The Daily Northwestern — May 25, 2023

160 Years of Evanston

South Asian coalition creates community

Jasmine Collective talks about caste and Islamophobia

By JOANNA HOU daily senior staffer @joannah_11

Weinberg sophomores

Abhi Nimmagadda and Sanjana Rajesh, a former Daily staffer, have found various undergraduate clubs at Northwestern offering affinity spaces and political discourse, but none that merged the two while also centering South Asian students.

This gap led the two to found The Jasmine Collective, a student group committed to creating a South Asian American community and coalition. The club, which started in Spring Quarter, has plans to hold identity-based events, guest speakers and educational discussions.

“It’s meant to be a healing space just as much as it is meant to be a space from which to organize,” Nimmagadda said.

Though the affinity-specific spaces in the club are geared toward South Asian students, the two said they also want to pursue education as part

of the club’s broader mission. In conversations with nonSouth Asian friends, they saw an interest in learning about topics like caste and Islamophobia in South Asian communities.

Caste is a social stratification in India and some other parts of South Asia, according to anthropology and Asian American studies Prof. Shalini Shankar. People born into lower rungs of the caste system, as well as ones born outside it entirely, experience “all kinds of social segregation as well as ongoing discrimination,” said Shankar, who advises TJC.

Rajesh said broader community outreach helps lay the groundwork for effective organizing. TJC held its first teach-in on May 17, where the members discussed dismantling South Asian fascism in the U.S. Rajesh said it was “very exciting” to see the diversity of attendees.

“A thing that happens at teach-ins is that you learn with other people, and it’s really motivating when you see other people are interested in this,” Rajesh said. “When you see that other people care, that also makes you want to do

» See TJC , page 10

page 5

Mayor Daniel Biss

Biss calls to improve sustainability

Mayor details downtown revitalization plans in State of the City

By CASEY HE the daily northwestern @caseeey_he

About 100 Evanston community members filled the

auditorium at Evanston SPACE for Mayor Daniel Biss’ second annual State of the City address Tuesday. This year’s event, which was free and open to all Evanston residents for the first time,

Medill works to diversify faculty

Dean Whitaker says hiring representative professors, staff a top priority

By SAMANTHA POWERS the daily northwestern @sqpowers04

Every freshman at the Medill School of Journalism learns the importance of diversity in the industry when they take the course Journalism 202: Journalism Values, Practice and Trends. Members of Medill’s leadership team say they work to hire faculty that will reflect the growing diversity in the field.

Medill has one of the most racially diverse faculty cohorts at Northwestern. The University reported Medill’s tenureline faculty was 54.2% white in the 2020-2021 academic year — the smallest percentage across all of NU’s schools.

Medill Dean Charles Whitaker said hiring a diverse faculty is one of his top priorities. In his research on the hiring of women and minorities in the magazine industry, he said he has found that people involved in hiring tend to turn to their own network.

“If your network is just people who look like you and who come from the exact same

background as you, then the likelihood that you will get much diversity is kind of slim to none,” Whitaker said.

To counter this trend, he said, Medill leadership works closely with search committees to prioritize diversity in hiring.

When Medill leadership worked to hire the inaugural George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling, Whitaker said he was happy to see the four finalists were “amazing” writers of color. This, he said, is a testament to what can happen when those involved with hiring “cast a wide net.”

Whitaker said when he began his tenure as dean in 2019, the faculty he worked with wasn’t particularly diverse.

According to the University’s diversity and inclusion report, Medill’s tenure-line faculty was 71.4% white during the 20182019 academic year.

He said those numbers are the result of institutional barriers within both academia and the journalism industry.

Medill’s tenured faculty tends to be less diverse because tenure is a lifelong position, Whitaker said. As time goes on,

however, he said he hopes the work he and other Medill leadership are doing will become more apparent to students and result in a more diverse tenured faculty.

In 2021, Rob Brown joined Medill as its director of diversity, equity, inclusion and outreach. Brown, who works with search committees to help center inclusive hiring, said he has committee members take an implicit bias test.

Brown also hosts semi-regular

“lunch and learn” sessions with faculty, where he invites speakers to discuss topics including microaggressions in the classroom and how to make transgender and non-binary students feel included.

Brown said these strategies present their own challenges. The sessions are largely opt-in, which means not all professors benefit from the instruction. Still, he said, it’s important to

» See MEDILL POC PROFS, page 10

was a departure from previous addresses held at the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. Biss said he wanted to make the address more intimate and accessible.

Mayor Daniel Biss speaks with Northwestern University

President Michael Schill. Several local leaders, including Northwestern University President Michael Schill, attended the event. In his address, Biss said he » See STATE OF THE CITY, page 10

Teacher honored with street name

Geraldine Pace, who ‘practically raised’ Evanston, lauded

By KATE WALTER daily senior staffer @katewalter03

After 48 years teaching at the Infant Welfare Society of Evanston, Geraldine “Geri” Pace will be honored with a street sign.

City Council voted May 8 to designate a section of Main Street between Pitner Avenue and Grey Avenue as “Geraldine Pace Way.” The segment will honor her decades of work in Evanston with early childhood education.

IWSE operates two full-day facilities in the community: the Baby Toddler Nursery and Teen Baby Nursery, both of which offer child care and early education programs.

Established in 1996, the Honorary Street Name Sign program gives Evanston residents the opportunity to honor individuals for their service to the community.

At IWSE, Pace worked with toddlers for most of her career before

moving into the baby room. Both of her own daughters attended the IWSE nursery.

One of the most rewarding parts of her job is receiving visits from her former students, Pace said. She said she recently ran into a former student, now an adult, from her toddler class.

“It’s one thing for a child to remember you, but a grown man? That just made my day,” Pace said. “He came out of the car and hugged me, and he said, ‘I’ll never forget you.’”

She added that her “calm, laidback” personality has served her well as a children’s teacher. Her only regret, Pace said, is not writing down what former students have said to her in the classroom.

“You always have to have patience, and you treat them with respect, all children,” Pace said. “I treat my own children and classroom children with love, respect, kindness, hugging and high fives.”

Pamela Staples — the site director at IWSE’s Baby Toddler Nursery, the oldest operating infant toddler child care center in the state — said she started working

» See GERALDINE , page 10

Kimberly Espinosa/Daily Senior Staffer

delivered his second State of the City address at Evanston SPACE on Tuesday.

Illustration by Lily Ogburn Rob Brown, Medill’s director of diversity, equity, inclusion and outreach, works with search committees to help center inclusive hiring. He has search committee members take an implicit bias test.

Activists criticize pace of local sustainability efforts

By JACK AUSTIN daily senior staffer @jackaustinnews

For many environmental activists in Evanston, their greatest priority involves meeting the goals set out in the Climate Action and Resilience Plan first approved by the city in 2018.

The plan calls for a severe reduction in carbon emissions, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and securing 100% renewable energy for all Evanston properties by 2030.

According to Cara Pratt, the city’s sustainability and resilience manager, Evanston has seen almost zero reductions in natural gas emissions in the past 20 years.

In the past two decades, the city has explored multiple options for sustainability. In 2009, the city passed a Green Building Ordinance to increase energy efficiency in Evanston buildings and facilities. Evanston also operates public electric vehicle charging stations throughout the city.

This April, Evanston relaunched its Sustain Evanston Incentive Program, which provides grants of up to $25,000 to select businesses looking to pursue a sustainable project. Initially rolled out in 2019, the program aims to reward green businesses.

Evanston has reduced its emissions by 38% since 2005, according to Pratt — in part by purchasing renewable energy credits. This approach allows the city to offset carbon emissions by purchasing renewable energy certificates from other states.

But, this approach has been criticized as indirect. Environmental activists argue credits do not add new renewable energy in Evanston, and some environmental experts have denounced the credits as a “scam.”

Jerri Garl, co-chair of Environmental Justice Evanston, described sustainability as a practice that is “communal, self-sufficient and in harmony with the environment.” She added growing local food and investing in clean energy can help forge sustainable futures.

“Everything in the world of sustainability is like a three-legged stool. It’s got environmental protection or environmental health. You got economic health,

and you’ve got social equity,” Garl said. “All three of those aspects of sustainability have to be strong.”

According to Jack Jordan (Weinberg ’22), who authored an honors thesis on local climate activism in Evanston, resident activism has been the primary driver of sustainability initiatives in the city since the 1990s.

Citizen activism pushed environmental and energy policies forward for years, resulting in the first Evanston Climate Action plan in 2007, according to Jordan.

Jordan said the most promising update this year involved the addition of two full-time employees dedicated to sustainability and community outreach at the city’s Office of Sustainability, which previously had only a director.

For Jordan and many local environmental activists, Evanston has not made enough progress to meet its goals of 100% renewable energy goals in all of its buildings by 2030. In 2019, the city received 31% of its electricity from renewable sources and hopes to more than double that number to 75% by 2025, according to a 2019 city report.

Hal Sprague, a member of Climate Action Evanston, said the group — formerly called Citizens’ Greener Evanston — successfully pushed for the addition of a sustainability coordinator in 2007.

CGE also successfully advocated for the city to adopt a resolution declaring a climate emergency in 2022, joining over 2,000 jurisdictions worldwide.

Sprague added the most significant obstacle to achieving sustainability goals remains with changing individual behaviors relating to consumption and transportation habits, which can be difficult “even in a progressive place like Evanston.”.

Sprague said he, like Jordan, is concerned about the city’s lack of urgency and action to meet the goals outlined in CARP.

Pratt said her primary responsibility in city government is to implement CARP. She added the city is exploring intersections of sustainability with racial and economic equity, and is most proud of a sustainable housing initiative in the process of development.

That initiative received $1 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act last year and is currently conducting energy audits and examining potential properties to retrofit into green affordable housing. Applications for building renovations will

open by the end of the year, according to Pratt.

“It addresses the energy burden and environmental justice and focuses on providing solutions to our lowest income residents to improve the health of their homes,” she said.

Jordan said substantial improvement in energy policy must occur by 2030 if the city wants to reach its net zero carbon goal by 2050.

According to Sprague, the city should include transportation, food systems, energy efficiency and water use to capture a more holistic conception of sustainability.

“The thread of passion to make CARP work traversed time. Sustainability is primarily a climate issue, but it also involves all these other things that aren’t necessarily mentioned in CARP, like food,” Sprague said. “How can we make things last for the next seven generations, to make it sustainable forever?”

jonathanaustin2023@u.northwestern.edu

Setting the record straight

An article published in Monday’s paper titled “Symposium honors Black Studies” mischaracterized Prof. Ayobade’s reference to the 1970s group of Nigerian artists and omitted a word in Ayobabe’s quote. It also misstated Brown’s summer plans. The Daily regrets the errors.

An article published in Monday’s paper titled “Rebuilding Exchange repurposes home accessories” misstated the length of a pre-apprenticeship program and the year of the merger between the Evanston and Chicago stores. The program is eight weeks long and the merger happened in 2021. The Daily regrets the errors.

Illustration by Lily Ogburn Evanston aims to be carbon neutral by 2050. But activists say the city must work faster to be able to reach this goal.

Students push to end test score reporting

By JULIAN ANDREONE the daily northwestern @julianandreone

Northwestern extended its test-optional policy through the 2023-24 admission cycle, meaning applicants will not have to submit standardized test scores for the fourth year in a row. But, some NU students are advocating for the University to permanently eradicate score reporting.

Standardized tests have long sparked debates about equitable college admissions, because resource disparities can impact testing results.

The University first enacted its test-optional policy at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to accommodate the risks associated with gathering large groups of students to take standardized exams.

In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Erin Karter said NU is reviewing outcome data from the current policy as it considers whether to adopt a test-optional protocol permanently.

“With or without test scores, we will continue to evaluate applicants’ academic and intellectual fit for Northwestern as we always have,” Karter said, “through a holistic assessment of grades, course rigor, recommendations, academic honors or awards, personal essays, and other information specific to (their) own experiences and high school setting.”

According to NU’s website, the University will currently “respect” a student’s preference not to submit test scores. But, the policy does not prevent students from submitting exceptional SAT or ACT test scores either.

Students who apply to NU can still be rewarded for submitting strong scores as part of the “holistic” review, according to the University website.

Communication junior Pari Pradhan, who attended high school in the Philippines before coming to NU, said it is “significantly more difficult” for students in the Philippines to access standardized tests. She wants NU to keep a test-optional policy, she added.

“Sometimes, standardized testing can offer some students a solid way of showing their skillset,

but I don’t think I would weigh those scores very highly,” Pradhan said. “I would not consider them as strongly as schools do now.”

Pradhan, the president of NU’s International Student Association, said she worries that some students have the finances to access tutors and take the tests multiple times. That can disadvantage students without these resources, she said.

She added this resource disparity means test scores don’t represent an applicant’s intelligence.

SESP sophomore Olivia O’Loughlin said she opted not to submit her test scores because she did not have access to testing sites in her hometown of Philadelphia during the lockdown.

O’Loughlin added that standardized tests “aren’t reflective of everybody’s abilities.” She said she hopes to see them phased out of the college admissions process.

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“I know people (who) had a lot of access to tutoring and (preparation) for those tests, and some people that didn’t,” O’Loughlin said. “There’s an economic advantage there, even in having the time to (prepare). If you have to work after school, you can’t go to a tutoring session.”

McCormick freshman Gayoung Kim, on the other hand, chose to submit her test scores. She said she believed the results could only improve her chance of admission.

Still, Kim said she is skeptical about test-optional policies. Instead, she said it would be more equitable to eliminate test scores completely.

“Even if the University says that this testoptional policy won’t hurt if you don’t submit your score, how true can that be?” Kim said. julianandreone2026@u.northwestern.edu

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Illustration by Lillian Ali

Northwestern will continue to review outcome data as it considers whether to adopt a test-optional admissions policy permanently.

New owners of Booked look to highlight community

By KATE WALTER daily senior staffer @katewalter03

The new owners of the Evanston independent bookshop Booked Abby Dan (Weinberg ’05) and Betsy Haberl (SPS ’18) hope to host community events and highlight diverse experiences at their store behind a child-sized door.

Dan and Haberl started working at Booked as booksellers last summer and assumed ownership in May.

“We really would like to be an inclusive and open space that supports all members of our community, and also represents all of the wonderful aspects of the Evanston community with what we carry in books,” Haberl said.

Booked regularly hosts book clubs, talks with authors and puts on a weekly Dungeons & Dragons club for trans and nonbinary teens. The business also participated in the recent Umbrella Arts Festival with a tent of books to celebrate ASPA authors and engaged with the community during Main-Dempster Mile Art’s & Craft’s Beverage Crawl. It partnered with local author and illustrator Lucy Knisley for an in-store event.

According to its website, Booked offers “a carefully curated, diverse selection of new titles and classics for readers of all ages,” including a selection for adults.

“I think that they really view books as a window to all people’s experiences,” said Booked customer and Evanston resident Liz Berliant.

Berliant said she loves the sense of joy the store brings. She has two children and said they love the store’s tiny door, which sits within its normal door. She said the tiny door mimics “walking into this magic area full of books and wonder and experiences.”

Haberl and Dan are both writers and hold degrees from Northwestern in creative writing. They met when they started working at Booked last summer and quickly developed a friendship.

“It’s a joy to work with her,” said Dan of her business partner. “It was very quickly clear that we

meshed really well.”

An avid reader and writer, Dan said owning a bookstore fits in line with her life’s pursuits. For Haberl, receiving an MFA in creative writing introduced her into the literary world. She said that owning a bookstore feels like “a natural fit.”

The new owners also said they are hoping to expand their offerings for adult readers, including starting an

other single-use carryout bags Monday.

Both the tax and the ban will go into effect Aug. 1.

adult book club this summer.

In addition to transitioning to new ownership, Booked adopted expanded hours for the summer and a new logo created by Evanston resident Richa Cordero, which includes a depiction of the store’s well-known “tiny door” at its entrance.

Jessica Iverson, who works at Booked, said Dan and Haberl are a formidable pair who will

10,000 square feet from the tax.

serve Booked well.

“They both are rich with ideas and they’re good problem solvers,” Iverson said. “Not only am I excited to have them as bosses, but I’m really excited to see what they end up having in store for (Booked), and I really hope the community has the same excited curiosity.” katewalter2025@u.northwestern.edu

City Council voted unanimously to approve a complete ban on plastic bags and a tax on

The ordinance contains several changes from its first appearance before the council in January. It now includes a 10-cent tax — a decrease from the previously proposed 15 cents — on carryout single-use bags. It exempts restaurants, non-chain stores and businesses smaller than

The ordinance also includes a complete ban on plastic bags in all city businesses, making Evanston the first municipality in Illinois to do so.

During Monday’s meeting, Ald. Devon Reid (8th) said he thinks the ordinance will help the

Plan goals, which include zero waste and carbon neutrality by 2050.

“This is important for Evanston. It is us moving forward with our values (and) our belief in CARP,” Reid said during the meeting. “It’s a small step, but it’s a good first step.”

Photo courtesy of Angela Renée Photography

Abby Dan and Betsy Haberl are the new owners of Evanston independent bookstore Booked, and hope to expand their business’ community-building efforts.

City Council bans all plastic bags, taxes single-use

160 Years of Evanston

Letter from the editor: On Evanston’s past and future

While researching Evanston for this special edition, I found hundreds of years of history: some famous events we’ve all heard of and a plethora of smaller facts I didn’t know occurred in the city’s 7.8 square miles.

The city has long echoed greater trends around the United States. Evanston’s founder, John Evans, displaced and massacred Native Americans across the country, including in Evanston.

Later, leaders in the temperance movement found their home in Evanston, setting a national stage for prohibition.

Evanston’s roots are also comprised of lesser-known events. The city is the site of a national ice cream debate: Did early residents really create the ice cream sundae, or did it happen in Two Rivers, Wisconsin? Why are so many beloved movies filmed here? How did this small area become home to national headquarters of organizations like the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, Rotary International and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity?

Today, Evanston remains a major part of national news. In

2019, it became the first city to pass a reparations resolution for Black residents.

Only time will tell how Evanston’s legacy is cemented. This year, on Evanston’s 160th birthday, we honor the community the city has created while recognizing the harm it has propagated. With hard work, the next 160 years will hopefully be filled with history we can be proud of.

— Nicole Markus

Illustration by Lily Ogburn

Tracing the history of Indigenous peoples in the city

By JACK AUSTIN daily senior staffer @jackaustinnews

Before Evanston was founded in 1863, tribal nations including the Potawatomi, Peoria, Kaskaskia, Myaamia (or Miami), Wea, Kiikaapoi (or Kickapoo) and Mascouten called the land home.

When settlers arrived, they forced conflict, removal and assimilation on tribal nations while government policy stripped them of their lands.

Years later, urban relocation in the mid-20th century brought Native Americans from across the country to the area.

According to The Ohio State University’s American Indian studies Prof. John Low, who is an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Indians, many Potawatomi villages existed in the Chicago area before contact with white settlers.

The Potawatomi maintained close connections, and at times intermarried with the two other tribes of the Council of the Three Fires, the Ojibwe and the Odawa. All three existed as distinct nations with their own languages and cultures.

Rose Miron, director of the Newberry Library’s Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, said while the Potawatomi (or Bodéwadmik) were the primary nation in the area at the time white settlement began to expand, many other nations called the area home.

Miron said the first recorded contact between white settlers and Native people in Chicago occurred in the 1670s when Jesuit missionary explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet traveled through the area.

“Throughout the 18th century, Chicago was an important site of transit and trade,” Miron said. “Native people had long used the portage between the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers to move between the Great Lakes and into the Mississippi River Valley, and they continued to do so after white settlers entered the region.”

As American settlers pushed westward, politicians forcefully displaced the Potawatomi and other tribes from their lands, Low said. According to Miron, Natives first ceded land in Chicago and Evanston in 1795 with the Treaty of Greenville, which ended hostilities in the Great Lakes region between the U.S. and a large Indigenous confederation.

The treaty ceded much of Ohio and substantial portions of Illinois (as well as Indiana and Michigan). More followed, including treaties in 1816, 1829, 1832 and 1833, Miron said.

Miron said what is now the city of Evanston was included in the 1829 cession. This treaty gave a parcel of land in present-day Wilmette and Evanston to Archange Ouilmette, a Potawatomi woman married to a French fur trader. Ouilmette’s family could not stay, however; the 1833 treaty ordered the removal of all Native people from Illinois.

“In spite of removal, Native people never relinquished their claims to that land that we now call Chicago (and Evanston),” Miron said. “They continue to consider this land part of their ancestral homelands and have maintained reciprocal relationships with it.”

According to Low, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 displaced almost all the Potawatomi people from their ancestral homelands with “cruel efficiency,” forcing them to flee to Canada, Wisconsin and Mexico. Native displacements like the Trail of Tears — a mass displacement of Cherokees that resulted in the deaths of at least 4,000 — were widespread. While some tribes willingly left their lands to relocate, others resisted, and were forcibly moved by the U.S. military.

Low said while the Potawatomi still have connections to the area, few people actually live in the city today as a result of these removals.

Eventually, the Potawatomi moved to Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan and Northwest Indiana. The Pokagon Potawatomi of Indiana were the only band to remain on its ancestral lands, Low said.

According to Les Begay, founder of the Indigenous Peoples Day Coalition in Illinois and an enrolled citizen of the Diné Nation, no tribes in Illinois are federally recognized as a lingering consequence of forced removal. Without recognition of a tribe, Begay said, important legislation to Native people is difficult to pass.

For the more than 65,000 Indigenous people living in Chicago and Evanston, a lack of affordable housing remains one of their most pressing concerns, Begay said, in addition to lack of federal support.

“A big issue is that, first of all, (about) 75% of enrolled Native citizens live off reservations. So only 25% live on reservation, but that’s where all the federal money goes,” Begay said. “We need to have a seat at the table to talk about the issues that we have. We’re still around.”

Two federal policies in the 20th century developed much of the current Indigenous population in Chicago, Medill Prof. Reynaldo Morales said.

Morales, who was born in Peru and is of Quechua descent, said the urban relocation program brought large numbers of Native people to Chicago between 1952 and the 1970s. He added that the policy of termination worked in tandem with relocation, stripping recognition and federal support from tribes in an effort to assimilate them.

The federal government refused to view some tribes as sovereign nations, terminating their protected status

and converting tribe members into ordinary tax-paying citizens. The government terminated more than 100 tribes under this policy, stripping them of acres of land. Relocation helped facilitate this process with the larger policy goal of assimilating Native Americans into American urban society.

According to Low, the government claimed relocation could grant Native people a new life. But, Low said, the government had an ulterior motive: With fewer people living on reservations, it was easier for the government to argue Natives had “disappeared” and break treaty obligations.

“That urban relocation program was really one of the last attempts to dismember the tribal government structure and completely deprive the tribes from members who can carry on the structure of the tribal life,” Morales said.

Low said relocatees were promised housing, jobs and support, but upon arrival in Evanston and elsewhere, they faced employment discrimination and little support. Many of the families that came to Chicago in the 1950s ultimately went back to reservations. Others stayed, and their descendants continue to live in the city today.

“In the end, they have to take the hardest jobs,” Morales said. “Jobs didn’t provide the sufficient sustenance that they wanted. The urban life didn’t fulfill all the different needs that they had. And so this expectation turned into a very bitter reality.”

According to Morales, “truths” about Native people have been distorted, omitted and completely overwritten.

Morales said a space of reconciliation can be created through teaching Indigenous history.

“As people who live in the United States today, we have a responsibility to attend to past harms and work to repair the damage that was done to Indigenous communities,” Miron said. “But this kind of repair and healing cannot happen without first understanding the past.”

Indigenous activists have called on Evanston and NU to reflect on their own histories in recent years. The city and the University continue to honor John

Evans, who helped found both institutions. A 2014 University report examined Evans’ key role in the Sand Creek Massacre as a government agent, finding him “deeply culpable” for supervising the killing of about 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho people in total, including women, children and elders.

Begay said Evanston should consider changing its name and, at the very least, recognize what Evans did when he was governor of Colorado. Under his leadership, the state’s policy called for the “eradication” and removal of Native people.

In 2019, after the University failed to remove Evans’ name from campus buildings among protests, activists painted “F--K John Evans” and “THIS LAND IS COLONIZED” on The Rock. In 2020, the Board of Trustees announced it will not consider removing Evans’ name from buildings, claiming his conduct during his life was largely “exemplary.”

“Every day you’re on campus, you’re reminded that this is a campus that was formed by a man that went out and his mission was to kill (Native people). And they honored him,” Begay said.

According to Miron, several Potawatomi communities across the country maintain close ties with Chicago. The Prairie Band of Potawatomi of Kansas, the Forest County Potawatomi of Northern Wisconsin and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi of Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan remain connected to Chicago, their ancestral homeland.

The Newberry Library’s Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies aims to complete a project on the Indigenous history of Chicago by 2024, which is already three years in the making, Miron said. She added that the library will feature an exhibit, digital website, map, a curriculum for 10th-grade students, new oral histories with community members and public programming around Indigenous issues.

“What I think a lot of people don’t realize is that almost the entire lake shore of Chicago is unceded territory,” Miron said. “(Many tribes) maintain their ties and reciprocal relationships with (and claims to) the land that is now Chicago.”

jonathanaustin2023@u.northwestern.edu

160 Years of Evanston

Editor Nicole Markus

Designers

Valerie Chu

Danny O’Grady

Anna Souter

Wendy Zhu

Web Developer

Eugenia Cao

Image courtesy of the Wilmette Public Library

A drawing of Archange Ouilmette, a Potawatomi woman that married a French fur trader. Ouilmette received a parcel of land in present day Wilmette and Evanston through an 1829 treaty. Ouilmette had to move shortly thereafter, however, when an 1833 treaty ordered the removal of all Native people from Illinois.

Scan this QR code to visit the 160 Years of Evanston’s landing page, which features all stories in the special edition.

Fifty years ago, dry town Evanston gave alcohol a shot

By ARIA WOZNIAK daily senior staffer @ari_wozz

Fifty years ago, Evanston residents couldn’t buy or sell liquor in the city.

But now, the former “dry town” has become home to a range of restaurants and liquor stores that serve a variety of alcoholic drinks. Evanston’s identity as a dry town marked its commitment to maintaining moral authority and responsibility to protect its people from the dangers of alcohol.

Frances Willard, the inaugural Dean of the Woman’s College at Northwestern, was a founding member of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. NU predates the establishment of the city of Evanston, having been founded in 1851. In 1857, Evanston was founded. Willard became a tie between Evanston and the university’s community as the WCTU — originally founded in Cleveland, Ohio — became an influential power for temperance activity.

Northwestern founders modified its charter, prohibiting the sale of alcohol in the surrounding four miles from the city through the “Four Mile Limit” law in 1855.

Lori Osborne, director of the Evanston Women’s History Project, said temperance played a crucial role in a host of reform movements — among them women’s rights — in 19th-century America.

“Temperance was one of those things that people considered part of the moral issues,” Osborne said.

According to Osborne, alcohol bottles in the 1850s weren’t labeled, meaning consumers couldn’t discern what ingredients were included. Osborne said this made temperance a women’s and family issue when people started consuming more alcohol around the Civil War time period. Headquartered in Evanston, the WCTU greatly advocated for the abolition of alcohol in the area.

But a gradual economic downturn in the ’70s prompted the community to reconsider its laws. Since many residents wanted to bring new hotels and restaurants to Evanston, the city voted in 1972 to approve a liquor ordinance allowing the sale of alcohol.

“There was a lot of disagreement and it was a big community discussion … it wasn’t clear which way the community was going to go,” Osborne said. “The change was made very slowly and very gradually.”

The ordinance was created to boost economic growth, but with the slow development of businesses serving alcohol, Evanston continued to see competition

from surrounding areas. For instance, Osborne said Skokie’s Old Orchard shopping mall created an economic drain — a problem Evanston still faces today.

Currently, the city has established a 10.25% combined tax rate on general merchandise, including food, and a 6% liquor consumption tax.

Daniel Kelch, owner of Core and Rind Hospitality, said these taxes impact businesses greatly.

“You end up paying 16.25% on every drink that you order, which is an enormous tax,” Kelch said. “It’s a problem for the industry.”

He said there is discussion amongst businesses, specifically liquor stores, on reducing taxes by creating a 1% percent food tax added to the 10.25% sales tax and 1% tax on liquor instead of the current 6% tax. He said the city would generate more money through this plan,

but restaurants would end up paying more.

Kelch said that while he doesn’t mind the idea, he is hesitant because he predicts city leaders would increase the 1% tax in the following years. He said he’d rather keep the 6% tax because he does not feel confident in the city’s indications of fiscal responsibility.

Michael Melnick, co-owner of the newly opened restaurant Mas Salud, said he understands the amount of liquor taxation because “everyone’s gotta get paid.”

He said he thinks the city has a fair vetting process for restaurant owners who want to acquire liquor licenses.

“They’re very detail oriented, you had to submit tons of stuff, but it seems like the city is kind of for (restaurants serving alcohol),” Melnick said. “They’re doing due diligence with it because they want to make

sure you’re opening up the right type of establishment.”

As Evanston continues to grow and consider new opportunities, such as conversations about marijuana establishments, its past as a temperance town remains an influential part of history.

Fifty years after legalizing alcohol sales, Evanston is now discussing cannabis dispensaries and bakeries. City Council recently approved a second cannabis establishment that will support the Restorative Housing Program.

“The idea that we were a temperance town that supported abolition, women and women’s rights … these three things made Evanston and it still influences how we are today,” Osborne said.

ariawozniak2025@u.northwestern.edu

Residents continue to debate reparations program

By JOYCE LI the daily northwestern @joyycee_li

Rose Cannon said she still remembers the excitement she felt at an early Evanston town hall on reparations in December 2019.

A few weeks prior, the city had become the first in the country to pass a reparations resolution, which aimed to address the history of opportunity and wealth disparities affecting Black residents. More than 700 people were present at the program’s reveal at the First Church of God, bursting into song in celebration.

“This was the biggest Black church in Evanston, and it was packed,” Cannon said. “It was such a feeling of pride.”

But in 2021, Cannon helped found Evanston Rejects Racist Reparations, an online organization calling for the delay and reevaluation of the program.

Like many Evanston residents, Cannon’s feelings toward the reparations gradually soured as discussions culminated in the city’s first initiative: the Restorative Housing Program.

The program focuses on repairing the harm caused to Black residents through redlining and other discriminatory housing policies in place in Evanston from 1919-1969, according to the city’s website. Until March, reparations recipients could only use their $25,000 grant to assist with a down payment on a new property, a mortgage payment or a home improvement.

Though she qualifies for the program, Cannon opted not to apply.

“I’ve been renting for a while here,” Cannon said. “I knew I wasn’t going to buy property with $25,000, nor did I have a property to refurbish.”

Cannon is not alone. Only about 650 out of Evanston’s more than 12,000 Black residents applied for reparations.

Many residents have voiced concerns that the Restorative Housing Program resembles a housing voucher program far more than it does reparations.

However, the Rev. Michael Nabors, president of the Evanston-North Shore Branch of the NAACP, said focusing on Evanston’s 50-year

period of housing discrimination was necessary. The Reparations Committee needed to provide tangible evidence of damage to Black residents caused by the city through housing practices to get the program passed by City Council in 2021.

“It was something that we thought was critical in order for us to begin to get the money out to folks in the community, and to show Evanston and the rest of the nation that local reparations in Evanston can work,” Nabors said.

Evanston resident Meleika Gardner said housing assistance programs should be “a given” in any local government, but it would be an “insult” to conflate them with reparations.

“I am not against people receiving a housing program,” Gardner said. “But that shouldn’t be put in a category of reparations for generations of discrimination, racism and terrorism.”

On March 25, City Council added direct cash payments as an option for reparations recipients. It changed the requirements after Kenneth and

Shelia Wideman, two of the first 16 recipients, asked the city to allow them to use their $25,000 for rent.

Many community members, including Evanston Rejects Racist Reparations organizers, have called for cash payments since the program’s inception, arguing that allowing the money to go directly to financial institutions rather than recipients overlooks banks’ part in mortgage discrimination.

The city had been reluctant to implement direct payments, since payments could be liable to income taxes, according to a May 7 Chicago Tribune article. Nicholas Cummings, Evanston’s corporation counsel, received a new legal opinion that could give the city a potential solution, the Tribune said.

But, nearly two months after the city approved cash payments, the Widemans still have not received their money, and there have been few updates from the city on the status of cash reparations.

The Reparations Committee made its last public appearance at its meeting on April 6, and discussed the potential challenges of establishing a separate cash benefit reparations program. Its May 4 committee meeting was canceled.

Cannon and Gardner both expressed frustration with the city’s lack of transparency on the future of the program.

“These people need to be paid their $25,000 in cash,” Cannon said. “And we know that the city is struggling with that behind the scenes, and they won’t tell us.”

Ald. Krissie Harris (2nd), a member of the Reparations Committee, said the committee canceled its meeting because it did not have any new updates this month.

In addition to potential income tax liability, Harris said cash payments may affect the benefits of reparations recipients on social programs, since their annual income would increase. She added that the city’s legal team is currently obtaining information from state government agencies to determine how to navigate these legal issues.

“Everyone wants us to rush, and we can, but then there’s unknown liability and that’s not a good place to put people,” Harris said. “We’re not trying to hide anything — we’re just really trying to do things right, and ‘right’ is not always expedient.”

Harris said the Reparations Committee will have more information about the status of the reparations program at their next meeting on June 1.

Going forward, the Reparations Committee will start subcommittees dedicated to three additional reparations initiatives addressing other impacts of systemic discrimination against the Black community, according to Harris. The focuses of the new reparations initiatives include education and entrepreneurship.

Despite Evanston’s reparations program criticism, Nabors said he continues to stand behind it.

“Even though there are a number of people who don’t agree with what we’re doing in reparations, don’t agree that it’s a solid reparations program, I believe that we have sparked something that has captured the attention of the nation,” he said.

Illustration by Paloma Leone-Getten

Evanston shifted from a temperance town to a “wet” city just 50 years ago.

Illustration by Shveta Shah

The Restorative Housing Program focuses on repairing the harm caused by redlining and other discriminatory housing policies between 1919 and 1969. Many Evanston residents said it resembles a housing voucher program more than it does reparations.

Evanston eateries compose rich restaurant scene

By KARA PEELER daily senior staffer @karapeeler

Evanston’s food scene is abundant. So much so that Thrillist named it one of the best suburbs in America to “grab good eats.” With brunch, dinein and take-out options galore, the city has it all.

“Any kind of cuisine you’re looking for, you’ll find … really lovely, cozy places to eat that are friendly,” Evanston resident Jill Greenman said. “There’s so many to choose from. I never think about going into (Chicago) most nights for dinner, because there’s plenty in Evanston.”

Some of Evanston’s longest-standing spots have helped build the bustling food culture many residents love today.

Ricardo Sanchez opened Evanston Chicken Shack in 1990. The Ridge Avenue restaurant has earned critical acclaim, most recently beingnamed one of HuffPost’s best fried chicken spots in America and Mashed’s best fried chicken joint in Illinois in March.

Sanchez, who still owns Evanston Chicken Shack, said the restaurant’s consistency has drawn customers back to his booming business. With menu items ranging from bestselling chicken nuggets and fried chicken to hickory-smoked rib-tips, the restaurant serves food to a swath of customers every day.

“I really believe when people think about the Chicken Shack, they’ve already got that taste in their mouth,” he said.

Sanchez said running the restaurant for the past 33 years has been a passion project, rather than work. He added he’s enjoyed watching his customer base grow up and flourish.

Sanchez said he’s built relationships with many

customers over time — and even spots former regulars who’ve moved away when they return to Evanston Chicken Shack occasionally.

From his decades working in the suburb, Sanchez said he’s seen a “great array” of eateries open as residents and new students have entered the city.

“Downtown and all these high rises that are up now were not there when we first got there,” he said. “There weren’t as many restaurants (then),

so the food scene has really grown.”

Local business owner Dave Glatt also said he has noticed a rise in cuisines available in Evanston. Glatt runs Dave’s Italian Kitchen, which is now on Noyes Street after having operated in five different locations since the restaurant opened in 1972.

Glatt said though there has been a “takeout boom” since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, his eatery still seats 25.

Evanston was a dry town until 1972, before

easing liquor licenses for restaurants. Glatt said this change encouraged the restaurant business. Dave’s Italian Kitchen began serving beer and wine in 1981 , which Glatt said has positively impacted his restaurant.

At the restaurant, Glatt makes his own baguette in-house to pair with fan-favorite meals like lasagna, calzones and hand-tossed pizza. He also prioritizes accessible pricing to the general public, he said.

“We try to take doing homemade food as far as we can,” Glatt said. “(There’s) always been this idea of value-driven homemade food. That’s what I love about it.”

Greenman, who has lived in Evanston for about 25 years, recently dined at Dave’s Italian Kitchen for the first time since its latest relocation. She said the “hole-in-the-wall restaurant” was delicious.

For takeout, Greenman said she tends to order out from Joy Yee Noodle — an Evanston staple since 1994 — or Cozy Noodles and Rice. She also recalls happy memories at Asian fare restaurant Lulu’s, which used to offer toy dinosaurs to her three children.

Evanston is also well-known for its brunch options, Greenman said. The Lucky Platter on Main Street is one of her go-to late morning or early afternoon spots. Ovo Frito Café was recently named one of the 100 best brunch restaurants in the U.S. by Yelp.

What keeps businesses going, Greenman said, is community support.

“Evanston just has a really nice social culture of going out and eating or drinking,” she said. “It’s part of what makes Evanston such a lovely place to live and to visit.”

karapeeler2025@u.northwestern.edu

Evanston offers scenic green spaces, natural hidden gems

By RACHEL SCHULUETER the daily northwestern @rschlueter26

Evanston is home to a variety of scenic green spaces and natural landmarks. The warm spring weather is reason enough to explore all corners of the community in search of its hidden gems. Here are just a few of them.

Dawes Park

Located at 1700 Sheridan Road, Dawes Park is 10 minutes by foot from Northwestern’s South Campus. It features a paved walkway that runs right along Lake Michigan, and visitors can access Clark Street Beach and the Evanston Dog Beach through it. The park’s abundant green space and numerous picnic tables makes it the ultimate spring picnic spot.

Arrington Lagoon is in the heart of the park. The pond features two gushing fountains in the middle and is home to groups of ducks. There is also a stone perimeter around the pond, perfect for sitting.

The lagoon is named after former Illinois state Sen. W. Russell Arrington, who played a key role in securing state approval for NU to extend its campus onto the Lakefill.

Ecology Center

The Evanston Ecology Center is a facility dedicated to educating the community about the environment. The center, located at 2024 N. McCormick Blvd., is situated in the Ladd Arboretum, which stretches for 17.3 acres.

The Evanston Ecology Center features a paved bike and walking path, an indoor nature classroom and a large multipurpose room. From January through April, the center is home to the Indoor Farmers’ Market.

Merrick Rose Garden

The Merrick Rose Garden is a luscious green space located at 1426 Oak Ave. The garden is lined with rose beds, and, according to the city, there are hundreds of flower varieties in the garden. Each year, the All American Rose Selections donates new rose varieties for the garden to display before they are available for retail consumption. The roses are in bloom between May and October.

There is also a rectangular grass lawn at the center of the garden, which leads up to the Centennial Fountain. The fountain, a dark turquoise with white birds along each tier, has stood since 1876.

The fountain was originally placed at the intersection of Orrington and Sherman avenues and Davis Street, an area known as Fountain Square. In 1950, the Centennial Fountain was restored after being put into storage four years earlier, and moved to the Merrick Rose Garden. It now stands as a part of Evanston history.

International Friendship Garden

The Rotary Club of Evanston created the blossoming International Friendship Garden as a symbol of good will toward all. Located on the corner of North McCormick Boulevard and Bridge Street, the garden is part of the Ladd Arboretum and includes a large circular flower bed. The flowers are lined like a spoked wheel, an ode to the Rotary logo, and are surrounded by benches. According to the Rotary Club, each of the 22 benches honors a deceased Rotary member.

A rectangular grassy field with large, shady trees and paved walking paths is just past the flower garden. According to the Rotary Club, the International Friendship Garden is dedicated to serenity and understanding.

Grosse Point Lighthouse

The Grosse Point Lighthouse, a North Evanston landmark, turns 150 this year. Located at

2601 Sheridan Road, the lighthouse was built in 1873 to mark the route to Chicago.

According to the lighthouse website, it was needed due to the increase in trade ships during the late 19th century. The building was a signal to help navigate the shallow waters along the Lake Michigan coastline.

Now, the Grosse Point Lighthouse stands as an important symbol of Chicago history. Visitors can enter its interpretive center on weekends from June through September from 2-4 p.m. Visitors over the age of 8 can also climb to the light tower. The lighthouse also overlooks Lighthouse Beach and a gorgeous view of Lake Michigan.

rachelschlueter2026@u.northwestern.edu

Reel Thoughts: Evanston shows charm on silver screen

By MJ GUDIÑO the daily northwestern

Angsty teens and mischievous kids have long found their home in Evanston. From love stories to thieving grown men to crime films set during the Great Depression, Evanston has provided a setting for filmmakers to tell the stories they love.

The 1984 film “Sixteen Candles,” written and directed by John Hughes, is one of the masterpieces set in Evanston. Molly Ringwald plays Samantha “Sam” Baker, on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday. This sweet sixteen, however, is overshadowed by her sister’s marriage — which is set to take place the very next day. In the hustle and bustle, her parents forget her birthday altogether. To add to her teenage angst, Sam struggles with her feelings for a boy, Jake, played by Michael Schoeffling. While she believes he doesn’t like her, she must deal with unwanted attention from resident geek Ted, played by Anthony Michael Hall.

In the end, her parents apologize, she ends up with the boy of her dreams, and Ted gets a girl, too. It’s hard to deny ’80s charm.

Most of the movie was filmed in Evanston, Skokie and Highland Park, Illinois.

Writer and director John Hughes may not be from Illinois, but he loves Evanston. His creations, “Home Alone” 1, 2, and 3, all have scenes filmed in the Evanston area. They also feature a return of Haviland Morris — who was also in “Sixteen Candles” — as the mother of Macaulay Culkin’s resourceful and ingenious character, the 10-year-old Kevin.

In the first film, Kevin’s family travels to Paris for Christmas but inadvertently leaves him behind. All alone, Kevin must defend his house from a pair of robbers targeting empty homes during the holidays. Kevin succeeds with a series of inventive booby traps.

“Home Alone” 2 and 3 deal with similar themes. In the former, Kevin accidentally boards a plane to New York without his parents. In the latter, a boy named Alex falls ill with chickenpox and fends off internationally wanted criminal

terrorists intent on stealing back a toy car with a missile-cloaking microchip.

These movies feature Chicago O’Hare International Airport as well as Evanston and Winnetka streets in the shots of the suburban neighborhood and their cozy family home.

The “Home Alone” franchise is well known for its joy and nostalgia during the holiday season. The movies are by far the most famous set of movies filmed partially in Evanston with the first installment grossing over $475 million worldwide. It was the highest grossing film of 1990.

Moving away from Hughes’ creations, the 2002 film “Road to Perdition” starring Tom Hanks, Jude Law and Paul Newman, follows Hanks’ Michael Sullivan and his son during the Great Depression as they seek revenge against the people who murdered the rest of their family.

Much of the filming took place in the Chicago area, and Evanston’s Charles Gates Dawes House was featured in the film. Dawes won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925.

Evanston serves as a lovely backdrop for an angsty teen’s hometown or a childhood comfort

comedy. Its historic architecture showcases the region’s long history. Evanston is 160 years old, so once again as Sam blows out her sixteen candles, the town of Evanston will be blowing out 160.

mjgudino2026@u.northwestern.edu

Kara Peeler/Daily Senior Staffer

Dave’s Italian Kitchen is located at 815 Noyes St. The restaurant, which opened in 1972, has called many spots around town home.

Rachel Schlueter/The Daily Northwestern The Grosse Point Lighthouse is a prominent North Evanston landmark that is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

Illustration by Wendy Zhu

Writer John Hughes’ films “Home Alone,” “Sixteen Candles” and “Uncle Buck” feature Evanston homes in their Chicago-area stories.

Rachel Schlueter/The Daily Northwestern

Kuznikov: We should take time each day for a treat

how treats as a form of self-care can help bring about a sense of normalcy in the most un-normal times. But beyond the pandemic, the idea of taking a portion of your day to practice some sort of self-care is 1000% necessary. On the quarter system, it is especially necessary.

Content warning: This article contains mentions of body dysmorphia.

Waking up groggy from a measly six hours of sleep, the first thing on my mind is always a little treat. What will I have today? A matcha latte with oat milk from Peet’s Coffee? A pastry from Cupitol? Or better yet, a hot vanilla latte with oat milk from Coffee Lab!

I am a self-proclaimed “little treat girly.” These small delights fuel me for probably three-quarters of the time I’m working on something. Even as I write this, I’m sipping on a can of blood orange San Pellegrino sparkling juice. Treats have helped me persevere through menial tasks, the toughest parts of school and overall life in general. The comfort of using part of my day to take care of myself is unmatched.

In 2022, The New York Times Style section published an article on “little treat culture” in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece focused on

When I started college, my little treat intake grew exponentially. This obviously wasn’t a bad thing. But as my body began to fluctuate naturally, I began feeling the dark clouds of negative body imagery creep up on me like the villain in a horror movie. I felt like a character in the Scream franchise, dreading a call from Ghostface. I couldn’t explain why, but the feeling always seemed to lurk in the back of my mind.

It’s not like I hadn’t faced this issue before college. Body image struggles have followed me since my adolescence. According to the National Organization for Women, 53% of girls in the U.S. are “unhappy with their bodies” at age 13. This grows to about 78% by the time they reach 17. But, the hectic nature of freshman year morphing into the stress of sophomore year heightened those feelings in a way I hadn’t felt before.

I started to cut out my little treats in hopes of changing something about the way I looked and felt. The drinks I picked up before class or the slice of

Whole Foods tiramisu I got before studying began to disappear.

when I was 15? I was trying to put myself into a box that logically made no sense.

So, I started picking up a latte on my way to the library again, or having a chocolate croissant after grocery shopping — just because I felt like it. I won’t lie and pretend returning to this sense of routine was easy, but deep down I knew it would make me happier and fuel my days in the long run.

There is absolutely no reason to feel bad about your little treat. And, there’s no reason to feel bad about growing into your body. Having a system in place to make your day a little better means the world.

My little treats always bring a tiny joy to my day. I love taking time to make myself feel special, no matter the treat. Why would I deny myself that small taste of happiness?

But, I headed to the mall one day and stood looking at myself in the daunting communal mirrors at Aritzia. The girl staring back at me could only think negatively about herself. Where had I lost myself? Why was I neglecting a part of my day that brought me so much joy?

Looking back, I realize just how much stress was making me irrational?. Why was I expecting my 19-year-old body to be exactly the same as it was

So, I’m gonna have my little treat today. And I hope you treat yourself too.

Selena Kuznikov is a Medill sophomore. She can be contacted at selenakuznikov2025@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

Parker: NU theatre doesn’t hold space for trans actors

audition. When I learned that I had snagged a few callbacks, I felt elated. One of them was even for a role designed for a transmasculine actor.

I felt NU was sincerely validating my gender expression … until the cast lists came out. That transmasculine role went to someone who wasn’t even a NU student.

forever consigned to rejection. Shame stopped me from trying again, and it’s only months later that I understand that my transness may have hurt my chances of being cast.

I used to be an actor. I was a classic theatre kid all throughout middle and high school, the kind who listened to musicals, obsessed about upcoming auditions and took acting classes after school. I know what method acting is. I can hit a high C, and I’ve spat out some monologues enough times I’m not sure I’ll ever scrub them from my memory.

Theatre shaped me. Although school musicals tend to tie their roles to the gender binary, directors often allowed me to choose my costume pieces, especially if I was a member of an ensemble. Unencumbered by the pressure to conform to others’ ideas, I could wear a top hat and tails in one song and change into a lace gown for the next. It was pure play that offered me joy.

When I arrived at Northwestern last fall, I was eager to leap into what I had heard was a vibrant and bustling theatre scene. I didn’t want to go into show business professionally, but I loved the security it brought me as a hobby. I signed up for the late fall round of general auditions, putting my name in the running for multiple shows with one

Disappointed but undeterred, I tried again Winter Quarter — but to no avail. I told almost no one I had failed, afraid I would be judged. Any director will claim they simply cannot take every talented person, but auditions look different from the fisheye perspective of the performer on the other side of the table. I thought I was cursed to be

“The Prom,” a flagship queer production that promises to be a colorful delight, is set to open next fall. I scrolled through its callback list and realized, although several of the roles are queer, none of them are explicitly written to be transgender or nonbinary. The callback sheet may be festooned with rainbows, but its inclusivity has limits.

Acting is not for everyone. It requires a specific cocktail of resilience, bravado and charm. I can’t say for sure that I’ve acquired the right mix of those ingredients, but I can say I probably would not have found success with NU theatre even if I had. Whether or not I can command a stage is almost irrelevant because I look like a teenage boy, I sound like a soprano and I behave like something in between. Gone are the days when that discrepancy didn’t matter and I could freely switch between different gender expressions in the wings. Theatre students at Northwestern are committed to their art, which means that even student-led theatre is imbued with an air of professional intensity. Gender deviance like mine — and that of other nonbinary students — looks like a mistake on stage.

I don’t see an easy fix for this issue, largely because it isn’t the fault of anyone or anything in

Sandy: Recognize the need for press safety

On Saturday, I got to attend my first-ever music festival: Dillo Day. I was elated by the opportunity to photograph it for WNUR News, pursuing my passion, keeping out of the crowds and enjoying the music.

I was surprised to learn that my press pass wouldn’t grant me access beyond the concert’s steel barricades. Instead, I was expected to use the pass to move to the front or sides of the floor area in the crowd — a task that seemed herculean. Adding a camera to the mix, I thought, would make it more difficult.

And it did.

I had never encountered moshing, but I learned fast it meant having physical contact at every angle with total strangers for 40 minutes — while taking pictures of TiaCorine’s main stage performance. Mayfest also implemented a blanket rule limiting press to photographing artists during their first three songs, so my intention was to leave after song two to get some crowd shots and a salad for lunch. Instead, I left with hip and knee pain, bruises and covered in sweat I hoped was my own.

Not only is my camera irreplaceable in terms of sentimental value, but as a student working to fund my education, ordering a new one isn’t an option. All throughout TiaCorine’s set, I felt like I was shielding my camera far more than getting any shots.

I reached out to a member of Mayfest, asking if there was any way to have a designated area to photograph Briston Maroney, doing my best to temper my hopes. After I walked to Allison dining hall for an emergency Diet Coke and a bowl of grapes, I received a reply instructing me to forgo photographing Offset and focus on getting away safely if the crowd grew rowdier.

I am very appreciative of that concern for my safety. But, what sticks with me now is the fact that the text they sent me didn’t have to exist. I didn’t have to walk out of that earlier set exhausted. We still managed to do our jobs, but all the other journalists and I needed Saturday was recognition.

I initially considered using the word “respect,” but that implies a power dynamic, like that associated with the phrase “respect your elders.” With our photos and stories, journalists capture what happens. We don’t need the special treatment that may come with VIP passes — we just need the recognition that we have a different objective from that of the general public. When I saw The Lumineers with a friend last summer, my goals were to enjoy one of my favorite bands’ live performances, buy my first concert T-shirt and make memories. My goal on the Lakefill was to photograph, photograph and photograph some more.

We need acknowledgment of our aims routinely. The same safety concerns can easily apply for sports photography, as Daily Senior Staffer Angeli Mittal cited in an article explaining what the Gameday staff would like to see in the new Ryan Field. We don’t really need much — just a small area where we can focus on the task at

hand. I acknowledge many situations exist where journalists have much more at stake and less ability to cover events safely than a concert. When you can make something safer, the people who have the power to take action must do so.

particular. The vast majority of the published plays and musicals I know lack explicit representation of transness, and transness can be distracting in shows meant to star cisgender actors. I’ve seen individual examples of reimagined characters — including the Dolphin Show’s interpretation of the character Miss Honey as gender nonconforming and a staunchly queer vision of “Funny Girl,” both of which opened last winter — but these are generally aberrations. It’s rarely more than one character at a time. It could never be me.

Theoretically, I could play cis roles, but I would never look “right” for a cis part the way a cis actor would. So, I gave up acting. I started doing stage management work because I don’t need to look like any specific gender. Just a year ago, I would have sworn against doing stage crew; now, I find the freedom I searched for in it. Perhaps someday I’ll find another opportunity to perform, but for now, I’m content in the background. Here, there’s plenty of space.

Riley Parker is a Communication freshman. They can be contacted at rileyparker2026@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@ dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

The Daily Northwestern Volume 146, Issue 16

Editor in Chief Alex Perry

Opinion Editor

Managing Editors

Pavan Acharya Aviva Bechky

In the end, we’re all students, and I don’t blame Mayfest at all. I’m not one to turn down any future opportunity to photograph, but journalists shouldn’t have to experience circumstances that threaten our equipment and safety when they can be easily avoided.

Micah Sandy is a Medill freshman. He can be contacted at micahsandy2026@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

Opinion Editor Micah Sandy

Micah Sandy

Assistant Opinion Editor Grant Li

Assistant Opinion Editor Grant Li

Avani Kalra Russell Leung

Ava Mandoli

Erica Schmitt

Wendy Zhu

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

Letters have the following requirements:

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They will be checked for authenticity and may be edited for length, clarity, style and grammar.

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

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

The comfort of using part of my day to take care of myself is unmatched.

- SELENA KUZNIKOV, Stipend Coordinator

I started doing stage management work because I don’t need to look like any specific gender.

- RILEY PARKER, Columnist

”

When given the opportunity to make something safer, though, the people who have the power to take action must do so.

- MICAH SANDY, Opinion Editor

”

STATE OF THE CITY

From page 1

hopes to continue working with NU and leveraging University resources to benefit the city.

For example, the city has been partnering with NU on a recent guaranteed income pilot. In December, Evanston began granting $500 each month to 150 residents on a lottery basis, and University researchers are studying how the money improves recipients’ quality of life.

“This kind of partnership where we do work that advances our shared values is really, I think, the most important part of our potential relationship,” Biss said.

Biss also touted several policy areas in which Evanston has made significant progress this year.

Early in his address, Biss highlighted the city’s environmental efforts. Evanston has expanded its fleet of electric vehicles and made strides in creating electric buildings, passing an ordinance to build an all-electric facility for the Evanston Animal Shelter.

He added that City Council also voted Monday to implement a complete plastic bag ban, making Evanston the first city in Illinois to do so.

Biss acknowledged Evanston needs to do more to further its Climate Action and Resilience Plan goals, which include a goal of 100% renewable electricity for all properties by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. He noted that the city is considering improving its building codes and banning natural gas connections in new construction.

“We’ve got big agenda items this year,“ Biss said. “They are not going to be uncontroversial, necessarily, but they are important if we believe in our climate objectives.”

As Biss turned to discussing Evanston’s economy and fiscal conditions, he said the city has seen “a lot of important recovery” since the COVID-19 pandemic.

He added the city needs to rethink its “threelegged stool” economic model that is supported by residents, NU and the downtown office population.

“Frankly, the office situation just is not what it was in February 2020,” Biss said. “What I do think we can all say with real confidence is it’s not going to just be what it was before.”

GERALDINE

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with Pace in 2003. She said Pace was one of the most welcoming staff members she has met at the organization.

Over nearly five decades, Pace has become a fixture in the Evanston community, according to Staples.

“She has practically raised the community,” Staples said.

Stephen Vick, the executive director of IWSE, submitted the request for the street name change with Ald. Krissie Harris (2nd).

Both Vick and Staples called Pace the “toddler whisperer,” for her experience in helping them control

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Biss applauded a recent report by Evanston Thrives that aims to revitalize downtown Evanston by replacing office workers as one of its main customer bases.

“(Revitalizing Evanston) relies on people wanting to be downtown. It relies on events being downtown,” Biss said. “It relies on all these different things that are going to take time to completely put in place, but that gives us the opportunity to have a new version of an even more vibrant downtown.”

Near the end of his speech, the mayor also addressed the deadly shooting at Clark Street Beach in April.

Biss said he appreciated the work of the Evanston Police Department and the Parks and Recreation Department during the incident. The city needs to expand both its gun control policy and youth outreach and workforce development effort, he added.

“These tragedies become repeated so often that there is sometimes an instinct that even if we feel it with the depths of our soul, there’s still nothing we can really do to change it,” Biss said. “That’s not true.”

Biss said he has made a referral for a gun safety storage ordinance, modeled after states like Massachusetts and Oregon, which would strengthen existing Cook County regulations.

The mayor closed his speech by addressing a climate of “isolation” and “polarization” that has resulted from the pandemic.

Many of the ordinances the city has enacted in the past year, including one in support of Evanston/Skokie School District 65’s plan to build a neighborhood school in the 5th Ward, are meant to bring the city residents together, he said. The city will continue to aim to do so, he added.

“As long as I am mayor, the city of Evanston will do whatever it can to facilitate our being together,” Biss said. “Our living together, our working together, our learning together … Our helping each other and lifting each other up together so that we can build collectively a society where everybody has been nurturing human relationships that we all need to thrive.”

caseyhe2026@u.northwestern.edu

MEDILL POC PROFS

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continue conversations on diversity — especially since Medill is a professional school and some professors have more industry experience than academic experience.

“One of the things that faculty are commonly hired for is their expertise around a specific concept or discipline,” Brown said. “But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have been trained as an instructor, trained as an educator.”

Brown said hiring faculty members from marginalized groups helps create more inclusive journalism. But, he added, these faculty members are sometimes expected to act as ambassadors to an entire social group, which creates a disproportionate burden.

Medill sophomore Kim Jao, a former Daily staffer and North by Northwestern’s editor-in-chief, said she can’t think of any specific “success stories” of DEI being centered in her curriculum at Medill.

Jao said when she can’t find support from professors in getting comprehensive coverage, she knows where to turn: the Asian American Student Journalists chapter at NU. The organization provides a supportive space for her to interact with journalists who share her background, she said.

“I would say that a lot of my DEI knowledge comes from the publications I’ve worked on on campus rather than from Medill,” Jao said. “For North by Northwestern, we had a protest workshop, and that was really specific on how to cover that well.”

Jao added she wishes Medill’s first-year sequence focused on inclusive coverage in conjunction with real reporting, rather than treating DEI theoretically.

Medill Prof. J.A. Adande (Medill ’92) said since

TJC

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something about it more.”

his time as a student, he’s seen a lot of changes in Medill’s diversity — both in the demographics of the faculty and the students.

Now, professors at Medill encourage students to use their own identities and backgrounds as an asset in their reporting and storytelling, he said — a positive change.

“When I see the young students, I see a group that is hyperaware of the importance of diversity, that has the ability to look beyond their own background and experience,” Adande said. “I see a group that’s ready to take that sensitivity out into the world as they report.”

Medill Prof. Patty Loew said one of the reasons she joined Medill’s faculty was to help teach students how to cover Native American communities with respect.

Medill isn’t perfect, she said, and sometimes Native culture and journalistic standards clash. For example, she said Native communities value reciprocity and gift-giving, but the journalism industry frowns upon reporters who pay for interviews. She said she works to find respectful solutions, like offering favors or services rather than money, in exchange for interviews.

Loew said diversity among Medill leadership affects the school’s culture as a whole.

“There’s a thoughtfulness to the creation of committees. There’s a thoughtfulness to the applicant pools. We’re constantly checking ourselves to make sure that we’ve done our part to promote diversity, equity and inclusion,” Loew said. “I think that reflects an overall climate that’s been created in Medill.”

samanthapowers2026@u.northwestern.edu

to have the University establish caste-based protections, but they are still developing other aims for now.

their emotions.

“She’s just very, very caring and nurturing and focused on educating children and working with their families so kids build a great foundation for their future education,” Vick said.

Vick said he hopes the installation of the street sign will occur sometime this summer.

After nearly half a century, Pace said her time caring for and nurturing children has gone before her eyes.

“I took care of half of Evanston. I thought I’d never be here this long,” Pace said. “Years go by so fast. You look up one day, and it’s been 48 years.”

katewalter2025@u.northwestern.edu

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Shankar met Rajesh and Nimmagadda during her Fall Quarter class Asian American Studies 303: South Asian American Cultures. There, Shankar said, the two were both “very active and vocal” about the caste system and its inequities, as well as its emergence as a problem in the U.S. She said she decided to advise the club after seeing their interest in discussing caste outside of a traditional academic setting.

Shankar said primarily upper-caste people had the resources to move to the U.S. during major waves of immigration in 1965 and 1990 because they had desirable educational credentials. But as India started doing a “slightly more inclusive job” of bringing lowcaste and no-caste individuals into higher education, more have been able to emigrate, she said.

“This is why maybe 10 or 15 years ago, you didn’t see much discussion of caste in the South Asian American community, and now caste discrimination is much more prevalent,” Shankar said. “It’s usually in workplaces or in colleges.”

All three said one of the club’s major goals is

The collective is particularly interested in the diaspora within South Asian American communities, Nimmagadda said. While “Asian American” has been used as a term for political organizing, Rajesh said certain issues do not apply to everyone who identifies under that category. The organization does not aim to replace other Asian American spaces on campus, but rather to build a broader diversity, she added.

For Nimmagadda, “Asian American” better serves as a political organizing tool than a descriptor of cultural identity. The term does not leave much room to explore specificity, he said.

“Disaggregating what Asian is into South Asian or Southeast Asian is very, very helpful for finding out what our communities need,” Nimmagadda said. “I’m not necessarily presuming, ‘Oh, we can’t disaggregate this further,’ but I think this is an important first step to talking about caste or Islamophobia or specific issues that are especially prevalent to South Asia.”

joannahou2025@u.northwestern.edu

DAILY CROSSWORD

NU siblings talk experiencing college life together

By JESSICA MA daily senior staffer @jessicama2025

For Claire Humphrey, her identical twin Caroline is her “best friend in the whole world.”

The sisters, both Communication sophomores, get to share their Wildcat experience together — in addition to a room in 1871 Orrington.

“It just so happened that we both really loved Northwestern, so we ended up going to school together,” Caroline Humphrey said. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Around campus, siblings who attend NU said they enjoy spending time together throughout the demands of their day-to-day lives. For them, home is always nearby, they said.

Before Weinberg freshman Maya Hirani arrived at NU, she’d already experienced the school by visiting her older sister, Weinberg senior Camila Hirani. For example, during her sister’s freshman year, Maya Hirani visited campus for Family Weekend, where she attended a football game.

Their parents met at NU while their father was studying at Kellogg and her mother was taking classes at Loyola University Chicago, Hirani added. She said her parents love the idea of the sisters attending the same university.

“Even beyond (my sister), there’s a strong and special connection that I have with Northwestern,” Hirani said.

Now, Hirani sees her sister about once a week, she said. They enjoy studying together in her residence hall or at Main Library and eating around downtown Evanston.

Her sister lives in a house off campus, where Hirani has developed friendships with her sister’s roommates, Hirani said.

“It’s nice to have the comfort of being able to go to a home,” Hirani said. “Usually, I’ll come to her house and sit and talk in her living room.”

SESP senior Sydney Rubin said she sees her younger brother Alex, a McCormick freshman, frequently. Like the Hirani sisters, the Rubins hang out

at the older sibling’s apartment, where they watch “a lot” of “Breaking Bad,” Rubin said.

At school, Rubin said, the time they spend together feels more “intentional,” compared to living together at home.

“Every time we see each other, we make a plan,” Rubin said. “It’s really exciting to see him being here, making friends and being challenged by his classes. I get to see him, up-close, adjust to school.”

Though the Humphrey sisters both study theatre, Caroline Humphrey said they have a degree of separation between their lives, since they are involved in different activities and performances.

If they shared everything, Claire Humphrey said, it would be overwhelming. She added they swap stories

Libraries email obtained by The Daily.

The Des Plaines-based coffee shop opened on the University’s Evanston Campus in October 2022, selling coffee, bubble tea and pastries, some of which are inspired by Filipino flavors. Brew Coffee Lab is independently and minority-owned and has two locations outside of NU.

Brew Coffee Lab will close its location in Main Library on Friday, according to a Northwestern

From Saturday through June 9, NU Dining

from the day in their residence hall when they return.

Caroline Humphrey said she loves “95% of being an identical twin” and “wouldn’t trade it for the world.” But being a twin can come with its challenges. She sometimes struggles to be seen as her own person outside of her sister, she said.

When the twins meet new people, Caroline Humphrey said, the two worry about being seen as one person.

“I would still prefer to be known by my name,” Caroline Humphrey said. “But also, if there’s someone I’m going to be known by, I’m glad it’s (my sister).”

In high school, the sisters knew many of the same people, Claire Humphrey said. But college

Services will provide free coffee at the location during Brew Coffee Lab’s current hours.

The University is “already looking” for a “new provider” to take over the space, according to the email. NU hopes to have a new provider by Fall Quarter.

In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Erin Karter said Brew Coffee Lab provided Compass Group notice to end its contract in mid-May.

has helped her differentiate herself given the larger student body, she said. People get to know her before learning she has a twin, she said.

The sisters described it as “special” to watch each other grow in college. Caroline Humphrey said she gets to see her sister dig into her interests, including mock trial, and meet people her sister loves.

In college, Claire Humphrey said, she “gets this window” into her sister’s life, which has brought them even closer together.

“(My sister) is my only tie to family here,” Claire Humphrey said. “I don’t get homesick, because my home is with me all the time.”

jessicama2025@u.northwestern.edu

“Given the short notice and the impact to the student experience, Compass is programming coffee in the library space during finals,” Karter said. “Compass is in the process of selecting a new subcontractor for the space, and we do not anticipate Brew reopening in the fall.”

Joanna Hou

PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTEST

Deadline for submissions: Friday, June 2, 2023

winning photo by Seeger Grey

place photo by Madison Bratley

Brew Coffee Lab to close location in Main Library, NU spokesperson says

Illustration by Jessica Ma, Samantha Powers and Kristen Axtman

Nation’s top offense and defense to clash in Final Four

Key stats as Cats face Bama in super regional

By the numbers: NU vs. Denver

By JAKE EPSTEIN the daily northwestern @jakeepste1n

After trouncing No. 8 Loyola Maryland 16-6 on May 18, No. 1 Northwestern will collide with No. 5 Denver in a Final Four clash in North Carolina this Friday.

The Wildcats (19-1, 6-0 Big Ten) are riding a 19-game winning streak as they enter their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament championship weekend in Cary. While No. 15 Michigan took NU down to the wire in a second-round showdown on May 14, graduate student attacker Izzy Scane and the Cats cruised through their quarterfinal game four days later.

However, coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s team will face one of its toughest tests of the season on Friday.

The Pioneers (22-0, 6-0 Big East) carry an unblemished resume into their first Final Four trip in program history. Denver dispatched its first-round foe in No. 18 Southern California 10-7 on May 12, silenced second-round underdog Albany 8-6 just two days later and stymied No. 4 North Carolina 5-4 on May 18 in its crash course to Cary.

With the Cats’ first national title game since 2012 on the line, here is a breakdown of the numbers heading into their Final Four fight.

Offense

The Cats boast the nation’s top scoring offense, averaging 17 goals per game. NU’s attack consistently spreads the wealth, as six players have eclipsed the 30-point mark this season. But, the team’s two Tewaaraton finalists, Scane and senior attacker Erin Coykendall, jump off the page — forming the most potent scoring duo in collegiate lacrosse.

Scane leads the NCAA in both goals and points per game, and Coykendall holds the eighth highest points per game average, tallying 4.9 points per contest. The pair represent the only two teammates ranking in the top 10 for points per game, fueling the Cats’ elite attack. Meanwhile, Denver sits 55th in the NCAA for goals per game, averaging 12.14 each contest. Pioneer coach Liza

Kelly’s team doesn’t engage in highscoring shootouts, instead opting to keep opponents off the scoreboard.

Still, six Denver players have tallied 30-plus points this season, headlined by attacker Julia Gilbert’s 66 points in 22 games.

Defense

While NU put 16 goals past Loyola Maryland’s second-ranked scoring defense, the team may meet its match in the Pioneer’s No. 1 defense. Denver concedes on average just 5.82 goals per game.

Kelly’s squad hasn’t surrendered double-digit goals all season — the team hasn’t since last year’s NCAA Tournament at Boston College on May 15, 2022.

The Pioneers’ relentless pressure and aggressive slides force a flurry of opposing mistakes, and Denver’s zone causes 12.73 turnovers per game. All-American Pioneer defender Sam Thacker anchors the stout defensive unit, recording 53 caused turnovers in 22 games. Defenders Bryn McCaughey and Trinity McPherson thrive in passing lanes and in close corridors and caused 38 and 37 turnovers, respectively.

But, the Cats’ defense has displayed consistent improvement throughout the campaign. Amonte Hiller said her 12th ranked scoring defense is “very coachable.” Through two NCAA tournament contests so far, the unit has surrendered just 13 goals.

Sophomore defender Samantha White leads NU with 27 caused turnovers and provides versatility on almost every inch of the field. Alongside the firstteam All-Big Ten star, junior defender

Kendall Halpern sits second on the team with 25 caused turnovers. Senior midfielder Jane Hansen has thrived in her plug-and-play role off the bench, registering 21 caused turnovers.

The Draw

The Cats’ draw team — spearheaded by sophomore midfielder Samantha Smith’s 108 draw controls — collects an average of 16.5 draw controls per game, winning 57% of all draws. These figures rank 10th and 13th, respectively, in the country.

However, the draw poses potential problems for NU, especially at the beginning of the Cats’ game against Loyola Maryland. The team went down 5-1 in the draw category, and Amonte Hiller needed to shift sophomore midfielder Serafina DeMunno and senior defender Johanna Kingsfield into the circle.

Since Denver doesn’t convert at warp speed, nor surrender scores in bunches, the Pioneers pull in a 67th national ranking of 13.45 draw controls per game.

Pioneer draw specialist Abby Jenkins has proven her prowess as the Big East’s premier draw taker, tallying a team-high 129 draw controls.

The Pioneers’ draw control percentage proves far more telling.

With a third-ranked 62.2% draw control percentage, Denver poses a considerable circle challenge. Although North Carolina won 8-of13 draws against the Pioneers in the quarterfinal, the Cats’ draw unit must do its homework prior to Friday.

jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Seeger Gray

Graphic by Lawrence Price

Graphic by Lawrence Price