Issuu

Serving the Northwestern and Evanston communities since 1881

The Daily Northwestern Wednesday, April 16, 2025

DAILYNORTHWESTERN.COM

Find us online @thedailynu

12 SPORTS/Lacrosse

VIDEO/The Daily Explains

4 A&E /Fusion

‘Lacrosse Night in Chicago’ on Thursday

The Daily breaks down the $790 million federal funding freeze

Fusion Dance Company hosts 21st birthday show

High 48 Low 40

School board electees talk future goals The newcomers pledge increased engagement

By JACK BAKER and ANAVI PRAKASH

the daily northwestern @jdowb2005/@anavi_52

When SESP Prof. Nichole Pinkard learned she had won a seat on the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education, she said she felt tremendous gratitude for her supporters — and a sense of urgency. “I instantly was like, ‘Okay, we gotta get to work,’” Pinkard said. Pinkard is one of four newcomers elected to the board, alongside former District 65 educator Patricia S. Anderson, Foodsmart Vice President of Clinical Operations Maria Opdycke and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary Prof. Andrew Wymer. In a crowded field of 12 candidates, Anderson led with about 16% of the vote, followed by Pinkard with almost 14%, Opdycke with almost 12% and Wymer with almost 11%, according to unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk’s office

Tuesday. The newly elected board members will officially take office in May as District 65 prepares to implement Phase 3 of its Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, which outlines a potential $10-15 million in spending cuts aimed at achieving long-term financial stability. On the campaign trail, each candidate pledged to improve community trust amid potential school closures. Meanwhile, four candidates sought four seats on the Evanston Township High School District 202 board. John Martin, a senior manager at a tax software company, was elected to fill the open seat currently held by retiring board member Gretchen Livingston. Incumbents Pat Savage-Williams, Pat Maunsell and Mirah Anti kept their seats. Martin said because residents are “overall very happy” with Evanston Township High School, his goal is to listen to the community’s concerns and tap into his strengths. “For things like the financial perspective, which is what I do for a living all day every day, I’m

Illustration by Cayla Labgold-Carroll

Pro-Israel organization Students Supporting Israel at Northwestern and pro-Palestinian organization Unity of Fields each posted photos of the vandalism on social media Monday evening.

NU investigates ‘hateful’ graffiti

University Police responded to reported antisemitic vandalism Monday By ISAIAH STEINBERG, NINETH KANIESKI KOSO, and LILY OGBURN

daily senior staffers @isaiahstei27/@ninethkk @lilyogburn

» See SCHOOL BOARD, page 11

Early Monday morning, Northwestern University Police responded to reported antisemitic vandalism — including “hateful” graffiti and flyers — outside University Hall and Kresge Hall. The area south of University

Hall, including The Rock, was cordoned off Monday morning as NU Facilities Management removed red spray paint from the steps of the building. University Police Chief of Police Bruce Lewis said in a news release that University Police began

responding to the incident around 4 a.m. “A group of individuals vandalized several buildings on our Evanston campus, spray-painting

» See GRAFFITI, page 11

Female sports journalists level field LUC appointment Alums, students express need for welcoming space in the industry By AVANTIKA SINGH

the daily northwestern @av4nt1ka_s1ngh

When Brea Lassek (Medill ’24) walked into her first WNUR Sports meeting as a freshman, she saw only one other woman in the room. This disparity was sometimes reflected in their coverage, Lassek said. Though WNUR was Northwestern’s flagship radio broadcast publication, its national women’s sports coverage had room for improvement, she said. Searching for female role models, Lassek never imagined that over the next four years she would change the landscape of WNUR’s female sports coverage — she would become that role model. Although a minority, Lassek found a small but mighty community By the time Lassek graduated, she served as WNUR’s inaugural female sports director for two years before passing down the position to another woman, Medill senior Perri Kitei. Alongside three other female WNUR members, Lassek also founded “Her Take,” the radio

Recycle Me

station’s first podcast dedicated to covering women’s sports, hosted exclusively by women. The podcast has since been passed down to new co-hosts twice. “It just shows how many women are involved and how seriously it’s taken,” Lassek, who now works as a producer and host at Perfect Game, said. During Lassek’s time at NU, she said women were an “obvious” minority in WNUR. Yet, the men in the club never made her feel anything less than an equal. Lassek said they also acknowledged the unique challenges women in the sports industry face, which helped ease the burden of those barriers. The growing lineage of female broadcasters in WNUR, as well as the inclusive community, has made the club a welcoming space for newcomers, said Medill freshman Brielle Lowry. Lowry, the newest co-host of “Her Take,” has known she wanted to be a sports journalist since she was five-years-old. Before she arrived at NU, though, she said she worried about a lack of female representation in campus sports publications. Lowry credits WNUR’s small but mighty female community for

draws controversy Contentious pick sparks public criticism By HANNAH WEBSTER

daily senior staffer @hannahe_webster

Illustration by Cayla Labgold-Carroll

Some women in sports journalism at Northwestern say they see improvements in female representation in the sports media industry.

making her feel at home at NU. She said she feels seen and heard, and she quickly became close to the club’s cohort of women. However, Lowry said she does not always feel welcome at other sports media organizations on campus. She said she doesn’t think

those clubs are intentionally exclusionary, but that the men within them often subconsciously create that sort of environment. “It sucks when they don’t even know they’re being exclusionary,”

» See BROADCASTING, page 11

Mayor Daniel Biss will appoint Cat Vielma to the Land Use Commission, rather than reappointing George Halik, according to an email from Biss to city staff Friday shared with The Daily. The appointment has been met with criticism from some residents. In his email to staff, Biss acknowledged he received an “unusual amount of public input” from residents as Halik’s term expired. At Monday’s City Council meeting, many community members spoke against the decision during public comment, and an online petition urging Biss to reappoint Halik has received 527 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. “(Halik) has been a voice for residents and is someone

who is qualified, deeply experienced and was five months into what we believe is the most consequential planning process in Evanston in decades,” said Jenny Washburn, who wrote the petition. “We equated it to removing a juror mid-trial. Why would someone do that unless they wanted to cause disruption and fix the outcome?” Halik was an original member of the commission in 2022. He said he first applied for reappointment in February, knowing his term was set to expire in March. In a statement to The Daily, Vielma said she applied for both the Land Use Commission and Housing & Community Development Committee early this year. The decision not to reappoint Halik comes as the commission reviews Envision Evanston 2045, the city’s highly-debated comprehensive plan and zoning overhaul spearheaded by Biss. Halik pushed back on blanket upzoning, yet he maintains that he is not against Envision Evanston. Vielma, on the other hand,

» See LUC COMMISSIONER, page 11