How is norovirus impacting the Northwestern community? How is NU men’s basketball doing? What is happening at Evanston’s dog beach? The Daily answers these questions and recaps other top stories from the last week.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: A norovirus outbreak disrupts student life.
Men’s basketball looks to finish the season out strong.
Evanston’s dog beach is open again after a few pup scares.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Valentina Valcarce,
DOV WEINSTEIN ELUL: I’m Dov Weinstein Elul,
FINIAN HAZEN: And I’m Finian Hazen. This is The Weekly, a breakdown of the top headlines from the past week.
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VALENTINA VALCARCE: Today, we’re starting with Assistant Campus Editor Melody Xu and Copy Editor Cassie Sun to take us through the norovirus wave across campus.
You shared with us about the disruptions that the virus is having on student life and academics. The norovirus is a common cause of the stomach flu and leads to persistent vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms include fever and muscle aches.
To get us started, Melody, can you give us a broad understanding of why norovirus spreads so easily and how it has been affecting NU students?
MELODY XU: We talked to Prof. Todd Florin from Feinberg, and he talked a little bit about how norovirus usually spreads in three main ways. It can be spread through airborne particles after someone vomits, it can be through fecal (and) oral transmission, through touching contaminated surfaces and it can also be through food borne transmission.
So, I’m guessing that these three different ways of it spreading are pretty common, especially on a college campus. And obviously, once things start going around, it can be hard to kind of contain.
Florin also said something interesting that people might not know. Alcohol, including hand sanitizers, etc., are actually not helpful in killing this virus. They’re usually helpful with other respiratory viruses. This means that our typical gel-based hand sanitizers are not going to protect against the norovirus, and everyone should really be doing 30 seconds of hand-washing with soap and water.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: In your article, Florin highlighted his knowledge about symptoms and possible treatments. He mentioned that testing for norovirus isn’t necessary. In fact, he specifically said it was irrelevant.
Cassie, can you expand on why that is? What makes norovirus so different from other stomach bugs?
CASSIE SUN: I think what’s special about norovirus is that it goes away pretty fast. It comes on pretty fast, but then it does go away fast. And there are specific medications, at least, that he talked about that can actually treat the virus — they’re anti-nausea or anti-diarrhea medicine. But, really, the treatment and management of the virus doesn’t change even if you get the diagnosis, so I think that’s why he said that.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: With so many shared spaces on campus, what are the best ways for students to protect themselves, especially in dining halls and communal bathrooms?
MELODY XU: Dr. Florin said that if you are experiencing either of the symptoms of norovirus, like vomiting or diarrhea, you should, at this point, just assume that you have it and regulate yourself and make sure that you’re not congregating with other people until those symptoms are over, which is usually around the three-day mark. Those are the main things that Dr. Florin was talking about.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: You emphasized that students should take personal responsibility and avoid social gatherings until their symptoms resolve. But, we know that missing class or exams can be difficult. Can you expand on some of the challenges students may face when trying to isolate themselves?
CASSIE SUN: I think part of what’s hard is right now is that there’s a lot of midterms for a lot of classes. Then, I think students have been facing challenges with missing class. In terms of, if they miss an exam, the weight of the next exam will increase, which just puts a lot of pressure to do really well on the second exam.
I spoke to a student-athlete who said they will be missing the next big competition, so that could have a big impact on their life as well.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: Seeing this outbreak as part of a larger trend, with the Illinois Department of Public Health already reporting an increase in cases, what should we expect in the coming weeks? Could this get worse before it gets better? And are there any signs that this outbreak is slowing down?
MELODY XU: Dr. Florin did say that the norovirus has a predominance for the winter months, so obviously we’re in that right now. Specifically, norovirus peaks in the months of November through April, so there’s definitely just a known predominance at this time of year. And Florin was talking about how students should just try to keep staying hydrated, washing their hands and not congregating if they’re feeling sick.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: Melody and Cassie, thank you so much.
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DOV WEINSTEIN ELUL: Next, I spoke to Audrey Pachuta, the sports editor this quarter, to get an update on the men’s basketball team and their March Madness odds.
As the sports editor, you’ve been following basketball throughout the season. Why don’t you just start by telling us how the season’s been going so far? What’s been going well? What has not been going so well?
AUDREY PACHUTA: Yeah, so I think we’ve kind of had a rough go of it. Most recently, I feel like the biggest storyline is that Brooks Barnhizer, who was our second leading scorer — he’s a senior, he’s a veteran on this team, a captain — was just ruled out for the season with a foot injury. So that’s a big loss for a team that was already not doing so hot in Big Ten standings.
DOV WEINSTEIN ELUL: We’re 4-9 in the Big Ten, following the ’Cats’ loss to Washington on the road. With Barnhizer sidelined, who has been stepping up to keep the team going?
AUDREY PACHUTA: The biggest storyline this year is (junior forward) Nick Martinelli. I mean, he’s our leading scorer. I think he’s averaging now 19.9 points per game. He had just a huge, huge game the other night where he had 27 points and 13 rebounds to beat USC. So that was a huge game, stepping up in Barnhizer’s absence.
And so last year, he, for most of the season, before Ty Berry and Matt Nicholson went down later in the season with injuries,was in the sixth man spot. But this year, he is the guy. He’s the one, a couple games this year, where you can directly pinpoint to him that he has won the game.
I mean, against USC the other night, with two seconds left on the clock, he had this game-winning floater that put us up 77-75, and in that Maryland game earlier this year, the buzzer-beater in overtime. So he just is such a clutch player, and he’s shown it time and time again, whether Brooks is on the floor, Brooks isn’t on the floor. But I think that he will take on this bigger leadership role in his absence.
In recent games, it’s definitely been Jalen Leach, graduate student guard. He’s a transfer from Fairfield, and he’s been playing really well. I would say, early on this season, he was kind of recording low double digit scoring outputs, but these last couple games, he’s had 20 point games.
DOV WEINSTEIN ELUL: Coach Chris Collins announced Sunday that Leach is out for the season with a torn ACL.
You mentioned it a little bit. I’m sure anyone who’s a fan of NU basketball is wondering: March Madness, is the season completely over for that? Is there any chance NU still makes it?
AUDREY PACHUTA: There’s been chatter this week, I’d say, on NU Twitter, that I’m always on, that we still could make it. I don’t think that’s true.
Without Brooks, without Jalen, this is not a tournament team this year, and I admire the optimism of everyone who’s saying that it is, but it’s not.
DOV WEINSTEIN ELUL: Audrey Pachuta, thank you so much.
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FINIAN HAZEN: Last month, freezing temperatures caused many problems for Evanston residents. Among them — a canine crisis. I spoke to City Editor Shun Graves to learn about a dual rescue at Evanston’s dog beach.
Thank you for being here Shun. So Jan. 25, dog beach. Can you describe what was happening at the scene of the first rescue?
SHUN GRAVES: The first dog slipped down into the water, essentially to another ice shelf, I believe. The Fire Department had gotten a call of a dog in distress and needed rescue. So they pulled up to the dog beach, and, apparently, that dog had a leash on it. There’s a woman who was holding onto it, and she was laid down on the ground, holding on for dear life for the dog.
And the fire crews bought a ladder, a 14 foot ladder. They put it down in the water to assess the depth — it was about six feet of water. So then, they had two guys put on these, what are called Mustang suits, so they’re like dry suits, and it’s this whole equipment that they put on. And one of those guys went, and he got the dog and then was able to, I believe, pass it on back to safe ground. So that was the story of the first dog. And all the firemen went back, you know, started putting all the equipment down. And then, they heard about the second one.
FINIAN HAZEN: What was the mood like after the first rescue, and what happened once they realized a second dog had fallen in?
SHUN GRAVES: With the first dog, the fire crews told me, ‘Well, there’s kind of a group of people who assembled, and they watched. Everybody was cheering, and it was a great scene.’ So they were packing up and ready to go. However, there was another lady who had brought her dog.
She had two dogs, and I actually talked to her about this. So she said she walked up to the beach, and she saw some fire trucks, and she wasn’t sure what was going on. And there was another woman who walked back, and she just inexplicably, was like, ‘My dog fell’ or something like that, and she didn’t understand what’s going on. So she just kept going with the dogs and just let them go, so they went. And they usually go toward the south end of the beach, which is exactly where the previous dog had fallen.
As luck would have it, one of them, surely, one of the dogs went over, and she apparently just went down, slipped down in the exact same place, the exact same spot that the first dog had fallen earlier that day. So, ultimately, the fire crews heard about it. Second time, exact same rescue. This time the dog’s a little bit smaller and she had a harness on. They pretty much did the similar procedure, but it was pretty simple, smaller dog. Boom, boom, boom. Everything was safe and sound.
FINIAN HAZEN: Who were some of the other people you got to talk to that were there that day?
SHUN GRAVES: First, I talked to the lady who lost this second dog that fell, and then I talked to the fire department. The fire department had me talk to two people. I spoke to Shift Chief Tim Migon. He was the first one who showed up to the scene. And, also, I spoke to Capt. Ryan Roeder, and they were both very closely involved with the situation, and they were able to direct the rescue successfully.
It seems like it was a really great team effort, really quick response. Everything went by really quickly, and it seems like everything, everybody was fine, and all the dogs were fine too. It’s a very happy ending for everybody.
FINIAN HAZEN: How did the city of Evanston react after the rescues?
SHUN GRAVES: Yeah, so the city closed the beach because of the ice on that Saturday, and then it was about a week, and then, I believe, it was last Sunday that the city reopened the beach, because now the ice is pretty much all melted. And everybody was very happy.
The dog beach community is very tight-knit, and there’s like a whole Facebook group, and everybody is very close-knit. I did drop by, and it seemed like people were very happy that the dog beach had opened and all the dogs were safe and sound. So there’s a happy ending to a few scary minutes at the dog beach.
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FINIAN HAZEN: Shun, thank you so much.
VALENTINA VALCARCE: Here are the other top headlines from the week:
Three Evanston restaurants participate in Chicago Restaurant Week.
Communication freshman Sarah Bock plays a lead role in the season 2 of the hit TV show Severance.
Northwestern gears up for the 2025 lacrosse season after a national championship heartbreak.
And ETHS Football Coach outlines a vision for Wildkit program.
From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Valentina Valcarce,
DOV WEINSTEIN ELUL: I’m Dov Weinstein Elul,
FINIAN HAZEN: And I’m Finian Hazen.
Thank you for listening to another episode of The Weekly. This episode was reported by Dov Weinstein Elul, Finian Hazen, Valentina Valcarce, Melody Xu, Cassie Sun, Audrey Pachuta and Shun Graves and produced by Dov Weinstein Elul, Finian Hazen and Valentina Valcarce.
The Audio Editor is Anavi Prakash. The Multimedia Managing Editors are Kelley Lu and Jillian Moore. The Editor in Chief is Lily Ogburn.
Our theme music is “Night Owl” by Broke for Free, used under a Creative Commons Attribution License and provided by the Free Music Archive.
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