The Columbia Chronicle October 4, 2010

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” don’t wait to repeal

xx PAGE 30 Columbia student, Nicholas Assardo (left), mugged on campus » PG. 9

The official news source of Columbia College Chicago

October 4, 2010

www.ColumbiaChronicle.com

Volume 46, Issue 5

FBI raids activists’ homes Local search, seizures call federal agents’ purpose into question

by Darryl Holliday and Meghan Keyes Assistant Metro Editors IT IS 7 a.m. on a Friday morning, and

Doug Michel is in Minnesota visiting his friends, whom he met working on a protest at the 2008 Republican National Convention. There’s a knock at the apartment door. The FBI enters, serving a search warrant and a subpoena to one of the roommates, Tracy Molm. By Michel’s account, he and friends were instructed to sit in the corner, asked not to move or use their cell phones, with no reason given, but Molm immediately calls her lawyer. For approximately three hours, the agents sifted through Molm’s papers and belongings, seizing any activist material and artwork from Palestine and Colombia. “This was not my apartment, but I certainly felt violated,” Michel said. The FBI conducted raids in both Minneapolis and Chicago on Sept. 24, targeting those suspected of providing “material support” to international terrorist groups. Among them were Joe Iosbaker and Stephanie Weiner.Their Logan Square house was one of eight raided by the FBI. Approximately 30 boxes of the family’s personal possessions were confiscated by the federal agency, including artwork and poetry by their younger son. Outside the Chicago FBI headquarters, 2111 W. Roosevelt Road, on Sept. 27 approximately 200 people protested the searches and the subpoenas. “The searches we conducted last week were part of an ongoing criminal inves-

Brock Brake THE CHRONICLE

Joe Iosbaker and Stephanie Weiner sit in front of their raided Logan Square home. Activists and supporters across the country have condemned the raids as a method of intimidating the anti-war movement.

tigation,” said Ross Rice, spokesman and special agent for the FBI. “The searches were conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a federal judge in Chicago based on probable cause.” Iosbaker, an activist in Chicago and chief steward for Local 73 of the Service Employees International Union, was one of the subpoenaed. His wife, Weiner, spoke out at the rally.

Columbia confronts financial reality, regroups for 2016 Programs cut, President Carter announces new initiatives, strategic plan by Katy Nielsen Assistant Campus Editor PRESIDENT WARRICK L. Carter introduced

Columbia’s new strategic plan, Focus 2016, on Sept. 27, aimed at improving student learning, increasing enrollment and strengthening the college’s finances. The plan was unveiled at Stage Two, in

Health & Fitness » PG. 11

the 618 S. Michigan Ave. Building. Though it was Monday afternoon, the room was filled with more faculty, staff and administration than was expected. Focus 2016 seeks to improve the quality of student education and work within the confines of a difficult financial situation. Columbia 2010, the strategic plan developed in 2004, had goals reflecting a more stable economic climate. With difficult economic times, a shrinking budget and an increasingly competitive art, media and communication field,

Arts & Culture

“It’s not just our family, it’s not just those [who] got the knock on Friday,” Weiner said. “It’s not just the many movement activists here today… it’s not about two people or 10 people, it’s about the true message. It is not about these main people, it is about a movement being attacked and the FBI’s attempt to intimidate, silence and divide.” Rice said procedure was followed in

obtaining the warrants and conducting these searches was the same as any other. “As far as any allegations that we target people or groups based on their political affiliation, that is totally and completely untrue,” Rice said. “We support and defend the Constitution and that includes the right to peaceably

how does Columbia stay current and adopt new programs when funds are lacking? “Everything comes down to finance,” Carter said. “Columbia 2010 was focused on the idea that money was going to be flowing into the college.” Carter said it was assumed that enrollment would be high, and there would be new programs and more buildings in the South Loop. But in 2007, the economy collapsed and goals set in 2004 were no longer realistic, according to Carter. Despite the downward economy, Carter said most of the Columbia 2010 goals were met. “The economy has changed the game plan for all of us,” Carter said. “What Focus 2016 does is create a plan in the realities of what we see happening today.”

Modest increases in tuition and enrollment, Carter said, are part of the college’s financial plan. He also said improving student learning initiatives will hopefully bring more students to Columbia and keep them here. He said the goal is to keep classes current by adding new majors that reflect the real world and broaden education. “We look at what is going on in television, radio and film,” Carter said. “The lines are blurred.” This broader knowledge will help students in the future when they look for jobs in ever-changing media industries. Carter said he also wants to remove concentrations with small populations,

» PG. 18

Metro

xx SEE RAID, PG. 34

» PG. 37

xx SEE 2016, PG. 8

INDEX Campus 3

MSI Muppet mania Chicago marathon 2010

H&F 11 A&C 17

Chicago’s dark knights

Commentary 30 Metro 33


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