The Daily Northwestern — November 6th, 2023 by The Daily Northwestern

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The Daily Northwestern Monday, November 6, 2023

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Chicago gathers for release of hostages a Wilmette resident and Evanston rally Hilel, NU Professor of Jewish and Israel draws crowd of studies who helped organize Sunevent. “As we know, now, nearly 300 people day’s they’re still alive, but we don’t By LILY CAREY

daily senior staffer @lilylcarey

Over 200 red balloons sat in the center of Fountain Square in downtown Evanston Sunday. The balloons, waving in the wind, were anchored to the ground next to a pair of shoes and a poster reading “kidnapped.” Each balloon symbolized one person taken hostage by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. The artistic installation was the centerpiece of a demonstration that took place Sunday, which drew a crowd of nearly 300. Organized by local Jewish and Israeli communities, event attendees said they aimed to show solidarity with the hostages and to call on politicians around the world to “bring them home.” “We want to pressure on governments around the world, in the West and in the Arab world, to do everything to ignite any sort of negotiation to release the hostages, whether as part of prisoner exchange, a ceasefire, humanitarian aid, anything that would lead eventually to the release of all of the 240 hostages,” said Maayan

know for how much longer.” When Hamas — a militant group the U.S. government labels a terrorist organization — launched a surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7, they kidnapped over 230 Israelis, who are now being held hostage in Gaza, according to the Israeli government. The Israeli military has since launched a continuous bombardment, blockade and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. More than 1,400 Israelis have died since the initial attack, according to PBS. About 9,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Hamas-operated Gaza health ministry. Despite international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will not stop the attacks until the hostages are released. Protests in Israeli cities over the weekend, which also called for the release of hostages, criticized Netanyahu for his response to Hamas’ initial attack. Hilel said she hoped to call for the safety of all those impacted by the conflict. “We’re (showing) solidarity

» See HOSTAGE RALLY, page 9

Beatrice Villaflor/The Daily Northwestern

Hundreds of protesters marched to Northwestern President Michael Schill’s residence Saturday afternoon, demanding the University divest from arms producers. Demonstrators rallied in Fountain square before marching, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hundreds call for Gaza ceasefi re

Protestors demand divestment from Israeli military, government By WILLIAM TONG

daily senior staffer @william2tong

As a line of protesters spanning a quarter mile marched

along Sheridan Road toward Wieboldt House — Northwestern President Michael Schill’s residence — Saturday afternoon, they chanted “Free, free, Palestine.” The march was part of a

pro-Palestine rally held Saturday. Over 500 NU students, Evanston residents and protesters from around the Chicago area gathered at Fountain Square to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Waving Palestinian flags and

holding signs reading “end Israel apartheid” and “resistance is justified,” protesters listened to 10 speakers who provided context for the Israel-Hamas conflict,

» See SJP, page 9

ASG summit promotes bonding NPEP hosts panel Gathering brings together a dozen affinity groups, hosts performances By DELILAH BRUMER

the daily northwestern @brumerdelilah

Students who came to Norris University Center on Sunday were met with the melodies of the Northwestern Community Ensemble, the warmth of Hillel’s chocolate Babka bread and the sight of a blue, red and white Taiwanese flag hanging from the ceiling. Bringing together a dozen affinity groups, the Associated Student Government Cultural Summit created a space where students could eat sushi a few feet away from learning to write their names in Armenian. “There are so many identitybased groups at NU that provide resources individually,” said Weinberg sophomore Malik Rice, ASG’s co-executive officer of justice and inclusion. “We wanted to put together a stage to showcase all of them, together. There’s so much culture being shared and so much learning happening.” The summit was held on the second floor of Norris University Center Sunday afternoon. In addition to featuring various cultural

Recycle Me

groups’ booths, the event also included live performances from NCE, the Philippine American student association Kaibigan and Soul 4 Real, NU’s Black student a cappella group. Planning for the summit — held for the first time this year — took nearly six months, according to Rice. “A lot of times, when culture comes up on campus, it’s often like something bad is happening in the world or some group did something that offended another group,” said Weinberg sophomore Ty’Shea Woods, who leads ASG’s justice and inclusion committee alongside Rice. “We wanted to create a platform where people can come together and just celebrate culture.” The Korean American Student Association offered students attending the summit the opportunity to play traditional games such as Ddakji, which is played with paper squares. For Weinberg freshman Anthony Chung, the cultural summit was as much about educating himself on other cultures as it was about sharing his Korean American heritage. “Learning about other people’s

on rehabilitation Speakers discuss consequences of incarceration, reentry By JOHN SISCO

the daily northwestern @johnsisco37180

Delilah Brumer/The Daily Northwestern

Members of the Northwestern Community Ensemble perform for students at Associated Student Government’s inaugural Cultural Summit.

cultures is definitely super interesting,” said Chung, a member of KASA. “It’s an opportunity to reflect on what we do and what other people do, and their lifestyles.” SESP sophomore Timothy

Huff came to the summit as part of Strive, an affinity group at NU for Black men. Huff serves as the group’s event coordinator. At their booth, Huff and other

» See SUMMIT, page 9

The Northwestern Prison Education Program hosted a panel called “Community Response to Reentry and Recidivism” in Swift Hall Wednesday night. The five panelists — some of whom were previously incarcerated — discussed the mental consequences of incarceration and spoke to the difficulties adjusting to societal changes upon reentry. They also reflected on the significance of nonprofit work in aiding the reentry transition, with multiple panelists calling upon their experience in organizations like the Legacy Reentry Foundation. From the beginning, the panelists made the message of this event clear: reentry is difficult. “Men and women in prison simply are not taught any form

of education skills for reentry, no real-world skills. You’re just left behind,” Fabian Santiago, a panelist who was recently exonerated from a 90-year first-degree murder sentence, said. Santiago said he had no sense of direction and was “completely lost” when he re-entered society, which he described as “a world that was just so different from what (he) had learned.” Although the panelists shared their struggles, they offered several ideas on how to aid former prisoners reentering public life. Panelist Rev. George Moore Jr. spoke about the importance of community assistance and mutual aid organizations in helping formerly incarcerated people reintegrate. “If the individual succeeds, that affects the collective… it’s important for all of us to get the individual rights so the collective can benefit,” Moore said. Moore also touched on the importance of establishing local initiatives like community closets, where people can access the clothes they need.

» See NPEP, page 9

2 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

AROUND TOWN

Evanston celebrates Día de los Muertos on Friday By EDWARD SIMON CRUZ

the daily northwestern @edwardsimoncruz

Latinos en Evanston North Shore hosted its annual Day of the Dead celebration at Evanston Township High School on Friday to honor and remember community members’ deceased loved ones. The Day of the Dead, or “Día de los Muertos,” is celebrated annually on Nov. 1 and 2 throughout Mexico and other countries in Latin America. Participants observe the holiday through various traditions like building home altars, offerings and gathering as a community. LENS members started to build and decorate a community altar on Oct. 25 from scratch with the help of ETHS volunteers and operations staff members. Community members filled the altar with offerings and photographs of loved ones. The altar will be on display at ETHS for students, staff and visitors until at least Nov. 6. “A lot of immigrants, they come and their heritage fades away, but our mission is to proudly celebrate, proudly bring (our heritage) to our students so it doesn’t get lost in the generations,” LENS Vice President Fabiola Zdrubecky said. Friday’s event also featured tables with information about the Day of the Dead in English and Spanish, a crafts table for children and a photo opportunity with a representation of La Catrina, a tall female skeleton commonly associated with the Day of the Dead. Attendees were offered free hot chocolate and pan de muerto, a sweet bread. Mariachi performer Arnulfo Cardenas played live music. “The school can be a safe space where we can gather together and we can celebrate our traditions,” Mercedes Fernández, president of LENS and Latino liaison and minority languages coordinator at ETHS, said. “I would like (attendees) to take with them the feeling that we contribute to the society with our culture, language, food, values and principles.” LENS previously built community altars for the

Edward Simon Cruz/The Daily Northwestern

LENS organizers built and decorated the community altar at the center of Friday’s Day of the Dead celebration.

Day of the Dead at the Gibbs-Morrison Cultural Center in 2021 and the YWCA Evanston/North Shore in 2022. Student club ETHS Latinx Quest and the ETHS Latino Advisory Committee co-hosted this year’s celebration — the first of its kind at the high school. “There’s been this event … and we see a few after-school programs, but I definitely believe that

we can do more to make sure ETHS is more aware of Latinos around our community,” ETHS freshman Sofia Oliveros said. LENS hosts other activities and provides various resources supporting the Latine community in Evanston throughout the year, including English classes, book clubs and a discussion group for senior citizens. Fernández hopes that LENS can bring greater

visibility to the Latine community. “People still make us feel that we don’t belong,” Fernández said. “But I think that education, information and leadership, which are the three pillars of the Latino Advisory Committee, are going to make a difference. And it’s making a difference. Today is a testimony that we can make a difference.” edwardcruz2027@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

ON CAMPUS

Law student aims to solve legal injustices By LEAH SCHROEDER

Editor in Chief Avani Kalra

eic@dailynorthwestern.com

daily senior staffer @lmschroeder_

The son of Iranian immigrants who fled the country due to persecution, Nima Ostowari, Pritzker School of Law ‘25 and Founder of JusticeArch, always knew he wanted to start a company. Ostowari said that his experience as a child of immigrants has informed how he perceives justice in the world and motivated him to pursue a career in public service. Now in his second year of law school, Ostowari is aiming to address legal injustices that he’s encountered during his career. Instead of relying on a system that he believes is flawed, Ostowari took matters into his own hands, creating a company specifically designed to target the inequities he noticed. According to Ostowari, one major issue in the U.S. legal system is that individuals don’t always know how to discern which attorney is right for them. JusticeArch helps match users with attorneys who align with the legal issue they are experiencing. “JusticeArch is part of a broader mission to bridge the justice gap using business-driven digital solutions,” Ostowari said. “It does that by simplifying the process by which a person can find an attorney that’s right for them.” Users answer a series of questions to provide context on their legal issue. Next, the context is sent to pre-vetted attorneys, who contact users if they think they can help. It is up to the user to determine which attorney they will match with. Ostowari said he has done everything in his power to get his product up and running so he can begin to help people. “It’s really important that I move fast and move quickly to get products out there as quickly as possible,” Ostowari said. “I’ve used whatever intelligence I’ve got to push as hard as we can push as fast as I can.” Medill junior and Business Strategy Intern Ian Lei, who joined the JusticeArch team in October agrees that it is important to keep moving quickly

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in the world of entrepreneurship. According to Lei, the most difficult part of starting a company is not having a prescribed outline of what to do next. “You’ve just got to keep trying,” Lei said. “Just keep pushing. Even if we take baby steps, we’re still working towards something bigger.” McCormick freshman Jasmine Ong is a Product Intern at JusticeArch. Ong said her experience as an international student from the Philippines helped her recognize legal inequities. “I think that accessible legal services, as much as it is needed, it’s a reality that it’s not something that’s present in a lot of countries,” Ong said. “Even in the United States, which is a first-world country, there is a large disparity. Anything that can help lessen the gap between people who are not as well off to get the legal services that they need is really important. After the legal entity of JusticeArch was formed

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in May, Ostowari began to work with a contractor in the Czech Republic to develop JusticeArch’s website, while starting to develop his team and think critically about leadership and how to motivate people. Ostowari’s current focus is generating user flow to the product. While JusticeArch is in its early stages, Ostowari hopes it will go on to change the entire legal landscape of America. His goals include increasing access to attorneys and reducing the costs of legal services. “It’s that broad vision in mind that informs a lot of what we do, but you can’t just be distracted by the pie-in-the-sky vision, you got to be focused on the near-term things,” Ostowari said. “Those are the things that we’re obsessively focused on, while keeping that broader vision in mind.” leahschroeder2026@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

Football meets card game in junior’s new invention By ZOE CHAO

the daily northwestern @zoejchao

McCormick junior Harrison Brooks was nominated for the 2023 Toy and Game International Excellence Awards’ Rising Star of the Year earlier last month. Brooks and McCormick junior Cameron Briskin created the football-themed card game, called Fourth Down. This is not the first nomination for Brooks, a 2020 Young Inventor of the Year finalist for his first game, ElevatorUp. “I know I’ve grown a lot and learned a lot and created a whole new game since then, but I still was shocked to have gotten nominated,” Brooks said. From playing rummy with his grandmother to card games with his sister, games have always played an important role in Brooks’ life. Brooks said he always knew he wanted to create games that facilitate social interactions and interpersonal connections. He developed ElevatorUp at the age of 16 based on his daily interactions with elevators growing up in New York City. With an easy and quick-paced experience, the game received over 200 five-star ratings on Amazon and one particularly touching email, inspiring Brooks to take on his next project. While studying in Norris University Center with Briskin during his first year at NU, Brooks received a message from an ElevatorUp fan who said the game had resonated with her grandson,

Nature, nurture, or both? The scientists behind AI-made robots McCormick Prof. Sam Kriegman and his lab assistant David Matthews recently developed a one-ofa-kind artificial intelligence program that builds a robot in seconds. This program is the first AI to be able to intelligently design other robots. The pair spoke with The Daily about their groundbreaking work, describing what is at the root of this technology and their passion. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Illustration by Shveta Shah

NU student Harrison Brooks is nominated for Rising Star of the Year for Fourth Down, a football-themed card game he created with NU student Cameron Briskin.

an elevator enthusiast who carried the card game everywhere he went. “The fact that something I created was that important to him really re-inspired me to want to keep working on ElevatorUp and also keep creating other games that can speak to people in

The Daily: How did you come to realize the potential of AI and evolutionary algorithms in creating these biological robots? Kriegman: The journey began with an exploration of robotics, which mimics the movement and functions of animals. Robots are essentially artificial animals that move through the world in various ways. This connection led us to delve into the intersection of AI, biology and mechanical engineering. AI allows us to bridge computer science with the physical world in new and never-before ways. The Daily: Can you share a bit about the “aha” moment when you realized you had achieved

the same way,” Brooks said. Brooks’ company, Brokli LLC, caught Briskin’s attention. The former legal intern would join Brooks on his next business venture. The duo then brainstormed three new game concepts that combined their interests and passions. something extraordinary? Matthews: It’s hard when you’re in the weeds sometimes to even tell how important or how big of a step forward it is. I see the vision of how this could play out and, wow, we could really revolutionize how everyone could design geometries of moving systems, not just robots but everything and anything that moves. This is the first step on that journey. If we don’t take the next steps, what we’re doing won’t go anywhere.

After settling on football as the inspiration for his game, Briskin began drawing up the initial designs and layouts for their game that very night. As the lead graphic designer, Briskin spent six months sketching designs on his iPad and conferring with Brooks to create ideal illustrations and layout. “One card might’ve taken 20 hours or 50 hours,” Briskin said. “But after doing maybe five of the unique designs, I got it down quicker and quicker and quicker and learned new skills on Procreate that made it a lot faster of a process.” With finished designs, they sent prototypes to friends and family, generating interest for their Kickstarter. Brooks launched the Kickstarter in May 2023 and exceeded his goal by June 2023, which raised over $3,000. In September, Brooks launched the game on Amazon under Brokli. McCormick junior Emilia McDougal was one of the game’s first customers. She loved Brooks’ earlier game and played Fourth Down with both her younger brother and her friends at NU. McDougal said she loves the excitement of the game. “One of the reasons that I love Northwestern is you can have a friend that’s super passionate about a project and see it go from the beginning to the end during your time here,” she said. “So, something that’s really cool is (that) a friend from my dorm freshman year is now creating a card game that got nominated for an amazing award.” zoechao2027@u.northwestern.edu of integrating AI into various aspects of our lives. In the future, we could use large language models or image generation systems to design robots and incorporate simulation knowledge, making them more capable of interacting with the world.

The Daily: What lessons can we learn from your work and its potential applications in the real world? Kriegman: We must think beyond the initial excitement and consider the long-term consequences

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6 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Can Collins return to the big dance? By ALEX CERVANTES

daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

On March 5, 2023, Chris Collins walked off the court at Jersey Mike’s Arena with his right arm wrapped around the back of his son Ryan, a manager for Northwestern and a Communication sophomore. The Wildcats had just knocked off Rutgers in the RAC — one of college basketball’s most hostile environments — to secure a program-record 12th conference win and effectively shore up an NCAA Tournament bid. After years of toiling in the Big Ten’s basement, the duo of Boo Buie and Chase Audige, under Collins’ tutelage, coalesced into one of the nation’s best backcourts, sparking a meteoric rise near the top of the conference’s standings. But, for Collins, this moment was about a father and son, a three-generation basketball lineage celebrating a turning of the tide. “To be able to share that journey — the highs and lows — have been special,” Collins said. “It just took me back to my dad coaching the Bulls and I was a ball boy. … That was exactly what I used to do with my dad — we used to walk arm and arm down to the locker room.” Two weeks later, the ’Cats would knock off 10-seed Boise State in the round of 64 — the program’s second-ever win in March Madness — before falling five points short of the Sweet 16 in a loss to UCLA. In the span of a year, Collins moved from the hot seat to inking a contract extension through 2028, with the expectation of making the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons. “Not taking our foot off the gas pedal in any way,” Collins said. “We still have a lot more we want to accomplish. We’ve still got a lot of hungry guys that want to prove themselves as players, and we still feel like we have a lot to prove as a program.”

*** Subject to a 112-76 shellacking at the hands of Iowa, NU’s 2021-22 campaign ended in anguish in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. Frontcourt mainstays Pete Nance and Ryan Young departed for the two blue blood programs situated on Tobacco Road, and Collins was tasked “with making necessary to build towards success in the 2022-23

campaign.” Those 11 words, handed down from Athletic Director Derrick Gragg in March 2022, all but ensured that should NU remain idling among the conference’s bottom dwellers, Collins’ decade-long tenure in Evanston would be over. The odds of another contract extension seemed to be on life support when NU was pegged to finish 13th in the conference’s preseason media poll. Despite a public shaming of sorts and negativity surrounding the program ahead of the season, Collins was “at peace” regarding his job security. Chalk it up to being a coach’s son — or the inevitable instability and turbulence that comes with leading a Power Five basketball program — but the 49-year-old wasn’t worried about Gragg’s declaration. “What you realize in this business is, if you hang around long enough, eventually you’re probably going to be in a situation where there’s change,” Collins said. “It was really all about just being at my very best for these guys.” Collins did just that. The addition of assistant coach Chris Lowery ushered in a defensive renaissance for the ’Cats, who catapulted the team’s defense from a middling unit to one of the nation’s most suffocating, finishing 22nd in the country in defensive efficiency. Collins, whose 22 wins earned him Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, deflected individual praise to his players consistently. Still, he coached the team to the program’s first win over an AP No. 1, a sweep of Indiana, a double-bye in the conference tournament and a berth in the Big Dance.

*** Ahead of NU’s season opener Monday against Binghamton, Collins has made it clear he’s done talking about last year. His roster has been retooled with six new faces, but he retains much of his key core from last year’s March run, highlighted by Buie and junior guard Brooks Barnhizer. Expectations inside and outside of Welsh-Ryan Arena revolve around a return to the NCAA Tournament. Collins faced a similar scenario six years ago, boasting a team that returned six of its top seven scorers from a squad that had secured the program’s first NCAA Tournament bid. As the only two teams in program history to eye a return to the dance, comparisons between the 2017-18 and 2023-24 squads are inevitable. Recounting the team’s experience six years ago,

Collins said he was a young coach still figuring things out as the season progressed. Ranked in the AP’s preseason top 25 poll, the ’Cats dropped out by the third week, having sustained losses to Creighton and Texas Tech. “It was kind of the same team,” Collins said. “It’s obviously good because you have the camaraderie, but when you don’t have any new personalities it can get a little stale amongst the guys. … (This year) there’s so many new faces in our locker room, which I think can be a positive because it brings some new energy.” As the three transfers and trio of freshmen acclimated to life in Evanston over the summer, Collins said he and the team worked hard to reinstill its values, however cliche that may sound. Collins brought in a pair of graduate student transfers — Princeton guard Ryan Langborg and Liberty forward Blake Preston — from winning programs to fill voids as veteran presences on the perimeter and in the frontcourt, respectively. The addition of sophomore guard Justin Mullins, a local product out of Oak Park, gave Collins a much-needed athletic wing. “Having some older guys to reinstill (our identity) helps, where it’s not just our coaches,” Collins said. “It’s guys that have embraced that defensive identity, that toughness, that chip on our shoulder (mentality). Our guys really rallied around that and it needs to be a fabric of who we are going forward.” Reflecting on the 2017-18 season, Ryan Collins said he thinks his father realized the team’s culture got lost in the magic of March from the previous year. This time around, Ryan Collins said his father is coaching with the same fire he had last season, with recognition from both coaches and players that the team can chase history once again. “There’s a lot of expectation on this team, but I think the guys are ready for that,” Ryan Collins said. “They’re hungry … because they have a chance to do what that other team couldn’t and get back to the tournament and try to make a deep run.”

to stretch the floor was on full display, while Mullins’ performance as a two-way slasher was impressive. NU connected on 39.4% of its attempts from 3-point range, a seven-point percentage jump from last season’s mark of 32.1%, which ranked 282nd nationally, according to KenPom. The offense, which Chris Collins lamented as “timely” last season, looked explosive and efficient with Buie and Barnhizer at the helm. On Monday, Chris Collins’ 11th season in Evanston begins against Binghamton. There is palpable buzz surrounding the team’s ceiling this season — most notably hopes of another NCAA Tournament berth. Now, it’s time to see if Chris Collins can put the pieces together once again. “It’s a close-knit group. They like being around each other, they like playing with each other,” Chris Collins said. “But it’s a big TBD until we get out there and play someone else. … I’ve always said you don’t get redo’s. Once Nov. 6 hits, everything counts.” alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

*** NU’s 85-63 exhibition win against Division II McKendree University offered a small glimpse at what Chris Collins’ latest bunch of ’Cats will look like. Barnhizer lived up to the preseason billing, stuffing the stat sheet with 29 points, seven boards, five steals, four blocks and four assists. Langborg’s ability

When Buie met Collins in Calif. By ALEX CERVANTES

daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

Chris Collins was in California to see someone else. Just a year removed from leading Northwestern to its first NCAA Tournament appearance, Collins was out on the recruiting trail searching for his future point guard. The Wildcats were graduating their floor general in Bryant McIntosh — a four-year starter who had just set the program record for career assists — and Collins needed his replacement. What he found was a 6-foot-2, 160-pound guard he was not looking for — seemingly no other program was, either — igniting an unlikely chain of events that would help bring NU its second NCAA Tournament berth. The tantalizing prospect in question? Daniel “Boo” Buie.

***

It was the summer of 2018 and Collins — then entering his sixth year helming the ’Cats — journeyed out west, his eyes fixed on the Adidas Summer Championship. He arrived in Ladera Ranch, California, ready to follow the journey of D1 Minnesota, a team boasting several prospects NU was keeping tabs on. Collins and his staff had extended offers to a pair of frontcourt stars from the Minnesota-based AAU squad — forwards Zeke Nnaji and Tyler Wahl — but the trip mainly served as a chance to evaluate a separate point guard at the competition: future second-round NBA draft pick Tyrell Terry. But, as D1 Minnesota took the court against Mass Rivals, an unknown guard for the New England-based AAU team immediately caught Collins’ eye. He doesn’t remember the full statline, but Collins believed the guard “had about 30 (points)” in a game against six or seven future Division I players. “I knew going into the game I could compete at that level,” Buie said. “I (approached the game) like I’m one of those guys — I belong, I fit. They’re not better than me.” Collins was unsure whether Buie’s game “was just a one-time deal,” though. When he returned later that night for an encore performance, his concerns were immediately put to rest. “He had like 30 (points),” Collins told reporters five years later, reminiscing on the moment. “I’m like, ‘What are all these other schools missing?’ This kid’s pretty darn good.” In a game that featured droves of NBA prospects, including an eventual lottery pick in Evan Mobley, Buie stood out. Buie seemed unfazed by the immense talent Compton Magic rolled out onto the court that day. Over the last five minutes of the first half, he knocked down two touch shots in the lane over current Atlanta

Hawk Onyeka Okongwu and a pair of 3-pointers. Buie scored 10 of Mass Rivals’ final 13 points of the half, keeping his team level at the intermission. Buie’s prolific day continued into the second half. Immediately out of halftime, he buried a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key to take a 32-29 lead. With the Magic seemingly content on allowing Buie to operate in one-on-one space, the Albany, New York, native took full advantage, unleashing his full arsenal of ball handling tricks to free up room for floaters and pull-up jumpers. “I was always a score-first player,” Buie said. “When I first started playing basketball, I thought about ways to score and I was always playing one-on-one growing up with my friends. Once I got into organized basketball, I realized the importance of sharing (the ball), being able to score and doing both at a high level.” Though Mass Rivals ultimately fell to the Compton Magic, Buie’s scoring performance captivated Collins once again. Most of all, though, Collins saw “a gamer,” a player boasting a certain swagger that Collins really liked. “We thought he had a little bit of a chip on his shoulder, a little bit of an edge to him,” Collins said. “It was something we were going to need as we were rebuilding our program.”

*** When the dust settled on NU’s class of 2019 recruiting efforts, Collins and his staff had extended 21 scholarship offers — but only one went to a point guard. Buie, the three-star Gould Academy product who ranked 318th nationally and 44th at his position, according to the recruiting service’s composite rankings, was NU’s top priority. “I’ve always liked guards that could score and shoot and make plays,” Collins said. “He was a prolific scorer and he was still learning how to be a point guard, but you could see that he could play in pick-and-rolls. He could really put the ball in the basket. He had a burst of quickness that I thought we were really lacking.” The timeline of events following the chance Californian encounter between Collins and Buie was rather swift. Collins officially offered Buie on Aug. 1, 2018 , and

quickly established his vision for the program with Buie at the helm. Not even two months passed before Buie announced his commitment to NU on Sept. 15 of that year. “I have kind of always been a super edgy player who carries a chip from just being underrecruited,” Buie said. “Northwestern was the only high major to offer me a scholarship. I believed in myself and I believed that I deserved to play at the highest level, so that’s a huge reason I came here.”

*** Brian Snow, one of 247Sports’ recruiting analysts, scouted Buie in November of 2018 following his commitment. Snow billed Buie as “the type of solid prospect who tends to overachieve during his college career.” He also wrote that Buie “should be a starter at some point in his career.” Buie has started 94 games for Collins, making 115 total appearances in purple and white. His 1,541 career points ranks 10th in program history and he has the chance to unseat the program’s leading all-time scorer, John Shurna, come season’s end. The once-unknown guard, coming off a career-best season in which he led the ’Cats with 17.3 points and 4.5 assists per game en route to All-Big Ten honors, is now garnering preseason All-American acclaim ahead of his fifth and final campaign in Evanston. He was tabbed to the Bob Cousy Award watch list, bestowed annually to the nation’s top point guard, and received preseason first team all-conference recognition. “Once I got here and saw (Collins’) vision and heard his story, I just wanted to be a part of the rebuilding,” Buie said on Selection Sunday in March. “That was something when coming into Northwestern, when I signed, I gave my word that I was going to be a part of something special.” It would have all been for naught had Buie’s captivating 60-point, two-game display not resonated with Collins on that fateful California day. After all, Collins was there to see someone else. alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Q&A: Lau prepares for sophomore year By PALOMA LEONE-GETTEN

daily senior staffer @pleonegetten

Sophomore point guard Caroline Lau is in position for a breakout season. As a freshman, the Westport, Connecticut, native saw action in all 30 of Northwestern’s games, including three starts. Lau averaged 5.7 points per game, and holds a career-high of 20 from a January matchup against Chicago State. She also finished the season second on the team in 3-pointers, shooting 31.3% from beyond the arc. In the Wildcats’ Thursday exhibition against Lewis, Lau tallied nine points, seven boards and six assists during 30 minutes of play while embracing a new leadership role: one of NU’s three captains this season. The Daily spoke with Lau about her first year as a ’Cat, her captaincy and her goals for the 2023-24 season. This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity. The Daily: What did you take away from your freshman season? Lau: The biggest thing was adjusting to playing in the Big Ten and playing with a completely new team. And obviously, we didn’t finish how we wanted, so I feel like it’s kind of motivation for us to be better this year, so we’re fueled by the results of last year. The Daily: What did you work on this offseason to prepare for the season? Lau: Honestly, everything. Working on becoming more consistent. Finishing at the rim. Shooting more consistently and then having better chemistry with my teammates offensively. The Daily: Let’s talk about your new leadership role. What does earning captaincy as a sophomore mean to you? Lau: Honestly, it means everything. I’m really honored to be a captain this year. I really feel like I would do whatever for my teammates, and I hope

that they would do the same for me. So that’s kind of how I see it. I’m really willing to do whatever I can to help the team win. The Daily: What did you take away from last season’s captains’ leadership styles? Lau: Knowing everyone really well, and wanting to build relationships with everyone on the team and treating everyone everyone as I want to be treated. And then also being positive, encouraging everybody every day and bringing energy every day. The Daily: Was being captain a goal for you? Lau: Honestly, no. Kind of just ended up this way. … I feel like my goal in the offseason was more just to work hard, show up every day, show up for my teammates and compete every day. So it kind of just ended up this way. The Daily: How do you plan to lead the team in this role? Lau: Just bringing energy every day, bringing the same consistent energy, doing whatever I can for my teammates and, obviously, playing hard, working hard and just trying to create a standard of winning here in our culture. The Daily: What do you think the importance is of creating that standard of winning and a competitive atmosphere in the gym at Northwestern? Lau: We’ve talked all offseason about what our standards are and that there are certain nonnegotiables in terms of bringing energy every day and being consistent, being committed to your role on the team. Everyone has to do it and I feel like we’ve really built that up over the offseason. The Daily: Any big goals for yourself and the team this year? Lau: Just win games. That’s really the goal.

T IPOFF STAFF STAFF

SPORTS EDITOR EDITOR SPORTS ALEX CERVANTES WRITERS WRITERS

AAYUSHYA AGARWAL JAKE EPSTEIN PALOMA LEONE-GETTEN RAJ GHANEKAR LUCAS KIM LAWRENCE PRICE

DESIGN EDITOR EDITOR DESIGN ANGELI MITTAL

palomaleone-getten2026@u.northwestern.edu

CAMARADERIE ABROAD

WILDCATS COMPETE IN SPAIN By JAKE EPSTEIN

daily senior staffer @jakeepste1n

Inside Madrid’s Caja Mágica, sophomore point guard Caroline Lau couldn’t miss, manufacturing her own magic that transcended the confines of Madrid Select’s magic box. It didn’t matter that she was an ocean away from home, nor was she phased by her professional competition. Situated in the Spanish capital, Lau was right where she belonged — commanding Northwestern’s offense on the hardwood. “In front of one of the greatest players in Spain’s history, Caroline hit her first four shots,” coach Joe McKeown said. “They were all 25-footers — four 3s to start the game — and I was like ‘Okay, let’s go.’” That confidence and collected presence, coupled with innate leadership ability, put Lau on the path to becoming a sophomore captain. But, the Connecticut native wasn’t the only player to shine on European soil. An entire team came together to cement its own culture. After a 2022-23 season that McKeown called a hiccup, the Wildcats immediately went to work this summer, looking to put their last season firmly on the backburner. For the first time since 2016, NU jetted off for a foreign tour, embarking on a 10-day, tri-city trip to Spain in August. “We’ve worked really hard as a team to try to meld players into the program,” McKeown said. “(With) new players — just trying to make sure their experience when they got here this summer was really good.”

The ‘Cats faced three professional squads in Madrid: Select, Nou Basquet Paterna and Catalonia Elite, winning all three matchups. Veterans and young contributors alike showcased their skills overseas — from sophomore forward Alana Goodchild’s five 3-pointer output to junior guard Melannie Daley’s 21 point performance. Despite missing the bulk of last season due to injury, Daley proved that she was back where she belonged on the trip. With a retooled roster and a bevy of new contributors stepping into the fold, the journey to Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona facilitated essential team-bonding time, Daley said. “We lost five people, and the team changed — so we needed time to reconnect as a team outside the court and on the court as well,” Daley said. Although McKeown said he prioritizes player development over premier talents in the transfer portal, the coach brought in graduate student guard Maggie Pina to help jumpstart his team’s outside shooting this winter. For Pina, the trip served as a chance to mesh with her new teammates in a change of scenery. She said the competition and equal playing time helped each player get rid of firstgame jitters well before the season began. “Some (of the team) had never been abroad, so learning what outside of the U.S. is like was a good experience,” Pina said. “It’s nice to get that out of the way before the season starts, so people (who) need that time to mentally adjust to what their role is are not just thrown out there in the middle of the season.” Off the court, NU engaged in a plethora of courses, workshops and treks to historic

landmarks, immersing themselves in the rich Spanish culture. Senior guard and captain Jasmine McWilliams said she felt she had lucked out with both on- and off-court activities. “Spending 10 days with anyone will make you get really close,” McWilliams said. “We won all three games, (and) that was a really big confidence booster for us. Not only that, but we were also going out and doing excursions together.” Among their adventures, the ’Cats crafted swords in Toledo, prepared paella in Valencia and went to a flamenco show. Although McKeown mistook flamenco dancing for the exotic, pink birds that populate the tropics, the veteran coach said watching the dancers was one of his favorite moments in Spain — regardless of the lack of flamingos. “We got authentic in a packed house (with) flamenco,” McKeown said. “And they were amazing. It was one of the highlights of the trip.” During these summer tours, a greater emphasis is typically placed on in-game reps rather than practices. With such a jam-packed schedule, McKeown said the time his team spent together — and bonds the group solidified — formed the true value of the trip. McKeown saw much of the foundations for this season’s goals develop abroad. “It’s really more about being a team, and what’s a once in a lifetime experience in so many ways,” McKeown said. “It was just incredible for them. They had different roommates for each part of the trip, and you’re blending into the Spanish culture.” jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

8 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

women’s entrance survey Northwestern sputtered to a 9-21 (2-16 Big Ten) finish last season, its first without Veronica Burton. The Wildcats are looking to move forward from last season’s struggles with several key returners, including leading scorer Caileigh Walsh, back in the fold.

What is the most important storyline for NU’s 202324 campaign?

I touched on this earlier, but it has to be Lau. McKeown has raved about her “gym rat” presence in practice, but it’s time for the sophomore to take a major second-year leap. She started three games last year, providing a potent energy off the bench that the veteran coach counted on throughout the strenuous Big Ten stretch. With the keys to the offense, it’s Lau’s time to shine. Will she rise to the pantheon of great Wildcat guards of old? — Jake Epstein

Team culture. At Big Ten Media Day, Mott mentioned team bonding will be significant to NU’s success this season, and this message was only amplified with the squad’s trip to Spain in the offseason. Leaders will have to step up and establish the team’s identity with the departure of several program mainstays. Everyone will have a role in determining what this identity means, but once the team culture is set, the results will follow. — Lucas Kim

The ‘Cats were hampered by severe 3-point shooting Last season, NU finished below .500 for just the woes last season. Do you expect that mark to improve fifth time in the 15 years of the McKeown era so far. this season? How do the ’Cats engineer a turnaround this season? The ’Cats return only two players total who attempted over 50 3-pointers last season: Walsh and Lau. So despite their shooting struggles, they didn’t really shoot a lot from beyond the arc in the first place. Like many others, I look to Pina to fill in this vacancy of an ultra-reliable shooter. A career 34.4% 3-point shooter, Pina shot 37.5% on 136 attempts in her final season at Boston University, a mark that is significantly higher than any other player on NU’s roster.

This starts and ends with consistency. Coach Joe McKeown repeated time and time again last year how the ’Cats were close to being very good. They’d be firmly in contention against highly ranked teams, then suddenly collapse with ice-cold quarters. For NU to win more games this year, McKeown will look to its sophomore captain and point guard Caroline Lau to engineer a far more efficient scoring attack.

— Lucas Kim

— Jake Epstein

Given the team’s roster and pickups, I expect shooting to greatly improve. Lau assumes the starting point guard role, and even though she shot just 31.3% from deep last year, I predict that number will increase. Walsh should be a big threat off pick-and-pops and perimeter rotations — look no further than last year’s performance against Rutgers when she hit 6-of-9 from downtown. On the bench, I’d keep an eye out for two players. The first is Pina. The Boston University transfer scored 939 points as a Terrier, including a 34.4% mark from distance in her career. NU’s rotation will also include a 3-point threat with a bit more stature in sophomore forward Alana Goodchild. After playing sparingly in 15 games as a freshman last year, Goodchild should slot in to take Shaw’s minutes, bringing a bit of a different offensive look with increased physicality.

NU can engineer a turnaround through a return to its lockdown defense. Burton, who led the conference in steals, has been gone for a season, and her successor Sydney Wood just graduated. Last season, the ’Cats ranked ninth in the conference in opponent points per game, but ranked top-five the previous two seasons with Burton and Wood on the roster. But a few upperclassmen have the experience and athleticism to fill those shoes. Look out for junior guard Hailey Weaver to be an absolute terror on perimeter defense — she tallied 14 steals in her final four games. Fellow junior guard Melannie Daley is another pesky defender in the fold, with several multi-steal games in her freshman season. Injuries shortened her sophomore year, but she should be ready to bring the pressure along with Weaver.

— Raj Ghanekar

men’s entrance survey In what ways do you expect NU’s three transfer portal additions to make an impact?

I’ll start with the easiest assessment: graduate student forward Blake Preston. The former Liberty Flame will step into the backup center role vacated by Tydus Verhoeven. Preston will provide stability in the frontcourt, snagging boards — he ranked first in the ASUN in offensive rebounding percentage (.152) during conference play — and anchoring the interior defense. For Langborg, he’ll step in and be expected to provide shooting immediately. He can play on and off the ball and will get a bevy of 3-point looks from chances created by Buie and Barnhizer. Finally, Mullins could very well fill Audige’s role as NU’s primary perimeter defender when Big Ten play rolls around. He’s a good on-ball defender, ranking third in the Summit League in steal percentage last season, per KenPom. On offense, he’ll be more of a slasher, looking to play in the open court in transition and get to the rim in the halfcourt. — Alex Cervantes

NU made a splash in the transfer portal, landing three players destined to make an immediate impact. With the addition of Langborg, the ‘Cats found the ideal complement to pair with Buie in the backcourt. Mullins’ arrival in Evanston, who averaged 1.5 steals per game last season, will help NU continue to establish its defensive identity. Lastly, Preston will ensure the ‘Cats receive frontcourt offensive contributions from the bench, especially when more size is needed to match up against conference opponents. — Aayushya Agarwal

How does Northwestern build off last season? That’s the question on everyone’s mind ahead of the Wildcats’ season opener against Binghamton on Monday. Coming off its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and a program record 12 conference wins, coach Chris Collins will look to replicate last year’s success with a refreshed group, one which boasts six new faces.

What is the most important storyline of the 2023-24 campaign, and will the ‘Cats go dancing again?

The ‘Cats struggled shooting the ball last season. How does NU remedy that inefficiency this season?

There are a number of storylines to monitor, but chief among them is whether this team remains as defensively stout — 22nd in defensive efficiency nationally — as it did last year. Collins’ portal additions, on paper, provide a much-needed offensive lift — which NU’s lead man said needed improvement. All that aside, replacing Audige’s defensive presence is an incredibly tough task. The team’s patented post trapping under Lowery will remain, but some early nonconference tests against Dayton and potentially Mississippi State will provide ample opportunity for the ‘Cats to test their defensive mettle — similar to when they established themselves against Auburn in Cancun last season. Will NU go dancing? The pieces are there to run it back, but the ‘Cats will have to be nearly perfect in nonconference play before entering the Big Ten gauntlet at the start of January to set themselves up for a comfortable Selection Sunday.

It starts with Princeton transfer and graduate student guard Ryan Langborg, who is coming off a careerlow 33.2% shooting from beyond the arc last season while attempting 6.2 3-pointers per game — the most of his career. Collins will be hoping Langborg’s shooting returns to his junior year clip, when he posted 40.5% shooting from distance, the third-highest mark in the Ivy League during the 2021-22 campaign. Improvement from senior guard Ty Berry, who shot 29.1% from 3-point range as a junior, coupled with junior guard Brooks Barnhizer’s end-of-year shooting form, should see the ‘Cats improve on their 32.1% 3-point percentage mark.

— Alex Cervantes

I’m very interested in the offensive development of starters and important role players outside of Buie. Last year, it was clear the offense ran through both Buie and Audige. But when those two couldn’t get going, the ‘Cats struggled. Luckily, NU’s smothering defense limited many issues and guys like Barnhizer rose to the occasion. Now, teams are going to put an even bigger emphasis on Buie than they did last year. I’m excited to see Barnhizer’s junior campaign, but I’m also interested to see if Berry will get back to his old self, whether Nicholson expanded his game and how transfers like Langborg and Mullins produce. When it comes to the Big Dance, I’d bet the house on it. — Lawrence Price

— Alex Cervantes

Collins’ small-ball lineup last season proved problematic for defenses because of how much it opened up the offense and allowed its four-best shooters from distance to be on the floor at once. Of course, Chase Audige is gone, but with the additions of Langborg and sophomore guard Justin Mullins, this bunch won’t be taking a step back whatsoever. — Lawrence Price

With the departures of Audige and Robbie Beran, NU has lost a large portion of its scoring. Langborg, the team’s new addition and a career 36.3% 3-point shooter, will ensure the ‘Cats are more consistent from beyond the arc. At the same time, an expanded role for Berry, who shot a career-low percentage from deep last season, and increased perimeter opportunities for Barnhizer and Mullins will benefit NU’s overall shooting so as to not prove too cumbersome for graduate student guard Boo Buie. — Aayushya Agarwal

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

SJP

From page 1

shared personal experiences and called for action. Saturday’s rally came amid the Israeli military’s continuous bombardment, blockade and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after Hamas — a militant group the U.S. government labels a terrorist organization — launched a surprise attack on Israel Oct. 7. More than 1,400 Israelis have died since the initial attack, according to PBS. About 9,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Hamasoperated Gaza health ministry. On Saturday, thousands of protesters held rallies around the world, including in the U.S., demanding a ceasefire. An immediate ceasefire in Gaza is the “bare minimum,” said Karla Thomas, an NU Ph.D. candidate in human development and social policy. She called for an end to Israeli occupation in Palestine, granting Palestinian statehood and reparations to Palestinians. She also said Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, pointing to the Genocide Convention’s definition for the term. “Today cannot be the only day you speak out loud,” said Thomas, who helped organize the event and is a member of Every Single Person Committed to Anti-Racism. Thomas and other speakers urged attendees to ask their elected representatives to support a ceasefire and stop supporting the Israeli government

and military. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was the first senator to call for a conditional ceasefire in Gaza on Thursday. Two other NU students, both members of Students for Justice in Palestine’s NU chapter, also spoke to the crowd. Thomas did not say their names while introducing them. One student said this was the most support for Palestine they had ever seen at NU or experienced across the nation. “As a Palestinian, I am filled with gratitude to see the amount of people here today, particularly the non-Palestinian allies,” they said. “Justice for this cause absolutely cannot be achieved without you and your solidarity.” Participants from other advocacy groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and Chicago Area Peace Action, also attended the rally. Seph Mozes, a member of Jewish Voice for Peace, said while growing up in a Jewish family with relatives who were killed in the Holocaust, he was taught to not stay silent about genocide so people can prevent it from happening again. “I could not imagine a worse insult — a worse betrayal of my ancestors who were killed in a genocide — than committing another genocide in their name,” Mozes said. Other Jewish protesters also said they oppose Israel’s actions in Gaza. Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel was “horrible,” but it doesn’t justify punishing all the Palestinians in Gaza, said Simon Piller, a Jewish Chicago area

SUMMIT

HOSTAGE RALLY

members of the Strive executive board taught Summit attendees about prominent Black men from the Chicago area, like activist Fred Hampton and explorer Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, who is known as the founder of Chicago. “We’re promoting our club since we’re a relatively new club,” Huff said. “We’re also making sure people know about these (historic Black men) and we’re interacting with people in this purposeful setting.” The Armenian Student Association created a booth at the event to create club visibility, according to Isabel Toghramadjian, the organization’s president and founder. At its booth, the group distributed fresh Armenian flatbread and read picture books in Armenian. “It’s a place to get to know each other, share our culture and speak our language,” Toghramadjian, a Weinberg junior, said. Now that the summit has ended, Rice and Woods said they are both looking forward to ASG cultural events in the years to come. “There are a lot of pockets of talent and initiative and good ideas,” Woods said. “We’re trying to make unified spaces where these pockets are accessible to the greater student body.”

with families in Israel and with the Israeli people, and also with the suffering of innocent Palestinians that are being killed in Gaza,” she said. “There are also many Palestinian Israeli citizens that are also being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza — it’s not only Jews are being held hostage.” During Sunday’s event, attendees heard from several speakers, including local Rabbis and former Democratic State Sen. Jeffrey Schoenberg (D-Evanston). Attendees also prayed together for the safe release of hostages. Rabbi Meir Hecht of Evanston Chabad, who also

From page 1

delilahbrumer2027@u.northwestern.edu

NPEP

From page 1

Similarly, panelist MoDena Stinnette shared the story of a relative who studied financial literacy during his sentence. He eventually used that information to educate his community once released. “It was a defining moment for him to feel that competence and be able to have something to contribute,” Stinnette said. Several of the panelists also stressed the importance of restoring dignity to formerly incarcerated people. Stinnette commented specifically on the

resident. “I’m hoping that people will see it and get involved with the struggle,” Piller said. “And ultimately, it gets to the Israelis and they realize the world is not for bombing the hell out of Palestinians.” Chicago area resident Aby Karottu read a statement from Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board member and Palestinian American Omar Salem, who was unable to attend the rally. At several points during the reading, Karottu seemed to tear up. Growing up, Salem was taught to hide his Palestinian identity, he wrote. But that shame was “no match for the pride my father instilled in me,” he added. “I want my children to see me be an active part of this movement so that they, unlike me when I was their age, can safely and publicly be their full, beautiful, celebrated, authentic selves,” Salem wrote. After two hours of speeches and chants, most of the crowd marched north toward Schill’s residence. At times, the protesters formed a line that spanned several blocks. As they marched, they chanted “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free,” and other slogans. Many protesters called out President Joe Biden and the U.S. government for financially supporting the Israeli military. Attendees also chanted slogans directed at Schill, who sent a statement asking NU community members to be “passionate about our beliefs while also being compassionate to those

with whom we disagree,” Saturday morning. “The response from President Schill to the Northwestern community lacked any sort of empathy or humanity for the Palestinian people,” Thomas said as the crowd gathered in front of Schill’s residence. “Northwestern intertwines its financial security and uplift with many companies who are profiting from this military engagement.” Several members of NU’s Board of Trustees have served as executives at companies that supply arms to Israel, including Boeing and General Dynamics. A small group of protesters not affiliated with the event’s organizers carried two flags featuring Hamas symbols. Thomas said after she asked them to move away from the main site of the demonstration multiple times, they walked away from the crowd to face Orrington Avenue. Thomas said none of the event organizers support Hamas “in any way.” This event was the first protest Elgin resident Jennifer Vega has attended, she told The Daily after the event. Coming to the protest helped release some of the anger that had built up as she learned about what was occurring in Gaza, she added. “I brought the wrong shoes — my ankles are bleeding, probably,” she said after the march. “(But) I think the people in Gaza are going through a lot worse, so I have nothing to complain about … People should be grateful for the things they have right now and just speak up for the people that can’t.”

attended the protest, said he has begun to feel that “our prayers were answered.” Judith and Natalie Raanan, a mother and daughter from Evanston who are congregants at Evanston Chabad, were taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7. On Oct. 20, the two were released to Red Cross representatives, and Natalie returned to the Chicago area last week. “Judith and Natalie are this glimmer of light through all this darkness,” Hecht said. “The fact that there’s 240 hostages still in the hands of Hamas is outrageous and deeply painful. So we, of course, feel very blessed that our neighbors, congregants, friends from here in Evanston, have been released. But we’re also feeling a tremendous amount of pain — our hearts are heavy.” Chicago resident Oren Orkin said the event was

put together by grassroots organizers. As someone who was raised in Israel and moved to the United States over 20 years ago, he said it’s been difficult to watch the unfolding violence in Israel and Gaza. The fact that hostages still remain unaccounted for nearly four weeks after their kidnapping is “unheard of” and “unacceptable,” he said. Helping to organize these grassroots events, he said, has brought him closer to the local Jewish and Israeli communities, serving as a source of comfort. “I feel like we’re blessed that we have such a close-knit community, and that everybody showed up together,” Orkin said. “It’s really gratifying.”

loss of “dignity, self respect, and pride” that many experience in prison. The panel concluded with a brief question and answer session, which consisted primarily of dialogue between the panelists and other NPEP-affiliated individuals. “It made me see the need for reentry programs,” panel attendee and SESP sophomore Megan Lin said. Lin, a former member of NPEP’s student branch, the Undergraduate Prison Education Partnership, said she was inspired by the speakers’ resilience. Lin said she wished more NU undergraduates

would have attended. “Everyone needs to hear these stories because I feel like it’s something that’s not often talked about,” Lin said. While panelists said there is more to be done to aid reentry and combat recidivism, most said they were hopeful and optimistic about smoother reintegration for formerly incarcerated individuals in the future. “When you are in the furnace you can either be singed, or you can come out sparking,” Santiago said.

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DAILY CROSSWORD Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 1 Opera highlight 5 Spanish Mrs. 8 Yin and __ 12 Place in a house where one might find a cue or Clue 14 Sherlock’s sister, per two Netflix films 16 Caffè Americano base 17 Hale and hearty 19 Mil. category 20 Many a corporate decision-maker 22 “Finding Nemo” kid who scares the fish 24 “My thought is ... ” 25 Choir voice below soprano 26 Knightley’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” role 29 “On my way!” text, maybe 30 Black-and-white cookies 32 Keyboard sound 34 Investor who has shares in a company 37 Finish, as cupcakes 39 Precise 40 NFL official 41 Fill in, as a lawn bare spot 43 Caustic remark 47 Heartburn remedy 50 Thigh bone 51 Seating chart designation 55 Lagunitas Brewing Co. specialty 56 “You’re killing me, __!”: line from “The Sandlot” 57 Pet dander, for one 59 Top-notch 60 Mail that doesn’t need an envelope, and where both words of 12-, 20-, 34-, and 51-Across can be found? 61 Reduced by 62 Sault __ Marie 63 Regarding

11/6/23

By John Michael Currie

DOWN 1 Guide that can become the outline for a meeting’s minutes 2 Imp 3 Commodity from abroad 4 __ Lingus: Irish carrier 5 Fair to middling 6 Civil rights icon Parks whose actions inspired a bus boycott 7 Another name for the Roman god Cupid 8 Overly agreeable guy 9 Starts a poker pot 10 Social standards 11 Spherical 13 Singer McEntire 15 Lacking vigor 18 One from Athens 21 Ruckus 23 Plunders 26 Brief moment 27 Round-bottomed cookware 28 Fireplace leftovers 31 Wither away 32 Public health agcy. 33 Leave alone

Last IssuePuzzle PuzzleSolved Solved Saturday’s

34 Jocelyn Alo’s sport 35 Good Grips gadget brand 36 Little guy 37 Counterparts of sororities, for short 38 Menu option in a file manager 41 Runs water over 42 School URL part 44 Compañeras 45 Stewie’s teddy bear on “Family Guy”

11/6/23

46 Marlon of “On the Waterfront” 48 “Kate & __”: 1980s sitcom 49 Britons and Gaels 50 Agonize (over) 52 GPS app on iPhones 53 Printer smudge 54 “If all __ fails ... ” 58 Early TV brand

10 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

A&E arts & entertainment

Micah Sandy/The Daily Northwestern

Sloan Struble of Dayglow performs alongside the band as the headliner for Friday’s A&O Blowout.

Dayglow delivers garage band-like grooves at Blowout By TABI PARENT

daily senior staffer @tabithaparent12

If you’ve ever sat in a basement and watched some talented friends goof around with instruments, you’ve pretty much already seen a Dayglow concert. Gracing the stage as the headliner for A&O Productions’ Blowout Friday, the indie-pop project transformed Welsh-Ryan Arena into your typical 2000s-movie garage band experience with goofy witticisms and a perfectly unserious stage presence. Northwestern student DJ Kavi Subramanyan, known by stage name DJ Kavi, kicked off the night around 7 p.m. with an exclusive set of tracks — notably remixing a clip of “The Hanging Tree” from the first movie installment of “The Hunger Games” into a sick house beat. About 30 minutes after DJ Kavi made his exit from the stage to appreciative applause from the

scattered audience who arrived early enough to catch his set, R&B artist Justine Skye took the stage. The Brooklyn native, who rose to fame on Tumblr after her digital “diary” filled with her teenage banter gained traction, appeared under the bright stage lights, sporting perfectly coiffed hair and gleaming in a blue and lace dress. Skye’s R&B songs were a more strippeddown, unbuttoned experience compared to DJ Kavi’s set, but by no means any less captivating. The 28-year-old strutted around the stage, singing about the usual — boys with bad habits and being “in her bag.” While Skye’s set was slow and sultry, audience members seemed to recognize the singer’s TikTok-famous song “Collide,” which the singer originally recorded with rapper Tyga. Perhaps a testament to the audience’s engagement, Skye told the NU crowd as she exited the stage that they were more fun than she thought they were going to be. Backhanded? Yes. Appreciated? Also yes.

When Dayglow finally took the stage, it was like being transported to a local garage band performance, a la “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” Texas native Sloan Struble, the artist at the helm of the indie-pop project, and his group were dressed to the epitome of indie style. Hipster mustaches, tight-fitting shirts and baggy jeans seemed to be a second skin for the performers. The band kicked off their set with a performance of the track “Then It All Goes Away” off of the 2022 album “People in Motion,” met by little lyrical recognition from the crowd. It wasn’t until the third song of the night, the band’s hit “Hot Rod,” that the performers got an enthusiastic response from the crowd. The band also played a sonically unrecognizable (until Struble started singing the lyrics) cover of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” that blended seamlessly into their own song “Run the World!!!”. While Dayglow live sounds almost exactly

like the recordings of their songs online, what sets their performance apart from your daily walk-to-class listening sesh isn’t any measure of their musical performance. Rather, it’s their mischievous ad-libs in between songs that make it seem like you’re truly just watching your friends play music. Struble does an excellent job of engaging with his audience — he’s the perfect level of quirky to play to an NU crowd. He and his band talked at length about Chicago, played a “Dayglow-ified” Wii Theme Song and joked about dropping out of the University of Texas after his freshman year. At the end of the show, after being sure to play the band’s biggest hit, “Can I Call You Tonight?” Struble shouted his appreciation for NU, saying, “Don’t go any more south or any more east — Northwestern all the way!” — an on-theme end to A&O’s Blowout. tabiparent2025@u.northwestern.edu

Vertigo Productions’ ‘Blood Pact’ explores dark girlhood By XINYUAN “SOPHIE” ZHANG

the daily northwestern

Content warning: This story contains mention of sexual assault. Forget summer camps and tie-dye T-shirts. Vertigo Productions’ “Blood Pact” points a lens on the darker aspects of girlhood, where friendship bracelets are weaved with anger and dyed with blood. Written by Communication senior Frances Mary McKittrick, “Blood Pact” explores the reality of a girlhood filled with anger and struggle. The show, directed by Communication sophomore Kate Horton and produced by Communication sophomore Wylde Laden, played Friday and Saturday at Shanley Pavilion. In the first scene of the play, four girls emerge from darkness. Harper (Communication sophomore Nora James Eikner) is energized with a need to prove herself. Hanna (Communication sophomore Nastia Goddard is headstrong, dramatic and, sometimes, authentic to a fault. Emmy (Communication sophomore Ani Kabillio) is guarded and ambitious. Thea (Weinberg sophomore Zakyra Ashby) is compassionate, caring and worried. Amid an involved conversation, the play starts when they are discovered in the sandbox by Alix (Communication junior Caroline Humphrey), Harper’s stern yet compassionate older sister. Best friends spending the summer after fifth grade on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the girls bicker for the majority of the play, and while the arguments seem

innocent and even petty at first, the dark reasons behind their outbursts slowly burn through. Unwanted sexual advances from Jackson, Emmy’s stepbrother, plague three of the girls. All four craft a secret plan to kill Jackson because of their shared fear that no one would believe them. If there were one word to describe this play, it would be anger. Throughout every scene, each character is charged with emotions: grief, worry and, most of all, anger. Anger at each other, collective anger towards Jackson and his actions and anger at the world for not understanding their experiences. The play’s consistent emotional poignancy felt like a validation of the inexplicable anger of girlhood: of transitioning from a naive child into a teen with something to say. The actors brilliantly portray the complications of girlhood. Goddard effortlessly shifts between anger, sadness, pain and devastation. Ashby quietly mediates conflict but lets out a flood of desperate emotion in a plea for togetherness. Kabillio acutely displays her character’s loneliness in many devastating outbursts. Eikner lit up the stage with her energy and enthusiasm, revealing the insecurities and vulnerabilities of her character. Humphrey shows both the coolness and the patient compassion of an older sister in the scenes she’s in. The production elements of the show were also executed strongly. Communication sophomores Alex Yang and Austin Kelly designed a light-sound flow to create an uncomfortable yet nostalgic tone. Transitions between scenes were seamless and creatively showed the darkness of the girls’ trauma with unstable flickering lights.

SESP sophomore Emma Manley’s costume design was filled with solid colors, high socks and vintage t-shirts that brought audiences to the 2000s setting. An especially timely highlight was the bright feather boa scarves worn by the girls during an ecstatic performance of “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. Shanley’s space did feel limiting at times, however. At points, the alley-oriented stage made it difficult for audiences to discern the characters’ expressions.

Overall, the play was a stellar combination of acting, direction, creative script writing and production aesthetics. Its open ending was meaningful in its choice to leave audiences feeling unresolved, lingering in worry and fear. It delivered the final note in an angry song about all the little-known and undiscussed dangers of girlhood. sophiezhang2026@u.northwestern.edu

Photo courtesy of Kate Horton

Vertigo Productions’ “Blood Pact,” which played in Shanley on Friday and Saturday, highlights the anger and arguments of girlhood.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

Despite program gap, students find graphic design fix By EMILY LICHTY

daily senior staffer @emilymlichty

From club posters to on-campus publications, digital art and design can be found all around Northwestern’s campus. And online platforms like Canva have made graphic design accessible to the masses — especially at NU. McCormick sophomore Ryan Murphy says graphic design has a large presence with campus clubs due to accessibility and its variety of uses. Murphy works on design for Wavelength, NU’s music magazine. “Graphic design is a great thing because it’s not

just for art people,” Murphy said. “(Graphic-based) marketing on social media is huge for clubs right now.” However, NU does not offer graphic design-centered classes or programs, and leaves students to seek out clubs and outside organizations to grow as digital artists. One of these students is Weinberg senior Julie Elorza, who says she explores her interest in digital illustration by majoring in Art Theory and Practice and taking Radio, Television and Film classes. But, she also relies on clubs and organizations on campus to get her the practice she needs. “I found a lot of people do their own different things to try to get their fix for graphic design,” Elorza said. “It’s a self-taught kind of thing.” Despite a lack of a graphic design program at NU,

Illustration by Sophia Zhang

Students look for ways to incorporate graphic design into their college experience outside of the classroom.

clubs and organizations often use programs such as Canva for posters, social media graphics and projects. Graphic design and illustration are also a mainstay in many of NU’s on-campus publications, including North By Northwestern. Medill senior Hope Cartwright is on the Creative Team for NBN, which uses programs like InDesign and Photoshop to design their quarterly magazine. She says she frequently sees the use of graphic design for clubs and publications on campus. However, she also says she doesn’t mind the lack of graphic design classes on campus, as she believes it keeps clubs from becoming too selective. “I don’t know if there would be NU students who would be into that,” Cartwright said. “I feel like NU students kind of have a competitive streak, especially when something becomes academic. So, I feel like it might get cut-throat.” Despite graphic design’s frequent pairing with journalism, NU is one of the only schools in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of top 10 journalism schools, which includes NYU, Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Texas Austin, without a graphic design program. For students interested in pursuing graphic design while at NU, there are a few programs that develop skills that overlap with graphic design. Art Theory and Practice offers art as both a major and minor to undergraduate students. While the department offers no digital art-centered classes, platforms such as Photoshop and InDesign are utilized in class projects. The department also offers Adobe access in its computer lab. Elorza says that, despite her interest in graphic design, she rarely creates digital projects for her classes. “The art major is very traditional,” Elorza said. “I do wish there was more. I don’t want to say there isn’t an openness to digital art and graphic design,

but I do think it’s not seen as legitimate.” The Media Arts and Game Design module is another graphic-design adjacent program at NU at the School of Communication. The module offers classes in computer animation and teaches 3D animation programs. Communication senior Austin Lopez McDonald is pursuing the Media Arts and Game Design module. While he entered NU through McCormick, he hopes to enter a career in video game design. But, he says he has been disappointed by the class’s preparation for future jobs he is interested in. “The way these classes are structured is that if you want to get into the industry, but don’t know how to do it, these classes aren’t going to teach you,” Lopez McDonald said. To find his design outlet, Lopez McDonald joined the Illustrators and Animators Club and helps teach other students what he knows about graphic design. Illustrators and Animators club is a student organization that focuses on teaching 2D and 3D animation. Lopez McDonald says he likes to help teach others what he has learned about the illustration industry through the club. “I really wanted a space where I can talk about and critique design,” Lopez McDonald said. “And show people different design processes and give feedback that NU doesn’t.” As the graphic design industry grows, many students are continuing to explore digital art skills regardless of their career goals, as Murphy says he finds it a more practical way to find a career in art. “Before, there was talk about how parents would be worried about the starving artist stereotype,” Murphy said. “And nowadays, it’s not really true if you like graphic design because of how big it is.” emilylichty2026@u.northwestern.edu

Playwright Selina Fillinger discusses creative journey By JILLIAN MOORE

the daily northwestern @jillian_moore7

Sitting cross-legged in front of a pair of arranged armchairs, Selina Fillinger (Communication ’16) discussed her creative process as a Los Angeles-based writer at a moderated conversation in John J. Louis Hall Friday. To give a sense of what Fillinger was like as a student, theatre Prof. Laura Schellhardt began with a story about “The Armor Plays: Cinched and Strapped,” which Fillinger wrote for Schellhardt’s playwriting class while a student at Northwestern. “I had read at least two or three of Selina’s assignments at that point. And I remember thinking, ‘Okay, I’m sure that you’re a wonderful performer, and I’m also sure that writing

may be in your future…” Schellhardt said. “The reason it’s funny to me is you were still saying ‘I’m gonna be a performer. I’m just writing things for fun.’” From there, Fillinger participated in the theatre production-based Next Step Program, creating a play with Northlight Theatre in Chicago. “Faceless” launched before Fillinger had even graduated from NU, she said Her most recent play, “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” opened on Broadway on April 27, 2022. The play met widespread acclaim, hailed as “a snappy and intermittently hilarious farce” by The New York Times. “There isn’t actually enough hours in the day to do all those things. But when you are inspired and lit up somehow, it just happens,” Fillinger said. “There’s some weird magic that happens where time just expands when you’re

working on the right project.” Senior and event attendee Mantra Radhakrishnan said she planned to see “POTUS” that weekend at the Steppenwolf Theatre mainly due to the play’s emphasis on physical comedy. She said she appreciates how Fillinger takes unique risks in her work. “It’s really easy to put a lot on one specific opportunity and be like, ‘Oh, this could make or break my career,’ and feel like you’re trying to model other people’s careers or model other people’s steps,” Radhakrishnan said. “So, I really liked what she said about (how) there might not be a model for what you’re trying to do.” Fillinger said diversifying her creative process between theater, TV and film was essential. She said she just turned in the pilot for a TV adaptation of an unpublished Sheila Heti book, which she had that “glowy feeling” about. “I was in contact with (Heti), which was

at times harrowing, because I just loved and admired her so much that it was absolutely devastating to show her my half baked drafts,” she said. “I also felt really strongly that it was a sign of respect, and I wanted her to feel safe.” According to Schellhardt, she rarely meets students who work as hard as Fillinger to turn opportunities like these into launching points. Fillinger ended the conversation by saying she hopes the next generation of artists committed themselves to consuming and creating longform media. “In some ways, of course, our role is very fragile, and we are running out of time, but I don’t think the answer is more stunted thoughts, right?” she said. “The answer is more sophisticated, complex, longer thoughts, and that’s the best thing that we can do for art and just for each other.” jillianmoore2027@u.northwestern.edu

Reel Thoughts: Coppola sets fire to Graceland in ‘Priscilla’ By BEATRICE VILLAFLOR

daily senior staffer @beatricedvilla

From its opening frames of painted nails, hairspray and eyeliner, Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla” is steeped in femininity in the ways Baz Lurhmann’s 2022 biopic “Elvis” was not. It’s a reminder to the audience: this movie is not about Elvis. “Priscilla” opens the gates of Graceland to tell the ‘60s love story infused with isolation, instability and reclaimed independence. In her latest film released nationally Nov. 3, “Priscilla,” Coppola explores the sultry and shameful relationship between a young Priscilla Beaulieu (Cailee Spaeny) and Elvis Presley ( Jacob Elordi) in an unconventional biopic, inspired by Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir, “Elvis and Me.” Viewers meet Priscilla as a young 14-year-old when she starts seeing the superstar, then 24. Initial scenes between the pair are chaste and tender, humanizing Elvis’ persona offstage. Behind his public persona, Elordi’s Elvis struggles with the meaning of his fame. He worries about having a music career while stationed in West Germany and confides in Priscilla about the death of his mother. But the all-consuming nature of first love has Priscilla on a path of self-destruction after she moves to Graceland. She struggles to graduate from high school while Elvis is away for weeks at a time and her classmates gossip about their relationship. Her partner also influences a change in appearance as we see Priscilla’s light brown hair dyed jet black. Through all of this, she’s only 14 through 17. Priscilla Presley has publicly said that she and

her former husband were never intimate when she was a child. The movie honors this account and avoids placing judgment on Elvis, but several scenes remain hard to watch. A montage where the couple photograph each other in bed, with the girl in costumes, had me recoiling. It’s tumultuous, toxic and terrible. Coppola trusts viewers to see the unbalanced power dynamic between the two but still brings us alongside Priscilla as she swoons over Elvis. Through the years, Priscilla’s devotion never

wavers. She brings her husband breakfast when he’s knocked out on opiates and waits for him while he works on the West Coast. Coppola hauntingly illustrates the loneliness and emptiness Priscilla may have felt in those moments, showing audiences wide open shots of empty hallways and countless reports of alleged affairs. Eventually, the illusion of Graceland shatters. Spaeny’s performance as Priscilla becomes defiant and angry as she matures, unwilling to excuse Elvis any longer. She sheds the girlish dresses, thick eyeliner

and dyed hair. It’s a quiet resistance that has the two living separate lives by the time their daughter is born. With “Priscilla,” Coppola continues studying the themes she’s known for — the vapidness of excess, feminine sadness — and rejects the nostalgia and romanticization found in recently released biopics. Devoid of flashiness, it shows how messy any form of first love is, let alone with a renowned rock and roll icon. Set to a beautiful, Elvis-free soundtrack, this might be Coppola’s best work in years. beavillaflor@u.northwestern.edu

arts & entertainment Editor Elena Hubert Assistant Editors Emily Lichty Mary Randolph Design Editors Danny O’Grady Paloma Leone-Getten Illustration by Beatrice Villaflor

Sofia Coppola’s newest film, “Priscilla,” debuted at the 80th Venice International Film Festival and released nationally Nov. 3.

SPORTS

@DailyNU_Sports

Monday, November 6, 2023

FIELD HOCKEY

Bent-Cole seals Big Ten Tournament championship By ALEX CERVANTES

daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

It was freshman forward Olivia Bent-Cole’s moment. Deep into the second overtime period in No. 1 Northwestern’s Big Ten Tournament title game clash against No. 8 Maryland, Bent-Cole restarted play. She charged at a Maryland defender, cutting outside before tip-toeing down the endline. She took one dribble to her left and rifled a low, close range tomahawk shot past Terrapin goalkeeper Alyssa Klebasko.

Her strike clanked off the backboard as the referee’s whistle signaled the conclusion of Sunday’s end-to-end display in Ann Arbor. Celebration commenced as Bent-Cole’s teammates dogpiled her in front of goal. Bent-Cole’s overtime gamewinner clinched the Wildcats’ first conference tournament championship since 2014 and the program’s first-ever sweep of the Big Ten regular season and tournament titles. “They are just so resilient,” coach Tracey Fuchs said of her team. “Our corner was really off today and they just kept playing hard and playing for

each other and nobody was pointing fingers or blaming. They just kept going at it (and I’m) happy we found the back of the net.” Sunday’s game was a particularly one-sided offensive affair, with NU outshooting Maryland 22-8, including 11-5 on goal. The ’Cats also won 17 penalty corners to the Terrapins’ three but were unable to generate any scores from the chances in the circle. Ten days removed from a 5-1 shellacking of Maryland to cap off a perfect Big Ten regular season campaign, Fuchs said she thought NU dominated in Sunday’s game even

more than it did on Oct. 26. She said she was proud of the number of corners the ’Cats drew against an opponent of the Terrapins’ caliber, but that their execution needed to be better. “We weren’t putting (the ball) on the mark to get quality stops and they were switching up their corner defense,” Fuchs said. “They played with two post players on some of our corners — which was a great respect to us — but really it was more that we were off.” NU maintained its offensive pressure throughout the game, while Fuchs’ defense

— which has conceded the fewest goals (10) in the country this season — remained an impenetrable fortress. Senior goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz tallied five saves to record her 12th shutout of the season. Toward the end of regulation, and as she had done for much of the game, Bent-Cole cut through several Terrapin defenders and laid the ball off to senior midfielder Chloe Relford in front of the cage. Relford was unable to get her stick on Bent-Cole’s pass, as the ’Cats and Terrapins ended the first four quarters without a score. After 17 more minutes of

scoreless hockey, Bent-Cole’s solo goal was the decider in Sunday’s tightly contested game. With a pair of Big Ten trophies in hand, NU now turns its focus to the NCAA Tournament. “(It’s) officially season four,” Fuchs said. “ We’re excited and we are 100% sure we’re going to be hosting at home … we’re really excited about that. There’s nothing like playing on your home fields and having fans there and everything that goes along with the comforts of home.” alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

MEN’S SOCCER

FOOTBALL

NU’s season comes to emotional close in loss

100 seconds define loss to Iowa

By JAKE EPSTEIN

daily senior staffer @jakeepste1n

Moments after the Martin Stadium scoreboard struck its final seconds sealing Northwestern’s 1-0 loss to Michigan and the season as a whole, the team trotted toward the touchline to thank the supporters one final time. In a game where the hosts outshot the Wolverines (5-5-7, 2-1-5 Big Ten) 16-6, Michigan forward Alex Waggoner broke the deadlock with a 72nd minute dagger, and the visitors’ defense saw out the result. With a sharp November rainfall rearing its course, the Wildcats (104-3, 4-3-1 Big Ten) returned to the bench, where coach Russell Payne consoled his players in a postgame address. Unlike other matches, there was no extended cooldown, nor music. NU had reached the end of the road. Pure devastation — the feeling of nearing ever close to a season’s goals but falling short by the finest of margins — poured down on Payne’s group. Under sobering rain showers, players hugged, tears flowed and several competitors walked off the collegiate pitch forever. To the team’s coach, who helped engineer a turnaround from the bottom of the Big Ten’s pack to championship contention until the regular season finale, one loss can’t wash away what the ’Cats accomplished this fall. “The record (we) put together this year is in the history books, and we should be extremely proud of it,” Payne said. “We were picked to finish second to last (in conference) and we almost finished first … We got our culture right, and the guys fought for each other.” Both teams looked to set a physical tone from the opening whistle, exchanging hard fouls and tackles throughout the pitch’s middle third. NU faced the Wolverines just five days earlier in a 3-0 road defeat, but the ’Cats shifted several pieces around for this grudge match. Payne elected to hand freshman midfielder Tyler Glassberg his first career start at left wing — a decision he said he knew would pay dividends. “The coaching tree that I come from, that’s been a normal thing — freshmen starting late because they earn it,” Payne said. “Usually, they’re fearless, ready to go … He did exactly what I thought he would do, competed, defended his butt off and now

he’s just gonna go from strength to strength.” While neither side manufactured a clear cut chance through most of the first half, senior forward Justin Weiss jostled his way free around midfield with just over 90 seconds before halftime. Weiss executed a nifty body feint, accelerating the ball into space off his dominant right foot. The first team All-Big Ten talisman planted and fired a rocket from 35 yards out. Mere inches away from immortality, the ball struck the crossbar and bounced back into play, where senior midfielder Joseph Arena’s follow up rolled across the endline. With two yellow cards apiece, the teams entered halftime knotted at 0-0. As play resumed, NU controlled the bulk of possession, searching for a vital go-ahead-goal. However, Michigan goalkeeper Isaiah Goldson and his backline held strong and fended off a series of dangerous set piece opportunities. Approaching the final 18 minutes of regulation, Wolverine defender Matthew Fisher sent a low driven shot toward sophomore defender Henri Richter. The center back deflected the shot, which fell onto a silver platter for Waggoner. The young striker found the bottom right corner, handing Michigan a 1-0 lead. “When you don’t score, you keep teams around,” Payne said. “We had plenty of chances again.” Searching for a season-salvaging scoring chance, the ’Cats immediately attacked down the flanks, looking to break down an opponent defending for its life. Although they drew four second half corner kicks, the equalizer remained abegging. In the game’s final three minutes, the center referee appeared to signal for an NU penalty kick, but called a handball in the opposite direction — Payne consequently received a booking for dissent. After the Wolverines thwarted freshman defender Fritz Volmar’s 90th minute effort, the hosts’ NCAA Tournament hopes evaporated, closing Payne’s third campaign in Evanston. The coach said the hardest part of the night was comforting the departing seniors and graduate students responsible for the program’s resurgence. “I can only tell them I love them — and I’m so grateful for what they brought, what they’ve done and how they bought in and believed,” Payne said. “They made decisions to want to have the season we had.” jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

By JAKE EPSTEIN

daily senior staffer @jakeepste1n

W hen Northwestern entered Wrigley Field to take on Iowa in Saturday’s Wildcats Classic, interim head coach David Braun’s team knew what to expect. Facing one of the nation’s top defenses, points would be at a premium, and the result could come down to just a few plays. Those plays would rear their ugly head for Braun and the Wildcats in just a matter of moments, with the visitors launching a late-game siege to unravel three-plus quarters of defensive dominance. It all happened in about 100 seconds. “We knew what we were getting into,” Braun said. “Iowa has made a lot of quality opponents punt the ball — eight, nine, 10 times. We knew we were gonna have to keep pounding.” After facing a Maryland team that attempted 47 pass plays last week, the ‘Cats (4-5, 2-4 Big Ten) appeared to enter an alternate dimension of college football versus Iowa. The Hawkeyes (7-2, 4-2 Big Ten) opted to tote the rock and dial up 40-plus run plays. To senior linebacker Xander Mueller, who finished the game with a team-high 19 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, this run-heavy approach left his unit unphased. “We knew it was going to be a physical game, and that was a big part of our emphasis in the game plan,” Mueller said. “The same things we’re feeling the offense is feeling as well … (the defensive line) was playing physical all game.” NU’s offense couldn’t sustain any semblance of success, punting on its first eight drives and stalling out on a goal-to-go scenario with four plays inside the two-yard line on its ensuing possession. With Iowa having punched ahead on a third-quarter touchdown — courtesy of senior punter Hunter Renner’s blocked punt — the Hawkeyes were mere minutes away from pitching a complete game shutout inside The Friendly Confines. Despite a defensive dogfight marred by punts, penalties and negative plays, junior quarterback Brendan Sullivan said that sideline morale remained high. “We were still very confident in our ability to get back in the endzone,” Sullivan said. “Our morale was great the whole game and I’m proud of the guys for that.” A war of attrition played out on

Micah Sandy/Daily Senior Staffer

Senior wide receiver A.J. Henning runs along the sideline.

the corner of Addison and Clark, with little respite in sight for the ‘Cats. However, senior wide receiver A.J. Henning flashed his big-play potential, fielding a punt and spinning his way just outside the redzone. Sullivan said he read a goal line zone look right on cue and found graduate student wide receiver Cam Johnson at the back of the endzone, tying the game at seven apiece with under two minutes remaining. Overtime seemed imminent, as an NU defensive unit stood tall all day needed to stop a risk-averse Iowa offense that tripped over its own feet for the better part of 58 minutes one more time. “The mindset was that we were ready to go get a win, unfortunately (we) couldn’t do that,” Mueller said. “Being able to bounce back has been huge, so that’s the plan going forward.” As Hawkeye quarterback Deacon Hill gathered his troops with less than 100 passing yards to his name, the last thing Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz needed was a turnover. Since junior defensive back Theran Johnson intercepted Hill’s earlier deep shot, the Hawkeyes looked reluctant to test their fate. With the ball spotted on his own 39, Hill took a first down snap and slung a sideline pass against Braun’s cover two scheme toward Iowa receiver Kaleb Brown. Waiting in the wings, the Chicago native suiting up for his first game since

Sept. 29 hauled in his first catch as a Hawkeye for a 23-yard gain. The connection put Iowa and kicker Drew Stevens at the cusp of field goal range, sitting at NU’s 38-yard line. It’s a play Braun will likely ponder for days to come — one he wishes could be reverted at the touch of a button. “That’s a call that I’d like to have back,” Braun said. “It was a bit of a softer coverage zone … (to) keep the ball in front of us, keep it in bounds.” Iowa running back Leshon Williams paved the way for the field goal unit on three consecutive inside rushes, leaving under 20 seconds left on the game clock for Stevens to try his luck from 52-yards out. Though he’d missed a first quarter attempt from a yard deeper, the big-booted sophomore possessed a prime opportunity to punch his team in front for good. With the weight of the game on his shoulders, Stevens drilled the downtown dagger, delivering the final component of a defensive duel that opened up its proverbial gates in its last minutes. “You’re not going to see me up here pointing fingers at anyone other than myself — where I can continue to improve,” Braun said. “This team is going to get back to work on Monday (to prepare) for Wisconsin.” jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu