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
6
SPRING 2014
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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
The Columbia Chronicle 2 • March 31, 2014
by Lindsey Woods
Editor-in-Chief
Going greener I HAVE A confession to make—I don’t
recycle. Sometimes instead of walking 20 feet to the nearest paper recycling bin, I throw my stray paper into the wastebasket by my desk because it’s more convenient. I am fully aware that this makes me a terrible person. However, Columbia’s newest sustainability push, which includes 13 new composting receptacles, as reported on Page 3, is making me feel guiltier about my lack of eco consciousness. And as every successful organized religion knows, guilt is the first step toward getting people to do what you want. Joking aside, the few personnel at Columbia who are dedicated to sustainability are inspiring me to change my thinking. Shoutout to Sustainability and Green Space Coordinator Neale Baldyga and Sustainability Manager John Wawrzaszek, who do a lot of the heavy lifting, sometimes literally, to make Columbia a greener college. Going the extra mile, or 20 feet, to preserve the environment is much easier when you feel as though you’re part of a larger movement, and people like Baldyga and Wawrzaszek make that movement a reality at Columbia. When publications like the Annual Diversion Report, which
tracks how many pounds of recycling and compost the college produces, contextualize environmental acts, they don’t feel like they’re in vain. For the record, the college collectively produced 590,742 pounds of single-stream recycled materials, or non-separated materials, during the 2012–2013 academic year, according to the Diversion Report. The Columbia community also composted 20,695 pounds of stinky food scraps, dirt and other materials. Both the amount of composting and single-stream recycling increased from the previous year, according to the report. While these numbers are a positive reflection of the college’s commitment to sustainability, they could always be higher and Columbia can always be doing more to support environmentally conscious movements. Instead, it’s done the opposite. Columbia divested in wind energy it funded in 2012 to cut costs, according to the article on Page 3, and the number of faculty and staff members who are specifically hired to promote and execute sustainable practices is perpetually small. My calling out the college for not doing enough to promote sustainability is hypocritical,
CAMPUS PG. 3
“Women Who Yell” project brings feminist voice to campus • PG. 4 Columbia alumna talks about her best-selling book “White Girl Problems” • PG. 6
SPORTS & HEALTH PG. 11
Proper epinephrine training may save lives of people with severe allergies • PG. 11 Chicago Lady Cobras anxious for dek hockey season to begin • PG. 11
though, because I started this column by admitting that I’m a bad environmentalist. So here’s the deal: I’ll commit to putting more time and effort into sustainable practices, and I sincerely hope everyone at the college—including administrators—will follow suit. My contribution may be small, and I can’t guarantee that every food scrap will end up in a compost bin, but I hope my renewed effort will inspire other non-activists to be more conscious of campus sustainability efforts. I also hope Columbia’s administration will follow suit and make sustainability a priority. lwoods@chroniclemail.com
ARTS & CULTURE PG. 19
Nostalgia meets modern in Chicago’s growing “barcades” trend • PG. 19 Fashion students compete for a prestigious scholarship • PG. 19
OPINIONS PG. 34
Government should revoke NFL’s nonprofit, tax-exempt status • PG. 34 Proposed citywide plastic bag ban impractical for businesses • PG. 34
METRO PG. 37
Ordinance bans plastic bags, burdens local retailers • PG. 37
Illinois No. 1 state for renewable energy usage • PG. 38 STAFF MASTHEAD
MANAGEMENT
Lindsey Woods Editor-in-Chief Emily Ornberg Managing Editor Kaley Fowler Managing Editor Sylvia Leak Ad & Business Manager Tyler Eagle Associate Editor
CAMPUS
Tatiana Walk-Morris Campus Editor Jennifer Wolan Assistant Campus Editor Katherine Davis Assistant Campus Editor Carleigh Turner Assistant Campus Editor
SPORTS & HEALTH
Sarah Schlieder Sports & Health Editor
ARTS & CULTURE
Matt McCall Arts & Culture Editor Nicole Montalvo Assistant Arts & Culture Editor Stephen Hall Film Critic
OPINIONS
Elizabeth Earl Opinions Editor
METRO
Maria Castellucci Metro Editor Natalie Craig Assistant Metro Editor
COPY Grace Wiley THE CHRONICLE Liz Grear, a MFA candidate at Columbia, reads her creative nonfiction piece, “Unsavable,” a short story about a main character who steals from a local church, March 18 at Studio 2 in the 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building to a full room during the Story Week Festival of Writers, an annual event showcasing emerging and established writers. The Chronicle is a student-produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of college administrators, faculty or students. All text, photos and graphics are the property of The Chronicle and may not be reproduced or published without written permission. Editorials are the opinions of the Editorial Board of The
2 • March 31, 2014
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The March 17 article “Chicago awarded digital lab” stated that the City of Chicago acquired the Innovation Center at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The city was not a part of the acquisition as the center is funded through private donors. The Chronicle regrets this error. Main line: (312) 369-8999 Advertising: (312) 369-8984 Campus: (312) 369-8964 Metro: (312) 369-8966 Arts & Culture: (312) 369-8969 Commentary: (312) 369-8967
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Monday, March 31, 2014
The Columbia Chronicle
Staff members petition for union voice
TATIANA WALK-MORRIS Campus Editor
AFTER ASKING FOR representation last semester, Staff Who Teach started an online petition to join P-Fac, Columbia’s part-time faculty union. Staff Who Teach, a group of more than 70 Columbia staff members, posted a petition online March 11 calling for representation in P-Fac. The group collected 500 signatures on its online petition within the first 3 1/2 days of its launch, a number that has reached 579 as of press time. Staff members are currently represented in The United Staff of Columbia College union, but members who teach classes at the college want the same protections afforded to adjunct professors under the newly negotiated P-Fac contract, which stipulates how classes should
be assigned. Adjunct faculty are assigned courses based on a three-tier system according to the number of hours they have previously taught at Columbia. Adjunct faculty who have taught 51 or more course hours at the college choose the courses they want to teach first, followed by the second and third tiers, according to Louise Love, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. Staff members whose job descriptions include teaching can choose their courses before first-tier adjunct faculty. However, staff members whose jobs do not require teaching are placed in the third tier no matter how long they’ve taught. Lauren Targ, assistant director of the College Advising Center and part-time faculty member in the Television Department, said
prior to P-Fac signing its new contract, staff members and adjunct faculty worked closely, adding that some staff members feel unappreciated because they are no longer able to teach courses they previously taught. Targ said Staff Who Teach wants to continue working with P-Fac to ensure that students are exposed to a variety of instructors. Mary Rachel Fanning, coordinator and college advisor in the College Advising Center and part-time faculty member in the Photography Department, said Staff Who Teach reached out to P-Fac and administrators in October 2013 to discuss joining P-Fac, but P-Fac has yet to accept or deny the request. Diana Vallera, P-Fac president and adjunct faculty member in the
xx SEE P-FAC, PG. 9
Columbia expands composting program
coffee filters and grounds
cardboard, paper Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE A soon-to-be rehabbed building at 407 S. Dearborn St. will be open for students to rent in August 2015. The building will have new furnishings, fitness rooms and study spaces.
fruit and vegitables
hair, hay and leaves
egg shells Kayla Koch THE CHRONICLE
CARLEIGH TURNER Assistant Campus Editor COMPOSTING ON CAMPUS is more convenient for students now that the college has put to use a nearly $5,200 grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity from the spring of 2012. The grant allowed Columbia to place 13 new composting bins in student-centered areas such as the Journalism Lounge in the 33 E. Congress Parkway Building; The Harvester Cafe in the Alexandroff Campus Center, 600 S. Michigan Ave. and The Loft in the 916 S. Wabash Ave. Building. Neale Baldyga, compost manager of sustainable Green Space
Management at Columbia, said the college began composting in 2011 on a “do-it-yourself” basis. Baldyga said the college would collect white buckets from the photography department, clean the chemicals out, and then give them to the school’s cafeterias and some of the main spaces on campus. Baldyga said this was used as leverage for Columbia’s composting grant to improve its program. Since then, the college has increased the amount of compost it has collected by 36 percent, said Baldyga. “The college’s composting program is fairly new,” said John Wawrzaszek, Columbia’s sustainability manager. “It is a whole transition period but it’s good right now. We’ve
got a lot of potential for growth.” Composting is the process of taking food scraps or other organic matter and breaking it down into materials that can be used for plant fertilizer or soil. In 2013, Columbia composted 20,695 pounds of waste, which is 5,465 pounds more than in 2012, according to the Annual Diversion Report. Baldyga said this could be the result of a raise in composting awareness on campus. “We are getting a lot more compost from events that Columbia hosts now,” Baldyga said. “Now that faculty is aware, they will send in a [request for compost bins] and we get a lot more compost that way.”
xx SEE COMPOST, PG. 10
New student housing options opening in South Loop
JENNIFER WOLAN Assistant Campus Editor THE NUMBER OF students renewing their on-campus housing contracts is on the rise—just as announcements have been made that two new student housing complexes will be rehabilitated in the South Loop. This year, Columbia has seen a record-high 22.5 percent increase in resident hall contract renewals from freshmen entering their sophomore year, according to Residence Life statistics. Last spring, 723 students renewed their contracts, and as of March 20, 886 students have renewed their contracts for the Fall 2014 semester. This year’s number is expected to reach 900, according to Mark Kelly, vice president of Student Affairs. “I’m pretty confident that we will continue to see that increased retention number go into the upcoming years,” Kelly said.
With more students living on campus, Kelly said the college may consider a master lease with one or both of the two new buildings that are being rehabilitated and rebuilt into student housing complexes in the future. Infinite Chicago, a new student housing facility on 28 E. Jackson Blvd., is now leasing for Fall 2014, in addition to a complex at 407 S. Dearborn St. that will be open to college students in August 2015, according to John Diedrich, vice president of investments at CA Ventures, a company that manages the new college housing providers’ assets. Kelly said there are currently no plans for the college to purchase any of the buildings, but any future talks about a master lease with one of the buildings could resemble the contract the college has with the residence building 777 S. State St and The Dwight.
xx SEE HOUSING, PG. 10 March 31, 2014 • 3
The Columbia Chronicle 4 • March 31, 2014
Women who yell debuts at Columbia CARLEIGH TURNER Assistant Campus Editor COLUMBIA’S CAMPUS WILL be filled
with the sound of shouting women April 4 and 11 as a part of a student project titled “Women Who Yell.” Six students in a Writing and Rhetoric II Honors course, taught by Ames Hawkins, associate professor in the English Department, will create a photo essay and audio installation with the help of Jennifer Karlson, a Chicago resident who created a “Women Who Yell” video while she was a student at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The project will feature photos and audio of women yelling about topics ranging from body image and sexual violence to just being a woman, according to Addison Lewis, a freshman theater major who will participate in the project. “When a woman is sad, she’s seen as over-emotional,” Lewis said. “Women feel like they’re not openly allowed to feel these things. I thought it would be so cool to watch this platform portray that.” Hawkins, said she assigned the project to teach the students in her class to use storytelling as a way to spread awareness in activism. “The thing about art activism is you think about how art can best communicate activist ideas and how art is appealing to people and
hopefully people can get involved in that way,” Hawkins said. The students have been working on this project for months, but this is not the first time it has been performed. Megan Hague and Kyle Wilkinson co-directed the first video and premiered it two years ago when Hague was a sophomore at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. Hague said the concept for the video came to her after listening to “riot grrrl” punk-rock music with heavy feminist influences like The Slits and Bikini Kill. She said the film was originally supposed to feature women yelling and screaming, but as she was filming she realized how much the
“
MORE NO
T BE ILL NO W I I AM TIRED
PUSHED ARO
OF
UND
ANYM INEQ ORE! UAL ITY ! Donald Wu THE CHRONICLE
When a woman is sad, she’s seen as over-emotional.”
women had to say and shifted the project’s focus. The video was accepted into many film festivals including the Athens International Film and Video Festival and the Citizen Jane Film Festival. This recognition helped Hague’s project quickly gain momentum and women began to speak their minds, which she said is a rare opportunity for females, even in today’s society.
SEXIS M!
- Addison Lewis Hague said people are rarely exposed to images of women screaming or yelling because the media places too much emphasis on portraying women as conventionally beautiful. “The piece is meant to be a commentary on both sexism and sexism within the film industry and media industry,” Hague said. “Very rarely do we see women expressing anger or rage because
it’s not considered feminine and it’s not considered sexy and it’s also considered threatening.” Hague said project participants found it therapeutic, similar to a yoga session. “When women [were recorded], they were really putting themselves out there,” Hague said. “They were really putting themselves in a vulnerable position to reveal personal stuff, and I think that those women usually came out of the sound booth saying they feel relieved, like they had a weight lifted off their shoulders.” Hague said she is almost ready to launch a website for “Women
Who Yell” that would allow women to participate worldwide. She said after she and her partner finished their piece, a number of women approached them to ask if they could participate in future videos or if the pair could make other videos, which inspired them to create a space where viewers could. “[In Hague’s video], most of the women begin and they’re very hesitant,” Lewis said. Then there’s always ... a breaking point in their faces. Then they’re just open and they are what they are and it’s just beautiful to watch that happen.” cturner@chroniclemail.com
The Music Center at Columbia College Chicago 1014 S. Michigan Avenue
Music Department Events Monday March 31 Meet the Artist with Jim Lauderdale Pop Rock Performance 7 in Concert
12:00 pm 7:00 pm
Tuesday April 1 Student Concert Series
7:00 pm
Wednesday April 2 Wednesday Noon Concert Series at the Conaway*
12:00 pm
Thursday April 3 Megan McDonnell Senior Recital
7:00 pm
Friday April 4 Keyboard Forum at the Sherwood 12:00 pm Jazz Gallery in the Lobby* 12:00 pm Jazz Forum* 2:00 pm Jim Lauderdale Residency Concert 7:00 pm For tickets, visit jimlauderdale.eventbrite.com or call 312-369-8330 Saturday April 5 Open House at the Music Department
11 am, 12pm, 1 pm, 2 pm
* Events with an asterisk do not give recital attendance.
4 • March 31, 2014
March 31, 2014 • 5
Campus
“A KALEIDOSCOPE IN WHICH DANCE FORMS AND CULTURAL TRADITIONS MOVED THROUGH TIME…THE EFFECT IS HYPNOTIC AND ENERGIZING.” —CHICAGO TRIBUNE
REGGIE WILSON/FIST & HEEL PERFORMANCE GROUP
$5 TICKETS FOR COLUMBIA STUDENTS! MOSES(ES) APRIL 3, 4 & 5, 2014 | 8:00PM
OTHER EVENTS
In Moses(es), Wilson examines the many representations of Moses in religious texts—and in the mythical, canonical, and ethnographic imaginations—to ask: how do we lead and why do we follow? Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s vernacular retelling in Moses, Man of the Mountain, Wilson traveled to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, and Mali to consider the diasporic migration of African people throughout the rest of world. The result is this rich evening-length work, co-commissioned by The Dance Center, that unflinchingly questions leadership and our complex relationship to the various cross-cultural and cross-faith interpretations of the Moses story.
DanceMakers Session with Reggie Wilson
3/31/14
Post-Performance Conversation
4/3/14
Pre-Performance Talk with Dramaturge Susan Manning
4/4/14
FamilyDance Matinee
4/5/14
FOR TICKETS 312.369.8330 | colum.edu/reggiewilson
Reggie Wilson’s Moses(es) is co-commissioned by The Dance Center with funding from a 2012 Joyce Award. The Dance Center’s presentation of Reggie Wilson/Fist & Heel Performance Group is funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew Mellon Foundation
MOSES(ES), REGGIE WILSON/FIST & HEEL PERFORMANCE GROUP, PHOTO BY JULIETA CERVANTES
March 31, 2014 • 5
The Columbia Chronicle 6 • March 31, 2014
Schoenhals, voice behind “white girl problems” JENNIFER WOLAN Assistant Campus Editor LARA MARIE SCHOENHALS, a 2008 film & video alumna, never thought she would graduate and go onto become a New York Times best-selling author. But one night in 2010 spurred a series of events that would lead her to do just that. Schoenhals’ good friend Tanner Cohen came up with the hashtag #whitegirlproblems one night while the two were out for drinks. Schoenhals, along with Cohen and his brother, David Oliver Cohen, embraced the Twitter hashtag in 2010 as a joke. Four years later, the trio has more than 800,000 Twitter followers and a book based on the popular phrase. More than 600,000 people bought, “White Girl Problems,” a faux memoir of fictional Babe Walker, a wealthy girl living in Los Angeles whose “problems” landed her in retail rehab after spending $246,893.50 one afternoon at the luxury department store Barneys. “We are really creative people and have our hands in creative businesses and wanted to be in entertainment,” Schoenhals said. “It’s taken a bit of a roundabout path, but it’s been really fun.” The success of “White Girl Problems” and Walker’s character led Schoenhals to write the book’s sequel, “Psychos,” which will be available in stores on Amazon.com on April 29. The Chronicle sat down with Schoenhals to discuss her time at Columbia, rise to fame and future plans for “White Girl Problems.”
THE CHRONICLE: How did you come up with “White Girl Problems?” LARA MARIE SCHOENHALS: I
wrote “White Girl Problems” with two other guys and they are both brothers. Tanner used to live in Los Angeles and I met him when I was working on a film during a summer off of school and we became close friends. When I moved to L.A., we stayed in touch and he and I were out drinking one night and he had written #whitegirlproblems on his personal Twitter account. It just struck me as the three words that summed up my entire existence. As we got drunker and drunker, we kept coming up with more “white girl problems,” and by the end of the night we were like, let’s start a Twitter account. We never intended for anything beyond our friends laughing at it to happen, and then suddenly it became this whole thing.
Did the Twitter account inspire the book? The Twitter just started off as gen6 • March 31, 2014
Photos Courtesy LARA MARIE SCHOENHALS Lara Marie Schoenhals, a 2008 film & video alumna, is one of three authors behind the New York Times best-seller “White Girl Problems.” The book started with the Twitter account, White Girl Problems, which has 800,000 Twitter followers.
eral white girl problems, or more along the lines of rich girl problems. Then after we started it, Tanner told his brother David Oliver about it and we all three started writing the tweets.... Then after about six or seven months, we realized that the tweets that were getting the most response were the ones that came from the voice of a post-college 20-something-year-old girl. We decided to create this fictional character named Babe Walker and she was going to be the voice behind “White Girl Problems”....We originally conceived her because we were going to write a television pilot about her life and that’s why we made up the character Babe, to flesh out what the pilot could be and what her world is.
What is your response when people say “White Girl Problems” is offensive? Honestly, we do it all as satire. We are making fun of the type of girl that functions in that way, so it’s all supposed to be satire and isn’t supposed to be taken seriously. I think the beauty of the character is that no one knows whether it is real or not. It can be really provocative, but once you get down to the bottom of it, it’s all satire.
Have you ever concealed your identity as the author of “White Girl Problems” or are you open about it? We have done some interviews where it’s the three of us, but mostly we don’t try to put it out into the world and pull the veil back behind Babe. We do a lot of written interviews as Babe and we kind of try to keep it a little secret, but we don’t go out of our way to make sure nobody knows.... There’s also a bit of mystery online because we never put a face to Babe.
Is Babe like any of you? Yeah, I think she definitely is. We have pulled from our own life experiences to write the book and then we make up a lot of stuff for her to do. We pull from relationships we had as friends or boyfriends, but her life is 100 percent fictional. It’s good that there’s three of us because then we can bring a lot of life experiences to the table and we have a lot of friends that have Babe-ish qualities too, so it makes it more fun to write. As we create more of her world and the deeper we go into sequels, the more we can just come up with Babe-specific things because she is such a specific character to us. That makes it fun because it feels as if
she exists and we know her and we know what kind of decisions she would make in her life and things she would do.
Did you ever plan on moving to L.A. after college? I knew I was going to either move to New York or Los Angeles after school and the weather kind of decided that for me. Toward the end of college was where I focused more on producing and writing and to be on that track. I did the Semester in L.A. program, so I timed it to be my last semester in college and used that as my transitional opportunity to live in Los Angeles.
Are you planning on making Babe a film character in the future? We actually optioned the film rights last summer to Summit [Entertainment] and we are currently waiting for the script to be written. We just optioned the rights and we don’t have anything to do with the movie version, but hopefully, if everything goes as planned, there will be a “White Girl Problems” movie in the future. I’m really excited.
How is the work divided between you and your partners?
We’re all in [it] together equally. We all work on the book together. Much of the way we write is like a television writers’ room where we’ll get on the phone or Google Chat and we’ll break the story of what is going to happen in the book and we’ll go from chapter to chapter and decide what each chapter is going to be about. Then each week we would take a chapter and write it on our own, about 3,000–4,000 words, and then the week after that, we would go through the chapters in pairs and we’ll line edit the chapter. It’s really collaborative and it definitely is the three of us all in and we divvy the responsibility up on our blog and with Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Do your family and friends know that you are one of the authors behind “White Girl Problems?” My family and friends know all about it. My dad is obsessed with it. He’s always texting me a new white girl problem. I think he’s really impressed because it was a big question with what I was going to do with my life and I think there are a lot of elements with my life that he identifies with Babe. jwolan@chroniclemail.com
March 31 , 2014 • 7
Campus concerts and then we’d also cover what we did throughout the day. We had taken a trip to the hot springs [called] Laugarvatn Fontana. I had gone into a lake there, which was a frigid 24 degrees, in addition to pools of water that were almost 100 degrees. The blog is a traveler’s guide to the location we were in, a little cultural piece on Iceland and some music reviews, so I feel like I had a wide variety of content and I felt like it was written very well.
What did you like most about the Iceland Airwaves music festival?
DAN SHEARER senior radio major Grace Wiley THE CHRONICLE Dan Shearer, music director of WCRX, Columbia’s student radio station, and a senior radio major, has a passion for radio broadcast and blogging, which recently led him to be named first place blogger in the Intercollegiate Broadcasting competition. A blog he wrote while studying abroad in Iceland secured him the honor.
KATHERINE DAVIS Assistant Campus Editor DAN SHEARER, SENIOR radio major
and music director of WCRX, Columbia’s student radio station, received a first place trophy for best station blog from the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System on March 14. He won the competition for his blog about the annual Iceland Airwaves festival in Reykjavik, an annual music festival, which is one of five blogs he created while enrolled
in the “Covering International Festivals: Iceland” course in fall 2013. Shearer said this is the first competition he has ever won and he plans to continue refining his blogging skills. Shearer began at WCRX in 2012 as the public affairs director before becoming music director in summer 2013. However, his talent is not limited to Columbia. He is also a social media intern at CBS radio station WXRT, which he said made him realize social media has a significant presence in broadcast
radio and he wants to help produce it in the industry. Shearer said he originally wanted to pursue a journalism degree but switched to radio after he discovered his interest in music. The Chronicle spoke to Shearer about his time in Iceland, passion for blogging and plans for the future.
THE CHRONICLE: What was it like writing in Iceland? DAN SHEARER: Each day we had to
recap the entire day. We’d cover our
It was incredible. The way they spread it out, it’s not like Lollapalooza, where it all takes place in one park. It’s spread out through various different venues [in Reykjavik]. I was familiar with Jon Hopkins, which is why I signed up to cover him, but most of the Icelandic bands were completely new to me.
What did it mean to you to win first place for your blog? When I got into radio, I thought that was it for my writing. But after taking an internship at WXRT 93.1 and seeing how heavily they put an emphasis on their social media content, I realized that blogging is just another way of filling in an hour of content for a radio station. Let’s say somebody is streaming your station online and there’s a commercial break. They can go on your blog and they will get the same radio station experience they’d get
by listening, but this time they are reading. That’s what really drew me to blogging for radio stations.
What intrigues you the most about broadcast radio? I’ve always loved radio. I have always loved the idea of sharing somebody’s future favorite song, being the person to introduce a song that means the world to somebody. Public speaking wasn’t really my thing, and in radio I was able to address a lot of people without having to be in front of a lot of people. I think I found a loophole in social anxiety.
What do you do as the music director at WCRX? I handle all of the music that gets put on the air. I try to help keep programming as consistent as possible by working with people who are on air and also [behind the scenes] by making sure that only the best music can be found on WCRX. It’s mostly the Top 40, so pop, electronica and hip-hop.
What are your plans for the future? I’m definitely going to continue polishing my talents. I’d definitely like to stay in Chicago because I like our radio market. Being on air at WXRT would probably be the best thing I could do in Chicago, and that’s what I’m going to work my way toward. kdavis@chroniclemail.com
Liberal arts degrees contribute billions to US economy LAUREN TUSSEY Contributing Writer JUST WHEN YOU were beginning to
think your liberal arts degree was useless in the current economy, new statistics suggest otherwise. Data from the National Endowment of the Arts and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the arts and cultural production industry added an estimated $504 billion—approximately 3.2 percent—to the national gross domestic product. The study examined the relationship between the arts and cultural industries and economic growth, and found the industries that contributed to GDP the most in arts and cultural production include motion picture and video production, advertising services, cable television production and distribution, publishing and the performing arts, according to a Dec. 5 NEA press release. Sally Gifford, NEA public affairs specialist, said the analysis is the first detailed look at arts and cultural production in the U.S. She added that the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account provided data about production in the arts and cultural goods, services and commodities industries to wholly represent the ACP industry. “We created this [ACP] industry for ourselves in order to capture the economic contribution of all the individual arts and cultural indus-
contribution to GDP Keenan Browe THE CHRONICLE
tries,” Gifford said. “These industries range from video game design to the construction of a performing arts center. It’s a very big tent.” This type of new-age data allows researchers to track the health and vitality of ACP in the U.S. and maintained its progress, Gifford said. “We hope that the American public and the arts community will use this information as a helpful tool,” Gifford said. “It will be useful for many different audiences.” When Neil Pagano, associate dean of the School of Liberal Arts
and Sciences at Columbia, saw the results, he said the college’s program is beneficial when it comes to searching for employment. “It’s important to remember that every film, every dance, every poem, every series of photographs is about something,” Pagano said. “The liberal arts and sciences curriculum at Columbia helps provide that context, that something. The artistic expression is far more meaningful when it has that context.” Employers often give Columbia graduates positive feedback about
their liberal arts skill set, understanding of the industry and the kind of professionalism they bring to art industries, said Mark Kelly, vice president of Student Affairs. When compared to students who graduate with degrees that are not liberal arts-focused, Kelly said Columbia students tend to be more serious and mature than their competitors, adding that Columbia students are ready to hit the ground running when it is time to begin a career in their creative industry.
He added that traditional industries are drying up, with opportunities in the digital environment on the rise, particularly for Columbia students. “In the economy, the digital world surely has directly impacted the employment pathways and has created new, exciting possibilities for our students,” Kelly said. “The work of creative workers is going to be more and more important in the future of the overall U.S. economy.” chronicle@colum.edu March 31, 2014 • 7
The Columbia Chronicle 8 • March 31, 2014
xx CHEHADE
Continued from Front Page
his right to academic freedom as an instructor. “I think the college decided to [cancel] it because some students may have issues with the content, such as the case with the student that alleges showing ‘5 Broken Cameras’ was biased,” Chehade said. “The college decided to acquiesce to those complaints that have occurred over the years.” In 2011, Chehade said he faced similar criticism for his use of the film when eight students complained to the department that his class was one-sided. Chehade said the complaints have more to do with students’ personal beliefs than the content of his course. “I was targeted because there are people who have problems with bringing this issue to light,” Chehade said. “There is a Palestinian perspective. The class has been given an opportunity to look at multiple perspectives. It’s an open forum for people to garner their perspective on issues and come to their own conclusions.” Corey denies that the cancellation was related to the content of Chehade’s class and that he ordered Chehade to offer a more balanced course. Corey said a student complained about the content of the course, but he explained to the student that Chehade’s class was not slanted. Corey said he and Chehade had a discussion about the idea of balance, but that he
8 • March 31, 2014
gave no directive to Chehade that would have required him to teach his class in a specific way. Corey said he respects Chehade’s right to academic freedom. “I never ordered him to be balanced [when he teaches],” Corey said. “I don’t know where [that accusation] comes from. There is no requirement that the course has to be balanced but rather include multiple perspectives, which is the common approach in teaching.” Corey said the second section of the course was canceled along with an undisclosed number of other classes in the department and Chehade was offered a second class in accordance with the new bargaining agreement negotiated by Columbia’s part-time faculty union. The contract outlines a new system for assigning adjunct professors to classes, which is still being perfected, according to Corey. Chehade turned down the second course he was offered, Corey said. “The point of the collective bargaining agreement is to ensure that he receives a certain number of courses,” Corey said. “My responsibility was to offer him a second class, which I did.” Corey said he offered Chehade a class titled “Middle Eastern History: To Muhammad.” Chehade said he declined to teach the second course because it was not the Israeli-Palestinian course. He said the Middle Eastern history course had only two students registered and he had never taught it before, which would have required
him to spend substantial time building the curriculum. “It’s important to highlight the violation of academic freedom by specifically targeting the course and removing it and instead giving me a course I had never taught before,” Chehade said. “I don’t understand the logic behind that. Specifically targeting the Israeli-Palestinian course is something that I, of course, objected to.” Chehade said it is rare for classes to be cut after having been posted on Oasis, and the only section of “The Israel-Palestinian Conflict” course that was offered filled within three days. “If it is about student interest, which is one of the reasons you’re supposed to give out classes to people, based on student interest, then why would you give me a class that no one seems to be interested [in]?” Chehade said. Corey said he determines how many courses and how many sections of those courses will be offered based on the semester’s total projected enrollment. He said a lot of the courses in his department, like “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,” are non-major courses, which also factors into whether there will be multiple sections of a class. “As a chair, it is irresponsible for me to offer the same number of general education courses as we did a few years ago when we had more students on campus,” Corey said. “The number of courses being offered in my department
Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE Iymen Chehade, an adjunct history professor who claims the college violated his academic freedom, addresses an audience March 20 in the Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., during a forum that drew approximately 100 people.
reflects the overall enrollment of the college.” Deborah Holdstein, dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, affirmed Corey’s statements and cited a college-wide directive given by the Office of the Provost to reduce the number of sections of courses. “It’s unnecessary to have too many sections of one particular class,” Holdstein said. “Chehade’s class was one of many that were reduced. For him to say that there is retribution because of the film is untrue.” Louise Love, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, released a statement March 12 emphasizing the college’s support of Chehade’s right to academic freedom. Love wrote that no department was exempt from reductions. Love said in her statement. “Reductions are not made to alter a specific academic field of study or political perspective,” Love said in her statement. “And, indeed, no course on campus is immune from being offered at a reduced frequency from past semesters.” Holdstein said the college has no issue with Chehade’s use of the film and pointed out that the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the HHSS Department sponsored a screening of “5 Broken Cameras” in spring 2013. “Why would we have an objection to that film if we sponsored it?” Holdstein said. “Academic freedom is a very important concept and Professor Chehade has enjoyed academic freedom just as everybody else does at the college.” Chehade’s claims have drawn support from both students and his union. Diana Vallera, P-Fac president and adjunct professor of photography, said the union is aiding Chehade in his pursuit to reinstate a second section of the IsraeliPalestinian course. “[Academic freedom] is an extremely important issue that needs to be discussed,” Vallera said. ”We fought very hard to make sure we had solid academic freedom in our contract. Academic freedom is something that we want to ... not only for full-time faculty but parttime as well.” Vallera said the college and P-Fac will ideally solve issues quickly and amicably, particularly given the
new administration, but if a compromise cannot be reached, the union may seek mediation. “We’ll have to sit down and review what our next steps will be,” Vallera said. “Chehade has his own options he can pursue, but P-Fac would then decide if we wanted to send it to an arbitrator.” Ava Ginsburg, a senior cinema art + science major and president of the college’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine/Jewish Voices for Peace, is a co-author of the petition on Change.org and one of Chehade’s former students. She said the human rights issues of Palestine does not receive enough attention on college campuses. “I don’t understand why the college would cancel a section of the class since it is so popular,” Ginsburg said. “I don’t think retaliating and canceling one of his classes is professional. He’s entitled to both sections of his class and should be able to teach what he wants to.” Ginsburg spoke at the March 20 forum on academic freedom at the Conaway Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave. She said the class gave her the historical context of the conflict and it inspired her to pursue a career documentary filmmaking. “I have a right to be exposed to the Palestinian perspective,” Ginsburg said. “Is making one student uncomfortable enough to cancel a class?” Chehade also spoke at the forum. He explained that Love denied his grievance and accused her of being biased, prompting applause from the audience. “Louise Love shouldn’t be let within 1,000 miles of an academic institution,” Chehade said. “To present this conflict as balanced would be a lie and I don’t do that.” Chehade said he will not stop the petition until the second section of his class is reinstated. He said he hopes the petition and attention that the college has received for the issue will restore the second section before registration for the fall 2014 semester begins in April. “My objective had been to solve this internally, but the college has not wanted to,” Chehade said. “That’s why we’re taking initiative now.” teagle@chroniclemail.com
March 31, 2014 • 9
Campus
xx P-FAC
Continued from PG. 3
Photography Department, said P-Fac is currently in the process of conducting a legal assessment to determine if allowing staff members to join the union is legal. She said the college, not the union, has
“
Courtesty THE HOOD INTERNET The Hood Internet, a Chicago-based DJ mashup duo that mixes a variety of hip-hop and indie-rock dance music, will be headlining at Manifest in the spring.
xx MANIFEST
Continued from Front Page
Taste of Convergence is the second addition Bourne is organizing, which she said will be a street festival on South Wabash Avenue featuring a dance performance, fashion show and several food trucks. Frequency TV, the student-run Columbia television channel, will broadcast Manifest’s festivities live on Colum.edu, so people who cannot attend the festival can still be engaged, Bourne said.
“It’s a great way for family to check out what’s going on the day of Manifest,” Bourne said. Matt Dunne, a senior graphic design major, was chosen as this year’s creative director for his branding design. The motif features a paper plane surrounded by geometric shapes on a cyan background and will appear on T-shirts, posters and promotional merchandise. “[The paper plane] was one of the first things I thought of when I thought of flight,” Dunne said. “I thought it would be a simple but
effective way to portray the theme, and after I thought about it more, it seemed to apply more to Manifest.” Dunne said he hopes every Columbia student attends Manifest to see the graduating students’ work. “It’s really cool to see what everyone’s doing,” Dunne said. “It also shows what [freshmen] can do in a few years. Whatever the body of work would be, they can be part of it.” kdavis@chroniclemail.com jwolan@chroniclemail.com
Love said. According to statistics from Academic Affairs, classes were reduced by 4.2 percent between Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. Love said the decision to run certain courses lies with the department chairs and is often determined by curricular and student needs.
If you’ve put in your time for this long, you’re obviously dedicated.” — Megan Capps
the authority to limit the number of courses staff members can teach. Vallera said she met with staff members about the issue and that the current contract helps enforce accountability and stability when assigning courses to adjuncts. “Without a clear process, it’s very arbitrary [determining] who gets courses, [but] now there’s clear evaluations, clear process [and] everyone has accountability,” Vallera said. Full-time staff are hired as staff members and have benefits, whereas adjunct faculty do not have benefits, Vallera said. “Full-time staff … have a fulltime job with benefits and health insurance,” Vallera said. “We still have many [adjuncts] that didn’t even get one course. In other words, they have no income.” Although some staff members and adjuncts were not able to teach courses this semester, there are always fewer courses available in spring due to a drop in enrollment,
“There’s always been a decrease in fall to spring because fewer students enroll,” Love said. “If a class that’s scheduled to run has low enrollment, it’s likely to be canceled. But there is no particular number of students or no particular percent of the maximum that dictates whether a section is canceled.” Megan Capps, a junior photography major, said she thinks it is important for students to have a variety of instructors and she is surprised staff members’ inability to teach certain courses is not widely known. She said having instructors with diverse expertise is important. “If you’ve put in your time for this long, you’re obviously dedicated … so why are they the ones being reprimanded?” Capps said. “Just because a teacher has been teaching a certain class or subject matter for a long time doesn’t mean that they’re dated.” twalkmorris@chroniclemail.com
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Sign up at colum.edu/AlumniCard, and bring your printed confirmation to the Alumni Relations table at Cap & Gown Distribution on May 13 or 14 between The Formatting for the Alumni 10 a.m.–7 p.m. to receive your cap & gown claim ticket.Information is a Medium Weight Font (the House Font Franklin) in 12 pt. on
Avoid long lines at the Alumni Relations table and sign up NOW! 18 lead. Centered. Alumni has a 10% screen. Office and Relations is 60%
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The Columbia Chronicle 10 • March 31, 2014
xx HOUSING
xx COMPOST
“[More housing complexes] means that there will be an even greater sense of a college community centered in the South Loop,” Kelly said. “It’s an ever-increasing concentration of students here.” Diedrich said the buildings will target current students from universities and colleges throughout The Loop including Columbia, Roosevelt and East-West universities, and other members of the community who are looking for short- or long-term leases. “Because of the unit mix and the location, the building’s residents will be primarily students, and that’s who we will market toward,” Diedrich said. Although prices have yet to be set
Gail Merritt, co-founder for the Alliance for a Greener South Loop said she is impressed with Columbia’s composting efforts and that if Columbia could adapt to new composting efforts, then the whole South Loop should also be able to. Merritt also said she has seen involvement in composting increase in the South Loop, but it may not be enough to make a difference. “I think people are interested, they just don’t know what to do beyond recycling and taking the bus,” Merritt said. Wawrzaszek said he experienced a lack of awareness when implementing composting at Columbia and hopes the increase in bins will draw more attention to the initiative. Along with composting, Columbia has seen an increase in single-stream recycling, which includes newspaper, plastic, glass, aluminum and other recyclable materials. According to the college’s Annual Diversion Report, there has been a 78 percent increase in the weight of the college’s single-stream recycling from 2012 to 2013. However, there has been a decrease in the recycling of some materials such as books, technotrash, and plastic bags. Book recycling weight decreased 70 percent. There was a 40.6 percent decrease in the weight of electronic recycling, according to the report. Wawrzaszek said the falloff may have to do with changes in what items the college is using or ordering. “Certain departments may have been purchasing large paper files in the past, then suddenly moving to digital, so we lose all the paper that was being recycled,” Wawrzaszek said. Columbia was ranked No. 30 out of 30 schools on a list of the largest green power colleges on Jan. 27 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The ranking was based on Columbia’s use of wind energy in 2012, but the college has since decided to sell its wind energy infrastructure and invest in cutting general energy costs by purchasing more efficient boilers, according to Wawrzaszek. “We’ve taken the money we spent on wind racks and funneled it toward energy efficiency projects on campus like new boilers and air conditioning, things that make it more efficient so we aren’t still wasting energy,” Wawrzaszek said. “It’s like having a spot on the floor and just putting a rug over it.” The Sustainability Department plans to continue spreading awareness on their composting efforts and the importance of recycling to educate those who may not be aware of the college’s programs. “We need people to be vocal about this because if no one knew about it or supported it, then it becomes kind of an afterthought,” Baldyga said. “We are always open to [collaboration] and we love support.”
Continued from PG. 3
Continued from PG. 3
Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE A building at 407 S. Dearborn St. will be transformed into a student housing complex with room spaces for rent, which will be available in August 2015.
for the 407 S. Dearborn St. building and Infinite Chicago’s rates change on a weekly basis, Diedrich said the price will be reflected on the amenities included. “We might be a little more expensive, but I think kids will be getting a much nicer product for the premium,” Diedrich said. The new building at 407 S. Dearborn St. will have all new fur-
nishings, fitness rooms and study spaces, Diedrich said. CA Ventures is also contemplating building a roof deck. “The ability to roll out of bed and go to class in a matter of minutes will be very convenient for those who decide to live there,” Diedrich said. Bryan Reid, sophomore arts, entertainment & media manage-
ment major, said he likes having more student housing buildings in The Loop. “I always lived off campus,” Reid said. “If I was younger and just starting out at Columbia, I would for sure take advantage of new housing because it’s a great way to meet people in the community.” jwolan@chroniclemail.com
Mark Zaurov Mark Zaurov is deaf from birth and emigrated with his parents and his deaf sister from the Soviet Union (Russia) to Israel during the Brezhnev era. In 1981, he came to Germany where he completed his studies in sign languages, pedagogy, and history in 2001. He was a fellowship holder of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), in Germany.
THE DEPARTMENT OF ASL–ENGLISH INTERPRETATION PRESENTS:
Mr. Zaurov received a Kober-Foundation Award for his report on the Lighthouse for Deaf-Blind People in Seattle, USA.
DEAF JEWISH LIFE IN GERMANY AND EASTERN EUROPE DURING THE 1940’S
At present he is a doctoral student at the University of Hamburg and does research about Deaf Jews in art, politics and the
April 8, 2014, 7PM 623 S. Wabash, Hokin, Room 109
for four months.
$5.00 for the public Free for Columbia students with I.D. Seating is Limited, please RSVP at ncampbell@colum.edu
colum.edu/asl
sciences. He worked as the project coordinator for the 6th DHI-conference at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. In 2001, he established the IGJAD (Association of Deaf Jews in Germany) and lives in Hamburg, Germany. He is in Washington, D.C. to receive an Award (fellowship from Charles H. Revson Foundation, Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies) at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)
Artwork by David Bloch, Deaf artist and survivor
This event is sponsored by the Department of ASL-English Interpretation
cturner@chroniclemail.com 10 • March 31, 2014
Monday, MARCH 31, 2014
The Columbia Chronicle
Lady Cobras lie in wait for winter to thaw MAX GREEN
Contributing Writer LIKE MANY CHICAGO residents, the
Chicago Lady Cobras are currently waiting for the snow to melt and ice to thaw to begin the 2014 dek hockey season. The Lady Cobras are the Midwest’s only female dek, or street, hockey team. Formed in 2013, the players wanted to compete in the Women’s U.S. Nationals in Massachusetts that year. They formed their roster and made the trip to Boston to represent the Midwest last year. Though they placed third in the 2013 tournament, the Lady Cobras currently have their sights set on this year’s tournament. “Going to nationals right off the bat was nerve-racking but very exciting,” said Lorissa Sernus, a defensive player on the team. “We had no idea what the competition was going to be like.” Craig Crockett, one of the team’s coaches, said though they did not place in the nationals, the team played very competitively. Sernus
Courtesy LADY COBRAS The Chicago Lady Cobras surprised fans and competitors in last year’s Women’s U.S. Nationals dek hockey tournament in Leominster, Massachusetts as the first and only team from the Midwest to compete and took third place.
said the team raised money, practiced hard and felt confident traveling to the competition. “We got to Boston in our Chicago jerseys and the other teams seemed pretty shocked [that] we were the only ones not from the east coast,” Sernus said. “It was definitely cool.” Many of the Lady Cobras began playing hockey together when they
were in elementary school, said Crockett. Many of the players were involved with ice hockey growing up and knew each other through youth leagues, according to defensive player Tammi Nowicki. Nowicki said when she started playing, she had no idea dek hockey competitions existed at the national level. She joined the Lady Cobras
after former ice hockey teammates suggested that she give dek hockey a try. Nowicki said the transition from playing on ice to hardwood was difficult for her because players who are accustomed to gliding on skates instead of running require endurance training, like jogging. “Having to keep your feet moving
the whole game is not the easiest thing to get used to,” Nowicki said. Sernus said she has been in leagues with some of the other Lady Cobras for much of her hockey career. She said she did not play for a couple of years during high school, but the skills she learned
xx SEE COBRAS, PG. 17
Fighting anaphylaxis one student at a time SARAH SCHLIEDER Sports & Health Editor THE PREVALENCE OF allergic reac-
tions among youth in the U.S. is increasing, leaving school nurses and officials looking for new ways to help combat the dangerous anaphylactic responses. The presence of allergies in the form of skin conditions, food and respiratory allergies has more than doubled during the last 30 years, according to Mike Tringale, senior vice president of external affairs at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. The Foundation published an article Oct. 2013 titled “Anaphylaxis in America,” which showed that up to 5 percent of the nation’s general population experienced anaphylactic reactions in 2011. Anaphylaxis affected almost 3 percent of youth.
MONDAY, MARCH 31
A 2013 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report showed that respiratory, skin and food allergies among youth began to steadily increase in 2006 and have not declined since. “If it was more of a deadly disease, it would be considered an epidemic,” Tringale said. Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that breaks down various body systems and causes a number of symptoms shortness of breath and nausea, according to Tia Campbell, school health specialist at the Virginia Department of Education. There are only two ways to combat anaphylaxis: avoiding triggers and taking emergency action. There are no treatments or cures for the allergic reactions; they can only be dealt with in emergency situations with the use of an epinephrine injection, according to Tringale.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2
Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE Administration of an epinephrine auto-injector is a process of a few simple steps that any person can follow when someone suffers from an anaphylactic reaction.
Because injections are the only current method to combat an anaphylaxis, The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Act was signed in November 2013 to better equip all public elementary and secondary schools in case of a life
threatening allergy situation. The law encourages schools to have nurses train teachers and staff to properly administer epinephrine auto-injectors and have injections at all times. More than 20 states have laws
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2
or guidelines allowing schools to stock epinephrine auto-injectors, according to the Food Allergy Research & Education’s wbsite. The Illinois Emergency Epinephrine
xx SEE EPIPEN, PG. 17
THURSDAY, APRIL 3
Chicago Bulls vs. Celtics
Chicago White Sox vs. Minnesota Twins
Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Ottawa Senators
Time : 7:00 p.m. Place : United Center Where to watch : CSNC
Time : 1:10 p.m. Place : U.S. Cellular Field Where to watch : CSNC
Time : 6:05 p.m. Place : PNC Park Where to watch : CSN+
Time : 6:30 p.m. Place : Canadian Tire Centre Where to watch : CSNC March 31, 2014 • 11
The Columbia Chronicle 12 • March 31, 2014
IHMOUD’S MOODS
MICHAEL WOOLF
Sport: Basketball
Team/School: Benedictine University Eagles
March work less MARCH MAY BE ending, but the mad-
ness will continue for the rest of the week. The NCAA national championship game is scheduled for April 7 and fans everywhere are probably wondering how their brackets became so disastrous. Across the nation, companies have seen a dip in employee productivity because of how distracting the tournament can be, according to a March 19 Chicago Tribune article, and The Chronicle is no exception. The Chronicle held its own bracket pool for its readers and staff with a first place prize of a 32GB iPod Touch. Whether it’s a small prize, bragging rights or even the $1 billion prize Warren Buffet
The bracket contempition is heating up in the office.
is awarding for the perfect bracket, there’s more than enough incentive to stop what you’re doing to root on the team you picked, all in the name of March Madness. This is my third year working at The Chronicle and despite my specialized knowledge of college basketball, I have never won our bracket pool. This time around, I have the University of Florida Gators, University of Wisconsin Badgers, Wichita State Shockers and Iowa State University Cyclones in my Final Four. I’m sure that by the time this issue hits the stands, my predictions will seem ridiculous— the regret is already sinking in. But that’s what makes March Madness so thrilling. You’re never 100 percent sure if the teams you pick will win, yet you hold on to the glimmer of hope that they will. Despite the lack of workplace productivity, the camaraderie that the pool fosters is priceless. Witnessing coworkers who usually would not give sports a second thought cheer for multiple basketball games is heartwarming, particularly for sports enthusiasts like myself.
NADER IHMOUD
Media Relations Editor
Everyone has some kind of competitive drive. My coworkers want to be the best reporters and writers, and when our award season comes around, everyone eagerly hopes to hear his or her name called. This time of year encourages that competitive nature and pulls a lot of people out of their sports-hating comfort zones. There are only a handful of games left. The Final Four is April 5 and the only solid prediction I have is that no one is going to win the $1 billion Buffet has offered. Listen to Nader Ihmoud every Monday night from 7–9 p.m. as he hosts the Benchwarmers Show on WCRX 88.1 FM. nihmoud@chroniclemail.com
Courtesy MICHAEL WOOLF
ABBAS HALEEM Copy Editor LEADING HIS TEAM by scoring an av-
erage of 12.3 points per game and a team best of 50 3-pointers in a single season, Michael Woolf is described by his teammates as the Manu Ginóbili of Division III because of his playing style. Woolf, a senior sports communication major at Benedictine University, was the captain and shooting guard of the 2014 Eagles basketball team. The team finished fifth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. He started in all of his games with the Eagles during his junior and senior year and won honorable mention for the all-conference selection. Growing up in Franklin Park, Ill., he says he has always been a fan of the Chicago Bulls, but he especially loves former Bulls shooting guard Ben Gordon. The Chronicle spoke with Woolf about playing for Benedictine, being a team captain and planning his future.
THE CHRONICLE: When did you start playing basketball? MICHAEL WOOLF: I played for my community center in a league there, probably in about third grade. Our elementary school had a team starting in fifth grade.
Did your parents encourage you to play basketball? My parents were always happy that I enjoyed sports and they gave me every chance that I wanted to keep playing. They encouraged it. It wasn’t anything that was forced upon me. I always enjoyed it a lot and I always asked to continue to play.
Why did you continue playing? Athletics have just always given me a different sense of accomplishment. I’ve always been a pretty good student, too, but the feeling of accomplishment that I get from athletics is different than [what] I get from anything else. It’s just really rewarding, all the work you put in and to see it pay off. It’s just different from anything in life.
What is your most memorable experience playing for Benedictine? Carolina Sanchez THE CHRONICLE Kyle Delashmen, a history major at Roosevelt University, gets a shot off over Brandon Duchon, a business management major at Roosevelt, during a March 18 3–on–3 basketball tournament sponsored by Columbia’s athletic organization, the Renegades, at Roosevelt’s Goodman Center, 501 S. Wabash.
12 • March 31, 2014
My sophomore year, I was kind of struggling. I wasn’t playing all
too well the first half of that year. I knew that [my team] had expected more from me than what I was giving them, and we had a big game against Concordia University Wisconsin, [which] is supposed to have one of the best teams in our conference. We were losing by 1 with just a few seconds left. Our coach drew up a play for me to get the ball and I was able to drive the ball down the court. I made a layup with just a couple of seconds left to give us the lead, and we ended up hanging on for the win. From then on, I just kind of turned things around, and that’s probably the most memorable play I’ll have of my career here.
What was it like leading your team? It was something a little bit different from what I had been used to. I wasn’t really used to being a vocal leader, and at the beginning of the year, I didn’t even know if I would be comfortable doing that, but as the season went on, I grew into that role. I just tried to do the best I could for our team.
How have you balanced schoolwork with being team captain? It hasn’t been easy. It was something I would stress to the younger guys. I always tell these guys, “Unless you’re planning on going pro and playing basketball professionally, your grades are the most important thing because that’s what an employer is going to look at when you have to go in for an interview and try to get a job.” I always try to stay focused on that and understand that I’m going to be playing basketball for a few years, but I’m going to need a job for pretty much the rest of my life.
What is your ideal job? I’d like to be a sports broadcaster either for a baseball or a basketball team as a play-by-play announcer.
What significance does basketball have in your life? It’s always been a way for me to get my mind off of things, especially when I was younger. We always had a rim mounted up on top of the garage. If it was a rough day and I wanted to get out of the house and get my mind off things, basketball was always there. ahaleem@chroniclemail.com
March 31, 2014 • 13
Sports & Health
Autocorru Autocorrect
a lazy man’s technology?
SARAH SCHLIEDER Sports & Health Editor AS CELLPHONE USERS become in-
creasingly reliant on autocorrect, engineers are working to make the service more efficient without erasing users’ literacy skills. Computer scientists view autocorrect as a functionally sophisticated software, according to Piotr Gmytrasiewicz, associate professor in the computer science department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He said it uses probability distribution and the language model—the probabilities of words being followed by other words—to offer the most appropriate corrections. The software maintains words it interprets as plausible substitutions for writers’ entries, Gmytrasiewicz said. “Those types of software have access to ... whole dictionaries that consist of thousands of words,” Gmytrasiewicz said. Companies such as Microsoft and Apple are currently working to develop more efficient autocorrect software despite the tediousness of the undertaking, according to Joe Braidwood, chief marketing officer for Swiftkey, a spellcheck software company that works with businesses such as Microsoft and Apple to improve their autocorrect databases. Texting generations are becoming hooked on the technology, which may negatively affect their
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ability to spell. Reliance on autocorrect begins as soon as the first word is typed, said Dennis Galletta, professor of business administration and director of the doctoral program at the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business. In July 2005, Galletta and a team of researchers measured how
over-confidence in spellcheck technology affects a person’s judgment in correcting grammar and spelling mistakes, finding that participants had more errors after editing a document when spellcheck was active than when the software was not used. Participants were separated into two groups: high verbals, those who
scored well on an English language exam, and low verbals, who tested above average on the exam but lower than the other group. Participants were then asked to edit a business letter once using spellcheck and again without it. When the software was active, some correct words and phrases were purposely flagged as errors while actual errors were not flagged. Low verbals performed poorly on both tests. High verbals left few errors when the software was not used, but they performed worse than the low verbals when it was active, Galletta said. “I think the only thing that we can really say is that they just ignored [the errors],” Galletta said. “If they had looked at them, they would have corrected them. We believe it’s the laziness or the overconfidence in the software.” Though both groups left errors in the document even when using autocorrect, Galletta said he does not think the technology is necessarily making people less intelligent, but it may have a minor effect on spelling and grammar capabilities. He said typing “LOL,” for example, could cause future generations to forget how to spell “laugh.” He added that younger generations may begin to value understandable communication of language over proper form. Developing better software using a larger database is still a complex task for engineers, Braidwood said,
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because language is constantly evolving as people create new slang words and phrases. Understanding and predicting language is one of the hardest problems in improving artificial intelligence, he said. “That area of research and science is the area we struggle with when building our technology,” Braidwood said. “It’s really complicated, but it’s a significant part of our business.” Despite the complexity of autocorrect, Swiftkey’s computer scientists developed a technology that better understands the context of working language to improve word prediction and correction by analyzing human interactions and building models of human behavior and linguistics, Braidwood said. The data is integrated into Swiftkey’s software and installed in computers and phones, he said. Though autocorrect may often receive criticism, Braidwood said he thinks it is becoming less of an issue. He said companies are working to improve their typing technology and overall user experience. “Companies invest a lot of programmer effort into [the technology] because the best program will be used the most and it translates into the company’s profits,” Gmytrasiewicz said. “These are important products for those companies because they are used so frequently.” sschlieder@chroniclemail.com GADGET LAB
email or blogs. The app also features various writers, stories and collections for users to follow. Followed works can be saved to specific collections to be read again or at a more convenient time. This visual storytelling app is available free in the AppStore and is compatible with all iOS devices. —S. Schlieder FEATURED PHOTO
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WITH GOJI SMART Lock, homeowners no longer have to worry about forgetting their keys. The gadget gives users complete control of home security using iOS or Android devices, according to its website. Goji’s data security storage and communication protocol is modeled after bank industry standards. The lock connects with
its mobile app to lock and unlock any door to which it is attached. Goji can be installed in place of any deadbolt and can use the same door hole as the tradtional lock. Once secured, users can turn on the device from the app and keep their home secure. Goji Smart Lock’s retails for $219. —S. Schlieder March 31, 2014 • 13
The Columbia Chronicle 14 • March 31, 2014
Aging athletes more prone to injuries CASEY WALKER Contributing Writer COLLEGIATE ATHLETES ARE more like-
Donald Wu THE CHRONICLE
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14 • March 31, 2014
collegiate athletes also reported chronic or major injuries compared to 26–28 percent of non-athletes, according to the study. “Just being an athlete in general puts more wear and tear on your body,” said Sara Brown, doctor of osteopathic medicine at Chicago Primary Care Sports Medicine. “It will increase your chances of arthritis and injuries like that just because of the simple fact that you’re putting more miles on your body just like if you put more miles on your car.” According to the results, 40 percent of D1 athletes reported having been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, or degeneration of joint cartilage, after college. The condition is linked to previous joint injuries that the athlete may have suffered during college, said David Geier, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, N.C. The study also indicates that former athletes experience depression, fatigue and disrupted sleep patterns. “Playing sports in and of itself is not necessarily harmful,” Geier said. “But if you suffer injuries like ACL tears, meniscus tears, that kind of thing, there’s a risk for long-term arthritis and other problems.” The study notes that D1 athletes have a range of expertise and coaching at their disposal when they are in college but are left to organize their own exercise plans after graduation. Players therefore are unable to maintain health and effective practice regimens, causing injuries and long-term damage. Patricia Kaufman, director of operations at Chicago Chiropractic and Sports Medicine, said some former college athletes she sees at the training clinic are trying to reestablish a healthy and active lifestyle years after college sports. “You do lose muscle mass and get more injuries because your mobility and your agility decrease as you age,” Kaufman said. Working on balance and core strength and being physically active can help prevent future injuries, Brown said. Geier said if athletes are experiencing pain from an injury, they should see an athletic trainer or team doctor for early treatment to avoid more serious injuries later in life. “I think the main part for college athletes is that when you’re having a problem or when you’re having pain, don’t ignore it or deny it just to stay in the game,” Geier said. Geier said the study results serve as a cautionary tale but should not deter talented athletes from competing in collegiate athletics. “It would be unfair to say just because you play sports you’re going to develop worse problems,” Geier said. “It’s just that if you suffer an injury playing sports, you’re more likely than someone who hasn’t suffered those similar injuries.” chronicle@colum.edu
March 31, 2014 • 15
Sports & Health
state of the COLLEGE
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Photo courtesy of The Columbia Chronicle, ColumbiaChronicle.com
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March 31, 2014 • 15
The Columbia Chronicle 16 • March 31, 2014
Spite is the other side of fairness, study says
Kayla Koch THE CHRONICLE
MAX GREEN Contributing Writer A RECENT STUDY of the ultimatum game, a clas-
sic economics experiment that explores cooperation and human fairness, has scientists reevaluating the origin of spite. According to the study’s findings, published on Feb. 12 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, fairness may have evolved in humans as an adaptation to antisocial or spiteful behavior. Researchers used the ultimatum game, which deals with how people choose to divide a found sum of money or other resources to study how spite and fairness are related. Player one, who proposes how the money should be split, has the advantage over player two, the responder. According to Rory Smead, co-author of the study and an assistant professor of philosophy at Northeastern University in Boston, the responder’s only move is to accept or deny the proposer’s offer. Rationality would seem to dictate that the responder accept any offer, since something is better than nothing. But if the responder has ill-feelings toward the proposer he or she may reject the offer keeping money out of the proposer’s hands to his or her own detriment, which we call spite. “Humans have very clear intuitions about what we think should happen in this game,” Smead said. “We think the proposer should offer a 50/50 deal and the responder should accept, but in practice that doesn’t always happen.” When researchers perform these types of studies in experimental scenarios, they tend to see responders act spitefully by turning down “unfair” offers to their own detriment, Smead said, adding that this disconnect be-
16 • March 31, 2014
tween the theoretical and the practical begs for an explanation. In theory, people act altruistically when they can relate to one another. Altruism is measured by positive assortment—the degree to which people see similarities between themselves and their peers—according to Patrick Forber, an associate professor of philosophy at Tufts University in Massachusetts. But introducing negative assortment to the ultimate game model often makes players act more fairly than researchers expected, Forber said, which reduces spitefulness. “When you promote spite, it creates an incentive for other players to take advantage of opportunities to make spiteful choices toward you,” Smead said. According to Alex Shaw, a postdoctoral fellow at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago, the odds of generating the level of negative assortment needed for spite to evolve are very low. “We know from our own lives that there are many contexts in which people are fair and many contexts in which they are unfair, and this model can’t capture any of that,” Shaw said. Forber said there is some controversy surrounding interpretation of the experimental results, but the human tendency to make fair offers and punish unfair offers is widespread. Smead said the study models should not necessarily stand in for daily human interactions but rather speak to the behavior or populations as a whole. “I’d say what we can take from this is that new evolutionary possibilities are opened up,” Forber said. “This breaks the chain between fair behavior and altruism.” chronicle@colum.edu
March 31, 2014 • 17
Sports & Health
xx COBRAS
Continued from PG. 11
throughout her training remained with her and were not too challenging to retain because she has been utilizing them for most of her life in ice hockey. Players use different muscles in their legs when making the transition from playing on ice toplaying on ice to playing on solid ground, in which the team focused on its training routine, Crockett said. The team practices twice a week and when the women first started out they would scrimmage against some of their male opponents, Sernus said. According to Crockett, the team had some trouble dealing with weather changes during the season. “When we were playing and practicing normally, it was wintertime,” Crockett said. “At the nation-
als in Boston, it got up to 95 degrees. That’s a huge temperature range.” While the Lady Cobras are uncertain of their plans for the current season, which began in March, Sernus said she and some of her teammates will be playing with other teams throughout the spring and summer seasons. Some of the women are staying competitive by spending the offseason practicing with the men’s team but have plans to start their own training come spring, Crockett said. The team is hopeful that its participation in dek hockey at the national level will help raise awareness of the sport in the Midwest, Sernus said. “When we started out, we didn’t even know how many teams were out there,” Nowicki said. “I’ve had a blast and I’d like to encourage others to try to become involved.” chroniclemail@colum.edu
Courtesy LADY COBRAS The Lady Cobras, the Midwest’s premiere women’s dek hockey team, prepare for the first game of the Women’s U.S. National dek hockey tournament.
xx EPIPEN
Continued from PG. 11
Act passed in August of 2011, allows Illinois school nurses to supervise the stocks of injectors. The law states that any student who experiences anaphylaxis may self-administer the drug on school grounds if he or she has a prescription. In situations that call for a school nurse or trained personnel to inject the epinephrine, the law protects employees from liability if something goes wrong. Emergency administration of epinephrine auto-injectors does not require certification and can be performed by anyone, including a fellow student, but students do not enjoy the same liability protections as teachers, according to Maura Possley, press secretary for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Students would need to be properly trained and certified to be protected from liability, Possley said. But Mary Ellen Conley, school nurse for the Abington, Mass. school district and board member of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said it is always good for someone with severe allergies to have a peer who knows how to properly administer an injection. She said school nurses could train older students to use epinephrine auto-injectors in the same way they teach school personnel. While younger students may not need to be trained in the actual administration, it would be helpful to teach them the signs and symptoms and
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Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE Epinephrine injectors such as EpiPen and Auvi-Q pictured above can be legally stocked at public schools under nurse’s supervision.
severe reactions so they can report to an adult in the event of an emergency, Conley said. Although Campbell said students should not be expected to give their peers injections, she said its easy to do. The entire process consists of only a few steps: taking the cap off, jabbing the needle into the thigh muscle, counting to 10 and then removing the needle. Once the epinephrine has been injected, emergency services should always be contacted for further treatment and care, Campbell said. Tringale said he thinks it is important to educate, prepare and make people, including students, more aware of anaphylaxis, because awareness saves lives. “That’s why [the AAFA] fights
for school education about anaphylaxis,” Tringale said. “We’ve been pushing these state laws and school policies that require training about anaphylaxis.” Until students are given epinephrine administration training, it is important that schools stock supplies of auto-injectors and have school nurses and staff trained on site during school hours, Conley said. “We’re seeing more states looking at putting regulations into place where schools will maintain a supply of epinephrine,” Conley said. “My pitch is to get more [nurses] into the schools to do all the things that we do so well to manage anaphylaxis in a school setting.” sschlieder@chroniclemail.com
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The Columbia Chronicle 18 • March 31, 2014
FAVORITE recipes NOVICE
SOUS CHEF
GURU
Maklouba
INGREDIENTS
2 russet potatoes 1 small head cauliflower 1 16-ounce bag baby carrots 2 cups vegetable oil 3 tablespoons butter 4 small chicken breasts 1 small onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon allspice 1/8 teaspoon cardamom 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 6 cups chicken broth 2 cups cooked rice
INSTRUCTIONS 1. Peel and slice potatoes. Cut cauliflower into florets. 2. Fry potatoes, carrots and cauliflower separately in vegetable oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. 3. In a deep pot, let chicken, sliced onions and 4 tablespoons of butter simmer over medium heat. 4. Add spices and saute until one side of the chicken is brown and onion is softened. 5. Pour in chicken broth until pot is 3/4 full. Bring to boil. 6. Let simmer for 1 hour. Set aside. 7. Wash extra starch from rice with warm water three times. Drain. Set aside. 8. Remove chicken from broth and put on the bottom of a pot. 9. Layer the potatoes, carrots and cauliflower at the bottom of the pot. 10. Pour rice on top. Pour in strained chicken broth so the liquid is an inch above everything in the pot. 11. Boil over medium-high heat. 12. Reduce heat to low and cover pot for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for 20 minutes. 13. Flip onto a large platter. Serve and enjoy!
Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE
ABBAS HALEEM Copy Editor GROWING UP, MY mom learned how to cook from her mom, a first-generation Palestinian immigrant. My grandmother cooked enough food to feed her farm town, a cooking style my mom picked up. To begin making the classic Middle Eastern dish maklouba, or upside-down rice, peel and thinly slice the potatoes, then cut the cauliflower into florets. Deep fry the potatoes, cauliflower and carrots in vegetable oil. When the vegetables are golden brown, place them on paper towels to soak up the oil. Get out a soup pot and put in the butter, chicken and sliced on-
ions. Make sure the stove is set to medium heat and add salt, pepper, allspice, cardamom and cinnamon. Let the chicken brown on one side, being careful not to burn it. When the onions are soft, pour the chicken broth over the chicken until the pot is 3/4 full. Let that simmer for an hour and taste it to make sure it’s just like Grandma’s. Wash the rice thrice to get rid of the extra starch. Drain the rice and set it aside. Place the partially cooked chicken in the bottom of a pot, then fill in the gaps with the fried potatoes, carrots and cauliflower. Cover the mixture with the rice and drench it in chicken broth. There should be plenty of broth, so make sure it covers the rice. Let it
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boil over medium-high heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool. Before serving this dish, have a plate ready that is larger than the circumference of the pot. Place the plate on top of the pot, holding the two together firmly, then flip it upside down. Let the pot sit on the plate for a few minutes and drum on it to make sure nothing sticks to the inside. When the rice has settled, slowly lift it up. If everything is done correctly, nothing will stick to the inside of the pot. There will be plenty to go around, so be ready to share. ahaleem@chroniclemail.com
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Monday, March 31, 2014
The Columbia Chronicle
Fashion students compete for scholarship NATALIE CRAIG Assistant Metro Editor
Carolina Sanchez THE CHRONICLE Emporium Arcade Bar, 1366 N. Milwaukee Ave., is an alcohol-serving arcade that opened June 19, 2012 after Chicago-native Danny Marks spent time in New York City managing Barcade, an arcade that offered alcohol in addition to pinball machines and vintage arcade games.
Pac-Man and pints
Alcohol becomes the lifeblood of modern arcades MATT MCCALL Arts & Culture Editor ONCE THOUGHT TO be an extinct form of entertainment, arcades are coming back to Chicago in the form of “barcades.” Now adults with disposable income, the kids who once spent their hard-earned quarters at the arcades of old, have grown up and are venturing to Chicago’s handful of arcade bars—including Emporium Arcade Bar, 1366 N. Milwaukee Ave.; Headquarters Beercade, 2833 N. Sheffield Ave.; and Logan Arcade, 2410 W. Fullerton Ave., which opened Feb. 10—at a point in their lives when losing a few bucks is not going to break the bank. The barcade trend has been growing in popularity across the U.S. during the last decade. Typical barcades have pinball machines and arcade games, and sell locally crafted beers from microbreweries in the area—meshing the childhood nostalgia of gaming with America’s favorite pastime: drinking. The arcade industry became a national craze in the early 1980s. Arcades are intrinsically linked to that era of pop culture, setting the backdrops for movies such as “WarGames” and “Back to the Future Part II.” The industry grossed $3 billion in 1980 and $7 billion in 1981, according to a June 16 The Verge report. In 1983, after
Time-Warner acquired Atari, the game maker behind “Space Invaders,” video games brought in 70 percent of Warner’s revenue, according to the report. After working as a manager for Barcade’s Brooklyn, N.Y., location—one of the first arcade bars to emerge in the early 2000s—Chicago native Danny Marks opened Emporium Arcade Bar on June 19, 2012. The venue features 65 pinball machines and vintage arcade games such as Galaga and Pac-Man. “I think you start to see trends where people, when they hit their 30s, start to bring back a lot of the things they were into when they were younger,” Marks said. Gaming writer and journalist Tristan Donovan, author of “Replay: The History of Videogames,” said the draw of arcades is a new experience for millennials. “[Until the ‘90s, arcades] basically had the best technology—you couldn’t get the visuals [or] the sound effects [at home] that you could get in an arcade game,” Donovan said. “We’re [also] talking about a time before the Internet was big, a time before mobile phones. Arcades were a social place to go.” Donovan said the initial decline of the arcades was largely a result of the games falling behind on graphic and thematic trends. By 1987, the Nintendo Entertainment System introduced a new wave of gaming with games such as
“The Legend of Zelda,” and “Final Fantasy,” which for the first time allowed players to save their progress. Gaming became less about the novelty of achieving the highest score and more about experiencing extended adventures. “The technology of the home consoles and PCs caught up,” Donovan said. “Suddenly the arcade games didn’t look that much better, and the gameplay was still that kind of ‘We’ll give you a 20-second thrill for your 50 cents.’” Because gamers did not have to leave the comfort of their couches to play the best games, arcades lost their status as a social hub, Donovan said. Despite these changes, Marks said the success of barcades has less to do with nostalgia and more to do with a successful business model. Entrepreneurs are simply following suit, he said. It’s not just video games that are in resurgence. Stern Pinball Director of Marketing Jody Dankberg said the pinball industry is growing alongside barcades. “We’ve seen a renaissance taking place within our industry, pinball in particular,” Dankberg said. “[And] we’re not just seeing that in Chicago.... We’re also seeing that worldwide.” Based in Melrose Park, Ill., Stern is the oldest and largest
xx SEE ARCADE, PG. 30
IN HOPES OF winning a $5,000 scholarship, Chicago’s next generation of fashion designers is rising to the challenge. The Chicago Fashion Foundation is scheduled to host the seventh annual Scholarship Showcase & Competition, “A Night at the Museum,” on April 3 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St. The competition challenges students to design themed garments and this year, designers were asked to create clothing inspired by art displayed in any of Chicago’s many museums. The 13 participants will compete for the $5,000 first prize, a second place prize of $1,500 and a third place prize of $500. A panel of three judges will evaluate the designers’ interpretations of the theme, overall design and ability to create ready-to-wear items, said CFF president Amanda Domaleczny. The panel will include Frances Renk from Red Carpet Concierge; Andrea Schwartz, vice president of Media Relations at Macy’s; and J.P. Anderson, editor-in-chief of Michigan Avenue magazine. Domaleczny started the showcase and competition in 2007 because she said she loved supporting and learning about the ambitions of local designers. She said supporting students is necessary to contribute to the Chicago fashion industry. “We have some of the most talented people in the industry who come
from Chicago,” Domaleczny said. “It’s important to be able to support them through scholarships and educational events to show them that there is an organization here for them.” Seven of the 13 competitors are Columbia students. For some of the designers, like Alexander Knox, a senior fashion studies major, this is the first opportunity to showcase their designs to a panel of judges outside of a Columbia classroom. While searching Chicago museums for inspiration, Knox happened upon a painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave., by Kurt Seligmann called “Metamorphosis.” The painting lit up with a bright yellow cyclone figure and a mix of colors muddled into the dark background, inspired Knox to start designing. Distortion is a common theme in Knox’s designs. The first stage of metamorphosis is reflected in a coat that mimics the silhouette of a cocoon by pairing a cotton canvas with a smoky, iridescent fabric made of silk. “In that painting, it looks like smoke [is] coming out of this cocoon shape,” Knox said. “I wanted the silhouette to be this massive-looking cocoon [and] I wanted the neck piece to look smoky like it does in the painting.” Under the coat is a black, crinkled silk dress that employed a variety of cutting techniques to achieve.
xx SEE FASHION, PG. 30
Angela Conners THE CHRONICLE Alexander Knox, senior fashion studies major, poses with model Katie Cook, who is wearing a dress Knox designed for the Chicago Fashion Foundation competition and showcase on April 3. March 31, 2014 • 19
The Columbia Chronicle 20 • March 31, 2014
Friday, April 4
NETHERFRIENDS
Ocean vs. Chipotle
IT’S TIME FOR the ultimate smack-
down between the two best things birthed in this country—Chipotle and Frank Ocean. THE GENESIS OF DA FEUD: The eatery filed a lawsuit against the adorable crooner, suing him for more than $200,000 for backing out of a nearly half-million-dollar deal to cover the song “Pure Imagination” for one of its ads.
Cole’s 2338 N. Milwaukee Ave. 10 p.m. FREE
“defamation” to his Tumblr along with a scanned check for $212,500 made out to the corporation with the words “F--K OFF” written in the memo.
Monday, March 31
Oooh. Ouch.
IN ONE CORNER: The massive, beefy restaurant corporation throws the first blow by demanding the singer pay back his $212,500 advance in full.
DA DUEL: On Ocean’s behalf, Chipotle made it appear as if the commercial was going to be in the thrust of responsible farming, and in the original presentation did not include any Chipotle logo in it whatsoever. However, Chipotle was paying for the commercial—it’s hard to believe they would have left their logo out of it.
IN DA OTHER CORNER: The sexy, brawny crooner fires back by posting a Wikipedia link for
DA WINNER: Chipotle. As much as it pains me to play favorites here Franky, you signed your name on
the dotted line, which means you agreed to all the terms laid out in the contract. Plus, word on the street is that you didn’t end up sending the check back with the rebellious message. And although I appreciate your bandana collection, you can’t compete with da guac.
Friday, April 4
IMELDA MARCOS
THE WARMBLOODS
The Burlington 3425 W. Fullerton Ave. 9 p.m. $5
Hideout 1354 W. Wabansia Ave. 10 p.m. $8
Tuesday, April 1
Saturday, April 5
THE ORWELLS
CHICK COREA AND BELA FLECK
Lincoln Hall 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. 7 p.m. $14
Auditorium Theatre, Roosevelt University 50 E. Congress Pkwy. 8 p.m. $25+
Wednesday, April 2
eornberg@chroniclemail.com
Saturday, April 5
MAC DEMARCO
ST. VINCENT
Empty Bottle 1035 N. Western Ave. 6:30 p.m. $15
Riviera Theatre 4746 N. Racine Ave. 8 p.m. $29
Thursday, April 3
ERIK RODRIGUEZ THE CHRONICLE
Sunday, April 6
TYPHOON
ICED EARTH
Metro 3730 N. Clark St. 8 p.m. $18+
House of Blues 329 N. Dearborn St. 8 p.m. $27.50+
Photos Angela Conners THE CHRONICLE
SIMONE GILLON
AUSTIN ECHOLS
CAROLYNE JACOBSON
MATT SCORTE
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO BUST OUT FOR SPRING? “My oversized denim jacket.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO BUST OUT FOR SPRING? “Tunics, which is what I’m wearing.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO BUST OUT FOR SPRING? “Prints and florals and stuff.”
WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED TO BUST OUT FOR SPRING? “I’m most excited about not carrying around a jacket.”
junior humanities, history & social sciences major
20 • March 31, 2014
junior theater major
freshman fashion studies major
sophomore art + design major
March 31, 2014 • 21
Arts & Culture
WEDNESDAY APRIL 16TH CONCORD MUSIC HALL ALL AGES // DOORS 6PM
March 31, 2014 • 21
The Columbia Chronicle 22 • March 31, 2014
en by nicole montalvo t t i Wr and design by aly d odds Art
rofessor Marius Mandragore fancies himself a modern-day Viking. A professor of occult studies who has a degree in philosophy and history from Oxford, the softspoken actor has a penchant for embroidery, wood-chopping, axe-throwing and shotgun art. He dresses in Renaissance garb complete with a monocle, silk vest and ascot tie. Professor Marius Mandragore is the steampunk alter ego of Keith Green, Columbia lecturer in the Humanities, History & Social Sciences Department and actor in the local theater troupe Terra Mysterium, which performs experiential pieces rooted in steampunk culture. “My life is very magical,” Green said. “There is magic in the teaching. There is magic in my home and my day-to-day life. There’s a certain point where Marius is a very real, magical personality and a very real part of my life.” The steampunk movement, from which Madragore was born, grew in the 1980s out of speculative fiction—a subgenre of science fiction that mirrors historical tales, focusing on the future and romanticizing certain aspects of the early 19th century. In the steampunk universe, Victorian inventors made technological leaps, using steam engines for power. Today, the term “steampunk” extends beyond the page, defining a subculture encompassing mystical literature, fashion, music, theater and visual art as described by the slogan, “What would the past look like if the future had happened sooner?” Typical steampunk artists, who often live similarly to Green through alter egos, are also gadgeteers—selftaught tinkerers who find
22 • March 31, 2014
Courtesy
KE I T H G R E E N
creative ways to modify or to even create handmade objects out of metal and wood to merge the mundane with the exotic. Since the first “SalonCon,” a neo-Victorian/steampunk convention in 2006, a number of popular steampunk conventions have sprung up, such as Steamcon in Seattle, the Steampunk World’s Fair in Piscataway, N.J. and Up in the Aether: The Steampunk Convention in Dearborn, Mich., where steampunks can meet and share their creations. As the steampunk genre has evolved, several different sub-subcultures have emerged, including literature lovers, Renaissance Fair attendees and club-goers. The groups often disagree about the meaning of steampunk. Green said despite these divisions, most steampunks bond through a passion for crafting. “It’s a very broad movement, but there is a sort of unifying aesthetic and a love of the do-it-yourself—a love of the creative,” Green said. “Almost everyone I know in the steampunk community, in their own way, is a creative.” The steampunk ideals focus on handcrafting items rather than purchasing them from large corporate stores. In 2014, this is especially highlighted by the rapid rate at which the modern world is becoming commercialized, said Tim Harrison, owner of Fusion Tech Services, an IT company, by day and steampunk “maker” by night. Harrison said he embraces modern technology but also looks to the past for inspiration when creating objects such as imitation time machines, teleporters, guns and other gadgets and props that have been used in Terra Mysterium’s plays. For Harrison, making steampunk gadgets is a refreshing escape from the modernity of his daily life. Joe Mason, writer for SteamPunkChicago.com and band member of the steampunk-themed band White City Rippers, said he thinks the steampunk ideal of wanting to borrow from the past is relevant to addressing the currently overcommercialized modern world, where it seems almost nothing is personal anymore. “I don’t think any of the folks in the scene would necessarily want to be without their smartphones, but would vastly prefer it if they were more hackable or were made out of wood and brass and, of course, if they had gears,” Mason said. Mason said there is some tension between the groups because literary steampunks want all groups to understand and appreciate the literary aspect of steampunk, while Renaissance Fair steampunks typically focus on exact details from historical periods. Club-going steampunks just want to go out and have a good time without sweating about the specific details, Mason said. “There’s sort of the ‘party steampunks,’” Green said. “Then there is a growing kind of esoteric occult [literary] steam-
March 31, 2014 • 23
Arts & Culture
punks. We cross over, but we also have our own spaces where we tend to stay more than others.” Mason said he is active in various aspects of the culture because he helps plan steampunk events. However, he said he sees lifestylist steampunks, who are more involved in the nightlife and are very focused on fashion, as lacking true understanding of steampunk origins. Green considers himself a literary steampunk because he writes scripts for steampunk plays but crosses into being a lifestylist because of his extreme interest in the fashion and parties associated with the movement. Joe Vourteque, a local steampunk event planner, said the Chicago steampunk community places more emphasis on nightlife than most cities. During the monthly “electroswing” parties Vourteque hosts at the club Fizz, 3220 N. Lincoln Ave., a nightclub in Lakeview, Chicago’s lifestylist steampunks meet in a small, packed upstairs room, where they listen to futuristic/techno-meets-swing music either performed live or played by DJ Vourteque. Members of the steampunk community and curious outsiders come out to swing dance or freestyle wearing extravagant formal gowns, such as burlesque performer Lady Lenux’s silver sparkling backless gown, a simple black dress with heels and pincurls or a tailored suit with modified Nerf guns in holsters. “[Chicago’s nightlife has] a very strong sense of lifestyle and it goes beyond the concept of just a bunch of cosplay geeks at a [convention],” Vourteque said “The steampunk scene in much of the Midwest goes beyond that.” Former goth kid Liz Mason, Joe Mason’s wife and Spears and Gears bandmate, is deeply immersed in Chicago’s steampunk scene. Spears and Gears, which includes Liz Mason on vocals, Joe Mason on washtub bass and third member Kyle Greer on piano, mixes Spears lyrics with chiming piano and thumbing washtub bass. Liz Mason said gender is another division within the steampunk community. Many female steampunks are burlesque dancers, but some have multiple outlets for their steampunk interests. She said the subculture is inclusive as a whole, but she does recognize differences between the roles men and women fulfill. “In a way, it’s like a microcosm of the rest of the world,” Liz Mason said. “I do feel sometimes like I wish some of the women were a little bit more vocal. It does seem like there’s more—as with any stereotypically geeky culture—guys than there are women.” Despite the divisions within steampunk, Green said members of the community can all come together and get along in their own magical universe. “People can make trouble, but by-and-large with steampunk, most people are willing to maintain a sort of cordial, genteel attitude, even with people they don’t like,” Green said. “That is such a nice change from everything else in our society.”
nmontalvo@chroniclemail.com Check out exclusive video content at ColumbiaChhronicle.com
March 31, 2014 • 23
The Columbia Chronicle 24 • March 31, 2014
Lorde almighty
EMILY ORNBERG Managing Editor
UNDER A TWINKLING night sky dusted
with surreal clouds stands a miniature castle and a meek, doe-eyed Lorde, wearing an oversized blouse and suit pants, wailing above a pulsating beat to a crowd. “You could try and take us/ But we’re the gladiators,” she howls into the mic. “Now we’re in the ring and we’re coming for blood.” In Chicago’s mythic Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave., on March 18, New Zealand pop phenom Lorde, born Ella Yelich-O’Connor, had the crowd of 4,500—including Mayor Rahm Emanuel— in the palm of her hand. After her 2013 debut album Pure Heroine spread infectious electro-pop and insightful lyrics about the trials and tribulations of teen turmoil across the world, Lorde won two Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance. The worldwide hit “Royals” was the first song by a female solo artist to top Billboard’s alternative chart in 17 years. Oh, and she won’t be 18 until November. Lorde, performing live with minimal presentation inside the regal venue illuminated by colored strobes, lit up the room with her harmonious lilt and poised anti-popstar swag. During her opening crash, “Glory and Gore,” her low, clenched growl nourished the blipping beats as she clawed at the air, tossing her curled mane and flailing her arms around as if she was a caged tiger fighting its imprisonment. “Hey Chicago,” a sweaty Lorde squeaked as she peeked through her frizzled mop following a gorgeous, blood-pumping rendition of “400 Lux,” “Does anyone have a hair tie?”
Drawing from pop and electro-rock, Lorde looks to artists with unique tenors like Grimes, Prince and SBTRKT to study the way they use their voices as instruments. Her Nancy Sinatra-like coo sounded milky just like in her album—pure and innocent—though on “Bravado” she belted a robust vibrato and floated effortlessly into a higher register. It was breathtaking, especially considering she apologized for “feeling a little sick.” In contrast to the rest of the pop stars at the Top 40 lunch table, Lorde offered a mature complexity and lyricism that has been missing from pop music for years. She turned down an opening slot on Katy Perry’s world tour, called out Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez for setting poor examples for young women, and thanks to her pre-teen years spent writing short stories in her bedroom, her lyrical depth paints an astonishing image of a wasted post-Internet youth. She is an exciting contradiction: a vibrant pop star who has been in the trappings of major labels since she was 13, and an anxious, heartbroken teen. A sugary pop goth-girl—picture a mini St. Vincent-Bjork-Feist-hybrid—Lorde performed almost all 14 tracks off Pure Heroine, pulling the crowd deep into her creative psyche. She weaved in beautiful, poetic renditions of Kanye West’s “Hold My Liquor” and The Replacements’ “Swingin’ Party,” which went unappreciated by the younger attendees. What makes Lorde so honest is her lack of life experience. Her songs do not only reflect the downsides of growing up, but the uncertainties, too. She’s contradicting herself, often in the same breath. As a young artist the uncomfortable, awkward and even embarrassing
Grace Wiley THE CHRONICLE (Top Left) Lorde brings the crowd to its feet March 18 as she enters the stage beneath a single spotlight and chandelier at The Aragon Ballroom, 1106 W. Lawrence Ave. (Bottom Left) During her third song, “Tennis Court,” Lorde and her backing band dazzled the crowd with a flashy light show. (Bottom Right) Lorde shines under the only spotlight on the stage during her opening song, “Glory and Gore.”
24 • March 31, 2014
journey from childhood to adulthood is on display for the public eye. Lorde herself has stated she struggles with social anxiety. In “Tennis Court,” she feigns a careless confidence—“It’s a new art form, showing people how little we care,” but as the song moves forward, the cracks begin to show. “We’re so happy even when we’re smiling out of fear,” but at least “it looks alright in the pictures.” She’s a person before she’s a popstar, which makes it so much more disappointing to see that honesty go unappreciated. Toward the end of her set, she looked out into the audience as the quiet hymn of her own voice hummed in the background. “It’s uncomfortable for me to talk about my songs, but I like talking about this next song. It feels right,” she said, looking at the floor. She proceeded to tell the story behind “Ribs,” when she threw a massive house party when her parents were out. Although at first breaking the rules felt like a rite of passage, it kept her laying awake, wondering if this was a bridge she could not re-cross. “Can you go back to being a kid or is that it? Where do you draw that line? Can you have one foot in each world or does it not work like that? And this is something that keeps me up all the time, even now. All the time, I’m f--king terrified.… So I wrote this song and the whole time I tried to make everything sound soft, sound warm, sound like pulsing color, like pulsing light. Because I’m really scared of this.…” Her voice trailed off and began to break. “I made this thing and I told you this story, which is very personal to me, but here you are, in this tiny castle indoors under a fake night sky. And I know a lot of you are my age, or a little younger or a little older, and you’re here because in some way you understand what I’m talking about. You understand the words that I write. You get it. There’s nothing more important to me [and] I couldn’t be more thankful. Thank you so much, Chicago.” Seeing the fluorescent glow of smartphones illuminating the faces of the teeny-boppers in the audience, decked head-to-toe in black emulating Lorde’s gothic style, showed although she’s pushing Top 40’s boundaries, it’s to no avail. A ten-minute speech may be long, but it wasn’t about PR—it was about establishing a connection with the audience, one too busy tweeting to pay attention. So Lorde gave them everything they wanted. Emerging from offstage wrapped in a golden cape, she swayed in a warm pink glow under fluttering confetti for the encore “A World Alone,” looking out to a sea of ecstatic faces that had been disengaged moments before. Even when a radical artist tries to change the format, they can’t change the fans. eornberg@chroniclemail.com
March 31, 2014 • 25
Arts & Culture
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The Columbia Chronicle 26 • March 31, 2014
Sleeping At Last still wide awake NICOLE MONTALVO Assistant Arts & Culture Editor AS THE CHRISTIAN-ROCK genre was reaching its peak in 1999, Christian rockers Sleeping At Last were just hitting their stride in Wheaton, Ill. Over the course of the next decade, the members went from emo orchestral musically before peeling off one by one until pianist and guitarist Ryan O’Neal was the only member left, still promoting under the full band’s name. Sleeping At Last’s efforts have included “Turning Page,” a song
exclusively written for “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1” soundtrack and covers of the ‘80s for the long-running ABC medical drama, “Grey’s Anatomy.” Being a Sleeping At Last fan is like having a subscription to a favorite magazine or eagerly awaiting the next season of a favorite TV show because of his subscription model of releasing music. With O’Neal releasing several thematically connected EPs a year, fans can either buy each EP separately or subscribe to get the whole collection for a lower price.
Right now, O’Neal is finishing a four-year project called Atlas, a series of EPs revolving around the biblical creation story. So far, he has released Darkness, Light, Space 1, Space 2, Land, and is set to release Oceans on an undisclosed date. The Chronicle chatted with O’Neal over the phone about the band’s history, why O’Neal makes EPs rather than albums and how Christianity has shaped his music.
THE CHRONICLE: How does your faith influence your music?
RYAN O’NEAL: I had this idea in my head that I wanted to, as a Christian, write music influenced by my faith. But at the same time, I wanted to make sure my music made sense in any venue. We sort of set ourselves out really early as being that we would play Christian music festivals but we would also play bars. The Christian music scene at that time was a really big deal with the Cornerstone Festival. I made this rule early on that I never wanted to force my faith out of my music and I never wanted to force my faith into my music. Would you say the band had an emo sound when it formed in 1999? We would have definitely described it that way. I used to listen to Sunny Day Real Estate and things that kind of had that emo genre attached to it. I would have liked it at that time if anyone called it emo. It’s embarrassing. It’s like looking back at a really terrible haircut when you’re young.
How has the group changed through the years? I started to fall in love with orchestral types of music. I would work [a] lot of string arrangements into the songs. In the last few years, I would say it’s gotten a little folkier. [Now] I would say it always originates from the piano or guitar and it usually keeps that shape pretty well. I’m a sucker for strings and piano, so that arrangement happens a lot throughout my music.
How did you end up writing for the “Twilight” soundtrack?
Courtesy RYAN O’NEAL Christian rock band Sleeping At Last has been making music since 1999. Ryan O’Neal is the only remaining member and has continued to release music under the original band name. His song “Turning Page” was featured in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1” soundtrack in 2011.
Katherine Davis, Assistant Campus Editor
How has it been different playing solo shows? It has actually been really fun because I have a group of friends that are sort of my rotating band. I’ve done a lot less shows in the past couple of years but not because of being solo. It’s actually primarily because of the way I’ve been recording and writing lately. About two or three years ago, I started these multi-EP projects.
What do you like about releasing EPs rather than putting out fulllength albums? [The first project] was called “Yearbook.” I would put out three songs every month for a year in these little EPs. I did that, and because that’s so much music, writing and recording keeps me in the studio instead of on tour, but I love that. I love writing music, so it’s been a welcome change. I feel like doing a full-length every couple of years is fun, but there’s so much more to dig into [with EPs]. I thought, “What’s the max of songs I could write in a year without sacrificing quality?” It kind of came down to three songs a month [being] really, really difficult, but at the same time, maybe doable. I set out to do that and it ended up being a healthy model for releasing music because, as an independent artist, it’s really hard to create a campaign around a fulllength record that is sustainable. For more information, visit SleepingAtLast.com. nmontalvo@chroniclemail.com
Spring Break hangover Sarah Schlieder, Sports & Health Editor
NO CHURCH IN THE WILD JAY Z and Kanye West 4 IN THE MORNING Gwen Stefani GUILT TRIP Kanye West NOTHING LASTS FOREVER Maroon 5 SO YESTERDAY Hilary Duff
ANGEL Sarah McLachlan I’LL STAND BY YOU Pretenders BEAUTIFUL DAY U2 LANDSLIDE Fleetwood Mac I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS Foreigner
Grace Wiley, Photo Editor
Kaley Fowler, Managing Editor
THE SOUND OF SILENCE Simon & Garfunkel EVERYBODY HURTS R.E.M. I MISS YOU Blink-182 MAD WORLD Gary Jules feat. Michael Andrews WHERE’D YOU GO Fort Minor
26 • March 31, 2014
I had never seen the film before [but] I had always loved the soundtracks. I bought the movies and watched them back-to-back and tried to imagine what the next movie might sound like. I wrote
“Turning Page” and sent it. I got a really cool call that they said it made it into the movie twice. I got to do a “Twilight” tour. It was really, really, really fun and such a cool experience to have my music exposed to such a sweet audience because they’re really, really nice.
FILLMORE JIVE Pavement DUDE RANCH NURSE Sonic Youth THE OLD DAYS Dr. Dog I FEEL LIKE GOING HOME Yo La Tengo CUSTOM CONCERN Modest Mouse
March 31, 2014 • 27
Arts & Culture
‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ worth extended stay STEPHEN HALL Film Critic ECCENTRIC DIRECTOR WES Ander-
son, known for “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “Moonrise Kingdom,” is one of this generation’s most recognizable talents. Through a unique visual and topical style he has made darkly comedic films and his latest, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” is his most ambitious yet. This film, unlike most of Anderson’s previous films, appeals to a large audience and reaches beyond his usual niche. The opening shifts back in time through several decades and narrators until it settles on an author (Jude Law) who avers that sometimes stories originate by chance. In his travels, he meets the wealthy Mr. Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham) who shares tales of his adventures over dinner with M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), the head concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel where he was a lobby boy. The next temporal transition takes the viewer back to the hotel in early 1930s Europe, nested between several different countries gearing up for an upcoming coming war. In his first major film role, Tony Revolori deftly plays Zero, the wide-eyed lobby boy mentored by M. Gustave at the title hotel, a place where wealthy people from
around the world come to enjoy its lavish accommodations—but most of all to see Gustave, a man willing to do anything to please his guests. One of the hotel’s frequent visitors, the wealthy widow Madame D., played in thick makeup by Tilda Swinton (“Moonrise Kingdom,” “Burn After Reading”), dies not long after a rendezvous with Gustave and he is accused of murder when she leaves a rare painting to him in her will. The rest of the film plays out like a classic mystery plot
with a menagerie of genre stereotypes like chase scenes, evil butlers, surly gangsters and a tenacious inspector. The film sets a brisk pace and the thematic aspects reflect Gustave’s efficiency and sophistication. The man oozes charisma and is delightfully debonair, doing whatever it takes to better the hotel he loves. He is charming but simultaneously neurotic and self-absorbed, often seen talking to himself and sleeping with many of his elderly guests. His emotional inconsisten-
film review
IMDb
cy makes him one of the most complex and memorable characters of Anderson’s films and unlike some of the obscure and abrasive personalities in his early works such as “Bottle Rocket” and “Rushmore.” Fiennes carries the film with a panache that makes his moral depravity excusable. He was born to play Gustave, a perpetually cool playboy who, even when accused of murder, has a witty deflection ready. The entire cast is excellent and allows the film to seamlessly switch tone when necessary. Edward Norton as Inspector Henckels and Willem Dafoe (“The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou,” “The Boondock Saints”) as the gangster Jopling deliver some of the more amusing performances. The ease and gusto with which they embrace their characters is remarkable. The film’s progression does not detract from Anderson’s keen attention to detail. Each scene is packed with clues about the characters who inhabit them. The concierge office, where Gustave and Zero spend most of their time, is orderly but packed to the ceiling with files and records, representing Gustave’s rich but often hectic life. Additionally, the small, dank room where Zero’s love interest Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) stays mirrors her more modest outlook on life.
As in other Anderson films, color plays an important role, but in no other has it been integrated so smoothly. Certain characters even don specific shades to illustrate their attitudes and motivations. Gustave in particular often dresses in the pink or purple hues that animate his hotel. The film’s main antagonist, the late widow’s son Dmitri (Adrien Brody), wears exclusively black and gray, as do his henchmen. The film is told through the memories of someone who held the hotel in high esteem, and the colors and characters have an exaggerated, cartoon-like quality making them exquisitely memorable. The dialogue is sharp, quick and masterfully delivered—Anderson knows when to let his characters speak and when to let their gestures do the talking. Gustave and the supporting cast have plenty of one-liners, but what is more likely to make viewers erupt in laughter are the subtle facial expressions, or conspicuous smirks that are out of place in seemingly serious scenes. Anderson should no longer be described as a “quirky” or “niche” director. In “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” he has learned how to use production elements to create special works, not just another oddity. shall@chroniclemail.com
March 31, 2014 • 27
The Columbia Chronicle 28 • March 31, 2014
The Music Center at Columbia College Chicago Presents:
28 • March 31, 2014
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Arts & Culture
Transistor, a conduit for community BRANDON HOWARD Contributing Writer FRIDAY NIGHTS AND the second Sat-
urday night of each month, patrons of Andy Miles’ whimsically eclectic store Transistor can witness the shop transform from an art gallery and record store into an event space for live music, film screenings and spoken word performances. The plain hardwood floors of Transistor, 3441 N. Broadway, contrast with the colorfully decorated walls, framing the vibrant, open space. Large wooden crates house vinyl records and a bright orange shelf displays a wide range of pop-culture literature, from music biographies to books on film theory. A diverse assortment of music equipment, from drum machines and handmade synthesizers to oscillators and effects pedals, sits on the floor. Miles said he wanted something for everyone. “Our goal from the very beginning was always to create a community space that appealed to a wide number of people ... that includes people that are artists and artisans [and] people who perform,” Miles said. “I’m looking for a diverse roster of talent that is performing on a weekly basis. I don’t want to be defined as the shop that [only] has electronic music performances or folk performances. I try to mix it [up].”
The idea for a creative record store serving as both a gallery space and performance venue stemmed from collaboration with artist Rani Woolpert, Miles said. Galleria Andersonville, a gallery and boutique store inspired Transistor, Miles said. However, its structure, which allows artists to rent out a small space to market their creations, still seemed limiting for the minds of Woolpert and Miles. Not only did the rental spaces seem too small, the idea of normal business hours seemed too creatively constricting, he said. Transistor originally opened in Andersonville in October 2009. In 2011, it moved from Andersonville to North Center and then again in July 2013 to the current location in Lakeview East. “We originally had a good location but a really bad space that was basically a toxic dump, with a slumlord, and it was bad for our health,” Miles said. “So we unfortunately traded that for a [nice] space but a very bad location.… I finally made a third move, which I hope to be our last move, this past summer, July 2013.… It’s the best location and best space I’ve had.” The performers and artists featured at Transistor are mostly local, such as freak folk band Yellow For David and electronic shoegaze artist Savage Sisters. The second Saturday of every month, Transis-
tor showcases ECHO: A Night of Shared Readings and Fiction. The next installment of ECHO includes spoken word and prose, poetry performance art, vinyl DJ sets and a screening of the Wes Anderson film “Moonrise Kingdom.” The sights and sounds of Transistor are not confined to the store. Miles also hosts a radio show bearing the same name that is accessible via Transistor’s website. Other than music programs, the webcast has included radio hosts doing artist round table shows, interview shows and comedy quiz shows. Cinephiles, vinyl-lovers, artists, musicians and anyone with a passion for the shared communal experience of producing and viewing art is welcome to mingle and converse in the space, Miles said. He encourages local artists to submit their work to Transistor. “I have a very open submission policy, and as I tell artists, I’m interested in their work, not their resumes,” Miles said. Transistor employee Mike Benz was once a customer before becoming a regular performer and getting a job at the store. “I heard [that Transistor] moved into [Lakeview], [and] I needed to go check it out,” Benz said. “I wandered over to the shop … I talked to Andy about his interest in having somebody come in and DJ, and he sort of warmed up to the idea.”
Courtesy ANDY MILES Transistor, 3441 N. Broadway, uses every inch of space to showcase local artists’ work and expose customers to new forms of music, art and culture.
Benz, AKA DJ Tashtego, started DJing vinyl-only sets at Transistor’s Friday events, maintaining the shop’s old-school nature . Maureen Martino, executive director of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce, said she thinks Transistor is a good fit for the al-
ready creative neighborhood. “The theme of what [Transistor] is doing is very familiar to our neighborhood already,” Martino said. “I think we’re going to see more [businesses like Transistor].” chronicle@colum.edu
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The Columbia Chronicle 30 • March 31, 2014
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manufacturer of pinball machines worldwide. Before video games, pinball was king, Dankberg said. He added that it occupies a vital space in arcades and said the new trend has quadrupled Stern’s revenue since 2009. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, pinball machines—previously found in restaurants across the city—experienced the same downturn, but the new trend is turning things around, according to Dankberg “Four or five years ago, there was no place to play pinball in Chicago,” Dankberg said.
“Now there’s five or six places in the city and another handful of places right outside the city to play.” Dankberg said he thinks barcades are appealing because they carry games that are easy to learn but hard to master, attracting both skilled players and novices. “This could be the last goodbye to the arcade and there will be a great fad for a few years and then people will leave and it will finally fade away for good,” Donovan said. “But equally, it doesn’t need to get back to the big boom of the ‘80s.” mmccall@chroniclemail.com
Donald Wu THE CHRONICLE
xx FASHION
Continued from PG. 19
Knox said the dress will be revealed when the runway model removes the coat along with the intricate neckpiece made of gold polymesh and black thread, which pops from beneath the coat. “I was really designing around the whole idea of metamorphosis,” Knox said. “The painting itself is more about life and death, but I am focused more on the silhouette through the inspiration of the painting.” Domaleczny said she looks forward to seeing the designers’ work and is excited about the newest portion of the competition, in which they submitted spreadsheets, a mission statement and business plans to compete for a $1,500 scholarship. Kate Loscalzo, a senior fashion studies major, said she is eagerly awaiting the networking opportunities. “[CFF] is really trying to build the fashion existence in Chicago,” Loscalzo said. “They
are working to really get people together and ... connect people on that level.” In one of her classes, Loscalzo began planning to open a boutique after she graduates. When she heard about the competition, she focused on perfecting the details of her business plan before submitting her application. “This is something that I actually want to do in the long run and it isn’t just for this scholarship,” Loscalzo said. “It would be an honor if I won [and] ... this is something that I am going to take and put toward my future.” Knox and Loscalzo said they feel confident representing Columbia and winning the competition would be a significant step in furthering their fashion careers. “From the classes that I have taken here at Columbia, I have had amazing teachers who have taught me things that I would have never been able to imagine that I can do,” Knox said. ncraig@chroniclemail.com
steppenwolf.org/students NoW oN STagE: Angela Conners THE CHRONICLE Alexander Knox, a senior fashion studies major whose sketches are shown above, will compete in the seventh annual Chicago Fashion Foundation on April 3 at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St. Paintings by Kurt Seligmann inspired his design. 30 • March 31, 2014
March 31, 2014 • 31
Arts & Culture
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March 31, 2014 • 31
The Columbia Chronicle 32 • March 31, 2014
TOP NOT SAFE FOR WORK YOUR ONLINE TIME WASTERS OF THE WEEK
BLOG: T-Rex Trying... Oh, the plight of the giant dinosaur with tiny arms. This blog features a wistful-looking cartoon T-Rex trying to do various everyday tasks, such as using an umbrella, attempting to decorate a Christmas tree or desperately trying to make a snow angel. The incredibly sad look in his eyes is both pathetic and hilarious. Unfortunately, it’s only updated every two weeks, but the archives go back a few years so there is plenty of hilarity buried in the backlogged cartoons. Check it out at TrexTrying.tumblr.com VIDEO: Catching a GLIMPSE of the Milky Way It seems like NASA always has something up its sleeve. It has spent years working on a project that recently resulted in a full panoramic view of the Milky Way Galaxy, and it is breathtakingly beautiful. The video pans across a pink and gray field of stars as a narrator explains how even though the video only captures 3 percent of the sky, we can see most of the billions of stars in our galaxy. Check it out at Youtube.com/SplitzerScienceCenter
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ANNOYING STEREOTYPES ABOUT PEOPLE FROM AFRICA
WAYS TO PLEASE YOUR PARTNER
REASONS TO LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFE
Be supportive: As a significant other, balance out your partner. When he or she is down, it is your job to bring your partner up. I call it the seesaw dynamic. Coach your partner when they are going through a rough time.
It improves mental health: A healthy lifestyle will increase your mental health by boosting your confidence and relieving stress. When you’re confident, your performance is better in the classroom, at work and in the bedroom. This lifestyle is also a stress reliever.
Africans live in huts: No, we do not all live in huts. We actually do live in houses in a lot of the urbanized parts of the continent, but the media never seems to show this. They always seem to show the native people that live outside the city. Imagine what the world would think of America if they only showed the outskirts of large cities. Africans makes noises to communicate: Africans have intelligent languages; they don’t just make made weird noises to speak to each other. First-off, Africa has hundreds of unique languages and groups of people. That is often forgotten and most people do not take the time to actually learn any one of the many different languages. Africans only wear loin cloths: If you look above, I am wearing clothes. Since it is constantly hot in Africa, I don’t blame anyone who doesn’t want to wear a lot of clothes. I mean, look at Chicago on a hot day during the summer. Africans are dirty: African culture takes hygiene very seriously, and because you are in that heat, it is important to keep your body clean. It is those images of people who live in poverty that create this misconception that fuels stereotypes about Africans. All Africans look the same: African is one of the most characteristically diverse ethnic groups in the world. I am tired of the “You don’t look African” comment. What is an African supposed to look like? Proceed to make the face in the picture.
Don’t become an annoying distraction: Always remember that your significant other has a life. The world does not revolve around you. Your partner may have other obligations. If you are always around someone, eventually one of you is going to get annoyed. Have your own goals: Both parties have to bring something to the table. This is not like the medieval ages in which the man supports his wife. Have something going for yourself. Not only do you need to prove that you’re not a gold digger, but you need to learn how to support yourself. Have you seen the divorce rate lately? Ambition, ladies and gentlemen! No. 1 defense vs. No. 1 offense: Appearance is everything. People get too comfortable now a days and lose their sexiness. If you don’t want your partner looking at someone else, make sure you are the only eye candy your partner needs. Work out twice a week and make yourself fit for your partner. Try not to go to sleep with rollers in your hair. People want to walk around with something nice on their arm. Cook your partner a meal: If you’re in college and you haven’t mastered cooking, this is a problem. You have the Internet and recipe books. There is no excuse.
Longer life-span: Who doesn’t want to live longer? A healthy lifestyle will help you live long enough to experience being a great-grandparent. This doesn’t mean you have to lift weights to live longer, but other activities such as yoga and jogging help. Your diet is a key factor as well to help you live longer. Try not to eat a lot of fried foods. The energy boost: The energy you will receive from a healthy lifestyle will have you going about your day without getting tired. You’ll have more stamina for physical activity with an increase in performance. Better sex life: Your sex performance increases tremendously. You’ll find yourself going for hours and hours, pleasing your partner without breaking a sweat. Your flexibility will be better, finding yourself in positions you didn’t know you were capable of. Once you reach your peak, you’ll still have more than enough energy to avoid falling asleep. Look more attractive: An attractive figure is a guarantee with a healthy lifestyle. If you’ve always wanted a slim waist, attractive face and a beach body that turns heads, then working to create a healthy lifestyle is the key to success.
Carolina Sanchez THE CHRONICLE Donald Glover, AKA hip-hop artist Childish Gambino, performs old favorites as well as new tracks off his latest album Because the Internet on March 21 at the Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine Ave. Chicago artist Chance the Rapper also made an appearance with an energetic rendition of Glover’s song “The Worst Guys.” 32 • March 31, 2014
March 31, 2014 • 33
Arts & Culture
“First Gay Hug” In reaction to the First Kiss video that went viral, The Gay Women Channel took it up a notch when they released their video and made homophobic and gay people hug. While it was an interesting concept, I’m convinced it was staged. —K. Davis
“Survivor” season 28 The new season of “Survivor” has officially begun, and while it is still early in the season, it is on fire. The split of the 18 contestants into the Brains, Brawn and Beauty tribes adds a really interesting element to the season, especially the competition aspect.—C. Turner
“The 100” premiere The CW’s penchant for trashy television is blatant and the network’s latest show is no exception. The premise is only slightly different than “The Hunger Games” and the acting can only be described as atrocious. It is more entertaining to watch paint dry. —T. Eagle
“If Google Was A Guy” Have you ever imagined Google as a real person? Well College Humor set up shop in a dull office and brought people in to ask a real person weird questions like “Why do farts smell?” as if it were Google. The result is hilarious! —J. Wolan
“East February” by John Ashbery Published March 17 in the New Yorker, this poem is about a listless spring and old age. Ashbery’s deliberate choice of disjointed adjectives and nouns forces readers to think about what they’re reading, which is always a challenge in the 21st century. —E. Earl
“Drinking and Dating” by Brandi Glanville As a closeted fan of the “Real Housewives” franchise, I bought this book because Brandi is easily the most distasteful of all the franchises’ stars. Turns out she is also one of the most distasteful writers. Moronic and poorly written, it is better left on the shelf. —T. Eagle
April issue of Vogue The Kim Kardashian and Kanye West cover in the upcoming issue of Vogue is infuriating. It not only makes me want to scream “Get a room,” but it is a statement on how pop culture consumes society. The couple turns it into a horrible freak show. —C. Turner
“Is it OK to make art?” by Rhys Southan on Aeon.co This brilliantly written article raises the question of whether or not art without social change is worthwhile. If there are thousands of children starving and your art expresses your feelings, what good is that? It’s a timely and valid question. —E. Earl
“Everything Nice” by Popcaan This is pretty swaggy. The slow groove and tropical harmonies make me miss my Spring Break, when all I did was listen to this song and pretend it was warm enough to go tan on my roof with a Four Loko in hand. Sigh. —E. Ornberg
Darlings by Kevin Drew I’ve been listening to Drew’s second album all week and I’m in love. Although it has less catchy beats than his first album, I love Drew’s relaxing voice and the album’s overall soulful tempo. It’s great to listen to when doing homework or chilling with friends. —M. Castellucci
Happiness Is by Taking Back Sunday Happiness Is took me right back to my childhood bedroom, boom box blasting and parents screaming at me to turn down “that noise.” This album features Taking Back Sunday’s original lineup, the lyrics are powerful and the melodies are edgy. Perfection. —L. Woods
“Brooklyn Nights” by Lady Gaga Lady Gaga’s latest album ARTPOP included 15 tracks but lacked the expected, “Brooklyn Nights,” which leaked online March 16, sending Little Monsters into a frenzy. The ballad is more nostalgic than most of the album and features Gaga crooning wistfully. —K. Senese
MySpace So I decided to check out my old page, and apparently the website has gone through a complete overhaul and is now centered around entertainment. The new design of their website looks more modern and I’m tempted to sign back in more regularly. —D. Wu
Taxes Turns out that April 15 deadline isn’t a suggestion and people at the IRS laugh if you try to haggle a six-month extension. They outright cackle if you offer $20 to make the problem go away. Uncle Sam is clearly too greedy and needs to take a furlough. —T. Eagle
Tortas Oh, beautiful Torta, you are delicious. You are the perfect balance between a sandwich and a burrito and you will never displease me. I’m pretty sure I could eat you every day for the rest of my life. I prefer you hot and toasted with all the garnishes. —K. Koch
Fluorescent lights Working at The Chronicle, I’m immersed in cruel fluorescent lighting and it is torture for 45 hours per week. Not only is it unflattering on the skin but also irritates my eyes. I despise the individual who made such a gruesome invention. —M. Castellucci
No– just... no.
Uhmmm, WTF?
It’s whatever.
I can dig it.
EPIC! March 31, 2014 • 33
Monday, March 31, 2014
The Columbia Chronicle CAMPUS EDITORIAL
Provide equality for all who teach P-FAC, COLUMBIA’S PART-TIME faculty union, settled its tense contract
negotiation with the college in fall 2013. The staff union, United Staff of Columbia College, is currently bargaining for its contract, but one group of teachers is falling between the cracks: staff members who teach part-time. Staff Who Teach, an independent group of Columbia staff members who teach classes, created a petition March 11 asking P-Fac to admit them to the union. The petition, which has gathered 578 signatures as of press time, claims that P-Fac excludes teaching staff because they also have full-time jobs as staff members at the college and they claim the union has dragged its feet about admitting them. Staff Who Teach is justified in its pursuit of representation and P-Fac should accommodate the group’s request. P-Fac is currently trying to create a system through which it can legally represent staff members who teach, according to P-Fac President Diana Vallera. Full-time staff members whose job descriptions include teaching are currently covered by P-Fac, but that excludes the majority of staff who teach by choice. P-Fac should equally represent all staff members who teach because its contract impacts class assignments. When the college strikes a bargain with a staff member to teach a class, the administration vets that person’s qualifications similarly to adjunct members. Therefore, staff members should have the same rights as adjuncts because they perform similar duties. Including staff members who teach in P-Fac would also help bring some much-needed clarity to the way the college assigns classes, an issue the current P-Fac contract thoroughly addresses. Because the college is cutting costs, class offerings are reduced, leading to handwringing over who will teach. Full-time tenured faculty receive first preference when the college is determining who will do this, followed by the full-time staff Editorial Board Members Natalie Craig Assistant Metro Editor Elizabeth Earl Opinions Editor Abbas Haleem Copy Editor
whose job description includes teaching, according to Louise Love, interim provost and vice president of Academic Affairs. The adjunct tier system falls below that— members who have logged 51 or more hours of teaching receive first preference, followed by those with fewer than 51 hours and, lastly, new hires. As the adjunct professors continue to teach classes, they move up the tier system, but the same is not true for the staff members whose job descriptions do not include teaching. Staff members without a teaching clause in their contracts automatically fall to the bottom tier, regardless of how many hours they have taught in the past, Love said. If the staff members were included in P-Fac, they would receive equal representation on the tier system and be ranked according to their experience. For those who have taught a particular class for multiple years, that would only be common sense and provide them bargaining power. In the case of staff members who teach, their primary jobs are to satisfy their roles as staff members, of course, but they can offer more expertise to Columbia’s various departments and students. Allowing staff members to use their skills to benefit students in all the departments should not be a struggle for administrators or P-Fac. P-Fac needs to give the teaching staff members equal representation because the college is determining class allocations for the fall semester. If the college continues to shuffle professors around, classes could be canceled at the last minute and students could suffer. It is unfair for staff members with years of experience in their fields to lose teaching opportunities because the seniority system does not accommodate them. For the benefit of all students, faculty and staff, Columbia should be a community, not bargaining territory. For more information about the Staff Who Teach petition, see the article on Page 3. Matt McCall Arts & Culture Editor Mark Minton Copy Editor Sarah Schlieder Sports & Health Editor
Paper or drastic?
SPRING RAINS ARE quickly filling the gutters of many Chicago neighborhoods, and the excess plastic bags that have escaped the city’s recycling program often litter and clog drains. To address the related environmental concerns, aldermen Joe Moreno (1st Ward) and George Cardenas (12th Ward) have backed a ban on plastic bags. The bill would prohibit all city retailers from distributing plastic bags, requiring them to instead offer customers paper or compostable bags. Moreno argued that plastic bags clog drains, clutter neighborhoods and endanger wildlife, and banning them would aid environmental conservation efforts. But outlawing plastic bags is impractical and infringes on the private sector’s rights to determine business practices. Reducing plastic use is paramount to preserving the environment, but legislating it is unreasonable. Though some businesses support the ban on environmental grounds, it would be expensive for smaller grocers to implement because paper bags cost more than plastic. Banning plastic bags would also create a stronger
demand for paper products and possibly encourage deforestation. Chicago is following in the noncarbon footprints of other major cities that have implemented similar restrictions. Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have passed a plastic bag tax. L.A. officials said the 10-cent tax per bag has helped reduce plastic bag use, but a Jan. 9 Washington Post analysis of Washington, D.C., found its 5-cent tax does not significantly impact consumer behavior. Chicago’s allout ban fails to implement a similar tax that could at least allow the city to profit from the bag ban. The Chicago government has a history of trying to legislate social change. By regulating electronic cigarettes earlier this year, attempting to ban energy drinks last year and hiking cigarette taxes last fall, the City Council has been playing nanny to regulate citizens’ behavior. The government should not mandate social actions. Instead, constituents should push for something because they want it, not because the politicians say so. The government may have the right to determine environmental standards, as in the case of the
petroleum coke slag along the Calumet River, but the plastic bag ban flirts with the line between responsible policymaking and micromanaging. Aldermen should invest some of their committee funds into advertising campaigns about the damage of excess plastic use instead of forcing people to make environmentally conscious choices. Many people may be unaware of the dangers of plastic in drains and the lake, so if the aldermen want public support, they should attempt to educate their constituents. Chicagoans should take note of their personal plastic bag use and make efforts to be more environmentally friendly by using paper or canvas bags. Even if Moreno and Cardenas mean well, they must weigh the costs of enforcing the ban versus educating people who may choose to voluntarily reduce plastic consumption. A citywide plastic bag ban is within the government’s rights, but it is impractical to implement and does not ensure that plastic will disappear from Chicago’s drains. NATIONAL EDITORIAL
NFL should turn over nonprofit status THE NFL IS one of the most widely recognized and profitable organizations in the U.S., yet its league office is exempt from paying federal income taxes. As an organization without a charitable purpose, allowing any of its functions, no matter how small, to slip under the radar of the Internal Revenue Service is a gross abuse of the benefits of nonprofit status. The NFL is a 501(c)(6) organization, the source of its exemption, but anti-corruption organization Rootstrikers and Sen. Tom Coburn (R–Oklahoma) are challenging the league’s nonprofit status in a move that has earned support in the last several years. A Change.org petition claiming the NFL does not provide charitable services and should be required to pay taxes has garnered 360,690 signatures as of press time. The Congressional Ways and Means Committee has drafted a taxation overhaul that would include a clause revoking the nonprofit Brandon Smith Office Assistant Tatiana Walk-Morris Campus Editor Grace Wiley Photo Editor
status of all professional sports leagues, but the proposal is still under debate as of press time. The IRS should take heed and revoke the NFL’s exemption. Because its main duty is organizing games, determining policies and regulating official products, the league office hardly qualifies as a social institution. In response to the petition, the NFL claims the federal tax exemption is justified because individual teams, which are privately owned, pay taxes and NFL executives file their own personal taxes on their compensation, according to an Oct. 27 NBC News analysis. The league office is a small component in the grand scheme of the NFL, but the principle of the matter is that the NFL does not provide charitable services, so none of its parts should have nonprofit status. Its activities are primarily self-promoting and for its own profit, and the country should not be swallowing the cost.
Requiring the NFL league office to fork over federal income taxes would not damage its ability to manage teams and would add a revenue stream to the national coffers. According to a May 2013 analysis by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation, taxing the NFL would bring in $109 million in tax revenue over the next decade. Football as a sport is not going to fail if the organizer has to cough up more cash. If the movement succeeds in revoking the NFL’s nonprofit status, the ruling would apply to all major professional sports organizations. The NFL has not had to pay taxes since 1966, when Congress granted it nonprofit status to ease the merger with the American Football League. The IRS should revoke the NFL’s nonprofit status because there is no reasonable justification for its tax exemption. The country depends on profitable individuals and organizations to function and the NFL needs to do its part.
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34 • March 31, 2014
CITY EDITORIAL
— The Columbia Chronicle Editorial Board
March 31, 2014 • 35 opinions
‘Bachelor’ romance a rosy illusion
TYLER EAGLE Associate Editor AS ANOTHER SEASON of “The Bachelor” comes to a close, star Juan Pablo and his new girlfriend, Season 18 winner Nikki Ferrell, are lighting up the press circuit with their budding romance, but as Pablo settles into life in the limelight, “The Bachelor” continues to misrepresent itself as a matchmaker. The show consistently misleads its contestants and viewers by creating a false image of what real relationships are like and focusing on grandeur rather than reality. The people who compete on the show are seeking their 15 minutes of fame or a platform to launch their own entertainment careers. Pablo, the show’s most recent love-
seeker, has managed to use his time on the air to get his name in the news as much as possible, inciting reports of an unhappy relationship and negative comments about gays. His most recent stunt was a video montage of his favorite moments with Ferrell. While seemingly heartwarming and romantic, viewers should not forget that somewhere out there are scripts for 24 other possible videos featuring Pablo with the women he rejected. The franchise has a depressing track record when it comes to creating sustainable, healthy relationships. Most seasons end in nauseating marriage proposals, but few have resulted in lasting matches. Between the 18 seasons of “The Bachelor” and the nine seasons of “The Bachelorette,” only five couples have lasted, including Pablo and Ferrell, who have only been together for a few months. Aside from suspect communities in Utah and individuals labeled Patient Zero by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, monogamous people do not date 25 people at once. The competition among potential mates sends an incredibly unrealistic message about relationships and how to treat
potential partners. Relationships should not be predicated upon the idea that love is a contest to land the most attractive person possible and that everyone around you is your competition. The franchise also desensitizes its millions of viewers to misogynistic behavior. Pablo has become one of the most hated bachelors in the history of the show and after treating many of the women on the show, like they were disposable, he deserves the harsh title. It was clear to viewers early on who Pablo would select, but he continued to date and schmooze the remaining women, especially during the Feb. 25 episode that featured the fantasy suite. Rather than forgo his night in the suite to be with his “true” choice, he opted to spend it with some of the other contestants. Pablo’s actions display his sliminess when, during the finale, he refused to acknowledge any deep emotional attachment to Ferrell, driving home the perception that he sought fame, not just romance. In reality, most couples buy candy at 7-Eleven before a movie because tickets are too expensive. Most couples are not treated to private Train concerts, nor do they spend hours on a yacht just
because the day ends in “Y.” These outlandish portrayals lead people to believe that extravagance can be substituted for a real human connection, something the show rarely delves into. It is sweet when someone gives you a rose at the end of a date, but the gesture tends to lose its meaning when he also gives roses to 20 other people within the hour. It also bites when he decides to stop throwing roses your way. Once again demonstrating the show’s lack of empathy for its contestants, the franchise knowingly put former contestant Melissa Rycroft in an unfortunate position when she was dumped by star Jason Mesnick and forced to watch as he picked the runner-up three months after he had proposed to her. The beauty of the competition is that it takes the most distraught, emotional character, sends them to a spa and trainer and molds them in the image of the very person who broke their heart. “The Bachelor” has a beautiful consolation prize for the person left broken and rejected on a beach—throughout 18 seasons, there has always been a beach and someone crying on it—because the loser gets to go on the next season to try to find love again. The cycle continues and the
end result is the “Hunger Games” of relationships: Boy dates 25 girls, dumps 24 of them, and the last girl dumped gets to pick up where the boy left off. Some viewers may look at the show as entertainment, but they fail to realize that the people on the show are not characters, but rather real people with emotions that are constantly trampled. The only upside is that once the contestants go through the emotional trauma, they might know better than to expect grand romantic gestures. Not many men store a dozen roses conveniently just offstage. “The Bachelor” needs to close its satin curtains for good and drop ammonia on its rose bushes. It is an offensive show that consistently sets contestants up for failure, emotional distress and public humiliation. The show is an inaccurate portrayal of relationships and negatively impacts societal views of dating. Instead of sending people to a mansion or a yacht—because who wouldn’t fall in love on a yacht?— drop two people in a car for three hours with a screaming baby. If they can make it through that, maybe they have a shot. teagle@chroniclemail.com STUDENT POLL
Would a plastic bag ban help reduce the amount of litter in Chicago? If [city officials] create a social movement, putting signs all over the place and make it a real issue with most people, [it could work].
I think [a ban] would work, but there would have to be a lot of cooperation within businesses ... I just think it would take a lot of effort from everyone.
No. I think it’s a lack of interest that’s the problem. If people actually saw how much of a difference it would make, I think there would be more of a push to start doing eco [friendly] stuff.
Nate Ivy senior art + design major
Angelica Ruiz sophomore fashion studies major
Kidelen Howard freshman interactive arts & media major
GUEST OP-ED
This letter was sent by Iymen Chehade to The Chronicle on behalf of the Campaign to Respect Academic Freedom at Columbia College: Palestine is No Exception. COLUMBIA COLLEGE INTERIM Provost Louise Love has issued a form letter in response to the growing campaign for academic freedom at Columbia. The campaign was prompted by Columbia’s retaliation against instructor Iymen Chehade after a student complained to Humanities, History and Social Sciences (HHSS) Department Chair Steven Corey that Chehade’s screening of the film “5 Broken Cameras” demonstrated that Chehade’s class on the Israel/Palestine conflict is “biased.” Columbia’s letter trumpets its support for academic freedom and the “strong and continuous support” Chehade has received from Corey for “using this important film” in his class. But the measure of an institution’s commitment to academic freedom is not the statements it makes about itself, but the actions it takes. So let’s review the facts. 1. After the student complained last fall to Corey about Chehade’s screening of “5 Broken Cameras,” Corey met with Chehade and instructed him to teach the class in a “more balanced” way. Corey also
asked Chehade to provide proof of his qualification to teach. If Corey supported Chehade, he would handle a frivolous complaint of “bias” without lecturing Chehade about being “more balanced.” 2. Days after Corey’s meeting with Chehade, course offerings were posted for the spring semester. Chehade had been offered and had signed a contract to teach two classes in the spring, but within hours of posting the course offerings, Columbia removed one of Chehade’s two classes. Columbia defends this as part of its effort to “increase average class sizes” (this is one of the many and changing justifications it has given). The dubious goal of larger and more impersonal classes aside, the fact is that it is highly unusual for Columbia to remove posted classes until after the passage of a few weeks, not a few hours. What’s more, Chehade’s classes regularly exceed average class sizes for the rest of the college as well as average course evaluation ratings for the rest of the university. 3. This is not the first time that Chehade has had to defend himself from such baseless claims, and the fact that the university has continued to entertain these accusations is evidence of a pattern not of support, but of repeated buckling in the face of
challenges to Chehade’s academic freedom. In fall 2011, for example, eight students from three different sections of Chehade’s course, some of them members of Jewish group Hillel, signed a petition also making the charge of “bias” against Chehade. In a follow-up meeting between the students, Chehade and some Columbia College administrators, the students cited as examples of Chehade’s bias that he referred to the West Bank and Gaza as the “Occupied Territories” (they preferred the term “Disputed Territories,” despite their status as occupied territory under international law) and that he used the term “ethnic cleansing” to describe how Israel drove some 750,000 Palestinians from their land and homes through violence, intimidation and terror. Dozens of students circulated and signed a petition in Chehade’s defense. 4. Columbia’s statement of “support” for Chehade’s use of the film “5 Broken Cameras” says nothing to refute the baseless claim of “bias” against Chehade, nor does it retract Corey’s directive that Chehade teach his course in a “more balanced” manner. So let’s consider the following scenario: Imagine that an African-American professor is teaching a course in American history. During the week on civil
rights, the professor screens the acclaimed documentary “Eyes on the Prize,” and a white student becomes “uncomfortable” and goes to the chair to complain about the professor’s “bias.” The chair summons the professor and instructs him to teach in a “more balanced” way, and a few days later, cuts one of the two courses the professor was scheduled to teach the following semester. Is this a sign of the university’s support for the professor’s academic freedom? Or is it yet another example of Columbia College caving in to a student’s personal views about the content of an instructor’s course? 5. Finally, if Columbia is as steadfast as it asserts in its commitment to academic freedom, why would it ever have put Louise Love in charge of such matters in the first place? In 2005, as associate provost of Roosevelt University, she defended a department chair who fired adjunct professor Douglas Giles because in his World Religions class, Giles refused to bar students from discussing Zionism, Islamic beliefs about Jerusalem and the Palestinian question. Giles’ account of his outrageous treatment by Roosevelt describes how Love characterized the chair as “defending her
position passionately” when the chair referred to Palestinians as “animals” and “not civilized.” In conclusion, we note the words of Columbia student Alex Kim, who signed the petition in defense of Chehade: “As current and future media authors, we Columbia students need an HHSS Department fully capable of giving us sufficient opportunities to explore diverse art and media, which represent a wide array of the realities and possibilities of human experience. The Israeli government’s narrative is already privileged in comparison to those of its stateless Palestinian subjects. To dictate that Professor Chehade give a supposedly more ‘balanced’ perspective in his course is a chilling demand, and undermines academic freedom at our College. There exists a strong demand from the student body for Professor Chehade’s course, and to reduce its availability damages the mission of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the department of HHSS, and the college as a whole.” Academic freedom is a bedrock principle that a university either supports in a consistent manner or ends up using its own set of biased criteria for when and how to defend it. Columbia College needs to decide what kind of university it wants to be. March 31, 2014 • 35
The Columbia Chronicle 36 • March 31, 2014
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36 • March 31, 2014
Monday, MARCH 31, 2014
The Columbia Chronicle
Aldermen push for plastic bag ban Metro Editor THE CHOICE BETWEEN paper and plas-
tic could be a distant memory for Chicago shoppers if a proposal to ban plastic bags continues to gain momentum among aldermen. The proposal, introduced March 5 by Alderman Proco Joe Moreno (1st Ward), would ban plastic bags in retail stores to reduce waste in landfills and the Great Lakes, according to the ordinance. However, the legislation would require retailers to offer only paper or reusable bags, raising concerns about the potential impact on small businesses that might not be able to afford the more expensive plastic alternatives. The Committee on Health and Environmental Protection will vote on the ordinance in April. If passed, it will be presented to the City Council for a vote, said Matthew Bailey, director of legislative affairs and communications for Moreno’s office. Alderman George Cardenas (12th Ward), chairman of the committee, is a sponsor of the legislation. “The ordinance is a big step in the right direction,” said Mitch McNeil, vice chair of the Chicago chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization that is working with Moreno to get the ordinance passed. “[Plastic bags] go into the landfills or the storm sewers and you don’t need to go too far to see it littering the landscape, especially in unincorporated areas where no one is paid to pick up litter. It just really collects.”
“
“Mandating the fee on single-use bags gives the consumer the opportunity to say, ‘I don’t want to be charged this fee. I’ll just bring my bag,’” Triche said. “If you don’t mandate the fee, your smaller grocers have fewer resources to absorb anything and they’re going to raise the price of consumer goods.” Triche said if Chicago is serious about eliminating plastic bag waste, aldermen should increase public awareness about customers recycling plastic bags at local grocery stores. Most grocers have a bin where customers can discard plastic bags, and the retailer must report the number of plastic bags they have acquired to the city, she said. However, she said she does not oppose banning plastic bags because they do contribute to litter and are an issue in landfills. McNeil said previous drafts of the ordinance required customers to pay a fee for paper bags, but it was not popular among the public or aldermen. The most recent draft does not require a bag fee because it oversteps the government’s role in private businesses, Bailey said. Moreno has been pushing for a plastic bag ban since 2011 and has drafted various ordinances, but none have received Cardenas approval until now, Bailey said. “If the retailers want to impose a cost on the customer, that’s on them,” Bailey said. “We’re not going to be giving them the convenience of being the big bad government boogeyman. We believe in the free market.” McNeil said he is hopeful the ordinance will pass, but the city needs to raise more awareness of
Photo Illustration Grace Wiley THE CHRONICLE
MARIA CASTELLUCCI
We’re seeing changes in behavior where folks are bringing their own bag or refusing a bag.”
The ordinance has attracted support for its environmental benefits, but some worry that requiring small businesses to stock only the paper bags, which are more costly than plastic bags, will negatively affect businesses without effectively decreasing litter. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association opposes the ordinance because it does not require customers to pay a fee for paper bags, said Tanya Triche, vice president and general counsel at the IRMA. She said charging for paper bags effectively shifts consumer behavior to reusable bags.
—Guillermo Rodriguez the environmental harm of plastic and paper bags. If passed, Chicago would be one of more than 140 U.S. cities to ban plastic bags. In 2007, San Francisco was the first city to ban them. To encourage use of reusable bags, the city began charging a 10-cent fee for paper bags, said Guillermo Rodriguez, communications director for the San Francisco Department of the Environment. Despite concerns from retailers, San Francisco businesses have not suffered as a result, Rodriguez said. Initially, retail owners were worried that customers would cross city limits to
avoid the charge, but that never appeared to be a problem, Rodriguez said, adding that most of the surrounding counties also have bans on plastic bags, so customers would have to drive very far to avoid the 10-cent fee. “We’re seeing changes in behavior where folks are bringing their own bag or refusing a bag,” Rodriguez said. “All of the horror stories we thought we were going to see and hear never manifested, and frankly, the cost to businesses hasn’t been a big issue.”
Triche said Chicago should look to cities like San Francisco to revise its ordinance because the current draft would likely do more harm than good. She said consumers would opt for paper bags, which can still contribute to litter. San Francisco also launched an awareness campaign, providing signage to retailers about the ban, so the responsibility of raising awareness fell on the government rather than business owners, Rodriguez said. The paper bag fee appears in a separate section on a
customer’s receipt, indicating that it is mandated by the city and not the business owner, he said. “If you want to get rid of litter, if you want to get [plastic] out of landfills, do something that actually changes behavior,” Triche said. “This ordinance does not do that. You’re asking the retail community ... to come out of their pockets for something that doesn’t even [reduce litter]. We’re just saying enough is enough.” mcastellucci@chroniclemail.com March 31, 2014 • 37
The Columbia Chronicle 38 • March 31, 2014
ARE YOU THERE, RAHM? IT’S ME, TAXPAYER
by Kaley Fowler Managing Editor
RICHARD LINDBERG
Eavesdropping no more AFTER FIVE DECADES of slapping in-
nocent people with felony charges for recording conversations, even public ones, without the consent of all parties, the Illinois Supreme Court finally struck down the state’s controversial Eavesdropping Act on March 20. The law made sense on some levels—such as in the case of journalists who could potentially use nonconsensual recordings against individuals who had no idea they would become sources in an article—but the Eavesdropping Act simply isn’t practical today. With the advent of smartphones, it’s easier than ever to record audio and video, so an antiquated law created in 1961 shouldn’t set the standard for when and where it is appropriate to use such technology. The Eavesdropping Act is so broadly written, the court ruled, that enforcing it is impossible in the 21st century. The legislation explicitly stated that recording a political debate on a college quad, a vocal argument on a street corner or fans yelling at a sporting event could be deemed a crime. “None of these examples implicate privacy interests, yet the statute makes it a felony to audio
record each one,” according to the court’s opinion. Though the law is obviously outdated, many have been unreasonably sentenced to rot in jail cells for recording without consent. For example, Chicago artist Chris Drew was arrested in 2009 for recording an unrelated arrest, as reported Jan. 25, 2010 by The Chronicle. Drew was arrested for selling his artwork without a permit and turned on his tape recorder to document what he believed was an unjust arrest. The police officer discovered the recorder and arrested him in violation of the Eavesdropping Act. Drew spent the final years of his life fighting legal battles before dying of lung cancer in May 2012. Annabel Melongo, whose case was one of two that prompted the court to overturn the act, spent 20 months in the Cook County Jail for recording three telephone conversations with a court reporter about the policy for correcting a hearing transcript. Her offense seems trivial, yet she was held on a six-figure bail typically given to violent or repeat offenders. Melongo was released March 20 following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Occupation: Writer
Drew and Melongo are only two of many to have been unjustly persecuted under the law, which violates free speech and due process protections, the court ruled. State legislators will draft a new version of the law that will apply to only truly private conversations, “for fear of having private conversations exposed to the public may have a chilling effect on private speech,” the court determined. Revising the Eavesdropping Act will make a notoriously corrupt state a little more transparent, but it shouldn’t have taken 40-plus years to get around to updating one of the country’s harshest recording restrictions. kfowler@chroniclemail.com
Courtesy BRENNA HERNANDEZ With the city’s support, the Shedd Aquarium, 1200 S. Lake Shore Drive, installed 913 solar panels on Oct. 23, 2013 as part of a clean energy initiative. On March 7, Illinois was named the No. 1 state for renewable energy.
Illinois embraces renewable energy
MARIA CASTELLUCCI Metro Editor
ILLINOIS MAY BE the country’s leading state in corrupt politics, but its latest ranking as the nation’s leader in renewable energy sheds a more favorable light on the state. A report released March 7 by seven environmental organizations, including the Sierra Club and Illinois Solar Energy Association, analyzed renewable energy usage and determined that Illinois currently has the most communities that use renewable energy with 91 that have 38 • March 31, 2014
adopted environmentally friendly measures and cost-saving energy alternatives such as wind farms and solar panels. In 2009, Illinois passed the Community Choice Aggregation law, which allows municipalities to choose their electricity providers, motivating more than 600 cities to set their own electricity standards. Illinois’ aggregation law can be credited for the state’s clean energy ranking because it allows communities to opt for renewable energy, said David Blanchette, spokesman for Gov. Pat Quinn.
“It’s a long process to become an aggregation state, but I think it’s really worth it,” said Lisa Medearis, clean energy advocate for the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club. “Folks are excited about the opportunity to really make a strong statement for clean energy.” Illinois is one of five states to implement community choice aggregation: California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Rhode Island also allow their cities to choose energy providers.
xx SEE ENERGY, PG. 41
Neighborhood: Norwood Park
Angela Conners THE CHRONICLE
MARIA CASTELLUCCI Metro Editor RICHARD LINDBERG’S KIND smile and
strong voice are striking. Lindberg is a Chicago journalist and author who fell in love with writing in 1965 after reading “The Diary of Anne Frank” at age 11. Similar to Frank, Lindberg has kept a journal detailing his life. With a passion for writing and Chicago history, Lindberg has published 16 books focusing on politics, sports and criminal justice in Chicago. Although writing is Lindberg’s main vocation, he has held many jobs since 1978 when he published his first literary contribution, “Stuck on the Sox,” which details his experience growing up as a Chicago White Sox fan on the North Side of Chicago. Lindberg has been a reporter for various news outlets, including the Chicago Tribune in 1998, and was senior editor at Crime Books Inc., a data research service, from 1989–1992. He is currently the vice president of marketing and media communications for DTZ, a real estate consulting firm, and continues to write about Chicago’s rich history when he is not working. Lindberg was born and raised in Norwood Park and currently lives in his childhood home with his wife. The Chronicle spoke with Lindberg about the White Sox, his interest in Chicago history and his love of exploring crimes.
THE CHRONICLE: How did you get into publishing? RICHARD LINDBERG: I never had any real formal training in writing in college. Like some musicians play by ear, I write by ear. I taught myself sentence construction, verb agreement and passive voice. I knew when I was 11 I wanted to be an author and I was able to combine my passions for Chicago history and Chicago sports into a career as a nonfiction writer. I was 25 when I published my first book. It was a forgettable, embarrassing book called “Stuck on the Sox” about growing up [as] a Chicago White Sox fan on the North Side of Chicago, but it launched me … I wrote about my first passion, and that was baseball.
What advice would you give aspiring nonfiction writers? I often tell people, “Write about the things you know and the things you love.” If you’ve never been to Paris, don’t write a book about Paris. The key thing is to follow your heart in writing and really zoom in on what you know because I think the people that live the most ordinary lives have a great story to tell. Stories are what writing is all about, at least in the nonfiction sense, and in the fiction world. Although I am not a novelist, I would love to be eventually. But I find that writing about nonfiction—Chicago, the city [where] I grew up—really has defined my life. If I didn’t have my book writing, I don’t know where I’d be, honestly.
What sparked your interest in Chicago’s crime history? I was first interested in Al Capone when I was 14 years old. I became interested in writing about true crime. Where else other than in Chicago could you write a great true crime [story]? It’s all here. This city and its politics and its criminal activity—it’s got a rich tapestry and some of the stories are so wacko that you can’t make it up. I found a niche.
What do you enjoy about writing? The best part of writing is doing the writing and the research. I love exploring Chicago in the old days. I came to know the 19th century of Chicago like I know my own world. ... All of it has been so compelling.
What do you tell people who admire your work? I’m just a guy who writes books and works for a real estate company. Some people say, “Well, you’re wellknown.” Well, I sure don’t feel wellknown because my lifestyle hasn’t changed. I don’t make a lot of money writing books. I still live a very ordinary lifestyle. I work 40 hours [a week and] my job has nothing to do with the books I write. But if I didn’t do the books and I didn’t do the writing, I don’t think I’d really have anything because it’s been so much a part of my life. mcastellucci@chroniclemail.com
March 31, 2014 • 39
Metro
DESIGNERS / PHOTOGRAPHERS / ARTISTS, ESTABLISHED OR ASPIRING: You’re a piece of work! Now prove it at our open gallery show.
FRIDAY, APRIL 4 6:00PM–9:00PM be there!
FULTON STREET COLLECTIVE Bring your work and show up at 6:00PM at Fulton Street Collective (Fulton and Damen) and choose where your work will hang! Network and socialize as the gallery unfolds while enjoying LIVE MUSIC, DRINKS and APPETIZERS. Your suggested donation and proceeds from the SILENT AUCTION both benefit Chicago HOPE. Bring your friends!
participant info
for more info and to attend
17" BY 17"
RSVP
is the max space available per person. We provide nails and pushpins. Space is awarded first come, first hang!
by Tuesday, April 2nd yapow2014.eventbrite.com or facebook.com/HarringtonCollege/events
Be creative and think outside of the box. Just remember to fit inside of it.
hosted by
proceeds benefit
Harrington College of Design is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association. www.ncahlc.org Harrington College of Design cannot guarantee employment or salary. Find employment rates, financial obligations and other disclosures at www.harrington.edu/disclosures. This institution is authorized: The Indiana Board of Proprietary Education, 101 West Ohio Street Suite 679, Indianapolis, IN 46204. 317.464.4400 x138, 317.464.4400 x141. 0674475 02/14 AC-0260
March 31, 2014 • 39
The Columbia Chronicle 40 • March 31, 2014
Media portrayal of sexual assault misleads public
MATT MCCALL
Arts & Culture Editor READING LOCAL NEWSPAPERS may
give Chicagoans the impression that most sexual assaults are perpetrated by strangers on the street or in alleyways. But sexual assault activists contend that most victims know their attacker. From Jan. 1 through March 12, there were 77 reported sexual assaults in the city, according to city data, most of which occurred in public locations such as sidewalks and Chicago Transit Authority trains. Still, most sexual assaults occur in private locations and go unreported, according to Tracy Siska, executive director of the Chicago Justice Project and criminology professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. A 2012 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found
that 13.8 percent of rapes against women were committed by strangers, compared to 51 percent of the crimes being committed by significant others. Fifteen percent of rapes against men were committed by strangers, while 52.4 percent of rapes against men were committed by acquaintances. The most common media portrayal of sexual assault is of attacks carried out by strangers, but this is often not the reality, Siska said. “Media coverage makes women take precautions that aren’t necessary in their public lives but not take the precautions that are necessary in their private lives,” Siska said. “[They should worry about] who they hang out with... [rather than] being hyper-vigilant about the road they take home.” The CJP collected news articles printed in the Chicago Sun-Times
and Chicago Tribune regarding sexual assault and domestic violence between June 1, 2011 and May 31, 2012. The data collection contributed to a report known as the Community Open Data Access Project, he said. The CODA research an-
alyzed 207 articles and found 96 percent of them reported cases of stranger rape, even though stranger rape cases only make up a small percentage of all sexual assaults. Siska said the trend of reporting chiefly on incidences of stranger
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rape indicates the media focusing on only one type of sexual assault and underreporting the others. Such trends in reporting lead people to believe there is only one kind of sexual criminal, said Stephen Adler, Rape Victim Advocates’ prevention education specialist. “Sexual assault is a crime of control, not sex,” Adler said. “When we have this idea that a perpetrator is a sort of boogeyman... [it’s] difficult to address what sexual assault is.” Adler said popular culture emphasizes the relationship between alcohol and sex, which reinforces rape culture. “When somebody reports that they’ve been sexually assaulted and they’ve been drinking, we go straight to blaming the victim,” Adler said. “We should be asking [the perpetrator] why they took advantage of somebody who was inebriated and could not consent to sexual activity.” Caleb Probst, education outreach associate with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, said rape prevention starts with educating potential assailants. CAASE was founded in 2006 and aims to prevent and ultimately end all sexual violence, including human trafficking and prostitution. In 2010, Probst began facilitating a CAASE curriculum called Empowering Young Men to End Sexual Exploitation, a four-session program that discusses gender and examines media and peer pressures at high schools throughout the city and state. Probst said the program stems from a survey conducted by CAASE that examined previous offenders. They advertised the survey on adult sexual service websites to find a random sample of offenders, finding that most had committed their first sexual assault between ages 19–23, according to Probst. “These men had all done this more than once,” Probst said. “We were looking for some of the attitudes and behaviors that these men might have in common.” Probst said he hopes his program will teach young men that sexual violence hurts both men and women. “For so long it was ‘Let’s teach women not to get raped,’ rather than ‘Let’s teach men not to rape,’” Probst said. “[Through the program], they begin to realize that they can be part of a solution.” mmccall@chroniclemail.com
40 • March 31, 2014
March 31, 2014 • 41
Metro
xx PARKING
Continued from Front Page
While the pay-by-cell program will simplify parking, it comes at a cost. Drivers who pay for less than two hours of parking will be charged a 35-cent fee, according to the press release. Doug Haddad, advertising manager of the publication Chicago Commuter, said he hopes the app will decrease parking costs for drivers by reducing the number of paper tickets issued, which in turn reduces paper costs for Chicago Parking Meters. Lisa Disbrow, spokeswoman for Waste Management in Illinois, said reducing the amount of paper used to print parking receipts would create a healthier environment. “Any time that we are able to not produce waste, that’s a positive for the environment,” Disbrow said. “That helps us with sustainability and saves our resources.”
Disbrow said the city is adopting more sustainable services, and the implementation of the parking app will allow drivers to use parking meters when needed while creating an avenue for the city to become more environmentally friendly. Mosbacher said although the app will be more convenient, there will always be people who prefer to pay for parking at the meter, so keeping both options available to drivers is a realistic approach to the changing parking industry. “It appears that there is a portion of the population of drivers in Chicago who embrace and appreciate the opportunity for things like parking via an app,” Mosbacher said. “Whether it’s because they appreciate the convenience, payment options or in some cases the savings, I believe that providing consumers more options and more convenience is a good thing.” ncraig@chroniclemail.com
Carolina Sanchez THE CHRONICLE Chicagoans will soon be able to avoid parking meters thanks to a new city-sponsored mobile parking app.
xx ENERGY
Continued from PG. 38
Renewable energy is appealing to business owners because it costs less than coal-powered electricity, said Wayne Hartel, energy program specialist at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, which offers businesses and homeowners renewable energy programs. “The cost savings are there in the long run,” Hartel said. “It’s a large up-front cost, which could be prohibitive, but [business owners] do see the long-term potential for savings on an energy bill.” Hartel said there is now greater interest in renewable energy among small business owners than when he came to the department six years ago. Chicago is the largest of the 600 cities to implement the Community Choice Aggregation law in 2012,,according to the report. Chicago switched from coal to Integrys Energy Services, a natural gas energy provider, with 5 percent of the city’s electricity coming from in-state wind farms, the report said. Since making the switch to IES in February, more than 720,000 homeowners and businesses have saved an average of $42 on their monthly bill, according to a March 9 press release from Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office. The North Center neighborhood has used CCA to implement renewable energy in the community by hosting forums about re-
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Courtesy BRENNA HERNANDEZ Shedd Aquarium installed 913 solar panels on top of its marine pavilion on Oct. 23, 2013. The installation was supported by state funds as part of Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to increase renewable energy resources.
newable energy initiatives, said Michael Ashkenasi, environmental committee board member in North Center. Ashkenasi said many North Center residents and business owners have expressed interest in renewable energy, specifically wind power. He said the association encourages residents to promote renewable energy, but they are also honest with citizens about the expensive initial costs. “We try not to be too high in the sky,” Ashkenasi said. “People aren’t made of money. They can’t just do something for the environment that is going to cost them thousands
of dollars. We try to be really real world and pragmatic about it.” Since beginning CCA, Chicago’s carbon footprint has decreased by 16 percent, according to the report. Medearis said Chicago is leading the initiative for clean energy, and other cities should look to Chicago as an example. “We’re hoping that more communities across Illinois and the country can follow Chicago’s lead,” Medearis said. “We’re hoping other municipalities outside Chicago are going to implement some of these things.” mcastellucci@chroniclemail.com
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March 31, 2014 • 41
The Columbia Chronicle 42 • March 31, 2014
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Angela Conners THE CHRONICLE The Illinois Republican Party held a March to Victory luncheon for GOP primary winner Bruce Rauner March 19 at the Union League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd. Rauner won the March 18 Illinois primary election with 40.1 percent of the vote, narrowly defeating Sen. Kirk Dillard, who amassed 37.3 percent. Rauner will go head-to-head with incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn in the Nov. 4 gubernatorial election.
PLYMOUTH CT.
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Catch me if you can
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Sleeping beauties
Two homeless men were arrested March 16 after an officer found them asleep at the rear entrance of the Columbia residence building at 2 E. 8th St. The officer asked the men to leave multiple times before arresting them. The building manager has complained repeatedly about homeless people loitering near entrances.
Dude, that’s my phone
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A police officer witnessed a 19-year-old man pass through the turnstile at the Roosevelt Red Line station, 22 E. Roosevelt Road, without paying the fare on March 16. The officer followed him on the next train and detained him. The man was arrested and taken to the station for processing.
8TH ST.
A man saw someone take his phone at XSport Fitness, 819 S. State St. When the man approached the thief, he denied taking it. The man reported the incident and when security questioned the alleged thief, he said he was not a member of the gym and admitted to stealing the phone. Police arrested him upon arrival.
Party of one Several guests were escorted out of their hotel room for excessive noise March 16 at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan Ave. One woman was arrested for refusing to leave the building. A responding officer asked the woman several times to leave the lobby of the hotel before arresting her. She was taken to the station for processing.
Roaming charge As a man waited for a train March 17 at the Roosevelt Red Line station, 22 E. Roosevelt Road, a stranger snatched his phone out of his hand and then fled toward the nearby Green Line platform. The man followed the thief, who punched him in the face when he approached. The phone thief was detained until police arrived to arrest him.
Marital bliss A man wrote several letters to the Chicago Police Department stating that his wife was brainwashed and he feared she could be a threat to the children’s safety. On March 17, police visited her home on the 900 block of South Michigan Avenue, and the woman explained she has a restraining order against her husband.
March 31, 2014 • 43 BACK PAGES
COMICS FROM COLUMBIA’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST Edited by Chris Eliopoulos
kamilahjones.virb.com
FOXYSQUEAKY.TUMBLR.COMT
Short Stories
Z
E HOM K R O W
» To submit comics for FREE ICE CREAM
Perspicaciously written for our readers by
HOROSCOPES
Z
Z
CROSSWORD
The Chronicle Staff Oracles
ARIES (March 21—April 20) Remember how nice it is to feel the sun and hear birds chirping as you get soaked by a cab driving through a puddle.
email Chris Eliopoulos at
freeicecream@chroniclemail.com SUDOKU
TAURUS (April 21—May 20) May all your haircuts be too short, and may all your pizzas soak through the boxes. GEMINI (May 21—June 21) You will become convinced your fortune cookies are speaking to you. Usually, they say that you need to cook your own damn food. CANCER (June 22—July 22) You will think the cute girl at Reckless Records is your soulmate until you realize she is delusional and thinks it is still 1975. LEO (July 23—Aug. 22) Your dorm will never seem boring again after you have to spend a week alone in your bedroom because all your friends went to Key West without you. VIRGO (Aug. 23—Sept. 22) The college will get your name wrong on your diploma, but that’s OK. You always wanted to be called Julio Mengladash anyway. LIBRA (Sept. 23—Oct. 23) As soon as you lose enough weight to look good in yoga pants, they will start going out of style. But at least you’ll be comfortable! SCORPIO (Oct. 24—Nov. 22) Getting high before you wrote that midterm seemed like such a good idea until you get it back and see that you wrote the entire thing as one sentence.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23—Dec. 21) You’ll feel a lot of pride in that April Fool’s prank, but
the biggest joke of all is still your bank account. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22—Jan. 20) You will get a random text this weekend. It’s the thug who tried to sell you weed on the train that one time you were drunk.
AQUARIUS
(Jan. 21—Feb. 19) Buy whipped cream this Friday. You’re in for a sultry surprise... A naked, crazed thief will come at you, and he’s allergic to whipped cream. PISCES (Feb. 20—March 20) After trying veganism this weekend, your urge to eat meat will be met as a pigeon flies head first into your mouth. March 31, 2014 • 43
CHICAGO HISTORY
EVENTS
“That’s Weird Grandma: Behind the [Monkey] Music”
... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
8 p.m. Neo-Futurarium 5153 N. Ashland Ave. (312) 409-1954 $6+
6:30 p.m. Empty Bottle 1035 N. Western Ave. (773) 281-3600 $20
“The How and the Why” 7:30 p.m. TimeLine Theatre Company 615 W. Wellington Ave. (773) 281-8463 $35+
I am a child of the Light, student of the Dark
“Improvised X-Files”
5–8 p.m. Corbett vs. Dempsey 1120 N. Ashland Ave., 3rd floor (773) 761-4477 FREE
10 p.m. Playground Theater 3209 N. Halsted St. (773) 871-3793 $10
“Cats” 8 p.m. Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire 10 Marriot Dr. (847) 634-0200 $40+
“Devil Land” 6 p.m. UrbanTheater Company 2635 W. Grand Ave., 2nd floor (312) 239-8783 $10+
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March 31, 1980
March 31, 1980
ON THIS DAY in Chicago history, the
THIS WEEK IN 1980, The Chronicle reported that the average Columbia student was a 20-year-old Democratic white male who smokes a joint every month, first had sex at age 16, knows who the governor is but not the college president, goes to church and is a thief, according to a Chronicle survey of the student body.
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad ran its final train after liquidating its assets because it went bankrupt. The railroad, otherwise known as the “Rock Island,” was a major Midwestern rail line that connected Chicago, the East Coast and Mississippi.
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Filling out a bracket for a sport I know nothing about was my equivalent of skydiving. What a rush!
» Russian President Vladamir Putin announced March 18 that Russia was reclaiming the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine, according to a same day New York Times report. Putin said in an address at the Kremlin in Moscow before the country’s political elite that he does not seek to further divide Ukraine and only annexed the peninsula to protect Russian interests from the West, particularly the U.S.
» Mexican authorities apprehended an alleged drug and organ trafficker last week. Officials said the suspect, Carlos Castellanos, is being investigated for murdering children and harvesting their organs, according to a March 18 The Guardian report. Castellanos was arrested last week in possession of stolen vehicles and drugs.
» Information provided March 18 by the Thai government suggested the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 took a sharp westward turn before communication was lost, according to a March 18 CNN report. The Thai military’s report that the airplane turned toward the Strait of Malacca renewed hopes in finding it, but as of March 21, the search has remained unsuccessful.
» According to a March 18 Al Jazeera America report, Syrians in the country’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights are receiving medical treatment from Israel’s Military Medical Corps after they were injured by a roadside bomb targeting an Israeli jeep. The bomb injured four soldiers near the town, which has been occupied by Israel since the war of 1967, according to the report.