The Columbia Chronicle March 31, 2014

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WEB EXCLUSIVE: Packback, a digital textbook

renting company, will launch at Columbia to help save students money. For the full story, visit ColumbiaChronicle.com.

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Good Food Festival attracts local organic food vendors

Opinions: Reality love not really reality See PG. 35

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SPRING 2014

WEEKS LEFT

No. 1 Non-Daily College Newspaper in the Nation MONDAY, MARCH 31, 2014

THE OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

VOLUME 49, ISSUE 24

Professor calls academic freedom into question TYLER EAGLE Associate Editor TO ADJUNCT HISTORY professor Iymen Chehade, reducing the number of sections of his course “The IsraeliPalestinian Conflict” from two to one was an attempt by Columbia’s administration to silence him, violating his academic freedom. To Steven Corey, chair of the Humanities, History & Social Sciences Department, the cancellation was prompted by the college’s falling enrollment. The dispute, which began quietly in November during registration for the spring 2014 semester, has mushroomed into a struggle that has gained national attention. Public support of Chehade has led to a Change.org petition and a March 20 forum on academic freedom. The college denies Chehade’s claim that he was being punished after a student complaint about a class viewing of “5 Broken Cameras,” an award-winning documentary that follows a Palestinian filmmaker as he deals with Israel’s settlement policies in the West Bank. Chehade filed a grievance with the college in early March, which led to the creation of the petition that calls for a reinstatement of Chehade’s second section of the course for the fall 2014 semester.

Courtesy YOUNGBLOOD HAWKE Youngblood Hawke, an indie band from Los Angeles, will help headline the main stage at Manifest.

Manifest headliners soar to main stage

KATHERINE DAVIS & JENNIFER WOLAN Assistant Campus Editors Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE Iymen Chehade, an adjunct professor in the Humanities, History & Social Sciences Department, spoke to students, staff and supporters at a March 20 forum on academic freedom in the Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave. One of Chehade’s sections of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was cancelled in November, which recently sparked national attention and campus controversy.

xx SEE PARKING, PG. 41

echo throughout the South Loop at this year’s Manifest, Columbia’s annual urban arts festival, when Chicago-based mashup duo The Hood Internet and Los Angeles-based sextet Youngblood Hawke take the main stage as headliners. The Student Programming Board announced the headliners in college-wide emails March 18 and 20. Allison Shuman, marketing manager for the Student Programming Board and senior arts, entertainment and media management major, said the board chose The Hood Internet based on its newage, mainstream DJ style. “We thought they would bring a different vibe to Manifest,” Shuman said. “They are also local Chicago artists, so we thought it would bring in more of the community to Manifest.” Aaron Brink, half of The Hood Internet, said Chicago is his favorite place to play because it is his hometown. Brink said the Manifest show will mostly be a series of mashups instead of their original productions because the songs are more well-known and easier to dance to. “We try to mix a range of music but also what’s specific to our taste,” Brink said. “We’re not just mixing what’s popular.” Sam Martin, singer, drummer and pianist of Youngblood Hawke,

Chicago steampunks get geared up to hit nightclubs • PG. 22

Autocorrect pushes updates • PG. 13

The petition has drawn international support, with more than 5,000 signatures as of press time. Chehade said he was offered a contract for the 2014 spring semester to teach two classes a week before the cancellation happened. When registration went live for students in November 2013, one section was canceled hours after it had been posted. Chehade said the college canceled the section

because the administration buckled under pressure from a student who disagreed with the content of the course and his showing of “5 Broken Cameras.” Chehade, who has taught two or more sections of “The IsraeliPalestinian Conflict” every semester since 2010, said the removal of the section is a violation of

xx SEE CHEHADE, PG. 8

Smartphone app streamlines parking bills NATALIE CRAIG Assistant Metro Editor FREQUENT TRIPS TO refill parking

P PAY TO PARK

Donald Wu THE CHRONICLE

meters could be a thing of the past with the implementation of a citysponsored smartphone application that would allow drivers to pay for parking using their cellphones. The new pay-by-cell app is scheduled to be piloted downtown in late

ELECTRONIC BEATS AND indie-pop will

spring before it is made available citywide. The app, available for iPhone and Android, is intended to make parking more convenient by allowing motorists to quickly pay with their credit or debit cards, according to a March 10 mayoral press release. The pay-by-cell app will offer a number of timesaving features, such as allowing drivers to check how much time remains on the meter and giving them the option to reload time via the app. The app will also send users text message reminders 10 minutes before their metertime expires, according to the press release.

Elan Mosbacher, director of marketing at SpotHero, a mobile app that offers drivers discounted parking rates in Chicago garages, said the new app will make parking more convenient and aligns with budding parking trends. “There is really a transformation in the parking industry right now,” Mosbacher said. “Parking has operated the same way for a long time and it’s exciting to see the parking industry is moving into this century and making it very easy for consumers who are used to using their phone to pay for all sorts of things.”

said he looks forward to performing on the main stage and hopes to see a big turnout. Shuman said the SPB wanted to make Manifest memorable this year and focused on bringing quality artists to the festival. “We don’t get to bring big acts to campus very often,” Shuman said. “We try to think about what’s going to make the main stage fun and bring out people.” The headliners are not the only exciting aspect of this year’s Manifest. This spring’s festival will be the first to have a unified theme: Flight. “We imagine that our graduates can fly,” said Mark Kelly, vice president of Student Affairs. “We’ll see them both metaphorically and in some cases literally fly on that day.” Kelly said the college received student feedback that showed a desire for an overall theme to assist contributing students with finding a clear angle for their Manifest projects. Shannon Bourne, coordinator of Student Engagement, said she has been organizing three new additions to Manifest that will enhance the theme, the first being a new graduate student showcase. “All of the graduate student showcases will be highlighted that night because sometimes they get lost in the mix of crazy Manifest,” Bourne said. “We wanted to separate them and give them a special showcase.”

xx SEE MANIFEST, PG. 9

Arcades experience resurgence • PG. 19 T HE COLUMBIA C HRONICLE


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