By Lauren Dain, Jessica Seghal, Meg Houseworth, Bridget Baker, Zoe Kaufman, Sophie Milner-Gorvine
While Via wondered about how onboard every student will be regarding mask-wearing, she did expect threefoot distancing to happen almost universally.“I’m assuming a bunch of teachers will do assigned seating and will keep the desks three feet apart. I guess it’ll be a little odd for group projects and stuff, which is kind of a win-win, because I hate group projects,” said Via.
Although COVID-19 introduced monumental hardships for downtown Evanston, there was already work to be done to this area prior to the pandemic. Brick and mortar businesses had encountered online consumption as an obstacle before the pandemic, which has only worsened with stay-at-home policies.
“People talk about making business plans, and we all did have a business plan, but this upset everybody’s plans. It was a huge challenge just to learn that.”
Evanston Township High SchoolEvanston, IL. Vol. 105, Issue 1
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“I do think everyone will have their masks on, but a bunch of people will have it below their nose.”
SummerourKits!Page14-16Wondering about changes to ETHS? Page 3
that the people who were able to do that learned a kind of resilience that isn’t necessarily part of a business mindset,” Nina Barrett, owner of the downtown Evanston bookstore Bookends & Beginnings, recalls.
“Anyone who drives through [Evanston] can see the devastating effects that the pandemic has had in terms of store closings,” explains 1st Ward Alderperson Clare Kelly. “[Evanston’s] been hugely impacted by the pandemic—by the lack of clien-
In March, ETHS announced some major changes to the way the school would function in the coming future. A shift in the tardy policy, implementation of block scheduling and an elimination of finals are the three biggestEvenchanges.aside from these changes, ETHS will still look very different than the ETHS to which students are familiar. Initially, on July 15, ETHS announced that fully vaccinated students
“I guess it will depend on the teacher and how much they enforce [mask-wearing],” said senior Avamarie Via.
Amidst all of the uncertainty surrounding the school year, the Evanston community continues to hope for the best.
Executive Editor, In-Depth Editor, Assistant In-Depth Editor, Staff Writers
tele and customers during the long haul of COVID-19. We still have a lot of empty storefronts, stores and small businesses that are still struggling to recover.”
reimaginesETHS school as students return to building
ETHShuge.”masks]ingwear-isstillretains
notwouldstaffandbe required to wear masks in the school. But as the Delta variant continued to rise over the summer, the CDC issued new guidelines that caused ETHS to revise their previous July 15 statement. As of July 28, all students and staff are required to wear masks inside the building, regardless of vaccination status.“The governor recently mandated mask [wearing] in all schools, I suspect because he’s dealing with all [age] groups. But I am comfortable with his decision,” Superintendent Eric Withersoon said. “All the research continues to show that reducing the risk [by
August 16: whether it’s with apprehension or excitement, the ETHS community has long awaited the return of full-time, in-person school. While many have anticipated a return to normalcy, CDC guidelines and new changes at ETHS have already shown that the 2021-2022 school year will be like none before.
COVID-19 devastated individuals in an extensive amount of ways that would be impossible to exhaust. Responsible for over a year of mortality, isolation and stress, the pandemic has not only impacted human lives but the state of the country’s economy as Accordingwell.to Forbes, the U.S. economy experienced its worst condition since the Great Depression. Emulating the nation, Evanston’s economy took a substantial hit as well.
some of the guidelines issued in their July 15 statement—students are still required to submit proof of vaccination for contact tracing purposes, and three-foot distancing will still be maintained in the building whenever possible.“The governor and State Board of Education actually issued guidelines, [and] it says you should be trying to maintain three feet of distance whenever possible, but that it cannot be a reason to not have every student back in school,” Witherspoon explained.
When it comes to what these major
vanston i an
Teachers are expected to fully enforce the mask-wearing policy and make sure that students are wearing masks correctly, and the consequences for not wearing masks would mirror other in-class infractions.
changes will look like, many students aren’t entirely sure what to expect.
Two vital components of Evanston community recover from COVID-19
Evanston businesses look toward a post-pandemic economy
August 16, 2021E
Illustration by Kupu Sumi
Kelly oversees the downtown portion of Evanston which encompasses the majority of the 1st Ward: an area on which COVID-19 had a particularly detrimental impact. As a result of ever-changing public health guidelines, downtown businesses have had to
“We really had to keep reinventing our business model over and over to suit whatever the conditions were at any given moment, and I think
ionrefash-
“There was a pre-existing layer of damage that was already in progress to the retail businesses of Evanston, which I think has a lot to do with online shopping, and specifically with Amazon. It’s gotten a lot harder for a brick and mortar retail business to just sell enough stuff to pay [for] a commercial rent anymore,” Barrett describes.
By Sofia Williams Staff Writer
their policies and strategies numerous times over the course of the pandemic. While seemingly frustrating to business owners, this indefinite business structure also provides the opportunity to absorb a valuable lesson of persistence that might not have presented itself in past years.
Catch up on
“We’ve never really had a Pride fes tival before, so to see that there was a parade despite the rain was really great,” Evanston Public Library Branch Assistant Kelly Fleming said. “I really like seeing the families here because I think it’s really good to have kids realize that all of this is normal and [that] it’s just how people are.”Following the community picnic was a candle lighting remembrance ceremo ny; this ceremony honored the lives that have been lost to anti-LGBTQ+ violence and the pain that has been endured by the LGBTQ+ community for decades.
In an Evanston City Council meeting on May 24, it was decided that Evanston beaches would be free on Saturday, Sun day and Monday of every week for Evan ston residents. This was first brought to City Council by Alderman Devon Reid of the 8th
TEAACH act mandated in Illinois public schools
“I feel like Evanston finds a way to pay for its priorities and the money that pays for beach upkeep comes from the gener al fund, so it’s not like you [have] to cut lifeguards or some other thing,” English teacher Abdel Shakur commented.
The event drew from many circles of Evanston’s vast LGBTQ+ community, as well as from some members of Evanston’s City Council. Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, who attended the community picnic, did so because he feels that the LGBTQ+ community is an integral part of Evanston.
By Eden Drajpuch Executive Editor
“Hopefully, by teaching future stu dents more about Asian American his tory, people will be able to not alienate us and listen to our stories,” sopho more Joan Camaya said.
Following the postponement of Evan ston’s Pride celebration due to inclement weather, the event was rescheduled for July 17. The rescheduled event consisted of a community picnic and a candle light ing remembrance ceremony at Ingraham Park.The community picnic was an opportu nity for LGBTQ+ Evanstonians, families and allies to come together. The picnic also featured booths from local businesses and organizations, such as Aim and Ailie Hair Boutique on Central Street, the Evanston Public Library and Hope For The Day, a non-profit organization based in Chicago that focuses on suicide prevention.
However, the main worry in making Evanston beaches free for residents is the loss of revenue. Even after factoring in fees non-Evanston residents pay, the loss of revenue still comes to about $600,000.
“[Pride] means two things. It means we’re taking a day to state that we are a better, stronger, more vibrant communi ty because of the role that our LGBTQ neighbors play in our social fabric,” May or Daniel Biss said. “We hold this cele bration to say that we are a safe and wel coming community that would like to be a beacon for any LGBTQ person wherever theyWhileare.”Evanston’s Pride celebration was not hosted during Pride Month as it was initially intended, the meaning behind the event illustrates some of Evanston’s val ues, as well as the vibrant LGBTQ+ com munity in “EvanstonEvanston.might be one of the most progressive towns out there,” senior Kai Li-Caldwell said. “I’m really glad that Evanston is so open.”
On July 9, the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (TEAACH Act) was signed by Illinois Governor JB Prizker in the Niles West Gymnasium, making Illinois the first state to require Asian American history to be taught in public schools, accord ing to NBC Chicago.
AlthoughRoundtable.morepeople than ever are enjoying Evanston beaches, some are left unhappy that this year only has three free beach days and opted against making all days
“‘It’s 16- and 17-year-old kids with their first job and their first experience as gate attendant [standing at the beach entrance]. So the direction and ultimate decision I made was to just tell the kids [that] all [they] need to do is ask folks if they are Evanston residents,” Evanston Parks and Recreation Director Lawrence Hemingway said in an interview with the Evanston
Future
Photo by Macyn Hoeveler
By Alice Cutter Staff Writer
Juneteenth honors Black Evanstonians
“Ifree.just felt like I had more of a place there than I had before… so getting a glimpse of that [new reality] I think is great,” Shakur said. “I think it’s not that great that there’s still four days a week that are under the older system. I don’t think that’s very encouraging for that to still be going on, especially when we had an opportunity to make our beaches free.”
Evanston itycelebratesPrideinclusiv
Evanston’s first in-person Juneteenth parade started at 11 a.m. on June 19 at Robert Crown’s newly built commu nity center and finished at Ingraham Park. It featured black artists, poets, speakers, dancers and musicians. Mu sic rode through Evanston by cart, people scattered along the sidewalk in cheer as African drums pounded, while shakers and saxophones were played withAfterpride.putting together the first-ever Juneeteenth parade virtually last year, Executive organizer Kemone Hen dricks promoted, spoke and organized this year’s in-person edition. Support ing the event were numerous sponsors and food vendors, including Hecky’s Barbecue and Noir d’Ebene. Within the support and celebration however, there is a question of the purpose and impor tance of JuneteenthJuneteenth.started in Texas two years after the bill to end slavery was signed due to the information of emancipation being held from many African Ameri cans at that time. When African Amer icans in Galveston, Texas first learned about their freedom, they celebrated with prayer meetings, spiritual rituals and new clothes to represent newfound freedom.“Ihope it really acts as a day of celebrating and appreciating the tre mendous contribution that African Americans have made to this country,” AnnaLee Letchinger, the executive di rector of Evanston In School Music As sociation, and a sponsor of the parade, answered.Many who attended the parade ex pressed their positive feelings about Evanston’s first in-person Juneteenth parade.“The Juneteenth parade was a beau tiful celebration of freedom. I was on the verge of tears on several occasions, watching the performers and waving to the people in the parade. I’m so glad we live in a city that embraces June teenth as a holiday and is dedicated to forwarding the cause of racial equity,” ETHS rising junior Samantha Handley stated.
Photo courtesy of Evanston Present and
Moving into 2021, there is a plan in motion to make the Evanston beaches free for residents. This also comes with a new plan to check Evanston residency, as this year it is being done by an honor system.
The TEAACH Act will be in ef fect starting the 2022-2023 school year for elementary to high school students attending Illinois public schools. The curriculum will cover the contribu tions, civil rights and overall history of Asian Americans in Illinois and in the United States as a whole. The ETHS Board of Education will provide cur riculum guidelines, but the final deci sions of what aspects to teach will be left up to individual districts.
By Lee Muir Staff Writer
Many students, including freshman Alex Witt, feel that Asian American stories and history have been scarce or completely absent from their past learning.“I have noticed that the school curriculum displays a lot of teachings about other cultures, [but] I do not re member our school district teaching much about Asian Americans,” Witt recalled. “[With the new legislation,]I not only hope to learn, but I hope to see the impact of this legislation in the student body and in our community.”
While the proposed policy to make Evanston’s beaches free for the entirety of the summer did not come to a vote, it led to a vote on a substitute motion to make the beaches free on just Sunday and Mon day. When this motion was opposed, a compromise arose to add Saturday, a more popular beach day to the mix.
Photo by Sophie Yang
“We are setting a new standard of what it truly means to reckon with our history,” Pritzker stated following the signing.This law was created in order to address issues surrounding the lack of representation of Asian-Americans in history textbooks and classroom teach ing.
PhotobyMacynHoeveler PhotobyEdenDrajpuch
By Elise Goulding Staff Writer
City Council rules beaches free on weekends
“[WeWard.can] make the beaches accessi ble to every Evanston resident this sum mer and end the racist policy of the ex clusionary and, dare I say, racist policy of charging for beach access,” Reid said.
2 - news This jusT in, EvansTon
For the 2021-22 school year, ETHS will implement block scheduling. The biggest change would be transitioning to a block
Despite the fact that block scheduling has been utilized in enhanced e-learning for a long time, it has never been implemented in a face-to-face classroom.
The 2021-22 block schedule will also affect detentions and tardies. With 10 minutes to go from class to class, students will have much more time to do what they need to do and have enough time to make it to class.
“We wanted to come back with change, changes that we always have been thinking about, but also have a more humane and empathetic approach to returning back to school, while fully in person.”
Last March, ETHS announced a variety of substantial changes for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year to support student wellbeing, including revisions to the tardy and detention policy. The changes are a part of a greater administrative initiative to focus on restorative practices and make the school a more compassionate environment upon returning to school from online learning.“[The pandemic] has provided an opportunity for us to really pause and to think about what we’ve been doing,” Assistant Superintendent and Principal Marcus Campbell stated in a webinar from April 2021, entitled “Preparing for 202122 School Year.”
By Yahya Shafique Staff Writer
The 10-minute passing periods are one example of how the adjustments are aimed at improving student life. Now students will have 10 minutes during the passing periods. The halls will be calmer and less
“I did a lot of staff training. [I questioned] how we broaden our understanding of what equity is and how to be more inclusive and always keeping race front and center, also thinking about what our policies are,” Anti said in an interview with
Make
“Weschedule.werelooking at how we could make changes to the school based on the experiences that we had during the pandemic. And so the block schedule had been something that was talked about for years,” Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Scott Bramley said.
ETHS institutes changes for 2021-22 school year The Evanstonian? sure to follow us on Instagram @the_evanstonian for breaking news and updates on our current projects!
As students return to school amid a new “normal,” Anti is excited to bring her years of experience as a teacher and ad-
The vacancy on the school board opened up when former board member Jude Laude decided not to run for reelection in 2021. Anti was chosen over seven other candidates.“Icansay that there were highly qualified applicants. And therefore, the decision we made was difficult. [Anti] is highly qualified, and I, as well as my colleagues, look forward to serving our community with [Anti] in this capacity,” Board President Pat Savage-Williams said in a statement to the Evanston Roundtable.
further behind in [their] education,” ETHS Black Student Union President Serena Brown
One of the objectives of this action is for teachers find a different way to assess students and offer them more time to learn.“With the elimination of finals, ETHS will still offer a proper assessment for the students. The exam period was approximately 90 minutes. And so with our block, the 85-minute block, you can do a large assessment, some performance-based or project-based assessment in one block session,” said
Previously,Bramley.students needed two weeks prior to the exams for reviewing. With the implementation of finals, students lose instructional time where they could’ve spent more time learning and understanding the subject.While Bramley and the administration stand firm in their conviction in this change, the only way to tell how it will affect learning is by doing it.
“There’s thoughts and opinions on all sides of it,” Bramley said. “But nobody’s done it yet. So we’ll know more about what it feels like and how it actually turns out once we’re in the classroom. So I just want to [ask students] have some hope, have some faith. And we’ll continue to work on it. And if it’s not working, if there’s something we need to change, we’re going to address it.”
“Alright,hectic.take a minute before you go to your next class, get some water, stretch. I think that it’s important…” Principal and Assistant Superintendent Marcus Campbell explained. “It was just such a busy, crazy day. And now we’re gonna slow the day down.”
In previous years, many students have critiqued the tardy policy, claiming that the process of finding a safety officer, getting a pass and traveling back to class is simply unproductive and a waste of time. However, the new changes also absolve students of mistakes they may have made prior to the “Clearingpandemic.thedetentions is giving us a second chance and having us start back from normal,” Tomaradze explained.
“My work is my identity,” Anti explained. “It’s just a natural thing. I would look around the table and [wonder], did everyone get a chance to speak if they wanted to?.... If I’m thinking about equity, did this person get to say more on that topic, and why?”
“I feel like it is an important change because it reinforces the energy at our school where [staff] care more about having us in the classroom and ready to learn instead of just being late,” Student Representative Barbara Tomaradze said.
Block schedule reshapes pace of school day
“I think all the changes are designed to make sure that we’re humanizing the experience for students,” Bramley said.“Not everyone likes every change. … But we really don’t know until we actually start doing it.”
By Jojo Wertheimer Digital Content Editor
By Tarek Anthony Staff Writer
vocate for equity in schools to the D202 schoolAnti’sboard.primary goal for the school board in the upcoming school year is to keep students’ wellbeing at the forefront of their actions and to reimagine the way school functions. Anti also hopes to utilize her role as a school board member to represent students’ interests.
The District 202 Board of Education appointed Mirah Anti to fill the opening on the school board on June 21.
The newfound focus on restorative practices for the upcoming school year will hopefully impact the racial inequities that still exist at ETHS.
the Evanstonian when speaking about her administrative experience in North Shore schools.Anti’s many years of teaching in addition to years of experience with equity and inclusion work ensures she brings a powerful and important perspective to the D202 school board.
Evensaid.further, according to Miseducation, a project by ProPublica, in 2018, Black students at ETHS made up 64 percent of out-of-school suspensions but only 29 percent of the student population according to Miseducation, a project by ProPublica.“Ifthey’re
really focusing on restorative justice, hopefully Black students will get less suspensions because, like I said, it is biased when they’re way overrepresented in the number of suspensions compared to the [population] at the school,” Brown said. “If you’re uncomfortable in your environment, if you’re uncomfortable in your school, of course you’re going to mess up more… you’re on edge all the time. But knowing that the school is focussing on making it a better place automatically takes that weight off of Black students’ shoulders.”
Final exams eliminated
ETHS will make several significant adjustments that will dramatically reshape the school with which so many people are familiar—the most infamous of which being finals. ETHS has eliminated the semester exams mainly due to the loss of instructional time and to promote student well-being.“Ithink one of the biggest benefits is that it allows us to have more instructional time in the classroom,” Assistant Principal of Curriculum and Instruction Scott Bramley stated. “There are certainly days when we lose instructional time, but one of the biggest times when we lost the ability to engage in learning was for the final exams; you have the whole week where you don’t have your classes; you just go to exams. And then the week prior to that a lot of classes were really just reviewing. And, so, if you think about those two weeks of dedicated time just to take an exam, we
The hybrid approach is intended to slow down the pace of the school day, offering students a more hands-on learning proces S and more time for social-emotional
news - 3
District 202 School Board welcomes new member
By Yahya Shafique Staff Writer
don’t really need that anymore.”
Anti’s 27-year teaching career began in 1994 when she started as a social studies teacher for Highland Park and Deerfield School District 113. Throughout her career, Anti served in many administrative capacities outside the classroom, including as Director of Equity and Inclusion and Diversity Coordinator in District 113.
“Before, when we had the other tardy policy, we had to leave class to get a tardy, which makes [students] more late, and then [they] miss more academics, which, since Black people get more tardies due to racial bias, it just puts Black [students]
In those positions, Anti focused heavily on assisting teachers and administrators in expanding their knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion in school settings.
Starting in August, all detentions, tardies and social probation will be cleared, and teachers, rather than safety officers, will issue tardies.
Thislearning.newsystem will extend all periods to 85 minutes while making passing periods 10 minutes. This change was made in the name of efficiency and studentUnderwell-being.thenew schedule, school will start at 8:30 a.m. on “Wildkit Mondays” classes will last 33 minutes, with the day ending at 2:07 p.m.. The rest of the week works similarly to the enhanced e-learning schedule. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, students will attend Blocks 1, 3, 5 and 7, and, on Wednesdays and Fridays, students will attend Blocks 2, 4, 6 and 8. The day includes 10 minute passing periods, with the day ending at 3:30 p.m..
For more information on changes for the upcoming school year, refer to the ETHS website or watch “Preparing for 2021-22 School Year” on the ETHS Youtube channel.
Enjoying
“I want to support how we come back from the pandemic,” Anti says. “My biggest advice is to return better than we left.”
Empathy guides tardy, detention policy changes
By Eden Drajpuch Executive Editor
Daniel Biss: My name is Daniel Biss, and I am Evanston’s mayor. For the last several years, I’ve been doing a variety of different work and volunteer projects in politics and policy. My day job is a consultant to the Energy Foundation working on electric grid policy across the center of the North American continent. Before that, I was a legislator. I spent six years in the Illinois Senate.
Biss took office with the goal of guiding Evanston out of the pandemic as well as helping the community rebuild following the last year and a half. Many of the changes he ran on called on a systemic reshaping of the way that Evanston’s government operated. From reforming public safety to revitalizing Evanston’s economy, Biss has had an eventful first 100 days in office.The following questions and answers have been edited for both clarity and brevity.
Q: What solution or change do you think will have the most profound lasting effect on Evanstonians?
But, at the same time, that means that there’s always the balancing act between people’s sense of urgency and the need to gather significant public input. That’s just the nature of being human and [running] a complex organization. That’s especially the nature of life in government when you’re a functioning democracy. It’s never easy.
A: That’s government, right? You can’t move forward without touching base with a lot of constituencies and stakeholders and that means things are slow. The kind of structural changes we’re talking about are significant, so you don’t want to jam things through without really getting serious public input.
We’ve got a lot in the works. We also have a lot of internal challenges to work through. We need to do that in a way that’s supportive of the functioning of our organization.
Q: Looking towards the rest of your term as mayor, what do you hope to ac-
Mayor Biss creates ‘Reimagining Public Safety Committee’ Is a teacher telling you to close the paper and open your computer? Check out our website!
A: I really focused on public safety, housing, climate, and internal issues around how we manage our commitment to equity and transparency. I think those are the key issues that as we try to use the city government as an instrument to improve the quality of life of people in our community.
day of mayor for two reasons. One, it’s important for me to send signals about priorities. Secondly, I wanted to show that I’m not just going to run on something. I’m going to make myself the chair so I can hold myself accountable,” Biss said. “ I think getting started with a diverse group of people around the table was the way to go. I learned a lot just in the first three months. I think there’s an opportunity to make a serious difference.”
proram, we’re simultaneously experimenting with other mechanisms to support individuals, households [and] communities that have been left out of the benefits of Evanston’s public services over the years.
I’ve created a Reimagining Public Safety Committee to look at ambitious and bold policies around public safety and policing. We’re deep in the throes of a lot of conversations around housing, regulation, rental properties [and] rethinking our zoning.AsI
Q: What are the main roadblocks or challenges that you have run into thus far? Were you surprised by those challenges?
Lives, ETHS, Northwestern, and EPD. In addition, the committee consists of 3 alderpeople, 2 individuals from the Equity and Empowerment Commission, and a representative from the Health and Human ServicesTheDepartment.widerange of individuals serving on the committee ensure that the topic of public safety is broached from many perspectives and not taken lightly.
While the Reimagining Public Safety Committee is comprised of people who were appointed by Mayor Biss, any community member is welcome to attend meetings and make their voice heard.
“I want Evanstonians to know one thing, which is [that] the safety committee exists and is open for business. So, if you care about this stuff, you can come to the meetings. They’re all public, [and] we are super open to having non-official members talk. It’s a conversation and we want to engage the public.”
areas that we care about. I think if we can get our arms around that [issue], we’ll be doing a lot of good for our city.
“I [appointed the committee] on my first
The committee is made up of Biss, who serves as the chair, as well as city officials and representatives from a variety of local organizations. Most notably, there is a representative from Evanston Fight for Black
public meetings. These public meetings are designed to discuss findings, compare ideas, and ask questions of one another.
Evanstonian: Can you introduce yourself, your role, and your career history for anyone who may not be aware?
Just over three months after Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss was sworn into office, The Evanstonian sat down with Biss to discuss his achievements thus far, as well as what he hopes to accomplish throughout the rest of his term
Q: What do you want Evanstonians to know about what you have accomplished in your first 100 days in office?
By Eden Drajpuch Executive Editor
A: I think what we’ve really done is to establish some new patterns to try to systematize the way in which we do policymaking by trying to be more transparent and clear about what issues you can get on the agenda at all. I think we’re establishing a precedent of real accountability and transparency and a willingness to hold ourselves accountable. Just the other night, we made a commitment to a pretty significant guaranteed income pilot, making Evanston the first city in Illinois to embark on a guaranteed income project.
Additionally, every other week, the committee breaks up into three groups, all of whom research different aspects of public safety on a national scale and on a local scale. On the weeks when the committee is not researching, they come together for
news
complish?A:
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When Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss took office on May 10, 2021, one of his first actions was his creation of the Reimagining Public Safety Committee. The committee, which is comprised of 17 individuals, functions with the goal of analyzing and questioning our current public safety methods, as well as brainstorming ways to modernize our current system. The members of the committee will then use this data and research to propose public safety recommendations for the 2022 city budget.
Evanston mayor Daniel Biss talks first 100 days in office
Q: How did you take those issues and either implement change or begin to brainstorm solutions within the last 100 days?A:
Q: What issues or topics characterized your campaign? Did you see those issues as ones that affected Evanstonians?
Well, I just think we need to focus on these issues we’ve been talking about that are the most critical for the people of Evanston while also [putting] plans in place in a way that’s consistent with the needs of our residents.
indicated, we’re really in the midst of the city’s path-breaking reparations
A: There’s many, but another thing I would flag is that I think we have a very severe mental health crisis in this community. It spills over into all kinds of other
Photo courtesy of City of Evanston
It is exciting to have all of you back at ETHS. As you know, ETHS has not been fully opened since March 13, 2020. Welcome freshmen and sophomores. You will have your first full experience of walking these hallways with all your classmates. Welcome juniors. You experienced only seven months in your school during your freshman year. You’re back! And seniors, what can I say? We’ve missed you. Staff, thank you for your steadfastness and sacrifice during this pandemic. I am thrilled that all of us are back here at our beloved ETHS for a more recognizable Wildkit experience this year.Our lives have been hugely disrupted by disaster, a global pandemic. Members of our own ETHS family and community have lost jobs and businesses. Many have lost their homes, their health, and even their lives. Our ETHS family has experienced so much loss. And during this same time, our country has been in turmoil with violence against Black people and Asian & Pacific
Many performative action steps were taken including protests and the painting of “Black Lives Matter” on the streets. The majority of these thoughtful efforts, however, were done by students. With the lack of
By Barbara Tomardze Student Representative
I appreciate you all and I will see you soon!
Thesechanges.eventsled to the start of the ETHS Black Student Union, a student-led group that is focused on being a safe space for Black students and strives to make ETHS a safer space for its Black students. While the brutality of the pandemic towards people of color as well as the brutality at the hands of the police prompted the congregation of the Black Student Union at ETHS, we continue to work on making prevalent issues more bearable for people of color. For the 2020-21 school year, the club met exclusively virtually, but we get to meet in-person this year and make the most of the union.
Islander people, with hate crimes against people based on their identity. It has been a harsh and disturbing time. But it’s important for you to know that ETHS embraces your humanity. We hear our Black and Latinx communities, our Asian and Indigenous communities, our Muslim and Jewish
“You have your humanity, and you must not allow anything to reduce that. We are obliged to know we are global citizens. Disasters remind us we are world citizens, whether we like it or not.”
Disasters remind us we are world citizens, whether we like it or not.”
-Maya Angelou
Besides that, I need to hear what you all think needs to be done to support the student body at ETHS. I am your representative, taking your suggestions and listening to your concerns.
Black Student Union outlines 2021-2022 plans
This year in the BSU, we will have counselors come in and discuss post high school planning. We will have Black professionals from the Evanston community come in and discuss their path to success. We will have opportunities to discuss with ETHS officials our ideas to make the school a better place for its Black students. We will have mentoring opportunities, we will have job opportunities, we will have opportunities to get in touch with admissions officers of different colleges and universities and we will, of course, have pizza and Movingsnacks!fromthe virtual environment, we are ecstatic to begin making real change in not only our community but in the lives of Black students.
By Serena Brown President of the Black Student Union
even from disaster can come good. As Maya Angelou reminds us,
officials choosing to join the fight for equity, these efforts fell off, resulting in the lack of systemic
As the 2021-2022 ETHS student Representative, Barbara Tomardze will be consistently contributing letters to The Evanstonian throughout the year.
communities. We hear you, we see you, and we embrace all of who you are. Embrace one“Youanother.have your humanity, and you must not allow anything to reduce that. We are obliged to know we are global citizens.
we have our humanity, our common purpose to make ourselves and our world better, to persist. Thankfully, we are all back together where we can support and care for one another. August 16 marks a new beginning for ETHS. You will not only notice
changes in the building and in the school day structure, but you will also notice changes in each other. We’ve experienced, we’ve learned, we’ve hurt, we’ve celebrated, we’ve grown. We now have a chance to come together to strengthen our humanity, to become stronger because we have each other.Here is my hope for all of us this year. I hope we will each reaffirm our humanity. I hope we will build a stronger school community together, building on the past success and traditions of ETHS while making ETHS a far better school with this new beginning, a school immersed in love and compassion for each other. My hope is that each of you gives abundant love and feels abundant love that makes us fully human. You belong here. Embrace your own humanity and be here for others. That’s what it means to be a Wildkit, to be in a school where we care deeply about each other.
-MayaFortunately,Angelou
A letter from your new student representative
Dear ETHS family, I hope you all are enjoying your last bit of beach days, barbecues and brunches as the summer of 2021 comes to an end. I am Barbara Tomaradze, the 2021-2022 ETHS Student Representative, and I am so excited to see you all as we return to in-person school.AsStudent Representative, I will attend every District 202 School Board meeting, where I have the opportunity to present a “report” and advocate for the student body at ETHS. I will also engage in conversations with the ETHS administration about how we feel, what we think, and what we are asking for as students. The Student Union at ETHS is the main source of in-
Oncan.June 14, 2021, I introduced the District 202 School Board to student worries about the increase in workload from our almost fully online school year, to the upcoming year in-person. I proposed a transition plan for how teachers should progress into a full in-person course rather than immediately going back to the same workload we had in 2019. In the near future, I would also like to create policies and proposals for the District 202 School Board regarding education about ongoing racism, eliminating post-graduation stress and closing the STEM gender gap.
put that I use for gathering feedback, but beyond that, I would love to have people contact me personally. Whether that be emailing me, reaching out to me on social media or stopping me in the hall, the only way I can fulfill my job as Student Representative is to get as many student opinions as I
Back to school remarks: we still have our humanity
vanston i an Executive Editors Lauren Dain, Eden Drajpuch News Editor Sari Oppenheimer Opinion Editor Linnea Mayo Feature Editor Ahania Soni Assistant Feature Editor Jillan Denlow In-Depth Editor Jessica Sehgal Assistant In-Depth Editor Meg Houseworth Arts & Entertainment Editor Sophie Yang Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor Kayla Drajpuch, Anika Radhakrishnan Sports Editor Christopher Vye Assistant Sports Editor Jacques Philippe, Sophia Sherman Photo and Arts Editors Sabrina Barnes, Kupu Sumi Digial Content Editors Ingrid Halverson, Jojo Wertheimer Social Media Editor Amy Grill Community Impact Editors Maddie Coyle, Eva Morales-Grahl Writers, Artists, Photographers: Tarek Anthony, Saliha Ansari, Bridget Baker, Alice Cutter, Macyn Hoeveler, Elise Goudling, Leah Johnson, Zoe Kaufman, Antonia Lagunilla, Valerie Larson, Mira Littmann, Sophie Milner-Gorvine, Lee Muir, Lila Portis, Yahya Shafique, Sofia Williams Adviser John Phillips E
5 - opinion
Have a wonderful school year. Yes, I love and care about you. It’s a great day to be a Wildkit.
By Dr. Eric Witherspoon Superintendent
After 18 months that nobody could have predicted, we finally get to return to school as the world adapts to life with the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, this is a joyous step forward. Sadly, for many others, especially people of color, their lives have been permanently changed throughout this pandemic. From the disproportionate infection rates to police brutality, for many people of color, this last year and a half has been a true battle. Our community, Evanston, has not been completely oblivious to this struggle.
“I think free beaches benefit the people who can’t afford to buy a token for themselves or for their families. Last year, I went to South Blvd. beach, and there were a lot of people coming from Chicago and plac-
system was racist and classist, both of which are true.The City of Evanston website explains that a single Evanston beach pass costs $30 starting on April 26th, until June 11, when this price rises to $38. This beach season stretches from May 29 to Labor Day, and beach passes cannot be reused for more than one season. For larger families hoping to buy multiple tokens, the prices quickly start to add up and can come to over $100 for a single season. Additionally, teenagers age 13-18 can pick up a 10-punch free beach pass at Evanston community centers like Robert“MyCrown.family and I apply for free lunch every year for me and my siblings. My mom was lucky enough to be told that she could also apply for free beach tokens, and since then, we’ve received free beach tokens yearly. We were lucky we were told this, but many families have missed their opportunities to receive free beach tokens because this information isn’t told to anyone.” says
senior Alisa Bytyqi.
This is an unreasonably expensive beach season, and one that is not attainable for everyone. There is limited accessibility to the information necessary to gain access for free for those who need it, as people are expected to search for this information on the City of Evanston website. Also, considering most beaches in the Chicago area and other cities are completely free for residents, it’s clear Evanston has been setting a price barrier for residents, particularly low-income people.
the first day of school, I plan
personingwavevaccinethough”ingtoIt’stotionoftheknowIasasmywearingonmaskmuchIcan.don’twhatlevelinterac-isgoingbelike.goingbeterrify-eitherwayTheCOVID-19evokedaofrelief.Scroll-throughInstagram,aismetwithphotos
These new changes became possible when Evanston Fight for Black Lives made a petition in June demanding Mayor Daniel Biss and the city council to allow greater access for all residents, which received more than 6,500 signatures. Their main argument was that Evanston’s beach pass previous
Delta is the name for the B.1.617.2. variant, a SARS-CoV-2 mutation that originally surfaced in India. The first
Illustration by Kupu Sumi
6 - opinion
On July 15, the CDC released a statement regarding vaccinated people. It stated, “Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing themselves, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.”Thatsame day, ETHS released an email stating that “students and staff who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear a mask indoors at school.”Yet,two weeks later, with the Delta variant causing a surge in COVID-19 cases, on July 28, ETHS updated its COVID-19 guidelines in accordance with the CDC. It stated that “All ETHS students and staff will be required to wear masks indoors as we begin the 2021-22 school year.” Less than a week later, Governor JB of Evanston residents 12 and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 79 percent of residents are fully vaccinated.
“I’m honestly not sure where I stand in the mask debate. For me, it depends on the cases and the prevalence ofJuniorvariants.”ZoeParkerstatedinJuly,“For
By Linnea Mayo Opinion Editor
es other than Evanston, but you would only buy the one day pass,” says sophomore Kaia Cmarko.Overall this a short-notice compromise, and though it is a great push forward, Evanston still has a long way to go. The previous system of unaffordable tokens was problematic and in need of change because of its racist and classist effects. The beaches being free on these select days gives opportunities to families who deserve to enjoy this integral part of our city without any of the bureaucratic, complicated half measures that may have existed before.
of people holding their Walgreens stickers, text reading in bold vibrant colors “I’m vaccinated!” Having the option to decide on whether or not a person should wear a mask feels rebellious at this point. People spent the whole year wearing masks any time they took a step outside. And the mere thought of returning back to that uncertainty of not knowing what
The Delta variant is no small matter. Vaccination and wearing a mask is the best protection against the Delta variant and getting back to some sense of normal.
time. “And if I do wear a mask, it’s only in large gatherings because my sister isn’t vaccinated.”
instonatlycentsoonandnottheofForwaseralschool,indoorsweardividualsvaccinatedtonallyETHSschools.mandatestatewideannouncedPritzkeramaskinWhenorigi-movedallowfullyin-tonotamaskwhileatthegen-consensusexcitement.many,theideanomasksmeansCOVID-19mustbeathreatanymore,our“normal”willreturn.AccordingtoNPR,47per-ofpeopleinIllinoisareful-vaccinatedand61percenthaveleastonedose.TheratesinEvan-aremuchhigherthantheaverageIllinois.AsofAug.5,85percent
In the beginning of summer 2021, the beloved Evanston beach admissions became free to Evanston residents on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays after 8th Ward Alderman Devon Reid suggested making them free seven days a week. 4th Ward Alderman Jonathan Nieuwsma proposed Sunday and Monday, which was eventually expanded to also include Saturdays, according to the Chicago Tribune. The ultimate goal is to allow free access to Evanston beaches everyday next summer, and this decision to make three days a week free is a “short-notice compromise” until then.
When it looked like students would have the option to not wear a mask, junior Edlin Liang wouldn’t have worn one. “I don’t plan on wearing a mask when school starts,” Liang said at the
ty advised wearing masks indoors due to the sheer prevalence of the Delta variant. After an upsurge in instances, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health recommended that everyone should wear a mask indoors.
“The CDC has stated that the vaccine is effective at preventing COVID-19, so I think it’s fine that fully vaccinated people don’t wear masks. Masks should only be mandatory in places like airports, workplaces, local businesses or around high-risk individuals,” Liang
Just when so many around the world thought they were free from the grasp of quarantine, they were met with another, more contagious strain of COVID-19.OnJuly17, The American Academy of Pediatrics, an American professional association of pediatricians, released updated guidance for schools. It states that all students over 2 years old, along with staff, wear masks, regardless of whether they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. This was later backed up by the CDC on July 27, which they released a statement saying that the “CDC recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.”
By Antonia Lagunilla Staff Writer
This only limits access to natural land and nature to primarily the white, upper class people who have the privilege of getting beach tokens every year, and these high beach admissions fees are a clear way to block marginalized residents from Evanston’s recreational spaces.
ant, the conversation around masking has shifted since the middle of July. Many experts have been advising on a return to wearing masks even if you are vaccinated.
Free beach days offer a glimpse of equity
“Larger families are able to enjoy the beach without tokens for the first time in years but this is not enough, as we need to eradicate the beach token system,” explains Bytyqi.Ilook forward to the day when one of Evanston’s most popular recreation areas becomes accessible and free everyday of the summer, rather than just three days a week.
The public health offices of St. Louis Coun-
spread rapidly it soon became a dominant strain of the virus in India and Great Britain. It is considered significantly more contagious than prior mutations of the Coronavirus.
In addition to this, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, told NBC News, “If you’re vaccinated, you have a very high degree of protection from all of the variants that we are aware of circulating in the United States.”
This was followed by Pritzker’s announcement of a mask mandate on Aug. 4.
Continue masking to protect against Delta variant
Illustration by Lila Portis
the feature section is now, and all the work that’s been done for it, it’s important to acknowledge what can be improved on as well.
In addition, we hope to gain more consistent writers and student readers. We know that reading the newspaper is not a normal pastime for a highschooler, but we want to be a publication that students can turn to when they have questions about what’s going on in the community or when they want to learn about an issue that’s been bothering them.
An
Sinceus.the
We also want to become more involved with the ETHS community at-large. The student body should see the Feature section—and the Evanstonian as a whole—as a place to amplify their voices. We want you to come to us and tell us what your thoughts are, as well as what you’d like to see from
As editors, we feel responsible for bringing the student body together and ensuring that each individual knows what a safe space the Evanstonian community is. After far too many awkward and intimi-
dating Zoom meetings, it is crucial to use this year as an opportunity to bounce ideas off another, and expand our community. While necessary, it can often be a challenge to choose to write the difficult, maybe even controversial, stories. Our goal is to change that view and inform writers that those stories can be extremely successful when written correctly.
If you have any stories that you believe should be highlighted by the Evanstonian, feel free to send an email to evanstonian@ eths202.org. We’d love to hear from you!
lication and provide you with accurate information that you can rely on, but we also want to embrace the inherent locality of a school publication. We want to keep our reporting focused on Evanston and, even more so, the ETHS community and its personal struggles and accomplishments.
Although we’re very happy with where
A feature article, while a form of news, is more heavily catered towards human interest, both informative and captivating. The purpose of a feature story is to not only educate readers on a certain topic but to also ensure that readers are drawn in through relatability and a range of perspectives. Extensive amounts of research, most commonly gained through interviews, are crucial in delivering a compellingWenarrative.feelstrongly that a tight community is beneficial in producing interesting and heavily read pieces of writing. As editors, we hope every staff writer feels a sense of belonging and comfort in our section. We want to expand the Feature section to include people from every niche at ETHS. Who you are shapes how you write, and we want to have writers who have a variety of different opinions and perceptions of theOurworld.hope is to lead a section where everyone is comfortable talking to each other. Being part of the newspaper is about more than just writing stories; it’s also about meeting people who have different interests, ideas and goals, people who all share a love of journalism.
feature - 7 Illustrators Photographers Writers
Interested in The Evanstonian? yourwelcomeWevoice! informationalEvanstoniansession
will be held on Tuesday, August 24 at 8 a.m. in S105.
very beginning, the Feature section of the Evanstonian has remained successful in putting out pieces that are geared directly towards the student body. Writing concepts are produced as a group, where ETHS students then use their imagination and writing style to transfer each idea into a full-fledged article.
Letter from the editors: reimagining feature
We encourage you all to join the Evanstonian community! Please reach out to either Ahania Soni or Jilian Denlow, the editor and assistant editor of the Feature section respectively, or Eden Drajpuch and Lauren Dain, the executive editors.
Our goal is always to be a serious pub-
By Jilian Denlow and Ahania Soni Assistant Feature Edtior, Feature Editor
“In the beginning of that summer, it was harder to interact with my friends. I was wearing my mask all the time because the vaccine wasn’t out,” said sophomore Kaia Cmarko. “I think later in the summer was when I started getting more social because things were opening up a little bit more.”
By Jilian Denlow Assistant Feature Editor
“Thereher.was always a risk heading back to work that I had to take,” Peterson says. For all of 2020 and most of 2021, the Evanston Farmers Market had masks required. When CDC guidelines made masks optional, the Farmers Market followed the IDPH instead, keeping the rules the same.
Junior Spencer Grossman took a class during summer school in 2020. He remem bers the experience as generally disappoint ing.“Because it was a new environment for ev eryone, I think that I would’ve learned more in person,” he said. “[But] if I were to take the same course after doing a year of e-learn ing, then I probably wouldn’t be affected by the environment. I guess summer school gave me something to do—not that I looked forward to it.”
The chances are likely that those things will be achieved, as ETHS announced back in May that every student will return entire ly in-person this fall.
For members of the ETHS community, the upcoming school year will feel like a breath of fresh air. While it is likely that no one is eager for summer to come to an end, today probably feels like a reasonable place to begin, in hopes of replicating a pre-pan demic school environment as much as pos sible while still keeping the health of both staff and students in serious consideration.
While times like these are constantly fluid, and it is impossible to know what the later months will bring, ETHS reopening its doors to all students is a move towards nor malcy.
All in all, Peterson remembers the last two summers working as a positive experience— not to say it wasn’t spattered with frustration and inconveniences. “One big impact of working in such a busy place was being extra careful in my social life and work life. None of my friends were working at the time, so I was the only one interacting with others. I made sure to always go the extra mile to be safe to keep everyone I know safe.”
[Continued on evanstonian.net]
Junior Alice Lavan experienced a huge shift in almost every aspect of school be tween e-learning and attending this most re cent summer school session in-person.
Just a week following the last day of the 2020-21 school year, summer school began, featuring a slightly different structure than the in-person hybrid model. Summer school allowed students to attend fully in-person rather than partially, with a much larger per centage of students in the classroom.
In terms of safety protocol, staff and stu dents had to self-certify before entering the building, and masks were still to be worn; however, the social distancing regulations were lowered from six to three feet and were enforced much less strictly as the summer progressed, according to students.
lives were halted in their tracks to make way for the tsunami of real life. To keep up with everyone around them, teens needed access to specific opportunities and a set of certain skills. But not everybody had that.
glad that I was given the opportunity to be in the school for a small portion of the year. In the building, I was able to interact with some teachers and students, but most of the time I was in a classroom with only one or two of my class mates,” sophomore Emme Mann shares.
8 - feature
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted how society is accustomed to living and learn ing. ETHS’ decision to remain fully virtual beginning last fall was announced over the summer, and that same plan was implement ed until March of 2021.
“In summer 2020, the market opened late, so I worked even less than I would [regular ly] in this seasonal job. In 2020, we started counting the number of people coming and restricting amounts in certain places,” Peter son said. “We were VERY strict on the way that traffic was flowing; we’d correct every single person to go in the right direction or place so it wouldn’t inconvenience anyone.
ETHS students, staff reflect on schooling throughout pandemic
“For this upcoming school year, I hope we can do a lot of group work since we basi cally missed a year of socializing during the 2020-2021 school year,” sophomore Mon roe Stroth shares.
That idea of something to do, anything, was rare during the summer of 2020 for ETHS students. Mostly, the summer was de fined by a lack of activity. And as the summer went on, this new COVID lifestyle became normal. Masks became just another acces sory, practically an extension of one’s self. Going on drives became going on walks. Va cations and in-store shopping were things of ancientAndlegend.then,in what seemed to be both ten seconds and ten years, it was summer again. But this time, it was a little different. After a year of all virtual everything, the summer of 2021 showed signs of returning to some semblance of normalcy—and a chance to re flect on the time that had past since the start of shutdown.
“No change was made at the market even when faced with [a lot of] criticism. We fol lowed the IDPH guidelines, which were dif ferent than the CDC’s—which a lot of people don’t realize,” says Peterson.
By the time the summer of 2021 came around, however, the landscape had changed. COVID-19 vaccines had arrived. Restaurants reopened. Most summer school courses were in-person now, and, for some, it was the first time in the building for over a year.
ETHS was the last high school in the sur rounding community to provide an in-per son learning experience. For the fourth and final quarter of the 2020-21 school year, ETHS students were given the opportunity to attend in-person classes following a hy brid method of learning. New Trier, Loyola, Niles West, Glenbrook North and several other schools acted prior to ETHS, allow ing students to opt into in-person learning as early as the beginning of the 2020-2021
Unlike Peterson, many Evanston teenag ers experienced a lack of social connection during the summer of 2020, remembering their summer as less than ideal. Their social
On July 15, ETHS adopted the Illinois Department of Public Health’s statement, saying fully vaccinated students and staff are not required to wear masks within the building. However, more recently, on July 28, the school revised that statement, re quiring everyone, vaccinated or not, to wear masks until further changes are implement ed, based on the CDC’s latest guidance for schools.“Iwear my mask to protect you,” Su perintendent Eric Witherspoon says. “I hope that everyone understands that it’s part of taking care of our family.”
“The transition to in-person learning in summer school was really refreshing—to be in a classroom with other students and be learning face to face, regardless of the subject I was learning. It just made all the difference to be able to engage with other people and in teract. [In-person summer school] interrupt ed the monotony of online learning that went on for so long,” Lavan recalls.
We made sure to sanitize surfaces often and to remind everyone to stay 6-feet apart and practice other Covid-safe measures.”
collaboration throughout this school year.
By Macyn Hoeveler Staff Writer
Students reflect on past two surreal summers
“My boss dealt with [the pandemic] very appropriately. She changed the whole lay out of the market, took away many handson things, like the kids activity tent, certain events involving sampling and our restaurant vendors,” Peterson recalls.
Over the summer, students were able to do a lot of group work, compared to the heavy load of individual assignments last school year. Increased contribution and col laboration of students led to a pleasurable summer school experience. However, some students hope to see even more unity and
Peterson remembers that despite the pre cautions, working during the summer was still entirely dangerous for her and everybody around
Several students shared that they missed the normality of going in the building con sistently each day. That said, adjusting to the earlier wake up time was strugglesome to many.
“At first, waking up and going to in person school every morning seemed hard, since I had been used to waking up and joining a Zoom meeting from my bed,” sophomore Sydney Johnson says. “By the end of the first week, it felt like too much effort to go to school in-person every morning Monday through Thursday, but by the end of the third week, I had gotten into a routine of going every morning.”
Illustration by Lila Portis
During quarantine, Evanston teenagers continued working adapted versions of typ ical high school summer jobs. Junior Isabel Aldort worked as a math tutor throughout the summer of 2020. She faced many challenges that students and teachers alike can under stand.“It’s so much harder than tutoring some body in person because you can’t reach over and see what their work looks like and draw on their paper,” she explained. “I have so much more sympathy for teachers. To teach for a whole year like that? I cannot imagine having to do that, for more than one kid as well.”Junior Laura Peterson has worked at the Evanston Farmers Market for three years— during summer 2019, 2020 and 2021.
feature
schoolETHS’year.choice to take the conservative, risk-free route allowed plenty of time to cre ate a structured and safe model for hybrid. Those that chose to attend in-person classes at ETHS were assigned one of four cohorts based on their last name and were able to enter the building every other week. Hy brid entailed a variety of safety measures, including a mask mandate, six foot social distancing and a reduced number of students present each day. This method, while not anywhere close to typical circumstances, was an attempt at bringing ETHS students into the “Overall,building.I’m
The group recently held a rally on July 20 where important voices spoke and a petition on June 29 where Evanston citizens were able to sign and come out to speak about the recent lawsuit against D65 leadership and other issues that our school districts have faced.
Finals were a cause of stress for students, teachers and administrators alike—quite simply, a headache. Getting rid of final exams is a radical decision but will hopefully have positive effects as a whole.
The bell rings, echoing across the ETHS building. Students stream in and out of doors, rooms and hallways finding their way to their next class. The block schedule is now fully in place, finals have been cut from the program and students are finally able to interact without clicking an unmute button. It’s fall at ETHS once again.
One of those groups is the one Rees runs: the local Evanston branch. It’s completely grassroots and volunteer based. Since 2017, they’ve been constantly working to create political change across the nation. Originally, their goal was simply to prevent Trump’s re-election, but since the election this November, they’ve expanded their mission to a more general focus on creating progressive legislation across the board.“We’ve done voter registration, we’ve done phone banking, we’ve done text banking, we’ve done postcarding, we’ve done rallies, we’ve demonstrated at our elected officials offices; we’ve done everything you can imagine,” Rees says.
“I think the block [schedule] is going to slow down our day… Teachers are going to
“I don’t think sophomore year laid the best foundation for junior year,” sophomore Leah Johnson states. on
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performed in my classes. And the combination of that with the lack of social aspects [online] made it even harder. You weren’t seeing many faces or hearing many voices, which made it harder to put that effort in,” junior Alice Lavan says. “I think for a lot of people, it might be a rough transition, given the adjustments we made at home. The combination of the social aspects with our
[Continued
says. “It just bloomed over social media, and lots of different groups popped up.”
“We’re always communicating with each
Larsen
evanstonian.net]IllustrationbyValerie
By Ahania Soni Feature Editor
With feelings running at full speed, ETHS staff, students and teachers look to the following year of school in-person with stomach-churning apprehension and excitement.
feature - 9
“People want to complain that one vote doesn’t matter. Here’s an example of where that’s wrong. We were working with an organization called Sister District that works to change state legislatures from Republican to Democrat. There was a woman who was running in Virginia, and she ended up losing because of a coin toss. Because she had one vote less than the person she was running against, which meant that based on their system, they actually tossed a coin to decide who was going to be the winner.” Rees says. “So people should never feel like they’re alone. Or that they’re only one voice, they’re only one vote. One vote, one voice, can make such a big difference.”
be able to go deeper in the content,” Campbell says. “We’ll have 10 minute passing periods. Everybody can take a breather, take care of their needs, go to the next class.”
Students prepare for full in-person school year out Kit Chat
“We have been working very hard since this February to convince our two senators [Dick] Durbin and [Tammy] Duckworth—who have been on the fence about this—to agree to change the filibuster,” Rees says. “At the corner of Green Bay and McCormick, there’s a big yellow sign on the fence. It says ‘deadline for democracy.’ That’s our sign up there, and it’s telling people to call our senators and tell them to get rid of the filibuster.”
learning in school is going to be helpful for a lot of people who are struggling with online learning. I’m looking forward to it.”
Indivisible Evanston: Political action over the summer
These two pillars of change are good enough on their own, but work together wonderfully.“Instead of having a week of exams, anytime a teacher wants to give a multi-unit exam, a multi-unit test over 85 minutes, they can do that,” Campbell says.
“After doing online school for so long, I got really comfortable being home. I think all the [understandable] allowances we made for ourselves definitely changed the way I
other. We’re always telling each other what we’re doing and inviting the other groups to participate in our actions,” Rees says.
In 2017, just after Trump took office, as the world began to feel like it was spiraling out of control, Leah Greenberg and Ezra Levin made a plan.“They sat at their kitchen table, and they wrote out the things they were going to do. They sent the list to their friends, and their friends sent it to their friends,” Rosie Rees, a co-leader of Indivisible Evanston and manager of the Indivisible Illinois weekly newsletter,
By Macyn Hoeveler Staff Writer
“We worked with the Wisconsin Democrats on their voter protection hotline and answered calls for voters who didn’t know where the ballot boxes were, how to vote by mail, what to
It’s an emotional time for everybody, whether that be a good thing or a bad thing. Many things are changing in a short amount of time. And now, that vision of a more normal school experience is on the horizon.
And they mobilized all of these tools with much more urgency in the lead up to the 2020 election. The Evanston branch even extended its reach into other crucial swing states to try to protect the fairness of the election.
Principal Marcus Campbell was a big part of the changes to in-person school that will be adopted at the beginning of the school year. Along with more safety precautions, many new things will be fully established— primarily, the removal of finals and the implementation of a block schedule containing longer, but fewer, classes per day.
When it comes to large scale political change, strength in numbers like this is often crucial. But Rees also wants to emphasize how much strength there is in one voice alone. Any movement is made up of individual people, and part of the point of activist groups is to remind you that no matter how small you may feel, you can do something with your voice.
According to Campbell, the block schedule will likely have a huge impact on the education of ETHS students as well as their experience socially.
Stronger Together Evanston is a local organization run by Evanston citizens, including District 65 and District 202 parents. The organization is a multi-racial union that is committed to anti-racism in Evanston’s community and education system. Additionally, they fight for equity, justice and the dismantling of white supremacy in our community.
“For many kids, schools have been dehumanizing places. Part of block… is about rehumanizing the space…and focus[ing] on being back together,” Campbell explains thoughtfully.Headds that the presentation of work may change too, taking into account the lack of finals in the coming year. “There’ll be more project-based learning, for sure,” Campbell says.
Check
As one small branch of a national organization, one of the best things about Indivisible is that they’re not in it alone. At the same time as Indivisible Evanston was mobilizing in Illinois, branches across the country were also fighting to convince their senators or even less sympathetic senators from other states to remove the filibuster. There’s a whole web of different grassroots organizations all working under the same umbrella who are more than willing to help one another.
do—we really had a lot of help for [voters],” ReesAftersays.the Democrats’ success in the general election, Indivisible Evanston moved on to a new target: getting rid of the filibuster.
Campbell views the block schedule as an opportunity to “rehumanize” the school. He considers students’ health—mental and physical—to be of the utmost importance.
“I think I see [downtown Evanston post-pandemic] vibrant and cultural, so I would love to see more cultural activities happening downtown—Fountain Square with pedestrian areas, surrounding it with art and music events. I think activities such as that, cultural events in the heart of our downtown, will be a huge boost to that business district. I also see us really doing our best to attract businesses that are in teresting to people, that are interesting to visit as well as a product . . . I think that the most exciting piece is creating cultural
“The closing of the centers [last March] impacted all residents because, of course,
“We have been positioned to serve the community and really anyone who is in need. We offer pairs of non-perishable items and canned goods as well as house hold items and clothing for those in need, and [Family Focus] is simply just an op portunity to give back to those in the com munity. So we are open on Saturdays for a couple of hours. And we allow people to RSVP or they register rather to come and take part of the stack in the giving store room,” Cooper says.
For further discussion of the impact COVID-19 pandemic had on Evanston businesses, listen to this issue’s episode of Kitchat, found wherever you get your pod casts, in which Booked co-owner Rachel Round dives into the obstacles businesses have had to overcome.
Two vital components of the Evanston
Although many businesses took such a hard hit during the pandemic, many Evan ston residents have learned more about the value of shopping small and locally in order to sustain a flourishing commu nity. With this newfound knowledge, and a possible ending to the pandemic in sight, comes hope for the future of Evanston and its downtown.“Ithinkthe most challenging aspect, but also the most exciting, will be restor ing and revitalizing our downtown in the sense that storefronts are no longer closed. I’ve created a retail committee to look at really attracting retail that will attract people to Evanston and really make our downtown a destination. I think that will be the most challenging [act] … devel oping retail downtown and making it an attractive destination for folks to come to shop,” Kelly explains.
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The Giving Storeroom has since re opened and has found new ways to support its community. Through partnering with another group located in Family Focus, the joint effort of the Giving Storeroom and Valerie D. Summer Clothing Closet is providing two life-giving resources.
- 1st Ward alderperson Clare Kelly
“I think that when you shop locally, a much bigger portion of your dollar is going to remain in the local community, and you are paying local taxes that also support your local community. You’re also basically voting to physically create the kind of landscape that you want to see when you go downtown… You want a downtown that’s interesting, where there are fun and interesting stories and where you [can] go in [to] have these very per sonal interactions with people.”
Evanston’s business land scape starts its recovery
The resilience that surviving Evanston business owners have shown throughout this pandemic is astonishing and helps en sure a sense of hope for the community. Despite the hardships and setbacks busi nesses, such as Bookends & Beginnings, have faced, there continues to be a posi tive outlook for the future.
“I think the most challenging aspect, but also the most exciting, will be restoring and revitalizing our downtown in the sense that storefronts are no longer closed. I’ve created a retail committee to look at really attracting retail that will attract people to Evanston and really make our downtown a destination.”
seen a lot of changes even in my neigh borhood. People are coming together more now that vaccine rates are increasing. And like I said, people are appreciating social izing and being able to connect with one another, not on Zoom. I think Evanston is succeeding in rebuilding itself for the better.”
venues downtown as well as a retail expe rience that’s interesting for people,” Kelly states.As a community that thrives upon to getherness, Evanston continues to rebuild as it approaches a post-pandemic future. With the combination of resilience from businesses and support from consumers, local establishments will recover.
they couldn’t come to the community cen ters. . . [Before COVID-19,] you had old er adults getting lunch Mondays through Fridays at the Levy Center and then not just getting the food but also coming to be around each other—and they weren’t able to do that anymore,” Thomson says.
“It’s also great to see the downtown getting back to its normal capacity with more people eating out and shopping. I think that this is what we have been wait ing for for so long, and it is so amazing to see that it is finally, hopefully, almost here,” junior Heath Grossman says.
Many residents believe that Evanston will come out of this pandemic stronger because of the challenges the community has“Weweathered.aretrying to rebuild the downtown, rebuild the schools, rebuild ourselves,” ju nior Moxie Dully says. “And this summer is crucial to allowing Evanston to get back to its normal place while still using what we learned from this pandemic. I have
The storeroom, which was founded prior to the pandemic, had to temporarily close due to COVID-19 like many other community resources. This would have left many Evanstonians without access to food if it weren’t for the strong network of community organizations in Evanston.
A common theme that can be taken from both of these challenges, COVID-19 and virtual shopping, is the significance of patronizing local establishments, but why is this practice important? Barrett explains why the method of shopping locally holds value to her.
is hope from all ends of the community that small businesses and the entirety of downtown Evanston will be restored to their former glory and improve even fur ther.
“Life-giving community organizations like Fleetwood or Robert Crown help sup port the varied and immediate needs of the community. Because of this, the tem porary closure of these organizations and their programs caused challenges for com munity members,” Anna Grant-Bolton, a 2021 ETHS graduate, says.
“The [Family Focus] building was to tally closed. We were not able to serve our community. But thankfully, we were able to send them to other places,” Cooper says. “One of the things that I love about being one of the food pantries in Evanston [is that] we have a very good network of other pantries and resources that we can help guide our our families to, but we all kind of hit a point just with the safety of everything, because everything was so heightened, and we didn’t know.”
From integral community centers shut ting down to social distancing measures limiting human connection, the ability to socialize as a community has been rela tively absent since March of 2020 and is only now starting to return.
Student Services and College and Ca reer Coordinator Llyoandra Cooper, is an organizer of the Giving Storeroom located at Family Focus.
While these issues are still present over a year into the pandemic, the implemen tation of several welfare initiatives have revived Evanston’s social community by utilizing the Fleetwood-Jourdain, Robert Crown and Levy Community Centers in new ways, including the introduction of the Safe Summer Initiative heading into this past summer.
Community uses existing resources for new purposes
Audrey Thompson, Community Ser vices Manager for the City of Evanston, also recognizes the challenges the centers’ temporary closures have brought for resi dents— specifically older adults.
Not only will Evanston and its down town hopefully be able to build back into what it was before the pandemic, Kelly and others have even greater plans for the future that Evanston has yet to see. There
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The Evanston Community Fridge was created in response to national food and sup ply shortages during the pandemic which directly affected the Evanston community. Grant-Bolton, an organizer of the fridge project, summarizes its concept.
Since in-person activities at the high school were limited, the Moran Center be came a place where young people can go to not only learn but safely socialize.
Once able to reopen, the reimagining of spaces such as Robert Crown, the Moran Center, Levy Center and Fleetwood-Jour dain allowed for Evanston residents to sur vive despite facing barriers.
Following a shooting on Hovland Court in March, Thompson and other community members discussed what had gone wrong so far in preventing and responding to vio lence and what they could do in the future. Thompson talks about how the initiative was“Wecreated.recognized that our response [prior to the initiative] was pretty poor. Not just from a city standpoint, but from the orga nizations throughout Evanston, and so we knew that we needed to do something— and so we created an informal response as to when something like this happens, we need to have individuals who are waking
Executive Editor, In-Depth Editor, Assistant In-Depth Editor, Staff Writers
so we’re trying to balance having a relaxed atmosphere but also providing stability that the center needs and making sure they’re enough adults to supervise if something goesTheamiss.”importance of an organization such as the Summer Safe initiative during such a tumultuous time is immeasurable. With schools being shut down and community safe havens closed, there was significantly less support and barriers to violence avail able to young people during the pandemic.
In addition to the utilization of exist ing places in Evanston, the pandemic has led to the establishment of new community projects, including Evanston Community Fridges. The pandemic heigented the United States’ existing food insecurity crisis. Feed ing America released data outlining how the COVID-19 pandemic increased the levels of food insecurity in the U.S, and they pro jected that the effects of the pandemic will continue through 2021.
The founding of mutual aid organizations was evident during the height of the pan demic. Rather than the top down approach associated with charities, the intention of a mutual aid network is for a community to work together to support itself, indepen
“The pandemic caused so much suffer ing, and that can’t be understated,” GrantBolton says. “Because of all the change that occurred in the past year, we have an op portunity to radically imagine the year we live in. The pandemic turned the world up side down, but during the next few years, we have the unique possibility to build a more loving, caring community.
community centers, with a few events held around Evanston. Teens can choose a variety of activities from open gyms, ice skating, video games with tournaments and prizes, as well as enrichment events, which educate students on financial literacy, etiquette, health, engaging with police and more.
Evanston community begin to rebuild
“Because of all the change that occurred in the past year, we have an opportunity to radically imagine the year we live in. The pandemic turned the world upside down, but during the next few years, we have the unique possibility to build a more loving, caring community.”
“Evanston Community Fridges are a mu tual aid network rooted in collective com munity care through access to food without cost,” Grant-Bolton says. “We organize fridges hosted within our city to feed one another; taking responsibility for meeting each other’s needs without relying on inef fective institutions to provide nourishment and cultural affirmation.”
The Safe Summer Initiative, which be gan June 4, was launched “in an effort to reduce youth violence” through which, “the City of Evanston has partnered with local non-profit organizations and local youth to build enrichment activities this summer spe cifically tailored for high school youth,” its website states.
“Many people who have been most impacted by the pandemic were food in secure or at risk of food insecurity before COVID-19 and are facing greater hardship since COVID-19,” the report claims.
By Lauren Dain, Jessica Seghal, Meg Houseworth, Bridget Baker, Zoe Kaufman, Sophie Milner-Gorvine
The initiative alternates between the
dent of an outside source. When a lack of resources was prevalent, the utilization of mutual aid groups became a useful tool.
“So we’ve had that activity [with the Moran Center], we’ve had an event about becoming a responsible teen, we’ve had the library come and do STEM activities where teens can make radios and headphones, we’ve had the Institute of Therapy for the Arts come and do some impromptu improv and drama theatre; so we’ve had a wealth of organizations and different activities,” Thompson says. “We also have open gyms where people can play sports and listen to music, and, at Robert Crown, youth can ice skate. So, really, we’ve tried to make it as relaxing as possible; we don’t force young people to participate, but what we’ve done is try to get them to participate.”
The initiative includes nine organizations that focus on a variety of ages. Community centers are open everyday, and, on Mondays and Fridays, there are open gyms and free access to ice skating rinks from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. From Tuesday to Thursdays, Fleet wood is also open from 6 to 9 p.m.. In order to rebuild as a community, it is necessary that individuals’ needs are met with support where they’ve been historically shut down. With young people’s mental health being exacerbated, in addition to worrying around financial, educational and environmental is sues, teens have become particularly vulner able to COVID-19—not exclusively from a health stand-point. As a result, teens may use negative coping mechanisms to deal with these restrictive circumstances.
The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime articulates this idea in an article that states, “Many of these hardships [of COVID-19] are also known risk factors as sociated with crime, violence, and drug use, and may expose youth to increased victim ization and involvement with crime during and after the pandemic. Such risks, accen tuated by confinement and restriction mea sures, include limited access to education and employment, inequality, stress within families/households, poor mental health and well-being, and loss of social and communi ty networks.”Inorderto combat this problem locally, Thompson and other community members discussed how Evanston could target teen agers and adults alike by fostering a sense of community.“Stemming from a lot of the violence that’s taken place over the last year or so, we, [the City of Evanston] thought, ‘What can we do?’ and so, we started meeting with our outreach team and members of the Evanston Collective and just said, ‘Hey, we need somewhere for young people to go to every day,’ and also a space where we could have block parties on the weekends and some other community events where we can not just target teenagers but also the entire family,” Thompson says.
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Making the Summer Safe Initiative work as best as it can for teenagers can be attribut ed to youth involvement and participation in its “Thisfoundation.initiative is also a part of the Mayor Summer Youth Employment Program, so we actually met with young people to ask them what they wanted [for this initiative]. So in stead of creating it for [teenagers], we met with them. And quickly, they told us many of our ideas were trash, and that we needed to revamp; so we did. And that’s why this program is for youth, by youth,” Thomson says. “[When we talked to young people], they didn’t want to feel like our staff was hovering, so we’re trying to create less of a kids camp and more of a teen club feel. They want to have more of a relaxed atmosphere,
“I look forward to seeing more grassroots mutual aid projects to ensure that we are all taken care of.”
the community, who have experienced the after-affects of violence, and making sure they are okay. So, just in having those con versations, we started talking about what to do during the summer, because if we didn’t have something during the summer, we were going to have a long, hot [violent] summer, and we didn’t want that.”
- 2021 ETHS graduate Anna Grant-Bolton
The Beach Boys, violinist Joshua Bell, Lauryn Hill, Counting Crows, John Legend and the opener for John Legend, The War and Treaty are expected to perform as this Ravin ia season continues.
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What’s summer without reality TV? After
Popular sequels or next installments of series include “F9” and “A Quiet Place Part II.” “F9,” the ninth installment of the Fast and Furious series, follows Dom Torretto (Vin Diesel) and his team as they face an enemy like never before—Jakob (John Cena)—a trained assassin who happens to be Dom’s brother. “A Quiet Place Part II,” meanwhile, returns to the Abbott family (with lead Em ily Blunt) and ts struggle for survival as the creatures that surrounded them became more and more aggressive.
releases,
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With theaters just opening, many films were viewed from home on popular platforms such as Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime or HBO Max. Marvel’s “Black Widow” was one of the most anticipated movies of the year and starred Scarlett Johannson as the power ful female lead. Another summer movie with a female protagonist was Disney’s live-action “Cruella,” which told the rich backstory be hind one of the most classic Disney animated movies: “101 Dalmatians.” More kid-geared Disney+ films included “Luca” and “Peter Rabbit 2.”
artsA&E& entertainment
Others
Senior Ashley Brandt was excited to see Post Malone, Miley Cyrus, Polo G, Rod dy Rich and Iann Dior. “I listen to a lot of their music with my friends and hearing them live makes the experience even more real,” Brandt
summer’s
TV shows
I’ve never seen Chicago live before so I’m excited to do that.”
“It was so vibrant and filmed so well that it almost felt like you were sitting on a bench in Washington Heights looking at everything. It didn’t feel like you were watching a movie.” Junior Sammi Lewis says.
“I already have tickets to see Cynthia Eri vo, who is just awesome. I’m really excited about it, because it’ll be a concert featur ing women artists. It’ll be with the [Chica go Symphony Orchestra] and conducted by Marin Alsop, the protege of Leonard Bern stein, who is just a fantastic woman conduc tor,” Zegree says.
Lollapalooza
Along with Interlochen, Zegree is planning to attend PorchFest, held in the Lakeview and Roscoe Village communities in Chicago.
Matt James’ dramatic season, “The Bachelor” franchise began the summer off with two bachelorettes (both from Matt’s season), Katie Thurston and Michelle Young, who will both star in their own separate seasons. Another popular series in the dating/romance cate gory was season two of Netflix’s risque “Too Hot to Handle.” Netflix teen shows, “Outer Banks,” “Never Have I Ever,” and “Atypical” also got new seasons this summer.
If anyone enjoyed the 2007-2012 “Gossip Girl” series, they might enjoy the new 2021 version of the show available on HBO Max. The reboot portrays a more diverse and mod ern take on the original story centered around New York’s Upper East Side high schoolers.
Othersays.artists that performed this year at Lollapalooza include Megan Thee Stallion, Tyler, the Creator, Marshmello, Journey, Il lenium and Foo Fighters.
rewind:
Aside from the more popular concerts, Zegree enjoys attending smaller and less er-known concerts like PorchFest and perfor mances at the Interlochen Center for the Arts.
Chicago, singer/pianist/composer Harry Connick Jr. and rock band Foreigner were a part of this season at Interlochen as well as faculty, staff, and camp students from Interlo chen. View all events here and purchase tick ets for the remaining Interlochen events here.
a musical success. Based on the musical he wrote as a sophomore in college, it sheds light on the lives of members of the Latinx com munity of Washington Heights, New York.
“PorchFest is where you can walk around and there will be soloists or very small groups that will stand on someone’s porch, so someone will volunteer their porch, and then they’ll play a small acoustic set there,” Zegree says, “It’s very fun to hear the spon taneous live music that we’ve missed for a very long time.”
look
“The Lollapalooza lineup this year is more rap than usual,” says senior Vivian Miller. “Overall, I like the lineup more than 2019s.”
Summer 2021 boasts return of in-person concerts
By Anika Radhakrishnan Assistant Arts and Entertainment Editor
It’s one thing to listen to music with ear buds, but it’s a whole different experience to see our favorite artists perform in front of our eyes. With the pandemic causing all live concerts to become virtual, people were re minded how much they missed the thrills of experiencing music live.
“I’m highly considering going to and buy
“I’m from Michigan and I used to work for Interlochen, so I’m going to be making my way up there,” Zegree stated prior to at tending the August 3 Chicago concert.. “I’m going to see the band Chicago at Interlochen, and they do a mixture of classical, contempo rary classical, rock, pop and country, so it’s a very eclectic concert season up there, but
From well-known concerts like Ravinia and Lollapalooza to the more local concerts like PorchFest, the lineup for these shows are shaping up to make for some exciting live music to not miss out on.
Lin Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights” was
The popular four-day festival, Lollapaloo za is filled with good food, a packed crowd and, of course, music. It was held at Grant Park in Chicago and returned live from July 29 to Aug. 1. Lollapalooza used to be a ven ue filled with mostly rock bands performing when it first started, but now the lineup is more diverse than ever, especially this year.
Illustration by Mira Littmann
ing tickets for the John Legend concert to see him and The War and Treaty,” says Zegree. “And I’m definitely excited to see him and Cynthia.”
The ambiance from the crowd, the people singing along, and the dancing to the music is what make these venues special. It’s a feeling that simply cannot be replicated virtually and a feeling that few people had an appreciation for before the pandemic struck.
Held outdoors in Highland Park, Ravinia is known for having accomplished artists from a variety of genres perform. From classical musicians to contemporary pop artists, this music venue attracts audiences of all tastes. This year, Ravinia will be running between July 1 to September 26, 2021, so if you’re thinking of purchasing tickets but aren’t sure which artists are performing, Director of Choirs Sarah Zegree has you covered.
Movies
“I really liked [Luca]. I thought it was a really cute and fun summer movie,” junior Kodie Winkler says, “I know a lot of people were thinking that is wasn’t like a typical Pixar movie that has some greater meaning about life and existentialism, but it was really cute and really sweet. I loved the animation.”
Ravinia
“I believe the pandemic has taught me to be more appreciative of events like music concerts, which is an experience shared with people,” Brandt says. “Being inside for the majority of the pandemic has made me re alize things I’ve missed and the little things I’ve taken for granted.”
“Though the writing isn’t the best,” says junior Caroline Klearman, “it’s interesting to see social media’s effect on a version of one of my favorite shows. I also love that there is so much more diversity than in the original.”
[Continued on evanstonian.net]
Summer a at the recent greatest hits
As COVID-19 restrictions ease and the weather gets warmer, summer 2021 has fea tured a season full of concerts people have been missing for almost a year and a half. Finally, live music lovers can come together again to connect through music.
By Alice Cutter, Lila Portis Staff Writers
I’ve been going to Homer’s since before I could walk. Although it’s in Wilmette, the warm, loud ice cream parlor filled with vintage posters and smiling patrons is a staple for the New Trier Township and Evanstonians alike. One of the most important parts of the Homer’s charm is the experience; there’s always something going on there, someone you know or will soon meet sitting at the many tables. In that way, Homer’s is a 10/10, no question, but does the ice cream really stack up?
Mintof up an
Representation is so important, and I eventually came to realize how much I needed to see women in music. Taylor Swift gave me somebody to look up to, because she is a strong, empowered and successful woman. It also meant so much to see these beautiful women experiencing the same insecurities as me. More importantly, I realized how much I had disrespected art made by women and how much good music I missed out on because of it. I am now proud to share how much I love Cardi B, Amy Winehouse, Joni Mitchell, Courtney Barnett, Taylor Swift, Haim and Olivia Rodrigo.
flipped and the ice cream doesn’t stay in the cup, you get a fresh blizzard and your order is free. At the Dairy Queen on Lake, it seems like this promise is just a myth. Just once, though, I want the opportunity to see my blizzard hit the ground.
“In the show I was either singing, screaming, or crying. It was a very emotional part and trying to find strength in the character and bring realness to the imaginary circumstances was really interesting,” Victorson says.
One bone to pick I have with Dairy Queen is that despite their promise, the Dairy Queen on Lake has never once flipped my blizzard. The company vows that if your blizzard is
I walked through the crowded doors of my middle school, headphones blaring, feeling sophisticated. The music playing in my earbuds was classic, the greatest of all time, perfect. In music, these terms often tacitly mean one thing: made by men.
Musical Offering films original show ‘Mine ‘Till The End’
When I was younger, I loved Taylor Swift. I loved her sharp red lips, her heartbreak and the subject of her songs. She is the epitome of the teenage experience. Love, betrayal and most importantly: drama. “New Romantics” makes sense of it all. (“We cry tears of mascara in the bathroom / Honey life is just a classroom.”) I was a proud Swiftie, but things slowly changed. I read Rolling Stones’ “500 Best Albums of All Time” and scrolled through man after man. I watched girls get ridiculed with the ultimate insult: basic. Basic was Pinterest boards, Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Taylor Swift. Stereotypically male interests were not considered basic. In my haste to run away from the word “basic,” I never stopped to consider why it was so bad to like things that other girls liked. I blindly accepted that the interests of girls were inherently, unequivocally and undoubtedly worthy of scorn.Soon, I renounced Taylor Swift. I began to listen exclusively to male artists. Specifically, white men. I didn’t recognize my internalized misogyny at the time. Thom Yorke’s existential dread in “OK Computer” became the soundtrack to my walks home. Sufjan Stevens was my thinking music.
“Lights, camera, action!”
it is. At Dairy Queen, I ordered Reese’s blizzard and was met minutes later with a cup of heaven. The finely chopped Reece’s are the perfect compliment to the smooth vanilla soft serve. The ice cream was thick, rich, cold and incredibly satisfying.
“It’s really cool to be able to say that we turned our musical into a movie. Now people can watch it whenever they want and plus we get to hold onto it for the future,” Godfrey says.
Let me start with this: I am not a Northsider and I was not raised on Hartigan’s. Some Northside legends do not stack up to their sizable reputation (cough, cough, Old NeighborhoodHartigan’s,Grill).
Three words that many of the Musical Offering performers are not used to hearing. After months of uncertainty whether the show would go on, local music school, The Musical Offering, finally filmed, and is now streaming the original fall play, “Mine ‘Till The End.”
My love letter to music made by women, taken from “Sour:” “I hope you know how proud I am you were created/ With the courage to unlearn all of their hatred.”
In order to keep me motivated on my quest, I had to make a change and widen my repertoire. Although I hope I am not disappointing my predecessor, Michael, I give you not a review, but a reflection on a few of my favorite ice cream places on the North Shore.
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Let the saga begin.
Illustration by Sabrina Barnes
While Rodrigo may have started my journey, she certainly didn’t finish it. I revisited my old love for Taylor Swift and sang along to “1989” proudly. I listened to “Lover,“ “Folklore” and “Evermore.” “The Man” explained Swift’s struggles as a woman in the music industry. As she sang, “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can/ Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man,” I realized that I felt the exact same way about exhausting double standards. Moreover, as I emphasized with Swift, I realized that I had been part of the problem. I dismissed her as a musician who could not be taken seriously.
Homer’s
Godfrey composed the score by taking inspiration from ‘40s musical theater style and mixing it with more contemporary style music. The original soundtrack was virtually recorded and later edited together. Additionally, throughout the composition Godfrey added elements from his past shows to reflect on his time with the Musical Offering.
Dairy Queen
on the other hand, is something different. Evanstonians 9 months through 99 years flock to the small, friendly shop lit with Christmas lights on the corner of Central and Lincolnwood all throughout the summer, and for good reason. The Mint Mackinac Island Fudge at Hartigan’s is arguably one of the best flavors ice cream ever created. With a base of mint ice cream and streaks of rich, dark chocolate fudge, Mint Mackinac Island Fudge is the more attractive, more athletic, overachieving cousin of mint chocolate chip. As much as mint choc- olate chip can try to compete, it will never outshine its golden boy cousin, who, by the way, just got into Harvard law school. Immediately upon the first bite, I enjoyed a mouthful of smooth, refreshing mint ice cream, offset by the dark, fudgey streams of chocolate. The mint flavour was potent but not overpower- ing, and the ratio of choc- olate to ice cream was nothing short of exceptional. The ice cream itself was the perfect temperature, not too cold but clearly right out of the freezer. I always have high hopes at Hartigan’s, and they rise even more when I order Mint Mackinac Island Fudge. Clearly, it did not disappoint.
By Kayla Drajpuch Assistant Arts and Entertainment Editor
“I wanted to do something a little bit dark, a little supernatural, and unlike anything I’ve written in the past,” Godfrey explains.
“I was able to incorporate some lines that fit from my first show and I repurpose some melodies and lyrics that I wrote in past years to give this year a special meaning to wrap up my final MO show,” Godfrey says.
they“Idesired.wentto a bunch of thrift shops all over Chicago and found pieces that could either go in the show as is, or only needed minimal alterations,” Koconis explains. “All the costumes in the show are thrifted.”
Ice cream is truly the best medicine. It is both healing and preventative, brightening a gloomy day and warding off a bad mood. Personally, I like to think I’m somewhat of an ice cream connoisseur. I eat it all the time: when I’m feeling good and bad, in sickness and in health. Honestly, I could eat it every day for the rest of my life, till death do us part. I even dabble with soft serve and frozen yogurt. With that said, I take my ice cream veryOriginally,seriously.I planned on taking a note from Munchin’ with Michael to review the same flavour from a few popular ice cream destinations around Evanston. However, deciding what ice cream flavor to review was actually quite a taxing process -- the flavour needed to be basic and widespread, but I just could not commit myself to an entire summer of eating chocolate and vanilla -- and I realized the importance of diversifying my ice cream intake. After my second single scoop of mint chocolate chip in a sugar cone, I realized that not only was the flavor already on its way to boring, but I also just could not come up with something new to say about it. In reality, they all pretty much taste the same (except for Mint Mackinac Island fudge at Hartigan’s, which will always be one of my favorites).
I won’t lie, going to Dairy Queen is a trip and a half. Taking Lake in Wilmette all the way down to Loyola is no walk down the street to Hartigan’s, but is it worth it for a thick, cold blizzard or heaping pile of soft serve?Ithink
After being a part of the Musical Offering for six years, and writing for the fall show for four, Godfrey’s experience and attention to detail is seen throughout the show. The relationship between Hunt and Hemlock mimics one of domestic abuse showing the layers of complexity within Mine ‘Till The End.
From Homer’s, I decided to get a single scoop of their classic Raspberry Chocolate Chip in a sugar cone. The ice cream was creamy and cold, exactly what you want when you order a scoop, and the raspberry flavor was sweet but not overbearing. However, if I didn’t know what I had ordered, I don’t think raspberry would’ve been my first guess since the ice cream tasted more sweet than tangy like many other fruit flavours. In every bite, the raspberry base was beautifully balanced with crunchy squares of semi-sweet chocolate. Overall, the ice cream at Homer’s is just as good as the experience itself. I never pass opportunity to make the trip down Green Bay to this ice cream mecca.
The musical, set in the ‘40s, focuses on famous jazz singer Delilah Hunt (played by senior Isa Victorson), who signs a deal with her demonic manager, Adonis Hemlock (played by Niles West senior Jake Pranian)
Then, something incredible happened. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” dropped, and I loved it. More importantly, I discovered a pain so distinctly feminine in her angry music. In “jealousy, jealousy,” all this young pop star sees are “girls too good to be true/ With paper white teeth and perfect bodies.” These lyrics meant so much to me, because I too experienced these beauty standards. Although beauty standards affect other genders, women often suffer the most intense negative societal messaging. Thom Yorke’s only vaguely body-centric lyrics in “Bodysnatchers” were apparently inspired by Victorian ghost stories, not Instagram photos. Male artists approach questions of body image with the distance of a ghost story.
The cumulation of patience and hard work paid off as audiences watched the virtual premiere of “Mine ‘Till the End” on July 16. Tickets are still on sale and the movie can be streamed until September 1.
in exchange for fame and fortune. The show follows Hunt as she visits her sick mother, leading to another “deal with the devil”. These decisions keep the audience in awe as they watch the subsequent consequences unfold.
By Jojo Wertheimer Digital Content Editor
In addition to the production’s themes, working with the mid 20th century setting proved to be complex. After researching archived images and magazines, Godfrey and Costume Director Alethea Koconis used popular styles from that era to create a vision of how they wanted the characters to dress. Koconis then set out to find and make costumes that matched the time period and look
‘Sour’ and female representation in music
ETHS 2021 graduate Howard Godfrey worked for months writing, composing, and directing the annual fall show. Rehearsals were put on pause in October and resumed in the spring; what started as an on-stage script transformed into a 113-minute film. A few modifications were made, but ultimately the movie turned out to look and feel better than imagined.“Wehad to revise the script to make it a bit more COVID-friendly like shooting some scenes outside, but with a professional camera crew and several cameras and angles it turned out really well,” Godfrey says.
By Sophie Yang Arts and Entertainment Editor
To go with Jojo: Ice cream edition
Hartigan’s
Additionally, what’s worse, is that in many cases students who are being cut from teams have the dedication and po
“The athletes that joined our team af ter being cut have been amazing,” varsity girls cross country coach Rosette Ochoa affirms. “They are at practice every day working hard, and that hard work pays off. They accomplish goals they never thought wereSo,possible.”ifastudent-athlete doesn’t do so well at a tryout, why not give them the op portunity to prove themselves during the regular season? While it’s unlikely that it would be enjoyable for an athlete to be a benchwarmer an entire season, at least then, they wouldn’t be losing the benefits of being on a sports team. They’d still be at practices and playing the sport. If there are enough students, there could even be grounds to make more teams.
“When you get to high school level sports, you’re one step away from competing at a collegiate level. You need to also prepare those student athletes for that experience,” he explains. “So the students that are suc cessful in high school sports need to set the stage and teach them a pathway that,
are often quite inequitable and deteriorat ing to student well-being.
a student at ETHS can join. This includes the obvious choices: basketball, football, soccer and baseball, and the not so ob vious: badminton, bowling and ultimate frisbee. Considering its wide variety of athletic offerings, it would appear that ETHS encourages and welcomes student involvement on sports teams. It would appear that the school understands the academic and social benefits associated with playing a sport. ETHS is fantastic at appearing welcoming, but, in reality, their cut policies—rules in place for determin ing who does and doesn’t make a roster—
it is significantly less of a consideration for ETHS. So, why not allow these benefits to extend to ALL students? In fact, the ma jority of colleges actually have club sports that any student can participate in. Those that have the opportunity of playing bas ketball in high school but don’t plan on competing in the NCAA could join the
“Oftentimes, if [students] are underper forming in the classroom, we will receive an email from a teacher alerting us,” he explains. “If they’re not on a sports team, who do they send that email to? A lot of times, it goes home, but there’s no reply or voicemails left on the phone call, and there’s no reply. So, you being a member of an athletic team, there’s an extra bridge of support where a coach can often mentor a student athlete. This ensures they’re on pace to perform both in the classroom and as well as in their competitions.”
By Sophia Sherman Assistant Sports Editor
Cut sports create inequities in ETHS athletics
clubTheteam.debate over what to do about cut policies in high school sports is far from over. It remains true that being cut from a team often leads to a negative effect on a student’s wellbeing. The student who didn’t have the resources to take private golf lessons will likely never have the chance to play golf because of ETHS’ cut policies. The student who gets cut from the tennis team that has been playing his entire life will be losing a strong outlet of joy because of ETHS’ cut policies.
“Oftentimes, if [stu dents] are underper forming in the classroom, we will receive an email from a teacher alerting us. If they’re not on a sports team, who do they send that email to?”
“I think of my teammates as a family and have really benefited from the com munity we’ve built together,” she says. “Be ing on the team has become a major social outlet for me, and it would be difficult to find that elsewhere.”
But because of ETHS’ dedication to pro viding equitable opportunities, the school should find a way to accommodate these athletes. While it might be a challenge, it would be an uplifting experience for stu dent-athletes to still be able to play rath er than being told that they are not good enough.Coach Ellis also makes another point that the basketball team’s cut policies are preparing students for what comes next: college basketball scholarships.
While it’s certainly true that colleges don’t accept all students to play for their teams, they have much more of a finan cial incentive for this than high schools. They’re making tremendous amounts of money off of the skills of athletes, whereas
hey, if you’re going to continue playing the sport beyond high school, not everybody makes the team.”
Photo Courtesy of Nora Miller
Each year, between 50 and 60 fresh men try out for the ETHS basketball team.
Of those students, only 30 to 35 of those tryouts actually make the roster. Some of the players might have been playing the sport their entire life only to have been cut freshman year; others might not have had the opportunity or resources to play basketball before high school. Regardless, these students would have missed out on more than just basketball.
- Sophomore Emerson Kimrey
beginning of the season,” Coach Ochoa concludes. “I feel the fun comes from our team bonding moments and the fact we are all in the trenches together.”
sports - 14
When an athlete is cut, the social outlet sports provide disappears instantaneous ly. This could lead a student to feel badly about themselves and suddenly find them selves without the peer group they previ ously could turn to for support.
tremendous growth, often racing their last competition minutes faster than the
ETHS is an institution dedicated to providing equitable opportunities for the entirety of its diverse student body. From providing extra support outside of class to eliminating policies that perpetuate racial disparities, ETHS, for the most part, meets its dedication. This is, of course, aside from one important entity: sports teams. There are more than 40 sports teams
That said, it would be logistically chal lenging to make space for all these stu dents.“There’s already around 150 students that are participating in basketball in high school. And you have to deal with sched uling gym space for all of those sorts of winter sports, not a spring or fall sport where there’s fields and other times avail able,” Ellis points out.
“I think of my team mates as a family and have really benefited from the community we’ve built together. Being on a team has become a major social outlet for me, and it would be difficult to find that elsewhere.”
“Most athletes that come and dedicate themselves to the program show
- Varsity boys basketball coach Mike Ellis
For students who are cut from a sports team, the question of who that email will be sent to remains unanswered. There are certainly other, no-cut sports that a stu dent can sign up for, but still, being cut from their sport of choice will likely lead to negative impacts on physical, social, and mental Emersonhealth.Kimrey, a sophomore on the girls’ swim & dive team, explains that be ing on a team brings a sense of camarade rie into her life.
tential to excel at their sport.
Varsity boys’ basketball head coach Mike Ellis recognizes the many benefits that being on a sports team can bring to a student’s academic life.
Photo Courtesy of Rosette Ochoa
Although not at all an ideal situation, the pandemic and the corresponding adap tations that student-athletes had to make as a result ultimately proved to be nothing that they couldn’t overcome. Whether this strength was found internally or through community, the way that athletes have stuck it out in the last year and a half foreshadows a future ripe with success for ETHS athletic programs.
“Throughout the entire year, all the sports will be back to their regular sched uled seasons. So wrestling, which was “a
or the pandemic threw at her.
summer sport” this year is going to return to being a winter sport, and badminton will go back to being a spring sport, and football, volleyball and soccer will be fall sports. So we expect as much a return to normal as possible with the scheduling of seasons,” Livatino said.
Entering the 2021-2022 school year, ETHS student athletes are excitedly anticipating more “normal” seasons for their sports. This word “normal” has been thrown around recently when discussions are held regarding how the 2021-2022 school year will look. When it comes to athletics, ETHS Athletic Director, Chris Livatino explained the Athletic Departments protocol will fol low suit to what the school guidelines are.
By Christopher Vye Sports Editor
“Whennormal. sports were cancelled in the spring of 2020, I was sad but also relieved,” says junior Track & Cross-country runner Ella Gutierrez. “I injured myself in early January [2020]. It took me out of commis sion for eight months.”
For athletes coming into the new school year, the days of Zoom practice, outdoor strength training, remote competitions and absent postseasons appear to be gone. It seems that we have finally turned a corner on the pandemic, with teams everywhere competing regularly again and dreams of championships no longer seeming as far out of reach.
herself confronting yet another new set of challenges.“Thepandemic changed the amount of people participating in a race, so it was re ally weird having to race one or two schools at a time,” Gutierrez explains. “There was no arguing with the CDC about the low populated meets, so all I could do was per severe and train for next season with hope everything [would] be back to normal.”
put in during the extended pandemic off season propelled them to an impressive 5-1 record. While they did come out on top, the team’s journey wasn’t an easy one, and their achievement occurred despite the barriers that stood in the way of individual team members’ roads to improvement.
“We were able to communicate with each other and get out and workout while social distancing, but also getting better as a com munity,” he says. “It wasn’t as difficult as you’d think it would be because we were all thereOncetogether.”itbecame clear that a football sea son would take place last year with the eas ing of pandemic restrictions last spring, this community was finally allowed to bring the skills they had developed over the offsea
In the end, the work the JV football team
Photos Courtesy of Will Coutre, Maggie Farrager, Dylan Elwood, Jacklynn Okereke
sports
Lastly,said.allsports seasons will revert back to their previous schedules. This does mean that sports who were in different seasons this past year might have a shorter off sea son.
Additionally, the majority of ETHS sports are members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), according to the IHSA the Suburban Cook County re gion is in phase five, which means there are currently no scheduling restrictions on sports. To clarify, depending on changes
“Even though the season was limited— we only had six games instead of nine—we were able to play together as a team, and I guess after that, and once the vaccina tions started becoming cleared for people to take at our age...the practices had kind of transformed. The start of this season, so far, we’ve been pretty much practicing as a whole group together,” Lieberman says.
ETHS athletic department set to return to normal
“I was lucky to be able to have a constant workout schedule, so that really helped keep my mind in the right place,” says Lieb erman. “[But] I know people have different home situations, and it’s hard to stay [with] a certain path and mindset when you don’t have a coach and a community that’s setting up practices, so I know that’s affected a lot of people.”Whathelped make it easier for Lieber man and teammates alike to persevere was the fact that practice was something that was first and foremost fun, with benefits extending beyond the field and into the (virtual)
Faced with adversity before the pan demic had even begun, things could have become even more challenging for Gutier rez once stay-at-home orders kicked in. As any athlete would know, it can be extremely difficult to come back to a sport after just three weeks out, let alone eight months. Of ten, the rehabilitation that has to be done while injured is harder, both physically and mentally, than traditional, in-season prac tices.But Gutierrez didn’t let herself succumb
Because she was able to push herself even when things looked so uncertain, Gutierrez learned just what it meant to be a fighter and proved that she had the will to continue on in her sport no matter what challenges it
“Contests should be ready for regular scheduled seasons again. Full conference schedule, tournaments, state championship series—all that should be as it was before,” Livatino
“The biggest adjustment is that students inside for indoor sports will need to wear a mask, which would really only impact girls volleyball. Swimming and diving is exempt from the mask rule for obvious reasons.”
By Lauren Dain Executive Editor
“I was lucky to be able to have a constant work out schedule, so that really helped keep my mind in the right place.”
- Sophomore Boaz Lieberman
But in order to have gotten to this point, athletes everywhere have had to put their motivation, work-ethic and love of sport to the test; taking off as extended a period of time as a pandemic is simply not an option for high-level competitors. Nevertheless, the adversities that athletes have endured this past year have taught them valuable lessons in resilience, ones that would have been impossible to replicate had things been
“Students, coaches and fans that are part of an indoor sport must wear masks. Sports that are outside do not require masks.” Li vatino said. “And then we will continue to monitor everyone’s personal health and ask them to do the same. We will not have the
Gutierrez was able to start running again in August 2020, and although it was an up hill climb to return to peak running shape, she credited her runs as something that helped her feel good and make it through the year.“Running during the pandemic helped me filter out many negative feelings and emotions, improving my mental health and well-being.”When the long-awaited cross-coun try season came around, Gutierrez found
“Evenclassroom.thoughwe were having less prac tices, [practice] was really a highlight in my week that I could be able to look forward to, even with a lesser amount of time,” Li eberman explains. “Being able to just look forward to that during the week, it really helps with staying on topic and paying at tention in class over Zoom. So, [practicing] definitely helped, even as much as when we had practice every single day.”
electronic daily self certification require ments.”Furthermore, beyond the logistics for how sports will function, athletes will be pleased to learn they will be able to fully compete in their upcoming seasons.
For sophomore football player Boaz Li eberman, it was the community he built with his teammates that enabled him to persevere through tough times.
Sports amid pandemic teach athletes resilience
outlined by either ETHS or the IHSA, cur rently all sports are permitted to return to regularForactivity.upcoming fall sports seasons, the athletic department looks forward to seeing students build strong communities among each other, a key aspect of high school ath letics absent during the pandemic.
to that “Thementality.pandemic was a perfect opportuni ty to recover and regain strength with phys ical therapy exercises.”
son into games. A couple weeks later, with Illinois’ Coronavirus metrics showing long term improvements, the team was granted the added benefit of refining their skills at newly allowed full contact practices.
Livatino expressed he is excited for the time when “we remain safe at all times from COVID and we’ve done an incredible job as a community to do that. We don’t want to take any steps back and so I’m looking for ward to continuing that trend. I can’t wait to see the student sections and the specta tors return to our sports in the fall,” Livati no added. “I’m looking forward to having those return for our kids.”
sports - 15
The Kits were confident heading into their contest against Whitney Young ever since it became clear that the two teams would face in the first round, but their next opponent would be more of a challenge. Soon after defeating the Dolphins, Evanston had its sights set on their next opponent—Loyola Academy. It had been almost two months since the teams had met in just the Kits’ fourth and Ramblers’ third game of the season respectively, one that had ended for E-Town in a frustrating 7-5 disappointment.
Boys lacrosse pushes “lax to the max”
RUNDOWNTHE
By Christopher Vye Sports Editor
Johnson and Cless push track to sixth in state
But this time, neither team even managed a baserunner in the first two innings. That was, after all, seemingly the way the game was destined to be.
Farrager and Class of 2021 seniors Josie Lambert and Mary McClintock were named first team All-State for their steller performances.
As ETHS’ baseball team went head-tohead with Whitney Young to kickoff their playoff run at home, 15 miles south, on the very same night and against the very same school, the Kits’ softball squad kicked off theirs as well. Finishing the regular season with a 9-11 record, just one win short of .500, it was sure to be an uphill climb for the Kits in their battle against the Dolphins, a team that had collected a staggering 30 wins on theirAndseason.sureenough, it was. Whitney Young’s Shelby Jacobson, who is committed to play at University of Wisconsin-Madison next spring, struck out 17 Kits in no-hitter fashion, leading to a Dolphins’ rout, 8-0.
Baseball season culminates in regional win
Goodwill’s walk in the 4th inning was also one of just two baserunners for Evanston that night—the other being senior Katie Patton, who walked in the second—and her stolen base was the team’s only one of the night. Though Goodwill’s future with the team remains unseen, performances such as these sure do indicate a bright one for the young player.
Girls lacrosse team excels together and individually
By Sophia Sherman Assistant Sports Editor
“It just made me happy,” said Brokowski about his hit, adding that he “knew it would start a rally that would win [Evanston] the game.”
“Whitney Young has a great reputation when it comes to softball. They’re on the rise, and we were very aware of the talent they had throughout their lineup,” says Class of 2021 senior Chloe Haack. “We had nothing to lose playing them, and that was our mindset the entire game.”
ason.team
By Jacque Philippe Assistant Sports Editor
Now, entering the 2021-2022 track season, the team is planning on increasing their strength training, and emphasizing drills and training that helped them attain their victory this past year.
After having their 2020 season stopped before it even started, the ETHS girls lacrosse team came into its 2021 season wanting to make a statement, and the squad met the moment. Both as a team and individually, the lacrosse team excelled this past season, breaking records for both ETHS boys and girls lacrosse teams alike.
Senior Jacklynn Okereke states that, of all her races thus far, winning the relay with her fellow teammates was the most rewarding.“Oneof my major accomplishments for me this season was running my fastest split ever on the 4x200 meter relay at the state meet,”Okereke says. “For the team as a whole, I definitely think it was winning the 4x200 meter relay at state.”
A 10-6 win, the game was certainly one of the Kits’ best performances of the season. However, the biggest blow-out this year proved to be against Deerfield: a score of 10-1.
The implications of COVID-19 definitely made this season more challenging than their preceding one. In 2019, the Kits finished second in the Central Suburban League; this year, they finished fourth out of nine teams.
“It’s one of those things you can’t try to do but always hope you end up doing,” said Elwood about his piece. “At the time, I knew that I could have potentially [broken] the game open, and I think my teammates did as well. But, we also knew we had to continue playing our game to the end, and we did.”
By Lauren Dain Executive Editor
While the effort did come up short, the result was by no means a failure. For one, the Kits were able to close the gap on the Dolphins since the last time they had played them, a double header back in April. On that day, Evanston was beaten 14-2 in both contests, which were ended early due to the slaughter rule. Those losses were also against one of Whitney Young’s backup pitchers.
16 - sports Visit rundowns.offulltowebsiteourreadtheverisonseachsport’s
“As a team, it was one of our best years; we usually don’t beat [Glenbrook South], and we beat them this year, so we finished second conference, which was very big. That was one of the first in like 10 years, which was awesome.” senior Maggie Farrager
“I think we just played really well as a team together overall and individually; I was really proud to make the first all-state. I was very proud of myself but I think as a team we played very well and had a great season,” expressed Farragher.
After back-to-back doubleheader wins against Highland Park propelled the Wildkits to achieve an elusive 20-win season, ETHS’ baseball team proved once again that the sky was the limit when it came to their potential in the playoffs. Coming into the first round of the IHSA Regionals with an appetite for victory, the team’s hunger culminated in a decisive, 5-2 triumph over Whitney Young.
Thesaid.lacrosse team won, 21-11, against its rival in GBS, and while the Kits unfortunately lost in their sectional tournament, overall the team still had a remarkable sea-
While winning two events alone is impressive, the specific events Kalil won adds to the significance of the achievement.“Undefeated in both hurdles, that’s hard to do. Those are two different events; one is a sprint hurdle event, the other is more of an endurance type of event,” Varsity Track head coach Donald Michelin explained.Though Johnson won’t be representing the orange and blue next year, he’ll leave behind an important legacy for the next generation of track stars at ETHS to follow. “[Johnson’s] one of the best we’ve ever had, but he leaves a blueprint.” Coach Michelin added.“That blueprint is coming to practice, [and working hard.]”
By Christopher Vye Sports Editor
While Johnson may have had the most standout performances last year, senior high jumper Matt Cless also had quite the season himself. Cless went undefeated leading up to state, where he placed third in the high jump and helped ETHS to a sixth-place finish. Notably, the team’s only points were scored by Johnson and Cless.
In addition to keeping things close on the scoreboard, Evanston saw sophomore pitcher Serafina Goodwill strike out a total of eleven batters during the sectional contest against the Dolphins. Her performance in large part was responsible for the Kits holding Whitney Young scoreless until the fourth inning, and, despite the loss, was a more than stellar way to cap off her first season with the team.
“I think the track season went well this year. Practices were a bit more challenging because we were lifting heavier weights more often, but ultimately that helped with injuries and shin splint flare ups,” Okereke says.Additionally, focusing on growing their mental state was a vital aspect of their stellar season.“I’mextremely proud of what we accomplished at state; our confidence in our abilities and the effort we put towards training when covid shut everything down was reflected in our performance that day,” Okereke expresses.
With its last season cancelled by COVID-19, the ETHS boys lacrosse team was ready to get back on the field and “lax to theThemax.”Kits’ season had a rocky start after back to back non-conference losses. Despite limited opportunities to practice, Evanston pulled itself together and won its third game against Vernon Hills—just the first of many wins for the team over the course of the season. In the end, Evanston finished its regular season with a 9-7 record.“A big highlight for our team was our win over Glenbrook South the first time we played them,” senior Will Coutre noted. “The energy was electric.”
The contest was highlighted by Class of 2021 senior Dylan Elwood’s two-run shot in the sixth that would prove to put the game out of reach of the Dolphins and move the Kits into the next round of the playoffs.
That was until then-sophomore Brandon Brokowski singled in the third, providing the first hit of the game on either side. Brokowski’s knock got the ball rolling, and though the next batter recorded a strikeout, what followed was nothing short of miraculous: four walks in a row. By the end of the inning, the Kits were up 2-0.
By Lauren Dain Executive Editor
Softball won’t let playoff loss undermine successes
You can’t talk about ETHS’ 2021 track and field season without mentioning Class of 2021 senior and future Iowa Hawkeye Kalil Johnson. Johnson went undefeated last season in the 110m and 300m hurdles and placed first in both of those events at state.Winning two events at state is something that hasn’t been accomplished by a member of the ETHS track team since 1974, when Joe Stewart won both the 100m and 200m events.
Photo Courtesy of Maggie Farrager
The ETHS girls track and field team has standout individual athletes, but by clenching the 4x200 relay, they showed how strong their united team can be.
Girls track explains path to state win
Leading up to their championship relay win, the girls track and field team was focused on conditioning and building their strength. While rigorous, the outcome of this cross-training was successful.