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The Daily Northwestern Monday, May 2, 2022
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8 SPORTS/Softball
2 CITY/LGBTQ+ Curriculum
4 A&E/Out Da Box
Players reflect on No. 8 Northwestern’s season
Local educators discuss implementation of LGBTQ+ history curriculum requirement
Out Da Bo returns to the in-person stage
High 55 Low 45
Evanston residents talk governor’s race Pritzker runs for re-election, local orgs campaign By KATE WALTER
the daily northwestern @katewalter03
As Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker comes to the close of his four-year term, Evanston residents are gearing up for this year’s Illinois Governor’s race primaries on June 28. The winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries will compete for the governorship in the general midterm elections on Nov. 8. Illinois residents will also vote for their next senator, congressional representatives and other local offices during November’s election. Local Democratic leaders and activist groups hope to retain the Governor’s mansion. Pritzker is running for re-election and faces healthcare worker and U.S. Army veteran Beverly Miles in the democratic primary. Natalie Edelstein, the communications director at J.B. for Governor, said Pritzker’s re-election campaign focuses on his accomplishments to date as governor.
“Since day one, [Pritzker] and Lt. Governor Stratton have fought to put Springfield back on the side of working families and have delivered on campaign promises, from raising the minimum wage, to making college more accessible and affordable, to balancing budgets four years in a row,” Edelstein told The Daily. In the Republican primary, eight candidates are on the ballot for the gubernatorial nomination. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin (R-Aurora) and state Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) have both gained significant media attention in the Republican race. Irvin, a former prosecutor, has accused Pritzker of being soft on crime, while Bailey has been campaigning on issues such as the economy, prolife legislation and Second Amendment rights. While primary elections usually take place in March, the Illinois General Assembly voted to push the primaries until June 28 to account for delayed 2020 census data. Rachel Ruttenberg, the board president for the Democratic Party of Evanston, said she is worried that this delay could impact voter turnout in Evanston.
» See GOVERNOR, page 6
Joanne Haner/Daily Senior Staffer
Individual shirts featured hand-drawn testimonies from survivors of sexual violence at The Clothesline Project.
Display highlights survivors’ stories Clothesline Project raises awareness of impact of sexual assault By JOANNA HOU and YOLA MZIZI
the daily northwestern @joannah_11 @yolamzi
Content Warning: This story contains mentions of sexual assault, domestic violence and abuse.
Colorful T-shirts with handwritten messages from survivors of sexual abuse and assault draped various parts of the Lakefill Sunday. “Like glass in my heart, no matter which way I turn it hurts,” one of the shirts read.
“What you did, Dad, gave open access to my body to all the others.” The shirts were made by survivors at Northwestern and the rest were provided by the Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault as part of the
national Clothesline Project. NU’s Center for Awareness, Response and Education partnered with Students Promoting Education, Awareness and Knowledge for Change to host
» See CLOTHESLINE, page 6
Curt’s Cafe hits 10 year anniversary Rainbow Alliance Restaurant prepares Evanston residents through workforce training By ISABELLE BUTERA
the daily northwestern @isabelle_butera
Five years ago, 18-year-old John Thomas felt like he had run out of chances. Thomas had neither a high school diploma nor a social security card, making it nearly impossible for him to find a legal source of income, he said. Instead, he enrolled in the workforce training program at Curt’s Cafe. Thomas — now a general manager at the cafe — said the program completely changed his life for the better. “I don’t really know where I would be right now if it wasn’t for me walking into those doors,” he said. Curt’s Cafe, an Evanston restaurant providing employment opportunities for young adults in at-risk situations, celebrated its 10-year anniversary Sunday. The cafe, which first opened in May 2012, employs student trainees between the ages of 15 and 24 with backgrounds ranging from food insecurity, history
Recycle Me
of incarceration, or noncompletion of high school. To date, the cafe has helped more than 500 students. The Curt’s Cafe team and its corporate partners gathered with community members in the International Friendship Garden at the Rotary Club of Evanston to celebrate the anniversary with a picnic and walk around the gardens. Curt’s employees, graduates and program administrators spoke to the cafe’s successes. “It’s ridiculously exciting,” Director of Development Tami Manton said. “We’ve come a long way from year one, and we just want to celebrate with our community.” The program’s main goal is to provide an alternative to reincarceration for young participants who were previously in the criminal justice system, founder and Executive Director Susan Trieschmann said. The program has about a 1% recidivism rate over the past decade, compared to Illinois’ youth recidivism rate of 87% – meaning 1% of those entering Curt’s Cafe from the criminal
has Queer Prom! LGBTQ+ students celebrate identity, build community By IRIS SWARTHOUT
daily senior staffer @swarthout_iris
Isabelle Butera/The Daily Northwestern
Curt’s Cafe in Evanston is staffed by students between the ages of 15 and 24 in at-risk situations. The cafe serves breakfast and lunch, Tuesday through Saturday.
justice system reentered the system after graduating from the cafe’s training program. Program Director Greg King said Curt’s Cafe aims to center students’ needs. The cafe’s training curriculum was revamped recently, basing 80% of the new curriculum on student feedback, he said Students work for three months in the cafe, learning skills relevant to culinary, barista and customer service positions. They also take
life skills classes for an hour every day, covering a range of topics such as social-emotional learning, professional networking and managing finances. King said he notices a change in how students carry themselves as they progress through the program. “They’re definitely more confident in who they are,” he said. “They’re confident
» See CURT’S CAFE, page 6
When Weinberg sophomore Rachel Ruddy toured Loyola University Chicago in high school, she was drawn to a poster advertising The Queer Fall Ball. At the time, Ruddy said, she would have loved to attend the event. Though Ruddy didn’t end up at Loyola-Chicago, her wish became a reality at NU. Friday night, Ruddy and other members of Northwestern’s Rainbow Alliance — an inclusive organization for NU’s queer community — hosted Queer Prom! The event invited queer people at NU for a night of dancing, food, board games and movies on the second floor of Norris University Center. Rainbow Alliance Internal President and Weinberg junior Jordan Vaughn said the event
was a chance for queer individuals to embrace their identities in a welcoming environment. NU’s Queer Prom! came back this year after a multi-year hiatus prior to the pandemic, Vaughn added. “A lot of people got their (high school) prom taken away from them by COVID,” she said. “(Also,) queer students might have not felt comfortable going to their high school prom, or … dress the way they wanted to or be out as much as they wanted.” As internal programming chair in Rainbow Alliance, Ruddy oversaw the booking and catering for Queer Prom! The prom was bigger than any event the organization has put on in her memory, Ruddy said. “I had support from the president and the treasurer and the other members of exec to work day by day towards this ultimate goal, which ended up being successful,” she said. The event had a four room set-up in Norris, with a dancing
» See PROM, page 6
INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | A&E 4 | Classifieds & Puzzles 6 | Sports 8