appreciating the earth that we live on. So if that

Recycle Me

is the takeaway for families and folks here, then I’m happy.”

Organizations offered visitors information in areas ranging from the political to the biological. At the Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s booth, which has an Evanston North Shore chapter, volunteers asked visitors to drop a glass pebble into jars marking their level of concern about the climate crisis.

Catherine Lott, a volunteer for CCL, said she wanted participants to lobby for environmental legislation. The group supports the federal Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives April 2021 and would impose a fee on fuel’s carbon content.

Many residents also brought their children to the event. At one table, Evanston Public Library staff displayed some books recently nominated for the first annual Blueberry Awards, EPL’s new program honoring children’s books that foster relationships with the environment.

EPL also hosted an

cannabis campaign Campaign seeks to educate about risks, experts push back

By JACOB WENDLER

the daily northwestern @jacob.wendler

Ava Mandoli/The Daily Northwestern

The Evanston chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby hosted a booth advocating for a carbon tax.

ephemeral art station, where people arranged objects like seeds and beans in patterns before photographing them.

Martha Meyer, a library assistant and founder of the Blueberry Committee, said this event was the first time she ranthe ephemeral art program since the start of the pandemic. Throughout the event, she invited curious children to try arranging the art. “(The kids) become very

quiet and still and focused,” Meyer said. “And that’s how you know that they’re really involved.”

Evanston resident and event attendee Ashvin Veligandla said attending the celebration gave him the opportunity to expose his 6-year-old daughter to environmental work.

Veligandla is a volunteer for Citizens’ Greener Evanston

» See ECOLOGY CENTER, page 10

Walking through the halls of University buildings, Northwestern students are now greeted by posters with a concise message from Student Affairs: “Legal doesn’t equal safe.”

The posters list the potential risks of cannabidiol, better known as CBD, and are the newest iteration of a cannabis awareness campaign started by Health Promotion and Wellness in 2019.

The office, which focuses on education and support programs related to substance use and other wellness issues, launched the cannabis awareness campaign more than two years ago in anticipation of cannabis legalization in Illinois, according to HPaW Assistant Director Kevin Meier.

Meier said the office started the campaign to help students make informed decisions about

cannabis use.

“Just like every conversation we have around substance use with our college population, we come at it from a harm reduction lens,” Meier said. “It’s not the ‘just say no’ message by any means, and that’s just to be realistic, meet the students where they’re at and provide them with the tools necessary to make informed decisions.”

Recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois for adults 21 and older in January 2020, when the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act went into effect.

However, while City Council voted in September 2020 to allow the sale of recreational cannabis, the substance is still prohibited on all NU property and at University-sponsored events and activities. Because NU receives funding from the federal government, it is required to comply with federal law prohibiting the possession and use of cannabis, including the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. While the posters around campus remind students that University policy prohibits the use of

» See CBD, page 10

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | A&E 6 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12

2

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY. APRIL 25, 2022

AROUND TOWN

Residents help clean Main-Dempster Mile, Grey Park

By KELLY CLOONAN

the daily northwestern @kelly_cloonan

Evanston residents stood in a long line along Chicago Avenue Saturday — not for coffee or food, but for gloves and trash bags at the MainDempster Mile’s Earth Day Neighborhood Cleanup.

The fourth annual cleanup included working on sidewalks and in parks around the MainDempster Mile, as well as Grey Park. Main-Dempster Mile executive director Katherine Gotsick said the event had 195 signups as of Friday morning — a record number and increase from the 30 signups the event had during its first year in 2018.

Gotsick attributed the increased number of volunteers to the city’s inclusion of the event in digital newsletters and a larger Main-Dempster Mile mailing list. Additionally, she noted this was the first year that groups signed up, including a Girl Scouts troop, Beacon Academy, Grey Park neighbors and a Northwestern sorority.

According to Gotsick, the large number of

volunteers expanded the group’s capacity to care for the neighborhood. “(It) means we can tackle some really problem areas, like parks and larger areas that would normally be neglected,” she said, adding that this was the first year she got everything on her list checked off.

Cleanup volunteers checked in at either of two sites, coLab Evanston or Coco Design & Build Co., to receive supplies before heading out to clean sidewalks and parks.

Resident Erica Thieleman said one important goal was getting a better sense of the neighborhood.

“I don’t really look too deeply on the ground in this neighborhood. So you notice details you never noticed before,” Thieleman said.

Holding his young son, Matthew KesslerMcMunn said he hopes to be an example for the next generation, including his nieces and nephews who accompanied him.

The Earth Day Neighborhood Cleanup also offered various incentives to the volunteers, including a free half pint of beer from Sketchbook Brewing Company or a free scoop from FRÍO Gelato.

According to Gotsick, the incentives started back in 2018 when Bagel Art Cafe offered a free bagel to everyone who participated. She said the program introduces people to businesses they might not have normally visited.

“It’s a really neat way to get people into businesses they might not have walked into on another day,” Gotsick said.

Next year, Gotsick said she hopes to recruit more groups and expand the cleanup’s reach.

Though the cleanup was not scheduled to start until 11 a.m., Coyne said he started sanding and staining picnic tables at 8 a.m. and continued through the afternoon. Another neighbor, fourteen-year-old Jeremiah Simons, power washed a series of stone steps. Others picked up trash from the park and neighboring yards and raked leaves.

Volunteers said they were drawn to the event for various reasons, including a desire to put some love back into the area where they spend so much of their time.

“We love our community and just want to make it better,” Evanston resident Haley Kerr said. kellycloonan2024@u.northwestern.edu

Kelly Cloonan/The Daily Northwestern

A volunteer power washes stone steps in Grey Park.

District 65 students attend 10 Second Film Festival

By XUANDI WANG

daily senior staffer @aaronwangxxx

William Skin, a nine-year-old Evanston resident, said he considers himself an avid filmmaker. Encouraged by his father, who is a science teacher, Skin recently made a 10-second film on his iPad to explore projections of what human lives could look like in the aftermath of major climate change events.

“My video was trying to say that we can’t live on another planet, and the alternative is to be living on this dry, terrible planet,” Skin said. “That’s not what we want, so we need to

protect [the earth].”

His film was shown along with over 50 other clips — all filmed and edited by District 65 students — on Friday at One Rotary Center, the world headquarters for Rotary International.

The event, the 10 Second Film Festival, highlights children’s views on climate change and climate justice action.

District 65 parent and Climate Action Teams Organizer Marie Cabiya said the film festival was intended to provide an outlet for children to channel their feelings about climate change.

“Climate action is the antidote to climate anxiety,” Cabiya said. “This festival is a celebration. It gives kids an easy way to overcome grief

and a channel to voice their anxiety or their anger. It helps them find their little ways to add value to their lives.”

Though Cabiya noticed many adults she knows feel helpless to prevent the climate crisis on an individual basis, she said the event aims to highlight how children can bring new ideas, emotions and hopes to the table.

The District 65 Climate Action Team helped the district officially hire its first sustainability coordinator in 2022 and is currently working to persuade schools to implement a climate justice curriculum.

Its mission ties closely into Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan, a broad policy plan which aims to promote sustainable

infrastructure and get city operations to netzero carbon emissions by 2050.

The event also featured a drumming circle after the film screening. Participants were handed recycled instruments such as buckets and Tupperware and instructed to hit or scrape them to make music patterns while chanting “climate action right now.”

The festival also held a raffle to award young filmmakers for their work. Prizes included professional photoshoot sessions and the opportunity to shadow the mayor and Sustainability Team for a day. Skin won a one-month training session at School of Rock. xuandiwang2022@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

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ON CAMPUS

NU celebrates environmental activism

By CAROLINE BREW and RUSSELL LEUNG

daily senior staffers @carolinelbrew @rjleung7

Northwestern students and Evanston residents filed into Alice Millar Chapel on Friday evening for an all-night Earth Day event filled with speakers, workshops and live music.

The student-led event, “Generations of Environmental Justice,” was inspired by the 1970 “Project Survival,” a NU student-led teach-out organized before the first Earth Day. Anthropology Prof. Melissa Rosenzweig, who originally devised the theme, said she initially pictured the event as an opportunity for attendees to meet and connect with older environmental activists. However, they said student organizers planned and developed their own vision.

“I’m so proud of the students who put this together because they were bold, they were conscientious and they put together a program that I never could have conceived,” Rosenzweig said.

“They wanted to get away from the idea of individual leadership and more around people power and community action.”

Communication junior Lucy London, a lead organizer of the event and member of Fossil Free NU, said while “Project Survival” only featured white male speakers, they wanted “Generations of Environmental Justice” to center Black and Indigenous people’s work.

“We aim to center Black and Indigenous people and people of color in workshops at this event, because poor Black, brown and Indigenous people bear the brunt of environmental injustice, and therefore are at the heart of resistance and movement strategy,” London said in their introduction speech.

Running from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., programming began at the chapel and Parkes Hall after opening speeches from organizers. Several programs ran each hour until 11 p.m., including talks from professors, activists and environmental justice organizations.

In her lecture “Indigenous Sacrifice Zones:

Environmental Justice,” Medill Prof. Patty Loew discussed examples of economic development disproportionately impacting Indigenous communities, including the Enbridge Line 3 and Line 5 oil pipeline projects.

Loew, a citizen of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe, said she was excited to speak to attendees about her tribe’s fight against Line 5.

She added non-Indigenous supporters are important to the community’s advocacy efforts because Native Americans are less than 3% of the U.S.’s population.

“A lot of times, we identify problems, and we wring our hands and say, ‘Oh yeah, that’s really bad,’” Loew said. “But I hope that attendees get some solutions out of my presentation because I talk about the legal tools that Indigenous people have to protect their natural and cultural landscapes.”

Evanston Township High School senior Lily Aaron, an Etown Sunrise coordinator, presented with other members on Etown Sunrise’s progress and plans for the future. Aaron and the other leaders also initiated discussion on how Etown Sunrise and NU could collaborate.

“For so long, there’s been a bit of a disconnect between the two of us, and we, at our core, are both trying to hold these institutions accountable,” Aaron said. “We both have a whole lot of energy and if we mobilize together we can really get it done.”

The event included breaks for free time and food at 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., during which musicians Moyana Olivia and the Debbie-Marie Brown Band performed.

Weinberg freshman Ishika Arora, one of the event’s lead organizers and a Fossil Free member, said food for the event was sourced from sustainable or local organizations and provided alongside compostable dishes and utensils.

“This event is about environmental justice and making sure that we’re upholding the values that we want to talk about,” Arora said.

Activist Jessy Bradish hosted a visioning session at midnight to help attendees create actionable plans based on material they learned from

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campus@dailynorthwestern.com Seeger Gray/The Daily Northwestern

At “Generations of Environmental Justice,” students and Evanston residents engaged in all-night programming centered around environmental justice.

the event.

“Hopefully, it’ll model for us that this is the way we can all work together in leader-full, nonhierarchical movements,” Bradish said.

After midnight, programming included a collaging space, environmental justice movies and a strategy session with Fossil Free NU and the Red Pine Revolutionary Collective.

Weinberg junior Isaiah Tolbert, who was also a volunteer, said the night helped him bond with other students in a way he hadn’t before.

“It really connected me more with the people who are already working on the same goals, just in different ways,” Tolbert said. “I probably wouldn’t be here waiting for the Fossil Free Northwestern meeting if I had not gone to that first.”

The program concluded with a gathering to reflect on the night while watching the sunrise over the Lakefill. London said it was a “magical” experience.

“That was when we realized how good it felt to be in community together,” London said, “and have the space to grieve about all that is happening and all that is wrong with our world and actually resolve to put action and energy towards it.” carolinebrew2024@u.northwestern.edu rjleung7@u.northwestern.edu

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The Daily Northwestern

4

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

Program encourages campuswide office sustainability

By ELLA JEFFRIES

the daily northwestern @ellajeffriess

More than 56 offices and 1,000 Northwestern employees have engaged in the Green Office Program created by sustainNU to become part of a campuswide community of green leaders, SustainNU Program Coordinator Cria Kay said.

The program seeks to guide office members toward achieving sustainability goals, like conserving energy and water, reducing waste and increasing awareness of campus environmental justice initiatives.

Kay, who manages the Green Office Program, said an office must complete the certification process to achieve “Green Office” status. This process includes meeting with a sustainNU staff member and forming an internal Green Office team. The team then works to implement at least 24 of the sustainability benchmarks that sustainNU has outlined for certification.

“The program is really intended to be adaptable so that it fits the needs of the office,” Kay said. “There is no deadline defining how quickly offices have to complete the certification process, and through this program, we are ingraining sustainability into the office culture in a lasting way.”

SustainNU also recently updated the program to incorporate social sustainability goals, which focus on office culture and employee well-being as they relate to environmental justice. SustainNU encourages offices to include sustainability in the onboarding process of new employees to ensure green habits continue to

Fewer tests, no masking changes amid declined campus positivity rate While Northwestern’s COVID-19 positivity rate declined slightly this week, it remains on the higher end since the start of the pandemic.

be a priority, Kay said.

Hillel’s Rabbi Jessica Lott said caring for the planet is a core Jewish value, which inspired the building’s faculty and students to join the Green Office initiative.

Hillel has a student and staff Sustainability Committee to promote environmentalism by identifying where the religious space needs to change its practices. While working toward certification, the office made a commitment to only using compostable disposables, created Cats Who Compost — a free weekly composting program for both on and off campus students — and implemented two satellite sites for compost containers in partnership with other religious centers, Lott said.

Lott said Hillel is in the process of becoming Green Office certified, and sustainNU has supported the organization in this process while also respecting the space’s religious values. “(SustainNU) have been really sensitive to the fact that different communities have different needs and helping to navigate the certification process, which is more complicated for us because we are a community center that doesn’t have regular office procedures,” Lott said.

Norris University Center became certified in 2016 and has since reduced its paper waste and incorporated LED light bulbs as a source of cleaner and reduced energy. It has also purchased ENERGY STAR, a program that promotes energy efficiency.

Dan Foley, assistant director for facilities at Norris, said the building wanted to be part of the campuswide drive for sustainability.

“Norris will be 50 years old next year, and it’s hard to be sustainable in an older facility like this,” Foley said. “But if you’re really careful

Last week’s positivity rate of 5.91% was the second highest reported throughout the pandemic. The University told The Daily on Tuesday that NU does not intend to make changes to its masking or testing policies despite this spike in positivity.

The COVID-19 positivity rate this week declined to 5.17% this week — a 0.74 percentage point decrease from last week.

New positive cases this week declined 25%

Rebecca Shaid/The Daily Northwestern

The Green Office Program created by sustainNU empowers campus offices to become more sustainable.

and thoughtful about it, you can accomplish some pretty big things that make a big impact.”

Looking into the future, sustainNU is exploring different ways to engage offices with recertification opportunities, as well as creating networking events for green offices to collaborate with each other, Kay said.

“Green Office opens up a ton of resources for participating offices,” Kay said. “This is a joint effort that’s meant to encourage people to change their own communities to fit their sustainability goals.”

from the week prior to 227 cases. However, the number of tests received also went down this week by almost 15% to approximately 4,400 tests.

Of the 227 University cases, undergraduate students continue to comprise the majority of new positives at 50% with 114 cases. Nonundergraduate students account for 26% with 59 cases. Staff members constitute 38 of the cases, while faculty account for 16.

NU students, faculty and staff can receive free, in-person asymptomatic testing at the Donald P. Jacobs Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m on weekdays. Those with symptoms should use the northwest side testing entrance at the Jacobs Center to receive in-person testing between 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays.

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6 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

A&E arts & entertainment

Seeger Gray/The Daily Northwestern

‘Boomshaka Remastered’ celebrates group’s 25 years

By ANDRÉS BUENAHORA

the daily northwestern @andresbuena01

Boomshaka is loud.

Founded in 1997, the student-run organization is Northwestern’s premier dance, drum and rhythm group. Boomshaka celebrated its 25th anniversary with its spring show this weekend, with performances at Shanley Pavilion Friday and Saturday night.

Boomshaka has built a reputation on campus for high-energy performances that incorporate aspects of musical genres, ranging from jazz to hip-hop to contemporary pop, with different forms of percussion.

The group’s 2022 spring show, titled Boomshaka Remastered, delivered over 20 pieces that featured creative uses of percussion, with

drummers using stools, garbage cans and even kitchen plates in one performance called “Dinner Table.”

“I was just amazed at how fun it was,” Weinberg first-year William Shamai said. “The drum beating was really fun…You can just have a really good time and engage in the arts.”

Shamai said before seeing Boomshaka Remastered, he hadn’t realized how much he enjoyed attending student performances at NU. “We spent a lot of time looking at and watching older shows in order to pay homage to all 25 years of Boomshaka,” Producer Harrison Israel said. “We also had such a large number of alumni come back for the show, so it was really incredible to get to perform for so many people who made this group what it is today.”

Israel, a Weinberg junior, said because Boomshaka has only 27 members, the group has been able to form tight-knit bonds, and nearly every

member got the chance to write or choreograph a piece for this year’s spring show.

The cast rehearsed over 10 hours a week throughout Winter and Spring Quarters, as well as seven hours a day during tech week.

“Boomshaka is unique in the people it brings,” Drummer Lorenzo Jennings said.

Jennings, a SESP first-year, said he is primarily a drummer and had never seen himself as a dancer prior to joining Boomshaka. He credited the organization with giving him the opportunity to pursue dance and explore this aspect of his identity as an artist.

Jennings said the highlight of his Boomshaka experience was going on spring tour at fellow drummer Ben Monroe’s house in New York over Spring Break.

“We got to refine some pieces for the show and go perform in gigs for schools,” Jennings said. “(It was) a really good bonding moment for all of us

to be together for that whole week.”

The show incorporated a cappella, basketball dribbling and drummers casually tossing their drumsticks to each other, as well as playing catch with instruments mid-song. A trivia contest, comedic exit interviews with senior performers and an interactive sequence of rhythm games with a roaring audience of students and alumni capped off Boomshaka Remastered.

Israel expressed his gratitude for the support from other students. He said selling out all three Refusionshaka shows in the fall and all four of Boomshaka’s spring shows was one of the highlights of this year.

“The energy from the crowd at all of our shows this year has been incredible,” Israel said. “It’s been such a joy getting to finally perform again live on a stage.” andresbuenahora2024@u.northwestern.edu

Ruth Carter talks about artistic processes, Marvel films

By ASHTON GOREN

the daily northwestern @ash_goren

Costume designer Ruth Carter spoke at A&O Productions’ spring speaker event at 3 p.m. about her artistic process, Black memory and what it takes to design a Marvel film from behind the scenes.

The event began with a screening of “Black Panther,” which earned Carter the Academy Award for Best Costume Design in 2018. Communication Prof. Miriam Petty moderated the event, and members of Stitch Fashion Magazine and other students asked questions about Carter’s methods and experience.

Carter has worked on more than 60 film and television projects. Her interest in costume design began at Hampton University when she started drawing characters for the school’s theatre department.

“Most people don’t realize how many people it takes to create a Marvel film,” Carter said.

“We are a machine behind the camera.”

A&O Director of Speakers and Communication junior Noah Rabinovitch said A&O chose Carter to speak because the group wanted to feature a designer in film.

Many NU students are interested in filmmaking and production, so A&O wanted to shine a light on what happens behind the camera, he said. “(Carter) tells dynamic and interesting stories highlighting the Black experience, and we want to have speakers and performers that share the identities of students on campus,” Rabinovitch said.

After designing for dance companies and theater productions in Los Angeles, Carter began her career in the film industry by working on “School Daze” with Spike Lee in 1998.

Her recent works include “Selma,” “Dolemite is My Name” and “Coming 2 America.” Carter said she is interested in avante garde fashion and likes to push the boundaries with her designs.

Carter grew up with a single parent and eight siblings, so she said she derives inspiration from her upbringing and approaches costume

design with her community in mind.

“If you’re a part of a marginal community, you’re always thinking about dressing in a way that’s presentable,” Petty said. “A way that’s respected.”

Each story Carter works on is also rooted in research about the world she is building.

Her costumes for “Black Panther,” for example, featured elements from 12 different African tribes that her design team studied.

Although the event wasn’t co-sponsored with Stitch, the fashion magazine submitted questions for Carter beforehand. Members of A&O wanted to include organizations interested in the content of the event. Rabinovitch said Stitch’s response was engaging and A&O was happy to have them.

Some students asked Carter about her experience with imposter syndrome as a young professional. Carter reminded students to prioritize their own aesthetic vision when working on a project. She said if they begin to feel like an imposter, they could be playing tricks on themselves.

Reflecting on her work with Marvel, Carter

Joanne Haner/Daily Senior Staffer

Costume Designer Ruth Carter spoke to Northwestern students about her methods and experience Saturday.

expressed interest in pursuing future projects about Black memory. She is interested in telling stories about family and overcoming day-today dysfunctions.

“This world isn’t perfect,” Carter said. “I’d like to sell the imperfect stories of life.” ashtongoren2024@u.northwestern.edu

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

7

‘Late, A Cowboy Song’ tells a story of self-discovery

By ANNIE XIA

the daily northwestern

Kelsey Ervi discovered “Late, A Cowboy Song” as an undergraduate at Baylor University in a book of collected plays.

More than a decade later, they will direct the play as a student in Northwestern’s MFA theatre program this weekend at the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

“When I read it, it really stayed with me. I said, ‘One day, I’m going to get to work on this,’” Ervi said. “I’ve been existing and mulling around the atmosphere of the play for a long time.”

“Late, A Cowboy Song” tells the story of Mary as she searches for freedom and self-discovery.

Her and her husband have been together since they were 8 years old, but after befriending a female cowboy, Mary’s world expands and her

marriage starts to crack.

As a queer, non-binary director, Ervi said they feel a strong connection to the gender themes that frequently appear throughout the story. They said they feel represented by how the cowboy’s character does not fall inside the rigid binary structure.

“All of a sudden, we’re subverting this traditionally only male-identifying image into something of our own,” Ervi said. “It’s sexy and funny, and I think that subversion is a big part of what the playwright is exploring.”

As part of the MFA Collaboration Series, the play heavily involves graduate students both frontstage and backstage. Along with the scene, costume and lighting designers, Ervi said the group of four MFA students have been working on the project since fall 2020. Because of the COVID19 pandemic, actors didn’t join the process until Winter Quarter.

Emiley Kiser, the NU graduate student who plays Mary, said the cast never knows which time might be its last chance to perform together. Inperson rehearsals and performances have been a gift because of the crucial role physical proximity plays in theatre, she said.

“There’s a certain level of communication that I miss out on when I’m not breathing the same air as the other person,” Kiser said. “An amazing gift theatre gives you that you don’t necessarily get from movies or TV is you come to be transformed.”

Fanis Gkikas, who plays Mary’s husband, said he hopes the show will nudge people to reflect on their relationships. Gkikas said that although his character loves Mary, the husband controls Mary in a claustrophobic way.

Gkikas jokingly suggested people use “Late, A Cowboy Song” as a hashtag if they break up from a harmful relationship after the play.

“We can be in a toxic relationship and might not even know it,” Gkikas said. “We deserve to be free, and we should always pursue freedom.”

In their director’s note, Ervi said they see “Late, A Cowboy Song” as a story for people who think they are unworthy of changing their lives. They hope the play reaches hearts that have outgrown their current situations.

Ervi said they want audience members to leave the show thinking about what directions they want to take their lives in.

“I hope they walk away with that question inside of them: ‘What is the thing I’m ready to walk into?’” Ervi said. “‘Am I ready to take that big step? Because I think I am.’ ” The shows will take place on Friday 7:30 p.m., Saturday 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. anniexia2025@u.northwestern.edu

Moyana Olivia tackles big issues, creates community

By JACK AUSTIN

daily senior staffer @jackaustinnews

A young girl, sitting on her father’s lap in church while he sang, would grab his mic and belt out the tunes he practiced at home. From a young age, it was clear she was meant to be a musician.

Tackling issues like homophobia and racism while boasting a deep soulful voice that can hush a room, Bienen sophomore Olivia Pierce, also known by her stage name Moyana Olivia, has amassed a dedicated following among her fellow Northwestern students.

Moyana Olivia hails from the Minneapolis suburb of Edina, Minnesota where she grew up in a musical, creative family.

“I just want to make music that builds community, brings people together and sheds light on experiences that maybe we don’t necessarily talk about in mainstream songs,” she said.

Moyana Olivia said she began writing her own songs in 2017. She received help from the nonprofit Hope Community’s Best Buy Teen Tech Center, which taught her how to produce songs under J.T.

Evans. Moyana Olivia co-produces all her songs and focuses on shaping the recording’s sound.

“She’s definitely a singer-songwriter at heart,” Evans said. “But she also has a very powerful voice.

We’ve been exploring with different sounds in her music. The sound is always really powerful and emotional.”

While Moyana Olivia has only released singles so far, she said she has many full-length projects in the works. “Black Joy” is an upcoming collaboration between Moyana Olivia and other Black artists on campus, she said. Moyana Olivia said she wants to empower other young musicians through teaching.

One of Moyana Olivia’s voice instructors, Bienen Prof. Patrice Michaels, said the pair is exploring different ways to use the artist’s voice, who was not formally trained before coming to campus. “(Her voice is) really flexible. Really interesting.

It’s a projection of her big and energetic personality,” Michaels said. “Her desire to express point of view and her ability to use all kinds of tools, her voice, her compositions, her ability to arrange and record — that’s really unique.”

The artist said Black identity is central to her music. She said building on the legacy of great

Black musicians is a great responsibility, but it’s something she’s proud of.

Moyana Olivia said family has been instrumental to her success. She said she reviews contracts with her mother and has collaborated on covers with her younger sister. Her father, who recorded CDs for Moyana Olivia and her sisters, was a major reason she got into music.

In a field that can seem elitist, Moyana Olivia said she encourages young people from various backgrounds to get involved in making their own music. She said people don’t need to take lessons or know theory to make their own music.

“Anybody can really make music,” she said.

“GarageBand is free. You can record yourself in a voice memo, and then you have a song.”

Weary of how musicians have been treated by record labels, Moyana Olivia operates as an independent artist. To make production easier and become more self-sufficient, Moyana Olivia began learning multiple instruments, a decision inspired by watching H.E.R. play drums and sing simultaneously, she said.

Moyana Olivia’s father, James Pierce, said his daughter quickly taught herself to play the guitar. Pierce said he was proud of her tenacity and

readiness to try new sounds.

“Everything that she has written always has a lot of meaning to it,” Pierce said. “We’ve talked to our girls about finding how they can leverage their talents to make a difference.”

Unlike many artists who create a public image that belies a different persona, Evans said he is impressed with Moyana Olivia’s authenticity. He described her as genuine, kind and humble.

“She’s getting better and better every time, vocally, songwriting wise. So the sky is really the limit,” Evans said. “She’s likable, she’s going to treat her fans well.

She’s going to make people feel appreciated.”

To see more of Moyana Olivia, watch The Daily’s video here. jonathanaustin2023@u.northwestern.edu Scan this QR code with Snapchat or your smartphone camera to view an accompanying video on PLEASE EDIT ME TY TY!!

Wilco celebrates 20th ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ anniversary

By JACK AUSTIN

daily senior staffer @jackaustinnews

Blue lights pierced through smoke as frontman Jeff Tweedy sang about love, cigarettes and Chicago.

The crowd swayed back and forth, standing for the duration of Wilco’s performance Friday.

April 22 marked the first of three Chicago shows commemorating the 20th anniversary of the band’s seminal album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.” Wilco is attempting to recreate the studio recordings for a live audience.

“Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” looms large as one of

the band’s most beloved full albums, known as a turning point where Wilco began to find its unique sound and voice.

According to Shanlie Stead, who attended Friday’s concert, the tour is a measurement of change.

She said the album, her favorite of Wilco’s, reflected the urban environment in which it was created.

“It was the lyrics, the sound (that resonated with me). It was avant-garde,” Stet said. “It is one of those albums that you listen to from the beginning to the very end.”

Josh Rosenberg, host of music podcast “Roadcase,” became a Wilco fan when Nonesuch Records released “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.” He said the concert was particularly special to him because the album

was his introduction to the band’s music.

“I like (the album’s) cohesiveness, the production, the feel of it. The way it’s tracked is genius,” Rosenberg said. “There are some incredible f---ing bangers that have stood the test of time.”

Concertgoers Patrick Zakem and Mick Johnson, who both grew up in St. Louis before moving to Chicago, said they were excited to hear the album’s original arrangements. Friday’s performance marked the 45th Wilco show Zakem attended.

Tony Guillen said “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” stands up to other alternative landmark albums like “Kid A” by Radiohead.

“A band develops a sort of signature over time,”

Guillen said. “To me, I think this is their sort of record where they found (their signature).”

After performing the album, Wilco played a number of covers and capped off the night with a series of unreleased outtakes from the album.

Stet said he left the venue very satisfied with the band’s performance. She said the highlights of the night were “Poor Places” and “Reservations.”

“It was amazing. You could see how they have grown,” Stet said. “You could see how they still have that heart. They’ve gotten older and more confident.” jonathanaustin2023@u.northwestern.edu

Jack Austin/Daily Senior Staffer

arts & entertainment Editor Audrey Hettleman Assistant Editors Andrés Buenahora Annie Xia Designer Wendy Zhu Sara Gronich Staff Ashton Goren Jack Austin

8

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

The Daily Explains: Greek life and student housing

By RUSSELL LEUNG

daily senior staffer @rjleung7

Students walk past Greek life houses on campus every day, from trips to Henry Crown Sports Pavilion through the fraternity quad to late-night Fran’s Cafe runs past an array of sorority houses.

But many students unaffiliated with Greek Life have never been inside one of these houses, let alone understand how the Greek housing process compares to traditional campus residential life. The Daily spoke with students and staff members involved in the system to explain what lies behind the Greeklettered exteriors of these houses.

Ownership and management of houses The University owns most Greek houses on campus, but each house has its own management system for maintenance and operations. Most fraternities and sororities lease their houses from Northwestern via their housing corporations, which are alumni groups for Greek societies that help run the living spaces.

Houses can opt to grant Residential Services primary responsibility for managing the facilities — including cleaning and furnishing — or they can opt out and direct their respective housing corporations to assume those duties instead, Residential Services Operations Manager Alejandro Domínguez told The Daily. Two Greek houses have opted in and 15 have opted out.

Room selection process and residency requirements Living in a Greek house counts toward students’ two-year on-campus residence requirement. Room prices vary by size and house but are generally comparable to, or cheaper than, those of residence halls.

Medill senior Nick Papandreou, who is Sigma Phi Epsilon’s vice president for finance, said the fraternity charged $8,700 this year for a single room.

The cost of a residence hall single room ranged between $11,937 and $12,633.

According to several fraternity leaders, most students who live in Greek houses are sophomores, while juniors and seniors typically live off campus.

Because of this flexibility, most Greek members

Daily file photo by Joanne Haner

710 Emerson. The house used to belong to Zeta Tau Alpha but was converted into a residence hall.

who want to live in their chapter’s house can do so.

“Everyone who wants a room can get one,” Papandreou said. “There’s never competition.”

Papandreou said Sig Ep members choose rooms based on seniority in the fraternity, but other fraternities use randomized systems and prioritize executive members in room-selection processes.

Communication sophomore Hayden Sikora, the president of Delta Tau Delta, said the chapter also considers the house’s capacity — 34 residents — during the rush process because it wants everyone to be able to live in the house if they wish to do so. He said all freshmen who joined Delt this year plan to live in the house in the 2022-23 academic year.

All houses have certain requirements to maintain their leases, Domínguez said. Houses often have to host a certain number of residents to be financially secure, or else the University can repurpose the house into a standard dormitory or other type of building.

NU works with fraternity and sorority housing corporations to determine how the University or Greek organizations can use these houses, University spokesperson Hilary Hurd Anyaso said in an email to The Daily.

“We work with the housing corporations to discuss space utilization at times when chapter operations may

limit the ability or need to house members, as well as timelines for a return to normal operation,” Anyaso said.

Lambda Chi Alpha President and Weinberg junior Nathan Heyen said in an email to The Daily that the house typically needs at least 20 of 24 residents for the housing corporation to pay for the lease and other costs. In the past few years, however, the corporation has waived the requirement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of its 29 residents this year, Sikora said the Delt house hosted six juniors, an unusually high number, in order to reach its residency requirement.

“If you don’t have enough people living in the house, the housing corporation can’t keep it open unless they charge each resident an obscene amount of money,” Sikora said. “So in order to keep it in the green, we have to have at least 29, 30 people living in the house every year.”

Residence rules and supervision Greek house residents mostly follow the same regulations as other students who live on campus.

Papandreou said Residential Life guidelines on everything from candles to bicycles apply to fraternity and sorority spaces as well.

He added Greek houses also enforce a ban on consumption and ownership of alcoholic beverages for all residents, even for those who are of legal drinking age. Regular residence halls do not adhere to this rule.

“I can’t emphasize enough the strictness of the policies,” Papandreou said. “There’s misconceptions regarding fraternity spaces — people think that we can do whatever we want.”

Greek houses also have internal procedures for handling discipline. Heyen said Lambda Chi has a student house manager who enforces rules and coordinates with the housing corporation, in addition to a risk manager who oversees the house along with the chapter president.

Sikora said Delt has a student honor board, composed of its sergeant at arms and two members from each year, that mediates violations like failing to keep the house clean or getting severely inebriated. The purpose of the honor board is to promote accountability, he said.

Weinberg sophomore Matthew Nielsen, president of Pi Kappa Alpha, said the University also installed security cameras inside the fraternity house. If Pike violated the Student Code of Conduct, NU would meet with the chapter’s executive board to determine disciplinary action like sanctions, he said.

Due to a violation of code of conduct, Pike was suspended Spring Quarter and has lost its house until fall 2023, Anyaso said in the email.

NU initially suspended Pike on Feb. 9 and upheld this suspension on March 7 following an appeals process, Anyaso said. The University announced Wednesday that Pike’s former house, 2313 Sheridan Rd., will be a residential hall in 2022-23 and will likely be managed by Residential Services through the 2024-25 academic year.

Nielsen said he hasn’t been able to see a lot of his close friends from the fraternity because NU randomly assigned Pike members to residence halls across campus after its suspension. He said losing the house has been one of the worst parts of his experience in Greek life.

“If you’re in Greek life, housing is a pretty integral part of that experience,” Nielsen said. “If I knew my freshman year I would be removed from the house, I don’t think I would have joined Greek Life.”

Nicole Feldman contributed reporting.

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

9

District 202 reflects on Witherspoon’s retirement

By OLIVIA ALEXANDER

daily senior staffer @oliviagalex

Content warning: This story contains mentions of gun violence.

When Evanston Township High School/ District 202 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon first arrived at the high school in July 2006, he said he quickly realized the school’s structures created racial inequities.

He is set to retire in June, after 16 years at the district. Approved on a 4-3 vote from the Board of Education, Witherspoon came to the district from Des Moines Public Schools.

As superintendent, he said his priorities have ranged from closing the racial achievement gap, making capital improvements to promoting a strong sense of student belonging to designing an inclusive dress code.

For Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton, who started in his role amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Witherspoon has been a mentor.

“He’s a legend, and he’ll be missed,” Horton said.

Horton said he meets with Witherspoon weekly to discuss topics from tax increment financing districts to school security. Horton said it seems to him that Witherspoon operates on a set of core values that he doesn’t deviate from — keeping equity at the center and building strong relationships with students.

When Witherspoon announced his retirement in September, former student representative on the District 202 school board, Jesse Chatz (ETHS ’12) said his former classmates from ETHS filled his social media feed with messages reminiscing on how much they love Witherspoon. “(It means) a lot for a bunch of 27-year-olds to be talking about their high school superintendent,” Chatz said. “You don’t get that often.

He has this celebrity-like persona.”

During his first few years at ETHS, Witherspoon worked to combat the tracking system perpetuating inequity at the school. At

the time, a student’s eighth grade test scores determined their eligibility for honors courses at ETHS. “Those in the highest track got the very best curriculum and materials we felt we could offer,” Witherspoon said. “Those in other tracks — each track really offered them less.”

Witherspoon said while the work to even the academic playing field for freshmen at ETHS is ongoing, he’s pleased with what’s been done so far.

Most recently, Witherspoon has been known for keeping the school closed throughout the pandemic. ETHS reopened for full in-person instruction in fall 2021 after 18 months of remote and hybrid learning. In December, with the onset of the omicron variant, ETHS briefly transitioned to e-learning.

“As superintendent, all those lives were my responsibility when it came to decisions,” Witherspoon said.

Chatz said he saw the impact of Witherspoon’s work directly as the district implemented earned honors for freshman biology.

The decision meant all students would take one biology course, and students who felt that honors credits were important could earn honors by completing extra assignments.

Chatz said this was a “first of its kind” move for ETHS, and Witherspoon was its champion, despite resistance and confusion about the changes from the community.

“He never wavered from his commitment for an equitable education,” Chatz said. “That’s one thing I learned from him is you’re going to be faced with a lot of opposition, you’re going to be faced with a lot of support, but you can’t waver from your position as a leader in a school system.”

Chatz said seeing Witherspoon’s leadership as just a junior in high school was in part what led him to his current work in education.

Today, he’s the communications director for Skokie and Morton Grove School District 69 and Morton Grove School District 70.

District 202 Board President Pat SavageWilliams said ETHS students love Witherspoon. She said she remembers one day joining him as he greeted students during their

lunch period.

“He walks through the cafeteria and greets every student, and he does that two or three times a week,” she said. “He literally goes up to them and says, ‘How are you doing? Hope you’re having a good day.’”

Witherspoon said during his last school year, he’s “trying hard not to miss anything.”

District 202 Vice President Monique Parsons said this sentiment has been a longtime strength for Witherspoon. She said the superintendent is often seen in the community at games and performances, and he’s also been there in times of hardship.

While a student at ETHS, Parsons’ son lost a classmate and friend to gun violence. Parsons said she had heard about Witherspoon and the changes he was making, but it was hearing the superintendent speak at the student’s funeral when she began to feel proud her son was under his leadership at the school.

“From that moment on, I knew that he was

there to serve every student and not just some,” Parsons said. “He was less concerned about where they came from, which neighborhood they were from, and more concerned about how they were treated when they got to ETHS.” Parsons said Witherspoon will be remembered for knowing Evanston could educate all students better, and he made decisions to do so, regardless of the pushback.

“He came in with the belief that every student has the capacity to learn and to reach their full potential, and that it was the responsibility of him as a leader to make sure that that happened,” Parsons said. “He made sure that students were not being educated based on their zip code or their ward or where they live, but that they were being seen and recognized as students of Evanston Township High School.”

Ilana Arougheti contributed reporting. oliviaalexander2024@u.northwestern.edu

Photo courtesy of Takumi Iseda

After 16 years as superintendent, Eric Witherspoon will retire this June.

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10

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

CURRICULUM

The law’s potential impacts

From page 1

they learned about Islam in school, Kaltimi said students still sometimes make discriminatory comments about students wearing hijabs.

“The only religion that I feel like it’s really talked about is Christianity,” she said. “(Islam) is being taught in such a negative way.”

Representing people of different faiths When ETHS’s history curriculum discusses religious historical figures, Becker said he doesn’t always discuss their religion in class unless it was a significant part of their story.

But Kaltimi said she sees the failure to talk about historical figures’ religions — especially figures like Muhammad Ali, who were heavily influenced by their faith — as indicative of a fear of discussing religion in public school.

“They talk about Malcolm X all the time, but they don’t mention how he’s a Muslim,” Kaltimi said.

ETHS sophomore Kayla Drajpuch, who is Jewish, said she thinks curricula sometimes overlook important parts of Jewish history. She said school lessons sometimes neglected to talk about the faith background of people like Albert Einstein, whose Jewish faith had a deep impact on his career.

To Becker, though, the law’s focus on contributions is problematic.

“I don’t love the language of it. I don’t think we should just study people based on their contributions,” Becker said. “Even if a group doesn’t have a senator or doesn’t have an entertainer that’s not what should be giving them their validity or equality.”

ECOLOGY CENTER From page 1

and Natural Habitat Evanston.

“I’m learning specifically about what we can do locally, which is kind of lost on people because they think ‘Well, this is a faraway thing. I can’t do anything on my own,’” Veligandla said. “But there are actually certain things you can do locally within your community.”

To the side of the Ecology Center building, volunteer Cherie Fisher, a social science researcher for the U.S. Forest Service, led nature walks. She said she showed children beech trees and talked about how foresters measure trees.

Fisher said one 11-year-old in particular was enthusiastic about the walk.

“I have a special tape that foresters used to measure the size of a tree,” Fisher said. “And she just wanted to take it and measure all the trees and see which ones were the biggest.”

For gardeners, Saturday’s event offered practical resources as well as advice.

In District 65, administrators have been revamping the social studies curriculum for multiple years with student input. Jamila Dillard, the district’s director of social sciences, said she wants to foster curiosity about history.

“The more we instill in our students these different perspectives, and these different cultural groups, it’s just going to be amazing for the district,” she said.

Though the overhaul was planned independently of the new law, Dillard said it presents an opportunity to incorporate a number of new state education mandates that encourage teaching about diverse groups of people. The new curriculum will assign students to research the contributions of historical figures as well as their faiths, she said.

At ETHS, however, Becker isn’t sure the law will inspire much change.

“Most teachers, I think, in Illinois have some freedom in what they teach, how much they teach it, no matter how much administrations and school boards try to control the curriculum,” he said. “I don’t see a lot of teachers really changing what they’re teaching.”

Kamasi Hill, an ETHS history teacher who holds a doctorate in religion and historical studies, said he already teaches about religion.

Hill said some teachers who don’t teach much about religion might hesitate to discuss religion out of fear of proselytizing. But he said every teacher should talk about it to some extent.

“I talk about religion in all my classes,” Hill said.

“I don’t think you can teach history without talking about religion.” avivabechky2025@u.northwestern.edu The Ecology Center’s booth invited visitors to scoop soil and wildflower seeds into peat pots, which can be buried directly in the ground. Seed bombs sat at a nearby table, available for anyone to take. Edible Evanston offered a seed exchange, which volunteer Michael Ogburn said he hoped would encourage more gardening to incorporate diverse species.

“It can really diversify all the plants that we have in this area,” Ogburn said. “It will inspire (people) to get more gardening, to grow more food for themselves.”

The Evanston Environmental Association staffed a booth as well, advertising the Bird Buzz Native Plant Sale in concert with Natural Habitat Evanston.

Julia Bunn, the vice president of EEA, said she wanted to encourage people across Evanston to become new leaders in the natural world.

“We want to see people come alive to the aliveness of the world,” Bunn said. avivabechky2025@u.northwestern.edu

CBD

From page 1

cannabis, Meier added that students can reach out to HPaW to engage in confidential conversations about their substance use or intention to use cannabis.

“We wanted to make sure that people who are choosing to turn to CBD for whatever reason understand that there is very limited research out there at this point around that substance,” Meier said. “There’s a lot that still needs to be learned about what amount of CBD actually helps in terms of certain health conditions.”

Lisa Brennan-Winefield, the co-owner of Botanica Plant Based Health in Evanston, pushed back on the assertion that research on CBD is limited.

Cannabis products are regulated in the U.S. based on THC levels, Brennan-Winefield said. Any product with more than 3% THC, the psychoactive component of the plant, is regulated as marijuana. She said some of her customers saw positive results using marijuana to relieve anxiety at first, but later found that the high THC contents exacerbated their condition.

“Because CBD works so differently in everyone, some people see really phenomenal results using it for anxiety, and for some people it kind of (takes) the

SJP VIGIL From page 1

awareness of the violence to the broader campus community.

“A lot of Palestinians do die, and their stories get lost,” the Weinberg junior said. “We want to remember and honor them as people and not just numbers, so that they don’t get lost in just the statistics.”

The programming concluded with a reading of Mahmoud Darwish’s “In Jerusalem, I mean inside the old wall…” and a prayer in Arabic, during which participants linked hands with each other.

After the vigil, SJP organizers stayed to paint The Rock with peace signs and the words “Free Palestine.”

Some organizers also expressed frustration with Northwestern’s lack of response to the violence in Palestine. The University has not released a statement about the conflict thus far.

SJP organizer Tessneem Shahbandar noted the University issued a statement within days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in solidarity with those impacted.

“When it came to Ukraine, they put out a statement, which is great,” Shahbandar said. “This is another atrocious violent crime, and there is just complete silence from the University. I wish that there was more reception to talking about it and giving it the attention that it deserves.”

Earlier this month, SJP released an open letter calling attention to the spike in violence in Jerusalem during Ramadan. The letter has since amassed more than 200 signatures. Ten student organizations have also signed the letter, including the Muslim-cultural Students Association, the MENA Students Association and NU Dissenters, an anti-war student group.

edge off,” she said.

She also said customers at Botanica are often seeking CBD products — which range from products with only CBD to others that also feature other cannabinoids, such as THC — to ease conditions like insomnia, stress and anxiety or chronic pain.

However, Feinberg Prof. Richard Miller, who studies pharmacology, said while more research is emerging on the effects of CBD, the current body of information provides little support for those uses.

Some of the perceived positive impacts may be due to the placebo effect, he added.

Miller said while CBD can often be tolerated in relatively high amounts, the primary complications come from excessively high doses or interactions with other medications. If individuals consume CBD products while on other anxiety medications, CBD may interfere with the way the medicine is metabolized, leading to potentially toxic levels of the drug, he said.

“There’s not a lot of evidence that cannabidiol does anything much either good or bad,” Miller said. “But there are a few well established cases, and one perhaps needs to keep an open mind.” jacobwendler2025@u.northwestern.edu “The Northwestern administration cannot pick and choose which violent world events deserve awareness, because by doing so, they pick and choose which human lives matter more,” the letter reads. “During this time of spiritual reflection, never has the violence in Palestine been so poignant yet so silenced.”

With events like the vigil, the co-president said SJP hopes to fight Zionism in the U.S.. When one focuses on those who are dying, there is one oppressor and one oppressed, the co-president added.

“There’s so much propaganda in America that makes (the conflict) seem so cloudy and seem like such a complicated issue,” the co-president said.

“Being anti-Israel has nothing to do with antisemitism at all.”

Along with issuing a statement, the co-president said SJP hopes NU will take tangible action by stopping the sale of Sabra products on campus. Strauss Group, Sabra’s parent company, financially supports certain brigades of the Israel Defense Forces. SJP has protested Sabra’s presence since February, and several members said the University’s continued sale of Sabra makes it complacent in genocide.

SJP’s larger goal is to get the Board of Trustees to divest from weapons manufacturers, the co-president said. Campus groups like NU Dissenters have also condemned NU board members for holding financial ties to militarism.

“Despite Palestine, (weapons divestment) is an intersectional fight,” the co-president said. “We stand with Black liberation. We stand against all kinds of wars, Somalia, Yemen, things that the Board of Trustees are profiting off of.” joannahou2025@u.northwestern.edu maiapandey@u.northwestern.edu

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ACROSS 1 Reminders of past surgeries 6 Starting squad 11 Lousy 14 Three-time WNBA All-Star Quigley 15 Scrapbook adhesive 16 Deeply regret 17 *Important figure in sports betting 19 Ideological suffix 20 Loafer adornment 21 Isn’t honest with 23 Cherry bomb’s “stem” 24 *Party pooper 27 Twistable cookies 29 Sailor’s realm 30 “Chicago” actor Richard 31 Consequence 33 Adapter letters 36 Journalist Koppel 37 *Record submitted to payroll 40 Yoga surface 43 White part of a citrus rind 44 Marshy ground 48 Guinness who was the first to play Obi-Wan Kenobi 50 “Chicago P.D.” extra 52 Region of ancient Mesopotamia 53 *Paper for doodling 57 Pixar film featuring a guitarplaying boy 58 Force into action 59 Chair for a new parent 61 Sushi-grade tuna 62 Does a daily chore using the elements at the ends of the answers to the starred clues 66 Turn bad 67 Show to be true 68 Mighty mad 69 Sudsy quaff 70 Softens 71 Donkeys

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DOWN 1 Sticky tree stuff 2 Debate-ending procedure in the Senate 3 False names 4 Wash lightly 5 Adjusts, as a clock 6 Fruit for cider 7 Sticky roofing stuff 8 Language suffix 9 In any way 10 “On the __”: NPR show about trends in journalism 11 Cut of meat used for corned beef 12 Stark 13 Reduced in rank 18 Use needle and thread 22 U.K. language 23 Word on a gift tag 25 Spot for steeped beverages 26 Composer J.S. __ 28 Lingerie item 32 “OMG! Stop talking!”

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2022

11

Chiaravalle raises $40,000 for cancer research

By LUKE JORDAN

the daily northwestern @lukehjordan

As volunteers began to fire up their electric hair clippers Saturday morning, applause rang out in Currey Park when Mahin Goel announced that the past seven years of student-led effort to support pediatric cancer research had raised more than $500,000 as of that morning.

Chiaravalle Montessori School students and community members raised more than $40,000 and shaved 27 heads in a student-led fundraiser for pediatric cancer research to benefit St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

The event, the seventh annual Chiaravalle Kids Conquer Kids’ Cancer, took place next to Chiaravalle Montessori School on Hinman Avenue, which is attended by students ranging from 16 months to grade 8.

Volunteers took turns going on stage to either shave their head or cut off their ponytail, against a festive backdrop of music, a merchandise sale and snack bar. All proceeds went to support pediatric

cancer research through St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Dozens attended to cheer on the newly clean-shaven participants in their efforts to raise money and awareness for the cause.

This year, Goel, who is a sixth-grader at Chiaravalle, was the lead organizer of the event. Goel said he desperately wanted to see the event’s in-person return after the 2021 event happened online.

“To me, this means that we can give kids a chance and we have a chance at finding a cure.” Goel said. “This just means everything.”

While this was the seventh annual event, founder Sarah Zematis said her first event with St. Baldrick’s was in 2015, where she decided to donate her hair at a headshaving event after losing several loved ones to cancer.

Twelve days after volunteering to cut her hair, Zematis said her daughter was diagnosed with cancer, which furthered her motivation to stay involved with St. Baldrick’s. In 2015, Zematis helped raise $56,000 for pediatric cancer research in 26 days.

“It really showed us what collective action can do when you put it towards good,” Zematis said.

Zematis co-founded the inaugural Chiaravalle Kids

Conquer Kids’ Cancer event in 2016 with Joshua Rein, who was inspired by seeing his father shave his head at another fundraiser. The event has been led by students ever since.

Goel recruited a team of fellow Chiaravalle students to help run this year’s event. The young organizers worked to arrange logistics ranging from setting up the livestream to gathering support from Evanston businesses.

Feinberg Prof. Mita Sanghavi Goel, Mahin’s mother, said she served as this year’s lead organizer on paper — but in reality, played second-fiddle to her son.

“The role of the adults… has been to sit back and say ‘Oh my gosh,’” Mita Sanghavi Goel said.

“Kids can do a whole lot more than I would have ever imagined.”

Sixth-grader Bennett Reed, one of the student organizers, said he’s been participating since the very first Chiaravalle-run event in 2016. Since he began, he said he stopped cutting his hair outside of the event — and hasn’t cut his hair since the last in-person event in January 2020.

“It’s a great event that shows how much our

community cares,” Reed said.

Most of those who cut their hair or shaved their head at the event were students and Chiaravalle parents, including DJ Silton, whose son previously underwent cancer treatment.

Silton said this experience has made him passionate about funding pediatric cancer research. ”The chemo my son went on was 30 years old,” Silton said. “So we’re hoping to find a cure.”

Zematis said she hopes to see this event raise more money in the future for pediatric cancer research, which receives only 4% of the annual federal cancer research budget — in a field Zematis said is already underfunded overall. She said organizers are still accepting donations on St. Baldrick’s website.

Goel also said he is hopeful for the future of this event, especially as a new generation of students takes the mantle.

“Hopefully once I graduate someone else can take over and the cycle will just continue,” he said.

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SPORTS

Monday, April 25, 2022

@DailyNU_Sports

SOFTBALL

Wildcats hit stride, sweeping Hoosiers in three games

By NATHAN ANSELL

daily senior staffer @nathanjansell

Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman

Coach Kate Drohan and the Wildcats have hit their stride now.

No. 10 Northwestern (34-7, 15-2 Big Ten) kept its bats alive all weekend, scoring at least eight runs in all three of its wins against Indiana (2317, 6-9 Big Ten). After other results over the weekend, NU jumped to the top of the Big Ten standings.

The Cats wasted no time in the series opener, scoring two runs in the first inning before sophomore third baseman Hannah Cady rocketed a home run in the second inning, her first of two that day.

“Knowing that I’m able to put solid contact on the ball, that just (set) the tone for the weekend,” Cady said.

After the Hoosiers got one run back with a solo homer, senior first baseman Nikki Cuchran restored NU’s three-run lead with her second RBI hit of the game. Junior left fielder Angela Zedak and Cady hit back-toback home runs, and a double from freshman second baseman Grace Nieto capped off a five-run fifth inning. The game eventually finished 8-1.

MEN’S TENNIS

Other than Indiana’s one home run, Drohan was pleased with senior Danielle Williams’ pitching performance.

“We missed a pitch, and they were able to capitalize on it,” Drohan said.

“But I thought that Danielle pitched really well and was very efficient.”

Saturday’s game was the closest of the three. The Cats scored three in the second, but Indiana responded with four runs in the bottom of the inning.

Indiana extended its lead in the next two innings, but Drohan’s squad came roaring back.

Cuchran knocked a pitch over the wall for three more runs before Nieto tied the game with her own solo shot — the game would eventually go into extras. Cady and Nieto provided two of NU’s six runs in the ninth.

Williams, who entered the game in the sixth inning, held strong. She earned another win, as a sacrifice fly from Indiana couldn’t erase the Cats’ six-run cushion.

“We’re not going to stop fighting for every single out (or) run,” Cady said. “As a team, that’s our one goal.”

In game three, the Hoosiers struck first, but freshman pinch-runner Ayana Lindsey stole home to tie the score. Senior shortstop Maeve Nelson brought in two with a third-inning

double before a defensive error evened the score again.

NU took over after that. Graduate right fielder Rachel Lewis hit her Big Ten-leading 19th home run of the season, lighting up the scoreboard for three runs. Cady cleared the fence again, Lewis reached on an error to score another and Cuchran hit a triple — her second of the weekend.

“I’ve worked on my speed and athleticism, but (also) being a smart baserunner,” Cuchran said. “(That’s) the thing that Northwestern has helped me with the most.”

Zedak scored one more on a single to put the Cats up 11-3, the game’s eventual final score. Williams grabbed her third win of the series, bringing her to a season total of 22 — the most in the conference.

With only one day of rest between Sunday’s win and Tuesday’s upcoming showdown with UIC (10-26, 7-12 Horizon League), NU must recover quickly. The team, however, is eager for the chance to continue its excellent form.

“We trust each other, and we genuinely love each other,” Cuchran said.

“It really comes through when we’re playing.” nathanansell2022@u.northwestern.edu

FOOTBALL

On Senior day, Cats NU looks ahead as spring ends beat Indiana, Purdue

By GABRIELA CARROLL

By NATHAN ANSELL

daily semior staffer @nathanjansell

It’s hard to think of a better tribute to the program’s leaders.

On Senior Day, Northwestern (18-9, 6-3 Big Ten) saw some of its best performances yet from this year’s senior class. The Wildcats overpowered Purdue (9-14, 2-7 Big Ten) and Indiana (5-17, 0-9 Big Ten), shutting out both opponents in under two hours.

“It’s such an outstanding class,” coach Arvid Swan said. “For me, it was really happy to honor those guys and recognize all that they’ve done.”

Temperatures on Saturday hovered around 80 degrees. Despite some winds, conditions were nice enough that NU could play its first outdoor home match of the year.

As it happened, the doubles contests were one-sided affairs. The Boilermakers won 6-1 on Court 1, but the Cats won on Court 2 by the same score. Senior Trice Pickens and junior Natan Spear clinched the point with a 6-2 victory on the remaining court.

“We were disciplined with how we played, we didn’t try to play outside of our abilities,” Pickens said. “We just stuck to our strengths and it worked out.”

Pickens and senior Steven Forman, ranked No. 124 and No. 39 respectively, won their first sets handily. Purdue claimed three first sets, but sophomore Presley Thieneman applied pressure, up 5-4 as his set reached a conclusion.

Thieneman won two rallies on his opponent’s serve, including a decisive point, to claim the set.

“Presley continued to progressively play better and better throughout the match,” Swan said. “Obviously, that was a big point, but it allowed him to have a very decisive second set.”

Pickens cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 triumph.

Thieneman and Forman converted match points about 15 seconds apart, finalizing the 4-0 result.

No. 121 senior Simen Bratholm and graduate student Brian Berdusco were both leading their second sets when NU

clinched the match. “(I was) really disciplined early on,” Forman said. “When it’s a bit windy out and you just won the doubles point, you want to keep that momentum going.”

Before Sunday’s match against the Hoosiers, NU honored players in their fourth and fifth years of eligibility. Forman, Bratholm, Pickens and Berdusco each received plaques in front of the home crowd.

Pickens said he appreciated the chance to honor the class of 2022.

“I’ve given the last four years to this place, and I’ve loved every minute of it,” Pickens said. “It was cool to get a little reminiscence there.”

The Cats captured the doubles point on Courts 1 and 2, but NU was even more impressive in singles. Swan’s squad went six-for-six on first sets, including two 6-0 scorelines.

Forman won 6-0, 6-2, playing the entire day without having his serve broken. Pickens, who was broken just once, gave the Cats a 3-0 overall lead shortly after. Finally, Bratholm won five straight games in the second set and completed the sweep.

On Senior Day, all three of NU’s singles points came from its three seniors.

“It’s a cool coincidence,” Pickens said. “(Steven and I) actually talked about it while we were watching Simen, because we saw that he was about to finish, and he was like, ‘It’s kind of funny that the three of us are the ones who were winning our matches today.’”

Swan said he was pleased with his team’s competitive level. The Cats didn’t drop any sets against Indiana, which was the first time they accomplished the feat against a Big Ten opponent all season.

NU will face more conference foes at the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.

The Cats’ tournament schedule starts Friday against Nebraska (9-14, 5-3 Big Ten), a team that NU defeated 4-3 earlier this year.

“It’s no different than what we had throughout the regular season,” Forman said. “It’s just about being prepared and executing when it matters.” nathanansell2022@u.northwestern.edu

daily senior staffer @gablcarroll

After following up its second Big Ten West title in three years with a challenging 3-9 season where the team struggled on both sides of the ball, Northwestern went into spring practice with a lot of unanswered questions.

The Wildcats returned just eight starters from that 2020 division-winning team for the 2021 season, and the inexperience was on full display.

While coach Pat Fitzgerald said he is still finalizing the depth chart, he said the young position groups showed significant improvement over the 34-day spring practice period, which ended April 15.

One of the NU’s most prominent areas of concern is at quarterback. In 2021, the Cats started three different quarterbacks — graduates Hunter Johnson and Andrew Marty and junior Ryan Hilinski. Junior Carl Richardson also saw on-field action. Despite that, no quarterback solidified himself as next year’s starter.

Fitzgerald said the competition is primarily between Hilinski and sophomore Brendan Sullivan, with sophomore Cole Freeman and Richardson also in the mix.

“There’s four young guys in that room,” Fitzgerald said. “Their leadership and their ability to influence others was pretty strong. But I would say we walk out with (Sullivan and Hilinski) fighting for that number one job going into training camp.”

New cornerbacks coach Ryan Smith enters the program this year after a weak defensive year overall for the Cats, allowing 29 points per game and 429.5 yards per game, the second worst in the Big Ten. But the defensive back group was one of NU’s stronger units, allowing 216.5 passing yards per game, eighth in the Big Ten. With former All-American safety Brandon Joseph transferring to Notre Dame in January, the group lost one of its most experienced players, but senior defensive back A.J. Hampton Jr. believes the group’s depth is still there.

“We have a lot of good healthy young

Daily file photo by Jonah Elkowitz

guys and older guys, so that’s really good for competition,” Hampton Jr. said.

Senior lineman Adetomiwa Adebawore broke out last season, with 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss for a combined 65 yards, leading the team in both categories. Defensive line coach Marty Long said Adebawore was “the leader of the group.” But NU still struggled significantly last year on the defensive line, allowing a Big Ten-worst 213 rushing yards per game, over 50 yards more than the next worst team.

To address this issue, the Cats brought in graduate transfers Henrik Barndt from Indiana State, Taishan Holmes from UMass and Ryan Johnson from Stanford to bring more veteran experience to the group.

Fitzgerald also said he saw improvements in the young wide receiver room, and expects to see senior Malik Washington and junior Bryce Kirtz play large roles.

Losing graduate linebacker Chris Bergin the year after losing Paddy Fisher leaves NU without a standout linebacker, but Fitzgerald said sophomore Mac

Uilhein and junior Greyson Metz raised their games in spring ball. Those two, along with returners like junior Bryce Gallagher, senior Khalid Jones and junior Xander Mueller will compete for spots in the fall, Fitzgerald said.

Before 2018, NU had been to a bowl game in eight of Fitzgerald’s 12 years as head coach, and lost fewer than six games only three times, with their worst season a 4-8 season in his first year.

Since then, volatility has defined the NU program, with two Big Ten West titles and two 3-9 seasons. Fitzgerald said he believes this spring’s roster development will help bring back that consistency.

“There’s some times when you’re like, alright, once we hit the fall, the road is gonna start down either that path or this path,” Fitzgerald said. “Sometimes you try to turn the dial, and it doesn’t work. I’m the one responsible for that … It drives you up the wall, but I think there’s been a pretty high level of consistency in my approach.” gabrielacarroll2023@u.northwestern.edu