The Monthly: May 2021

The

Monthly

JOY THROUGH JUICE: p.8

THEATER FOR ALL?: p.5

April 2021

Mics, Music, Memories Real Ones makes a space for itself with music podcast

p.10

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Staff of The Monthly Issue 37

Janea Wilson

Emma Ruck Meher Yeda

Design Editors

Angeli Mittal

Designer

Haley Fuller John Riker Rebecca Aizin

Writers

Cover illustration by Meher Yeda

CONTENTS

Monthly Editor

5 Theater For All? 8 Joy Through Juice 10 Mics, Music, Memories 12 Q&A: Coffee With a Side of Calm 14 Reel Thoughts 16 What Song Will Get You Ready For Summer?

Letter from the Editor: I’m very excited for summer, for the first time in a while. Of course, warm weather and not having classes is great, but mostly I’m looking forward to this summer vacation since it will probably be my last.

I’ve always taken summer vacation for granted, since I’ve never been without it. But I’m starting to think more and more about what my life will be like working year round. When I was younger, I would feel so sad for adults because they had to work in the summer and I didn’t realize it would be so soon until I was one of those adults.

This summer, I’m planning to find times for the things that are hard to do during the school year. I want to take guitar lessons and visit more of my friends. I’ve spent the last three summers focused on trying to get ahead and working on developing technical skills.

While it is great to prepare for new opportunities, I have the rest of my life to work and now I want to take the time to exist. I think too much of college is focused on moving to the next step, rather than soaking up the small moments.

I spent most of my time at Northwestern waiting for the next big thing to happen, only to be disappointed when it came and I missed what I was doing before. I never valued breaks and was constantly doing something to prove that I was worthy of getting opportunities. This led me to spend years working jobs and being a part of clubs that didn’t make me happy.

With only a year left of college and built-in breaks, I’m looking to live in the moment and spend that time doing services for myself.

Janea Wilson

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Casting call raises questions on racism in theatre Written by Rebecca Aizin / Designed by Emma Ruck

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O

n April 28, the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts sent out a casting call for an outside production to their email list. The call listed 15 available roles, but only one, at the very bottom, was for a woman of color — who the call noted had to be “sensual.”

This casting call is neither atypical for the theatre industry as a whole, nor at Northwestern.

The Wirtz Center sends out casting calls for both theatrical and outside films or projects nearly every other week.

When Communication senior Alessandra Hernández received the April 28 call, she said she scanned the email for a role she could fill when she saw the listing for any woman of color who is “fiery.” For Hernández, the casting call suggested Wirtz didn’t care whether she was Black or Latinx, because they just needed their “token person of color.”.

Hernández, who is Puerto Rican and Mexican, has received callbacks for Middle Eastern and Black roles, despite not holding those identities. She said this might have

to do with casting directors having to “ration” people of color because there are so few of them.

“I can understand how a White student who has never had problems getting roles might think we are overreacting, and there’s a silent sentiment of ‘Well, you’re just not good enough,’” Hernández said.

“But there is a reality that there are simply less roles

“

or “caucasian” people.

“As someone who wants to make it into the industry, it feels like opportunities are already not great for people of color at Northwestern, but a little better than the real world,” Mack said. “It seems like what they are communicating to us as a school is the industry is not accepting of us, so it’s like the doors are already closing before we get into the real world.”

Al Heartley, the managing director at Wirtz, said the theatre attempts to put on shows the industry may not offer as often, including those that feature a large number of people of color.

However, he said Wirtz still has a long way to go.

“We have places we need to push and we need to continue our drive toward racially- and gender-inclusive productions,” Heartley said.

“I’ve always come from a philosophy to produce and make work that perhaps the industry wouldn’t be able to offer otherwise — that’s the purpose of higher education.”

I feel like I’m just a body that’s fulfilling the role, instead of doing a show that I think would actually help me and fulfill me.

6

— Kandace Mack for nonWhite actors, and even then, we are grouped in all the time with each other.”

Closed doors Communication junior Kandace Mack has had similar experiences to Hernández in the theatre world at NU. The casting calls rarely work out for her, Mack said, since many are specifically for “male”

Addressing the root of the problem Despite efforts Wirtz has made, Mack said the issue may lie in the very beginning of the college student experience at NU: admissions.

Mack said there are students and administrators who want to put on plays that center people of color, but there are not enough students of color to fill the roles. That leads the very few actors of color on campus to be pigeonholed, she said.

“If I auditioned for multiple shows, I have to get cast in the show that is designated for a Black character, because there simply aren’t enough Black people,” Mack said. “I feel like I’m just a body that’s fulfilling the role, instead of doing a show that I think would actually help me and fulfill me.”

According to Hernández, the only way to improve these systemic issues is to make more efforts to diversify NU’s theatre program. That can be hard to do, however, when current students are unhappy and take to Twitter to vent their frustrations — which prospective students of color may see, she added.

“The problem is people who come to tour see the same old White musicals and shows, like ‘Legally Blonde,’ and they see on Twitter none of us are happy, and they are like ‘Why

even bother applying?’” Hernández said.

While Mack said NU is more inclusive than the theatre industry at large, the Wirtz audience still disproportionately consists of White Evanston residents. Many of the shows chosen that do have roles for Black people are often about the Civil War or slavery, which she said makes White people feel “better about themselves.”

Hernández and Mack both said they can’t envision that change, since Wirtz needs the money from the shows to survive. Heartley said he hopes Wirtz can continue to make strong strides in terms of play selection, doing the work to be better.

“Statements can only do so much.

You actually have to take things back to, for instance, my staff and say, ‘How can we address this problem in a way that’s meaningful to our values, authentic to who we are and uplifts diversity and inclusion in a way that we wish to see in the world?’” Heartley said.

“

Until real change occurs, students like Hernández and Mack will continue voicing their opinions on how the department and Wirtz could improve. At the end of the day, Hernández said, students of color are paying the same amount of money to receive less of an education, and that needs to change.

The same rich, White students are getting the same roles over and over again and are getting exposure to the public and support from professors.

— Alessandra Hernández

“The same rich, White students are getting the same roles over and over again and are getting exposure to the public and support from professors,” Hernández said. “But we get less education because there is less opportunity for us, and no one is sticking their neck out for us.” ◊

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u g o h r h J T u i c y o e J

Wilson anea Ruck n by J Writte d by Emma e Design

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4 Suns Fresh Juice gives health a different standard

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pon first glance, 4 Suns Fresh Juice might look like just another restaurant in a strip mall. But after stopping in, I left with an experience and juices that were unforgettable.

The juice bar on Main St. has a welcoming atmosphere with colorful artwork and murals on the walls, incense burning and smiling workers.

I’ve been a long-time fan of smoothies and fresh-pressed juices, so I was excited when I found out about 4 Suns. That excitement only grew more when I learned it was Blackowned and located close to my house.

4 Suns has an extensive menu stacked with juices, teas, smoothies and smoothie bowls for all taste buds — for those who like leafy green juices and all things sweet.

The shop also sells supplements, greetings cards and other merchandise which help add to the experience.

The show-stopper of my trip to 4 Suns was certainly their Sunset juice which has pineapple, red bell pepper, apple, ginger, turmeric and black peppercorn. Although I was hesitant to try this because of the turmeric and black pepper, I loved this juice so much. It was the perfect com-

hit. The smoothie bowl had a perfect level of thickness and didn’t instantly melt like other bowls I’ve had. I would love to know how they did it, but I guess that would take the allure away from my experience if I knew how to do it myself.

My favorite smoothie was Mel’s Jazz which was

It can be hard to learn about healthy foods — but not at 4 Suns where the employees were eager to talk about the menu’s obscure ingredients. bination of sweet and spicy that only got better with each sip. It makes sense for this to be their most popular juice since it’s like nothing I’ve ever had before. I spent the rest of the day raving about this drink to every person I encountered.

I also tried the Berry Bowl which is a blueberry and raspberry based smoothie topped with strawberries, granola and sliced almonds. Just like the Sunset, this was a

are amazing, the engagement from the shop’s workers set experience off the chart.

Oftentimes, there’s a stigma around healthy foods and that rich, white people are the ones these products were really made for. It can be hard to learn about healthy foods because much of the information is gatekept — but not at 4 Suns where the employees were eager to talk about the menu’s obscure ingredients like date water, sea moss and bee pollen.

Understanding health foods can be hard, so I recommend paying a 4 Suns a visit if you’re looking for an introduction to those options. ◊

filled with pineapple, mango, banana, coconut water, flaxseed and cinnamon. Like everything else I tried, this was delicious and transported me to a tropical island. I’ve found smoothies with similar ingredients as this one, but the cinnamon — a surprising and unusual touch — set this over the top. It mellowed out the sweetness of the fruits and brought a kick of spice to the drink.

While the drinks at 4 Suns

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Mics, Music, Memories Real Ones makes a space for itself in the music podcast space

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n mid-July, he tweeted a quip about how his peers kept asking him when his podcast was coming out.

Little did he know that this moment would actually be the genesis of his podcast. People left comments on his tweet that motivated him to make the

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podcast a reality. ”The opportunity to connect with artists wasn’t there anymore so I thought ‘what can I do to fill this gap?”

Written by Janea Wilson Designed by Angeli Mittal

Moskow said.

Since last summer, Moskow has been releasing episodes of his podcast, Real Ones, as a part of Project Filo, a media collective agency, where he interviews musicians and content creators about their careers. Before this, Moskow did concert coverage for WNUR which is where he honed in on his love for interviewing musical artists.

His first episode premiered last summer with Chicago rapper Brittney Carter and since then, he has produced nearly 15 episodes. The podcast has fol-

lowed various formats including in-person recordings, Zoom calls and Instagram Lives.

Moskow also works closely with Project Filo founder Brandon Washington, who created much of the social media push for Moskow to start a podcast. Washington said he helps Moskow find a variety of guests and make sure the episodes are released on a consis-

tent basis.

While Washington helps facilitate some of the conversations, he credits the podcast’s success to Moskow’s talent.

“Ben is able to get genuine responses from artists. He naturally has that social behavior that’s required to have a podcast,” Washington said. “Even though the podcast is centered around artists, Ben makes each episode different.”

Although the narrative of Real Ones focuses on the show’s guest, there are a couple things Moskow does in each episode. The first is sharing a list of five songs he’s listening to that he thinks viewers would enjoy. The second is spotlighting a community organization that he thinks is doing great things and encourages viewers to donate to it. All of this information is compiled into a Linktree for the show’s listeners to see at any point.

Moskow said he has learned a lot while producing this podcast and has welcomed criticism.

Although he has received a lot of great feedback, one of the most impactful moments was when a guest told him he needed better marketing for the show. “ In response, Moskow decided to dive into developing social media accounts and promotional materials for the podcast.

“I’ll take a one minute clip from an episode that’s interesting and make it something for people to post and share,” Moskow said.

This change happened in midMarch, and Moskow cites it as a turning point in the podcast’s suc-

cess. Since then he said people have started to reach out to Real Ones through social media channels.

Although most of the podcast planning has been virtual, Moskow has had in-person encounters to recruit guests for the show.

Moskow was at a protest in Chicago when he ran into Vashon Jordan Jr., a Chicago photographer who has catalogued protests through thousands of photos. When Moskow asked Jordan if could be on the show, Jordan agreed as a way to promote a book he was releasing on the protests.

“It’s been a lot of putting myself out there and asking people if they want to be on the show,” Moskow said. “The worst thing they can do is say no.”

Jordan wasn’t the only one who took advantage of being a guest on Real Ones as a way to spread their brand.

Wisconsin musician Unusual Demont was a guest of the show and his manager Kyle-Fratello Hakim thinks the collaboration created traction for both parties.

Hakim came into contact with Moskow through Project Filo and worked with Moskow to set up the feature.

“Ben’s really on top of things and he’s a really good host for the podcast so we were in good

hands,” Fratello Hakim said. “The way they interacted provided some really interesting and engaging content. It’s a good product.”

Fratello Hakim said he thinks Demont was able to leave this experience with new fans and that Real Ones also gained some fans from featuring Demont.

On the horizon, Moskow hopes to secure a physical space to record episodes, sell merchandise and collaborate with bigger media organizations for interview opportunities. Moskow has several recorded interviews that he is waiting for the summer to release when he has more time to dedicate to Real Ones.

“These past couple of weeks have been crazy and I just feel like a lot of things are synergizing at once. I know there are people listening to this, but it’s still crazy to know people are listening,” Moskow said. ◊

Photo courtesy of Ben Moskow

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Q&A: Coffee with a side of calm Amasu turns NU alum’ s experiences into an herbal coffee company Written by Haley Fuller Designed by Angeli Mittal

B

efore she started coffee company Amasu, Xiao Zhang (Kellogg‘20) worked with pharmaceutical companies for years but sought a career change in hopes she could make an impact on people’ s health. She ended up at Kellogg School of Management, where Amasu started. The products at Amasu combine caffeinated beverages with herbs to promote immunity, digestion and calmness. The Daily sat down with Zhang to learn more about Amasu’ s beginnings, her goals and running a start-up during a pandemic.

The conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.

The Daily: How did Amasu start?

Zhang: I actually started the company while I was at Northwestern, then I was selected to be part of the Zell

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Entrepreneurship Program, which is a pre-accelerator for a lot of Kellogg students. You get funding, you get access to this great network and to really work on your business. Through The Garage, through Wildfire, I continued building on the business, and today, we have products that are available on our website. We’re a di-

rect-to-con sumer company and we’re available on some other channels as well. Ultimately, our mission is to help people live a healthier life and a more natural life, and the way we do that is with natural herbal botanicals, like plant-based formulas that are incorporated into things that

people use on a regular basis — in this case, premium specialty coffee.

The Daily: How did you come up with the idea for herbal coffee?

Zhang: I was really thinking

about where were the gaps that existed in the marketplace, and my knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry. There’s a lot of benefits in pharmaceuticals and medicine, but I also grew up with a lot of herbal products. In our household, we used a lot of traditional Chinese medicine. And so when I came to Northwestern, I saw there’s a lot of people that may be interested in it, but they may not understand how to incorporate TCM into their life. And so it seemed like I was in a unique position, given my background (and) my own kind of experiences to do that.

The Daily: Does it taste any different than normal coffee?

Zhang: Not at all. That was actually a big question for us when we were developing the product. We were thinking through, ‘okay, how do we actually figure out if customers want the taste of herbs or don’t want the taste of herbs? What are we trying to maximize for?’ When we were doing taste test sampling, people really liked the taste of the coffee.

We have different herbal formulas that when paired with the coffee, they do taste slightly different, and so with herbs, it can taste a bit bitter.

The digestive formula tastes slightly more bitter than the other formulations, just be-

cause of the herbs that are in them, but overall customers like the flavor, and so we’re trying to optimize for a delicious product.

The Daily: What kind of reception has Amasu received so far?

Zhang: We’re an early startup. We’re still trying to find scale, trying to grow our customer base and really trying to find our most loyal fans.

We’ve had a lot of great feedback from our customers. Our Amazon reviews are really good, we have, like, 4.95 stars on Amazon. Granted, our customer base is smaller, but that’s a great sign that people really like our coffee.

The Daily: What has it been like running the business during the pandemic?

Zhang: It hasn’t been bad.

It’s given me a space to really find a new rhythm and to work virtually. I think we’ve been able to work with people that maybe we wouldn’t have a chance to if everything had to be done in person.

thinking about health and what that means. We’re just trying to help people, provide them products that maybe they haven’t really thought about. Part of the pillars of our company is really around that scientific basis and scientific approach. We’re not just randomly throwing a bunch of herbs that we think makes sense. It is part of traditional Chinese medicine.

For example, our immune support, that formula is called Jade Windscreen. It’s been around for like 750 years, and so there’s scientific research behind it, rigor behind it, and our products are certified organic as well. ◊

The Daily: What’s next for Amasu?

Zhang: We’re just trying to really make people aware of our mission and what we’re hoping to bring to customers, especially

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Cour tesy o f Disn ey

Reel

“Clone Wars” spinoff targets hardcore fans, but leaves casual viewers behind

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ood soldiers follow orders.

T h a t ’s a common refrain of the clone troopers in the Star Wars animated series “The Clone Wars,” which ran from 2008 to 2014 before Disney’s Lucasfilm acquisition and culminated in a final seventh season that was released on Disney+ in 2020. But should the good soldiers follow orders when their commanders shift from the Republic to Darth Vader’s Galactic Empire and those orders become more insidious?

The animated spinoff “The Bad Batch,” the third Star Wars series to hit Disney+, explores this question, chronicling the aftermath of the Order 66 massacre from “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.” Instead of the sweeping scope of “The Clone Wars,” “The Bad Batch” follows a group of genetically mutated clones with special abilities as they try to evade the Empire and chart their own path across the galaxy.

The result is a show that dives heavily into Star Wars lore and will entertain hardcore fans, but lacks the narrative genius to command the general Disney+ audience like “The Mandalorian.”

The first installment of the 14-episode opening season of “The Bad Batch,” which Disney released on May 4 to coincide with Star Wars Day, establishes the series’ role in the massive Star Wars timeline. After starring in a four-episode arc in the final

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— by John Riker season of the “Clone Wars,” Crosshair, Echo, Hunter, Tech and Wrecker — each voiced by Dee Bradley Baker — return to the battlefield to fight alongside the Republic.

But when Vader and Emperor Palpatine overthrow the Jedi and turn the clones on their masters, the order makes little sense to The Bad Batch. The clones’ missions then turn from serving the Republic to killing innocent civilians. Without functioning inhibitor chips to make them comply with orders, The Bad Batch escapes the clone factory on Kamino and spends the show’s opening episodes avoiding the grasp of the Empire and the evil Grand Moff Tarkin.

For Star Wars fans, “The Bad Batch” offers viewing entertainment every Friday.

Though the signature lightsaber duels are scratched, the Bad Batch crafts unique ways to use their powers, from Wrecker’s brute strength to Tech’s intelligence, in their inevitable skirmishes.

The animation for “The Bad Batch” raises the bar, with colorful backdrops that give a vivaciousness to each of the planets and CGI so smooth that it makes the CGI clones of the live action “Revenge of the Sith” look less real in comparison.

With more culturally relevant live-action shows like the third season of “The Mandalorian” and “Obi-Wan Kenobi” still on the horizon, “The Bad Batch” satisfies the appetite for Star Wars content with its fair share of

reveals and connections to other Star Wars shows and movies.

The flaw in the show’s execution is in its aim for an emotional storyline, which centers on the tag-along child character Omega.

A rare female clone who idolizes the Bad Batch and has never left Kamino, Omega pesters the crew into letting her come along for the ride, while keeping secrets about her own abilities. The “protect the child” objective is all too familiar to fans of the Star Wars Universe — but it’s much more resonant with Baby Yoda, and scenes drag on in an attempt to bring out the soft side of the intimidating members of The Bad Batch.

Omega’s antics also detract from the shockingly dark and violent moments that highlighted the “Clone Wars” series and return in the opening episodes, revealing a show tentative about its tone and intended audience.

The size of the Star Wars franchise means that not every show has to be a hit on the level of “The Mandalorian” or the original movies. Based on its opening episodes, “The Bad Batch” appears unlikely to make a pop culture splash.

But for fans devoted to the fandom and in search of their Star Wars fix, “The Bad Batch” does enough to capture the magic of “The Clone Wars” and make for a fine addition to the Star Wars compendium. ◊

Thoughts

Joe Wright’s “The Woman in the Window” is a disaster, living up to critic reviews

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the characters were particularly interesting, nor were they explored well enough to have meaning for the viewer.

Adams carried the majority of the screen time in a nearone-woman show. But, her acting wasn’t entirely convincing and often fell flat.

In a role that should have given her an opportunity to dig deep and portray an extraordinarily troubled woman, Adams didn’t seem like she was trying too hard to show all of Fox’s layers.

The star studded cast, including “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” stars Anthony Mackie and Wyatt Russell, served as more of a distraction than an asset. It felt like the director wanted to give the stars more screen time, rather than telling the story. The most obvious example was Russell’s portrayal of David, Fox’s tenant. In the book, David was a minor character, but in the movie, he probably had the second most amount of screen time.

But the most abysmal part of this movie is the ending.

The film culminates in what is possibly the worst plot twist of all time. Although an unexpected ending is typically a good characteristic of a thriller, it did not make sense in this case. The murderer had no clear motive and the change in their personality was too drastic to be believable.

If it was more logical in the book, the buildup certainly

wasn’t there in the movie. The final scene was extraordinarily graphic and left the viewer disturbed. “The Woman in the Window” felt like it was trying to be as enticing as thrillers such as “Gone Girl,” which had raving reviews. But “The Woman in the Window” was bland, falling flat where it needed more plot action and focusing too much on character and scene build up.

Originally, the movie was supposed to be released in October 2019 but was tossed around between networks until finally landing a May 2021 release date with Netflix. For Netflix’s sake, and the world’s, this one might have been better left behind closed doors. ◊

Co urt esy

n less than two hours, Joe Wright’s “The Woman in the Window” produced too many plot twists that left the viewer confused and unsatisfied.

The film, adapted from the novel of the same name, tells the story of Anna Fox (Amy Adams), an agoraphobic child psychologist, who witnesses a murder across the street from her window after new neighbors move in. She is convinced the murderer is the new neighbor’s husband, Alistair R ussel l (Gar y Oldman), and forms a bond with his slightly off-kilter son, Ethan Russell (Fred Hechinger).

The best part of the movie, and one of the only redeemable parts, was the cinematography.

The shots were continuously taken from interesting angles, keeping the viewer on their toes as the music crescendoed with scene changes.

The rest of the movie was a trainwreck.

The story starts at a very slow pace as the audience watches Fox’s character build, establishing her alcohol and substance use problem — playing up the unreliable narrator trope. Much of the beginning of the film explores the various characters rather than going into plot. While sometimes a character-driven plot can be fascinating, it didn’t work with this movie. None of

of N etf lix

— by Rebecca Aizin

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r e m z i m u u S sq m a j or dy f

rea Yeda u o t y Meher l ge

su

How would you rather spend your summer day?

wil igned b g n es so

y

at Wh

r?

e mm

D

At the beach

At an amusement park

What is summer to you?

A time to hang out with friends

A time to try new activities

Which music festival would you rather go to?

Rolling Loud

Favorite summer dessert?

Ice cream

Slushies

Lollapalooza

Is summer your favorite season? yes

no

Como Un Bebé

by J Balvin and Bad Bunny ft. Mr Eazi

Cherries by Hope Westside by Happiness in Liquid Tala ft. Aminé carpetgarden Form

by Alfie Templeman This song has a very breezy If you’re a fan of the Back- The Afro-Latin beat on this song

makes it perfect for a summer sound as carpetgarden yardigans’ “Castaways” This is a super upbeat pop party. The most repeated track that’s hard to listen to reminisces on summer and want something a little memories. more upbeat, this is perfect lyric “baila pa’ mi” translates to and not get happy. TempleSome of the lyrics are for you. This airy beat and “dance for me,” so dancing to man was only 17-years-old this song is a must and guitar strums pair wonwhen this song was released vulnerable, but it’s hard frankly, it’s not hard to do on and his youthful bliss comes to pick up throughout the derfully with Hope Tala’s each listen. catchy beat. melodic voice. through in the lyrics.