How’s everyone’s weekend going? Thanks for spending a portion of it with the Six.
It has not been a good start to 2023 for the university by Chicago’s lakefront.
Northwestern, a school that charges students almost 90k per year, recently launched an investigation into hazing accusations within the football program. Earlier this week, the men’s basketball team cancelled two games due to a Covid –– yes, Covid –– outbreak involving several players.
For a university that touts an environment that “unites knowledge and ideas, ambition and imagination…” those in charge are acting like intellectual nitwits.
Predictably, there’s been no comment from anyone at the school about the alleged hazing or the Covid outbreak. Other than perfunctory statements claiming how the “health and safety of our students is of utmost importance,” there’s been nothing on record from any official affiliated with the school. Institutions like Northwestern that promote ideas around “collaboration” and “global engagement” often clam up when news diverts from their inclusionary narrative.
When “tackling some of the world’s most diverse problems,” as stated on NU’s website, who has time to address such trivial matters as cancelling basketball games over a benign virus and locker room wedgies?
Excuse my pejorative tone but it is one born out of disgust. Disgust for the non-accountability institutions like Northwestern enjoy.
Since both stories broke, there hasn’t been one news account other than the regurgitation of the school’s press release.
No calls for transparency from faculty or students.
No attempt to ask questions from area news media.
(I couldn’t find any recent cases of hazing on a major college campus in years. There’s been no other reported sports-related Covid outbreaks on any major college campus since winter of 2022. Why did both happen at Northwestern in the span of a month? Are athletes still being tested for Covid? If so, why? Those questions would be a good place to start.)
There is a seemingly blanket acceptance that everything is being handled properly, that those in charge must know better than the rest of us.
Haven’t we learned anything in three years?
We have ample evidence since March 2020 that no public health bureaucrat should be given the benefit of the doubt. And for decades, college campuses have turned into breeding grounds for identitarian justice. The parties involved in these incidents must not pass the parochial compatibility exam and thus, don’t rise to the level of activism.
(If a criminology professor sent a tweet questioning the wisdom of the state’s new gun control law, I guarantee silence no more! We’d be hearing about violations of “safe spaces” and aggrieved students asking for the professor to be removed.)
Don’t expect to hear any contrarian voices at Northwestern.
Just the silent sounds of compliance.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. The Rich and Powerful Flew to Davos Via Private Jet.
One of the lovely ironies to come out of these hoity-toity conferences is how the snobbish travel to Switzerland. According to a story by Greenpeace, twice as many private jets flew to and out of Davos for the World Economic Forum this past week than is typical: “The carbon dioxide emissions from these extra flights were equal to putting roughly 350,000 gasoline-powered cars on the road for the same weeklong period” reported this article from Yahoo. Attendees never address the obvious dishonesty between their words and actions. But when you are part of a "select group of human beings,” as ex-senator-turned-climate-savior-kook John Kerry said at WEF, I suppose you are amnestied from having to do as you say.
In Chicago, a mayoral campaign is underway with crime as a front-and-center-issue. Incumbent mayor Lori Lightfoot repeats platitudinal statements about “how crime is down” or how “we’re working on it” to deflect blame from a problem not solely her fault but one where she should absorb much responsibility. According to the Chicago Department of Human Resources, since 2019, over 3,000 police officers have either retired or resigned. That’s a staggering number when considering the city has replaced only about half of the departures. How would thousands of law enforcement officers choosing to leave the profession be a positive trend for crime? The Free Press newsletter takes a look at the mass exodus with a compelling first person lede.
3. If Desirous to Commit Murder, Don’t Do What this Nitwit Did.
I was channel surfing earlier this week (yup, still got cable) and landed on a live hearing for a murder suspect. The optics –– white suburban couple, husband charged with killing –– explains the interest from cable news outlets. Once I read some of the details…wow. Pretty gruesome stuff but the suspect might be the stupidest alleged murderer ever. Investigators say the guy was found to have searched online for “dismemberment and the best ways to dispose of a body.” But there’s more –– among his other searches, which authorities say he conducted on one of his kids’ iPads, he used these keywords: “How long before a body starts to smell?” “How to stop a body from decomposing” “How to embalm a body” “10 ways to dispose of a dead body if you really need to.” He also bought $450 worth of cleaning products, tape, and plastic bags at a Home Depot right after she disappeared. Reuters has the tragic –– and laughable –– details.
In Berlin, Germany, one way for businesses to resist the creep of gentrification is to refuse to accept credit card payments. From the article via The Critic: "In the Berlin bars that tend to be cash only, it often feels like going back to the 1990s. People are smoking inside. The bar lady tallies each drink on a pad of paper. Phones are mounted on walls. Large steins of beer are still affordable... It’s all very pre-9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis." Throw in a jukebox spinning Hootie and Soundgarden tunes and serving bottles of Icehouse beer, now you’ve recreated an authentic ‘90s hangout.
5. Can’t Blame Streaming for Continued Box Office Woes.
Last year’s box office was down 35 percent compared to the pre-pandemic average, and the reluctance to return for cinema-goers aged 40 and over — who bought 40 percent of movie tickets in 2019 — are one reason why the recovery is still yet to fully materialize. According to Morning Consult, as of December 2022, 72 percent of Gen X respondents and 85 percent of baby boomer respondents had not been to a movie theater in the past month, significantly higher compared to millennials at 55 percent. It’s not just because boomers and Gen X’ers are staying home to “Netflix and chill.” Some of the reticence for the in-person experience is likely the saturation of superhero films, as 59 percent of boomers and 42 percent of Gen X’ers said they do not enjoy them, compared to just 22 percent of millennials. Count me as a Gen X guy not a Marvel fanatic. Other than the Iron Man films, haven’t seen one in the theater and don’t plan to. Avatar 2 was pretty rad on the big screen, though.
6. Frank Lloyd Wright Estate Selling Properties. Got 9 Million?
One of our country’s most famous 20th century architects is Frank Lloyd Wright. He is credited with the term “organic architecture,” a mashup of exterior and interior space with nature and urban landscapes. Many of his works are still on display in Chicago and suburban Oak Park. The trust that runs Wright’s estate is selling off many of his designed properties, one of which is located in Arizona. Interested in a 3,000-plus square foot, three-bedroom, three-bath residence with a view overlooking the desert? It can be had right now for a shade under $9M. A bit hefty, sure, but think of the street cred knowing you landed one of Wright’s last designs.
Thanks for reading everybody and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.