Inside
“Daley scores big for Chicago sports” Focus, page 14 Vol. # 94, Issue # 19
Del Valle will not work for Chicago again
April 25, 2011
Small starts in a big city
By JOE RUPPEL Miguel del Valle, Chicago City Clerk and former mayoral candidate, pauses, a wide grin running across his face when asked by eager DePaul students and faculty at a discussion panel Wednesday if he would consider running for office again. “I thought you were going to ask that question at the end” del Valle said laughing. “You never rule anything out. I have a lot of experience and things to offer,” he said.
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I would consider other levels of government, but not in the city. I want to be in a position to continue to advocate on local issues. Miguel del Valle
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Del Valle visited a DePaul journalism class Wednesday evening at the request of Mike Conklin and Margaret Ramirez, the journalism instructors for Reporting Latino Communities in Chicago. Conklin said he invited del Valle because of his insights into Latino political participation in Chicago and as a valuable opportunity for students to interview a key Chicago figure. Held on the eleventh floor of the Richard M. and Maggie C. Daley building, Del Valle, 59, was clear in stating that he is exploring a number of options for his next move and is not in a hurry to lock anything in. Asked about options that he would consider, del Valle let out another laugh and grin. “I could see myself spending time in classrooms,” he said. While he was a state senator, del Valle put together a class at Roosevelt University on Latinos and public policy for a semester on Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. Del Valle began his political career in 1982 by campaigning for Harold Washington and in 1986 joined the Illinois State Senate. In 2006, del Valle was appointed Chicago City Clerk and then elected to a four year term a few months later. While del Valle admits he is not certain about what he will be doing in the future, he is certain about what he will not be doing. “I know what I will not do. I will not work for the city of Chicago,” del Valle said. “I would consider other levels of government, but not in the city. I want to be in a position to continue to advocate on local issues. By accepting a job with the city of Chicago, it would tie my hands.” Del Valle made it clear that he was sincere in stepping out of city politics the day after the election, when he was offered a position on the Emanuel transi-
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Photos by Brianna Kelly
In honor of Earth Week, Student Government Association hosted a tree planting outside of the Lincoln Park Student Center on Wednesday, April 20 (Left). “We are trying to set an example for our community about the significance of sustainability,” said Alex Moree, Senator of Sustainability for SGA of the group’s contributions to the city’s overall efforts. Chicago’s Friends of the Park organization invited community members to come together to clean up the city’s parks.
New program gives Digital Cinema students a taste of the big time By TIFFANY BONCAN The long wait is finally over. For the last month, DePaul’s digital cinema department has been abuzz with excitement and anticipation as they discussed who might be going to Hollywood for the Los Angeles Quarter. On April 15, program coordinators formally invited 30 students out of 107 applicants, to participate in this new internship program. This pilot program was developed by Cinema and Interactive Media instructors Matt Quinn, Shayna Connelly, and assistant professor Kristyn Benedyk. The centerpiece of the ten-week immersion program is to have an internship: to work for production companies and studios in a professional capacity, in the media capital of the world. “The best thing for them is to realize they can do this for a living,” Quinn said. Students will intern three days a week, and take class on Tuesdays and Thursdays (see sidebar). Classes will be held on a historic studio lot, where the films “Some Like it Hot” and “West Side Story” were shot, and “True Blood” is currently filmed. CIM Instructor Dan Klein said the experience will contextualize the last three to five years of the cinema students’ education. “Here in Chicago, sometimes it feels like we’re teaching in theory, or we’re referring to things that aren’t necessarily tangible,” Klein said. “Getting to be in California, getting to actually interact with industry
and work with industry, enables them to take all these lessons and actually apply them.” DePaul Senior Alison Velazquez described the application process, and the wait, in one word: intense. “It’s hard because we all know each other so well, and more or less what we are capable of,” Velazquez said. “Every day, we see each other for class, and people are talking about the program – about who might make it in, and how exciting it would be to go.” Students were to submit a creative work that best represented who they were as a filmmaker, along with a personal statement. The coordinators were blown away by the amount of talent they were privileged to see. “One thing that made it gratifying but also made it difficult for us was, it was exceedingly competitive,” Klein said. Benedyk said they took into consideration how focused each applicant’s personal statement was, and they gravitated toward students who had a good sense of what they
Graphic by Sam Schroeder
wanted to do in L.A. But this is also a chance for them to explore job options they might not have considered pursuing while in school. As soon as confirmation letters are turned in, students will begin to apply for internships. Velazquez describes this opportunity as the lucky chance that every film student or Hollywood hopeful dreams for. “We’re very fortunate to have this chance to show executives what we can do, in a comfortable, academic environment, with help from our professors and their network,” Velazquez said. “I mean, who gets
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