The Daily Northwestern — November 20th, 2023

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Monday, November 20, 2023

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Illustration by Beatrice Villaflor

Since 2004, notable Northwestern figures have funded a political action committee that tries to make ‘friends’ with Illinois lawmakers. Are their small donations moving the political needle?

By WILLIAM TONG

daily senior staffer @william2tong

Evanston P.O. Box 62 may seem indiscriminate among hundreds of others in the city’s ornate post office. However, it’s registered with an organization that spends thousands of dollars annually

dispatching its members to cocktail hours and lunches in Illinois’ high-end restaurants and hotels.

That’s not only for its members to sample hors d’oeuvres. It’s about reaching into the political world.

The University Public Issues Committee, or UPIC, doles out much of its money for members to attend political fundraisers. There, they have the chance to socialize with some of Illinois’ most influential local, state and federal lawmakers.

Despite being one of more than 2,000 Illinois political action committees — which pool money to support candidates’ campaigns — UPIC has unique financial ties. More than 99% of UPIC’s money comes from Northwestern trustees and other University affiliates.

Past donors include some of NU’s largest benefactors and high-level officials. Former Board of Trustees Chair Pat Ryan, former University President

Henry Bienen, trustee Judd Weinberg and current Board of Trustees Chair Peter Barris are some of many influential figures who have contributed to UPIC. Since 2004, the group has donated to politicians such as Evanston Mayor and former Illinois state legislator Daniel Biss and Illinois House

» See UPIC, page 4

Residents frustrated over NU MOU News deserts on ‘Five folks with a vote’ intend to approve benefits package, Reid says

By LILY OGBURN

daily senior staffer @lilyogburn

Residents expressed frustrations about Northwestern’s proposed Memorandum of Understanding — and councilmembers’ intention to approve the agreement — at a town hall meeting Thursday.

Over 40 residents attended the town hall virtually and in person to discuss their concerns with hosts Alds. Devon Reid (8th) and Bobby Burns (5th).

The town hall precedes the upcoming City Council meeting on Nov. 20, where councilmembers will vote on whether to rebuild Ryan Field

Recycle Me

and rezone the area to allow concerts. NU’s updated MOU, which establishes plans for University-city negotiations and includes a community benefits agreement for Evanston, will also face a vote.

Councilmembers voted 6-2 to table the three ordinances related to Ryan Field at Monday’s City Council meeting.

After NU released an updated MOU on Sunday, some councilmembers said they needed more time to review the full proposed agreement.

The new MOU includes an expanded community benefits agreement, in which NU pledged to pay $150 million to Evanston over 15 years — up

» See CBA MEETING, page 10

the rise, per report Medill study finds 2.5 publications closing per week

By SHUN GRAVES

the daily northwestern @realshungraves

Daily file photo by Seeger Gray

Residents raised concerns about NU’s proposed MOU at Thursday’s town hall with Alds. Bobby Burns and Devon Reid.

Local news in the U.S. has fallen further into a crisis this year, with an average of 2.5 publications shutting down every week and journalists numbering ever fewer, according to a report released Thursday by the Medill School of Journalism.

The State of Local News report by Medill’s Local News Initiative tallied more than

130 print and digital outlets that have closed or merged this year. When legacy outlets close in smaller cities and rural areas — especially if they have high poverty rates — the region often sees no replacement, creating what researchers call “news deserts.”

The researchers also highlighted positive developments and innovations in the local news industry that serve as “bright spots” amid a bleak picture for local journalism.

“We profiled 17 local news organizations, both startups and legacies from across the country, whose models are showing promise for the future,” Medill Senior

» See NEWS DESERTS, page 10

INSIDE: Around Town 2 | On Campus 3 | In Focus 4 | Gameday 6 | A&E 8 | Classifieds & Puzzles 10 | Sports 12

2 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

AROUND TOWN

Evanston Latinos to start a community kitchen

By ANAVI PRAKASH

the daily northwestern @anavi_52

Evanston resident Elizabeth Jimenez sells tamales on a street in Chicago.

Her business, she said, is important to her for various reasons.

“It’s a way to connect with the taste and (my) culture,” Jimenez said in Spanish.

Jimenez’s daughter, Angelly Andrade, said the Andrade family has always been part of the food industry. Andrade’s grandparents had a tamales cart in Rogers Park until her grandfather passed away in 2021 from COVID-19.

However, she said, Jimenez has been in search of community resources to help her further her family’s tradition of sharing food.

“It’s not just tamales,” Andrade said. “She’s trying to branch out with flavors.”

Evanston Latinos plans to start a community kitchen in June 2024 to help local entrepreneurs like Jimenez cook and sell their food on a larger scale, according to Rebeca Mendozá, the organization’s executive director.

Evanston Latinos was founded to help the city’s Latine community respond to and recover from challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, Mendozá says the organization has shifted to helping provide ongoing support to the community.

Evanston Latinos recently surveyed residents about what projects they wanted to see from the organization, and several respondents said they wanted a kitchen. Mendozá said the kitchen is meant to be “an affordable community space” for entrepreneurs who want to expand their work in the food industry.

“They wanted us to invest in them and the livelihoods of their families, so we’re looking to support that,” Stephanie Mendoza, the president of Evanston Latinos and Evanston’s city clerk, said.

Evanston Latinos held a course to help people interested in using the community kitchen earn their food handler licenses in early November.

Though many logistics of the kitchen are still

Daily file illustration by Lily Ogburn

Evanston Latinos’ new community kitchen aims to help local entrepreneurs in the food industry and bring more Latino culture to the city’s forefront.

in the works, the organization knows the impact they’re hoping to achieve through the project.

Evanston Latinos Board Member Nancy Castillo said access to a commercial kitchen will help local entrepreneurs showcase their “untapped skills” to the community.

While business owners often face challenges, such as the lack of a social network and access to getting loans, Castillo said she hopes the kitchen will help lower these barriers.

“It’s a pathway to create economic self-sufficiency,” Castillo said.

Stephanie Mendoza said she hopes the kitchen will give food entrepreneurs a place to cook without having to cross bureaucratic hurdles like food safety compliance and other permits.

In the long run, she believes the kitchen will help local businesses provide Evanston residents with an “authentic palette” without having to travel beyond the city’s borders.

“Our food is what brings us together. It’s a culture,” Stephanie Mendoza said. “There’s kind of this longing. Just being able to taste something that takes you back home is so special.”

She also said she hopes to expand education initiatives through the kitchen. Some community members interested in the kitchen have already hosted tamale-making classes. Stephanie Mendoza said she hopes this continues when the kitchen is complete.

As a mother raising her children in Evanston, she said there is greater potential for the kitchen to cater school events with “culturally relevant” food.

Emphasizing Hispanic culture through such efforts is especially important to Rebeca Mendozá. She feels that the Latine community is “under the radar” in Evanston. In an ideal world, she said the work Evanston Latinos does would be absorbed into broader organizations.

“It’s been really tough. I wish we didn’t have to exist,” she said.

To continue highlighting their community, along with the kitchen, Evanston Latinos hopes to open a cultural center, Rebeca Mendozá said.

While the group is still searching for a location for its kitchen, Evanston Latinos is currently raising funds for the project. They are hosting a fundraiser at the Robert Crown Community Center on Dec. 2, where each entrepreneur interested in the kitchen will have a presentation or samples of the food they plan to sell using the kitchen.

Castillo said she hopes the kitchen is the start of embedding Latine culture into the “mainstream” Evanston community. “(The kitchen) isn’t just a thing. It’s a thing connected to other things,” she said. “If Evanston can do more of that, we can better thrive together.” anaviprakash2027@u.northwestern.edu

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ON CAMPUS

NAISA celebrates indigenous heritage

The Daily Northwestern www.dailynorthwestern.com Editor in Chief Avani Kalra

By EDWARD SIMON CRUZ the daily northwestern

eic@dailynorthwestern.com

@edwardsimoncruz

General Manager Stacia Campbell

Content warning: This story contains mentions of death and anti-Indigenous violence.

At Norris University Center on Wednesday, students could help themselves to food from a special buffet catered by Ketapanen Kitchen and enjoy a drum and dance performance. The event was part of Northwestern’s 30 Days of Indigenous series, which consists of various events and educational offerings for community members to learn more about the cultures and experiences of Indigenous people.

Ketapanen Kitchen Executive Chef Jessica Walks First created the menu for NU Dining’s Native American Heritage Celebration based on ingredients many Indigenous people use during the fall harvest season — cooking bison chili, harvest salad and pumpkin cornbread. Walks First visits many different colleges where she uses food and performance to educate students on the prevalence of Indigenous cultures.

“There are still so many misconceptions about our culture,” Walks First said. “For example, people eat Indigenous foods every day, but they don’t even know that. … Our contributions to society are more vast than they realize.”

For Weinberg junior and Native American and Indigenous Student Alliance co-chair Athena GoingSnake, a member of the Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Creek, the 30 Days of Indigenous series highlights visibility of Native American students on campus.

“We have this goal that we’re working towards to create visibility for ourselves, and having this month gives us a platform to do that,” GoingSnake said. “But in other months, I feel like it quiets down, especially with the media.”

As NAISA strives to maintain its visibility throughout the year, it works with administrators and other affinity groups on campus, as well as other Native American communities in the Chicago area.

GoingSnake serves as co-chair alongside

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A group of Indigenous drummers and dancers performed at the Native American Heritage Celebration on Wednesday.

Weinberg sophomore Olivia Bailey, a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

Both hope administrators do more to recognize Native American and Indigenous communities on campus and to address the involvement of NU co-founder John Evans in the 1864 Sand Creek massacre against Arapaho and Cheyenne people in Colorado. They hope to see the University move beyond land acknowledgements to accomplish this.

“Sometimes I don’t think (land acknowledgements are) super genuine, because they’re not always talking about the reason why we had them or the meanings behind them about settler colonialism and then Northwestern as a colonial institution, which we all contribute to,” GoingSnake said.

NAISA, Multicultural Student Affairs and the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research will lead a procession on Nov. 20

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recognizing the Sand Creek massacre.

Other upcoming events in the series include a discussion with MSA on Nov. 27, a presentation from MSA Associate Director Aaron Golding on Nov. 28 and an opportunity for craft-making at the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center on Nov. 29.

NAISA will then prepare for its annual spring Pow Wow, a cultural celebration during which members of different Indigenous communities come together to dance, eat and socialize.

Bailey encourages community members to recognize the importance of these events and the continued presence of Evanston’s Indigenous community.

“We’re still here, and I hope that a lot of the students here can gain a little bit more knowledge on Native Americans, our culture and what we do here at Northwestern,” Bailey said. edwardcruz2027@u.northwestern.edu

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UPIC

From page 1

Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch (Communication ’93). UPIC has also sponsored campaign events for politicians, including former Chicago mayor and Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Communication ’85).

“It’s not well known, and for a reason,” UPIC treasurer Bruce Layton said, referencing UPIC given NU’s educational nonprofit status. “We have to maintain that wall of separation between the University and the political world.”

The University and UPIC’s overlapping administration, interests and donor base present a myriad of gray areas. For some, organizations like UPIC spark concerns of breached policy, conflicts of interest and undue institutional influence. For others, UPIC’s relatively small checks do little to push the political needle in a fundraising environment dominated by wealthy donors.

‘A way to make friends’ NU is prohibited from participating in “any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office” as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, according to University policy.

Yet, for almost two decades, more than 100 of the University’s current and former trustees, former senior administrators, faculty and alumni have fed small but consistent donations through UPIC to local, state and federal politicians’ campaigns. The contributions range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

Layton, who is also a former special assistant for government relations to NU’s president, started UPIC more than 19 years ago. He said he wanted to create a way for the University and the higher education community to engage more in the political

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

process.

“It’s a friend-making operation,” he told The Daily. “It’s a way to make friends.”

Layton retired from the University in 2021 and is still a listed officer of UPIC, according to the PAC’s 2021 Federal Election Commission filings.

Other individuals affiliated with NU who have operated the political committee include Paul Schultz (McCormick ’84, ’85, Kellogg ’89) and Jennifer Kunde, the current interim special assistant to the president for government relations.

In her capacity as an NU employee, Kunde said UPIC and the University’s government relations office do not have formal communications.

Kunde said UPIC exists to serve higher education interests and use donations to “counteract” other groups’ opposition to federal work study, Pell Grants and other higher education funding.

“People have to run for office by raising funds from other people,” she said. “Until that system changes, this is the world we live in.”

Since its inception, UPIC has raised more than $545,000 from about 120 donors, according to the most recent FEC filings. Of that total income, at least 93% came from NU’s current, former and life trustees, according to The Daily’s data analysis. About

6% came from other University affiliates, including current and former professors and former administrators. It has spent almost $483,000 on candidates as of July.

‘Their problem, not mine’ Nonprofit organizations like NU are barred by federal tax law from participating in political campaigns. In practice, these nonprofits are prohibited from directly making donations to candidates, parties or other political committees, according to Shanna Ports, senior counsel for campaign finance at the Campaign Legal Center.

“501(c)(3)s are charities, so they’re supposed to stick to their charitable purpose,” Ports said. “To get the benefit of this tax-exempt status and to attract donors by offering them this tax-deductible

contribution, they have to abide by these limits.”

Nonprofits can, however, spend some of their money lobbying public officials or communicating with decision makers to advocate for policies. NU has its own lobbying arm through both its government relations office and hired lobbyists, which act as liaisons between the University and elected leaders.

Unlike NU’s lobbyists, UPIC maintains a “wall of separation” from the University in a few key ways, making it a non-connected PAC under federal law, Layton said.

To determine whether a PAC is non-connected, the FEC generally considers whether the committee is “financially supported” by the nonprofit. “Organizational independence” is also a factor, according to a July 2023 FEC advisory opinion.

The committee does not receive direct University funding and requires no approval from NU administrators before making political choices, Layton said.

Still, NU senior leadership knows that UPIC exists. Kunde and Layton confirmed current President Michael Schill as well as former University presidents Henry Bienen and Morton Schapiro are aware of the committee’s existence.

Whether UPIC’s position as a PAC with a donor base of primarily NU affiliates matches the legislative intent behind the prohibition on 501(c)(3) political donations is a “philosophical question I can’t really answer,” Layton said.

Biss, Evanston’s mayor, received $9,000 in donations from UPIC while serving as a state representative and senator from 2011 to 2019, according to FEC filings. For part of his tenure, he served on the Illinois House Committee on AppropriationsHigher Education.

Biss told The Daily he had the “impression” that UPIC was affiliated with NU. For him, that affiliation raised questions.

“What is the governance of an organization that is, by tax law, necessarily independent of the University but also is kind of seen as affiliated with it?”

Biss said. “What does the word ‘affiliated’ mean?”

He did not hesitate to take the donations, though.

Those questions were “their problem, not mine,” he said.

‘A game plan’ A March 2002 report titled “Now you can start your own PAC” inspired Layton to consider creating UPIC. Published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, the article concluded that a decade of FEC advisory opinions had made it easier and more appealing for colleges to participate in the political process through setting up non-connected PACs. “I suppose we always thought about how we could do it,” Layton said. “This gave us a game plan.”

Outside of his work in NU government relations, Layton asked an election-lawyer friend to help him set up UPIC. After Layton discussed forming the PAC with NU trustees, the committee filed its organizational paperwork with the FEC in July 2004.

UPIC is directed by an executive board of seven members who pick which candidates to support, Layton said. He added that the board includes himself, Kunde, a second NU staff member, an NU trustee, an election lawyer, a lobbyist and a financial executive. While Layton did not name the other executive board members, he said they are all NU parents or alumni.

Each election cycle, UPIC’s board meets to discuss which candidates to fund. According to Layton and Kunde, selected candidates typically fall into three categories: those who support higher education and research goals, officials who represent districts where NU community members live and University alumni.

In total, UPIC has disbursed almost 38% of its contributions to University alums, which Layton said can help “increase the influence of the University community in government.” This includes prominent state officials like Welch (D-Chicago), Illinois’ House speaker.

Still, UPIC’s support is just a drop in the bucket for most candidates. In Welch’s case, UPIC has donated $31,000 to his campaign over almost two decades — compared to more than $14 million he raised in the third quarter of 2022 alone, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

UPIC’s money usually goes to incumbents and candidates who have held some prior political office.

Additionally, though the group does not have an official partisan alignment, UPIC donates most of its money to Democrats because of Illinois’ left-leaning politics, Layton said. Overall, about 83% of UPIC donations went to Democratic Party candidates.

Layton said while he and Kunde don’t expect

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

UPIC’s donations to have a substantial effect on elections, it’s great to have another “friend in Congress.”

‘You have to do the same thing’ UPIC’s setup is rare in Illinois, according to David Tretter, president of the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities. Tretter’s statewide organization advocates for private, nonprofit higher education interests through lobbying and communications. It represents more than 50 private institutions including NU, the University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago.

Tretter said he wasn’t aware of UPIC or any political committees like it in the state.

The Daily contacted government relations personnel at several Illinois colleges and universities to verify whether they were aware of PACs making donations to candidates to promote their institutions’ interests.

Representatives at Northern Illinois University, Western Illinois University, Eastern Illinois University, the Southern Illinois University system, Roosevelt University, Loyola, Illinois State University, UChicago and the University of Illinois system wrote they were not aware of any such PACs affiliated with their respective institutions.

UPIC has donated almost $4,000 more to nonfederal Illinois candidates than Tretter’s group has, according to a Daily data analysis of publicly available records. Tretter said he is unsure whether university-specific political committees like UPIC sway the government to support some schools rather than others.

“I guess that’s possible,” Tretter said. “To me, there are some built-in guardrails.”

Because legislators prioritize bringing resources to schools in their districts, Tretter said it’s unlikely that proposals favoring certain institutions slide through the general assembly without pushback.

But, how affiliates of individual private schools engage politically isn’t up to him, Tretter said.

“I can’t tell them no,” he said. “On the other hand, I’m saying, look, ‘This is what we’re doing for the good of the whole order, and I need your support on this.’”

The Daily found at least five PACs similar to UPIC across the U.S. that have consistently made federal contributions in the interest of public and nonprofit private schools since 2005. The groups have disbursed an average of almost $311,000 since they were established as of July, according to campaign finance data from the FEC. However, collegespecific political committees across the U.S. operate mostly at the state level. In Michigan, PACs tied to the University of Michigan system, Ferris State University, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, Central Michigan University and others have been active since 2008. Most started organizing before 2005.

Robert Boyce, treasurer for the Friends of Ferris PAC, said his organization’s donations have helped secure government funding for a new library and student center at Ferris State.

He pointed out that other higher education institutions are in the game too, putting pressure on Friends of Ferris to keep up.

“If other people are going to approach the politicians, you have to do the same thing to stay on equal grounds,” Boyce said.

‘Show your face, shake the hand’ Layton said UPIC makes many of its donations at or for fundraisers.

It’s a strategy interest groups often use to gain access to candidates, said Craig Holman, a government affairs lobbyist at watchdog group Public Citizen.

“If it’s done in person, you get to show your face, shake the hand of the lawmaker and get to know him or her better,” Holman said.

Public Citizen broadly opposes corporate influence in government, he said, adding that PACs have “disproportionate power” in politics and tend to represent institutions, not individual voters.

Not all PACs similar to UPIC have used this strategy of donating in person — and Holman said it may have hurt their efforts.

Citizens for Higher Education, a state-based PAC started in 2002, mainly represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s interests. They had a policy of donating money via cover letter only and never in person, assistant treasurer John Wallace told The Daily.

Wallace said the policy was meant to make sure “there can be no question of any quid pro quo,” such as a political favor given in exchange for money.

Wallace does not recall the PAC’s money being

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used to attend fundraisers, either. While members of the PAC may have attended such events, they would likely have done so in their individual capacity, he told The Daily in a Nov. 16 statement.

Over its 12-year lifetime, Citizens for Higher Education spent more than $1.4 million. It caught the attention of local critics, who said the PAC was garnering financial legislative support for the Chapel Hill campus at the expense of other colleges in the state, according to the Triangle Business Journal in 2006.

Wallace said advocacy for Chapel Hill benefitted all schools in the system. Over time, the PAC’s purpose evolved to promote the general interest of all public higher education in North Carolina, he said.

In 2014, the PAC’s leadership decided to shut down Citizens for Higher Education. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United v. FEC had opened the floodgates for unlimited corporate political spending, minimizing the impact of smaller PACs like Wallace’s.

“We were very successful until about 2010,” Wallace said. “In the years thereafter, the ability to make contributions and help support those candidates that favored public support for public higher education was greatly diminished.”

Since 2014, Citizens for Higher Education’s leaders established 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations that have evolved into Higher Ed Works, which Wallace said advocates for policies beneficial to higher education across North Carolina. The group doesn’t lobby or make campaign contributions, Wallace

said, instead relying on research and “nonpartisan communications.”

Holman at Public Citizen said Citizens for Higher Education’s policy of never making donations in person may have stifled its success.

“As much as I admire (their policy), because they’re not trying to get the quid pro quo, they will tend to be less effective,” Holman said.

Layton told The Daily UPIC members are “not asking for anything” when they attend political fundraisers, meaning there is no possibility of the type of quid pro quo Wallace and Holman mentioned.

‘Getting good will’ The political impacts of UPIC’s campaign contributions are difficult to gauge, Layton said.

“A $1,000 donation gets us the opportunity to go to a fundraiser and get before a candidate — that’s all,” he said. “It’s just political participation, just being involved in the process.”

Lawrence Rothenberg, a political science professor at the University of Rochester who formerly taught at the Kellogg School of Management, said donations from education PACs like UPIC tend to have a small impact on overall legislation — a sentiment he also told The Daily in 2006.

However, he said, donations can sometimes help interest groups gain access to legislators, especially at the state level.

“You are getting good will … some belief of future access,” said Rothenberg, who researches interest groups. “People have done experiments in various ways to say ‘If you’re a donor, you’re more likely to

get access to an elected official than if you’re not a donor.’”

Outside of higher education organizations, other political contributors across the U.S. — many of which have less stringent limits than traditional

PACs — have affected education policy through donations.

For instance, The Club for Growth is a conservative organization that advocates for the closure of the U.S. Department of Education and the end of the federal government’s role in education. Its super PAC, which can spend unlimited money, has raised north of $29 million between January and September.

Moreover, universities are currently under political attack, Layton said. State politicians such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have made moves to overhaul higher education institutions like the New College of Florida. DeSantis appointed trustees who fired the sitting president and disbanded the school’s diversity office.

“Groups like UPIC can help dispel political leaders’ views of the academic world as aloof and outof-touch and can be useful in mitigating attacks on colleges and universities,” Layton wrote in a Nov. 8 statement to The Daily.

Even in a hyper-politicized environment, higher education continues to receive ample government support, Layton said.

Institutions are especially successful in raising money for biomedical research initiatives, for example, when universities rely on their connections to engage political leadership, he added.

In a system where organizations compete for only so much money, the marginal advantage one group gains over its counterparts can be important, according to New Trier Democrats president Patrick Hanley.

“The value of favorable regulatory treatment is so high that companies are willing to spend, even for the off chance that they might either help someone who would be supportive of them make it into office or keep that door open to them,” he said.

State Sen. Laura Fine (D-Glenview), who has received $7,500 from UPIC since 2014, said her understanding was that UPIC represents the University. Fine’s district includes NU’s Evanston campus.

Fine said donations don’t change how she approaches her job.

“If they donate to me, that’s up to them,” she said.

“But that’s not going to change the way I worked on legislation.”

Similarly, Mayor Biss said the donations he received from UPIC didn’t affect the way he

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approached his work in Springfield. UPIC’s donations were minimal compared to the total funds Biss raised as a legislator: at least $8.8 million, according to data from Illinois Sunshine.

“Personally speaking, I spend a lot of time disappointing my donors, voting the way they didn’t want (me) to,” Biss said.

In 2017, Biss co-sponsored a bill that closed tax loopholes for private equity and venture capital firms, earning him a letter from an investment executive asking him to return more than $5,000 in donations.

He speculated UPIC may have donated to him because he represented the Senate district in which the University is located. Calling himself a “take every meeting” politician, Biss said he’s unsure if UPIC needed to donate to him for NU to get his attention.

Layton agrees that NU is prominent enough to get public officials’ attention without donating to them, drawing on his experience in NU’s government relations office.

Biss said past UPIC donations don’t affect how he approaches his role as Evanston’s mayor either. To him, going against his constituency’s priorities because of decades-old donations would be “political suicide.”

‘Working for the same goals’ Lobbying is usually more impactful than campaign contributions for interest groups like colleges and universities, Rothenberg said.

“A lot of (the lobbying) is undoubtedly to get the dollars Northwestern wants for its various programs,” he said. “That’s really going to be much more where the action is, certainly at the national level.”

NU and its hired lobbyists have spent more than $13.5 million on lobbying since 1998, according to data from OpenSecrets.

The University’s government relations team has worked with state officials to obtain funding for transportation construction around NU’s Chicago campus, the Querrey InQbation Lab and other projects, according to a statement from Kunde in her capacity as an NU staff member.

Still, the age of PACs is far from over.

“They wouldn’t be making campaign contributions if they thought they weren’t having any impact,” Holman said.

Layton and Kunde maintain UPIC’s donations have no intended or incidental effects on the success of NU’s lobbyists.

However, it is unlikely that organizations like UPIC keep their lobbying and political contribution branches completely separate, said Alisa Kaplan, executive director of Reform for Illinois. The organization works to increase public participation in government and address the role of money in politics, according to its website.

“They’re working for the same goals,” Kaplan said.

‘Giving credit’ UPIC has donated more than $10,000 to candidates so far in 2023.

The PAC remains small, Layton and Kunde said, and doesn’t plan to expand its presence in the political world. UPIC doesn’t aim to broaden its donor base — overwhelmingly University trustees — outside of the NU community either.

“Our lane is super small and super narrow,” Kunde said. “We don’t see ourselves as big players.”

Which game UPIC is playing still isn’t quite clear.

As Kaplan, Holman and Hanley said, donations often help small political committees gain access to candidates. Plus, Hanley said, candidates and their donors frequently discuss policy positions and legislative goals at fundraisers.

But, Layton said, UPIC members do not talk “legislative strategy or revisions” with candidates at fundraisers. The group’s donations only serve to “thank” candidates for policies they’ve promoted, he added. To him, that gratitude can “reinforce” the policies that the candidates and PAC support.

Layton said people need to understand the politicians on the other side of a political transaction, though he then walked back his categorization of contributions as “transactions.”

At the end of the day, he said, each of UPIC’s donations are just nice gestures for politicians.

“It’s not a transaction,” Layton said. “But we’re giving credit to people who want credit for what they do.”

williamtong2026@u.northwestern.edu

Saturday, November 25, 2023

NORTHWESTERN at ILLINOIS

THE ‘CATS ARE GO NG B WL NG NU veterans reach likely end to old-Ryan Field era

By JAKE EPSTEIN

daily senior staffer @jakeepste1n

About an hour and a half after senior linebacker Xander Mueller’s game-clinching interception that prompted a purple pandemonium and left the Ryan Field goalposts in danger of a dip in Lake Michigan, Saturday’s November sun began to make its descent above the now-silent 97-year-old stadium.

Northwestern had just secured bowl eligibility for the first time since 2020 in a 23-15 victory over Purdue, and the players’ celebration poured into the locker room and onto the team bus. Students rushed the field and saluted the team’s new permanent chief in coach David Braun.

“It’s all about sending (the seniors) off the right way,” Braun said. “For us to have our last game here in the old-Ryan Field and secure bowl eligibility is really special.”

In the wake of the proverbial party that overtook the corner of Central Street and Ashland Avenue, purple chairs and popcorn boxes populated the stadium’s empty stands. For one final closing shift this season — and likely forever — Ryan Field’s custodial and grounds staff swept through their postgame tasks in the team’s traditional stomping grounds.

By sundown, the field’s gates were padlocked for good, likely marking the end of a near-century long era. At a crossroads of new and old, the Wildcats (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) leaned heavily on their veterans on Senior Day to bludgeon the Boilermakers (3-8, 2-6 Big Ten) and seal a bowl bid.

“It’s kind of a poetic ending for me on Senior Day,” graduate student quarterback Ben Bryant said. “I grew up watching Northwestern… had a bunch of family, friends, coaches and teachers at the game today.”

Before freshman kicker Henry Helms trotted out

to boot the opening kickoff into the skies, a plethora of pregame proceedings honoring the team’s seniors and graduate students ensued. Bienen Director of Bands Dr. Mallory Thompson, who is retiring at the end of the school year, even led a swan song that capped off decades of service to the University.

Braun said although Senior Day marks an exciting celebration of athletes’ accomplishments, the emotions that come with the occasion can pose significant challenges.

“Emotions are an indication that guys really care, but you also gotta manage those emotions and stay present,” Braun said. “I give our guys a lot of credit for getting back in the locker room, resetting and getting ready to go play.”

Senior running back Cam Porter pounced on early rushing opportunities, waltzing into the endzone untouched for the opening score less than four minutes into the first quarter.

While the Cincinnati, Ohio, native appeared to regain his burst of several seasons’ past in Camp Randall last Saturday, Porter continued to up his production against Purdue, posting a season-high 95 rushing yards on 17 carries and punching in two touchdowns.

Although the offense sputtered after Porter’s early conversion, veterans and young contributors alike on NU’s defensive unit slammed the door shut on the Boilermaker offense.

Capping off a first-half shutout, senior defensive back Garnett Hollis Jr. snagged Purdue quarterback Ryan Browne’s errant throw from his own end zone — though the offense failed to convert its golden field position into points.

With about two minutes remaining in the third quarter, the ‘Cats carried a two-point advantage, but the Boilermakers seemed to have snatched second-half momentum. On the 48-yard line, Bryant, graduate student wide receiver Cam Johnson and the entire NU quarterback room each saw the

same development.

“When I saw the look and knew I was gonna get the ball, I was just thinking there was no way I’m gonna get taken down here,” Johnson said.

As Purdue defensive back Markevious Brown looked to wreak havoc in the backfield on a corner blitz, Johnson had just one man to beat on the sideline once he hauled in the catch. Johnson juked right, sprinting and swerving around redshirt senior tight end Thomas Gordon’s crucial downfield block and into the south endzone for a 52-yard touchdown.

Despite the Boilermakers’ valiant comeback push, Porter’s 34-yard scamper for a score and Mueller’s dagger-esque pick proved the difference between the two teams, as the two captains helped push the ’Cats to the magical, yet evasive, six-win mark.

“It’s a reflection of what development really looks like — guys that have stayed the course,” Braun said.

“You look at Cam and the injuries he’s overcome, (and) Xander’s development … it’s just guys that have bought in to find a way to improve. Those guys are team-first dudes — they embody that entire senior class and the upperclassmen on this team.”

Earlier in the week, then-interim head coach Braun said words couldn’t do justice to the impact his captains played in sparking the group’s turnaround from a 1-11 2022 campaign and crafting a winning culture. Now, Mueller and Porter have helped pave the way for their first postseason action since the Citrus Bowl in both of their freshman seasons.

For Porter, the moment still hadn’t sunk in as he reflected on his whirlwind career in Evanston.

“This is an awesome place. It felt like yesterday we came in during COVID,” Porter said. “Through the adversity, we’ve stayed strong and we’ve stayed together. It was a blessing to come away with the win and go out the right way.” jacobepstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

S TA N D I N G S EAST

Michigan Ohio State Penn State Maryland Rutgers Michigan State Indiana

(11-0, 8-0) (11-0, 8-0) (9-2, 6-2) (6-5, 3-3) (6-5, 3-3) (4-7, 2-6) (3-8, 1-7)

WEST

Iowa Northwestern Wisconsin Illinois Nebraska Minnesota Purdue

(9-2, 6-2) (6-5, 4-4) (6-5, 4-4) (5-6, 3-5) (5-6, 3-5) (5-6, 3-5) (3-8, 2-6)

GAMEDAY Gameday Editor Lawrence Price Writer Jake Epstein Designer Angeli Mittal Gameday is a publication of Students Publishing Co. A four-page issue is usually published on the Thursday prior to Northwestern home games and a two-page issue is published on the Thursday prior to Northwestern road games.

All material is © 2023 Students Publishing Co. Questions or comments should be sent c/o Gameday Editor Lawrence Price, 1999 Campus Dr., Evanston, IL 60208.

Angeli Mittal/Daily Senior Staffer

RIVALRY WEEK: A TRIP DOWN I-57 SOUTH

‘Cats hope to take back the hat in Urbana-Champaign

By LAWRENCE PRICE

daily senior staffer @lpiii_tres

With momentum, energy and hopes at its highest since the 2020 season, Northwestern has one more task on the agenda before preparing for postseason play: a trip south to face its in-state foe, Illinois.

The Fighting Illini (5-6, 3-5 Big Ten) aren’t just another run-of-the-mill Big Ten West opponent. Their rivalry with the Wildcats (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) dates back over a century.

Although Illinois has taken the Land of Lincoln Trophy back to Champaign in the last two contests, coach David Braun and NU bear a different type of mojo than in year’s past — and the proof is in the pudding.

Here are three storylines to follow before NU’s trek down I-57 to face the Fighting Illini this weekend:

1. Porter’s 2020-esque performance on Saturday ups the possibility of him surpassing 100 rush yards for the first time this season Senior running back Cam Porter returned to his freshman-like form on Saturday.

Whether it be back-to-back rushes that put the ‘Cats on the board first or his 34-yard burst through traffic for his second touchdown of the day, Porter finished with 17 carries for 95 yards alongside his two touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards in a game for him since December 2020.

The Cincinnati native credited his blockers for the successful day at the office.

“Kudos to the offensive line, they blocked their butts off and we were able to run the ball pretty well,” Porter said. “We knew they played a lot of man coverage, so if a crease was there and I was able to hit it, I knew I would be able to have an opportunity to score.”

Porter’s outing provides optimism for NU’s offense in the upcoming contest. With two of his top three yardage totals coming in the last two weeks, the rusher’s production has opened the offensive coordinator’s Mike Bajakian’s bag of tricks.

More importantly, though, it ups the chances of him finally eclipsing the 100 rushing yards mark in a game this season.

Porter has continually expressed his unbotheredness with not reaching triple digits, rather, his focus on serving the team in any way possible. Yet, don’t be mistaken, what running back wouldn’t want to reach that goal.

“Let’s understand that efficiency leads to explosiveness when you trust it,” Braun said. “Credit to our offense for trusting that … it led to some great things there in the second half.”

2. NU’s offensive line looks to build on strong half against Purdue, scraps first half woes Sixth-year quarterback Ben Bryant couldn’t catch a break in the first 30 minutes of Saturday’s affair.

The quarterback was under pressure by the Boilermakers defense consistently, getting sacked five times in the half. Although he threw for 111 yards,

the ‘Cats 11 total rushing yards by the intermission and zero points after the offense’s opening drive rang loud throughout Ryan Field.

Luckily for NU, that wasn’t the case in the second half.

“Our offensive line as the game went along did a great job of just anchoring in and finding time for Ben,” Braun said. “You can see a couple adjustments (like) that long touchdown by (sixth-year wideout) Cam Johnson.”

Braun initially attributed much of the 52-yard receiving touchdown to the veteran duo, emphasizing Bryant’s impressive recognition and Johnson’s yards-after catch. Right after, though, he broke down how the offensive line was the foundation of the play’s success — it gave Bryant time to hit the wideout with ease.

The ‘Cats offensive line undoubtedly won the trenches battle against the Boilermakers in the second half, surrendering zero sacks.

The group’s dominance also went hand-in-hand with the run game’s momentum and the offense’s ability to march down the field. In comparison to a strugglesome first half, NU cooked up 17 points and 88 rushing yards after the break.

“We said we were going to call some different things,” Bryant said of the team’s strategies in the second half. “The offensive line did a lot better and I’m very happy to be playing with those guys.”

3. ‘Cats not setting sights on bowl game, but on taking the Land of Lincoln back to Evanston After the jumbo-sized clock hit double zeros on Saturday, Ryan Field broke out into a frenzy. Students draped in purple rushed the field, players bowled their helmets down the sidelines and ‘David Braun’ chants came to life at midfield.

Of course, this was expected for a program reaching its first bowl game since 2020. Not to mention, a program coming off a 1-11 season and a chaotic summer — to say the least. Even so, with postseason play already in store, some may view NU’s next regular season contest as a chance to take the foot off the gas pedal.

However, Johnson doesn’t think conversations of staying focused will be needed in the locker room.

Porter reaffirmed this statement, reminding himself of last year’s 41-3 loss to their in-state rival.

“We didn’t come out on top last year, it left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Porter said.

When Braun mentioned the rivalry week battle to his players in the locker room after last Saturday’s win, he could already tell that they were ready for war once again.

Outside of facing a rival like Illinois, with the Land of Lincoln Trophy on the line and another road game, the ‘Cats are fueled by everything that’s currently on the line.

“There’s plenty of opportunities for us to stay laser focused on just our next opportunity,” Braun said.

“There was an energetic group that I think fully understands that we still got one opportunity in front of us in the regular season (and) it’s a big one.” lawrenceprice2024@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Joshua Hoffman

8 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

Photo courtesy of Seeger Gray

The “How To Defend Yourself” cast. After starting over the summer, the actors will finally take the stage this weekend.

A&E arts & entertainment

‘How to Defend Yourself’ explores empowerment

By KARA PEELER

daily senior staffer @karapeeler

Content warning: This article contains discussion of rape, sexual assault and violence.

With boxing gloves hanging and Greek Lifeaesthetic posters plastering the walls, Shanley Pavilion has transformed into a college gym. Spectrum Theatre Company will grapple with what it means to heal amid rape culture in its production of “How To Defend Yourself ” during four shows Friday and Saturday.

In the play, two sorority sisters lead a selfdefense workshop for five other college students.

The class allows the students to find power and connection in light of another sister being hospitalized after two fraternity brothers sexually assaulted and attacked her.

“It’s taking the conversation of rape culture and actually placing the blame where it belongs on the misogynistic systems in place, as opposed to blaming other women for their own trauma,” said Communication junior and Director Julie Monteleone.

Monteleone said she’s wanted to work on a production that talks about an unfortunately relatable experience in an empowering way for years. They don’t want to retraumatize the audience but rather have heart behind emotionally raw depictions.

Communication sophomore Zoe Davis, the producer, said this play dismantles talking about the taboo, including graphic discussion of sex, sexual assault and violence.

Davis wants the community to understand the topic further by “seeing art and feeling what the characters feel.” With actors right in front of them in the intimate Shanley setting, it’s “real and tangible,” they said.

With a contemporary setting and college-aged characters, the script might feel familiar for many in the audience, Monteleone said. She said the play intends to represent diverse experiences of sexual assault and recovery.

Rape culture is pervasive, entrenched into culture and impacting people daily, according to Communication senior Lucia Padilla Katz who plays workshop co-host Kara. She said she hopes women-identifying people can find healing and male-identifying people can find understanding from the play.

“It’s not an isolated thing. It’s not just what happens at a frat party,” she said. “From the time we’re children to now, these gender dynamics are at play and put women in compromising positions.”

But the show doesn’t present itself as a solution according to Communication freshman Mia ElYafi, who plays college freshman Mojdeh. Rather, she said, the show’s strength stems from recognizing societal issues.

“There’s no bad guy, and there’s no good guy. All of the characters are so complex and so morally not linear,” El-Yafi said. “I think that’s what makes the play so powerful.”

The set changes as characters and their relationships evolve to reflect that complexity, Communication sophomore and Scenic Designer Avelina Sanchez said.

Davis said the team worked with Northwestern’s Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators to learn how best to provide resources to the audience. The program includes more than 20 resource listings, such as the Northwestern Women’s Center and the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

This weekend, Spectrum will display its community art piece. The project will feature collages of images people said resonated with them around the topic, along with words and poetry relating to

people’s experiences.

The team called for submissions about how people defend or empower themselves — emotionally, mentally or physically. The project aims to honor people’s strength and voices, according to Monteleone.

“If we can maybe just acknowledge how painful this is and how upsetting it is, maybe we can find healing through that,” Monteleone said.

Spectrum also hosted a self-defense class Nov. 11, opening up 25 slots for participants to learn personal safety skills from a trainer and build confidence. But these classes alone can’t help a systemic issue, Davis said, so the class conversed about how to keep voices active about the issues facing assigned female at birth individuals.

People who are socialized as women and femme people, Monteleone said, are taught to stifle their anger and play nice. This play should celebrate that anger, empowering people and inciting them to action.

“I hope that this play makes people angry,” they said. “I’d love for audiences to leave really pissed off about the state of the world, the state of what it’s like to be a woman in the world and actually use that anger to create change.” karapeeler2025@u.northwestern.edu

Horowitz, Hart duo talk making it big in La La Land

By LEXI GOLDSTEIN

daily senior staffer @lexipgoldstein

How does one make it big in La La Land? Married duo Jordan Horowitz (Communication ‘02) and Julia Hart know a thing or two about making waves in Los Angeles, having spent the past decade writing, directing and producing feature films.

Northwestern’s student-run Studio 22 Productions hosted a conversation with Horowitz and Hart Thursday evening, where they shared their views on awards, social media, screenwriting and defining success in Hollywood.

RTVF Prof. Kyle Henry moderated the discussion in Ryan Auditorium.

After the initial writing process, Hart said, each layer of success — studios greenlighting the project, getting good reviews, etc. — is a bonus, but is not the driving point of filmmaking.

“Focus on the part of the process that you can control in order to keep having a career,” Hart said.

While Horowitz’s career in entertainment began after graduation, film is a second career for Hart, who was a teacher for eight years prior. The couple has plenty of credits under their belts. Horowitz was a producer on “La La Land” and “The Kids Are All Right,” and Hart wrote American western “The Keeping Room.”

Together, they own the production company Original Headquarters and wrote “Miss Stevens,” “Fast Color,” “I’m Your Woman,” and most recently, the adaptation of Jerry Spinelli’s “Stargirl.” Some may also remember Horowitz from correcting the “Moonlight” and ”La La Land” Best Picture fumble at the 89th Academy Awards.

Horowitz also emphasized the importance of mindset in career longevity, specifically in the entertainment industry. Relationships and business knowledge are keys to success that can be overlooked when stakes are high starting out, he said.

“It’s a long journey,” Horowitz said. “The way you define success will shift quite a bit over your career.”

Hart said writers should try to hit the “bulls-eye” of being in the zeitgeist while contributing new ideas to the topic.

Both writers agreed new screenwriters should share their work as soon as they think it’s sharable, and they often send early drafts of their work to loved ones and trusted peers. They said mistakes are a part of the writing process.

“Failure is as much a part of your life as an artist as hopefully some successes, and you can also define for yourself how you define those terms,” Hart said.

She said once she and Horowitz figured out the balance and boundaries, it became “so beautiful” to create things together. The couple finds that they’re

more respectful and cordial at work, which taught them to practice those qualities in their home, Hart said.

Hart left the audience with a heartfelt note on the power of kindness in a successful Hollywood career.

“It’s not worth burning bridges. It’s not worth stabbing people in the back; every nasty thing you do sticks to you,” Hart said. “I swear to God a huge part of the reason I have the career I do is because of how I treat the people I work with.”

The crowd of undergraduates, many hoping to go

into the film industry, took these words to heart.

Communication sophomore and Studio 22 Public Relations Co-Chair Ashley Qiu said she enjoyed hearing about Horowitz’s journey into the industry from NU. “It’s not very often we get big guests like this,” Communication sophomore Jessie Chen said. A lesson she took from the event, she said, is that “every sort of job that you end up in is another opportunity.” lexigoldstein2026@u.northwestern.edu

Lexi Goldstein/Daily Senior Staffer

Writing partners and married couple Jordan Horowitz and Julia Hart discussed their experiences in the entertainment industry for a Studio 22 Productions event.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

9

Main Squeeze band members talk tour, new album

By JACKSON WEIER

the daily northwestern @jacksonweier

Two weeks after their most recent tour stop in North Carolina , The Main Squeeze’s keyboardist Ben “Smiley” Silverstein and lead vocalist Corey Frye sat down with The Daily to talk about their ongoing tour and Silverstein’s new solo album “The Vibetape.”

Formed in 2010, R&B-jazz-soul fusion band The Main Squeeze got their start as a party band at Indiana University. To date, they’ve played over 1,000 shows together.

On Oct. 20, The Squeeze (as they refer to themselves) touched down in Chicago to perform at Thalia Hall “Chicago was a highlight for sure,” Silverstein recounted. “It was a nice homecoming sort of show.”

Frye also showed love to a venue right in Northwestern’s backyard: Evanston SPACE .

Frye said the venue was one of the first he ever performed at. Lincoln Hall and The Squeeze’s recently visited Thalia Hall are two of his other favorites, he added.

While the band is currently back at the “Squeeze House” in Los Angeles on a break from tour, they’ll be back on the road soon for four more shows this holiday season, including “Squeezegiving” in Indianapolis, near where the band originally took shape over a decade ago

Days after “Squeezegiving,” Silverstein —known individually as Smile High— will be dropping his new, highly collaborative album “The Vibetape” on Nov. 24.

The album is a joint project between Smile High and The Main Squeeze, featuring over a dozen vocalists including rapper 6LACK, R&B singer Tiffany Gouché and rapper Felly.

The recording process was highly collaborative and energetic, Silverstein said.

“We host all these parties at our house that are for everyone in L.A. that’s either an artist, music producer, musician, writer or just loves music,” he said. “If you were there, you experienced that it was magic, you left inspired, and that was it. But we tried to make it where some of these moments were captured forever in some form.”

Numerous singles from the project are streaming now, including piano-ballad-turned-funk-tune “All for You,” a six-year project, and smooth atmospheric “Kinks” .

“You make all these songs that live on your hard drive,” Silverstein said. “I think (‘All for You’ is the) one I’m most proud of, that it stood the test of time, and it’s finally out in the world.”

The single “Kinks,” is another example of the collaborations The Squeeze said they live for. The band originally met 6LACK and QUIN both featured on the track, as their neighbors in L.A., hearing each other’s music coming from their respective houses, Frye said.

“A lot of the relationships out of The Vibetape

Courtesy of The Main Squeeze

Smile High, keyboardist from R&B-jazz-soul fusion band The Main Squeeze, will release his highly collaborative project “The Vibetape” on Nov. 24.

have been spurred out of moments like that, which makes the collective energy around the project just so good and positive because that’s

what it was built out of,” Frye said. jacksonweier2026@u.northwestern.edu

‘The Holdovers’ is a heartwarming holiday success

By RHYS HALABY

daily senior staffer

Alexander Payne’s “The Holdovers” is this holiday season’s first festive hit — and rightfully so.

The film follows a simple story centered around a trio of characters that gradually become an adoptive family while staying, or “holding over,” at a boarding school during winter break.

The “father” of the group is Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), an irascible and devilishly well-spoken boarding school teacher with obvious disdain for many of his students. Chief among them is Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), who is as witty as he is troublesome.

When Tully’s plans change at the last minute, he joins the small group of unlucky students that have to hold over for Christmas and New Year’s. Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) rounds out the central group as a grieving mother and cooks for the holdovers.

The movie reflects its early ‘70s setting through more than the classic grainy lens with which it is shot. The boys pack their “valises” for the winter break, and Hunham’s sardonic disposition is a remnant of old-school teaching practices absent in today’s classrooms. This commitment to accuracy with respect to the

time period deserves credit for transporting viewers to an era that isn’t colored by today’s hyperactivity.

The filmmaker builds on this mood from the outset through the lyrics of Damien Jurado’s “Silver Joy:” “Let me sleep in the slumber of the morning / There’s nowhere I need to be and my dreams still are calling.” These opening credits (another vestige of the era) evoke the sense of homeliness a moviegoer feels during the holidays.

Onscreen, on the other hand, Tully, Hunham and Lamb begin their break with no idea of how they might reconcile their differences and enjoy Christmas. This is where the movie’s magic begins.

The best part of “The Holdovers” is the rapport between Tully and Hunham. Giamatti takes the lead in a revivified performance, which Sessa plays off of through the nuance of his character. Writer David Hemingson’s dialogue feels realistic and genuine, and the result is characters we can easily root for, even when they don’t root for each other.

It’s reasonable to say that this movie is overrated. Despite audience and critic scores above 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, the plot is spread thin at times and, particularly early on, the pacing is too slow. It has some extraneous elements; a few of the holdovers have out-ofplace scenes. These scenes do contribute to

Illustration by Yash Markendey

“The Holdovers” sees Paul Giamatti revivified in a holiday indie hit.

the mood, but they don’t always contribute to the plot.

With that said, at the end of the day, it’s a story about characters connecting with each other by learning to understand one another.

Perhaps, the near-universal approval of this

film is a reflection of a starved appetite for that story. Particularly at the holidays, it’s one that moviegoers will want to hold close to their hearts. rhyshalaby2026@u.northwestern.edu

Jeremy Zucker woos fans with ballads at the Vic Theatre

By RACHEL YOON

the daily northwestern @rxchelyoon

Singer-songwriter Jeremy Zucker captivated fans with an emotional performance at Chicago’s Vic Theatre Tuesday in the latest stop of his “is nothing sacred?” tour.

A last-minute venue change did not take away from the atmosphere as fans filled the gold-trimmed intimate venue.

The lights dimmed earlier than expected, silently introducing indie artist Kevin Atwater and his acoustic guitar right as fans were settling in. His sweet, melodic ballads were on brand with the soft boy image he pushes online.

Atwater’s performance was offset by a quick turnover from pop princess Tiffany Day. Day brought the energy up, dancing around the stage, engaging with the audience and incorporating EDM-style beats into her set.

I was surprised the two openers were paired with each other considering their differing genres and energy levels, but they seemed to be well-received by the crowd.

The blinking of the stage lights signaled the start of a tension-raising light show. A folded screen in the middle of the stage flashed scintillating plumes of blue, while vibrations of the instrumental prompted cheers from fans. The anticipation broke when Zucker finally came out, situating himself on top of a small grassy hill.

Clad in jorts and a matching navy cardigan, the singer seemed in control of the stage, reflected by his calm demeanor and vocals. Zucker started strong with “i need you (in my life)” from his latest EP, leaning into

falsetto to deliver the desperation of the song.

Alternating between strong, introspective ballads and energetic, light pop songs, it was clear Zucker had mastered how to draw out emotional highs from fans and hype up the crowd. Even with the groovy and alternative “all the kids are depressed,” Zucker and his band were able to transition seamlessly into a slow and sad “better off.”

A quick switch to red lighting and a drum solo set the stage for crowd-pleaser “somebody loves you.” While more chill in the first verse, tension built up throughout the song, and Zucker featured fans bobbing up and down through a camera connected to the screen.

The unique lighting paired with each song

heightened on the experience. The audience became silent when a single light shined on Zucker, accompanied by a keyboard at the edge of the stage. A black and white close-up streamed in the background as he serenaded the crowd with “scared.”

Zucker switched up the flow by telling the audience about dressing up as a skeleton this Halloween and that the next song would be “an inside joke.” I was pleasantly surprised to see Zucker cover “Kyoto” by Phoebe Bridgers.

On a sentimental note, Zucker got vulnerable while explaining his reason for writing “oh, mexico.” He said that while it may seem like “the grass is greener on the other side,” the song was for everyone who knows it’s

not and keeps trying anyway. It was my first time hearing the song, and seeing how open Zucker was with the crowd enhanced the experience.

Finishing the set with “end,” fans weren’t satisfied as they shouted for an encore. Moments later, Zucker returned to the stage with a cheeky, “I didn’t say that was the last song.”

After a guitar lead-in for an acoustic, heartwrenching “always, i’ll care,” the night ended on a high with the funky, spirited banger “supercuts.” rachelyoon2027@u.northwestern.edu

arts & entertainment Editor Elena Hubert Assistant Editors Emily Lichty Mary Randolph Design Editors Danny O’Grady Paloma Leone-Getten Jay Dugar/Daily Senior Staffer

Indie-pop singer-songwriter Jeremy Zucker encapsulated fans with introspective ballads at the Vic Theatre for his “is nothing sacred?” tour Tuesday.

10 THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

CTA Yellow Line train crashes at Howard station, injures 38 Chicago Transit Authority Yellow Line train crashed in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood Thursday morning, injuring 38 people and halting Purple, Red and Yellow Line services.

According to the Chicago Fire Department, the Yellow Line train crashed around 10:40 a.m.

CBA MEETING From page 1

from $100 million over 10 years in the initial proposal. Many of the benefits included in the proposal are reliant on the council allowing concerts at the stadium.

The expanded MOU and community benefits package are the result of weeks of negotiations with the University, Reid said at Monday’s meeting.

The town hall allowed residents to voice their opinions NU’s MOU and how City Council should vote. Many residents urged Reid and Burns to go back to the negotiation table with NU. However, Reid said “five folks with a vote” on City Council are in support of approving the MOU.

NEWS DESERTS From page 1

Associate Dean Tim Franklin, who is also the John M. Mutz Chair in Local News, said at a news conference Thursday.

The highlighted publications range from South Carolina’s The Post and Courier, which has helped fund reporting at small newspapers across the state, to the startup website Mississippi Today, which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting.

But since 2005, the U.S. has lost nearly a third of its newspapers and more than 70% of their employees, the researchers found. The troubles extend beyond printed newspapers.

Digital-only outlets have struggled as well, Franklin said.

“In the past five years, the number of local digital startups has roughly equaled the number that shuttered,” Franklin said.

People living in news deserts are forced to rely on national media for information, leaving them in the dark about local issues. Studies have linked the demise of local newspapers to corruption, squandered taxes and government inefficiency.

More than half of U.S. counties have either

on the 7500 Block of N. Paulina, where the Howard CTA station is located. NBC5 Chicago reported that CTA said a Yellow Line train had struck another CTA train in the Howard Rail Yard.

CFD responded to the crash site, and Evanston Fire Department forces helped evacuate Purple Line riders from a train that had stopped near Benson Ave. following the crash. The city of Evanston closed Chicago Ave. between South Blvd. and Howard St. for several hours this morning as responders made their way to the scene.

At a Thursday afternoon press conference, CFD officials announced that of the 38 people injured in the crash, 23 were transported to area hospitals and at least three were critically injured.

CTA also shut off power to the Purple and Red Line trains, which both end at the Howard station, along with the Yellow Line. EFD announced at about 5 p.m. that the Purple Line had resumed service, and that the Red Line was running at a reduced rate.

In a statement, CTA said “Purple Line riders can use the #205 Chicago/Golf bus route

or other adjacent bus routes. Yellow Line riders should use the #97 Skokie bus route as an alternative.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker also acknowledged the “terrible news” of the crash on X, formerly Twitter.

“My administration is closely monitoring the train derailment on the North Side and will direct any available resources needed,” Pritzker wrote. “Thank you to the CFD firefighters and first responders on the scene.”

“I couldn’t call it a done deal now, but there are five councilmembers who, as it stands today, support it,” Reid said.

On Oct. 30, councilmembers voted 5-4 to introduce the Ryan Field ordinances, with Mayor Daniel Biss breaking a 4-4 tie.

Several residents said they disapproved of the council’s disregard for the recommendation of the Land Use Commission, which recommended that the council vote against concerts at Ryan Field in October. The commission’s hearing on the project came before NU announced the CBA. “Councilmembers who want to see this zoning happen (should) apologize to the (Land Use Commission), to members who spent hours listening to oral testimony, hours reading testimony and voted overwhelmingly not to approve the zoning,” Evanston resident

Caroline Latta said.

However, Reid and Burns acknowledged that the commission is a “recommending body,” and the council is not required to follow its recommendations.

Resident Jill Greer also noted the MOU implies that if the city wishes to amend the ordinances after signing the agreement, the city would be legally liable.

“Northwestern (is) asking the city to definitively acknowledge that Northwestern is relying on the ordinances as approved,” Greer said. “I think Northwestern has protected itself and drafted a very one-sided agreement.”

Greer said that while NU’s MOU is perpetual, the community benefits agreement only lasts 15 years. She argued that the city will have no legal standing to negotiate continued benefits because it will be unable to amend

its ordinances without potential legal action from NU. Burns said that he would raise questions about this part of the MOU at Monday’s meeting.

Some residents said they felt the city should have organized a publicly-appointed task force to negotiate community benefits with NU. Reid said that while he supported “another process” for evaluating and negotiating the agreement, instituting a task force now would “derail” the process.

“I wish the process would have been better, but the process was what it was,” Reid said.

“The publicly appointed team are the nine councilmembers and the mayor (who) were elected by the residents to represent you.”

one or no remaining local outlets. Using a model created this year, Medill researchers predict more than 200 counties could join the list of news deserts within the next five years.

“I’ve seen us increasingly move toward a country in which we are journalistically divided between those who tend to have multiple sources of local news and those who do not have even a single source of reliable local news,” Medill visiting professor Penny Abernathy said.

Franklin pointed to consolidation by owners like Gannett to blame for loss of journalists, which owns many of the state’s daily publications outside of Chicago. Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain, cut 600 jobs last summer alone.

Both newspapers and digital-only startups have struggled with attracting advertisers and subscribers. Franklin highlighted bipartisan legislation proposed in Congress this year to provide tax credits to small businesses that advertise in local publications.

Chicago-Main Newsstand in Evanston has witnessed both the decline of print circulation as well as dropping interest in regional publications. Sales of The New York Times’ Sunday edition have remained strong unlike those of local newspapers, newsstand manager

— Lily Carey

lilyogburn2026@u.northwestern.edu

Shun Graves/The Daily Northwestern

Local and regional newspapers, like these on sale Thursday at the Chicago-Main Newsstand in Evanston, have fallen deeper into a crisis, a new report by Medill researchers found.

Eric Ismond said.

But in addition to the Chicago newspapers, Evanston still has multiple digital and print outlets.

“In an area like this, we have a lot of options

for the bigger papers,” Ismond said. “In smaller towns — the local newspaper, if that goes away, there are not very many options.” shungraves2027@u.northwestern.edu

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11/20/23

FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 20, 2023

ACROSS 1 Repair, as torn clothes 5 Kite dangler 9 Garments with underwires 13 Protected, at sea 14 Spanish “other” 15 Georgia’s state fruit 16 *Result of a hockey penalty, often 18 62-Across contributor 19 Heavy shoe 20 Softhearted 21 Moody music genre 23 *Field of expertise for corporate attorneys 25 One part in a hundred 27 DDE’s WWII command 28 Curvy letter 29 Tolstoy’s “__ Karenina” 30 Like some charity golf tourneys 32 *Primate passenger on a rocket ship 37 Mary, Queen of __ 38 Jump 41 Mop (up), as gravy 44 Aunt, in Spanish 45 Ethyl __: nail polish remover option 48 *Good find for a traveler on a budget 51 40-Down doc 52 Starlike flowers 53 Italian playhouse 55 Sip slowly 56 Piece of carry-on luggage, and what the answer to each starred clue literally is 59 Scout unit 60 Dorothy and Toto creator L. Frank __ 61 Serve a meal to 62 Restaurant review app 63 Retired fliers: Abbr.

64 Sounds of disapproval

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11/20/23

By Tom Locke

DOWN 1 Helpful inset in some video games 2 “Xanadu” band, familiarly 3 Nursery arrivals 4 Antelope’s playmate on the range, in song 5 Tom Cruise film with a “Maverick” sequel 6 “About time!”

7 Tehran inhabitant 8 Sam Smith’s “__ Me Down” 9 Vegan protein source 10 Worrisome engine sound 11 High-speed Amtrak trains 12 Molelike mammals 15 Laundry cycle for a tough stain 17 Attire for a lazy Saturday 20 Board, as a bus 21 Clean water org.

22 Fellows 24 Wolfe of fiction 26 Baseball hats 30 Some govt. leaders

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31 Soften, as butter 33 Class for some HS juniors 34 Hairstyles 35 Etc. kin 36 Hands raised in support, say 39 Had a meal 40 Furry friend 41 Meager 42 “Yeah, I totally believe you” 43 Gas, to a Brit

11/20/23

45 Get too old 46 Deep divides 47 “__, Brute?”

49 “The Fox and the Crow” storyteller 50 “__ a dark and stormy night ... ” 54 Falling-out between friends 56 TNT sister station 57 High-pitched cry 58 GPS lines

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2023

THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN

11

Hillel celebrates Hannukah with Latkepalooza

By JERRY WU

the daily northwestern @jerrwu

About 150 Northwestern students gathered Sunday evening at the Fiedler Hillel Center for Northwestern Hillel’s annual Hanukkah celebration, Latkepalooza.

The smell of freshly cooked latkes — potato pancakes traditionally prepared during the Jewish festival of lights — greeted students entering the building.

Laid across blue embellished tables were boxes of round jelly doughnuts known as sufganiyot. Familiar emblems like dreidels and chocolate coins also decorated the venue.

Though Hanukkah begins in December, Hillel planned its annual celebration before Reading Period this year to accommodate students who do not plan to return to campus following Thanksgiving break.

“We really just wanted to make the event like a fun celebratory occasion,” said Weinberg senior Shara Reimer, a programming co-chair on Hillel’s student executive board. “This year, it’s really especially important that we’re having this big event to celebrate the holidays in Jewish culture and community.”

The annual Latkepalooza celebration serves as a reminder of home and family to many members of campus by bringing alive a familiar cultural tradition.

Weinberg junior Sari Eisen, president of Hillel’s student executive board, said she hoped this event would help continue to foster the Jewish community at NU. “It’s a really nice way to come together as a community, keeping up these traditions,” she said. “It makes me feel connected to the rest of the community, and I feel connected to my family.”

Many students echoed this sentiment, saying they caught up with one another and bonded with friends over latkes and sufganiyot.

The event is a testament of the close community of Jewish students on campus, said Weinberg junior Noah Edelman.

“It’s been great to see so many people here — people who I know, people who I don’t

Jacob Wendler/Daily Senior Staffer

Students dined on freshly cooked latkes, potato pancakes and round jelly doughnuts, known as sufganiyot, at Hillel’s annual Latkepalooza celebration.

know — and it shows that Jewish community is very vibrant at Northwestern,” he said.

“It’s proof that the Jewish community stands together and is supportive of one another in the community.”

Activities at the event included stations for cookie decorations, photo shoots and mock cocktails. Students also had the opportunity to spin a prize wheel for the chance to win prizes like tote bags, phone wallets or a $5 donation to Israeli national emergency and

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disaster service Magen David Adom.

The event’s organizers felt it was important to acknowledge the impact of the IsraelHamas war on the NU Jewish community, according to Reimer.

“We thought that having an event with no acknowledgement of anything going on in the world was sort of just like an elephant in the room,” she said. “We also did not want it to be the focus because we wanted this to be a celebration.”

Latkepalooza’s early date also gives Hillel members the opportunity to celebrate the eight-day holiday with their families at home in the coming weeks.

“We gather from times of joy and sorrow and everything in between. That’s what it means to be part of a community,” Weinberg senior Ethan Less said. “We just live our Jewish lives.” jerrywu2027@u.northwestern.edu

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SPORTS

Monday, November 20, 2023

@DailyNU_Sports

FIELD HOCKEY

No. 2 Northwestern falls in national championship

By ALEX CERVANTES

daily senior staffer @cervantespalex

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Senior goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz wiggled her left leg twice, then she froze.

With 2:17 remaining in the first overtime period of its national championship clash with No. 1 UNC, No. 2 Northwestern’s title game hopes hinged on Skubisz’s ability to come up with one more instrumental stop. A mere seven yards separated Skubisz and Tar Heel forward Ryleigh Heck, who, with one flick, could put the finishing touches on Sunday’s end-to-end thriller and secure an 11th national title for UNC. The whistle blew. Heck took one step before firing a shot toward the left corner of the cage. Skubisz was alert to the strike, leaping right and parrying the penalty stroke shot away with her stick.

As the ball clattered off the post, a cacophony of cheers erupted from the NU bench. Skubisz popped up to join the celebration — her efforts had kept the ‘Cats alive.

In a moment where just about anyone would’ve felt small, suffocated by the weight of a season hanging in the balance and a sea of Carolina blue flanking her, Skubisz stood tall. She tracked the drag and direction of Heck’s shot the entire way, coming up with yet another save

— one of four on the day — to keep NU humming.

“She’s as good as you get,” coach Tracey Fuchs said postgame. “Both teams had three or four chances each in overtime to win that match, and both goalies came up big on both sides.”

However, Skubisz’s heroics, highlighted by a three-save display in the first overtime period, were all ultimately for naught.

After 20 minutes of scoreless postregulation hockey, a penalty shootout would decide the victor of Sunday’s national championship affair. Skubisz made a sliding save and pressured two Tar Heels into mistakes in the shootout’s initial five-attempt foray. But, the ‘Cats were unable to bag the necessary third tally to secure the triumph, sending the shootout to sudden death.

Following UNC goalkeeper Maddie Kahn’s save of graduate student forward Peyton Halsey’s shot, Skubisz and Heck faced off once again with the game on the line.

This time, Heck won the battle. The Tar Heel dribbled methodically at the NU goaltender, eventually circling wide and pushing her shot just beyond the outstretched left leg of Skubisz.

As a gaggle of Carolina blue jerseys swarmed Heck in front of the goal, Skubisz took off her helmet and walked stoically toward her teammates standing near the bench. The Texan had done all

she could in an 80-minute war of attrition between two of the sport’s premier programs.

Skubisz, who Fuchs has long hailed as the nation’s best goalkeeper, lived up to the billing in Chapel Hill on Sunday — just as she had for much of the season.

Her 13 shutouts set the single-season record for an NU goalkeeper. Fortified by a stout backline, Skubisz surrendered an NCAA-fewest 15 goals this season.

Her consistent heroics in front of the cage — from her season-high eight-save efforts against Penn State and Ohio State to her six-game shutout streak in September and October — earned her numerous accolades including Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year, Big Ten Tournament MVP and a first team allconference nod.

Whether she faced consistent pressure or was called on in one big moment, Skubisz rose to the occasion at multiple points throughout the season, Fuchs said.

Although the ‘Cats once again suffered heartbreak at the hands of UNC on the final day of the season, Skubisz, along with NU’s core upperclassmen, left an indelible mark on Fuchs’ program.

“They’ve been amazing,” Fuchs said.

“That game was back-and-forth (and) so exciting — really great for our sport.

It hurts today, but I think when we look back, we’ll be really, really proud.” alexcervantes2024@u.northwestern.edu

Daily file photo by Esther Lim

Senior goalkeeper Annabel Skubisz. The Texan made four saves, including three in overtime, in No. 2 Northwestern’s national championship loss to No. 1 UNC Sunday.

FOOTBALL

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

‘Cats’ red zone defense key in win Despite team struggles,

Walsh leads NU to win

By AAYUSHYA AGARWAL

daily senior staffer @aayushyagarwal7

By RAJ GHANEKAR

When coach David Braun was introduced as Northwestern’s permanent head coach Thursday, he praised his team’s perseverance and its ability to fight back — regardless of the circumstances.

And in a game that had a lot of storylines — from the Wildcats’ (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) potential final game in Ryan Field for the foreseeable future to Braun’s first game of many as the official head coach — three words defined the defense’s ability to shut down the Boilermakers (3-8, 2-6 Big Ten): bend, don’t break.

“Bend, don’t break has been a huge emphasis for us,” senior linebacker Xander Mueller said. “We know that even if we let them get into the red zone, if we stop them, they can’t win. (We’ve) been playing good defense and sound defensive tight zone. The red zone has been huge for us.”

That mantra opened the door for NU to become bowl eligible for the first time since the 2020 season.

Over the course of the first half, the ‘Cats defense looked ill-fit to counter long and grueling Purdue drives. The Boilermakers held possession for over 19 minutes in the first half.

“There have been so many instances this season where our guys are continuing to stay in and win games,” Braun said.

“We held off defensively until the offense caught fire. That’s winning football. That’s team football.”

Late in the first quarter, Purdue converted a fourth and short opportunity, driving down to NU’s 14-yard line. Even though running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. posed problems for the ‘Cats all afternoon, the defense stuffed him on three consecutive plays to regain possession on a turnover of downs.

Mueller and senior linebacker Bryce Gallagher’s two tackles at the line of scrimmage and junior defensive lineman Aidan Hubbard’s joint effort on the rusher halted a nearly seven minute 13 play, 71-yard Purdue drive with zero points.

“We’ve embodied what great defense

the daily northwestern @raj_ghanekar1

Angeli Mittal/The Daily Northwestern

Senior defensive lineman P.J. Spencer makes a tackle. In NU’s victory over Purdue, Spencer was pivotal towards the defense’s ability to make two red zone stops.

looks like,” Braun said. “It’s about guys playing with great leverage, great fundamentals, tackling well and finding ways to disrupt the football. Those fourth down stops were as good as takeaways. A group like this that plays fast can make basic elementary calls come to life.”

In a game where NU’s offense initially struggled, these opportunities were especially pivotal — keeping the team’s 6-0 lead intact until the third quarter.

Sixth-year quarterback Ben Bryant, who struggled to evade Purdue’s firsthalf pass rush, said the defense’s inspired effort helped boost the offense when it retook the field in the second half.

“Our defense has been playing phenomenal,” Bryant said. “Their (stops) gave the offense a lot of confidence to go out there and play loose because we know they’re doing their job.”

Early in the second quarter, Purdue looked as if it scored the game-tying touchdown — quarterback Ryan Browne broke into a simple griddy celebration after he appeared to break the plane.

Moments later, he was ruled a halfyard short, prompting a second and goal opportunity at the one-yard line. At the time, the touchdown’s reversal appeared to merely prolong the inevitable scoring drive by an extra play or two.

However, Braun’s defense held strong in the ensuing plays, preventing Browne and Tracy Jr. from reaching the end zone despite being less than a yard away.

With Saturday’s Senior Day showing honoring many NU players, the ‘Cats’ second forced turnover on downs was a collective effort sparked by an impactful bunch of upperclassmen.

A pair of senior defensive backs — Garnett Hollis Jr. and Rod Heard II — started it off, thwarting a wide receiver screen pass for a one-yard loss on second down. Gallagher and Mueller followed suit the very next play, stuffing Tracy Jr. at the line of scrimmage, setting up fourth and goal. Heard and senior defensive lineman P.J. Spencer capped off the defensive stand by meeting the Boilermaker running back in the backfield, forcing NU’s second turnover of downs.

Gallagher, Hollis Jr. and Heard shone bright all afternoon. The three seniors each recorded double-digit tackles and will be pivotal in NU’s ability to win the Land of Lincoln Trophy next weekend.

“Those are three names that (any NFL team) would not be crazy to have on their teams,” Braun said. “They embody what it looks like to play the game the right way.” aayushyaagarwal2024@u.northwestern.edu

Four days after scoring three points in a 58-point thumping at the hands of Notre Dame, junior forward Caileigh Walsh made a huge swing, scoring 27 points as Northwestern secured a 76-68 victory over Southeast Missouri State.

“I just really took that personal,” Walsh said. “(I) thought about it and came back stronger and I think that everything worked tonight.”

The New Jersey native was efficient from the floor, shooting 9-of-15 from the field. Twelve of her points came from downtown, including a dagger at the 1:26 mark of the fourth quarter, nabbing her career-high total and giving the Wildcats (3-1, 0-0 Big Ten) a 10-point lead.

Walsh’s offensive rhythm opened things up for the rest of the team as well, as junior guard Melannie Daley joined Walsh in double-digit scoring, propelled by an 11-point third quarter to finish with 17. Junior guard Hailey Weaver chipped in 10 points as well.

“It’s nice when that post is hitting 3s,” assistant coach Maggie Lyon said. “It really helps space the floor.”

NU also made a marked improvement from Wednesday on the glass, with Walsh leading the way with 14 rebounds. The Fighting Irish skied over the ’Cats on the boards 49-29 last Wednesday, scoring 30 secondchance points.

On Sunday, NU was able to outdo the Redhawks in rebounds (1-3, 0-0 OVC) 47-29, using its size advantage to its benefit to plug in 14 secondchance points of its own.

“We need to continue to improve on (rebounding), and I felt like that was something that we took a lot of pride in,” Lyon said.

However, a win, let alone led by

Walsh, was in question after the second frame, when the ’Cats were outscored 24-9 and entered the halftime break down 40-34. Second quarters have been a point of concern for NU so far, outscored in the second period in three out of four games.

SEMO especially punished the ‘Cats from the perimeter, going 6-of11 from 3-point range in the second quarter alone. Daley said the game plan in the second half was largely focused on preventing another hailstorm.

Daley said the coaching staff emphasized that the team should “run (SEMO) off the line” to keep the Redhawks from punishing the hosts from deep.

NU also had a hard time taking care of the ball, with 14 turnovers in the first 30 minutes. The Redhawks benefitted with 17 points off those turnovers.

Lyon said the ’Cats need to maintain composure even if the opponent gets going offensively as the first half winds down during contests.

“When we are faced with adversity, we have to keep our poise and be patient,” Lyon said.

As the ‘Cats look to their next matchup with No. 12 Florida State (2-0, 0-0 ACC) in the Ball Dawgs Classic tournament in Las Vegas next week, Lyon said the team has learned from the Notre Dame loss — and the nerves NU might have felt going into South Bend.

As the team’s first conference game against Maryland stands less than a month away, Lyon said these games against tough opponents will be big opportunities to make mistakes and prepare for the Big Ten slate.

“We look forward to playing the Florida States of the world, the Stanfords, the Notre Dames,” Lyon said.

“I think being tested early, it’s a really positive thing.” rajghanekar2025@u.northwestern.edu