CPS students respond to new guidelines xx Web Exclusive
Spring 2012
The official news source of Columbia College Chicago
Januar y 30, 2012
13
weeks remaining
Volume 47, Issue 18
Separate but not equal Proposed ward map gets approved, leaves some unhappy
Town Hall 2.0
by Vanessa Morton Special Assignments Editor AFTER MONTHS of planning, private meet-
Columbia administrators hear second round of questions, grievances from students, faculty, staff Ting Shen THE CHRONICLE
From left: Members of Columbia’s administration, including Interim Associate Provost Len Strazewski, Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Kelly and Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Louise Love listen to a student’s inquiry at the second Town Hall meeting on Jan. 27 at 33 East Congress Pkwy.
by Sam Charles Managing Editor THE SECOND Town Hall meeting in as many
months between members of Columbia’s full- and part-time faculty, administration, staff and students was held Jan. 27, with many of the same attendees present and themes of the initial meeting in December 2011 being revisited. Topics under the microscope included the treatment of part-time faculty and staff, a suggested freeze of tuition costs,
more budget transparency, fair representation of part-time faculty in decisionmaking that affect the college as a whole and the ongoing prioritization process. Taking questions from the audience were Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Louise Love, Interim Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs Len Strazewski, Associate Professor in the Marketing Communication Department Shanita Akintonde and Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Kelly. “We had a good session in December,”
Love said. “We look forward to a positive exchange of ideas.” The meeting was held on the first floor of the 33 E. Congress Parkway Building whereas the initial gathering was held on the eighth floor of the Alexandroff Campus Center, 600 S. Michigan Ave. Organizers of the event, specifically from the group “Occupy Columbia,” planned the meeting weeks in advance. With 25 chairs flanking each side of the xx SEE TOWN HALL, PG. 2
Bad medicine f or meat
xx SEE SPACE, PG. 7
Drug-pumped livestock feed threatens human health by Emily Fasold Assistant Sports & Health Editor
MEAT IS a dietary staple for many Ameri-
cans and often the centerpiece of barbeques, potlucks and family functions. However, new data confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration shows that 80 percent of antimicrobial drugs made in the U.S. end up in meat, meaning you might want to think twice before sinking your teeth into a burger. Earlier this month, the FDA banned the routine use of cephalosporin antibiotics in livestock feed, but restrictions on penicillin and other medically important antibiotics were postponed. The ban came almost two weeks after the FDA announced it would not restrict the use of antibiotics such as penicillin. FDA spokeswoman Laura Alvey said the restriction was enacted to protect human health. When animals are given low doses of antibiotics, they develop resistance to them, as do the
Campus
Getting behind Greek life
» PG. 8
ings and public hearings on the current re-districting process, a new ward map has been approved, determining where the city’s political boundaries will be placed. In order to reflect population changes recorded in the U.S. census, the process of redrawing district boundary lines of the city’s 50 wards is required every 10 years. The final proposal came after Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for a special City Council meeting Jan. 19. A new map was presented to the city’s aldermen and a vote was taken in an effort to avoid a spring referendum and possible lawsuits that would ultimately cost city taxpayers money.
people who consume them. “We are particularly concerned ... because little is known about the toxicological effect of cephalosporin drug when used in food-producing animals,” Alvey said. The FDA declined to comment on why the proposed ban of penicillin and other drugs was not passed. “This is a step in the right direction, but much more is needed to really have an impact on the threat to human health,” said Richard Wood, chair of Keep Antibiotics Working, one of several advocacy groups that work to eliminate the frequent use of antibiotics in food animals. Livestock is fed low doses of antibiotics on a regular basis to promote
In the past, at the state level and at the city level, redistricting has kind of been a closed door affair.” –Whitney Woodward
Sara Mays THE CHRONICLE
However, the swift meeting left no room for the public to see the map before it was approved. Whitney Woodward, policy associate for the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, said the way the map was handled was rushed and disappointing. She said the lack of transparency creates a barrier between the people and city government. “In the past, at the state level and at the city level, redistricting has kind of been a closed door affair,” Woodward said. “There hasn’t been much transparency or public engagement by the elected officials who are basically given the task of redrawing their own district quarters, and what has happened in past decades [is] that this has had the effect of lawmakers choosing their voters instead of the other way around.” In the end, the final vote was 41-8, the minimum number of votes needed to approve the remap. Members who voted “no” included aldermen Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward), Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward), Michael Zalewski (23rd Ward),
Antibiotics are often included in livestock feed on a daily basis, which not only contaminates the meat but also the water, soil and air.
xx SEE MAP, PG. 42
xx SEE MEAT, PG. 15
Sports & Health
» PG. 13
London 2012 wants Doug Bruno
Metro
Libraries reassess closures
» PG. 41
Index Campus 2 Sports & Health 13 Arts & Culture 21 Commentary 34 Metro 37