Arts & Culture: DuSable Museum of African
American History highlights iconic ‘70s animations See pg. 17
13
Veterans recount 9/11 experiences Online exclusive video
Opinions: Death penalty remains barbaric practice
FALL 2014
WEEKS LEFT
See pg. 33
No. 1 Non-Daily College Newspaper in the Nation MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2014
THE OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO
VOLUME 50, ISSUE 3
Few students turn out for 9/11 commemoration CARISSA DEGEN Assistant Campus Editor “NEVER FORGET,” A term often used
when discussing the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people and led to years of military engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan, seems to have largely fallen on deaf ears at Columbia. The college’s Student Veteran Society and the Student Programming Board hosted “Together We Remember” on Sept. 11. The openmic event was meant to heighten the visibility of the college’s veteran students and commemorate the 13th anniversary of the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon. But rather than drawing throngs of students to the Papermaker’s Garden, 754 S. Wabash Ave., the event attracted only a handful of attendees. The mostly-empty chairs held Stan Wearden, senior vice president and provost, the guest speakers and a few students, many of whom left within the first 30 minutes. Onlookers would occasion-
ally stop, but few filtered into the small crowd. The veteran speakers read personal stories and poetry while SPB set up tables for students to write letters to troops who are still serving overseas. Brian Ngo, a junior marketing communication major and president of the Student Veteran Society, said the event was held to change students’ and the community’s perspective on what a veteran is. “I want [students] to have more information before making judgments and drawing conclusions,” Ngo said. “The exposure of vets [on campus] to students is somewhat lacking.” Ngo, who was disappointed with the turnout of the event but was appreciative of the people who attended, said that the location, which sits adjacent to an elevated train line, may have contributed to the poor turnout. The rattle of the train made it difficult to hear and understand the speakers and once the noise subsided, the brisk fall
xx SEE 9/11, PG. 9
Carolina Sánchez THE CHRONICLE The Student Veteran Society and the Student Programming Board hosted “Together We Remember,” an open-mic event in the Papermaker’s Garden, 754 S. Wabash Ave., that invited the college’s veterans to commemorate the 13th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
College optimizes website Former addict finds success on stage for recruitment BAXTER BARROWCLIFF
KATHERINE DAVIS Campus Editor
IN TANDEM WITH a city-wide adver-
tising campaign implemented to rebrand the college, a new college website launched Sept. 10. Conceived as an effort to attract more students to the institution at a time when enrollment has steadily declined, the website’s launch is just in time for recruiting season—a time when high school and transfer students are making their final decisions about where to apply, according to Stan Wearden, senior vice president and provost. The college worked with iFactory, a web design firm, to conduct research on how prospective students would respond to the new website. The result: potential students responded positively during
Parent’s Weekend joins WAC Crawl • PAGE 3
testing periods, Wearden said. “It’s a huge improvement over what we had before,” Wearden said. “I think it’s one of the best college websites I’ve seen anywhere.” The website features a modern look and is optimized to be mobilefriendly so it will display fluidly on phones and tablets as well as the PC version. Initial planning began in Spring 2013, and since then more than 150 faculty, staff, administrators and alumni have collaborated to create the final product, he said. Wearden said it is important for the college to have an updated website because it more efficiently advertises the college’s mission and values, which allows the community, potential donors and prospective students to better understand
xx SEE WEBSITE, PG. 9
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
“METHTACULAR,” A SHOW that ex-
plores the life of a gay man addicted to crystal meth, is gearing up for its final two weeks at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave., in Boystown. The one-man show follows the life of Steven Strafford, a gay man raised in New Jersey who later moved to Chicago and was sucked into the seedy underworld of methamphetamine use, bathhouses and phone sex lines of the city’s gay community. When Strafford arrived in Chicago in January 2000 after graduating college, he was introduced to the drug while using local phone sex lines that allowed men to respond to each other’s messages and meet up. “The funny thing is that it was not from going out to clubs—I never really did that—I was actually scared
Research continues to probe concussions • PAGE 11
of that,” Strafford said. “I was using these phone sex lines and I met up with this guy and he was like, ‘Try this drug,’ and that was it.” Within seconds of Strafford snorting the powerful stimulant for the first time, he began to feel more confident about himself, something he said he never felt until that moment. “The first time I did the drug was the first time that I felt there was nothing wrong with me,” Strafford said. “When I did crystal [meth] for the first time, I felt strong, sexy and confident. I felt better than I had ever felt before, so that was something I was going to chase down.” James Belanger, a clinical counselor at the Haymarket Center in Chicago, said even though people of all orientations use methamphetamines, it is
xx SEE STRAFFORD, PG. 28
Wrigley Field: Going, going, gone? • PAGE 20
Courtesy STEVEN STRAFFORD Steven Strafford, star of “Methtacular,” portrays the life of a gay man with a drug addiction in his solo show.
South Side baseball hits home run • PAGE 35 T HE COLUMBIA C HRONICLE