The Daily Northwestern — November 12, 2025 by The Daily Northwestern

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Wednesday, November 12, 2025

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NU to take on No. 18 Michigan at Wrigley Field

11 FEATURES / Diouf

Communication senior talks professional film work, next steps

12 A&E / Grammy Awards

The Daily offers predictions for 68th Annual Grammy Awards

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New mutual aid initiative funded Evanston fund secures $24,999 city commitment By YONG-YU HUANG

daily senior staffer @yong_yuhuang

Just over a week after the Nov. 2 food drive at Evanston Township High School, which saw an outpouring of public support in aid of food-insecure community members, organizer and Art Makers Outpost owner Valerie Kahan announced the creation of the Evanston Community Cares Fund at a City Council meeting Monday. The new mutual aid initiative aims to address immediate financial shocks, food insecurity risks due to the loss of SNAP benefits, unexpected job loss and other threats faced by families in the community, according to Kahan, one of the fund’s lead community organizers. “It is the fastest, most dignified and least bureaucratic way to stabilize families and individuals facing sudden crises,” Kahan said of mutual aid. She pointed to ECCF’s demonstrated capacity and current scale of operation, seen through recent community initiatives such as the ETHS food drive, which supported Evanston

community members as well as pantries in Niles and Rogers Park, and the distribution of supplies to Evanston/Skokie School District 65 community members on Sunday. Kahan also said the fund is organizing a gift card drive aiming to raise $900,000 in grocery assistance for 3,000 families that have been identified by District 65 and District 202 as having “critical needs.” At the meeting, Kahan asked the city for $25,000 from its emergency funds for the group to launch its capital campaign, which is set to start Thursday. “We have already confidentially secured commitments from larger donors who are ready and willing to invest in our community stability, and this initial city funding will unlock their support and kick off our ability to help as many people in crisis and our community as possible,” Kahan said. City Manager Luke Stowe said he could authorize $24,999 from city manager efficiency funds. In response, Mayor Daniel Biss said he is prepared to have a conversation with his family about filling the remaining $1 gap. “We are in a situation where speed is important, and we appreciate you guys moving

» See AID, page 11

Illustration by Siri Reddy

What’s on NU students’ minds?

The Daily polled undergraduates on Schill resignation, free speech By GRACE WU

daily senior staffer @_gracewu

Who gets into Northwestern? Who has cheated in a relationship? Who defines the college experience? Who are… (N)U? University campuses today

sit at a crossroads of free expression, student activism and a federal administration seeking to influence higher education. At NU, students navigate a politically charged climate amid a federal funding freeze and tensions surrounding free speech on campus. But beyond the headlines, students continue to deal with

the everyday realities of college life: relationships, mental health and balancing academic performance with personal wellbeing. At the same time, they adjust to the financial burden of attending university, worried about rent, tuition and their future job market. In The Daily’s Fall 2025 poll, conducted Sept. 29 through

Oct. 6, we asked NU students about all of that and more. This story is hosted on the Fall 2025 Campus Poll landing page, where you can find detailed data analyses of each polling section and an interactive graphic summarizing the results of each question.

» See POLL, pages 4-5

Panel discusses freedom, ICE, unions City Council talks NU community members spoke at ‘University Under Threat’ event By LUCAS KUBOVCHIK and ISADORA URIO FERNANDES

the daily northwestern @lucaskubovchik / @ isadoralurio

Members of the Northwestern community assembled in Harris Hall on Friday to express their grievances on academic freedom, recent increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in the Evanston community and the benefits of unionization. The panel was co-sponsored by University Under Threat and NU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Panelists included faculty, members of the NU Graduate Workers Union and NU Postdoctoral Union. Academic freedom Sociology Prof. Laura Beth Nielsen began the discussion by emphasizing the importance of academic freedom in maintaining democracy. She reiterated the role of universities in producing critical thinking and argued NU and

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other universities are being told to choose between their values and research funding. “We’re drifting away from our roots,” Nielsen said. “Universities like ours were not built as optional extras, but as scaffolding for democracy to support communities of truth seekers, questioners and builders of civic understanding.’’ She cited the World Justice Project’s 2025 Rule of Law Index, which shows a 15% decline in constraints on government power since 2016. Nielsen said this trend is a representation of the slow “corrosion of norms (and) the intimidation of institutions” that have limited the ability of civil society institutions to hold their governments accountable. Fourth-year behavioral science Ph.D. student Peter Cummings, who is NUGW’s campus chief steward, said graduate workers have asked to stop receiving emails about the Union’s meetings. He said this is out of fear that the emails will be seen if their phone is confiscated at the U.S. border, labeling them as a “leftist” and endangering their admission to the country.

ICE, CBP presence Federal activity updates were shared Monday By RUBY DOWLING

the daily northwestern

Isadora Urio Fernandes/The Daily Northwestern

Jessica Winegar, a Middle East studies scholar, reads the Principles on Academic Freedom.

Similarly, anthropology Prof. Jessica Winegar said she invited a Palestinian student to attend Friday’s event. However, she said the student was worried they would be “targeted” if they attended. Winegar said knowledge of academic freedom’s decline became more prevalent

following the attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. She also mentioned that the attacks affected those in academia who protested and taught about a genocide. Yet, she said the decline was

» See THREAT, page 11

City staff presented a brief update on its responses to federal immigration activity in Evanston at City Council’s Monday meeting. In addition to a commitment to respond to and record reports by residents, the city may see legislative proposals to mitigate federal immigration agents’ presence in the next two weeks, Mayor Daniel Biss said. The Nov. 10 meeting was the first regular City Council meeting since at least three Evanston residents with citizenship status were arrested by federal immigration agents on Halloween, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed in an email to The Daily. One of the three residents, Jennifer Moriarty, spoke during public comment and said she felt that the

Evanston Police Department’s response to the situation was insufficient. “I want to know what is the role of Evanston police in this community when their citizens are being attacked,” she said. “People were calling 911, and 911 was telling them they couldn’t respond. No time did a police officer ask a single one of those agents if they were acting under any lawful warrant or doing anything lawful.” W hile the Village of Skokie encourages residents “concerned about the legitimacy of any observed law enforcement activity” to call 911, Evanston’s “Welcoming City Resources” page does not, Ald. Clare Kelly (1st) said. She said she would like the city to be more specific about resources available to residents, including whether or not residents can call 911 if they believe they are witnessing potentially unlawful conduct from federal agents. At City Council’s Oct. 27 meeting, the Evanston Police

» See ICE, page 11