Arts & Culture: The Onion and A.V. Club’s Second
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Annual 26th Annual Comedy Festival returns to Chicago, See pg. 21
Online exclusive video
Opinions: SJP reacts to Letter to the Editor,
The School of the Art Institute Annual Runway Show 2015
See pg. 38
SPRING 2015
WEEKS LEFT
No. 1 Non-Daily College Newspaper in the Nation MONDAY, MAY 11, 2015
THE OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO
VOLUME 50, ISSUE 30
Kim: We need to communicate better TYLER EAGLE Editor-in-Chief NEARLY A WEEK after SaveColumbia,
a coalition of students, staff and faculty protesting recent administrative actions and the Strategic Plan, launched a picket and held a sit-in on the 600 S. Michigan Ave. Building’s fifth floor—the floor that houses several administrative offices, including that of president and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim—a Change.org petition calling for the board of trustees to vote “No Confidence” in Kim and Provost Stan Wearden has gathered more than 200 signatures. The protest marks the end of Kim’s second year at his post. From leading the college in drafting the Strategic Plan to filling the once-vacant positions of his cabinet, Kim’s second year on the job has been a year of change—change that has sparked support and contention from all facets of the campus community. The Chronicle had the chance last week to sit down and talk with Kim about SaveColumbia and its
demands, the Strategic Plan and his vision of the college’s future.
THE CHRONICLE: Looking back at the year, is there anything you wish you had done differently? What accomplishment are you most proud of? KWANG-WU KIM: I am proud of the fact that we built the Strategic Plan. What will happen over time is people will see how, as this plan opens up and is implemented, many things at this school will continue to develop and evolve and get better and [become] more valuable to students. Parts that I would do differently again—I realize since I’ve been here, a lot of things have been moving fast. New people arriving, new ideas out there, new structures being tested. I realize as an administration we have not been clear and regular enough in our communication….That’s what I have been thinking about. Moving forward, how many ways can we effectively communicate what is going on and how to help the college absorb all of these changes. xx SEE KIM, PG. 8
Lou Foglia THE CHRONICLE President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim is approaching the end of his second year in his role. Kim has been criticized for not meeting with student protesters during a May 1 protest led by SaveColumbia, a coalition of campus community members that aims to combat tuition increases and large class sizes.
FYS replacement connects college to Windy City
MEGAN BENNETT Campus Reporter Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE Members of the US of CC gathered outside of the 600 S. Michigan Ave. Building on May 6 to pass out slices of pizza and spread awareness of their cause.
US of CC in negotiations for new contract SAM VINTON
Campus Reporter MEMBERS OF THE United Staff of Co-
lumbia College, the college’s staff union, assembled outside of the 600 S. Michigan Ave. Building on May 6 and passed out pizza slices to passersby, sending the message that Columbia’s staff do a lot for a small piece of the pie. “Pizza with the Staff,” a spinoff of President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim’s “Pizza with the President,” was an opportunity for staff to raise
awareness about the issues most affecting them. The union has been in negotiations with the college for a contract that officially expired in 2013 but was extended for one year, said JeeYeun Lee, secretary of the US of CC and director of Development and Communications for the Center for Community Arts Partnerships. Lee said one of the key issues the staff is bargaining for in the new contract is a cost-of-living adjustment in salaries. Although the terms of the old contract hold while the union is in negotiations, every
65 faculty and staff considering mass buyout • PAGE 11
year without a cost of living increase is another year that the staff falls behind, she said. The union is asking for a 5 percent cost-of-living increase for all staff, according to information from the US of CC. “In our lives, all of the expenses continue to go up,” she said. “Every year that there isn’t an increase is a year that we’re actually spending more. Especially for staff who get paid the least, all of that makes a huge difference in just living.”
Renegades tennis wraps up • PAGE 11
xx SEE PIZZA, PG. 8
“BIG CHICAGO” COURSES—THE college’s
experimental replacement for the soon-to-be discontinued First-Year Seminar program—are in the final stages of development as the college works to create its third attempt at the required freshman course. The 14 currently proposed classes, which will enroll 80–200 students in a lecture hall-style classroom, will be divided by major, said Suzanne Blum Malley, interim dean of the School of Liberal Arts & Sciences. However, incoming freshmen will be encouraged to choose a class outside of their major, Blum Malley said. “Ideally, this will be an experience [for students] to be exposed to
Breaking the biggest stories of 2014–2015 • PAGE 6
something a little different,” Blum Malley said. Though the class sizes will be larger, new technology and multimedia give faculty members the chance to have a more interactive experience, Blum Malley said. “The class is designed to have some aspect of a lecture style, which, yes, is unusual for Columbia,” she said. “But there are also some interesting things you can do in a larger classroom. To have presentations more interactive and interesting—this isn’t your mom or dad or grandparent’s lecture hall.” Diana Vallera, adjunct professor in the Photography department and P-Fac president, said she has
xx SEE CHICAGO, PG. 10
Pride Parade may have to move • PAGE 41 T HE COLUMBIA C HRONICLE