EVANSTON—To the profound joy of the local senior community, the North Shore Retirement Hotel announced its acquisition of Northwestern’s Pick-Staiger Concert Hall yesterday. North Shore proprietor Bernie Segal explained his decision today in a heavily-attended press conference at Pick-Staiger. “It just seemed like the logical choice,” said Segal. “All of my residents were spending every evening at Pick-Staiger, so now we can save on transportation costs and give our residents the convenience they’ve been demanding.”

When asked about the takeover, North Shore resident and Pick-Staiger regular Ethel Murphy expressed her resounding enthusiasm. “This will finally keep the five young people who keep showing up to my concerts away for good!” said Murphy.

The most striking of Segal’s plans for the concert hall is the intended conversion of the upper balcony to senior housing units. “My residents always complain about how hard it is to hear the music from the balcony anyway,” says Segal. Additionally, the student ushers and sound designers will be replaced by residents.

The recent takeover will have ramifications beyond the local senior community. The inevitable question facing the Northwestern community is whether there will be a place for students to go after the annexation of the University’s most popular music venue. When asked about the acquisition of Pick-Staiger by North Shore, Weinberg Sophomore Kyle Howard expressed his bewilderment. “Pick what?! Isn’t that a museum or something?”

Clearly, the future of Pick-Staiger has been permanently affected. The Northwestern and Evanston communities will have to make extensive changes to their lifestyles to face the new reality of the North Shore Retirement Concert Hall.