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The Daily Northwestern Thursday, February 19, 2024
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Northwestern looked to escape road woes Sunday
Students find their perfect match, giggle on Thursday in ‘Studio 22’s Live Dating Show’
ASG Leaders, NU admin discuss student org funds
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EPD addresses staff vacancies After contract raises salaries, police fill many open spaces By MISHA OBEROI
the daily northwestern
Samantha Powers/The Daily Northwestern
Generations of singers from the NU community and Chicago area concluded the event with a full-group rendition of “Total Praise.”
Choirs celebrate L. Stanley Davis
Community vocal groups gather to remember gospel choir founder By SAMANTHA POWERS
daily senior staffer @sqpowers04
Alice Millar Chapel was filled with joyful sounds Sunday afternoon as dozens of NU
community members sang, clapped and danced to gospel music. The concert was a tribute to L. Stanley Davis (Weinberg ’74, Communication ‘97). A former Northwestern professor and cofounder of NU’s premier gospel
choir, the Northwestern Community Ensemble, Davis passed away in August 2023. Sunday’s event featured performances by the Chicago Chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, the Alice Millar Chapel Choir and NCE. Singers
concluded the event with a fullgroup rendition of “Total Praise.” Communication Prof. Kent Brooks, an old friend of Davis, spoke between his performances on the piano. Although Brooks
» See DAVIS, page 6
After severe staffing cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Evanston Police Department has been taking measures to fill its vacancies. In mid-2022, EPD had a high of 27 vacancies in the department. As of Jan. 10, there were 17 vacancies. “We’re filling faster than we’re losing,” EPD Cmdr. Ryan Glew told The Daily. Glew said officers’ compensations at the EPD were lagging in comparison to other departments before City Council voted to boost pay, with a gross wage increase of 26% over the next four years, in January 2023. Officer Juan Navarrete said that Police Chief Schenita Stewart, who was appointed to head EPD in September 2022, was a big proponent of the wage increase. Navarrete, who previously worked at the Chicago Police Department and joined EPD in November 2022, said he
also appreciates how Stewart has been giving officers positions like detectives and supervisors, something that wouldn’t happen in the CPD. “A police officer is not just a police officer here, they could be a field training officer, they can be an evidence technician, they can be a detective,” he said. “You don’t really see that in Chicago. If you’re on patrol, that’s all you do.” EPD also promoted several officers recently, according to Navarrete. Most recently, they promoted three sergeants to commanders on Jan. 29. Navarrete said those promotions have increased morale. Casey Solomon, a human resources specialist for the city, said promotions can be a double-edged sword. Although they help recognize hard work, they also leave open vacancies, Solomon said. “ Un f o r t u natel y, even though it’s in a good way because it’s going to build morale and confidence and leadership, we have people that are advancing from officer to sergeant soon. So that will unfortunately bring us back a little bit again,” he said. Solomon said the department ’s most rewarding
» See VACANCIES, page 6
Hillel hosts open Ume Tea opens on Church Street Shabbat services New boba shop offers extensive menu, works with local influencers Annual dinner relocates to Ryan Fieldhouse in 2024 By ISAIAH STEINBERG
the daily northwestern @isaiahstei27
For Jews around the world, Shabbat brings a day of holiness and rest every week from Friday evening to Saturday evening. But, Northwestern Hillel’s annual MegaShabbat extravaganza, held in Ryan Fieldhouse Friday, took the tradition to a new level. Hillel first began hosting the celebration in 2012 and, with the exception of a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has continued to welcome community members for a hearty meal and celebration of Jewish culture ever since. “Every week at Hillel, we have a great dinner, a great community, everything like that, but this is blown up times 50 or so,” Weinberg junior and Hillel Student Executive
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Board President Sari Eisen said. “It’s a really great way for so many students to come together and enjoy a great meal and enjoy each other’s company.” About 500 students, faculty and NU community members attended this year’s collaborative event between Hillel and Chabad. The event featured religious services in the Technological Institute, Shabbat’s customary challah and grape juice, Jewish-themed mocktails, a performance from NU’s Jewish a capella group ShireiNU and a catered meal of chicken piccata, risotto, salad and roasted vegetables. About 500 students and faculty attended MegaShabbat. With MegaShabbat, Hillel aims to bring together Jewish and non-Jewish students to share in part of Jewish culture, according to Weinberg senior Lily Cohen, logistics co-chair of the MegaShabbat planning committee. “MegaShabbat is only one of the amazing large-scale
» See MEGA SHABBAT, page 6
By ISABEL SU
the daily northwestern @isabelsu_
Ume Tea, Evanston’s newest boba establishment, handed out “All U need is ME this Valentine’s Day” cards to passersby last week at its newly opened storefront on 618 ½ Church St. The Valentine’s Day cards are part of an effort by Ume Tea to interact with the local community and set itself apart from Evanston’s other boba shops, Zuoda Wang, a cofounder of the business, said. For Saturday’s grand opening, all drinks were offered at a discounted price of $2.99, except the surprise cup — a drink with a compartment that hides a plushie at the bottom — and the mega fruit tea, which were both $4.99. During the weeklong period the shop was open before its grand opening, Wang said he often sat by the window, ready to chat with anyone. “We want to have more interactions with the customers,” said Wang. “(The marketing
team) invited all the foodies on Instagram or YouTube to come to our store before we open and check it out.” This effort to connect with social media influencers is one of Ume Tea’s main marketing strategies, Wang said. Nolan Fan, a Chicago-based food Instagram influencer whom Ume Tea invited to promote the store, told The Daily that he had a “good first impression.” “No need to drive all the way down to #ChinatownChicago to get your Viral Surprise Bunny Milk Tea cus @umetea is opening their second boba shop in Evanston,” Fan wrote in a caption for his Instagram, @extranoodles. Ume Tea was founded in California in 2019 and now has 14 locations across the country. The chain decided to open a location in Evanston after seeing the success of its first Chicago location in Chinatown. “We have a local partner in Chicago, and he’s very familiar with the area,” Wang said. “He wanted to help us open more locations, and we found
Maya Schwartz/The Daily Northwestern
Ume Tea opened last week at 618 ½ Church St. in Evanston.
this location close to Northwestern and to (Evanston’s) downtown.” The walls in the shop are bubblegum pink and lined with the same stuffed animals available in the surprise cup. There is a small selection of
seating against the window and pop music playing quietly on the speakers. Some of Ume Tea’s more popular drinks include the Brown Sugar Boba Oolong
» See UME TEA, page 6
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