The Daily Northwestern — May 16, 2022

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The Daily Northwestern Monday, May 16, 2022

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Extended May Special Issue

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John Fournier to be next City Manager Current employee of Ann Arbor to come to Evanston

By JORJA SIEMONS

daily senior staffer @jorjasiemons

City Council intends to appoint John Fournier as Evanston’s next city manager, the city announced in a Friday news release.

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Fournier currently works as the assistant city administrator of the City of Ann Arbor, where his primary focus areas included transportation policy Previously, he worked in the City of Pittsburgh as deputy chief of staff to former mayor Bill Peduto.

In addition to working on multi-modal transportation and municipal parking systems, Fournier authored the city ’s Act 47 financial recovery plan, which requires the state of Pennsylvania to assist municipalities

ex per iencing f inancial difficulties.

During a May 3 virtual town hall alongside finalist Snapper Poche, Fournier discussed equity, staff management and climate action, and he listed specific recommendations to improve Evanston’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan.

Some of these steps include solarizing city facilities and prioritizing pedestrian infrastructure.

With contract negotiations underway, the city said it will make a decision in the coming weeks.

Council’s intent to select Fournier comes as the conclusion of a three-month nationwide search by consulting firm Stanton Chase — which the city contracted for $70,000. Interim City Manager Kelley Gandurski, who has held the role since October 2021 following the departure of Erika Storlie, will step down for the new official’s appointment. jorjasiemons2024@u.northwestern.edu

Photo courtesy of Yanni Economos

Attendees of the sophomore prom on the dance floor of the Congress Plaza Hotel.

NU celebrates Second Year Prom

Event commemorates sophomores’ missed high school landmarks

By KRISTEN AXTMAN

the daily northwestern

Students who graduated high school in 2020 faced many

disappointments during their senior spring due to the COVID19 pandemic. They missed out on classic high school celebrations and had to enter college during online school.

On Saturday, however, Northwestern students had a chance to make up one of those traditions by attending the second year prom, hosted by the Wildcat Welcome Back Planning Committee. All

sophomores and first-year gapyear students were eligible to reserve a free ticket for the Great Gatsby themed prom on Saturday.

» See PROM, page 10

Groups talk social media organizing NU to limit PCR Reproductive justice advocates talk benefits, costs of online work

By LILY CAREY

the daily northwestern @lilylcarey

Content warning: This story contains mentions of sexual assault and rape.

In January, an Adams County, Illinois justice reversed his decision that convicted an 18-year-old man of rape. The judge said the young man had served enough jail time and threw out his conviction.

But because of an online petition, the case didn’t end there. Carrie Ward, CEO of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said she remembers seeing hundreds sign a petition supporting the 16-year-old survivor, ultimately leading to the judge being reassigned.

In her 25 years of work for ICASA, a network of rape crisis centers across Illinois, Ward said this case showed her how social media can change survivors’ lives.

With a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion threatening to overturn the landmark abortion rights case Roe v.

Wade, sexual health advocates are working to broaden their reach using social media platforms. While social media

Recycle Me

provides a means for activists to raise awareness about sexual healthcare and reproductive rights, some experts say it can also be used to spread misinformation.

“We have seen instances in which social media has been absolutely helpful,” Ward said.

“We’ve also seen instances in which offenders have used social media to say horrible things about survivors and share those things far and wide.”

Grace Barter, the campaign and events organizer for Illinois-based reproductive rights advocacy group Personal PAC, said abortion advocates flooded the group’s inbox after a federal court upheld a Texas bill that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.

The amount of people seeking information and support from her organization opened her eyes to how impactful Personal PAC’s social media presence and online resources can be, she said.

“There’s a lot of responsibility with (having a social media presence) and also so much on the line,” Barter said. “It literally is life or death for some people.”

In Evanston/Skokie School District 65, Erin’s Law, which provides guidelines for traumainformed school programming

test distribution University will only distribute PCR tests for sponsored travel

By MAIA PANDEY and IRIS SWARTHOUT

daily senior staffers @maiapandey @swarthout_iris

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta

Lisa Battisfore, the founder and president of Reproductive Transparency Now, helped organize the march and is working to spread information — and combat misinformation — about healthcare access in Illinois.

on sex education and healthy relationships, aims to protect children against sexual violence and online abuse. The state implemented Erin’s Law in 2011, and it has been passed in 37 other states since 2009.

These federal and state guidelines have provided a framework for educators to expand their outreach to social media.

Yet social media can also amplify the messaging of anti-abortion groups, said Lisa Battisfore, the founder and president of Reproductive Transparency Now. RTN seeks to inform people

about Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which often use the same language as abortion providers but ultimately aim to prevent people from getting abortions.

RTN also helped organize Saturday’s rally for reproductive justice in downtown Chicago, drawing thousands to help spread the word about the dangers of CPCs amidst attacks on legal abortion protections.

“Hashtags on Instagram in particular are very important, and what’s really interesting is that a lot of anti-choice

» See SEXUAL HEALTH, page 10

Northwestern is only offering PCR tests on a limited basis to faculty, staff and students who are required to obtain a PCR test for University-related travel, University spokesperson Erin Karter told The Daily in a May 12 email.

Instead, Karter said NU’s primary testing infrastructure will continue to rely on rapid antigen testing because these tests have been proven reliable to identify individuals who are “most likely to be contagious.”

For Weinberg sophomore Aidan Ocampo, a former Daily op-ed contributor, rapid test reliability has been mediocre.

He moved into 1835 Hinman after a positive test result collected Thursday, May 5. However, Ocampo said he first began experiencing symptoms the Tuesday before, but his rapid test that day came back negative.

His next test, collected on Thursday, was his last before he entered 1835 Hinman, but according to Ocampo, he isn’t

the only one in his friend group who received a false negative.

“My friend came (to Hinman) with me after I tested positive,” he said. “She had tested negative that morning and went to get another test because I tested positive.”

Weinberg sophomore Valentina Velasco said she had a similar experience when her friend tested positive. After receiving a false negative, Velasco tested positive on a non-NU-distributed, at-home test and proceeded to test positive again at the Donald P. Jacobs Center.

She added that she attempted to get a PCR test between when she received a false negative and her at-home positive test result.

However, she said the University did not respond to either of her calls to Northwestern Medicine Student Health Service Evanston at Searle Hall in hopes of getting one.

After these experiences, Valesco said she no longer believes NU’s testing apparatus is as reliable as she used to think it was.

“I do wish I could feel more comfortable,” she said. “Especially since testing isn’t mandated anymore, it just makes me feel a lot less confident in knowing how active COVID is on campus.”

» See PCR, page 10

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | A&E 5 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12

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MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

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AROUND TOWN

Parents find hate symbols after middle school sit-in

By ILANA AROUGHETI and JORJA SIEMONS

daily senior staffers @ilana_arougheti @jorjasiemons

Content warning: This article contains profanity and mentions of symbolic hate speech.

Students at Haven Middle School participated in a sit-in Friday, which escalated into a large group temporarily gathering outside. The protest was organized order to protest upcoming staffing changes announced around Evanston/ Skokie School District 65 earlier this month, District 65 Superintendent Devon Horton wrote in an email to district parents Friday afternoon.

In the email, Horton said the sit-in was “mostly peaceful,” but some students did leave the premises after gathering outside. In video footage obtained by The Daily, students crowded the hallways and stairwells of Haven and chanted before moving outside. Some called out in support of

specific teachers who are set to be transferred.

“Save our teachers” and “F–k 65,” students chanted as they exited, some waving paper signs.

For the upcoming school year, at least seven Haven teachers — some of whom have taught at the school for decades — will be transferred to different district schools. The district also plans to reassign dozens of other teachers, switching the age level they teach or transferring them in or out of special education.

The district also plans to cut 22 teacher positions, but does not plan to fire any staff members, relying instead on an expected attrition of 52 staff members, according to the District 65 website.

After students who had gathered outside cleared the area, some parents at the nearby Kingsley Elementary School found nooses tied to trees between Haven and Kinglsey, Horton said in the email.

“This is a hate crime and a deliberate and specific incidence of an outwardly racist act,” Horton said in the email. “It resounds with a tone of hate and hurt that will impact members of our entire community, namely Black and African American

Daily file photo by Edward Cox

The exterior of Haven Middle School on Prairie Avenue. Students walked out of Haven following a Friday sit-in, District 65 superintendent Devon Horton wrote in a memo.

students, staff, and families who have experienced generations of harm. What began as a peaceful protest by students is now tainted with hate and is part of a string of racist actions that continue to be directed at district and school administrators.”

City advises indoor masking after surge

By ELENA HUBERT

the daily northwestern @elenahubert25

Evanston released new guidelines Friday for combating the spread of COVID-19 — including the recommended use of face masks indoors.

The updated recommendations come as Evanston reported a seven-day average of 56.71 new confirmed COVID-19 cases on May 13. With this caseload, Evanston reached a “High” COVID-19 community risk level as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The recommendation shift also follows the city’s April 28 move to stop publishing COVID-19 test positivity rates based on federal policy changes.

Based on the high risk level, Evanston’s Health and Human Services Department recommended

residents wear a mask indoors and everywhere if they are at high risk for severe disease. Residents should also wear a mask around others if they have COVID19 symptoms, a positive test result or a recent exposure to COVID-19. The recommendations apply to all residents, regardless of their vaccination status.

The city recommends that residents should socialize outdoors if possible and avoid gathering in poorly ventilated indoor settings. Prior to attending a family gathering or public event, the city recommended residents get tested for COVID19. The city also advised residents to stay up to date on COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

The CDC’s definition of COVID-19 community risk level is based on weekly data for hospital admissions, as well the percent of staffed inpatient beds and total new COVID-19 cases. The city based its high risk assessment on the CDC’s framework and other metrics.

Over 10 new hospital admissions for COVID-19 per 100,000 people in seven days is an indicator of a high community risk level, according to the CDC. In the week prior to May 11, Evanston reported 12.8 admissions per 100,000 people.

According to a May 11 report from the city, 4.22% of staffed inpatient beds are currently occupied by COVID-19 patients in Evanston, classified by the CDC as a medium community risk level. If the percentage reaches 10%, Evanston would be at a high risk level based on that indicator.

The May 11 report from the city detailed prevention strategies would be based on the high community risk level given by the hospital admissions data.

Evanston has reported 12,865 confirmed cases and 148 deaths from illnesses or complications related to COVID-19 since March 14, 2020.

The incident comes after recent physical altercations at Haven prompted parents, teachers and the Board of Education to discuss the need for restorative practices and de-escalation education.

At a town hall held at Haven on May 4, parents continued to express concern for the district’s response to disciplinary problems at Haven, as well as for the rate of scheduled transfers out of the school, the Evanston Roundtable reported.

The district is working to provide traumainformed de-escalation training every trimester for 80 or more staff members, Director of Special Services Anna Marie Candelario said at last week’s Curriculum and Policy Committee meeting.

Horton said Evanston Police Department officers are currently investigating Friday’s incident, and several resources, including anti-bias training for young children, are available on the District 65 website to provide support. ilanaarougheti2023@u.northwestern.edu jorjasiemons2024@u.northwestern.edu

Setting the record straight An article published in Wednesday ’s paper titled “Students, instructors talk Arabic course protocols” misstated the current gaps in the University’s Arabic curriculum and the name of the class Ragy Ibrahim Mikhaeel teaches.

The Daily regrets the errors.

elenahubert2025@u.northwestern.edu

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TEDx at NU talks rethinking education systems

By JESSICA MA

the daily northwestern @jessicama2025

In late September 2009, Dan Cnossen woke up in a hospital bed, wondering what had happened to his legs. While serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan, Cnossen stepped on an explosive device, which caused the injury.

At the TEDxNorthwesternU conference, Cnossen presented about moving forward while facing unexpected setbacks in life. Six other speakers also shared their stories and ideas at the annual conference at Ryan Family Auditorium Sunday afternoon.

The presentations centered around the conference’s theme: momentum. After recovering from surgery, Cnossen found himself on the podium at the Paralympic Winter Games for biathlon sitting and cross-country skiing medals.

“While mass and velocity create physical momentum, I’ve come to find that perspective and focus create life momentum,” Cnossen said.

TED is a nonprofit organization that provides resources for potential conference organizers. Weinberg junior Tanya Bhargava, TEDxNorthwesternU’s executive director, said the group obtains a license from TED to host an official conference at NU. Medill senior Tom Quinn, TEDxNorthwesternU’s associate director, said the license allows the club to use TED branding, and TED will publish the talks online. TEDxNorthwesternU is one of the only completely studentrun TED conferences in the country, he added.

At the start of the school year, the club focused on brainstorming. Members then recruited speakers during Winter Quarter, Bhargava said.

“Not every TED Talk needs to have a new riveting idea you’re proposing,” Bhargava said. “(The presentation) comes down to what experiences you have … and how that changes the way you came to a conclusion.”

In his presentation, Evanston Township High School physics teacher Mark Vondracek outlined a need for revolution in the education system. He pointed to weaknesses in the school

Charlotte Che/The Daily Northwestern

ETHS physics teacher Mark Vondracek discussed rebuilding the education system at the annual TEDxNorthwesternU conference, using a quote from Thomas Jefferson.

system, such as the achievement gap between white students and students of color.

Using physics metaphors, Vondracek said the standardized nature of the education system prevents adults from understanding children as individuals with unique strengths and talents.

“We’re treating everybody’s identities as standardized,” he said. “It’s assembly-line education, cookie cutter. This is why we need revolution, not just reforms.”

Vondracek said he started Project Excite to help address these issues. The program focuses on the social-emotional side of learning and creates long-term plans for Black and Hispanic students to close existing achievement gaps, he said.

Alice Kim, the director of human rights practice at the University of Chicago’s Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, spoke about

changing the narratives surrounding incarceration. Her work against the death penalty led her to fight another form of punishment: life without possibility of parole.

“We have a system that criminalizes and pathologizes people who are Black and brown,” she said. “A prison isn’t just a place. It’s also an ideology with a long reach that shapes how each and every one of us thinks.”

Through her work, Kim met Renaldo Hudson, a formerly incarcerated individual who wanted to capture his own story. He turned his prison cell into a studio where he painted protest art that depicted his life experiences, Kim said.

Kim emphasized the importance of creating platforms for incarcerated people to share their stories. An event series called “Live from Death Row” allowed audiences around the country to

hear directly from people on death row through amplified phone calls, Kim said.

“You and I have work to do if we want to end this dehumanizing mission,” she said, addressing audience members directly. “It starts by reaching across prison walls, each of us and all of us.”

Quinn said hearing speakers condense complex topics into metaphors can challenge how people understand systems.

The talks helped him think about issues from different perspectives, he said.

“You should come out feeling like you want to challenge the speakers because that’s how we get a productive dialogue,” Quinn said. “We’re not trying to change minds, but we’re trying to start a dialogue.” jessicama2025@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

Sami Schalk discusses Black disability politics

By JOANNA HOU

the daily northwestern @joannah_11

University of Wisconsin-Madison gender studies Prof. Sami Schalk delivered the final talk of the Gender & Sexuality Studies speaker series on Black Feminist Praxis on Friday.

Schalk’s virtual presentation, titled “The Black Disability Politics of the National Black Women’s Health Project,” focused on empowering Black women and the intersections between race and disability.

“Black health activism generally … tends to be broad and inclusive of disability, but not primarily focused on it,” Schalk said. “This broadness is particularly reflective of the reality that Black people are more likely to be disabled … due to lack of educational, social and financial access to preventative care and early treatment, as well as medical racism.”

The series featured four speakers, including Ann Russo, Loretta Ross and Charlene Carruthers,who spoke on topics ranging from reproductive justice to abolition.

Gender and sexuality studies Prof. Sarah Brown, the director of the Women’s Center, served as the introduction speaker and reflected on the series.

“While there is a great deal of queer crip of color work taking place in the GSS program and throughout the University, this is the first chance in this series that we have had the chance to name it as such,” Brown said. “I really believe that it speaks to our values and

COVID-19 positivity rate spikes, nearing 10% across Northwestern Northwestern’s COVID-19 positivity rate reached its latest peak this week at 9.28%, rising almost two percentage points from last week’s positivity rate.

As positivity rates continue to rise, the three highest rates have all occurred in the last month, with last week seeing a positivity rate of 7.40% and 5.91% positivity rate marked for the week of April 8. Since April 8, positivity rates have consistently remained above 5%.

Aside from the 5.70% positivity rate seen at the start of Winter Quarter — correlating with the peak of the first omicron wave — most positivity rates have remained below 2%.

However, 2022 positivity rates have stayed consistently above 2% aside from the few weeks at the end of Winter Quarter when the first omicron wave subsided.

Even then, positivity rates have not been below 1% since the week of Nov. 19.

Still, the only Universitywide communication about COVID-19 since this spike is the email Vice President of Operations Luke Figora sent last week, affirming the University’s decision to maintain its no mask mandate in all public spaces until the end of the academic year.

NU received almost 800 more COVID-19 tests this week at around 4,800. However, with 450 new reported positive cases — an almost 50% increase from last week’s 302 cases — approximately one in 10 students tested have been positive for COVID-19.

The last time NU received at least 4,800 COVID-19 tests was the week of Apr. 8, when the number of positive cases was approximately the same as the amount seen last week.

Undergraduate students comprise exactly half of the University cases at 226 — 120 more than the amount seen last week.

Non-undergraduate students account for 24% of the cases at 110, while faculty account for 29 cases. Staff make up almost 19% of this week’s cases at 85.

At the same time, Evanston moved to a “High” transmission level Thursday, admitting a greater frequency of patients to hospitals this week just one week after the city declared its move to a “Medium” transmission level.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the original omicron subvariants BA.1.1.529 and BA.1.1 now account for less than 1% of COVID-19 cases. The dominant strain continues to be BA.2 at 56%, though BA.2.12.1 cases are rapidly rising, increasing 9.6 percentage points from last week.

NU students, faculty and staff can receive free, inperson 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.

— Angeli Mittal

the exigencies of our canon.”

Black disability politics center around anti-ableist arguments that aim to contextualize and address disability within racism and the intersections between ability and race, Schalk said. While sometimes combined with anti-ableist activism at large, Black disability politics also encompass topics like civil rights.

She said these politics focus on four key qualities: They are intersectional but race-centered, they do not rely on holding a disabled identity, they are holistic and broad and they are historical.

“Many Black people are disabled by secondary health effects of disease, as well as environmental racism, racial violence and state neglect,” Schalk said.

“Black disability politics are often articulated and enacted with critical attention to the historical events, circumstances and legacies which have shaped experiences of disability within Black communities.”

Schalk also discussed how the NBWHP, founded to address Black women’s health and reproductive rights, has shifted from the self-help model since the 1980s and 1990s.

Instead of just centering on the absence of illness, the project’s definition of health focuses on promoting mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, including among the elderly and disabled people. The inclusion of spirituality is representative of a cultural approach to health, Schalk said.

“Spirituality, faith and religion are major parts of Black cultures and therefore critical to interpreting Black disability,” Schalk said. “The project’s cultural approach to health conceived a spirituality much

Daily file photo by Joanne Haner

The Women’s Center. Sarah Brown served as the introduction speaker for the Black feminist justice event.

more expansively, often explicitly discussing African and Caribbean spiritual practices outside of Christianity.”

The organization also committed itself to patients’ rights education, which provides Black women tips on empowerment in the medical system. Schalk said the resources the NBWHP provided include guides on how to choose a doctor, how to prepare for an appointment and what to do during a visit.

Schalk said the NBWHP has promoted Black disability politics by committing to these holistic measures. Her upcoming book, “Black Disability Politics,” will focus on the organization and the Black Panther

Party, looking at their contributions to the ideology.

Women’s Center Associate Director Njoki Kamau, who asked questions on behalf of the audience, said she was glad for the opportunity to reflect on her time with the NBWHP. “I was really looking forward to this topic because I remember in those early ‘90s being very much a part of the National Black Women’s Health Project,” Kamau said. “It was so gripping. It was such a fresh moment for Black women, and it made us feel so hopeful and empowered.” joannahou2025@u.northwestern.edu

Northwestern University congratulates the winners of the 2022 University Teaching Awards

Left to Right: Thomas Bozza, Amy Stanley, Shirin Vossoughi

Left to Right: Michael J. Beltran, Melissa Louise Foster

Charles Deering McCormick Professors of Teaching Excellence THOMAS BOZZA AMY STANLEY SHIRIN VOSSOUGHI Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Lecturer MICHAEL J. BELTRAN Charles Deering McCormick Distinguished Professor of Instruction MELISSA LOUISE FOSTER

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

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A&E

arts & entertainment

Ava Mandoli and Joanne Haner/The Daily Northwestern

Student performers compete at Battle of the Artists

By AUDREY HETTLEMAN

daily senior staffer @audreyhettleman

Communication freshman and rapper Ciel McDaniels performed live for the first time in elementary school. This week, he will take to a much larger stage with a set at Dillo Day. “I love just seeing people’s smiles, and if I can make that many people have those smiles, that’d be awesome,” McDaniels said of performing at Dillo.

On April 28 and May 12, Mayfest Productions hosted Battle of the Artists at Good To Go Jamaican Cuisine & Event Space. Night 1 winners Ciel and Moondog and Night 2 winner Poor Man’s Yacht Club will perform on the Dillo Day mainstage.

According to Weinberg junior Sabrina Scheinberg, co-director of Mayfest programming, this was the first year Battles was not split into bands and DJs, but rather into solo versus group performances. Scheinberg said this allowed a wider range of performers, including rappers, to try for a spot on the Dillo stage. “​​Even if they don’t end up performing on the Dillo stage, it’s just a great opportunity to get their name out there to get some performing experience because it’s pretty hard to get that elsewhere,” she said.

Scheinberg said McDaniels definitely stood out at the first night of Battles, which she emceed.

The newcomer’s lyricism and ability to engage the crowd surprised her, she said.

The performance at Good to Go was McDaniels’ first venue performance, having primarily performed at parties in the past. He said he was impressed with the way Mayfest put together the event.

“The crowd was lit,” McDaniels said. “I would say that would be my best performance (to date).”

After receiving requests from an open call for artists through social media, the programming committee had a listening party where it decided who would perform at Battles. With more than 30 applicants, Scheinberg said it was difficult to choose the 11 who would eventually grace the stage for about 300 to 400 people at Good to Go. Weinberg junior Lu Poteshman, who goes by DJ Lu when she performs, said her experience at Battles was unique compared to other performances she’s done in the past. Performing at a venue felt different than performing at a party, she said, and the 15-minute time slot was the shortest she’s done thus far.

“There definitely was increased pressure just recognizing that I was performing along with some really talented people,” Poteshman said. “I was really amazed by everyone that performed at battle of the artists and honored to share the stage with them.”

The members of the winning band, Poor Man’s Yacht Club, said they met while living in Sargent Hall their freshman year. They played Battle of the Bands their freshman year and said they were ecstatic to return to the stage for Battle of the Artists this year.

While bassist and SESP senior Brian Kaiser said the band’s sound has stayed relatively consistent throughout their time playing together, it was able to emphasize each member’s strengths at this year’s Battles.

“It felt like a chance to really show who we are as a band and show our maturity and our cohesiveness,” drummer and McCormick senior James Drake said.

The band played two originals and three covers, including “Happier Than Ever” by Billie Eilish and “Elephant” by Tame Impala.

The band said the judges, short set time and potential Dillo Day slot contributed to a sense of pressure going into Battles — a feeling that was so intense for Drake that he said he had trouble eating and sleeping in the days leading up to the event. Nonetheless, PMYC came out on top, beating the four other groups that night.

“It’s Dillo Day. I never actually conceptualized it. I never thought it would be something I would do,” guitarist and Weinberg senior Vikram Manikantan said. “Now I’m struggling to put into words the reality that we’re actually about to do it.”

Battles are judged on technicality, engagement with the crowd, Dillo Day applicability and some other qualitative judgements by a panel of judges.

Scheinberg said Mayfest attempts to get a diverse panel of judges, pulling not only from Mayfest but also from A&O Productions and the .WAV Company.

This year’s Dillo Day marks the first in-person Mayfest festival since 2019, meaning many members are putting together a festival for the first time.

“It’s funny and nerve-wracking at the same time to constantly be doing events and putting out promotional materials and planning Dillo day itself when the majority of the people who are planning have never actually been a part of any of these things before,” Scheinberg said.

Despite the challenges, Scheinberg said it has been fun getting to create new traditions. She encouraged everyone to come see their classmates perform on Dillo Day because one never knows who might become famous.

PMYC said it looks forward to sharing the Dillo stage and reflecting on the last four years spent together as a band in front of the biggest audience for which it has ever performed.

“Even though we’re seniors, it doesn’t feel like the end for us,” Manikantan said. “To me, that’s one of the most exciting things.” audreyhettleman2024@u.northwestern.edu

6 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

Halliday Mafrige/The Daily Northwestern

Ballet Folklórico returns to McCormick Auditorium

By STERLING KOSSUTH ORTIZ

daily senior staffer @sortiz2000

From the giant jug of horchata at the theater entrance to the appreciative laughs for the emcees’ banter with the crowd, Ballet Folklórico’s seventh annual Colores De La Primavera show on May 14 felt like home to the performers and the audience alike.

Ballet Folklórico México de Northwestern: Ritmo de Mis Ancestros, continues the legacy of Mexican choreographer Amalia Hernández, according to co-lead choreographer and incoming President SESP junior Joselyn Chavez. Amalia Hernández created the original Ballet Folklórico de México, which curated regional dances based on Indigenous traditions.

“Some of these dances in the show are from Jalisco, from Sinaloa, and as well as some from

Guerrero, and then we’re also doing a calabaceado from Baja California,” Chavez said.

During the show in the McCormick Auditorium, with about 100 audience members, there were almost as many flowers for seniors and in the women’s hairpieces as there are in the Shakespeare Garden. The crowd loved every ballet piece, even cheering over the music on occasion.

Each piece looked different, especially when comparing styles between Mexican states. The dancers for “El Sinaloense,” a work inspired by the state of Sinaloa, performed with greater haste than the dancers for “El Son de La Negra,” inspired by the state of Jalisco.

Mariachi NU was the guest performer and capped off its performance with a rendition of “Sabes Una Cosa.”

Between the dances, co-emcees Weinberg sophomore Kimberly Padilla and NU alumna Cristina Hernández (Weinberg ’20), presented the origin and style of the dances. They also

primed the crowd in Spanish and English with appeals for “aplauso!” and shouting out Mexican states for ancestral pride.

“Because it is Ballet Folklórico, a traditional Mexican dance, many family members are only Spanish-speaking. We spoke in English and Spanish to be more inclusive.” said Cristina Hernández.

After intermission, Ballet Folklórico honored the group’s seniors. Treasurer and Weinberg senior Alexis Puente said the show was bittersweet — the seniors had to hang up their undergraduate botas vaqueras and perform one last time in front of enthusiastic friends and family.

Half of Ballet’s members are in Multicultural Greek organizations. Cristina Hernández, an alumna of Kappa Delta Chi, expressed her happiness seeing so many Multicultural Greek students in the show.

“Having cousins and sorority sisters and friends dancing so beautifully made me proud,”

Cristina Hernández said. “Having the newer sorority members being choreographers makes me so proud.”

Puente, who joined Ballet Folklórico in fall 2019, said he was sad that his first show was also his last, but he still enjoyed being part of the group.

After the last piece, “El Calabaceado,” all of the dancers took a bow. The show was the first since spring 2019, and a labor of love from all performers. This effort showed in every step, skirt twirl and tipped cap.

“Ballet Folklórico is inclusive of everybody.

You don’t even have to be Latino, just respectful of the Latino culture,” Chavez said. “Around campus, just come and stop by whenever you want. If you’re just interested in wanting to play with the skirt or understand what the zapateado dance is, that’s fine.” sterlingortiz2022@u.northwestern.edu

Kresgepalooza brings music festival to NU classrooms

By ANNIE XIA

the daily northwestern

Last quarter, Communication junior Eddie Ko was walking through Kresge Hall when an idea hit him: What if the classrooms along a hallway were transformed into intimate music venues? Soon after, Kresgepalooza was born.

Ko, the co-president of the Songwriters Association at Northwestern, said he wanted to create an event that would be a cozy and casual space for students to perform their original music.

“There’s just so many talented students on campus who are singer-songwriters, composers, arrangers, producers,” Ko said. “The fact that there’s a lack of performances does not mean there’s a lack of talent or interest.”

SWAN will host Kresgepalooza on Friday

as its main spring show. More than 20 acts are scheduled to perform, all of which are NU students. Five classrooms will be color-coded with stage lights to indicate the type of music: Yellow Room for bands, Blue Room for singersongwriters, Red Room for all genres and Dark Room for DJs. Some students, like McCormick junior Huma Khan, will be performing their music for the first time. Khan said she hadn’t told people about her songs until recently, but she sees SWAN and Kresgepalooza as low-stakes opportunities to share her music.

“I had eventually wanted to perform in coffee shops or find gigs,” Khan said. “I just didn’t have a way to do that. But then they ended up making this club.”

SWAN officially started during Winter Quarter, and Kresgepalooza will be the club’s first major event. McCormick sophomore Donny

Batts, who will be performing as a DJ, said the organization lacks the barriers that even nonmajor orchestras and ensembles can have.

He described the club’s general meetings as jam sessions that are welcoming to musicians of all levels and academic backgrounds.

“I’m McCormick — that’s like the farthest you could be from Bienen,” Batts said. “I have a SWAN meeting from five to six, but the rest of my day I’m doing calculus. For an hour I get to work on music, so it’s a good break.”

Along with creating a space for songwriters, Weinberg sophomore Joy Fu said SWAN also fosters a meaningful community for people who love listening to the singer-songwriter genre.

For her Kresgepalooza set, Fu said she deliberately included songs with Mandarin lyrics.

As a linguistics major, she said she sees music as a way for people to learn about cultures and languages.

“I grew up bilingual, and I listened to a lot of East Asian songs.” Fu said. “I hope that I can be this sort of representation, or at least make people hear this country’s music for the first time.”

As a new organization, SWAN is still experimenting with what the club wants to be, Ko said. He said people should keep an eye out for the group because they have many ideas for the future. Possibilities include matching students together to form bands and making SWAN into a music label for NU students.

But for now, Ko said he hopes Kresgepalooza will allow for the musicians to see people respond to their own work.

“It’s so cool to see that something you wrote on your bedroom floor resonates,” Ko said. “I just want to help facilitate that.” anniexia2025@u.northwestern.edu

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

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Student fashion brand “Naranji” aims to disrupt

By JESSICA MA

the daily northwestern @jessicama2025

Soft lavenders, deep violets and rich magentas swirl together on a computer screen, creating a psychedelic pattern. Combining creative coding and digital illustration, McCormick junior Sahibzada Mayed experiments with design patterns for upcoming fashion brand Naranji.

Naranji aims to redefine the future of fashion and technology, disrupt the gender binary and reclaim cultural fashion, according to the startup’s Instagram.

“The brand is focused on people, and I try to center that as much as possible. Who’s wearing these (clothes)? What’s their experience?” said Mayed, Naranji’s founder. “I want to give that impression that fashion is for everyone.”

During the winter, Mayed worked on his engineering capstone project, which centered around fashion and its roots in colonialism. Although they were always interested in fashion, Mayed said the project helped lay the groundwork for

starting the brand.

Coming from an engineering background, Mayed said he sees how technology and fashion design can intersect. For Naranji, Mayed uses generative art, a design process that uses code to create computer-generated patterns. “(Generative art) is helping me expand creative possibilities,” Mayed said. “I may not have come up with these color combinations had I not seen them. I may not have come up with these patterns had I not coded them.”

Although the computer helps inform the design process, the computer isn’t the designer — Mayed is. They said designing involves many iterations, and they often manipulate the computer-generated patterns to create the final result.

McCormick junior Jazmyn Lu models for Naranji. She said watching Mayed take engineering in an artistic direction is exciting.

“Coding has (is thought) to be like, ‘You’re just going to plot things or you’re going to simulate this,’” Lu said. “It’s not … very creative, so I think it’s cool that (Mayed) is adding creativity.”

Mayed said fashion has been traditionally Euro-centric. Growing up in Pakistan, he said

he noticed a cultural desirability surrounding whiteness.

Mayed said Naranji takes inspiration from ‘liberatory fashion,’ which uses design to set people free from intersecting forms of oppression and marginalization.They said Naranji seeks to empower individuals to embrace their identities, helping them break free from these Euro-centric norms.

“I’ve thought deeply and critically about skin color and beauty standards … That’s integral to my understanding of who has fashion and what is fashion,” he said. “Those are important frameworks I focused on, because historically, there’s been a disconnect.”

Mayed said Naranji also aims to disrupt fashion labels’ size and gender expectations. As an ethically-sourced and zero-inventory brand, Naranji works with a Montreal manufacturer to create made-to-order garments.

In Pakistan, Mayed’s mother ran a fashion boutique, which exposed Mayed to custom tailoring.

He said custom-tailored clothing is made to the customer’s size, which makes them feel their best.

In their first two collections, Mayed said they

were drawn to fluidity. Naranji seeks to design genderful clothing to affirm peoples’ diverse gender representations, he said.

“The goal is to think about how people’s gender identities intersect,” Mayed said. “You cannot put people into this gender binary … There’s no good way I can put labels on gender representation, because (gender) is so fluid.”

Mayed said in the future, the brand hopes to incorporate co-designing, so more voices are involved in the design process. If a customer likes a pattern, the brand plans to collaborate with them to customize patterns, colors and silhouettes, they said.

Medill freshman and Naranji Social Media Director Ysa Quiballo said the Naranji team works together to form the brand’s vision. Ultimately, Naranji’s message stems deeper than expressing individuality, Quiballo said. “(Naranji is) about breaking barriers for people and providing an avenue for people to create change in their own lives and the lives of other people,” Quiballo said. jessicama2025@u.northwestern.edu

UNITY Charity Fashion Show returns to the runway

By ANNIE XIA

the daily northwestern

UNITY Charity Fashion Show held its annual show May 12 with the theme “Rebirth,” reflecting the event’s first return to in-person productions since 2019. The group partnered with Arts of Life, a Chicago nonprofit supporting artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

SESP sophomore Anthony Engle, UNITY’s director of production and finance, said both UNITY and Arts of Life encourage people to reveal themselves through creative pursuits.

“It’s giving back to the community in a way where (Arts of Life’s artists) can express themselves and use their own creativity just as UNITY members do in their wardrobes,” Engle said.

The fashion show’s budget was about $10,000 and featured 10 designers from the Chicago and Evanston areas, Engle said. McCormick junior Sahibzada Mayed and his fashion start-up Naranji created the event’s only designs from a Northwestern student.

Beginning as Mayed’s engineering capstone project, Naranji uses computer-generated patterns for fabric inspiration. After finishing the patterns in March, Mayed said they prepared the clothes during Spring Quarter to officially launch the brand at the UNITY show.

While developing Naranji’s pieces, Mayed said he championed the idea of fluidity for how garments were styled. At the fashion show, the same item was worn as a skirt by one model and as a tube top by another.

Mayed expressed their hope that customers will wear Naranji’s clothing in their own personal

styles.

“I know there’s a lot of fashion designers that do very intricate pieces, but I don’t see people wearing that every day,” Mayed said. “We’ve been focusing on pieces that would literally fit into people’s lives.”

One of Naranji’s designs, a purple fitted dress, was modeled by first-year computer science graduate student Yamini Ulaganathan. Because of her professional modeling experience, she participated in everything from judging the open-call auditions to teaching models how to walk.

Ulaganathan described how she had been trained in a ruthless environment and wanted to focus on building confidence at UNITY. She said she scheduled private one-on-one training sessions for any model who asked for additional practice.

“I didn’t have anyone to do that for me, so I

will go out of my way to do that for someone else,” Ulaganathan said. “I’ve been there where I’ve messed up the choreography and been intimidated by the people around me.”

Engle said UNITY has already started contacting locations in downtown Chicago to host next year’s show at a larger venue. In the future, the organization also plans to host more pop-up thrift shops and invite speakers from the fashion industry.

For Engle, UNITY provides the NU community ways to express style on a campus that lacks a strong fashion scene.

“We’re trying to provide that experience for Northwestern students because we know they love fashion,” Engle said. “We hope this can be the outlet for them.” anniexia2025@u.northwestern.edu

Chirag Bachani/The Daily Northwestern

8 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

Bienen concert leads to multiple COVID-19 cases

By JENNA WANG

the daily northwestern @jennajwang

After the Bienen School of Music’s concert, “The Last Message Received,” Bienen sophomore Greta McNamee learned she had stood singing right next to the event’s first reported positive COVID-19 case. The performance took place April 30 in the packed Pick-Staiger Concert Hall.

By the time she went to bed that night, eight more choir members had tested positive.

Over the next few days, the concert featuring the University Chorale, Bienen Contemporary/ Early Vocal Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra became a superspreader event. During the week of April 29, Northwestern reported a positivity rate of 7.40% with 302 new positive cases.

According to McNamee, nearly one-third of the entire choir was included in those numbers.

She said she felt alarmed, but given the lack of a mask mandate and testing enforcements this quarter, she was not surprised.

“For this concert, we were encouraged to unmask, which I think was an irresponsible choice on part of the choral team,” McNamee said. “They should know after more than two years of a global pandemic that singing is a relatively more dangerous activity, and there needs to be extra measures taken.”

McNamee said the choral team encouraged unmasking with the assumption students would

keep up with testing before the concert. However, Bienen junior Mark May said no one enforced the requirement for students to test three times in the week prior.

May said he believes the choral team does value masking in general, as members wore masks nearly every rehearsal until dress rehearsals.

“A lot of people were excited to perform in a normal environment and not have to worry about masks,” May said. “But for the people that wanted to wear masks, (the choral department) was even offering black masks to anyone who wanted them.”

McNamee pointed out a few masks could not be effective when the majority of the choir sang maskless. Of the people she knew who sung with masks, she said half of them had still gotten infected.

“While it was a very worthwhile effort from them, clearly it didn’t make enough of a difference, which is really devastating because those are the people who are trying very hard to limit the exposure,” McNamee said. “Yet they’re the ones who get punished.”

McNamee said she and many others feel it is unreasonable to ask students to compromise their health for required attendance at an event which counts toward graduation. She said her professor, who specializes in vocal pedagogy, warned of COVID-19’s long-term consequences on the lungs and voice.

Bienen Professor Donald Nally, who conducted the concert, also expressed his frustrations

about the event.

“The last week has been painful and frustrating for the choirs, orchestras and faculty of the Bienen School — not just due to the stress and disruption of illness, but also our collective desire to produce Puccini’s opera La Bohème and to ensure that our students’ recitals take place,” Nally said in an email to The Daily. “We are a strong and resilient community; we will figure this out together, making every last effort that all of these important events take place.”

University spokesperson Erin Karter said NU’s COVID Response Team, Bienen and NU leadership have been working together to monitor the situation.

“Bienen has canceled three performances in recent days due to student performers having tested positive, and will take additional measures if needed in consultation with University health officials,” Karter said.

According to May, the choral department has discontinued rehearsals for the Bienen Contemporary Ensemble and the University Chorale for the remainder of the year.

In a followup email, the choral department expressed its willingness to help those infected, but McNamee said it did not hold itself accountable. She felt as though Bienen’s Instagram post about the event exemplified why people were upset.

McNamee said she communicated about the spread following the event in the sophomore Bienen GroupMe chat and participated in

student-led efforts to track cases via seating charts.

May, on the other hand, felt the resulting backlash from students was unprofessional. He approved of the choral department’s response but was still saddened by the cancellations. Given masks were not required on campus, May felt the choral program did everything it could.

“It was a great response, and it was quite nice — they offered to help people that had COVID, they were really reassuring and they canceled a bunch of stuff preventively,” May said. “I look forward to choir — it’s a fun class, and I get to work with my friends. It kind of stinks not having a whole class because I think (the choral department) almost got forced into it.”

McNamee said she thought the choral department’s decision to cancel rehearsals was a good choice and felt the department’s response was generous.

She believes the issue stems from the University’s administration and wants to see the reinstatement of more testing requirements and enforceable COVID safety measures.

“I don’t want to be completely throwing the choral team under the bus because as vocal as they are about not masking, they are very kind,” McNamee said. “They’re doing what they can. They could be doing more, but there are only so many resources because of the way the COVID masking and testing guidelines have been enforced — or certainly not enforced — this quarter.” jennawang2024@u.northwestern.edu

Reel Thoughts: ‘Heartstopper’ foregrounds queer joy

By JACOB FULTON and ISABEL FUNK

daily senior staffers @jacobnfulton @isabeldfunk

From the first minute of Netflix’s “Heartstopper,” the screen is saturated with blues and yellows, as scattered hand-drawn pastel leaves and flowers whirling across the screen. It’s clear early on the show doesn’t take itself too seriously — and it wants to place joy at the forefront of the viewer’s experience.

Adapted from a webcomic of the same name, the show follows Charlie Spring ( Joe Locke) throughout Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. He’s the only openly gay student at his school, but the cast expands to include a wide range of LGBTQ characters, all on their own emotional journeys.

In many movies and shows highlighting queer stories, especially those aimed at a broad audience, the non-cis-het character is an outlier in their friend group, isolated as the token gay friend. If you’ve ever met a group of LGBTQ friends in person, you know this is far from the truth. This experience is something “Heartstopper” gets right. (Shoutout to Tao, the series’s token straight friend, and Imogen, a self-proclaimed “ally”).

While “Heartstopper” does feature a cis gay male couple, it also showcases the experiences of queer women and queer people of color.

The show also brings together a broad cast of characters who are all in different places in their emotional journeys as they each grapple

with their own unique identities. In doing so, it charts a variety of queer journeys, so audience members can see themselves in a multitude of characters.

Charlie begins to value himself in his relationships after having been outed the previous year.

Charlie’s love interest Nick Nelson (Kit Connor) comes to terms with his bisexuality through the oft-used but still widely experienced “Am I gay?” Google search (and a classic bisexual crisis driven by “Pirates of the Caribbean”).

Tara Jones (Corinna Brown) and Darcy Olsson (Kizzy Edgell) struggle with lesbophobic peers after coming out as a couple on Instagram, and Tara grapples with her relationship to the word “lesbian.” Elle (Yasmin Finney) navigates moving to a new school after coming out as transgender at an all-boys school, looking to gain footing in her identity and her new community. In all these situations, the show’s queer characters gravitate toward each other, finding common ground, safety and comfort in their shared experiences.

That sense of support also helps the characters accept themselves as they explore new parts of their identities. Seeing a happy queer couple — Tara and Darcy — helps Nick begin to see the possibility of happiness with Charlie.

This scene comes soon after he starts to fear the potential implications of his identity, researching issues facing the LGBTQ community like marriage legalization and hate crimes.

The world of “Heartstopper” isn’t purely innocent and joyful. The characters face bullying and isolation, struggle with their mental health

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta

and navigate familial dynamics. Despite these challenges, the characters are still able to come together and find happiness in their identities and relationships (and they do so amid a stellar soundtrack featuring the kinds of music queer people actually listen to).

In many instances, the queer experience can be an isolating one. From struggling to come out to family members (or themself) to existing as the only openly queer person in a community or navigating what a healthy relationship might look like, those holding queer identities sometimes struggle to find the support they need.

Often, emotional support comes from members of the queer community — but that dynamic is not frequently portrayed on screen. Especially during high school, when everyone is trying to find themselves, it’s essential to see that community is possible.

Together with your found family, you can find joy. In “Heartstopper,” viewers see just that, proving to queer teens that community — and happiness — are attainable. fulton@u.northwestern.edu isabelfunk2024@u.northwestern.edu

Reel Thoughts: ‘Doctor Strange 2’ while fun, fails to deliver

By PAVAN ACHARYA

the daily northwestern @pavanacharya02

Sam Raimi’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is a film with an identity crisis.

The 28th movie in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe can’t decide whether it is a character-focused flick or a multiversal odyssey featuring a plethora of juicy cameos. It tries to do both, but it just ends up with mixed results.

To quote an evil Doctor Strange variant from the film’s official teaser, “Things just got out of hand.”

In the film, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) travels through the multiverse to protect America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), a young girl with extraordinary transportive powers, from a mysterious threat. In the multiverse, Doctor Strange encounters a variety of characters, some new and others familiar, including an evil version of himself.

Although “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” has its share of problems, Raimi’s artful direction is not one of them. In most Marvel films, the studio’s desires typically hamper the director’s artistic vision. I am happy to report

this was not the case with this sequel.

Raimi hasn’t directed a film since 2013, but he does not skip a beat with this newest MCU installation. “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is easily the most-stylized film in the MCU canon, combining Raimi’s signature campiness with some very disturbing horror elements. Frankly, I wonder how much Disney had to pay off the Motion Picture Association to ensure its newest MCU movie got a PG-13 rating. That being said, do not take the kids to watch “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”

Along with being the rare MCU film not suitable for kids, it is also niche in a variety of other ways. In order to fully understand the film, viewers will have to at least watch the first “Doctor Strange,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “WandaVision” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

For this reason, the film is not accessible to the average movie-going audience. In the past, Marvel created stories anyone could enjoy. However, it now seems like cracks are starting to show, and some MCU content has become too specialized except for the hardcore fans. But as a hardcore MCU fan myself, my problems with the film lie elsewhere.

The use of the multiverse in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is, frankly,

underwhelming. Marketing teased the film would be the first true look inside the Marvel multiverse, but the film doesn’t include the promised variety. Instead, the sequel tries to simultaneously tell character-driven stories about Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) within the context of the multiverse. It’s a challenging task not even Raimi could pull off.

Raimi has proven he can deliver characterdriven superhero dramas like “Spider-Man 2” with Tobey Maguire. However, there is simply too much going on in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” to properly convey character development. The film has some great ideas for developing Strange’s character, but these character-focused ideas are constantly competing for attention with the multiversal setting.

“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is an entertaining film, aimed toward diehard MCU fans, but it winds up falling flat. The film’s significant ambitions are held back by the desire to tell both a character-driven story and a multiversal odyssey. As a result, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” winds up being an entertaining mess of plot with a pinch of missed potential. pavanacharya2025@u.northwestern.edu

arts & entertainment Editor Audrey Hettleman Assistant Editors Andrés Buenahora Annie Xia Designer Sara Gronich Bailey Richards Staff Sterling Kossuth Ortiz Annie Xia Jessica Ma Jenna Wang Jacob Fulton Isabel Funk Pavan Acharya

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

9

A look at Evanston sculptures’ histories and messages

By LAURA SIMMONS

the daily northwestern @lauras237

In Dawes Park, a Buddha head sculpture emerges from the ground. To creator Indira Freitas Johnson the piece is meant to exude a sense of beauty and peacefulness that can be enjoyed by passersby. Part of a larger Chicago public art program, Johnson said “Ten Thousand Ripples” has positively affected community residents’ experiences.

“One of the things we wanted was to engage people in art that’s right in their neighborhoods,” Johnson said. “You don’t have to go to a museum or to a gallery to see the art — art can be around you.”

The emerging Buddha is far from the only work of public art in Evanston. Sculptures created by various artists are scattered among city blocks for the general public to enjoy, while also sharing meaningful messages. These pieces can be found on Evanston’s recently updated public art interactive map.

“The city feeds the soul and nourishes the spirit

of the community,” Evanston Arts Council Chair Toby Sachs said. “Public art, whether it’s sculpture or murals, is one of the most tangible ways that art can come into the community.”

Sachs said the city’s funding for public art is collected from three main sources: taxes, individual donors and an ordinance that denotes up to 1% of the overall construction cost of each public building toward art.

Another such art piece in Raymond Park is “Conversations; Here and Now,” which Johnson also created. This piece, she said, aims to cultivate peace and individual action and engage people in the public art installation process.

“Conversations; Here and Now” is a circle of seven uniquely designed chairs with an empty space in the middle. Johnson said her wish is to have people of various backgrounds sit and interact, filling the empty space.

“I feel like all public art needs to have (engagement),” Johnson said. “So each of the chairs represents something, and then whoever sits in them then has a voice in talking.”

Elsewhere in the city, Elliott Park is home to “Attached,” a piece by Evanston artist Janet Austin.

“Attached” depicts a metal wasp perched upon a welded, ovular vessel. Austin said “Story Vases,” a series of beaded vases telling the story of five African women, inspired the shape of her sculpture.

Austin said “Attached” highlights her anger at pesticide overuse.

“The wasp is a perfect example of something that’s really targeted,” Austin said. “I think even the smallest things are potential for life on Earth. You get rid of any one of them, you could crash maybe a whole ecosystem, or at least make it less functioning.”

At the base of the installation, there is a poem by Austin that includes a paraphrase from naturalist and conservationist John Muir: “I pollinate / I build nests fit for a queen / I consume swarms of parasitic pests / Call me hornet, wasp, / Yellow jacket, vespa / We coexist / When one tugs at a single thing in nature, / he finds it attached to the rest of the universe.”

Pedestrians on Sherman Avenue may also run into some of Evanston’s public art exhibitions. Chicago artist Anna Soltys designed “Amalga,” a white form

partially covered in mosaics, which changes appearance depending on one’s perspective. It now sits outside the Albion apartment building.

“Amalga” comes from the word amalgamation, meaning the process of combining or uniting things together, or the result of doing so. Soltys said she enjoys researching bizarre words. Sometimes, she said, she spends months diving down a rabbit hole of words before she finds the right one for an art piece.

Soltys said she never knows what she’ll create when she first sits down. Instead, she said she lets her subconscious take over, and the finished product either makes sense or it doesn’t. In this case, Soltys said “Amalga” made sense because it demonstrated the idea of connection.

“In all of my work, I really like to explore the internal psychological struggles that we all deal with and really think of the things that connect us,” Soltys said.

“A lot of times, we connect a lot through mystery and pain and things that are very personal because then we realize that we’re not alone.” laurasimmons2025@u.northwestern.edu

Laura Simmons/The Daily Northwestern

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

SEXUAL HEALTH

PROM

organizations will use pro-choice hashtags,” Battissore said. “The messages completely conflict, and since both sides use the same hashtags, it can get confusing.”

Illinois’ Reproductive Health Act, effective since June 2019, recognizes the right of individuals to make autonomous decisions about their health — including the choice to get an abortion. This act, along with a recently repealed requirement for parents to be notified when the minor seeks an abortion, means the state will remain a safe place for abortions regardless of federal changes.

Yet Liv Harmening, an educator at the Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault, said social media has also allowed pro-life groups to “co-opt” the language of trauma-informed care, creating confusion about the legality of these healthcare rights.

“There are plenty of people on social media claiming to be talking about healthcare and reproductive justice, when really it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing and they are a forced pregnancy center,” Harmening said.

Saunte` Harden-Tate, a community educator and advocate at Pillars Community Health center, said the Chicago-based organization is putting together a series of YouTube videos about online safety and sexual health, the first of which will center internet abuse.

“As a parent myself, I’ve come across many things happening online that I’m really floored about,” Harden-Tate said. “A lot of our survivors who are in their teens meet their perpetrator through social media. And so we just want to make sure that (parents) are keeping them safe and having the tough conversations with them.”

As both educators and policy advocates move their sexual assault prevention efforts to social media, Harden-Tate said being aware of social media as a double-edged sword is essential to achieving justice.

“On one side of it, we’re able to reach those far beyond what we normally would, but also we have a new layer of concern that we have to be mindful about,” Harden-Tate said. “It’s really a gift and a curse.”

A planning team of staff and students organized the event, which took place at the Congress Plaza Hotel in downtown Chicago.

Weinberg sophomore Vik Nandigama said he was disappointed when his senior prom was canceled in 2020.

“It was honestly a buildup of things,” he said.

“School got canceled, and then it became online and prom got canceled, too. (It) just honestly sucked a lot.”

It was meaningful for NU students to experience prom, many for the first time, he added.

Nandigama embraced the concept of sophomore prom and organized a promposal with his friend. At the South Asian Students Alliance formal hosted Friday, he and his friend presented signs to their dates that read, “Must Be This Tall to Say No.” Their dates answered ‘yes’ while the crowd of students at the formal cheered, he said.

“My date in high school is the same date I went to college prom with, so it was a full circle experience,” Nandigama said.

When McCormick sophomore Ria D’Souza found out her senior prom was canceled, she didn’t

From page 1

From page 1

lilycarey2025@u.northwestern.edu

First residents move into Ann Rainey Apartments, city announces The first residents have moved into the Ann Rainey Apartments, a community complex designated for seniors living at or below 60% of the Area Median Income.

The apartments are built adjacent to the CJE

PCR

From page 1

On Friday, NU reported a 9.28% positivity rate — the highest of the pandemic during a week when campus has been open to full capacity. In a May 5 email, Vice President for Operations Luke Figora reiterated the University’s plans to implement a no testing or masking requirement through the end of the academic year.

Though the University has not communicated with the larger campus community about the increased positivity rate, several dorms have received emails about increased COVID-19 spread. Jones Hall, 640 Emerson, Shepard Hall, the ​​Communications Residential College and Allison Hall residents were all notified of case surges in their dorms last week, according to emails obtained by The Daily.

Along with instructions to avoid large gatherings and wash hands frequently, Jones SeniorLife Adult Day Services center on Howard Street in Evanston’s 8th Ward. The center provides daytime enrichment programming for seniors and cosponsored the construction of the apartments, along with Evergreen Real Estate Group.

“Ann Rainey Apartments serves as a natural extension of the community we have spent the past 50 years building,” Dan Fagin, president and CEO of CJE SeniorLife, wrote in a news release.

The complex is named for former 8th Ward Ald. Ann Rainey, who represented the ward for more than 30 years. During her tenure on

believe she would have another opportunity to wear her prom dress. She said she appreciated that the school gave students this opportunity.

D’Souza said the event felt, in part, more similar to a school dance than a prom because she considers prom a celebration of the end of high school.

“It’s one of the last things you can do as a senior with all of your friends,” D’Souza said.

The parts of prom that NU couldn’t make up for, however, did not stop D’Souza from enjoying the night. According to D’Souza, the venue was “gorgeous” and everyone seemed to be having fun.

The best part of the prom, she added, was seeing everyone dressed up taking pictures in formal outfits.

Prior to the prom, organizers also scheduled a whole week of programming centered around the sophomore class.

On “Lazy Monday,” students were encouraged to wear pajamas and paint The Rock, along with visiting the The Fat Shallot food truck parked nearby with free lunch. Later in the day, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” aired in Norris University Center’s McCormick Auditorium, and the Allison, Sargent and Elder dining halls served breakfast for dinner.

On “Spirit Tuesday,” students showed their school pride by wearing NU merch. One student won AirPods in a giveaway after posting a picture of themself

with spirit week specific hashtags.

The festivities continued on “Way Back Wednesday,” in which each residential area of campus dressed in the fashion of a different decade.

Organizers also screened “Back to the Future” in McCormick Auditorium that night.

Sophomores participated in Olympics-style games Thursday. Students could choose between sports competitions such as tug-of-war, knockout, slack race and relay race and brain games like Northwestern Jeopardy!, Random Trivia, Charades and Math Relay.

On Friday, students were encouraged to wear tropical outfits. Sargent and Allison Dining Halls provided themed lunches, including vegan Caribbean stew and mango coconut rice.

Many attendees were not able to participate in these high school-esque activities like spirit week during their senior year of high school. Communication sophomore Zai Dawodu said she was excited to be able to share a prom with people who had similar experiences as her.

“I feel like it was almost a little bit of closure from high school,” Dawodu said. “It was fun to do it with my college friends.”

residents on certain floors were barred from hosting guests through May 15. All Shepard and 640 Emerson residents and third-floor CRC residents cannot host guests through May 17, and second-floor Allison residents cannot host guests through May 18.

According to Ocampo, occupancy numbers at 1835 Hinman even over the past week have increased. On May 11, Velasco said the building was seemingly busier, and Ocampo said one of the workers mentioned about 15 new students were admitted, which is the highest number they’ve seen.

“Recently, there’s definitely been a big influx of residents here … I’ve met more people in the lounge recently,” he said. “And then based on how many paper bags are in the hallway, the meals are distributed in rooms that used to be empty.”

The lack of mandatory Universitywide mitigation measures comes as the campus community looks forward to several large events. Students attended a prom

for second-years Saturday night at the Congress Plaza Hotel, and students and non-NU guests will gather on May 21 for the 50th annual Dillo Day. NU Black Formal released a statement May 12 apologizing for a spike in COVID-19 cases resulting from its annual event this past weekend.

“We will ensure that all future events we hold will feature mandatory testing, not just the NU standard vaccine or weekly negative test assurance,” the statement said.

The second-year prom planning committee also sent an announcement May 12 mandating masks on buses to and from the event, per public health guidelines on public transportation. It also strongly encouraged masks at the venue and testing ahead of the event.

University President Morton Schapiro joined the ranks of 450 community members last week when he tested positive for COVID-19.

council, Rainey focused on improvements to business districts along Howard Street and maintained close, productive relationships with alderpeople governing the other side of Howard Street in Chicago’s 49th and 50th wards.

Rainey lost reelection in 2021 after a controversial campaign which included racially-charged comments leveled at then-challenger Ald. Devon Reid (8th), who was city clerk at the time.

Ann Rainey Apartments’ entrance and courtyard host public art, featuring murals by local artists Alfonso “Piloto” Nieves Ruiz and Sonja

kristenaxtman2025@u.northwestern.edu

maiapandey@u.northwestern.edu irisswarthout2023@u.northwestern.edu Henderson. Building administrators hope for the apartments to become LEED-certified in the future as a green building, according to the release.

The apartments, designated for residents ages 62 or older, opened applications for its 60 units in January. Residents reserved the 54 onebedrooms and six two-bedrooms in advance; the building is currently running a waitlist for prospective tenants.

— Ilana Arougheti

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ACROSS 1 Blackjack player’s request to a dealer 6 Mouth off to 10 Punxsutawney celebrity 14 Fairy tale monsters 15 Tattoo parlor supplies 16 “iZombie” actress McIver 17 Response to “Thanks” 19 Jazz great Fitzgerald 20 Gardener’s bagful 21 Penny 22 Milk source 23 Last non-AD yr.

25 Prefix meaning “all” 27 Response to “Thanks” 33 Bubble bath spot 36 Eurasian border river 37 Laugh nervously 38 Festoon 40 Energy 42 Relatively cool heavenly body 43 Krispy Kreme products 45 Nick at __ 47 Slip-__: shoes without laces 48 Response to “Thanks” 51 Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of __” 52 Big name in hotels 55 Iridescent gems 58 Too 61 __ school 63 Muted, as colors 64 Response to “Thanks” 66 Self-images 67 Retired tennis pro Kournikova 68 “Big Little Lies” actress Witherspoon 69 Brooklyn NBA team 70 Exam 71 Ill-fated Ford DOWN 1 “You can’t have any!” types

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THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, MAY 16, 2022

11

EPD hosts event to prevent catalytic converter theft

By ELENA HUBERT

the daily northwestern @elenahubert25

With bright orange spray paint and a stencil, EPD officers marked “EPD” on around 300 Evanston residents’ converters at a Northwestern parking garage Sunday. Catalytic converters are motor parts located on vehicles’ undersides that contain lucrative metals people target for theft and subsequent illegal resale.

Sgt. Chelsea Brown said the painted “EPD” label acts as a visual deterrent for theft, making them difficult to resell.

“The more scrap yards that know about it, the more thieves that know about it, hopefully we’ll be able to deter the crime,” Brown said.

Even with the spray paint as a safeguard, Brown recommended attendees still visit their local mechanic for advice on an antitheft device to attach to the converter. Some protective measures include metal cages and shields, Brown said.

Evanston resident Patricia Stankovic brought her 2022 Jeep Wrangler to the event, where Sgt. Brown informed her the car’s converter was covered with a wire mesh sleeve. Sgt. Brown said she marked Stankovic’s converter through the sleeve, since the mesh itself hasn’t been proven to be 100% effective at preventing theft.

“Apparently, you need to do a lot of stuff… you just have to protect yourself as much as you can,” Stankovic said.

EPD spokesperson Officer Enjoli Daley said the event’s goal was to give residents a way to feel empowered against theft.

“The more people that are aware that it

EFD Apparatus Operator Robert Byrne retires after over 20 years of service Evanston Fire Department Fire Apparatus Operator Robert Byrne retired Saturday after more than 20 years of service.

Beginning his career in Evanston in

happens and are taking an active interest in trying to prevent it for themselves, I think the better,” Daley said.

Sunday’s event was limited to vehicles manufactured by Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, Ford, Jeep and Kia, Daley said, because EPD analysts found these cars had their catalytic converters stolen most often in Evanston.

Aviv Zafrir, the shop operator of Factory Muffler & Complete Auto Repair in Skokie, told the Daily last month these manufacturers include a higher concentration of the precious metals rhodium, palladium and platinum in their converters.

Evanston resident Sharon Jin brought her Toyota Prius to the event after a friend’s catalytic converter was recently stolen. Jin said she attended the event after hearing about repair costs for catalytic converter thefts. For her friend, it cost about $500, she said.

Jin said she is “very grateful” that EPD is taking an active interest in deterring the thefts.

“For civil matters, for small things, [officers] have been always there for people,” Jin said.

Officers got each car in and out of the event in less than a minute. EPD officer Mike Jones said climbing under each car to spray its converter was a “workout.”

Jones said he enjoyed the relationship-building aspect of the event and was able to reconnect with residents he hasn’t seen in a while. It is important for police officers to interact with residents outside of active policing, according to Jones.

“They see us in a different light when we work in this capacity,” Jones said.

EPD hosted an identical converter marking event last November, where officers marked 200 cars.

September 2001 as a firefighter and paramedic, Byrne became a fire apparatus operator in August 2009, according to the department.

The position requires department officials to be responsible for the station’s fire apparatuses — including fire engines, fire pumps and aerial ladders — in addition to continuing their firefighting and Emergency Medical Services duties.

As a member of EFD Local 742, Byrne also coordinated holiday charity events to raise

Elena Hubert/The Daily Northwestern

An EPD officer marks a catalytic converter with spray paint to deter people from stealing it.

Brown said Sunday’s event was prompted by resident demand, as the last one proved effective based on feedback from attendees.

“None of the vehicles that we marked had their converters stolen in that time period,”

Brown said.

Daley said she anticipates there will be another event in the future.

money and supplies for organizations like Family Focus and the Salvation Army, according to the release.

“Rob took a special interest in coordinating the collection and distribution of food and gifts for underserved populations in our community throughout his career,” Fire Chief Paul Polep said in a news release.

Byrne also served as a union steward and as a treasurer to Local 742’s political action

committee, which has historically lent support to local candidates, including Mayor Daniel Biss.

As the recipient of the Meritorious Service Award, Bryne was honored by the department for his dedication to duty. He also received the Chief ’s Letter of Commendation, which acknowledges outstanding fire and paramedic work.

elenahubert2025@u.northwestern.edu

— Jorja Siemons

The Daily Northwestern Spring 2022 | An independent voice since 1923 | Evanston, Illinois EDITOR IN CHIEF | Jacob Fulton PRINT MANAGING EDITORS | Yiming Fu, Isabel Funk, Laya Neelakandan DIGITAL MANAGING EDITORS | Will Clark Katrina Pham CREATIVE DIRECTOR | Angeli Mittal ___________________

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Monday, May 16, 2022

SPORTS

@DailyNU_Sports

LACROSSE

Northwestern progresses to NCAA quarterfinals

By GABRIELA CARROLL

the daily northwestern @gablcarroll

Jorge Melende/The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern is moving on to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament thanks to its draw control dominance, stout defense and quick starts.

The Wildcats demolished Central Michigan in the first round, 22-7. NU fell into a quick 2-1 deficit, but by the end of the first period, the Cats were up 8-3 and continued to pull away from there.

After falling flat in the Big Ten Tournament with a 13-5 loss to Rutgers in the first round, NU came into the game eager to prove itself.

“When you get the information that you aren’t ready for that moment, you have to assess yourself and figure out ways that you’re going to be stronger physically and mentally,” coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said.

Before the game, Amonte Hiller said the Chippewas presented many of the same challenges as Rutgers. She praised both squads as scrappy, well-coached and athletic teams.

NU took advantage of that fighting spirit, goading Central Michigan into giving the Cats 11 free position attempts, and NU scored on eight.

“To get free position shots, you have to work the ball,” graduate attacker Lauren Gilbert said. “You have to put the defense in positions where they’re sliding, they’re getting into shooting space or you’re dodging hard at them, and they have to follow you.”

NU jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter against Michigan, with senior goaltender Madison Doucette making three crucial saves and the defense forcing turnovers to maintain possession.

But the story of the game was graduate midfielders Jill Girardi and Brennan Dwyer’s dominance at the draw circle. The Cats won 23 draw controls compared to the Wolverines’ six wins, including winning all nine draw controls in the third quarter.

“Northwestern on the draw was

sensational,” Michigan coach Hannah Nielsen said. “When we had the ball, we could score goals pretty easily, but unfortunately, when you’re not getting it from the middle, it makes it really, really difficult.”

Even with Girardi and Dwyer’s success at the draw, the Wolverines mounted a strong comeback in the final two quarters. Michigan put together a 3-1 run to open the third quarter and pulled within one of NU, but the Cats strung three goals together to rebuild their lead.

But fans were on their toes until the very end, as the Wolverines pulled within two goals with six minutes to play, and then regained possession in the final moments after a costly Cats turnover and foul.

Doucette made the free position save and NU held on to win, with sophomore forward Erin Coykendall scoring with just a second to go to ice the game. “(Doucette) set the tone with the ride,” Amonte Hiller said. “She was active and aggressive and relentless, and that transformed into her play in the cage as well.

She was able to make the saves, and she made a lot of timely saves too, which is a sign of greatness. That’s a huge moment for Madison, for her to build off of that.”

After Friday’s game against Central Michigan, Gilbert said the Cats’ focus after losing in the Big Ten Tournament was to play to win and stay aggressive, and not just “play to not lose.”

Against Michigan, the Cats faced a true challenge, like in the Big Ten Tournament, and this time, they stayed aggressive and kept fighting back, even after jumping out to a big early lead.

NU will need to do that again against Syracuse in the quarterfinal Thursday, a team it beat 16-15 in overtime earlier in the season, and lost to in the Final Four last year.

“Last year, we didn’t show up as our best,” senior midfielder Elle Hansen said.

“We’re really excited to get back there and match up against them.” gabrielacarroll2023@u.northwestern.edu

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Veronica Burton talks NU career, move to Dallas

By LEAH HOLMES

the daily northwestern

When the Dallas Wings chose Veronica Burton as their first pick at the WNBA draft in New York City on April 11, they gave her 48 hours to report to Arlington, Texas. She used that time to fly to Chicago and deliver hand-written thank you notes to the entire athletic department at Northwestern.

During her senior year at NU, the 5-foot-9 point guard led the Wildcats in points and the nation in steals. For the third straight season, she was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

Burton was also a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the best point guard in the NCAA. A threat on both offense and defense, the seventh overall draft pick and first draftee from a Big Ten school adds versatility to the Wings’ roster.

Basketball seems to be in Burton’s blood. She’s the youngest of four in her family, and her two older sisters also played college hoops. When Burton was too young to be left at home by herself, her parents would drag her along to watch her siblings’ games.

“I was always the girl shooting at halftime or timeouts,” Burton said.

In high school, scouts weren’t knocking down her door. One of Burton’s few offers came from NU coach Joe McKeown, who saw her at a tournament and was impressed by her “competitiveness” and hustle. He invited her to campus and eventually convinced her to commit.

Burton said she hesitated at first because of her family ties to NU: her mother Ginni Burton (Communication ’85) was an All-American swimmer, her father, Steve Burton (Communication ’85, Medill ’88), was a quarterback and her grandfather, Ron Burton (SESP ’60), was an All-American running back.

“I thought it was important that she knows she could just be herself and not be compared to

anybody,” McKeown said.

It’s an underdog school in women’s basketball, which made it perfect for Burton, who said she likes that same quality about herself.

“You have to coach her to understand how valuable she actually is because she’s not flashy,” McKeown said.

McKeown, who attended the draft with assistant coach Tangela Smith, said Burton is quietly confident and calm, and both traits were noticeable even throughout the chaos of draft night.

Burton’s support system extends to her family.

Burton said her parents have her back in times of need, and her siblings are her rock. They are the first to call after her best and worst games — and everything in between. Her mom, dad and older sister Kendall were with her at the draft.

Less than a week later, Burton was thrown into training camp for the upcoming season. But she was prepared. In the days leading up to her first practice, she said she watched old Dallas games so she could learn how to get her new teammates the ball. Smith, who played in the WNBA for many years before turning to coaching, said she was astonished by Burton’s commitment.

Burton’s devotion to studying game film is something she shares with football legend Tom Brady, who surprised her with a congratulatory call on draft night.

“He’s a student of the game, and that’s something I try to replicate,” she said.

Despite Burton’s preparedness, the first days of training camp made the senior feel like a freshman all over again. She dealt with nerves, soreness and a whirlwind of emotions. Despite the ups and downs, Burton said she was grateful for every opportunity.

“No matter how many minutes I’m playing, no matter what my role is, helping my team win is a huge goal of mine,” she said.

Eventually, Burton said she wants to become one of the best point guards in the league, but she

Alyce Brown/The Daily Northwestern

said that’ll take time.

In her first three WNBA games, Burton scored just four points coming off the bench. But her defensive contributions are already making a big impact for the Wings, as she secured four steals and ten rebounds in those minutes.

Some great athletes play for the accolades, others play for the spotlight or the hype. Not Burton.

“My identity doesn’t come from my performance or whatever I do on the court,” she said.

“It comes from my faith.”

Like many high-level athletes, Burton puts a lot of pressure on herself, which can lead to selfcriticism and doubts. But reminding herself of her purpose helps Burton enjoy the moments as they come.

Smith, who served as a mentor to Burton during her time at Northwestern, gives her one final challenge: to exceed her own 15-year run in the WNBA. “If anybody can do it, Veronica can,” she said. leahholmes2024@u.northwestern.edu