The Daily Northwestern — November 17, 2022

AUDIO/Digital Diaries

Residents protest antiBlackness at council

Black city employees recently criticized work conditions

By YIMING FU daily senior staffer @yimingfuu

Students propose policy revisions

Administration to review suggested changes to demonstration policy

By JOANNA HOU daily senior staffer @joannah_11

After several years of debate between activists and Northwest ern administrators over NU’s demonstration policy, talks are underway to rewrite several parts of the document.

The University has revised its policy multiple times over the past five years. After a 2017 cam pus visit from a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement repre sentative sparked protest, admin istrators worked with activists to revise the policy. While it under went routine review in 2020, only

the FAQ section received changes.

In recent years, demonstra tions like the NU Community Not Cops protests throughout fall 2020 and an on-field student protest at a home football game during Family Weekend 2021 have led the University to reiterate its demonstration guidelines. But as senior University officials have emphasized the policy, activists have scrutinized it.

Protesters have expressed frustrations with the demonstra tion policy for multiple reasons, including its vague language around potential consequences for student activists.

Last year, Margot Bartol (Weinberg ’22) and Karina

Faculty, student sign amicus briefs

by President Lyndon Johnson’s administration stating that orga nizations receiving federal con tracts and subcontracts must expand employment opportuni ties for minority populations.

Karbo-Wright (Weinberg ’22) discussed the policy with several administrators and activist groups, including NUCNC, Fossil Free NU, NU Dissenters, Students Organizing for Labor Rights and Students for Justice in Palestine.

After gathering key complaints and concerns from these groups, the two annotated the current demonstration policy with pro posed changes. Now, McCormick junior Molly Whalen, Associated Student Government’s executive officer of accountability, is advo cating for those revisions.

Whalen plans to talk with NU’s Policy Review Committee in hopes of implementing some of these proposals in 2023. Here

are some of the most significant proposed changes to the demon stration policy.

Understanding the disrup tive nature of protest

The current policy states dem onstrators should notify Student Organizations and Activities at least 48 hours before the planned start of the event. While SOA can not bar protests from occurring, it asks for notice so it can “best facilitate planning.”

According to the policy, community members cannot “obstruct” regularly scheduled

Community members packed the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center to stand with Evanston’s Black employees at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

The action comes after an anon ymous coalition of around 30 Black city employees released a letter ear lier this month detailing workplace disparities in pay, promotion and discipline. More than 100 people attended the meeting, and a group of 15 stood up in solidarity each time a speaker expressed their sup port for the City of Evanston Black Employee Action Group. Several public commenters said Evanston’s HR failures reflect a continued pat tern of racism and anti-Blackness, despite the city’s “diverse” and “equitable” reputation.

Community Alliance For Better Government President Lesley Wiliams read a statement on behalf of the Black Employee Action Group to demand funding, transparency and accountability.

Williams said the group reached out to her to represent them by proxy because many

student talks

By AVIVA BECHKY daily senior staffer @avivabechky

By DAVIS GIANGIULIO daily senior staffer @giangiuliodavis

As the Supreme Court con siders two cases that could potentially outlaw affirmative action, Northwestern faculty and community members are getting involved by creating and signing onto amicus briefs in support of both the defense and prosecution.

Initiated by anti-affirmative action advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions, the lawsuit argues that the 14th Amend ment’s Equal Protection Clause requires race neutrality in higher education admissions decisions — which would render affirma tive action unconstitutional.

Harvard University and the University of North Carolina’s admission processes are under the spotlight in these cases.

Affirmative action stems from an executive order issued

History Prof. Deborah Cohen said considering the court’s con servative lean, she’s not surprised to see it reconsider the long-time precedent. Given her career expe rience, Cohen said she thought it was important to write a brief in defense of affirmative action.

“I’ve been lucky in that almost all of my career has taken place in classrooms in which affirmative action was a guiding principle of the constitution of the stu dent body,” she said. “The brief argues that precisely the diverse classroom is both an educational good and also a social good.”

African American studies and sociology Prof. Mary Pattillo said she signed onto Cohen’s brief to show there is support among university professors to maintain affirmative action.

Pattillo said she is particu larly concerned of what doors could be opened if affirmative

Emmet Ebels Duggan spent last week speaking with global climate leaders in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

A senior at Evanston Town ship High School and the hub coordinator for E-Town Sunrise, Ebels Duggan has advocated for climate solutions for about three years. They joined It’s Our Future, a Chicago-area organization that mentors young climate activists, in September 2021.

And at the beginning of November this year, they trav eled to the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference — commonly called COP27 — with four other students from It’s Our Future to interview government officials and other attendees and build community with activists.

There, Ebels Duggan said they primarily explored “pavilion” dis plays, hearing from the presidents of Botswana and Zimbabwe and learning at the Pacific Islander and Indigenous People’s pavilions, in particular. They flew home with the other students Saturday, though the conference is continuing.

The It’s Our Future group is now planning to compile their interviews into a short film for the One Earth Film Festival. The Daily spoke with Ebels Duggan about their experience at COP27 and takeaways for activism in Evanston.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

The Daily: What changes do you want to see from COP27?

Ebels Duggan: One of the biggest topics at COP is loss and damage: the idea of richer coun tries that have contributed more to emissions and climate change providing financial contributions — a separate fund for countries that have suffered the most from the effects of climate change.

The fact that we are already at the stage of repaying the things that have already gone wrong is frustrating, and frankly, scary. (But) I’m hopeful that this COP will end with some significant commitment to loss and damage funding.

The Daily: Are there moments from the conference that stood out to you?

Ebels Duggan: A thing to understand about COP: This

event is sponsored by Coca-Cola, which should tell you a lot of what you need to know. It’s a corporate event. And it is a corporate event that does a better job of address ing climate change than those that don’t. But it’s also an event that a lot of countries and companies are able to take advantage of to greenwash their contributions to global emissions.

There are meeting rooms that have the Shell logo on the door, and nothing radicalizes you faster than that.

The Daily: Do you think there’s potential for change outside a cor porate environment?

Ebels Duggan: A big part of what I have experienced in Evan ston in my work with Sunrise has been that when you can talk directly

employees fear or have already faced retaliation for speaking up. In the statement, Williams criti cized the lack of response from Evanston’s elected officials thus far.

Since the letter’s Nov. 1 release, there has been no public response from the city.

The statement also referenced Evanston’s 2019 “Commitment to End Structural Racism and Achieve Racial Equity,” which promises to redress historical inequities. Despite that commit ment, she said the city continues to mistreat its Black employees.

Williams encouraged City Council to follow 20 action steps presented in the group’s initial letter to address racism in city government, which include hiring an external agency to per form a full HR audit and investi gation, and implementing a pay equity ordinance.

“Simply implement the very reasonable action plan the employees provided to you, not anaction plan that you develop,” Williams said. “Black employees are no longer interested in the City of Evanston figuring things out, as history has shown us that that does not work well.”

Kevin Brown, Evanston’s former community services manager, also spoke in support of Black employ ees. Brown filed a lawsuit in 2019

to the people that you want to talk to, that need to be doing certain things, when you can have inter personal relationships with them — that is where the most effective change and the most effective work in climate justice comes from.

That looks like working in our communities, working with our city and county governments, and even state governments.

The Daily: What role do you think high school and college students should play in affect ing change?

Ebels Duggan: What youth high school and college students bring is this just unrelenting, ide alistic energy. The idealism can often be frustrating — to me, and

Illustration by Gemma DeCetra

Photo courtesy of Emmet Ebels Duggan

Land committee supports Masonic Temple project

By ELLA JEFFRIES daily senior staffer @ellajeffriess

The Evanston Land Use Commission unani mously voted to create 30 rental housing units as part of the interior renovation of the Masonic Temple at its Nov. 9 meeting

Located at 1453 Maple Ave., the building has stood vacant for more than half a decade. Developers want to turn the local landmark into multi-family, loft-style or two-story apartments.

Evanston resident Jennifer Grandy, who lives three doors down from the Temple, implored the board to allow the project to move forward.

“I’d like to express how demoralizing it’s been to live on a block that’s been bookended by mostly vacant, derelict buildings,” Grandy said. “Masonic Temple has been a dumping ground for shopping carts and garbage … (but) what’s even more demor alizing is the potential of maintaining the status quo.”

Although the proposed adaptive-reuse project satisfies its area zoning laws, the developers made major zoning variation requests to allow for neces sary accommodations.

Developers want to provide 10 more apartments than the current limit of 14 that the R6 zone and lot size permits. Under the city’s inclusionary housing ordinance, three of the 24 proposed apartments must be considered affordable. The ordinance also allows for two additional units for one affordable unit, bringing the total number of apartments up to 30.

In accordance with parking guidelines, the loca tion also needs 0.55 spaces per bed. Developer Gary Stoltz said while providing parking in the basement of the Masonic Temple isn’t an option, the develop ers have included a call for 10 spaces to be leased at the Holiday Inn parking garage. He also asked to reduce parking to 0.275 per bed as part of the proposal.

The developers’ main argument for this proposal is that Temple’s location is a five to 10 minute walk to the CTA Purple Line and Metra stations and within walking distance of multiple bus stops, a Divvy bike station and several grocery stores.

The building will also add a new rear trash

enclosure and wheelchair lift at the primary entrance, and replace the existing historic windows with wood windows.

The proposal first went through the Evanston Preservation Commission in October, where it was also unanimously voted for approval, with a special staff report issued to recommend granting the three major zoning variation requests.

Still, not all Evanston residents want to see the proposal approved.

At an Oct. 11 EPC meeting, Evanston resident Len Koroski said the committee should take into

consideration a lower unit density than proposed. He said he wants the original structure of the build ing to remain as intact as possible.

“There might be something done internally to have greater sympathy to show a public benefit of retaining what is a great history of Evanston,” Koroski said. “The Masonic Temple is one of Evanston’s most intact and significant institutional resources and is important … for its link to the cultural past.”

City planner Cade Sterling said while these con cerns are legitimate, changing the number of units wouldn’t necessarily result in a change in plans for

the building’s structure.

Sterling said the EPC did have reservations about some of the proposed changes, but after extensive discussions in the meeting, members felt this was the best step forward.

“A way to really preserve buildings is to invest in them significantly and appropriately and give them new life for the future,” Sterling said. “And I think that’s ultimately what (the commission) saw this proposal accomplishing.”

ellajeffries2025@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file illustration by Shveta Shah

Developers want to turn Masonic Temple into a 30 unit apartment building.

NU researchers explore life on Mars

By LEXI GOLDSTEIN the daily northwestern @lexipgoldstein

A new paper featuring Northwestern research comes closer to answering the age-old question asked by scientists, space enthusiasts and David Bowie alike: Is there life on Mars?

Chemistry Prof. Brian Hoffman and research associate Ajay Sharma collaborated with research ers across the nation to study the potential for bacterial survival below the planet’s surface.

For the study, which was published in October, collaborators set six microorganisms found on Earth, in cold, dry environments similar to conditions on Mars. Researchers tested the survivability of the microorganisms against extreme radiation that modeled certain regions of Mars.

“There’s a very low chance — but I think we’ve shown it’s not quite zero — that there is dormant, viable life on Mars,” Hoffman said.

When buried at least 10 meters under the surface and protected from intense gamma radi ation, dormant spores of Deinococcus radio durans, also known as Conan the Bacterium, could survive 280 million years, according to the paper.

Though liquid water has not flowed on Mars for around 2 billion years, meteor impact, which happens often given the lack of atmosphere, could thaw frozen debris that hypothetically contain microbes.

“It’s quite possible that those microbes could have lived normally again, grown, then again, frozen,” Sharma said.

Sharma, who joined Hoffman’s lab in 2009, said their research has provided hope that Conan the Bacterium could still be found on Mars today.

On Dec. 24, 2021, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration detected a marsquake, later determined to be the result of meteor impact. Photos taken by NASA’s InSight lander showed small white dots around the newlyformed crater.

“In the reddish stuff that you’re looking at,

there’s white specks, white chunks,” Hoffman said. “There was ice under there. It’s exactly the scenario that (Michael Daly) said if there was ever life it could happen that it would get rejuvenated.”

Daly, a Uniformed Services University Prof. specializing in radiation, led the study and previously determined that manganese is the protective force in cells against radiation. Manganese is a mineral present in all known living organisms.

The type of manganese in the spores’ cells indicated how resistant to radiation the organism could be, according to Hoffman and Sharma.

“I think the idea was brilliant to connect man ganese study with space,” Hao Yang, a postdoc toral fellow in Hoffman’s lab, said.

Hoffman and Sharma contributed their

knowledge of manganese antioxidants to the paper. Both have researched the antioxidants over the past 12 years using two methods unpair ing electrons: electron-nuclear double resonance spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic reso nance techniques.

The pair’s lab leads the pack in EPR and ENDOR research because they create their own instruments and methods, according to Yang.

In the future, Hoffman and Sharma will con tinue to work with Daly and other collaborators on research of smaller spores.

“I’m sure someone else will try doing it in the near future, but at the moment, no one else has jumped into the pool,” Hoffman said. “So we’re swimming in the pool all by ourselves.”

lexigoldstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

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Illustration by Gemma DeCetra

Northwestern professors contributed to a recent study on the survivability of bacteria in the harsh conditions of Mars. The study used six microorganisms found on earth, including Conan the Bacterium, which utilizes manganese as an antioxidant to be radiation resistant.

brains and

PURDUE AT

By ALEX CERVANTES daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

Sean McLaughlin knew he never wanted to sit at a desk for eight hours a day. He wanted to help people. This realization prompted his decision to chart an academic and career path in STEM, all while playing Division I football.

“I knew the workload was going to be tough, but I knew it was going to be fulfilling in the end,” McLaughlin said.

Standing 6-foot-6 and weighing 275 pounds, it’s easy to see why McLaughlin spends his fall Saturdays on the gridiron.

After appearing in just two games his freshman year and registering 12 total tackles last season, the junior defensive lineman has seen his role increase dramatically in 2022. McLaughlin has become one of the main bodies in the trenches for the Wildcats this season.

Defensive line coach Marty Long said McLaughlin has seen the field more this year after playing as a backup just a year ago.

“This year, (he) got a lot stronger,” Long said. “He’s able to hold a point, he’s really physical and has made himself into a good player.”

The hard work paid off in McLaughlin’s best performance of the season — an eight-tackle, half-tackle for loss display on the road at Mary land. Though NU fell to the Terrapins 31-24, coach Pat Fitzgerald bestowed defensive player of the week honors on McLaughlin for his efforts.

Similar to Long, Fitzgerald said in October that McLaughlin has “worked his tail off” to put himself in a position to become a key piece on the defensive line.

“He’s just been relentless in his work ethic with Jay Hooten and our strength staff,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s just getting better and better (with) each rep, each day, each game. I look forward to watching him continue to grow and improve.”

As a neuroscience major, McLaughlin juggles all that the quarter system can bring, while also preparing for a different opponent every weekend.

McLaughlin pointed to the challenge of balanc ing an organic chemistry class and on-field work last year as a good example of what his in-season schedule can look like.

“It’s known as one of the toughest classes here at Northwestern, so my day would usually start at 5 a.m., and I’d be going until (about) midnight,” McLaughlin said. “It’s from sun up to sun down, with little to no breaks. Those classes are really tough and being able to go day in and day out is really taxing on your body.”

Outside of the challenge of securing good grades, McLaughlin said maintaining his health is the toughest part of balancing football and his classwork.

“The demand for both physical and mental health is huge,” McLaughlin said. “Trying to stay healthy and trying to keep your head above water in school.”

Long said that McLaughlin spends more time in Ryan Fieldhouse than almost “any other fulltime employee.” He’s even bumped into the junior as early as 5:15 in the morning, he said.

McLaughlin’s seemingly relentless work ethic drives his success on the field and in the class room, even as the season wanes to a close this month. Still, Long said people often don’t realize how much time McLaughlin, along with the rest of the team, spend on the field along with their studies.

“He holds a high GPA,” Long said. “He has no problems in the classroom. He would be a 4.0 student if he didn’t have to spend so much time on the football field.”

NU will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana on Saturday to battle Purdue in its penultimate game of the 2022 season. After that, focus turns to a bout with Illinois at Ryan Field on Nov. 26, as the Cats look to reclaim the Land of Lincoln Trophy.

Up front, the Lincoln-Way East High School product is set to play an integral role in NU’s attempts to stymie Boilermaker quarterback Aidan O’Connell and Fighting Illini running back Chase Brown over the next two weeks, respectively.

A life potentially after football is fast approach ing for McLaughlin. His dream, like many other players, is to get to the NFL. But if opportuni ties at the next level don’t arise, he said there are options away from football, starting with his work on the pre-med track.

“Obviously, going to medical school would be one of them,” McLaughlin said of his future goals. “Staying around sports would be another one. (Finding a career) in sports psychology, sports medicine or something along those lines.”

alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

freshman on the frontline

By SKYE SWANN daily senior staffer @sswann301

True freshman defensive back Devin Turner has been coming up big in the last couple weeks for Northwestern’s secondary, earning the team’s weekly defensive Big Playmaker honor for his efforts against Minnesota.

As one of the Wildcats’ youngest players, Turner’s presence on the field is a rare find — but he’s not letting it stop him from making big plays on the field. The Cats’ defensive back recorded a career-high 10 tackles on the Gophers last weekend.

Turner, who has been elevated to the starting posi tion in recent weeks, has been focused on growing his skill and adapting to the college level this year.

The Daily spoke with Turner about his recent start in games and his transition to college ball.

The Daily: Coaches have talked about the next-man-up mentality in the last couple weeks. Why is that going to be so pivotal against Purdue?

Turner: Right now, we have a lot of injuries and we really need everybody to step up. Everybody is talking about how everybody has a role. It’s really important this week because we need everybody, from the scout teams to the starters to the backups.

The Daily: What has your experience been like as a true first year, getting to see so much action and making some plays too?

Turner: It’s a little different than high school. I’ll tell you that much. But it’s fun, being out there with my brothers, being able to play fast, being able to play confident. That really doesn’t start on Saturday. It starts on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, when we’re looking at film and we’re all practicing hard, practicing fast, trying to work on tackling, trying to work on punch ing the ball. That’s a testament to the team and the confidence that they give me because of what we do on the practice field.

The Daily: What was that moment like when you first got the call that you were going in?

Turner: I mean I was a little nervous, knees were knocking, but after that, I kind of settled in and

started playing. I mean it’s football.

The Daily: Is that something you thought could happen this year when you came?

Turner: I did. When I first got here in spring ball, I’m not going to lie, I thought I could have a chance to play. I didn’t think it was going to be that early, but I did think I was going to have a chance.

The Daily: What does it mean to contribute to NU’s secondary unit?

Turner: Oh, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to be a part of this great defensive back legacy, and I just want to be in a pivotal role to make change here and carve a role for myself in the secondary. And, not just even in the secondary, but on the defensive side of the ball and effort as a team.

The Daily: How have some of those older defensive backs helped you make that transition into playing college ball? Are there specific guys that have really helped you?

Turner: Everybody in the defense has helped me out, from the corners to the safeties to linebackers. I would just say everybody has helped me out. Whether it’s just watching film and talking me through it, kind of helps me slow the game down in my head before the games.

The Daily: Obviously, as a true first-year, this is your first time going against the Purdue offense. What

do you think they do best that is going to be a priority in your approach?

Turner: I’d say they pass the ball. They are one of the most passing teams in the Big Ten right now. As the backend and as myself, we got to focus on doing our jobs and focusing on what we’re supposed to do going against them and their pass attack.

The Daily: How do you prepare for such a wide range of different offenses in such a short time?

Turner: I would say that’s a testament to the defensive coordinator, coach (Jim) O’Neil and all the other coaches. I mean they do a lot. They’re up here all night if they can be, to come up with a new game plan back to back and being able to do that.

The Daily: The last couple road games haven’t been ideal for the team. How do you regroup and kind of look forward instead of looking back at those past results?

Turner: We look forward, we don’t look back wards. It’s in the past, and now we got to focus on what’s going on this week in Purdue. We just got to focus on what we can do to improve, figure out what our faults were, things to improve on and not make the same mistakes. So we can go into the next week getting bet ter and better.

John Riker contributed reporting.

Angeli Mittal/Daily Senior Staffer

Junior defensive lineman Sean McLaughlin. McLaughlin has become one of the more central figures in the defensive trenches for Northwestern this season, all the while completing work as a neuroscience major.

Angeli Mittal/Daily Senior Staffer

tenth straight loss or second win?

By JOHN RIKER daily senior staffer @jhnriker

When Purdue and Northwestern last met on the grass of Wrigley Field in November 2021, an ascendent Boilermaker team handled the despondent Wildcats.

A year later, the matchup of rivals seems similarly lopsided. Purdue (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) is in a four-way tie for the lead in the Big Ten West, while NU (1-9, 1-6) is still in search of its first win since August. ESPN’s Football Power Index projects the Cats to have a 12.4% chance of springing the road upset.

Will NU bounce back from its 31-3 road loss to Minnesota last weekend? Three storylines may dictate Saturday’s result.

1. Cats secondary prepares for Purdue’s vaunted passing attack

The Big Ten West division features plenty of powerful running backs — Wisconsin’s Braelon

Allen and Minnesota’s Mohamed Ibrahim are two recent examples who torched the Cats — but the Boilermakers present a much different challenge. Purdue averages more passing yards per game than any Big Ten West team, led by standout senior quarterback Aidan O’Connell.

But in a draining season for the Cats, the secondary has been a bright spot. NU ranks in the top half of the conference in passing yards allowed despite a rash of injuries and shut down the passing attacks of Ohio State and Minne sota in consecutive weeks. The Cats may take inspiration from their approach against the Buckeyes and try to limit Purdue possessions and shorten the game, while playing physical defense on the Boilermakers’ receivers.

2. Ice-cold NU offense weath ering injuries, physical Boilermaker defense

Coming off its lowest-scoring performance of the season and injuries to quarterbacks Brendan Sullivan and Ryan Hilinski, the Cats’ offense is a significant cause for concern. NU has only scored more than 14 points once since

September and will have to keep pace with a Purdue offense that is averaging almost 30 points per game.

Who will be ready to suit up under center for the Cats? If Sullivan and Hilinski aren’t ready to go for Saturday, sophomore Cole Freeman or junior Carl Richardson could receive the start ing nod after late-game appearances against Minnesota last week. The tight end room and offensive line are also in flux. NU will also face an imposing matchup against the Purdue defense, which held the Cats to two touch downs in last season’s 32-14 loss.

“They’re a really physical defense,” senior offensive lineman Charlie Schmidt said. “Their front seven plays super hard, they have talent on the outside and inside when it comes to pass rushing. We’re going to have to try to match their physicality.”

future of members of his coaching staff amid calls from the fanbase for major changes.

“I’ll look at all those things,” Fitzgerald said. “I go through a macro evaluation of everything. I do that throughout the year … we’ve got to be better across the board, and that starts with me.”

Both coaches have had their moments this year. Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, who helped the Cats win the Citrus Bowl in his first season with the team in 2020, led his unit to strong performances against Nebraska and Duke, while defensive coordinator Jim O’Neil’s unit impressed against two highly ranked oppo nents in Penn State and Ohio State.

The disappointing moments, however, have been far more prevalent during NU’s current nine-game losing streak. The Cats are averaging the fewest points in the conference on offense and surrendering the most rushing yards defen sively. Over the course of the Cats’ final games, both coaches — along with emerging starters on both units — will have the chance to prove why they can be part of the long-term solution.

During his Monday press conference, coach Pat Fitzgerald addressed concerns about the

STANDINGS

EAST

3 Michigan (7-0, 10-0)

2 Ohio State (7-0, 10-0)

11 Penn State (5-2, 8-2)

Maryland (3-4, 6-4)

Michigan State (3-4, 5-5)

Rutgers (1-6, 4-6)

Indiana (1-6, 3-7)

WEST

Purdue (4-3, 6-4)

Illinois (4-3, 7-3)

Iowa (4-3, 6-4)

Minnesota (4-3, 7-3)

Wisconsin (3-4, 5-5)

Nebraska (2-5, 3-7)

Northwestern (1-6, 1-9)

johnriker2023@u.northwestern.edu

GAMEDAY

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All material is © 2021 Students Publishing Co. Questions or comments should be sent c/o Gameday Editor John Riker, 1999 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL 60208.

3. Cats’ players and assistants have opportunity to prove their merits for 2023

Alyce Brown/Daily Senior Staffer

Alyce Brown/Daily Senior Staffer

Alyce Brown/Daily Senior Staffer

Joshua Sukoff/The Daily Northwestern

OPINION

LTE: Context is crucial when considering “From the River to the Sea”

I wholeheartedly support Lily Cohen’s celebration of her Jewish identity in her op-ed published last week and would love to take her up on the offer of a Shabbat dinner. Her expe rience as a Jewish student and more broadly as a person of Jewish descent and faith at a time of rising tensions in the US is not one that should be dismissed, but rather one that should be heard and built upon.

That said, I urge her to take into perspec tive not only the broader ramifications of the chant “From the River to the Sea,” but also the empowerment it delivers to the Palestinian people. The origins of this chant are disputed by many, with some linking it to the terror ist organization Hamas, while others see it as a call of freedom for the Palestinian people. But context is crucial: yes, the chant is used by Hamas. Does that mean all there is to this chant is its use by Hamas? No.

Take the phrase “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is Great,” in Arabic. Is it used by terrorists across the globe before they commit heinous acts? Yes. Is that all there is to this phrase? Absolutely not. As a practicing Muslim, I say the same phrase probably more than 100 times a day. By no means does this imply I am affiliated with, condone or am remotely accepting of acts of terrorism committed under the guise of God. To chant “From the River to the Sea” does not automatically mean one seeks the destruc tion of the Israeli State; rather, it is a chant of freedom, of autonomy and of justice for those who were displaced post World War II.

To chant “From the River to the Sea” does not automatically mean one seeks the destruction of the Israeli State; rather, it is a chant of freedom, of autonomy and of justice for those who were displaced post World War II.

The phrase “From the River to the Sea” was adopted by the Palestinian people after the UN General Assembly voted to partition the state into two — a Jewish State was born out of this parti tion in 1947. I argue the vast majority of people who use this phrase, especially on this campus, do not seek the destruction of Israel but rather a unification of the geographical area.

- Hamza Mahmood, Op-Ed Contributor

In an ideal world, both followers of Abraham would be willing to stop fight ing each other and rejoice in their simi larities rather than nitpick between their differences. I understand everyone has a right to an opinion, and everyone has the right to feel offended; however, just because one is

offended does not entail one is offended with due cause.

I disagree with Lily on her stance that “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free” is representative of hate speech and that the University should treat it as such. If she does feel truly offended, I offer to talk with her about this issue not as a Muslim and a Jew ish person, but rather as two people who both believe in the Abrahamic books and two peo ple who want nothing more than this campus to be a place of safety and constructive debate.

I encourage Lily to celebrate her Jewish identity; she is not responsible for the atroci ties committed by the Israeli government, much like I am not responsible for the atroci ties committed by those who claim to follow my religion. Like Lily, I invite those who disagree to come speak with me, voice their concerns and join me for constructive con versation. Each student should be willing and able to stand up for what they believe in, voice their opinions and receive thoughtful engage ment in return, rather than being “canceled.”

— Hamza Mahmood

David: Sensationalization of Black pain must end

LORETTA DAVID COLUMNIST

Content warning: this story contains men tions of anti-Black violence.

Early Tuesday morning, Kirshnik Ball, known as Takeoff of the Atlanta rap trio Migos, was shot and killed. His untimely death was a shock to the hip-hop community. Though he was the quietest member of the trio, Ball’s cadence and lyricism set him apart from partners Offset and Quavo.

Migos first burst into the rap game with their 2013 hit “Versace.” From there, the group was unstoppable. In just a few years, the trio released several chart-topping records including “Stir Fry,” “Walk It Talk It,” “T-Shirt,” “MotorSport,” “Pure Water,” and their most recognizable single, “Bad and Boujee.” Migos played a pivotal role in revamping the Atlanta hip-hop scene, argu ably paving the way for a slew of Atlanta rap pers like Lil Baby, 21 Savage, and Lil Yachty. Apart from revitalizing Atlanta rap culture, the members of Migos set themselves apart from other rappers with their eccentric adlibs and triplet flow.

As a member of such an influential group, one would expect Ball’s untimely death to prompt conversations about his legacy. Instead, the media has sensationalized his death and used it for clickbait. Moments after news broke of Ball’s death, TMZ posted a graphic video showing the slain rapper’s body on the floor. Several close-up photos of his body began to circulate on Twitter.

The chilling audio of Quavo screaming for his music partner, his nephew, went viral on Instagram.

The phenomenon of exploiting Black pain and death for profit is nothing new.

seeing Black people become victims of vio lence that we don’t even hesitate when we see Black people being harmed.

If you pay close attention to the rap game, you’ll begin to notice a trend. So many stars — PnB Rock, Nipsey Hussle, Young Dolph, among several more — have been lost to senseless gun vio lence. In recent years, the untimely death of Black male rappers has become so nor malized that it’s not a matter of who, but when.

Black people deserve the right to grieve privately and remember their loved ones for who they were: brothers, fathers, friends, and more importantly people with feelings, lived experiences and ambitions.

- LORETTA DAVID, Columnist

In this age of social media and tabloids, Black people are often stripped of their personhood, achieve ments and legacy. We are reduced to a statis tic. We as a society have become so desen sitized to Black pain that tabloids think it is acceptable to post videos of a dead Black man lying on the floor. We are so accustomed to

The sensational ization of Black death doesn’t stop at rap pers. In September 2020, Vanessa Bryant sued the Los Angeles Police Department for taking and shar ing pictures of her late husband, basketball legend Kobe Bryant. The lawsuit alleged that employees of the LAPD bragged about the gruesome photos to strangers at a bar and other public set tings. Using the photos of a deceased Black person as social currency is not only a gross

violation of privacy, it is a disservice to Black people across America.

The lack of sensitivity to Black pain fur ther extends to those who are victims of police brutality. I can’t count how many times I saw the video of George Floyd being murdered on TV. The full video of convicted killer Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck has hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. Videos similar to Floyd’s, such as those of Philando Castile and Daunte Wright, are far too easily accessible through a quick Google search.

Our desensitization to Black pain is an alarming trend. Images of Black people are constantly being used by the media as a way to bolster their brands while stripping Black people of their humanity. There is no respect for the deceased, nor for their families. Black people deserve the right to grieve privately and remember their loved ones for who they were: brothers, fathers, friends, and more importantly people with feelings, lived expe riences and ambitions.

Loretta David is a Weinberg Sophomore. She can be contacted at lorettadavid2025@u.northwestern.edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@dailynorth western.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

Crawford: The lasting impact of Donna Summer on music

COLIN CRAWFORD ASSISTANT OPINION EDITOR

If you listen closely to the final track on Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed house album, “Renaissance,” you may recognize a familiar techno synth melody. On “SUMMER RENAIS SANCE,” Beyoncé’s honeyed vocals soar and blend beautifully with a sample of Donna Sum mer’s futuristic 1977 single “I Feel Love.”

This homage to an international superstar is so fitting considering the impact Summer has had on the music industry. She carved out a unique space on the charts as disco became exponen tially more popular in the 70’s.

Summer died in 2012, but she’s still making waves in the music world a decade later. Her reemergence in Beyoncé’s artistic work should be seen as a recognition of a Black female artist whose music had a great impact on the house genre.

Summer first smashed radio norms with her 1975 breakthrough hit, “Love to Love You Baby.”

Her groans and extensive moaning were revolu tionary, challenging notions of what was socially and morally acceptable for radio. Her orgasmic utterances made her a global star and she became the face of disco.

The explicit and erotic nature of “Love to Love You Baby” was extraordinarily different

from other songs of the time. In fact, though the track’s unexpected popularity brought it to No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1976, Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” kept it from being in the top spot. Simon’s ballad was arguably the antithesis of Summer’s sultry sex song.

This success marked the beginning of a string of hits in the ‘70s including “Last Dance” and “Hot Stuff” which crowned Summer the “Queen of Disco.” But Summer was also known as a mainstay on the Dance/Club charts — yet another reason Beyoncé included her song on “Renaissance.”

After her death, Summer remains an inspira tion. In 2020, Kygo released a remix of “Hot Stuff” and in 2021 her estate released the reedited version of her 1981 album, “I’m A Rain bow: Recovered & Recolored.” The 40th anni versary edition of her eponymous 1982 album was released just this month.

Beyoncé has channeled Summer’s soulful spirit especially.

In 2003 on her debut solo album, “Danger ously in Love,” Beyoncé includes an interpola tion of “Love to Love You Baby” in the song “Naughty Girl.” She even starts the song with lyrics from Summer’s classic disco hit.

It is clear that from the start of her career, Beyoncé’s inspiration to be sexy and lustful was Summer. So, it makes sense Beyonce included “I Feel Love” on an album that she said is meant to bring joy and move people.

Beyoncé’s inclusion of Summer’s music in her

projects forbids us from forgetting an icon of the music industry and forces us to recognize Sum mer as the trailblazer she was.

Summer spoke about Beyoncé with Extra TV in one of the last interviews she did — and she made it clear the respect and admiration was mutual. She said she loved Beyoncé and wanted her to “blossom.”

It is important to recognize the titans of the music industry who paved the way for the artists of today. Beyoncé sampled Summer’s discography to pay tribute to an incomparable Black woman who has changed music and radio forever.

Summer’s reemergence in Renaissance is a call back to the beginning of Beyoncé’s solo musi cal journey. It’s an acknowledgement of where Beyoncé has been, sonically, as she moves forward in her groundbreaking, larger than life career.

Donna Summer is and always will be a musi cal legend. She remains to this day the only artist in Grammy history to win awards in four differ ent genres: rock, dance, gospel and R&B. Her impact is widespread and despite being a decade after her death, her soul still has a hold on the music industry and a home in a top album this year.

Colin Crawford is a Medill sophomore. He can be contacted at colincrawford2025@u.northwestern. edu. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to opinion@ dailynorthwestern.com. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.

The Daily Northwestern

Volume 144, Issue 18

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

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From

after the city suspended him for using a city credit card to pay parking tickets, claiming the suspension was racist and retaliatory in nature.

The city terminated Brown, who is Black, the same day it voted to create a reparations fund from cannabis tax money, starting the highly lauded, first reparations program for Black Americans.

Brown encouraged Black employees to seek legal counsel, and called on the city to resolve its internal issues in a way that does not allow for retaliation against Black employees.

“The time in this city for anti-Black behavior, anti-Black policies, anti-Black actions, that time needs to end now,” Brown said.

Local activist and third-generation Evanston resident Darlene Cannon said Evanston has always had a race problem.

Cannon said the city’s Black employees deserve a response from the mayor, City Council and city manager. She said city management needs to ter minate all discriminatory practies immediately, and City Council needs to provide a plan of action to prevent future harm.

“Failure to do so will only prove that ‘Heaven ston,’ the so-called ‘most livable city’ that ‘uses a lens of equity,’ will be considered hollow and performative,” Cannon said.

City Manager Luke Stowe said the city is taking the report seriously. Evanston has launched multiple conversations to discuss the findings with City Council, senior staff, HR, and outside experts, he added. Stowe said the city plans to issue a roadmap addressing the report and recommendations by the end of the month.

“We want to move quickly, but we also want to move thoughtfully and get this right,” Stowe said. “We look forward to working with the group as we move forward together.”

Most of all, the Black Employee Action Group wants City Council to listen to Black staffers and let their voices guide next steps.

“We are demanding funding transparency and accountability to address internal racial equity,” Williams said. “This will not go away — and we will not go away.”

yimingfu2024@u.northwestern.edu

ETHS UN

From page 1

I’m sure to those in power, who need to, by definition of their jobs, make compromises.

But I think that the fact that youth movements tend to have this just unrelenting energy of, ‘No, you can do that. You have to do that. Go do that,’ is just really crucial in getting the people in power to do some of that. If we are yelling at you loud enough that you need to do all of x, you will do some of x.

avivabechky2025@u.northwestern.edu

AMICUS

From page 1

action is indeed overturned.

“The plaintiffs basically say race should not be considered at all in higher education,” she said. “It’s not clear to me what their end goal is, but I could imagine a next step being a ban on collection on racial data (in higher education).”

Pattillo added that states that have already banned affirmative action, including Michigan and California, could provide insight into a world without the policy. However, even this isn’t a perfect model, as public and private universities in those states have still tried to expand opportunities for disadvantaged students without explicitly stating so.

Meanwhile, seventh-year communication sci ences and disorders Ph.D. candidate Momoko Takahashi, discussed her personal college applica tion experience in a brief that argued in favor of overturning affirmative action.

DEMONSTRATION

From page 1

University activities, including meetings, ceremonies and “University business.”

“It kind of treats a protest as an event that gets planned ahead of time,” Whalen said. “That’s not always how it happens.”

Activists have said the University’s guidelines on pre-planned protests contradict the nature of protest as a disruptive act. The proposed policy accounts for these complaints by striking the 48-hour rule and the word “obstruct.”

Reworking the Event Support Team

The Event Support Team is composed of Division of Student Affairs staff who volunteer for the positions. The team’s goal, as listed in the demonstration policy, is to “assist with the management of the event.”

In an email to The Daily, University spokesperson Jon Yates said the team coordinates with event orga nizers, provides them assistance if they need it, and advises “stakeholders on the demonstration policy and expectations.”

But activists have said the team lacks transparency and feel there is a lack of trust between organizers and administration.

“It’s kind of unrealistic that administration is going to be involved in a large way in student demonstra tions, especially if the student demonstration is protesting something that administration is doing,” Whalen said.

Whalen said advocates are trying to reshape the team to internally advocate for organizers to the administration. Instead of holding a management role, the team would serve as a resource for activists.

There is also a proposed revision to the FAQ por tion of the demonstration policy that would list con tact information and names of current team members, which would provide more transparency about the

As an Illinois resident, Takahashi said applying to colleges in the U.S. was frustrating to her at the time. Despite achieving strong grades and getting into “top schools” in both Japan and the United Kingdom, she said she was denied admission into many U.S. schools. She saw many other well-performing stu dents in her high school class face the same results, while she said students with weaker academic records gained admission to these U.S. schools.

“There is a huge problem in the United States with (the) K-12 system. Where you end up in college is largely correlated to your zip code,” she said. “Using race as a measure of that is not the base way to adequately address the racial disparities here in the United States, in terms of educational attainment.”

Takahashi knew one of the writers of the brief, and after relaying her story to them she was asked to help draft the argument. Takahashi said the cur rent system doesn’t actually address educational inequalities. Instead, she supports a shift toward

group’s composition.

Curbing police interactions

One of the major goals for revision is policy that would reduce police interactions. NU’s current policy requires organizers inform police before the demon stration, ensures police are present and allows police to make protesters identify themselves.

“The hard line (the) administration has is, police are never going to be completely gone,” Whalen said. “What Karina, Margot and myself are trying to do is limit that interaction as much as possible.”

The proposed revisions include instructing police to keep a distance from and not speak to protesters. The annotations strike the clause where protesters would have to identify themselves.

The current policy also focuses on the police’s role in protecting property, which the annotations also strike. Whalen said the valuation of property over people should not be in the policy.

Establishing transparency around enforcement

Specific consequences for protesters who violate the demonstration policy are currently unclear. The policy reads that consequences are “context specific” and dependent on the severity of violations, in addi tion to the relevance of other policies or any prior misconduct.

Several activists have previously taken issue with this part of the policy, claiming it leaves students feel ing unsafe and concerned about hypothetical conse quences like loss of visa status or expulsion.

But in meetings with administrators, Whalen said she learned no student has ever been charged with breaching the demonstration policy.

“That’s good to hear that this has not been used in a punitive manner,” Whalen said. “But that is not trans parent at all. The way they worded it on the website,

funding under-resourced schools and increase of academic opportunities in those communities.

She also said universities’ goals toward promot ing diversity are often not clearly defined.

“If the class looks exactly like the racial distribu tion here in the U.S., is that diverse?” Takahashi asked.

“No one has seemed to consider that question.”

Sociology Prof. Vilna Bashi also signed onto Cohen’s brief. She said she’s particularly con cerned that racial inequalities will be left unad dressed in a post-affirmative action world, lim iting access to education — a proven route to reducing economic inequality.

But even if the court ends affirmative action, Bashi said her support for the brief is a commitment that her values won’t change.

“My signing onto it is an acknowledgement I intend to use my career to push towards a more equitable society,” she said.

davisgiangiulio2025@u.northwestern.edu

you think something is gonna happen (to you).”

The proposed annotations to the demonstration policy more clearly outline what realistic enforcement may look like, calling on the University to first opt for restorative or educational intervention whenever possible.

Though no student has been charged with violating the policy, Whalen said protestors have faced disciplin ary actions for protest-related incidents, like property damage during demonstrations.

“Solely violating this policy is unlikely to result in suspension or expulsion for students,” the proposed annotation reads. “However, violation of other Uni versity policies during a protest or demonstration may result in formal student conduct action.”

Moving toward a receptive administration

Whalen has presented a broad overview of proposed changes to the University’s Policy Review Committee, which writes the demonstra tion policy. The committee will convene Winter Quarter to review the annotations line by line.

From initial meetings with Roma Khanna, associate provost for strategy and policy and head of the PRC, Whalen said it appears most of these changes will pass through smoothly. However, she expects more clarity after the initial com mittee meeting.

“Everyone (in the committee) seems very receptive to the changes,” Whalen said. “(But) I’m interested to see which ones they think are not fine.”

Whalen is planning to facilitate more conver sations before the policy is solidified, including with activist groups. While the demonstration policy is scheduled to undergo routine review in August 2023, Whalen said Khanna is working to move the date up to late winter or early spring.

joannahou2025@u.northwestern.edu

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Rachel McCardell returns for ‘unfinished business’

By KATE WALTER daily senior staffer @katewalter03

When graduate student Rachel McCa rdell was an underclassman, Northwestern cross country routinely finished in the bot tom half of the Big Ten and the Midwest Region. Qualifying for NCAA Division I National Championships seemed like a far-off dream, she said.

But that changed when Jill Miller became head coach in 2019, setting the Wildcats on a new path.

McCardell said the team used to feel NU’s academic demands limited its athletic potential, but Miller challenged the team to expand its vision of success both on the course and in the classroom.

“The foundation for her was (believing) that she could be an excellent student and an excellent athlete,” Miller said. “We really worked on rewiring that to say excellence is something that can be pervasive in all areas. I feel like she grew tremendously in terms of belief in herself.”

Since Miller’s arrival, McCardell has become one of the best runners in NU’s

history and led the program to its stron gest season in decades. The Michigan native individually qualified for the NCAA Championship in 2021 and this year helped the team punch its first ticket to the big dance in 20 years.

After finishing 65th at NCAA Midwest Regionals her freshman year, McCardell climbed the ranks to place third in 2021, the highest-ever regional finish for an NU runner. She has improved her 6k time by more than three minutes over her collegiate career, continuing to progress this year with a personal record of 20:11 at the Bradley Pink Classic.

Beyond the cross country course, McCardell is a campus tour guide and a member of Extreme Measures a cappella group. She is an Academic All-American, Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distin guished Scholar.

Miller’s encouragement of both athletic and academic goals has paid off for McCa rdell and her teammates over the course of four seasons. NU is one of two top ten academic institutions to qualify for NCAA Division I Championships this year, along with Stanford.

A place in the history books

Just three seasons ago, NU finished 13th at both the Midwest Regional Champion ships and Big Ten Championships. In a dramatic improvement, the Cats took fifth at Big Ten’s and second at Regionals this year, their best finishes since 1986 and 2002, respectively.

McCardell said she decided to stay with the program for a fifth year to write this kind of history. While she qualified for NCAA Championships as an individual last season, team qualification was still on the table as an unfinished project, she said.

Graduate students Hannah Hall and Olivia Verbeke also decided to finish out their collegiate eligibility at NU.

Verbeke agreed that she felt the program was so close to achieving its goals after her senior season.

“Coming back to be a part of that and to achieve that with the team is kind of a memory and a goal that I wouldn’t want to miss out on,” Verbeke said.

Miller said these graduate students’ expe rience with the program is invaluable for younger members of the team, and has helped created “meaningful change” in the program.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Putting the team first

In a sport like running, which can at times seem individualistic, McCardell’s dedication to the team and its goals has been steadfast.

Verbeke said McCardell has been a “pil lar and a rock” for the team over the past five years.

“What a lot of people don’t see is all the behind the scenes, how much hard work she puts in every single day,” Verbeke said. “All the while still being the most support ive teammate and bought into the entire team’s goals.”

McCardell’s individual qualification for the 2021 NCAA Division I Cham pionships was the first appearance by an NU runner at Nationals since All-American Aubrey Roberts in 2018. At Nationals, McCardell placed 82nd in a field of more than 250 runners.

While McCardell said competing at the season’s biggest meet was an incredible experience, she missed having her team mates by her side.

“Trying to head in with the team is just so much more exciting,” McCardell said. “There’s an extra element of motivation

I think I missed that without them

Finishing the project

The Cats had their sights set on Nation als entering 2022. Kicking off the season ranked fourth in the Midwest region, they kept their heads down and held steady. In October, NU moved into second in the regional rankings and came in at No. 29 in the national poll — its first national rank ing since 2002.

With its second place Regionals finish, NU will return to the big dance for the first time in decades. McCardell called the achievement a “a validation of all the hard work put into this program.”

By doing so, they fulfill a vision Miller outlined seasons ago and McCardell held in sight over the progression of her career.

“Qualifying to Nationals as the goal felt so personal and we hadn’t done it yet,” McCardell said. “So I felt like, ‘How could I leave?’ We still had some unfinished busi ness in the Big Ten and the NCAA. And I wanted to come back and see that through.”

katewalter2025@u.northwestern.edu

Second-half explosion leads NU to win over Georgetown

By ALEX CERVANTES daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

It was a tale of two halves for Northwest ern’s starters in their win against George town Tuesday night.

Entering the game, coach Chris Collins said he planned for the Wildcats (3-0, 0-0 Big Ten) to play largely on the perimeter in an attempt to combat the Hoyas’ rim protection with Akok Akok and Qudus Wahab. He said they also hoped to slow the game down so it wouldn’t turn into a high-scoring track meet.

His game plan worked to perfection in the contest’s opening minutes, as NU opened up a 9-2 lead behind a trio of threepointers from redshirt senior guard Chase Audige and junior guard Ty Berry.

But Georgetown responded and knot ted the game up at nine. From there, the

two squads exchanged blows. The Cats got most of their production from a bench con tingent of junior center Matt Nicholson, who had a career game with nine points and nine rebounds, and sophomore guards Julian Roper II and Brooks Barnhizer.

Nicholson spent his first two years in Evanston primarily on the bench, playing behind Pete Nance and Ryan Young. Now, Nicholson’s role has expanded and Col lins leaned on him heavily Tuesday after graduate student forward Tydus Verhoeven picked up two fouls.

“Now, (Nicholson’s) getting his oppor tunity,” Collins said. “That’s what’s fun. You see someone who’s been working and stuck with it… And now that his opportunity is here, he’s taking advantage of it.”

Nicholson poured in all nine of his points and snagged all nine of his rebounds in the first half — including five offensive boards. Roper and Nicholson’s chemistry shone too, and, combined with Barnhizer,

the trio tallied 18 points – outscoring the starters in the first half.

The emergence of the bench trio kept NU in the game after poor performances from its triumvirate of captains. Audige, senior guard Boo Buie and senior forward Robbie Beran totaled just nine points on 3-of-18 shooting from the field. Buie even headed into halftime scoreless.

Whether Collins lit a spark at halftime or gave his starters some of “Michael’s secret stuff” remains up for debate, but the Cats’ engine came out of the break firing on all cylinders.

Off an assist from Buie, Beran buried a corner triple to open up NU’s second half scoring. Moments later, streaking down court, Audige scored a wide open transi tion layup. Collins pinpointed that bucket as the kickstarter to Audige and the starters’ second half surge.

“Our guards got some layups, which was big,” Collins said. “It really unlocked

Audige … When you’re a good scorer, if you can get a layup and can see the ball go in (that’s huge).”

Soon after Audige’s bucket, Buie finally got on the board, scoring on a driving layup. Once the Cats’ two lead guards saw the ball go through the nylon, they were electric.

Down 42-40, Buie and Audige ignited a 13-4 run to turn the tide. Roper’s putback layup capped off a sequence that boasted a triple from Buie, followed by three consecu tive buckets from Audige as Patrick Ewing called a 30-second timeout to stymie the Cats’ momentum.

“We settled in (and) slowed down a bit,” Collins said. “We got some good shots and were able to get a little distance there.”

A three-pointer from Hoyas’ forward Bryson Mozone trimmed the lead to seven with less than eight minutes left before Buie put the game to bed. The New York native converted a pair of layups and

a three-pointer in under two minutes to hand NU a 10-point lead. The Hoyas would never cut the lead back to single digits, as the Cats pushed to a 75-63 victory on the road.

It’s no secret NU is going to ebb and flow based on Audige, Buie and Beran’s performances. They are the featured scor ing trio this season, recording a combined 40 against Georgetown, and Collins will look to get them the ball often, regardless of whether they’re hot or cold. But if Roper, Barnhizer and Nicholson can replicate their efforts against the Hoyas, they can and will elevate this squad.

“You always want to learn through win ning, especially winning on the road,” Col lins said. “There’s been a lot of talk about not finishing games … we really played well those last few minutes. We executed, we got good shots, we defended.”

when you’re running for your teammates, and

there.”

Illustration by Olivia Abeyta