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The Daily Northwestern Monday, February 27, 2023
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NU Dining removes calorie count labels body, she said, especially Students want to see student those with eating disorders who University promote may have limited access to care or intuitive eating style resources. CAPS Eating Concerns CoorBy ERICA SCHMITT
daily senior staffer @eschmitt318
Content warning: This article contains mentions of eating disorders.
Jonah Elkowitz/Daily Senior Staffer
Protesters gather in Ukrainian Village to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.
Chicago protests war in Ukraine
Mayor Lori Lightfoot calls Vladimir Putin a ‘criminal’ and ‘monster’ By SONYA DYMOVA
the daily northwestern @sonyawanders
One year after Russia’s fullscale invasion of Ukraine began, hundreds of people gathered at
Chicago’s Ukrainian Village to denounce the war and demand global support for Ukraine on Friday. “We stand here mourning … a daily watch of crime against humanity, aggression with no seeming end because of the
criminal and monster Vladimir Putin,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, addressing the demonstrators. To represent this “daily watch of crime,” 365 people stood around the edge of the crowd. Each held a sign
commemorating a day of the war. For instance, the “Day 1 of Defending Freedom” poster displayed nine pictures, including an apartment building damaged by shelling, a traffic jam caused
» See UKRAINE, page 6
Students grabbing lunch from the dining halls may have noticed a small change starting earlier this month. On Feb. 2, Northwestern Dining removed the calorie counts from food labels in all undergraduate dining halls. Campus Dietitian Maddy McDonough said the change was made in response to input from individual research, student feedback and numerous campus resources, including Counseling and Psychological Services and Northwestern Dining. “We saw an opportunity to positively impact the student dining experience by creating a dining environment that more closely resembles home and provides students with the choice to view calories as personally desired,” McDonough said. The calorie counts were removed to better support the
dinator and staff therapist Fallon Weatherspoon said the CAPS eating assessment and treatment team heard feedback from several students struggling with eating disorders about how calories displayed in the dining halls were triggering, which prompted the change. Weatherspoon added that mealtimes are already very challenging for students with eating disorders. “(The calorie counts put) more pressure on someone struggling and impacts their ability to kind of be present in the moment during meals,” Weatherspoon said. “It puts more focus on the food and maybe sometimes increases anxiety during the mealtimes.” Weinberg junior and Active Minds co-President Maddie Kerr, who has struggled with an eating disorder in the past, said they think the removal acknowledges that students struggle with disordered eating and body image issues on campus. However, Kerr said they were bothered by a common critique of the change: that removing calories displayed would only benefit a minority of students on campus. “I think it’s just so normalized
» See CALORIES, page 6
Locals doubt NU Seniors talk ‘Why Northwestern’ Ryan Field studies Students reflect on college experiences, admissions essay prompt the rebuild during its Feb. 22 Evanston research meeting. surveys impact of “I just want us to make our about the project stadium’s rebuild decision based on real numbers and not By WILLIAM TONG and ZHIZHONG XU
the daily northwestern @william2tong, @zhizhong_xu
With Northwestern seeking city approval for its Ryan Field rebuild, Evanston officials are progressing with plans for an independent study on the project’s impacts. NU commissioned two studies about the project’s economic impact and public approval. However, because many Evanston residents say they doubt the trustworthiness of research Northwestern published on its new field’s impact, the city has made it a priority to independently obtain data. The city’s Economic Development Committee unanimously approved Requests for Proposals to commission an independent study on the impacts of a new Ryan Field and determined a process for community engagement on
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inflated numbers,” Ald. Eleanor Revelle (7th) said. Plans to rebuild Ryan Field would add concerts and alcohol sales to the new stadium. NU is awaiting approval from the city for a special use permit for the stadium’s construction, a zoning text amendment to permit fullcapacity concerts and a liquor license. In an email to The Daily, NU’s Assistant Vice President of Communications Jon Yates wrote the University has “no current plans to move forward with the stadium redevelopment unless the University can obtain these entitlements.” Under the Economic Development Committee’s plan, contractors would submit proposals for an independent study by early April. City Council would execute a contract by May, and the research firm would prepare findings for the city before July.
» See RYAN FIELD, page 6
By BEATRICE VILLAFLOR
the daily northwestern @beatricedvilla
High school seniors and prospective students across the globe have been eagerly awaiting college decision letters for the past few months. For those applying to Northwestern University, hopefuls likely wrote up to 300 words tackling the “Why Northwestern” essay, an optional prompt. Today, seniors who will soon be graduating look back on whether their time at NU reflected their original supplemental essay. McCormick senior Wing Chow said he arrived at NU expecting to study mechanical engineering. Instead, he plans to graduate with a degree in industrial engineering and economics. In his “Why Northwestern” essay, Chow originally wrote about joining the NU Solar Car Team and the marching band, he said. However, he left NUSolar after a few quarters and never even joined the marching band.
Chow also switched his engineering focus and learned about consulting — his future career plan — from a family friend as a sophomore. He then became involved with student group Consultants Advising Student Enterprises. “Everything just aligned and pushed me (toward) consulting,” Chow said. “It was quite a drastic shift from what I originally wanted to do.” Due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, most members of the Class of 2023 could not live on campus for the full two-year requirement. As a result, Chow said he felt he lost out on a lot of social interaction when he was an underclassman. He said he wishes he focused less on academics his freshman year and more on his social life. “At the end of the day, you can only get such good grades, but there’s never really a limit on how many people you can meet,” Chow said. Weinberg senior Grace Doakes said NU opened many doors for her academically and professionally, which she expected of the institution
Illustration by Ziye Wang
when writing her “Why Northwestern” essay as a high school senior. But, like Chow, Doakes felt the COVID-19 pandemic impeded her ability to cultivate a closer community at NU. “The Black community is very small at Northwestern, so we have events geared just (toward) the community,” Doakes said.
“ With (COVID-19), you couldn’t really have that.” In her supplemental essay, Medill senior Jenny Huh said she wrote about friends she made in the Medill Cherubs program, but her essay largely emphasized academics — making the affinity space she found
» See WHY NU, page 6
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