February 2021 | Vol. 104, Issue 6 by The Evanstonian

Evanston Township High SchoolIL.

vanston i an

February 22nd, 2021

Evanston,

Vol. 104, Issue 6

Claiming to “work on” or “commit” to being a more equitable community vastly contrasts action, it vastly contrasts immovable belief systems, it vastly contrasts communication and understanding the communities you are co-conspirators with.

and still isn’t an option for me, at the least, I understood that. I understood that I would never “quit” being Black or Latinx; it wasn’t possible. It has taken a few meltdowns about why my eyes weren’t blue, but I couldn’t be more proud of my racial identity. I began to understand that, inevitably, I would expe rience racism in any institution that stood much larger than me, wherever I went. If it wasn’t in the Evanstonian, where I did feel pure joy as I wrote, interviewed and learned about people in my community, it would be somewhere else.

Still, I wonder what could have been, not if I decided to keep my foot in the open door, but what would have been if I never knew where the Evanstonian door was. Sometimes, even as an executive editor, I wonder what would have happened if I wasn’t nudged by my English teacher and then advisor for the Evanstonian, Patricia Delacruz, to illustrate. I wonder about all of the nudges that nev

Drawing the home that could be

Reflection is looking. It is taking long stares, not at what you want something to look like, but what it is. This month, we sat, we stared and then we broke the mirror.

racist practices throughout its history and today. Although, as discussed further in the “Past” section of this issue, our publication has made tremendous strides in how our newsroom operates and whose voices are heard in our publication, this work is never, ever, over. Here, there are 15 pieces about how we, the Evanstonian, continue to forge that future. Continuing this work from the inside out and interrogating how The Evan stonian can be more reflective of its purpose are some of the numerous ways we can better and more equitably serve our peers.

The February issue of the Evanstonian serves as a jumping-off point for what the fu ture of the Evanstonian can be, so long as we continue to examine the role and presence of anti-Blackness in our publication throughout our history, that still exists today. This issue, nor these stories, are written to “solve rac ism” or to defend the ludicrous idea that the Evanstonian’s staff or stories have reached some sort of racially utopic state. No. The overarching themes and driving questions for this issue, ones that we asked all contrib utors for this issue when we started this pro cess, are “What does freedom of expression without having to appease a white audience, and without white writers, look like?” “How has the Evanstonian perpetuated and upheld white supremacy throughout its history and today?” and “How could we change this real ity in the future?” These questions are daunt ing; answering them would take hundreds, if not thousands, of stories to genuinely capture the scope of how the Evanstonian, ETHS as an institution and the influences of our school culture have contributed to the Evanstonian’s

We are illuminating how, resisting these oppressive structures, practices, institutions has brought joy in being together. We have resisted reality, and we, or at least I, have come out the other end understanding how much hope lies within what can sometimes seem like such a lonely world and even lone lier institution. I would be remiss to acknowl edge the tremendous amount of love and thought and care that have gone into these stories and how much emotional and mental labor has been done over the past two months to create this extraordinary issue. Thank you to all of our contributors: Journee Adams, Saliha Ansari, Carmiya Bady, Serena Brown, Joan Camaya, Adrian Cyrus, Cheyenne Ed wards, Angie Gomez, Tamara Guy, Quinn Hughes, Linnea Mayo, Eva Morales-Grahl, Mika Parisien, Karel Pene Njine, Mateo Pe rez, Anika Radhakrishnan, Kamau Ransom, Taryn Robinson, Meena Sharma, Kupu Sumi and Sophie Yang.

or the stories we tell within Evanston. This is a fraction of what we could be if we truly, deeply reflected one of the most important phrases in our mission statement: “to accu rately represent the ETHS student body.”

er happened during and before my time at ETHS because of the Evanstonian’s proxim ity to Thewhiteness.Evanstonian has been the place I have felt most at home; it is also one of the spaces where I have felt most alone. For most of my time there and even still, the space may have been the place where I felt the safest in the entire school community, but often it would morph into a monster I had little experience fighting. The Evanstonian was the place where I first heard the word “tokenized” and “microaggression;” it was the first place in high school that I had felt those words in ac tion; it was the first place where I personally understood what it felt like to be overpow ered by a white, male presence. Simultane ously, the Evanstonian was the space that almost singularly helped me navigate ETHS. The Evanstonian motivated me to continue journalism after high school; it is the space that allowed me to discover my joy for peo ple and storytelling.

Whether it be my strong desire to assimi late with my white peers or my fear of being tagged as an “angry Black person,” I didn’t raise the question I was aching to know the answer to: why or how barely anyone I worked with, or wrote about, on the Evansto nian, looked like me?

For the past four years, and especially af ter producing this issue, I can safely say that I was right about how I wasn’t alone in my constantly conflicting feelings about our pa per—feelings that all boil down to the feeling genuinely seen and seeing myself consistent ly reflected in our publication. My feelings, at their core, are as straightforward as draw ing has become for me.

We resisted reality, you should too: a reflective issue of the Evanstonian

2 - editorial

Many of the students on this month’s staff have previously been on our staff and did not continue, some of this months’ staff is

So, without further adieu, this is us, telling our stories.

I believe that the first real identity, at least the first one I knew to be true, real and proud of, was as an artist. I entered the Evanstonian space as an illustrator, but it quickly became, and still is, the place I ran to when I didn’t want to go home, literally and figuratively; it became the place that I have simultaneously felt the least and most seen at ETHS.

writer.Inthis

By Nora Miller Executive Editor

currently on the Evanstonian staff and some have never written for the Evanstonian be fore. In my opinion, we did not just build a staff but built an immovable community in less than two months.

After working with everyone in said community, all I can say is that I have nev er felt more at home; I have never felt more bad for my freshman self who walked into the Evanstonian office for the first time and was surrounded by white, worried faces. One valuable truth that was emphasized through this experience is that these spaces need to be more accessible and they need to exist in the radical way that they did for this issue.

We invited you into our newsroom, our archives and the realities of our space be cause we want all of our fellow Evanstonians to see the potential of our publication. This month, the Evanstonian is imagining how we can constantly practice anti-racism, how we can constantly see ourselves, not as groups, but as individuals in the stories we hold. Not for the experiences we can “contribute,” but as human beings. We’re conceptualizing how whiteness does not have to dictate journalism

Drawing teachers, the good ones at least, will always tell you to see something, not just depict symbols and images—constructs— of what you believe you are looking at. It took continuous repetition of, “Just because you know what an eye looks like, that’s not what you see,” or something with a similar sentiment, for me to know what my mentors meant. It took even longer for me to under stand that the act of seeing, and feeling truly seen for that matter, doesn’t just apply to vi sual art.

We, the Evanstonian, are looking in the mirror and seeing the ways have failed, and how we can improve as a publication.

Illustration by Nora Miller

I grew used to the assumption that I’d be covering the Black and Latinx summits, the notion that I was the social justice expert,

the repeated question of ‘Why do you have to bring race into this?’ when I just wanted my peers to see something the way I did. I remember how cold the room grew when Students Organized Against Racism (SOAR) walked in for the first time. I can still hear the complacent and bitter wondering of ‘Why do we have to do this again?’

It was my executive decision allowing non-BIPOC writers to contribute to this issue would have been counterintuitive. The Feb ruary issue hoped to provide an affinity space for BIPOC writers, artists and readers alike. This issue wasn’t written or organized by or for non-BIPOC people; it was created so we could have a space to write honestly, with people who looked like us. We want to ac knowledge the possibility and the strength in our communities that have been stifled con sciously or subconsciously by the extremely white space the Evanstonian creates. Truth fully, there should be no justification for this decision, a decision that was made for one, out of thousands, issue of the Evanstonian.

Though I tried to compartmentalize how I navigated the Evanstonian space, my emo tions could not. I recall walking home one day from a SOAR workshop. My face was hot, with angry tears streaming down my face because of this unanswerable question. I can’t remember what specifically sparked my frustration, but I remember that I seri ously considered quitting the Evanstonian. Although I was still fairly new to the staff, I remember that, already, I was tired of being belittled; I was exhausted by the reality that I was one of the few Black or brown people on the paper. I was annoyed that rarely did people relate to the experiences of people of color at ETHS as I did. But, quitting wasn’t

As I began to write for the paper, though, I didn’t think twice about the stories I was assigned and how they reflected the student body. When considering the majority of whose stories were being told or what ideolo gies were constantly being pushed, published and praised, I tried not to wonder why.

issue, after seeing every piece from start to finish, I know full well how much bravery and vulnerability writers were will ing to compose to try to illustrate the com plexities with race and the Evanstonian and how they intersect. For once, we all dared to see the paper, my home, for all that we are and all that we could be.

In journalism, it’s seeing me as a complex human being rather than your token Black

In drawing, it’s all about seeing shapes and lines rather than ideas and perceptions. In journalism, it’s all about seeing individual people and complex experiences rather than entire communities and stereotyped narra tives. Furthermore, it’s about giving said people an equitable opportunity to speak—a definitive platform to connect with the world as so many non-BIPOC are given since birth.

I quickly was secure in the fact that the Evanstonian was an activity I loved and should continue contributing to, but again I found myself at a crossroads: I could ei ther leave it be and play a game that wasn’t created for me, or I could do everything hu manly possible to reimagine that publication into space where I genuinely feel welcomed, heard and seen in the space. I chose the latter.

RADHAKRISHNAN

vanston i an(ish) Writers, Artists: Journee Adams, Saliha Ansari, Carmiya Bady, Serena Brown, Joan Camaya, Adrian Cyrus, Cheyenne Edwards, Angie Gomez, Tamara Guy, Quinn Hughes, Linnea Mayo, Eva Morales-Grahl, Mika Parisien, Karel Pene Njine, Mateo Perez, Anika Radhakrishnan, Kamau Ransom, Taryn Robinson, Meena Sharma, Kupu Sumi, Sophie Yang E our staff - 3

JOURNEE

SERENA BROWN

MIKA PARISIEN

MATEO PEREZ

ANIKA

KAMAU RANSOM

TARYN ROBINSON

ADRIAN CYRUS

MEENA SHARMA

KAREL PENE NJINE

TAMARA GUY

EVA MORALES-GRAHL

QUINN HUGHES

CARMIYA

ADAMS

JOAN CAMAYA

ANGIE GOMEZ

NORA MILLER

SALIHA ANSARI

LINNEA MAYO

KUPU SUMI SOPHIE YANG Executive Editor: Nora Miller Advisor: John Phillips

BADY

CHEYENNE EDWARDS

“What we started to see is students really do use the [SOAR] conference as an anchor to really think about some of these complex things that they might not have space to

“The beauty of what’s been happening over the past several years is that those voic es and that reflection has ricocheted out and created waves. SOAR students inviting their peers and their friends to SOAR conferences has also provided a mechanism for doing that,” Assistant Superintendent and Principal Marcus Campbell says.

The protocol is framed by three parts: the Four Agreements, the Six Conditions and a Compass to guide these conversa tions; the protocol is introduced before these thought-provoking and often difficult conversations as well as referred to during discussions. SOAR utilizes Singleton’s ideology to understand a broad range of perspectives.“Allconferences are nearly designed based on Courageous Conversations and the protocol. It allows us to be able to have different checkpoints in our conferences and

“When we’re starting to talk about race it can turn into chaos, but just recognizing that folks come in from different lens perspec tives gives us a way to authentically have a conversation in a very true way in human izing the folks that we have these conver sations with,” explains biology teacher TaRhonda Woods. “Recognizing humanity is part one of having these types of conver sations and pushing against these systems causingStudentsdisruption.”Organized Against Racism (SOAR), a student-led organization at ETHS, started back in 2012 as a district ded icated to fostering conversations centered around race.

“The protocol provides people with tools to better navigate, engage, sustain and deepen interracial dialogue about race. While listening to other people’s narratives, I use it to center race and BIPOC voices in the space, reflect on my own identities, and examine the existence of anti-Blackness,”

BassoUsingexplains.theCourageous Conversations

Protocol in the Evanstonian’s February issue

to be able to recognize it,” Woods explains.

As this issue of the Evanstonian focus es on identifying issues in past and future articles and uplifting the voices of our POC writers, it is important to keep in mind the ideologies and mindset that the Courageous Conversation tool brings to conversations.

By Saliha Ansari, Sophie Yang Staff Writers

SOAR ignites change at ETHS the introduction a toolkit for this issue

Photo courtesy of 2019-20 SOAR Leadership Board

Students are given numerous opportuni ties to get involved—in office hours, equity workshops and conversations in meetings. In addition, during past in-person school years, the SOAR leadership board facilitates two-day conferences in the fall and winter open to all who are interested. The confer ences serve as a place to initiate discussion and create an environment to speak freely about feelings from personal encounters and community issues about race and ethnicity. SOAR conferences have allowed students to listen to others’ lived experiences.

Not only does SOAR collaborate with ETHS students, SOAR board members also partners with Chicago Public Schools, and surrounding District 65 middle schools to help spread the ideas of SOAR by teaching these students and communities how to initi ate and approach conversations around race.

Illustration by Mateo Perez, digitized by Ellie Lind

The Courageous Conversation protocol is used as a way for us to think about how we have these types of conversations—it gives people a framework to make sure that everyone is engaged in the discussion and has an entry point.

have conversations about in their classes or in their home,” Woods explains.

“It’s worked in service of trying to disrupt whiteness and white supremacy. At the same time, I’ve seen folks, especially folks of color, [use it] to center their own humanity, to understand who they are and not have whiteness dominate the way that they conceptualize their racial identity,” history teacher and SOAR advisor Corey Winchester says.

4 - introduction

Overall SOAR’s mission within ETHS is to better the community by listening, sharing and thinking on how you, as an individual and as part of a larger community, are doing the work to improve the environment around you. Being reflective about your racial iden tity, working to disrupt whiteness and white supremacy, and to acknowledging your influence are cornerstones of SOAR’s work.

To guide these conversations, SOAR uses the Courageous Conversation Protocol, founded in 1992 by Glenn E. Singleton of the Pacific Educational Group.

“SOAR is not something you are in; it’s something you do,” senior and SOAR board member Izzy Basso says.

A couple of students from the SOAR Board have also written for the Evanstonian which has helped bring these important conversations and ideas into the story of the articles.

Graphic courtesyCorwinof

on being socially conscious and mindful by holding ourselves accountable when having this type of “SOAR’sdialogue.influences are very powerful, and I think both the Evanstonian and SOAR have really been a voice for change, and reflecting back at ETHS in all the good ways and all the ways it has to be improved,”

AgreementsMonitor and ParametersEstablish

The Four Agreements The Six Conditions

Courageous Conversations

DiscomfortExperience

“It’s a norm to acknowledge com fort in this space and recognize that you’re not always going to be comfortable,” Woods continues.

With the platform of the Evanstonian and ideologies of SOAR, we continue to work

Non-ClosureandExpectAccept

SOAR and Courageous Conversations in the Evanstonian.“Iwouldsay probably three or four years ago, there was a noticeable shift,” Win chester says. “I think those conversations were infused into the structure of what the Evanstonian has become.”

YourSpeakTruth

Use workinga definition for Race

Stay Engaged

“Students carry certain racialized iden tities that are typically marginalized and Black students tend to want to center their Blackness as opposed to centering whiteness because that’s the part about being Black or the experience about be ing Black, when you discuss it in relation to whiteness it is the thing that has been seen as a negative or not human. So, cen tering Blackness is a way to just shift the whole paradigm of thinking,” Winchester says.

“The experience about being Black, when you discuss it in relation to whiteness, is the thing that has been seen as a negative or not human. Centering Blackness [is] a way to just shift the whole paradigm of thinking,” Winchester says.

“We have conversations about race, speak your truth, using I statements, making sure that you are openly talking about your thoughts and your feelings. You’re not just saying what you think other people want to hear or what or what you think might sound nice. We’re really be ing truthful, and only [using] your own experiences when you start to talk about race and these types of conversations,” Woods says.

In addition to the Agreements, there are Six Conditions: focus on personal, local and immediate, isolate race, normalize social construction and multiple perspectives, monitor agreements, establish parameters, use a “working definition” for race and examine the presence and role of “whiteness.” These conditions help conversations keep a focus and ac knowledge how your own personal biases can affect what you say while discussing difficult topics.

“It gives us a framework for mak ing sure that we’re all engaged in these conversations in similar ways, in a way for folks to feel like they have an entry point into these types of conver sations,” Woods explains.

“My favorite condition is normalizing mul tiple perspectives and social construction, because, to me, this means that the world we live in was built by people and therefore the structures we see today can be deconstruct ed by people. This helps ground me and re minds me of the necessity and urgency of the work,” senior and SOAR board member Da lia Davidson says.

The Courageous Conversations Com pass serves as a tool to help ground thought and allow guide processing to people during thought-provoking conver sations. The Compass is divided up into four quadrants: acting, believing, feeling and thinking.“TheCompass allows me to think ‘Okay, right now, I’m in my feelings; I’m

emotional, so this is where I’m entering the conversation.’ I might not make that into a feeling, but it’s important for me to know at the beginning of this conversa tion, ‘I’m feeling so that’s the perspective I’m going to have,’” Woods explains.

“I think that this condition really forces folks to experience discomfort by saying, ‘Okay, I’m acknowledging that this is what I have experi enced based on my identities.’ Normalizing so cial construction and recognizing that folks are coming from different perspectives forces us to humanize each other and to make sure that that is a part of the conversation because it’s important for us to be checking ourselves and checking the conversation as we’re having it,” Woods explains

By Saliha Ansari, Sophie Yang Staff Writers

“The experience about being Black, when you discuss it in relation to whiteness, is the thing that has been seen as a negative or not human. Cen tering Blackness [is] a way to just shift the whole paradigm of thinking,” Win chester says.

The Evanstonian has decided to commit this issue entirely to decentering whiteness by highlighting us: the voices of BIPOC writers and their own experiences within our newspaper. We ask you, as a reader, to join us on this journey as we exist within the established Agreements, Conditions and Compass introduced by SOAR as we explore how race has and will affect the past, present, and future of our publication.

The Compass

Examine the Presence and Role Whitenessof

The Four Agreements are as follows: stay engaged, experience discomfort, speak your truth, and expect and accept non-closure. To productively and honestly have a conversation surrounding race, these are the agreements that participants must commit to in order to truly be engaged in the space.

Normalize

Focus on Personal,ImmediateLocal,

“This one is my favorite because Ms. Woods has the hardest time with this idea to expect and accept non-closure. [It’s] this idea that we’re not going to solve racial inequality in this one con versation, but it’s important, and it’s essential, for us to start this dialogue here,” Woods explains. “For me to rec ognize that we may have to walk away from this conversation without all the ends tied with a bow… It’s not going to always end that way.”

IsolateRace

MultipleConstructionSocialandPerspectives

introduction - 5

“Monitoring the agreement’s conditions and establishing parameters is just fostering a safe space and reminding yourself and the collective to navigate the conversation by continuously using the Courageous Conver sations protocol. When I began working with the protocol, it was helpful to have a tangible copy of the Four Agreements, Six Conditions and Compass in front of me until it was mus cle memory,” Basso adds.

CampbellWinchestersays.explains how in the past couple of years he has noticed how there has been a change in using conversations about

Using the protocol during this issue

To reflect on the current ways in which the Evanstonian subconsciously perpetu ates white supremacy and what a future of

“Blacks are not as disciplined as they could be and they don’t respect authority as much as they should.”

Evanstonian

A way to combat this is through research. Race is a very complicated and layered top

actively fighting against this looks like, it is crucial to first examine the publication’s his tory. How has the student-run newspaper covered stories surrounding race since its creation in 1916, specifically focusing on the past 40 years? How have Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) students been

One article that discusses race within ath letics at ETHS, “Self-imposed color barrier?” by Dan Newman, starts right off with a quote from ex-football coach Dick Mahoney.

6 - past who

“To my knowledge, that’s what caused a lot of backlash on that particular piece be cause it’s like ‘You don’t have enough of us there to really make that type of assessment!’ I do remember quite a few students crowded the door, and we were just demanding past we have been

“When I was there, I think when I was a junior, there was a big issue, an issue that was devoted solely to race relations at ETHS. I would love to go back and read it... I just remember it causing a lot of discussions. It was a really big deal,” class of 1981 alumn, Diane Goldring, explains.

This quote is clearly racist, perpetuating a harmful stereotype that can be traced back to slavery and that now manifests itself in the school-to-prison pipeline and the prison in dustrial complex (PIC).

It must be understood that one can not remain unbiased or neutral about racism; it cannot be treated like a conversation about which ice cream flavor is best. There is wrong, and there is right; there is racist, and there is anti-racist. Referencing back to the school-to-prison pipeline and the PIC, lives are literally put at risk when these harmful perspectives are given a space to breathe and a platform to share.

By Eva Morales-Grahl Staff Writer

After reading some of the articles, the staff’s attempt at neutrality was a major cause of the conflict that followed.

“I will remember very well there was one controversial piece. In about 1981, [the Evanstonian was] talking about race rela tions, and there was an article that came out that was somewhat stereotypical towards Af rican Americans. We were so offended. We kind of marched to the office and said, ‘Why would you write things like this about us without even talking to us?’” Yvonne Taylor, also class of 1981, explains.

sional.”Taylor clearly remembers the issue’s re ception at the time and how the Evanstonian navigated the ETHS community.

“I thought that your Feb. 15 issue… was very well done on the part of your staff... The writers’ views remained unbiased and profes

comb through every single publication since then. Even then, we’d have no clue what the reception was to said articles. But, nothing illustrates history more than the respective truths and realities of people who experi enced it.

A historybrief of the

“The first ETHS graduating class to have been desegregated entirely throughout its educational years, the Class of ‘80, exam ines the current racial situation at ETHS in this Evanstonian supplement… the stories on these four pages seek to present opinions about black and white relationships at ETHS in academic, athletic, extra-curricular and social situations. The Evanstonian welcomes reactions to this supplement in the form of letters to the editor.”

Newman did not expand on this comment, however, or discuss the harmful implications of that perspective. He simply gave room for the quote (the very first line of the article) and moved on with the piece. This is an unacceptable way for journalists to handle coverage of topics surrounding race. By not challenging the quote, Mahoney’s statement was validated and made to be a fair perspective to have. By not challenging the quote, Newman gave the statement power.

ball coach claimed, “It is very disappointing when statements are taken out of context, made to mean something that they were never meant to mean, and used to elicit a re sponse that a few people desired.” Clearly, Mahoney’s comments—which were validat ed by the paper itself—had not been received kindly by readers. Yet, the publication still continued to provide space for Mahoney to backtrack his remarks.

There are more instances of un-checked racism throughout the publication.

the

Goldring was a writer and features editor of the Evanstonian and is a current candidate for Evanston’s 4th Ward alderperson.

And so, on a Monday afternoon, the dusty copies of past Evanstonian newspapers stored in the back closet of room S103 were dug through until the issue in question was found, and the investigation continued. On Feb. 15, 1980, the Evanstonian released an entire special pullout titled “Black and white together?” solely focused on discuss ing “race relations” at ETHS.

Doubling down on this validation, the Evanstonian published a letter from Ma honey two weeks later, in which the ex-foot

1980s

“The Evanstonian back then was almost an exclusive club. It was almost like they didn’t want to hear from you. It’s kind of sad be cause, in my experience of ETHS and Evan ston globally as a school, we really embraced each other, no matter what walk of life we came from. Well, when it came to the Evan stonian, you went there and you want to work for them… [they said] no,” Taylor says. “It wasn’t open to us. They didn’t want to hear from us. They wanted to say what they want ed to say, how they wanted to say it until that piece got them slapped back in the face. They thought that they could just do and say what they wanted to. It was almost to the point [where they thought] ‘Oh, Black people don’t even read.’ Well, yeah, BAM! We do. It was ugly. That was ugly.”

ic, and it requires a lot of effort to fully un derstand the history behind stereotypes and seeming realities, especially for white peo ple. If the staff truly felt that they wanted to give voice to multiple perspectives, even though we have already discussed why that can be harmful, the least they could have done was to provide some background on the systemic reasons behind why the majority of Evanston’s Black population at the time was low-income, or why Black students had/ have disproportionately low standardized test scores compared to their white counterparts. Context is crucial.

A noticeable aspect of this issue is that the journalists clearly tried to remain unbi ased and did not comment on what any of the quotes said. One anonymous letter written to the editor even praised this.

The answer to these questions lies in the alumni. The Evanstonian has produced over 360 issues since 1980; it would take eons to

portrayed and represented compared to their white peers in both the staff and the coverage? Upon reflection, what stories and coverage of events are worthy of critique?

“I rarely found myself reading things that spoke to me. I don’t really recall thinking to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s this article I have to read.’ I don’t think I intersected with whatever the paper was writing at the time,” Segall says.

per.”As ETHS so proudly likes to preach, it is a diverse community full of students of all races. And, while there are no accessible sta tistics of the school’s racial makeup in 1980, this quote proves that it was also a reality at the time. When addressing the large umbrella term that is racism, it is crucial to include the voices of all races; while each person with in the same race does not have homogenous experiences, the experiences of each race in comparison to each other are unique and needs to be acknowledged.

retractions. It was a big deal. People were, excuse my language, but we were pissed. Like, ‘Who are you to say this about us?’

“I would say the Evanstonian is kind of like, if you looked at it like a members-on ly club,” Joe Martin, class of 1998, similarly

When defining racism, definitions created by BIPOC scholars and activists must be re searched and prioritized before writing what simply sounds right from a white perspective.

One article, titled “Rhetoric Dept.” by John Ennis, attempts to familiarize the au dience with racism, appearing to speak to a primarily white one.

“[Theracism.Evanstonian] just taught me to think more critically and observe life instead of just sort of going through it and not really paying attention. [I learned about] being pa tient, [the Evanstonian] encouraged me to be a more curious person,” Jordan reflects.

“We had a student center where all the ju niors and seniors came, Black, white, Asian, what have you, so we all heard the story there, we all felt inclusive there, you know, it wasn’t closed off. But we had something to say. It wasn’t like it was a white publication for all the white kids and it was only their is sues on there. We talked about a lot of social issues that affected the entire student body,” Brown-Powell says.

Illustrations by Joan Camaya

This article is well-intentioned, but it lacks depth in terms of research and misses the mark about addressing racism.

“

ries of struggle or joy that BIPOC students face at ETHS, it must be under the control of said students if and how we want to share our truths. If not, as displayed in this issue and countless others, racial communities can be portrayed as homogenous, harmful stereo types can be reinforced and the result will only increase the “othering” of BIPOC.

Looking through the March 1, 1991, issue of the Evanstonian, this openness for con versations directly discussing race is clearly displayed. These articles do not try to be un biased similarly to ten years ago; they take a firm stand against racism.

[There were] not a lot of African Americans on the paper. It was, I would say, 90 percent white. No, I would say 97 percent white,” TaylorAnotherexplains.prominent issue throughout is the lack of perspective from non-white stu dents. This shows up in two forms; through the majority-white staff that published this issue and through the people that were inter viewed.The race of the writers and the inter viewees is rarely mentioned in the newspa per. However, a letter sent to the editor by then-senior Jill Adams, published in the Feb. 29 issue, confirms the lack of non-white rep resentation.

While it is impossible to look through every article since 1980, there is something to be said about how we were not able to find any articles surrounding the experiences of non-Black and non-white students at ETHS in any of our searches.

Due to the lack of articles that represent other racial communities in previous or fol lowing issues of the Evanstonian, however, one can not help but wonder whether that was truly the thought process of the jour nalists who put together this collection of articles. More likely, it came from a racial Black-white binary mindset that has roots in anti-Blackness and centers Black and white as the two main races. This concept will be further explored in the Present section of this issue in the article titled “Binaries.”

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many other minorities are in this school? There are not just blacks and whites… You were the ones thinking only of “salt and pep

When defining racism, it is crucial to un derstand that it is a systemic power structure that specifically oppresses BIPOC and works in favor of white people. People who are white can not be the victims of racism. Say

summarizes his Brown-Powellexperience.andJordan’s experiences in contrast with Segall and Martin’s highlight the disparity in experiences and perspectives, illustrating how important it is to constantly seek out the experiences of all members of the student body, not just a select few. However, it is refreshing to see progress in comparison to the ‘80s when talking candidly about race and welcoming more perspectives.

In a publication that claimed to examine “the current racial situation at ETHS,” not including the stories of BIPOC alienates stu dents who do not fit into the Black and white binary. This in turn invalidates their experi ences.Laura Fogelson, a sophomore at the time, wrote a letter to the editor addressing this.

still learn from, however.

While there was still immense room for growth in the 1990s for the Evanstonian, it is noteworthy that these conversations were had more frequently and that journalists had the space to write candidly and intentionally about

you and your staff did not find it necessary to have any blacks consulting or contributing to the issue. The 100 percent white senior staff decided to do an issue on the race problem and yet ignore the chance for any black in put into the form or structure of the section. Yes, you did interview blacks, but blacks have no control over the topics or what was to be printed… you could have asked blacks to do volunteer work on the section or even suggest topics. I know a number of black stu dents who would have helped. If you were going to do an issue on blacks and whites, then I feel that it was your responsibility to make sure that your paper and staff could not be considered biased because only whites controlled the outcome… By ignoring the fact that you had a problem and that blacks could have added to your section, could it not be said that The Evanstonian is guilty of the same racism it attacked? One should always put their own hour in order first.”

“You dealt with an extraordinarily del icate subject and didn’t handle it delicately enough. If you are going to write about one race, you should write about all of them. How

It is commendable that the Evanstonian tried to open up space for a conversation sur rounding race at ETHS, though it required more thoughtfulness and perspectives. Over all, there are clearly many places for growth when looking back at the 1980s.

“Avoiding racism is like recovering from alcoholism—the first step is admitting that you have a problem.”

Karen Jordan, also class of 1990 and cur rent weekend anchor for ABC-7 Chicago, shares similar positive memories.

“Some people wrote editorials about, like, ‘How would you feel if somebody white wrote [that]?’ The paper was sort of an out let to air out people’s opinions and sparked dialogue. So I felt like it was very much sup ported and embraced by the student body,” JordanProximityexplains.to the paper appears to have had a large influence on people’s views of it, however. While Brown-Powell had friends on the paper and Jordan was on it, current ETHS math teacher and class of 1992 grad uate Andrew Segall had a slightly different experience than Brown-Powell and Jordan in terms of inclusivity.

Ennis tells the story of a kid named Dwight, who is “in no sense a minority; he was the typical white male.” After taking on the appearance of a “headbanger,” growing his hair out and taking on other “grungy” traits, “Dwight’s plight with discrimination began.” He was accused of being on drugs and assumed to be an underachiever, among other things. Therefore, according to Ennis, “Dwight knows a microcosm of racism”.

Ennis’ piece does hold pockets of truth that a fair amount of white Evanstonians could

“When you distrust someone you don’t know, primarily because they are a different color, wear different fashions, or smell differ ently, it’s discrimination. Racism is the fear or hatred of all people of a race. Racism is thinking that all black people are the violent poor people of America’s ghettos. Racism is thinking that all white people are rich snobs with disregard for others outside their social circle. Racism is thinking that all Latinos are lazy underachievers. Racism is thinking that all Asians are cold, unfeeling scholars. These conceptions come from lazy thinkers.”

Another aspect of this issue that stands out is the erasure of other non-white commu nities at ETHS. It is even in the title of the issue, “Black and white together?”

It is crucial to acknowledge that Blackness is racialized in a way unique to every other racial group. And, it can be argued that the point of this issue was to specifically address the relationships between students who were Black and those who were white, centering Blackness and whiteness in relation to each other. This is a valid argument.

“It upsets me that

Following the publication of this issue, it was decided in the spring of 1980 to elimi nate the required 3 English Journalism Hon ors class that all writers for the Evanstonian had to take before being able to join the newspaper in an effort to make access to the publication more equitable.

The Evanstonian changed tremendously from the ‘80s to the ‘90s.

ing so makes it appear as though BIPOC and white people are on the same playing field and deal with the same struggles in relation to their race. It disregards the impact of white supremacy. It disregards the intergeneration al trauma that many BIPOC communities have that results in an unavoidable sense of mistrust towards white people. It disregards the continuously lived experiences of many BIPOC that have proven time and time again that there is sometimes no other choice but to act with a bit of caution around white people.

1990s

Although she graduated before the Feb. 15 issue was published, Marlyn Sogliln, class of 1978 and career journalist, comments on the importance of diverse perspectives within any“Withpublication.morepeople of a diverse nature, you have more diverse stories. And otherwise, you tend to follow things that are much more white-male-dominated, and it’s sad,” Soglin explains.Itcan not be stressed enough how im portant it is to have multiple communities represented in the writer’s room. There is no doubt that, with a majority white staff and in terview pool, coverage of any number of top ics will end up layered in bias and blindspots. As stated previously, countless amounts of unchecked racism, both from the journalists and interviewees, are going to make it to the printing press if there is no one to share a counter argument based on their own ex periences. When it comes to telling the sto

“When we said something that was im portant to us, we knew it was going to be in the paper; it was going to be talked about. It was going to be written in a way that reflect ed students’ opinions. It was just so cool; I always remember it always being such a cool paper,” class of 1990 and current librarian at ETHS, Traci Brown-Powell, explains.

Brown-Powell additionally felt a sense of unity surrounding the publication.

A brief history of the Evanstonian (continued)

Illustration by Joan Camaya

The most notable observation that has unfortunately stayed consistent is the lack of staff who are BIPOC in the Evanstonian. The

This article addresses the drastically dif ferent encounters and outcomes that Eugene Mason, a Black senior, and Ellen Roeder, a white junior, had when they interacted with the Evanston Police Department. Mason, licensed, was pulled over while driving for having an expired sticker, thrown onto the ground by the police and received 25 hours

“Diversity back then looked very differ ent for us. It just looked different; we weren’t really talking [about it] in terms of race rela tions and diversity and equity. If you think about [it] like a plate, that was a side dish. These days, it’s like the main course. We knew those issues existed; we knew things were there, but it wasn’t really as prominent,” CooperWhileexplains.itwas surprisingly tricky to find copies of issues from the 2000s, we were able to find one from Nov. 6, 2009, that includes a piece titled “They fought the law, the white girl won” by Carolynn Pelletier.

it to notice patterns from the past; observe what has worked and what has not; what has changed and what has not; which communi ties were harmed by an event; which commu nities benefited from an event; why things are the way that they are today. Because, to make meaningful change, we must comprehend the systems that resulted in the need for this issue to be created in the first place.

Reflection

why do we study history? Not to remember the specific date that Abraham Lincoln was murdered or the number of sol diers that died during the Civil War. We do

When ETHS was founded in 1883, it was founded under the system of white suprema cy that was enforced through racist teachings and segregation. Due to this being ingrained into the school’s roots, it continues to be a structure that the school must actively fight against. When the Evanstonian was found ed pre-integration in 1916, it fell within this larger ETHS system and therefore has white supremacy sewn into its roots. We must un derstand this past to be able to reflect on the present and dream for the future.

Michael DeVaul, who graduated in 1979, one year prior to the Feb. 15 issue of 1980 that was received critically, comments on how integration played a role in the student body’s perception of diversity within the school.“I

of community service along with a $250 fine. Roeder, unlicensed, took her parents’ car and crashed into four parked cars, flipped her own and walked away with a clean record and her license obtained six weeks later.

“I’m really glad that the newspaper seems to be more about what’s actually happening in the school, like classes and what kids think about them, rather than, when I was there, we were talking about where’s the best place to eat a hamburger,” Alex Brown, history teach er and class of 2004, explains.

think that high school was at a time [where] we would transcend race, and the Evanstonian was also a place for that. But when we really talk about it, it wasn’t as di verse as we think it was. It felt more diverse because we were on the cutting edge of inte gration,” DeVaul says.

newspaper has a history of being elitist and unwelcoming, and this is something that will be thoroughly explored in the Present section of thisAnotherissue. consistent pattern is the lack of representation for students who do not fit into the Black and white racial binary. As previ ously stated, each non-white race faces its own unique realities. Without any represen tation surrounding these realities, the lack of awareness perpetuates a homogenizing cul ture that benefits white supremacy.

It is important to clarify why we found it important to reflect on the Evanstonian’s past coverage of topics surrounding race and the representation of BIPOC students. How are articles written 40, 30, 20 years ago relevant to the publication today? Were they not just different times with obvious growth since then?Well,

This is an incredibly important story to tell and comparison to make, yet this article does not dive in deep enough. The ten short paragraphs only take up a quarter of the front page, and the larger issue of an inherently unjust criminal justice system is barely men tioned. If the Evanstonian is going to bring awareness to unjust realities, which it must, it also needs to provide a thorough background of the history behind said act of injustice—in this case, racial profiling—and its present im plications. It cannot just include a brief quote that“Thesays:two

2000s

8 - past

By Eva Morales-Grahl Staff Writer

We can also conclude that research and thorough contextualization is crucial for the coverage of topics surrounding race. Racism is a complex system that has a purposefully hidden history, and many harmful assump tions can be enforced incredibly quickly if there is nothing there to block and correct them.Before this section ends, we want to reiter ate that we, in no shape or form, were able to cover every important article that the Evan stonian published about race that was worthy of critique. Due to space constraints, we were not even able to address every notable arti cle within the publications we discussed. We were largely guided by the wonderful alumni who took the time to speak with us, and we were also constrained by COVID-19. Only one person could go into the school at certain times to find relevant pieces, and many cop ies of certain issues could not be found. We in no way addressed everything that was worthy of being addressed and know that there is still much room for discussion surrounding the Evanstonian’s history.

situations seem to indicate class and racial inequality in the legal system,” and not expand on it. Readers are then left to think it is not an issue that requires more attention and a thorough understanding to combat.

Current college and career services staff member Llydondra Cooper, class of 2008, shares a similar sentiment.

are

Illustration by Joan Camaya

we use our tokens and play games tokens are exchanged for passage into the unknown spaces of equity and justice this liberation from being oppressed oppressive systems only need a good cover photo don’t look too far into it don’t squint your eyes don’t stare for too long or you’ll see the distortion of individuals’ identities see the One become All and all of us can only be one thing there are no more parts for us to play and the parts we have are written for us to speak into existence the beliefs presumably because why bother knowing better and shifting the settings so the audience can see the perception is skewed they let the lights dim to black.

back to square one.

POC are forced to be viewed and examined through some stereotypical headcanon and one of us will look out the window one gets the window and is allowed to be seen their words scripted the masses listless to see what they will be.

tokenism the present who we

to be token is to be taken and presented through the windows through the screens faces for photos like finite things like diversity is something that we have to make a show of show off these systematic anomalies because this one is different, you see, it’s one of these is not like the others so it will be used as an example for what the others could be.

By Journee Adams Guest Writer

tokenism, definition: the policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort (as to desegregate). tokenism, definition: the practice or policy of making no more than a token effort or gesture, as in offering opportunities to minorities equal to those of the majority tokenism, definition, ad-lib: the actions that people do to show their tolerance, despite not making any effort to move forward. tokenism, opinion: one step forward, one step back.

to be token is to be taken into the system no, not like the others excluded from benefits it’s their loss and we can’t take a chance on losses so only one is needed for this show to commence things don’t always make sense when the system is concerned the system has been solicited by many and has rejected many more through a lack of support no one opening doors they simply show how to find the key and while some are left searching and some are left lost the cost of this, is the token.

present - 9

of the respondents identified as white. This suggests a divide in terms of how well stu dents believed the paper represented the ex periences of the entire ETHS student body by race, with white students seeing themselves represented more in coverage more than re spondents of color did.

By Cheyenne Edwards, Anika Radhakrishnan Staff Writers

The Evanstonian viewed as ____, by the student body

Diversifying voices in our writers and interviews

A common theme in the responses was freshmen not reading the Evanstonian as much as upperclassmen. Since 48.7 percent who responded were freshmen, the over whelming majority of students selected 1, 58.8 percent (155), while only 2.3 percent (6) of students chose a 5 in terms of reading frequency. Adding the fact that the majority of respondents were white, it was difficult to find students of color who read the Evansto nian so they could give their thoughts on how to be more equitable.

It’s essential to welcome voices from all backgrounds and change up the voices so people hear more stories to better represent the school.“Ijust wonder how the paper speaks to kids of various socio-economic backgrounds along the lines of race. Maybe intentionally trying to go into spaces where students that are not reflected in the paper are in. Maybe it’s going to lunch, or maybe it’s going to the summits. It’s an intentional approach at try ing to get that voice and needing that voice,” history and economics teacher Alex Brown explains.According to the survey, more than half of students thought the Evanstonian to be a misrepresentation of the entire ETHS student body.

The majority of students, 40.7 percent (107), responded with a one or two versus the 22.4 percent (59) who put a four or five, meaning that more people believe the Evan stonian has little influence on how people view the student body and school events than those that do believe the paper has a large impact. It was also found that more POC students, 28.6 percent (34), did not believe that they were a part of the Evanstonian’s intended audience as opposed to the number of white students, 16.2 percent (23), that did not believe they were a part of the Evansto nian’s intended audience. Additionally, 52.8 percent (75) of white students chose a four or five, meaning that they felt the newspaper was meant to appeal to them while only 36.1 percent (43) that were POC responded with a four or five.

The last scale type question asked students whether or not they believed the Evanstonian has tokenized their racial identity. 43.1 per cent (110) of students selected 1, indicating that they didn’t believe the Evanstonian had tokenized their racial identity. This mainly had to do with the number of white students who responded, 54.1 percent (138), com pared to the 45.1 percent (115) of respons es who identified as students of color. 10.6 percent (27) of students responded with 4 or 5, meaning they believed the Evanstonian has tokenized their racial identity frequently. The majority of these responses came from students of color of which 18.3 percent (21) believed they had been tokenized compared to the 4.3 percent (6) white students who put a 4 or 5.

the survey, as opposed to reaching the goal of making said survey demographically repre sentative of the entire school population.

Furthermore, almost half of the respons es were freshmen, 48.9 percent (128), while grades 10-12 had less than 20 percent indi vidually. Since the survey focused on equity, it was important that the Evanstonian looked for Black and brown voices. Ultimately, the survey results didn’t accurately represent the student population in terms of racial demo graphics. The data was a telling sign that the students involved in the Evanstonian have a disproportionate number of white students in their circles who were willing to respond to

can?”Lulla later added she had seen that some of her students in the past were constantly being interviewed and featured by the Evanstonian. At first, she was confused and wondered what the student’s relationship was with the Evanstonian. Turns out, the students’ friend was an editor, and that’s why they were con stantly being interviewed.

“Go into practicecommunitiesstudentstonianopinions.totioninvolvedorganization,anddifferentawareyou.knowntiestowelcomingdon’ttheycome,theirabled/marginalizedBIPOC/queer/immigrant/disspacesandtellthemthatstoriesmatterandtheirvoicesarewelbut,atthesametime,emphasizingthathavenoobligationtospeakupiftheywantto,”aSouthAsianseniorexplains.Otherstudentsreinforcedthesameideaofmorevoicesofpeoplewhowantbeincluded.“IthinkjustreachingouttoallcommuniandclassroomsatETHSandlettingitbethatyoutrulywelcomeeveryonetoIfeellikealotofkidsjustaren’treallyofthatandfeelasthoughit’satotallyenvironmentfromtheirs,”aLatinxwhitejuniorsays.TheEvanstonianisapredominantlywhiteandthelackofstudentsofcolorpreventsinclusivityandrepresentaoftheETHScommunity.Thiscanleadarepetitionoftopics,perspectivesandThisbegsaquestion:HowcantheEvandiversifyitsinterviews?HowcanjournalistsreachouttothevariousinsideandoutsideETHS?OnewaytheEvanstoniancanincludethisisbystressingtheimportanceof

______

Currently, according to the survey, the Evanstonian has not been representative of the entire ETHS student population both in terms of writers as well as the people who are interviewed.“Ihaven’t paid much attention to this, but I do think [the Evanstonian] should be something that people are looking at in terms of who’s getting interviewed and what stu dents are getting interviewed or featured,” chemistry teacher Tina Lulla said. “Are they reflective of our schools’ population? Or does it end up being like, whoever the Evansto nian staff knows because they have to get it done and then they reach out to whoever they

49.2 percent (128) of students selected a 3 regarding the Evanstonian’s representation of the experiences of the entire ETHS student body, indicating almost half of the respon dents believed the paper does an average job representing the experiences of the student body. 29.6 percent (77) selected either a 4 or a 5, indicating that many students thought the Evanstonian does a fair job of representing the experiences of the entire ETHS student body. From that percentage, 28 (36.4 per cent) of respondents were students of color compared to the 49 (63.6 percent) white re spondents. On the other hand, 21.2 percent selected either a 1 or a 2. From this, 39 (70 percent) of the respondents identified as stu dents of color whereas only 15 (27.3 percent)

The Evanstonian is composed of writers and artists who commit their time and effort to write articles that cover topics relating to Evanston and students at ETHS. While the Evanstonian has had many groundbreaking accomplishments over its 104-year history, it has yet to include and represent more BIPOC students and have a staff that looks like the school’s population and provides coverage that fully captures the diversity of experienc es and stories that exist at ETHS. To better understand these elements, this piece delves into how effectively the paper covers Evan ston and ETHS with regards to race and eth nicity.In the “Equity within the Evanstonian” survey, created by the Evanstonian, the news paper received 263 responses from students and asked them for feedback and ideas for how the paper could be a more racially eq uitable publication. Unsurprisingly, 54.0 percent (142) of respondents were white stu dents, while only 24.8 percent (66) and 10.7 percent (28) of responses were from Black or Latinx students, inclusive of students who identify as mixed race, respectively. While the percentage of Black students that re sponded to the survey was close to the Black student population at ETHS (24.8 percent of respondents were Black while 26 percent of the overall student population is Black), the number of Latinx students was almost eight percent lower on the survey than for the over all school population (10.7 percent versus 18 percent). In total, the survey responses were 45.2 percent (119) students of color and 54.0 percent (142) students who only identify as white; this is contrasted to the overall student population, which is 54 percent students of color and 46 percent white.

10 - present

The survey consisted of questions that allowed students to rate the Evanstonian’s re lationship with the student body in addition to one open-ended response question.

In addition to the scale questions, students could enter a written response when asked how the Evanstonian can become a more eq uitableBasedpublication.onresponses and interviews from students and staff, this article reflects on how to improve the newsroom’s coverage. This article will be examining the aspects that the Evanstonian lacks, such as diversity and how to talk about complex topics by looking at how the ETHS student body perceives the paper.

Illustration by Mateo Perez, digitized by Ellie Lind

43 1 18 0 28 2 5 9 4 7 24 3 20.0 37.4 11 3 7 0 59 4 16 179 6 1 24.954321 0 20 40 60 All POC(255)Only (115) White Only (138) How much do you believe that the Evanstonian has tokenized your racial identity? 6 5 14 6 49 2 24 2 5 44 11 1 22 2 42 7 20 5 3 4 2 8 7 8 54 6 27 7 7 1 54321 0 20 40 60 All (260) POC Only (117) White Only (141) How much do you believe that the Evanstonian represents the experiences of the entire student body? 4.36.3 27.727.7 34.0 5 2 8 7 37 4 29 6 19 1 2.94.3 19.4 26.6 46.8 54321 0 10 20 30 40 50 All (256) POC Only (115) White Only (139) How much do you believe the Evanstonian welcomes your identities either as a writer or as a student?

- South Asian freshmen

believe the Evanstonian can become a more equitable publication?

Whether it’s class, politics, identity or so cially related issues, writing about complex topics is a challenging process. Topics like these deal with applying one’s own posi tionality to craft their story. In the survey, a student noted that the Evanstonian repeats a pattern of reporting the same viewpoints in its articles.“Every piece comes from the same per spective, especially regarding current events

Based on the responses, the Evanstonian has failed to represent the entire student body and include people from all backgrounds— from its staff to those who are interviewed for articles to the stories that are shared within the “Thepublication.paperis not reflective of the student body in terms of its racial makeup,” Brown explains.Moving ahead, the Evanstonian will ac knowledge its failures so the publication can become a paper where all students are heard and one that students will feel proud to read.

SURVEY DATA

Broadening subject matter to reach more communities within ETHS

Q:Howdoyou

Where does the Evanstonian go from here?

History teacher Ganae McAlpin explains how the Evanstonian can emphasize the voic es of Black and brown students.

“I think there should be a more diverse group of writers. Only people with ade quate writing skills and/or a deep person al connection to the content should tackle controversial issues, especially racial is sues,”-white senior

“One [idea] might be to just write articles that are more geared towards what one would perceive the audience that they’re trying to attract. ETHS has always done a really good job of being a school that met the needs of white students for sure, and middle and up per-class students,” Brown explains. “ETHS has never done a great job, and still doesn’t do a great job of—not because any malicious intent—extending the benefits and extending the light on being intentional about bringing in the voices of students that are less well-todo. That disproportionately, at least in Evan ston, happens to be students of color.”

The idea of reviving guest writing is an other method the Evanstonian can utilize as means to branch out to gain diverse writers.

and political topics. Maybe get more writers from different sides of the political spectrum to get more variety in opinions,” a Black ju niorBrownexplains.expands on this idea by questioning the intended audience of Evanstonian pieces.

“Go into -outsideCover-them.”insteadcruitequitable-journalismissues,cludewillingusnectionsincemessagestheEvanstonianto-speakphasizingarethatabled/marginalizedBIPOC/queer/immigrant/disspacesandtellthemtheirstoriesmatterandtheirvoiceswelcome,butatthesametimeemthattheyhavenoobligationtoupiftheydon’twantto,”SouthAsiansenior“Activelyreachouttomorepeoplelookformorecontributorssothatthestaffismorerepresentativeofstudentstheyrepresent.MaybehavesentouttotheFASHclasses,freshmendon’thavethesameconwiththeschoolyetthattherestofstudentshaveandtheymightbemoretojoin.MaybealsotryingtoindifferentformatsinEvanstonianlikestoriesthataremainlyphotoand/orgraphics,”whitesophomoreTheEvanstoniancanbecomeamorepublicationbyattemptingtorepeoplefromavarietyofbackgroundsofwaitingforpeopletocometoBlack,multiracialfreshmenmorestoriesofcolor.WithinandofETHS!”SouthAsiansenior

normal people that go to our school that have stories about who they are that they wish to tell,” - Black

“Bringingfreshmenmore diversity to the staff, and interviewing a wider variety of people at ETHS for student perspective,” - Black, white junior

“Training Black and brown students to be leaders, recruiting more Black and brown folks to [write and] co-write pieces,” McAlpin says.

reaching out to students of color to join.

In the media, Asians and Indigenous peo ple are often overlooked during discussions of racial issues, especially when compared to reporting on the other two major racial minority groups: Latinx and Black commu nities.According to a response, a Black sopho more stated, “The Evanstonian can become more equitable by talking about more tough topics, and maybe have a debate or question poll.”Finding creative, engaging ways to talk about hard topics is a great way to establish a foundation that will eventually allow stu dents to write about those issues.

“I think it would be so cool if we [students who don’t write for the newspaper] could submit pieces from our classes. Include more guest opinion writers to submit things to the paper to get published,” McAlpin explains.

whiteWhenvoices.asked how the paper could be a more equitable publication, a white freshman responded by writing, “By not listening to me. Listen and take advice from POC, not the people who have always profited from this kind of news coverage.” According to a white senior in the survey, they said, “There should be a more diverse group of writers. Only people with adequate writing skills and/ or a deep personal connection to the content should tackle controversial issues, especially racial issues.” That idea is reinforced by an other response. In the survey, a black fresh man says that the Evanstonian should “talk about other problems going on with other races like Muslims, and Indigenous people.”

“I think that trying to find people to write that come from various different backgrounds and identities. Also calling the not so good things that affect people like POCs, LGBTQ+ people, etc. out and not tip toeing around it or sugar coating -it,”Black

The Evanstonian is known to be a pro gressive, liberal publication. Its viewpoints reflect the political and social climate of Evanston. Understandably, it may be difficult for a writer who wants to explore a complex or differing viewpoint to express their voice. However, the Evanstonian shouldn’t limit or prohibit those people. Including voices of those who vary on the political spectrum will allow the Evanstonian to see variability in opinions and vocalization.

“Get interviews from people who come from all kinds of backgrounds. This way, more voices will be heard.”

“It has been the students and the spon sors who have really been having some cou rageous conversations to really figure out, ‘Okay, has this really been traditionally a space where students of color have felt, seen, heard or where they felt like they belong?” says Assistant Superintendent and Principal Marcus Campbell. “I have had a number of conversations with staff members who spon sor various prestigious institutions of ETHS to reflect more of the student body. I think that the Evanstonian too has been a part of the conversation. It’s been a part of their jour ney, and I’ve seen some great strides. And, of course, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

“By not listening to me. Listen and take advice from POC, not the people who have always profited from this kind of news cov -erage,”white freshmen

“Writefreshmenabout

One of the other moves that the publica tion can take is to actively work to decenter

“I think ensuring or working towards a diverse staff,” Lulla says. “With a particular focus on making sure our Black student voic es are heard and our voices are heard.”

present - 11

“Making opportunities to write for the Evanstonian more accessible, maybe by showing how students can contribute even if they are not in the journalism elective,” - Black senior

Illustration by Kupunoli Sumi

Finally, when making student publications and co-curricular activities a safer place, a large element has to do with the actions of fa cilitators of those spaces and what intentions they hold. Although not all of our advisors, sponsors and coaches need to be BIPOC edu cators or staff, the energy students feel when they enter that space should be welcoming and“Makeopen.sure they know that it’s all inclusive and that they want people of all backgrounds to join so that people don’t feel left out, and they have a safe space to connect with peo ple,” freshman Brianna Ross says.

The implication of this is the pushing away people of color interested in joining in activ ities like the Evanstonian. Additionally, this reality aligns with the historic truth that white people dominate spaces where the voices of people of color need to be heard. the Evan stonian needs a more diverse group of indi viduals expressing themselves and sharing their stories. Having a predominantly white publication writing to a predominantly white audience only perpetuates the cycle of the crucial stories of BIPOC being pushed away.

12 - present

By Linnea Mayo Assistant Opinion Editor

From my perspective, in the communities I’ve entered that lack racial diversity, I have felt the slight tinge that members wonder what “role” I would play in the space. These thoughts aren’t always translated into actions or even words, simply felt and something I’m constantly aware of. I can feel the ques tions of ‘Does she have anything important to add?’ ‘Is she even smart enough to be in this space?’ This leads to a feeling of exclusion and being out of place in a seemingly wel come space, as well as the idea that my voice and content ideas aren’t valid.

Whether this means feeling like you aren’t equipped to be working with your white peers, or just overall a sense of not belonging, the issue of impostor syndrome is present in many clubs and activities at ETHS, including the Evanstonian. Harvard Business Review defines impostor syn drome as “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.” Impostor syndrome often causes self-doubt, and this idea is perpetuated throughout many predominantly white spaces for BIPOC.

Ultimately, experiencing impostor syn drome also perpetuates the idea that these spaces should inherently exclude BIPOC, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s imperative these inequities are brought to the forefront and we are given a space where our voice is shared. If we’re truly open to every one, a more diverse staff is vital for all to feel represented and heard, which is not the case currently.Another layer within the Evanstonian be comes positionality—who is writing which pieces, and how their identity impacts their coverage. As mentioned previously within a predominantly white space, there will like ly be a predominantly white audience. With this comes the fact that the staff relies on, in our case the few, BIPOC to explore the is sues of race and racism within the school and community. One common theme with this is the fact that, when the white people write on these issues, there is less of an opinion dis tributed. They will report and display the information, but remain neutral. And I have found, even when white Evanstonian staff do opinionated their articles, there is an underly ing patronizing, pitying tone towards BIPOC and the issues they’re addressing. However, a white reporters’ history of remaining “objec tive” when reporting on communities of col or had not benefited said communities in the slightest as found in a 2016 article by Sage Journal.“It’sthat pressure of being a representative of all because you’re the one, or the few, so you’re carrying the burden. That can be a lot, and it can be like ‘I don’t want to do that, I’m just trying to be me.’ I’m not trying to carry the whole BIPOC experience. It’s exhaust ing,” Sangha explains.

been told I can’t write on a certain topic, I’m extremely aware that I’d be one of the few writing stories pertaining to racial or system ic issues. The reality is, in a space like this, they have to be heard. How will they learn or know what our perspectives are if we can’t feel open enough to tell them?

What this often comes down to is creating a space where every student can authentically be who they are. Whether this be specific to BIPOC or on a broader scale, having a space for equity and inclusion to strengthen the community for every person within it, while simultaneously maintaining liberation. This could be the difference between one who stays in the space, and one who finds them selves drifting away.

“I tell my students that every voice is valuable. I want to hear something from ev erybody in the room, and I want everyone to know that their ideas are valid. Just because another student is louder than you doesn’t mean that their ideas are better than yours,” biology teacher Marla Issacs says.

“A lot of people feel that way. But it can feel more pronounced when you’re already feeling marginalized because of your race or gender. We all might feel like we’re inad equate, but it can become more pronounced for a person of color,” ETHS English edu cator and writing ambassador Angela Sang ha-Gadsden says.

Before I was introduced to the Evansto nian my sophomore year, I didn’t know much about it. As I became involved with it, one thing did become relatively clear: there was a limited number of Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC) and diversity on staff. This wasn’t something I was extremely aware of at first, and it wasn’t until I reflected that I realized this truth. Now, in my junior year, I’m on the editorial board, where this lack of diversity has become increasingly clear as I work with writers and review stories.

When this is implemented, impostor syn drome can effectively be prevented within the space, and we can truly be our authentic selves through our work.

Impostor

As a person of color, walking into places that are predominantly white, it’s incredibly easy to feel excluded or like you don’t be long. Whether this is intentional or not, the constant crush of white folks contributes to my feelings that I don’t belong for countless reasons, including the fact that no one looks like, or can relate to, you. A phrase called im postor syndrome explains why in numerous situations, it has been difficult for me to find my place in these spaces.

Within the Evanstonian I would like to say every perspective is represented and has a space, but this is not even relatively true. Be ing on the Evanstonian as a person of color, a place where voices and pieces are openly shared among staff, impostor syndrome has certainly been increasingly present. I often find myself holding back on writing certain things and, after hearing the ideas of my peers at budget meetings, begin to rethink my original story idea. Though I’ve never

Held back, pushed away

I like to say that I’m desensitized to being “the only one.” When I was younger, I quick ly became aware that I was one, if not the only, person of color when taking swimming lessons, going off to sleep away camps, tak ing music lessons, participating in dance and other after school extracurricular activities. Today, I look back on my past and I notice how my feelings of being the only person of color affected my self-value and confidence. In fact, I can not help but notice my feelings of ongoing self-doubt stemming from years of participating and having to live in predom inantly white spaces. All significant effects from imposter syndrome.

Representation does matter

By Taryn Robinson Guest Writer

“I think a lot of people don’t join the club when [they] fear the perception of what would happen. Personally, the reason why I didn’t join certain clubs because I knew that I would be one of the few if not only one. Taking that step out to do something like that is a huge risk, especially if you’ve had a lot of racial trauma growing up,” senior Olamide Thomas explains. “Especially if [you] went to a predominantly white school. I went to Orrington [which] was a very expensive, up per middle class school [with] a lot of rich, white kids, in my opinion. I think that really impacted a lot of things I did in my life.”

During the first budget meeting, I was amazed at the ideas the other writers had. Similar to other spaces I participate in, the staff was predominantly white. I noticed the staff used words I had never heard before, I felt nervous, and I could not think of any ideas. I felt like I did not belong. I was start ing to have second thoughts on joining the school newspaper and I began to blame my self. I thought I was not worthy enough, not smart enough, could not use the right words. I felt embarrassed. This experience was noth ing new for me and these feelings arise when I visit a space where no one looks like me or where I feel that no one appreciates my voice.Dorina

Rasmussen concludes, “Diversity is im portant because it enriches the experiences of everyone involved. It challenges us to be more inclusive and mindful of others, as well as more empathic to lived experiences.... We want students to bring an authentic perspec tive and voice to all aspects of their experi ence.”

ETHS, moments like this are more common than one may think. It’s not fun, as a student of color, to be interested in something and then take a step back and not experience a potential passion based on who shows up.

I was first introduced to the Evanstonian in my freshman year. One of my classmates was passing out an issue of the student-written newspaper, and immediately, I was interested in participating. I have always enjoyed writ ing and I thought it would be the perfect way to get involved, especially as a freshman.

Evanston and ETHS communities need to identify the situations and spaces where impostor syndrome may exist, and we need to work and make these spaces more diverse, equitable and welcoming for students of col or.

also need to advocate on behalf of students of color for resources, funding or other opportu nities that will assist them in achieving their goals. They need to work towards equitable opportunities as well as encourage and sup port students who may not see themselves in certain spaces or opportunities.”

Aguilár Rasmussen, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Market ing Communications elaborates on this.

“Predominantly white spaces tend to en courage assimilation in spaces where diver sity, inclusion and belonging should be pri oritized,” Rasmussen explains. “For many POC, including myself, representation mat ters. It is more than helpful to be in spaces with thought leaders who look like you and with whom you may have shared lived ex periences.”Whenwriting for the Evanstonian a cou ple of times in my freshman and sophomore years, I thought I had to be extra careful with the words I chose and the stories I wanted to share knowing that the Evanstonian was created by a majority of white students, for a predominantly white audience. My mindset was affected and I began to distance myself from writing even though it is something I enjoy.At

For me, not feeling “good enough” kept me away from extracurricular activities and AP or Honors classes due to the experience of or fear of not fitting in, of being an impostor.

- Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications, Dorina Aguilár Rasmussen

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“For many POC, including matters.representationmyself,Itismore than helpful to be in spaces with thought leaders who look like you and with whom you may have shared experiences.”lived

“Students of color need to know that we see them, and that we hear them. In situations where students feel unworthy it is important to acknowledge their lived experiences and challenge our community to educate itself on best practices in supporting our students of color.” Rasmussen continues, “Advisers need to continue to educate themselves on how to best support students of color.... Advisers

Throughout my experiences, I have recog nized the effect of impostor syndrome on my mental health and I have been able to learn that I do belong, and I have a unique per spective to share. It is not until everyone rec ognizes the value of diversity and people of color, that we can honor all voices and work together in reaching common goals.

Illustration by Kupunoli Sumi syndrome

“In my role at Northwestern I have seen impostor syndrome displayed among our highly talented students, who feel like certain leadership roles or job opportunities aren’t for them” Rasmussen explains.

Impacts of a racial Black/white binary

Cambridge Dictionary defines a bina ry as “relating to or consisting of two differ ent things, in which everything is either one thing or the other.” Putting this definition into the context of human experiences, it is easy to see how one’s life being defined by only two different possibilities is very problematic and

14 - present

As proven in the aforementioned quotes, the experiences of brown people are diverse and complex, thus it is hard to draw concrete conclusions regarding how to navigate and eradicate a Black-white binary, but a few things do become clear.

Turning to others

To contextualize the racial Black-white bi nary, we must look to our past and understand that it is a product of anti-Blackness and the ways in which Black people have been com modified both physically and emotionally in order to uplift white supremacy. These ac tions have given power to white people and have facilitated society’s understanding of Black and white as the only two predominant races. Thus, many people—including brown people—have come to comprehend their own racial identities through comparison to only Black and white identities. This Black-white binary has created a world where the extent to which every person feels that they can ex ist with rights and privileges varies greatly.

Although these are the messages that many brown people find themselves enveloped in and forced to navigate, society often dictates when we have access to power and privilege and when we do not.

“I think not focusing on BIPOC in gen eral but acknowledging all of our identities and figuring out how to bring those people together is important,” senior Sylvia Tellez says.Bringing people together with the intent of healing and creating community seems to consistently come up in conversations around progressing towards a liberating future. Balitaan adds to this sentiment.

The experience Bucio recalls is common and has certainly contributed to a major ste reotype about people of color, specifically East, Southeast and South Asian-Americans who are viewed as model minorities, and qui et people who “stay in their lanes.”

you will never be this,’ and my relation to Blackness is being taught that you need to distance yourself from that to become like a white person,” community service coordina tor Diana Balitaan says.

Throughexplains.society’s promotion of compart mentalized identities, not only do people feel they have to engage in a delicate dance be tween two races, but they also come to under stand what each side of the binary represents: whiteness being admirable and Blackness being something to avoid.

There are numerous complexities with in the binary conversation, one being the number of brown ethnic groups considered ‘white’ by the U.S government—specifical ly, people of Middle Eastern descent. A large percentage of the brown population in the U.S. belong to these underrepresented eth nic groups yet are labeled as white. An add ed racial box will better represent the brown community as a whole, giving reassurance of recognizing true identity.

“Understanding what we deserve as peo ple—what would it mean if we were ulti mately treated with love and respect?”

By Adrian Cyrus, Meena Sharma Staff Writer, Guest Writer

“My family always told me to keep my head down, work hard and earn my privilege. And this didn’t happen by speaking up, it happened by shutting up—whatever harmful things they say, in one ear, out the other,” En glish teacher Anita Bucio explains.

As mentioned earlier, individuals who do not find themselves seen within the domi nant Black-white narrative are often urged to make sense of their racial identities by com paring them to both whiteness and Blackness.

The impact of what binaries mean in soci ety and how brown people fit into them will always be a spark for further action. When reflecting upon the past of the Evanstonian in relation to brown people, the blatant un derrepresentation of our communities can promote the understanding of Evanston as only a Black and white place. However, brown people are here, and we always have been. Our racialized realities define the way we engage with the Evanston community and how Evanston engages with us. By acknowl edging brown existence in consideration of our experiences rather than constantly defin ing them by our proximity to whiteness and Blackness, our identities can be more appro priately included.

Adrian’s Experience

“I walk into my school’s cafeteria. The first thing I do is look for someone who looks like me. I try to blend in, but I’m always subcon sciously aware of the fact that I’m different. I’m brown after all,” class of 2019 graduate Abraham Abraham says.

Illustration by Nora Miller

Contrasts, juxtapositions and general dif ferences are all cornerstones of life and ex pression; they have been for quite some time. Whether thinking about how a chef will in corporate sweet and salty flavors into their signature dishes or how artists will contrast colors and textures to enliven their work, this reality cannot be denied. Yet, when these forms of differentiation are integrated into people’s identity formation—specifically through binaries—their impacts serve as the foundation for lifelong struggles and ques tions.The

To my friends, I am brown. To the stranger I pass on the street, I am brown. For some reason, however, to the U.S government, I am white. This dynamic has always been of interest to me. Being born to Persian parents, I greatly wondered about a concrete con nection between being Middle Eastern yet being considered white. I thought about the

While it is important to recognize that this stereotype is harmful towards brown people, it is also vital to see that conforming to this stereotype is harming others.

“In one community, my uncle and aunts got denied housing, but they didn’t in another place because they saw us as professionals and people who were closer to whiteness,” Balitaan

Due to these harmful notions that people have only begun to disrupt, many find them selves compelled to adhere to strict standards to eventually “make it” in the world.

The notion of privilege Sangha-Gadsden describes comes in a form of a teeter-totter. As brown people, we recognize that our place in society carries some privilege, however, it is important to gain perspective of the dis comfort people in the brown community may

face, in relation to the smaller population of the community in the U.S.

Inconfining.thispiece, we hope to explore the forma tion and impacts of a racial Black-white bina ry with an emphasis on those who often find themselves in the middle of this confusing reality and are, many times, forced by society to “choose a side.” Because of our focus on people with these particular experiences, we want to acknowledge that this piece will not be highlighting the experiences of all Black, Indigenous, People Of Color (BIPOC), and by no means do we want the ideas in this ar ticle alone to inform the entirety of our ex panding consciousness around race.

This story only increased my curiosity, not just with my family’s history, but with the experiences of brown people everywhere, including myself. In being left out of so many contemporary conversations about race, I have found my reality and my identity to be incredibly confusing. To better make sense of my experiences and those of other brown people, I wonder: how have brown peo ple historically navigated a world in which a Black-white binary is deeply embedded? And, how can we resist this reality in order to get rid of the harm it is doing to all BIPOC?

Beginning to Draw Conclusions

It was not until fairly recently that I asked my father for a more detailed account of why my ancestors emigrated from India to Ken ya and some generations later made it to the United States. In short, his recounting re vealed that what ultimately drove my family out of India was a severe lack of economic opportunities and civil rights, a result of the British occupation, and that they eventually got to Kenya upon hearing that Indians were being recruited to work on the British East Africa Railroad. I envisioned the despair and hopelessness that undeniably permeated the lives of Indians under the white rule, and wondered if these emotions faded in Kenya, a place where anti-Blackness came into play and Indians found themselves in the middle of a Black-white dynamic.

“I have to acknowledge that my free doms as a dark-skin, Indian woman really come from the plight that African-Ameri cans go through. I am always really aware of how Asian Indians have been able to come into a space and climb the social class lad der, whereas Black people and people who are Indigenous to this land and experienced genocide aren’t able to experience certain privileges,” Sangha-Gadsden explains.

Brown experiences in this world are not homogenous, so to answer the questions both of us have posed, we opened the floor to many who have grappled with their identities.

“I think there is a lot of harm in being a model minority that is placed on us, but then harm that we do in the cultural norms and the denial of our privilege,” Bucio says.

English teacher Angela Sangha-Gadsden expands on this idea.

“My experience in relationship to white ness has been ‘You need to be like this, but

Meena’s Experience

empires that ruled the Middle East long ago, the Persian Empire until being defeated by the Greeks. One could even spar a little more recently to the Ottoman Empire, followers of Islam who were powers in the Middle East and tried to gain traction in Europe. Upon further investigation, to the white empires and countries of Europe, it could be greatly argued that both the Persian and Ottoman empires were looked at as minorities or ‘not of our kind’ by the European giants. Whether the motive was the different practice of reli gion or the color of the skin, the being differ ent dynamic was there. What came to be for a large group of brown people to be considered white? What is the impact it carries on the brown community being underrepresented?

In addition to this, for society to feel better for all people, it is important to consider what it would take for brown people to reclaim our agency while simultaneously addressing is sues within our communities—especially an ti-Blackness—to unify with others.

The Black experience in America is not universal for all, let alone universal for Black people. In my experience, white writers as sume an opinion of a Black person before even sitting down for an interview; it comes off as an experience of their own. Black peo ple often have to correct white people on their activism, and with the audience of the Evanstonian, it may be hard to share those disagreements because of the potential back lash that could be given.

reer services specialist Llyondra Cooper ex plains. “As we talk about the things that we see, the issues with equity, the issues with re spect, in showing the spaces and giving safe spaces for affinity groups, I think we can do more. I think there are still some spaces that are overwhelmingly [white] majority [where] there’s no diversity in those spaces—wheth er that’s the debate team, whether that’s the Evanstonian—I think there’s a lot of spaces where they’re still not as diverse as the stu dent body and as the Evanston community.”

As a school community, we have to be eager to welcome every student and give Black students the same opportunity to ex press skill regardless of the lack of diversity a group might have to begin with. Intention ally welcoming Black students into spaces allows a level of comfort that comes with being around people that look like you and understand you. Understanding each other, expressing our personal talents, even if they are initially out of our comfort zones, must be normalized in all communities at ETHS. We need to normalize bravery. And allowing us to feel confident enough to step into a pre dominantly white atmosphere and prevail can define that welcoming space. It only takes one person to cause a domino effect. Camp bell reiterates this when explaining what he has told students of color who hoped to par ticipate in an activity that they loved but was predominately white.

“I just think there’s just a lot of stereo types built in [to white spaces], and it’s really hard to break stereotypes, especially when they’re in media everywhere you go,” senior Olamide Thomas explains.

“[I would say] ‘Yes, you know, it can feel very white,’ and talk about Courageous Con versations; you don’t have multiple perspec tives sometimes. You have to think about it as a space that you really want to be in. [I would ask] ‘How do you speak your truth and work with the sponsor to make sure that it’s the space that it needs to be?” Campbell explains. “I think about so many people of color who have pioneered in spaces that did not reflect them. I think about Kamala Har ris, and so many others. I wouldn’t dare tell a kid, ‘All right, you need to go find some place else.’ No, stay there and be the voice for truth and be the voice for yourself. Make the space your own, because you have a right to be there just like everybody else.”

present - 15

By Tamara Guy Staff Writer

As the Evanstonian has evolved, especially in the last decade, Black experiences are of ten being written about as they are commonly talked about in the news, media and general conversations around town. The representa tion in our publication cannot speak to the immediate struggles the Black community in Evanston faces, and it is hard to correctly convey the opinions of students without hav ing them to write on staff. Topics addressed by the publication are touchy for people of color and a hard conversation to tackle. When white people address race in articles and speak on it, their own identity desensitiz es the conversation and even can spread false information further.

By Mika Parisien, Kamau Ransom Guest Writer, Staff Writer

“While we’ve gotten to the point of having different spaces for different affinity groups to be seen, I don’t want to say that we’re not do ing a good job; I just think that there’s [more] we can continue to improve,” college and ca

Gatekeeping activities: the damage of stereotyped experiences on Black youth

So, why, at every turn, can we never see ourselves represented in school-sponsored, co-curricular, extracurricular and athletic programs?This is a question that administrators, teachers, parents and students wonder con stantly. Well, Black folks have been experi encing the damage of racial stereotypes, in addition to the struggles that come with being a minority, for a very long time.

There are countless school endorsed activ ities and sports in which students can indulge from a young age. From chess to football, having an activity that evokes passion and joy is a beautiful way to enjoy childhood. It is evident through even taking a glance at club and team photos at ETHS, however, that there is a lack of Black youth in many ac tivities and sports, such as the Evanstonian, ETHS musicals and plays, sports and more.

activity because of the color of our skin, be cause there is nobody else that looks like us, should not even be in question. We live in a society where stereotypes are so normalized, subtle and ingrained in our everyday lives that it’s hard to avoid the contemplation. This can be extremely damaging for Black youth and lead them to refrain from doing things they love to do.

Itunderstand.isimportant to reflect on the issues we are sharing as a publication. For the past 100 years of the publication’s existence, white writers and audiences have curated the pub lication. It is important for the publication to focus on, and make sure we investigate, how our pieces center Black voices. We must make sure that the publication works towards making sure the opinions are accessible and are presented to Black students and writers,. as it is not fair to be sharing a non-universal opinion to the Black students.

These truths are just a few factors that feed into the lack of Black youth in predom inantly white activities. Imagine this: Raina is a young Black girl who is just starting her freshman year at ETHS. She is amazing at playing the violin and really wants to join the orchestra. However, she is torn between joining or not because of the lack of diver sity. If she joins, she won’t feel like she be longs in a space with few to no people who look like her. She may also get made fun of by her peers for “trying to be white” since she’s a part of a predominantly white activity and has mostly white friends because of the friends she’s made at orchestra. She also no ticed that it is mandatory for students to wear their hair in a style that is not inclusive for Black“Wefolks.arefortunate enough to be in a com munity, ETHS, where we have an abundance of resources. However, with that abundance of resources comes the understanding of how to access resources,” Cooper explains. “Ed ucation is not something that starts [at] an endpoint or institution. It’s at home. Home should be the first place where it starts. When we talk about access and a toolkit, who has what tools? We have to look at it from that that standpoint, and then [if] we’re going to talk about disparity, [if] we’re going to talk about socioeconomic status and [if] we’re going to talk about language and education in theThesehome.”imagined experiences that Raina will have if she joins become enough for her to not join orchestra, an activity that she had been absolutely passionate about prior to highContemplatingschool. whether we should do an

The Evanstonian is, and always has been, made up of a predominantly white staff. The majority of the Black stories that are told are missing the first-hand experiences and genu ine connection to the coverage. Statistics and interviews may make up for some the lack of knowledge, but white writers do not, and will never be able to, understand the pain behind some topics they are choosing to write about.

“I think that the Evanstonian and a lot of other spaces have felt very white and have been very white,” Assistant Superintendent and Principal Marcus Campbell explains.

As a Black reader and opinion writer for the Evanstonian, seeing white people write about the struggles that come with being Black seems as though the writers feel like they understand the experience. These white writers are not able to convey the opinion of a Black person which causes possible miscom munication as well.

White writers, Black issues

It’s important for white writers to reflect on the experiences they are sharing, about be cause they have no experience with it. Some things to think about for white writers are considering who is your audience is, being international with who you are interviewing and making sure you are intentional that the experience is not something you could or will ever

“That’s really important from a systemic piece, but also from a school culture piece. [I’d ask], ‘Why don’t more students of color feel like they could be and should be involved in these things? And if they do, and when they show up, will their voices be heard? Will they be seen? Or will it be another space full of microaggressions?’ We’ve been working to address that. It’s come up in a lot of conver sation with a lot of staff members and kids. I sit with some other boards as well answering this very question,” Campbell says.

Although ETHS tries to combat this reality, institutionally, we’re told we’re not “enough” of our race if we don’t fit into the stereotypes that were created for us. We’re told that we’re “acting white” if we excel in school or partic ipate in predominantly white activities.

Illustration by Kupunoli Sumi

who

By Karel Pene Njine Guest Artist we could be

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Limitless

“Often in our society, people of color are made to question our intelligence and stifle our curiosity. However, within each one of us lies potential as limitless as the stars themselves.”

By Angie Gomez Staff Writer

By the 7th grade, I had been plagued with stories of immigrants wanting to steal jobs, the concept of people being illegal; I had realized that equity was no longer a guar antee. While I gained access to advanced classes, the people around me were almost all white. As we went to school, it became evident who had the privilege of succeeding and who would have to work twice as hard for the same goal, whether that be getting to college, getting a job—the things America madeThatpossible.brought upon the question: how ac cessible was the American Dream in reality, and what factors made it that way? In a study conducted by Californian company Even, re sults showed that more than half of the 1,000 Americans surveyed weren’t sure whether their American Dream was attainable, wheth er that meant house ownership, financial freedom or other goals in mind. 80 percent of respondents also didn’t have savings that would support them for at least six months. Students within ETHS, shared their thoughts of what their definition of the American Dream is.

Primero que todo, las experiencias de los estudiantes de color en ETHS son completa mente diferentes a las experiencias de los es tudiantes blancos y necesitamos esas voces en el periódico. Necesitamos jóvenes periodis tas de color que extiendan sus brazos a sus compañeros para que se sientan bienvenidos en ETHS mientras diversifican las voces en el periódico. Si el periódico comienza a ten er más estudiantes de color, más estudiantes se sentirán representados y defendidos en el Evanstonian. Por eso necesitamos escritores, editores y fotógrafos de color. Necesitamos que todos los puestos en el Evanstonian que alguna vez estuvieron ocupados exclusiva mente por estudiantes blancos también se le brinde oportunidad a los estudiantes BIPOC.

Por eso, el Evanstonian dedica la emis ión de Febrero a los estudiantes BIPOC (por sus siglas en inglés Black, Indigenous and People Of Color) un acrónimo que significa negros, indígenas y gente de color. Desafor tunadamente el periódico tiene problemas que necesitamos reconocer.

“It means being able to have opportunitiesmore and access to resources. [It’s] giving future thanbettergenerationsopportunitiesyouhad”-sophomoreAdelaBautista

Illustration by Kupunoli Sumi

So what makes this ideal so hard to nav igate? For one, there is no single American Dream that every person seeks to follow. To many high school students, the American Dream is a broader expectation of success and happiness in the future, while others may want instead to have a job that means some thing to them. The ability to attain higher ed ucation, steady income and access different

The practices of journalism play an influ ential role in making sure we share the stories that BIPOC, immigrants and other marginal ized are accurately represented. Journalism helps those who have privileges to under stand what that means for them, while vali dating the work of those who don’t have that privilege. People use media, news and jour nalism to perceive the world around them. The ideas people have of entire communities are often cultivated from what they’ve heard and learned about them, much of that through journalism and the news. It’s dangerous when these stories are inaccurately told—twisted or, at times, fully incorrect—largely due to these experiences being shared through peo ple in the media who don’t take the time to dismantle stigmas we see today. To me, that looks like immigrants who have been labeled as aliens, whose “dream” is confined to steal ing jobs, who don’t deserve a place this free countryThe American Dream is one of the U.S’ main symbols today; yet, it’s an inequitable one. For me, moving to the U.S. was a new beginning and a door my parents had opened for me. To my parents, getting their schooling here meant better being equipped to raise my siblings and me. No matter what your dream entails, pushing towards a future where any thing is truly possible is what it takes to ful fill what we call the American Dream. That means advocating for students who don’t have access to it, as well as portraying it in a way that empowers the people who want it. As the Evanstonian evolves and grows, I hope that it can use its platform to reach all communities and hold itself to a standard that makes sure everyone’s dreams, voices and stories are heard.

versidad”.Esseguro

La realidad es esta: no todo el mundo habla, lee ni entiende inglés. Después de estos dos años de estar en una pandemia y cuatro años de tener a Donald Trump como presidente, debemos unirnos, juntar a los que tienen voz y a los que no pueden hablar. Por eso el Evanstonian necesita más estudiantes de color.

Journalism has the power to shape our realities, our dreams.

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By Kupunoli Sumi Staff Writer

Febrero en Estados Unidos se considera el mes de la historia afroestadounidense. Es un mes dedicado a hablar de las experiencias y la historia de personas de color en Estados Unidos. También es un mes para que los blancos escuchen y se eduquen en cómo ayu dar a la gente de color en un país tan lleno de odio y racismo contra ellos.

En una escuela como ETHS y en una ci udad como Evanston, es un poco hipócrita la falta de diversidad en el periódico ya que ETHS y Evanston se enorgullecen de su “di

El periódico, el Evanstonian, fue funda do en 1916, hace 105 años. Pero, aunque el periódico ha permanecido por tanto tiempo, todavía tiene problemas de diversidad e in clusión. La mayoría de los miembros del editorial son estudiantes blancos. Bueno, la verdad es que la mayoría de los estudiantes que escriben para el periódico son blancos.

My idea of the American Dream was planted from a young age, something that the Statue of Liberty symbolized and my parents proved. It was the idea that as long as I was here and could stay, there was noth ing I couldn’t do and nothing holding me back from achieving the dreams that I had. The American Dream was one idea that my family had known I would be able to reach when they immigrated to the US from India when I was four. While this same American Dream was the one taught to me in school, convincing me I could be anything I wanted, the things happening around me simultane ously seemed to disprove that.

El estudiantesnecisitaEvanstonianmasdecolor

opportunities are all affected by race, even as a student. To truly make anyone’s American Dream possible, it’s necessary to make sure those disparities, especially in school, don’t start to define what’s possible and what’s not for students. Furthermore, the stories we share shed light on those infinite possibilities.

En segundo lugar, hay muchos miembros de la familia que leen el periódico sabiendo que su hijo o hermano(a) escribió un artícu lo, pero no leen ni entienden bien el inglés. ETHS tiene un 18.7 por ciento de estudiantes hispanos, la mayoría, si no todos, son estudi antes de familias que hablan, leen y escriben en español. Para aquellos miembros de la fa milia que tienen un hijo o un hermano(a) que escribe para el Evanstonian, se agradecería mucho que apoyaran a los escritores y artícu los en español. Esto incluye a estudiantes y familias que hablan, leen y escriben en otro idioma que no sea inglés.

tunities and access to resources and giving future generations better opportunities than you had, in my experience,” sophomore Ade la BautistaWhetherexplains.ornot that information is sur prising, it shows how uncertain the idea of an American Dream is in reality, especially without privileges like wealth and whiteness to support you.

“I’d define the American Dream as a falla cy used to maintain the belief that America is an equal place,” freshmen Jacques Philippe explains.While both statements contrast in their depiction of both the question and the ide al of the Dream as well, it could be argued that they both in reality just show different aspects of it.

Journalism, me and the American Dream

decir que necesitamos más es tudiantes de color en el Evanstonian.

“It means being able to have more oppor

Navigating life as a student of color can take a toll on mental health. Mental Health America states that seven million Black and African-American citizens of the U.S. reported having mental illness in the past year. Frequently, we observe racial division and being able to talk to a professional who understands what you are going through can be helpful. Unfortunately, the race of the mental health workers at our school does not reflect the student body. By hiring more mental health professionals of color, our students of color can be more comfort able reaching out for support.

“I swam for three years, and I swam [for] most of my life. Swimming, which is a pre dominantly white sport, based on a lot of ra cial history, at times was uncomfortable, and it was really hard for me to do, especially when I was the only person of color all the time,” Thomas explains.

By Serena Brown Guest Writer

Another student, senior Olamide Thomas believes that encouragement allows for stu dents to see themselves.

“In the building, I would want us to just be heard. There’s a lot of things that students of color do. A lot of students make things or do hair, and you never really hear about that. I think that a lot more students of color are doing a lot of things that could be recog nized. I know quite a few people are students who have started their own businesses, and [we should] bring that more to light and [let] people know, ‘This is this person, and this is what they do,’” Skipworth says. “I know that in our summit meetings, we wanted to do something like that because I think this year was ‘Black Unfortunately,365.’” the Evanstonian failed to share, promote or cover the Black Student Summit on Feb. 8, 2021. The summit, almost entirely organized by Black students, was filled with healing conversations about pow er, safety and affinity amongst the vast range of Black identities at ETHS.

Drawingcourses.andart history teacher Daria Mc Means believes that Team ASAP has allowed

Celebrating BIPOC students, student-led organizations and community happenings should be commonplace, especially through student-led platforms like the Evanstonian. There are a variety of ways to relay resources and celebrate our students that should come more naturally than it does for the Evansto nian.“There’s something to this marriage be tween the visual arts and the written word, because it’s where people are at. What does a language and word-based publication do to be relevant in this visual, technological world?” McMeans explains.

By Carmiya Bady Guest Writer, Student Representative

Thegiven.notion of recognition extends beyond being featured in the Evanstonian; rather, it’s the fundamental idea to give us the same op portunities white students are handed when they step foot in ETHS freshman year. Per petuating white, middle class ideals ignores organizations, conversations, individual stu dents even who resist these norms because they make a white audience uncomfortable.

ETHS is one of the leading academic schools in the country. Evanston parents, students and faculty pride themselves on the fact that our school is filled to the brim with high achieving, talented and “success ful” students. Whether it’s in sports, student government, academic clubs or the arts, there are accomplished student leaders at every av enue within ETHS. This is proven by the high percentage of students that go on to gain ac ceptance to nationally ranked colleges or uni versities. In fact, such recognition is given to students through platforms like the Evansto nian. However, we typically only see the cel ebration of one type of ETHS student: white.

The act of reporting on what occurs within ETHS must be intentional considering who that information and story benefits, who the audience it’s trying to reach and why. The Evanstonian should be reflective of our stu dent body, and we, all of us students, should dictate what is written and celebrated within these pages. The Evanstonian may have the platform, but we, as students, have the pow er; we students dictate what is written here, whose stories are told and what coverage we’re

“I think that for a way to diversify the clubs by race and thought is just by making clubs less cliquish or less of a friends thing and more school spirited,” Williams explains.

“I just think encouragement is one of the biggest things. Encouragement from other people that look like you, that identify with you, goes a long way. That’s why I really en joy things like the summit,” Thomas says.

Brown is the president and founder of the BSU and is a board member of Team ASAP, an organization hoping to destigmatize and encourage students to take Advanced Place ment (AP)

3: Start teaching Black history in his tory classes.

A letter from the Black Student Union

Although not every platform in the high school is celebratory towards white students, predominantly white extra and co-curricular activities and platforms such as the Evansto nian at least recognize their existence. Pro grams at ETHS that are led and facilitated by Black, Indeginous, People of Color (BIPOC) are seldom acknowledged in mainstream in formation sources through the school.

“I don’t feel super recognized. To a certain extent, I don’t mind it, because I’m not doing this to be recognized per se, but I don’t feel that recognized in terms of what I am doing for the Black Student Union (BSU),” junior Serena Brown explains. “I don’t feel like I know a lot of Black leaders in the school. I think the school could definitely do a lot more to encourage that.”

18 - future Illustration by Ellie Lind

Encouragement within activities does not

“My counselor really encouraged me to push myself and take AP classes,” one white student explains.

the conversation about what ETHS can do to make the school a more accepting place for its students of color, the majority of them mentioned the lack of people of col or in higher level courses. They said that they feel they either do not belong in the class due to it being predominantly white or that they were never encouraged to join the class in the first place.

just apply to students but is up to advisors and staff to make the space feel inclusive. Llyondra Cooper, college and career services specialist and advisor of Student Council, be lieves that staff should have a developed un derstanding of clubs, sports and other activ ities so they can encourage students in their classes.“Itcan just be a matter or interest, right? Everybody’s not gonna like everything. But it’s one thing to have the space and create the space; it’s another thing to make it an inviting space. I think that’s where we can continue to improve on that, on making the spaces invit ing so people can feel like, ‘Hey, I can join that; I can join the swim team,’ ‘ I can’t join the whatever club,’ ‘ I can do this,’” Cooper explains.Thomas reiterates the importance of not only needing encouragement but needing in viting spaces.

“Just have a segment or somewhere where students are shouted out and talked about more,” Skipworth says.

1: Hire more therapists/mental health workers of color.

One idea that was repeated throughout interviews and reiterated in other spaces in ETHS is for there to be a platform that ele vates the experiences and successes of all of our students. The Evanstonian can certainly be a part of that.

Encouragement for and from people like me

2: Encourage POC to sign up for Hon ors and AP classes. Of all the students who participated in

In comparison, Black students have not felt“Iencouraged.wastheone to bring up taking harder classes to my counselor,” one Black student explains.This disparity in advanced education encouragement needs to change. Students of color should be encouraged, just as our white peers are, to join harder class es.

The only course that teaches an in-depth level of Black history is African-American studies, which is an optional history class that can only be taken senior year. Many students agree that this needs to change. Black history should be required and com pletely integrated into all four years of our history curriculum. By letting students avoid learning about Black history, it makes us feel as if the struggles we have gone through are not important while also propa gating lies about the impact and importance of white people for white students who just want their beliefs validated.

As a school and larger community, we fail to give the same opportunities to our entire student body. By doing this, we are limiting spaces for the Evanston and ETHS commu nity to organize, heal and unite; we limit our celebrations of young people striving for eq uity within Evanston.

Equality, nor equity, has not yet been achieved at ETHS. Yes, school curriculum is increasingly focused on teaching the his tories and accomplishments of Black Amer icans, but we must also work to change the trajectory of future history books, es pecially in Evanston. In 1883, ETHS was established as a segregated school catered for white students and families. Now, just under a century and a half later, students of color can still recognize the prevalence of whiteness within our shared institutions. From our white-washed history classes to the lack of faculty of color, the ideas of white superiority is still pushed forward at ETHS. Luckily, we attend a school that allows students to passionately express our hopes for equality for all of our students and our commitments to make positive change. After conversations with ETHS’ Black Student Union, here are the changes that we feel will make ETHS a more ac cepting place for all of its students of color.

ETHS is a school that prides itself on its passion for social justice and inclusivity. While this is great, its words need to be met with active efforts to improve the educa tional experience of their students of color. By neglecting to make these changes, the school further promotes Black oppression.

Junior Iman Williams resonates with mak ing clubs reflect the broader student popula tion.

for courses and classrooms to be more invit ing.“Team ASAP has been really working hard to create those kinds of spaces to have con versations to question. I know that a lot of teachers are invested in trying to make, you know, to make spaces equitable,” McMeans says.Senior Bryce Skipworth, a member of the Black Student Summit planning committee, explains how instead of being spotlighted as many of their white counterparts have been, students feel like their achievements are bur ied.

Vetementsinternet.isaspectacle, but it is a spec tacle created with intention. Gvasalia grew up in Soviet Georgia, which only gained its independence in the early 1990s and re mained under Russian occupation through the decade. Just as much as the clothes con vey a message about our current momentas internet consumers, Vetments tells the story of youth and resistance that took place in Eastern Europe at the end of the 20th century. Most notably, their Spring/Summer 2019 and Fall/Winter 2020 collections are rich with references to post-Soviet culture. Sweatpants are reminiscent of Soviet prisoner attire. Many images of popular dark-web websites such as The Silk Road and The Pirate Bay are printed on T-shirts and hoodies, in addition to numerous references to major multinational entities such as Interpol, the FBI and DHL logistics. The Fall/Winter 2020 collection feels particularly reminiscent of early Raf Si mons presentations, challenging the Western notion of democracy and interrogating our ideas of who is able to participate within it. These dark themes are contrasted with ‘90s nostalgia through the collections, most

Justelected.asit is seen within our politics, cap italist abstraction is seen within art, specifi cally within fashion. When considered in the context of other fine arts, such as painting, sculpture, literature and theater, fashion is often forced to take a backseat to these more ‘intellectual endeavors.’ Often perceived as vain and abstracted from the material world, the high fashion community is easy to write off. However, doing so ignores the very

Vetements, the now legendary luxury

By Quinn Hughes Staff Writer

Illustrations by Nora Miller

important role that clothes play in society. Clothes, just as much as they fulfil a mate rial function in keeping the wearer warm or protecting the wearer from weather, fulfil a social role as well. Clothes are a language. They tell us about politics, the world and how communities exist within it. Just as much as we think that we ‘own’ the garments that we possess, in a certain way, clothes own us as well, dictating how we perform and how we are perceived. Through this process, gar ments themselves are imbued with a degree of political power that can either perform within or against the hegemonic systems of control that rule the modern world. The role of the clothing designer is to facilitate the conversation that exists between the wearer, the object and the context in which both ex ist.

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In the middle of the 20th century, capi talism found itself in a transition as it trans formed into a version of itself that attempted to be physically identical to, but materially different from, the world as it actually ex ists. Take, for example, Kool-Aid. The pow der-based drink presents the image of being derived from cherries, when, quite obvious ly, it has little to nothing to do with the actual fruit. The image of the cherry on the package is merely a stand in for a cherry as it exists in the real world. This abstraction progresses to the point when Kool-Aid introduces fla vors such as Blue Raspberry and Pink Lem onade, concepts that bear no resemblance to things that exist within the real world but make sense within the context of an abstract version of reality. Soon, consumers are un able to make a distinction between a bev erage that was made from actual fruit and one made from a powder, the line between the real world and this synthetic version of reality has been blurred completely. Though this may seem harmless, it bears real impli cations. The rise of Trump in 2016, for exam ple, can be explained greatly by the media’s spectacularization of him more than his di rect actions. As his 2016 presidential bid be came saturated with scandal and outlandish tweets after another, he garnered more and more media coverage as his actions warrant ed more and more viewers and thus more and more ad revenue for TV networks and news papers. This culminated into a four-year long snowball effect that only could end with him calling to dismantle the very system that got him

notably Killa Cam pink furs, hoodies print ed with the face of Russian pop icon Viktor Tsoi, along with numerous references to Kurt Cobain.Design, specifically fashion, furniture and architecture are burdened with being of service to the consumer while also reflecting the social, political and aesthetic moment in which it exists. Vetements is not the most radical fashion show of all time, nor does it try to be. It is authentic, telling a specific sto ry about a time and place that is meaningful to its creator. Its beauty comes from its abili ty to intervene and push the very definition of avant garde. Vetements pushes our contem porary language of design by challenging our understanding of what a high fashion brand is and the role that it plays in the larger fash ion industry. Through its boundary pushing nature, the brand is shaping how our current moment will be remembered, not just from the perspective of fashion, but art and culture in general.Theincredible power of Vetements as an art project comes from its unique ability to occupy the space between a definitive, un derstandable meaning and spectacularized meaninglessness. Its garments are relevant both in the aesthetic context of the contem porary streetwear movement as well as in the context of post-war Europe. Through working in both of these traditions, Vete ments shows us what great design is and can be. Gvasalia’s work exists in a context that a very specific and small audience can ful ly appreciate while the rest of the world has the privilege of being spectators and draw ing their own conclusions. Fashion and, at an extension, art give us the ability to artic ulate the relationship that we have with the world in a way that is new and authentic. Instead of rushing to explanation, Demna moves towards abstraction, as the references to post-Soviet culture become more abstract and hard to distinguish. Through this abstrac tion, we gain a new perspective on the sys tems of power that dominate the world and influence how we exist within it.

ready-to-wear line that rocketed its found er and creative director Demna Gvasalia’s superstar status represents the next level of abstraction in fashion. In the past decade of clothing, we have seen brands utilize social media and the internet in order to sell an existing product. Instagram hype was estab lished off of brands and communities that al ready exist. Vetements represents an import ant change in how clothes are conceptually created. Their collections are kitsch, filled with loud colors, detailed graphics, ironic slogans and either extremely oversized or undersized silhouettes. Unlike some of his contemporaries, Gvasalia is not creating clothes that respond to meme culture; his clothes are meme culture. From casting an entire lookbook of celebrity lookalikes, to presenting their spring summer collection within a Parisian McDonalds to their most recent 165 look FW 2021 collection, each season Vetements demands the front page of the fashion

Vetements and capitalist abstraction

The abstraction of capitalism is well demonstrated through the rise of high fash ion in the past fifty years. In the 1950s and ‘60s, haute couture houses such as Balencia ga, Dior and Yves Saint Laurent produced opulent dresses constructed from luxurious textiles and adorned with precious gems that warranted their high prices. With the rise of ready-to-wear in the late 20th century, cloth ing could hold the symbolic place of luxu ry houses while carrying no material value. T-shirts with the Gucci logo are sold at over $600 not because that is the actual price to create the garment but because they repre sent quality and craftsmanship of the Italian company, in the same way that Kool-Aid represents real fruit. In the late ‘90s, the an ti-fashion movement pioneered by designers such as Martin Margiela, Rei Kawakubo and Hussein Chalayan challenged the form of es tablished luxury clothing by deconstructing garments and fueled the objects with a social and political message. This movement finds its way to New York in the first decade of the 21st century with the rise of luxury street wear, the next level of capitalist abstraction. Now, a Supreme or Off-White T-shirt no lon ger represents luxury; it represents the idea of luxury. It is a synthetic copy of a synthetic copy of luxury clothing.

The great unfinished symphony

inely

By Nora Miller Executive Editor

there’s a space for it. The Evanstonian is, if anything, a student driven publication. Period. Street Lights Kanye FKJRiskKAYTRANADAFreefallSZAGoodDrakeHoldHamiltonTheJay-ZLegacyDeemhowKevinCrumbleBeyonceBeforeTheComeWestTogetherInternetILetGoAbstractbeautifulSpencerWorldWasWideEnoughCastOn,We’reGoingHomeDaysandBas February :)the evanstonianPoetic Justice Kendrick Lamar I Could Write a Book Dinah ChanceAngelsMichealManWashingtonintheMirrorJacksonLovleyDayBillWithersPerfectTenMustardFastCarTracyChapmantheRapperFocusH.E.R the beginning Where This Flower Blooms Tyler, the Creator future - 20 Power Trip J. NaoFrankBikingColeOceanFaz Sentido HungryMARO Hippo Tierra PursuitWhackof Happiness Kid Cudi

Those stories are glimpses of what fu ture issues of the Evanstonian can encom pass: open letters, resources, art submis sions, short stories, playlists, pieces written in another language, you name it, and genu

Evanstonian, you