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Monday, April 1, 2024
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Nowruz brings food, art to NU Co-organizer and third-year Community marks Slavic and literatures Central Asian new graduatelanguages student Adam Laten Willsaid Nowruz is an opportunity year as part of series son to host a unique event at NU while By KAAVYA BUTANEY
daily senior staffer @kaavya_butaney Anavi Prakash/The Daily Northwestern
The demolition of Ryan Field has been ongoing since mid-February and is set to be complete in May. Current demolition activities are causing vibrations in residential areas, residents said.
Ryan Field raises noise concerns
Stadium neighbors complain following six weeks of demolition By ANAVI PRAKASH
daily senior staffer @anavi_52
Following six weeks of demolition, the only part of Ryan Field still standing is the Leonard B. Thomas press box, located on the west side of the stadium. The north, south and east sides all lay barren. The structure is being demolished as part of the field’s $800-million rebuilding process.
Demolition started on Feb. 16 and is expected to finish in May. Throughout the process, residents living near the field said they have experienced high levels of noise. The most noticeable has been the jackhammer, a sound west-side resident Fiona McCarthy said is “obnoxious.” McCarthy said she is concerned about the sound impacting the time she and her family spend outside, especially as the weather gets better. “For the residents who are
really close by, (the jackhammering has) been very, very disruptive,” Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) said. “And we’ve relayed that to the team. But they have to use the jackhammer, so that noise is probably going to go on for another couple of weeks.” Central Street Consortium, contracted to conduct the rebuild, is using jackhammers to take down the west tower. Revelle said the tower is a composite structure with steel and concrete in it. To get to the steel, the workers have to
jackhammer the concrete, she said. Resident Ken Proskie, who lives on the east side of the stadium, said another point of concern is vibrations that started last week due to the testing and installation of the Earth Retention System. The system will support the excavation of the stadium by preventing soil movement. Any erosion would harm the new stadium’s structure during the
» See DEMOLITION, page 10
The Northwestern community hosted the Kyrgyz Community Center Friday to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian and Turkic New Year, with musical performances, cultural clothing and Kyrgyz food. The Kyrgyz Community Center brought a traditional yurt to the Main Library Plaza from their Arlington Heights location, as well as two dance groups, musical performances with the traditional instruments komuz and temir komuz, and a display of various traditional Kyrgyz clothing. A variety of countries in and near Central Asia celebrate Nowruz, including Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The Nowruz celebration is part of a larger series called “Reimagining Slavic: Art, Culture, and Performance in Soviet and Post-Soviet Central Asia.”
connecting with the local Central Asian community. The series is co-sponsored by the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, the Nicholas D. Chabraja Center for Historical Studies, the Asian Languages and Cultures Department, the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, and the Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies Research Program. Nowruz is about gathering people for picnics and making food for them, as well as the performances at Friday’s event, Kyrgyz Community Center President Nurdin Mamatzhan said. Mamatzhan and Willson highlighted sumalak, a Central Asian dish only made during the new year. Willson said sumalak is made of germinated wheat that requires hours or days of continuous stirring. Jibek Jolu, a Kyrgyz restaurant in Chicago, provided sumalak and borsook, a fried dough, chalap, a yogurt-based drink and maksym,
» See NOWRUZ, page 10
Wesley tenants NUDM rings in 50th anniversary demand support 15-hour event raises more than $340,000 for two local charities Amid building concerns, city asks residents to leave By WILLIAM TONG
daily senior staffer @william2tong
Evanston resident William Carter moved to the 2014 Wesley Ave. apartment building in the 5th Ward three and a half years ago. There, he found a “self-made” community of tenants who look out for each other, he said. “If one of the tenants who has a hard time going up and down stairs has groceries … we grab the groceries and bring them up,” Carter said. “This is a well-knit, protective community.” On Feb. 13, the city notified him and other tenants at the 2014, 2018 and 2024 Wesley
Ave. apartments that the buildings’ stairs and stair landings had deteriorated to a dangerous level. The city recommended Carter and his neighbors move out immediately. “I was shocked that they would bring us into a room — as a group of elderly Black tenants — and tell us we need to get out of our homes,” he said. As of Saturday, 15 of 16 households living at the Wesley apartments have not moved out. City officials have not set a deadline for tenants to leave. While the remaining tenants recognize the need to leave the apartments, they do not feel comfortable doing so without stronger commitments from the city to support them in securing and subsidizing alternate housing, Carter said.
» See WESLEY, page 10
By DAVID SAMSON
daily senior staffer @dpsamson_
After 15 hours of dancing, “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen played over the speakers to close out the 50th Northwestern University Dance Marathon. Battling sleep deprivation and fatigue, hundreds of student dancers stood up for the Saturday morning encore, raising their hands to celebrate an unforgettable night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. NUDM is one of the largest student-run philanthropy organizations in the U.S., raising over $23 million for more than 40 different charities over its 50 year history. This year, NUDM raised $342,138 for primary beneficiary Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana and secondary beneficiary the Evanston Community Foundation. “It’s a great year for the Dance
Marathon to be celebrating 50 years of supporting communities … through their fundraising efforts and raising awareness for nonprofits,” said RMHC-CNI CEO Holly Buckendahl. “Ronald McDonald House Charities as a system turns 50 this year too, so it was really a great moment where we could celebrate together the great work that we do impacting the lives of children and families.” According to Buckendahl and Megan Kuehl, director of corporate and foundation relations at RMHC-CNI and NUDM’s charity liaison, when a child has an illness, it affects the whole family. RMHC-CNI helps provide families with housing and support while their children are receiving care. Kuehl said the charity does not want families to worry about cost or travel barriers when considering a life-saving treatment for their children. As NUDM’s primary
Sam McLain/The Daily Northwestern
Students packed into Welsh-Ryan Arena Friday night and Saturday morning.
beneficiary, RMHC-CNI will receive 90% of the fundraising proceeds. The other 10% will go to Evanston Community Foundation, which works to build a more equitable Evanston by awarding grants and endowment funds to
individuals, families and community organizations. NUDM has donated over $1 million to ECF since their partnership began in 1997.
» See NUDM, page 10