the
ee S N
CLASSY STREET STYLE BY:
AKIN
plus HATERBLOCKERS FOR HAITI
GORECYCLED GREENFASHION WITH
Welcome to Issue VII of Seen Magazine! Wow, what a year! It was a year that demonstrated the awesome power of new media forms like facebook playing a major role in Egypts Revolution, twitter #winning it for Charlie Sheen, and the online viral videos that have so defined this 2011. Not to mention the end of a media talk show era with the last airing of the Oprah show. Here at the Seen, we’ve shifted gears yet again to keep up with the digital world. We’ve added a blogging component to our site, recorded fashion video how-to’s, fashion talk shows and have expanded to included high school students from Chicago and other Northern suburban high schools. This year our illustrious Senior Layout Editor, Allison Slaughter, is leaving us. If you talk about a young role model, to us, that’s Allison. Allison has been with the Seen for the past 3 years and has worked diligently on each issue during her lunch periods! It was a pleasure to work on her farewell spread on page 43. Thank you for your dedication, committment and talent! We will miss you! In this issue two Seen alums return to share their college experience and it’s all about growth and expansion. You’ll also find a tribute to the beautiful country of Haiti, along with it’s rich, resiliant and empowering history. You will also understand why Haiti is in need of our attention and support. Why is it important? Because Haiti’s roots run deep in the Evanston Community, and in Seen Magazine! What about the print issues? We haven’t shelved print, but going digital has many pros. For one, we will be able to release more issues a year, and the plan is to increase to a quarterly release next year as well as collaboration with other High Schools in the Chicagoland area. Living in a Global society makes it important to connect with others to share ideas, promote understanding, and, let’s face it, it just makes life a lot more fun and interesting, at Seen we grow, learn and expand with our global world. Come join us. We’ll be working through the summer so be proactive and get involved, you can start with an email or a facebook message :). Sincerely, Seen Magazine Sandra Sarmonpal-Advisor www.ethsseen.com Cover look: Model: Freshman Jessica Rodriguez Head to toe AKIN Hair and Make-up:
special thanks Charles Whitaker and the National Association of Black Journalists Northwestern Chapter. AKIN Lincoln Park Plato’s Closet Skokie Intern: Danielle Alston
Classy Street Style from Akin Lincoln Park.
013 Digital World
Seen enters the world of video making.
015 Haiti in E-Town
Haiti’s deep roots in Evanston.
019 Plato’s Closet
You’ll be surprised at the gems you’ll find!
027 LBD
036 Senior Farewell
Allison Slaughter Senior Layout Editor heads to Standford University.
037 SeeN How To
Got Curves? Lucky you...
039 Andrew Cardenas
2011
Dear Readers
003 AKIN
Reppin’ Art, creating HaterBlockers...and loving it!
The Little Black Dress, by Tal041 ented Laura Nordhem. SeeN Alums Advice and goings ons.
032 Charles Whitaker
MAY 042 Northwestern Medill Professor shares his perspective on Get Your Study On diversity and advice for aspir- Study Socially. ing journalists.
IN
We love street style. But by street style we don’t mean sagging your pants, unkempt and messy! We mean that classy swaggalicious style seen...well HERE at Seen on our amazing models. Check out Aubrey on the next page. Classy, sporty, street but still taking care of bizness. School bizness, home bizness, and the overall bizness of making a future for yourself, which is what Aubrey will be doing next year at Columbia in Chicago.
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AK
Photographer: Olivia Gann
Aubrey Marquez, Senior, will be attending Columbia next fall with an intended major in Acting. He is rockin’ an AKIN signature logo tee.
Akin carries the largest and LATEST selection of kicks in Chicagoland. You’ll find it at AKIN LIncoln Park first!
AKIN Lincoln Park carries a large selection of kicks and street gear. All Evanston Students get 20-30% off purchases! Just show your ID!
Senior Aubrey Marquez and Junior Khadijah Davis rock AKIN gear from head to toe. caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption
Lydia Levy stands pensive in Akin Lincoln Park’s Tee Shirt LIne
the digital world
2011 is not necessarily the dawn of New Media, but it definetly marks the proof of the power the the digital world commandeers. Can we say Revolution? Egypt style. Seen took to video to keep up with the times, we did a how-to with Jessica (which we lost, we’re new...), a Hater-Blocker video, an episode on Sagging Your Pants (NOT RECOMMENDED). We took a nose-dive into the digital world and loved every moment. check it out: www.theseenmagazine.com
Haiti Roots at Evanston The Beginning: Haiti, the world’s only independent nation established as a result of a slave revolution, declared itself a Republic in 1804. The defeat of the French army by an organized army of Haitian slaves led by Toussaint Louverture initiated in 1796 didn’t sit well with rest of the Western nations who were dependent on slave labor to maintain their wealth. What happens next is predictable. US Embargo of Haiti and the French Indemnity America refuses to recognize Haiti as a free nation until 1863. Economically, America was dependent on slave labor to produce the wealth it is recognized for today. Socially, Thomas Jefferson, then president of the US and a slave owner himself, viewed Hatian people as he viewed the people he bought and sold as property in his own home. In 1825, France made an outrageous demand: Haiti was to pay an indemnity of 150 million francs, the equivalent of 21.7 billion today for what France claimed as lost profits accumulated over ten years of insurgence. To put this number in perspective, France sold the Louisiana purchase to the US for a mere 60 million francs in 1803, doubling the US territories. How many times in history has the country that won the war been made to pay the country it defeated? In order to secure it’s independence, Haiti, still recovering from a 12 year war fought on Haitian land was forced to borrow money from US and French banks in order to pay off the indemnity. At the same time, both countries crippled Haiti’s economic power with a string of embargoes. US interference in Haiti continued with a series of military occupations, economic and military backing of corrupt dictators, sabotaging popularly elected officials and obstructing the Haitian peoples movement towards democracy. US policies in Haiti have resulted in poverty, grossly inadequate health care, dysfunctional infrastructure, depleted economy, restricted resources and unfortified building structures in an area, just as in California, that was known to lie on a major fault line. Hatian students and teachers at ETHS pose to show their support of and pride in thier country
Ultimately, these policies have resulted in the rubble that is now Haiti. Rubble isn’t sexy. One year later, only 5% of the rubble has been cleared, the other 95% acts as a graveyard for the bodies of mothers, fathers, daughters and sons. It seems that the endeavor of throwing out the garbage is stumping everybody. No one wants to do it. It’s just not sexy enough. So far, of the billions donated, only a small percent has actually been spent, and much of the aid pledged by governments around the world has not come through. It is predicted that people will donate less because of the apparent ineffectiveness of the relief effort. In an attempt to discover how relief organizations are spending aid funding, the Huffington Post contacted the organizations and asked them how much of the aid funds had been spent and how it was or would be spent. Only one of the organizations contacted mentioned clearing rubble on their list of action items. It is impossible to rebuild unless the rubble is cleared away. Reports indicate that rubble causes confusion, and to be fair, it’s not as simple as it may sound. The rubble contains over 200,000 individual human remains that cannot be thrown haphazardly into a landfill, and there is the need for protocol when clearing away the remains of what used to be someones home. People want to help, but building roads, hospitals, schools or programs is easier and more attractive than clearing rubble. Rubble, it seems, is not sexy enough for most of us.
four generations of haitian pride
Haiti roots run deep in Etown as these four generations show. Mr. Success to the far right actually coached Mr. Calixte in soccer when he went to school at ETHS, Mr. Brown was a student here at ETHS when Mr. Calixte was teaching history and is now a History teacher here as well! On the far left is Duly, a current Senior at ETHS. Duly, you have big shoes to follow! Be on it!
pla t clo o’s se t
Rompers are hot this season, as are bright patterns and feminine shapes. At Plato’s you will be surprised at the gems that you will find, like our favorite, Michael Kors slouchy boots on Chandler on the opposite page.
Seen Models: Toni Maxwell, Merranda Chaney, Hattia Jones and .... use layers, accessories and calm, cool swag to showcase looks for summer.
LBD
[ little black dress ]
Are you a fan of the Little Black Dress? Check out these designs by ETHS’s very own, sophomore, Laura Nordhem. Seen intern Danielle Alston directed this photoshoot with photographer Danon Bright. The over-the-top headbands were added for whimsical fun. Got some ideas for fashionable designs of your own? The first step is learning how to sew! You can do that at ETHS’s very own Sewing Club. Just check your pilot! If you’re interested in taking a course over the summer, check out Vogue Fabrics in downtown Evanston. Laura Nordhem models her own design on the right. Below, model Joli Chandler from Whitney Young High School models a LN variation of the LBD.
Opposite page: Chelsea Tinsley and Joli Chandler showcase Laura’s Little Black Dress line. Her playful headbands were created specifically for this shoot.
Seen Magazine Intern Danielle Alston, here is a message from this Whitney Young Graduate heading to Boston University in the fall: This fall I will be enrolled at Boston University in the freshman class of 2015. Before my journey to Boston I decided to defer my first year. During this year I had the opportunity to travel abroad and study in Barcelona, Spain for 4 months on my own. That experience changed the way I see not only the world, but how I see myself. I was finally able to view my future on an international level. After my pockets went dry, I spent the second semester of my year at a community college in Chicago. Studying at Harold Washington College really taught me the value of education. I am excited to continue my African American culture and Political Science studies at BU. Before any word about Boston, I studied at Whitney M. Young High School. As a freshman I remember the best way to make the most of a transitional year was to make a lot of friends and join a lot of activities. Even if you don’t know what you love yet, you have to experiment. Towards the end of high school, after working my butt off junior year, I started to really question my future. I also began to realize how important it is to appreciate the present, as the past 4 years seemed to slip through my fingertips. I do remember one of my favorite parts about high school was the daily privilege of deciding what to wear, and the many styles and phases I experimented with throughout the years. Don’t be afraid to draw some eyes. If people are looking at you, it’s because you’re something different. What you wear is one of the few things you get to control in your life and one way to express yourself; have fun with it. Don’t let the haters stop you from doing yo thang. To the right, SeeN Mag intern Danielle Alston and the photographer for the LBD photoshoot
interview: charles whitaker
Northwestern Professor Charles Whitaker gives perspective on Diversity, and advice for aspiring journalists. SM: You’ve played a lot of roles in the publishing industry, which did you enjoy the most? When I first got into journalism it was because I like to write and I really thought that was what I wanted to do, be a writer. As I started moving up the ranks in magazines from associate editor to senior editor...now I find I like helping people find their voice, help them find the structure of the story, it’s really working with a writer to shape the story. It’s that writer/editor relationship that I like a lot. Helping them be the best that they can be. SM: What are your thoughts on ethnic specific publications and diversity in the industry? I still think there is a need for what we call authentic voices story telling, and that is people of specific ethnicity telling stories in their own voices. There still is a need for African-American media, Latino media, AsianAmerican media, but that doesn’t negate the need for more diversity within the mainstream media as well because those are the publications that purport to reflect society as a whole...to their credit they do a fairly good job of putting people of color in the pages so if you see the pages of an Esquire, a Glamour, a Vogue you will see people of color represented in those pages but if you go behind the scenes you will not see people of color working there very much at all so I think there is still a need to break some barriers that exist within those publications. SM: In 2050 the aggregated numbers of minorities will be over 50%, do you think that the media will naturally diversity itself to reflect those demographics? We’ll be a minority-majority country so minority as a term won’t mean anything by that time. I never believe that diversity happens on its own, I don’t think there is this natural evolution that makes diversity happen because there’s this natural inclination for us to mingle with people who are like us. So I think that diversity actually requires us to really work at it and think about it. The thing about the magazine industry is that it is not only not diverse in terms of people of color, it’s not diverse in terms of where people come from. The big joke in the industry is that affirmative action in the magazine industry means hiring someone who went to a state school as opposed to someone who went to Columbia, Harvard, Yale Brown, you know, one of the Ivy’s. So they really have to think outside there traditional comfort zone in order to open those doors. I think there is movement, but it takes people to work at it.
SM: How do you prepare to write a story? The first thing I do and the first thing I tell my students to do before you write the story is to do your homework. So you’ve got to sit down and do some research. You never want to go to an interview cold. Occasionally, in daily newspapers and the internet world where things happen rapidly sometimes you do have to just drop everything and go out to do a story but if there’s a story that you have time to reflect on, think about and prepare questions for a story. Go and read as much about that thing or that person as you can, prior to doing the interview and then form in your head some questions you think would elicit good answers about that thing. So that’s the best preparation you can do. The best thing you can do during the interview is to listen to that person and as follow up questions. You don’t want to get so tied to a list of questions that you don’t follow up on an interesting topic. You always want to listen and be very much in tune to what is going on. What do you recommend for high school students to do who want to pursue journalism? If you want to be a writer two things. one you should read, first you need to understand what good writing is and you understand that by reading. You should just read everything you can get your hands on. and it doesn’t matter, for me, it doesn’t matter if you read magazines, newspapers...novels, graphic novels I think any kind of reading is good so you get a sense of story telling. And then you try to mimic, you just start writing. Read critically, think about what that writer is doing, how are they using sentences how are they using sentence structure. Good writing has long sentences and short sentences it has descriptions and it’s very vivid. Pay attention to word usage, build your vocabulary and then start employing all of those techniques in your own writing. Wherever you can. SM: What qualities are most important for students to succeed in journalism? You need to be inquisitive you need to be curious about the world around you and want to explore that. Good journalists are people who are always asking why. Why is that? Why is that building up like that? Why are those people doing so and so? And then after asking why you want to learn how to find the answer. As a journalist all of the information you are amassing is going to be important to your work. It is the only job I can think of where nothing that you are learning right now is not going to come back and smack you in the face out in the field. SM: Thank you so much for your time with us today. You are very welcome.
Above: Allison and her two friends (Brianna Spencer and Zenay Trevino) help do layout for Seen Magazine; Right: Allison begrudgingly poses for her goodbye shoot, we love her casual and laid back style, those boots are killer!
senior farewell Allison Slaughter has been working with Seen Magazine as Senior Layout Editor since she was a Sophmore! She has been the main driving force behind every magazine layout since our third issue. We are on seven by the way. What is most impressive is that because Allison is so involved in other sports (basketball and soccer) as well as other extra-curriculars, she ended up bringing her lunch to the Seen offices every day during layout season. Her friends missed her so much that they began to accompany her. Congratulations to Allison on also winning the National Merit Scholarship this year! She will be attending Stanford University next fall. Congratulations on all of your achievements Allison!
dress for your figure: curvy Fashion has a notorious reputation for representing one body type: skinny. We know that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and that rockin’ those curves are beautiful, just as walking on the slim side is. The thing is, we don’t choose. In the words of Lady Gaga, we’re all just ‘born this way.’ What way? Look into the mirror, that’s you and it’s beautiful. All shapes are beautiful, and your choice of what to put on every day either detracts or enhances that image reflected back at you. Jessica Cooper ventured into Seen Studios to share her hints and tips on how to dress your curves with class and style.
the artist behind hater-blockers:
andrew cardenis Hello, my name is Andrew Cardenas. I am currently a sophmore at Evanston Township High School. The current trend at school is Hater Blockers, which are used to block out the hatred. All of the proceeds made while selling Hater Blockers are donated to Haiti, to help raise money for vehicles that can remove rubble left over from the earthquake. I am the head artist in the Hater Blocker project. My view on art is on much more than just paper. My favorite art form is grafitti because there are simply no limits or boundries to what can be expressed. Anybody can be a part of art, if they set their mind to it.
Special thanks to my sister, Norberto Infante, Frumpy, and the Graf Club for the support and much appresiated help along the way. Seen thanks Andrew for all his hard word and energy. For more information on the Hater-Blocker Project, see our webpage at www.ethsseen.com. OR search for us on facebook: Hater Blockers For Haiti.
Study
Just finishing up his Freshman year at Western Illinois University, Robert Gill comes back with some sound advice for next school year. What Robert loves most and least about his college experience: What I love most about school is the freedom, and independence. What I like least about school is the fire alarms going off during the middle of the night
Robert on getting used to being away from home: At first it feels weird, and there’s a feeling of homesickness of course, but by the end of first semester and definitely second semester it really feels great to be away from home and experience something new Listen up for: FRESHMEN! The advice I would give freshmen in order to achieve success in high school would be to maintain a high grade point average the whole year (it’s harder to raise it the last three years). Get to know as many people in the building as possible (in a good way). Stay out of trouble. Be on time to class. Use your assignment notebook! GET INVOLVED! SOPHOMORES! GET INVOLVED or stay involved. Be more self sufficient. Take advantage of ALL the resources available! Seek help when you know it’s needed, before it’s too late. ENJOY everyday, the good and bad because if you felt that freshmen year was fast...all four years of high school are fast! Get to know even more people than you did freshmen year. Use your assignment notebook! JUNIORS, don’t procrastinate! Use your assignment notebooks. Be on time to class. Stay out of trouble. Put effort into studying. Try your hardest on your ACT’s and maintain good grades. Use the College Career Center. Develop good time management skills. Start thinking about post high school decisions and start researching where you want to go or do. Once you get your ACT score back try and the early admissions. Use Naviance! SENIORS! Avoid getting Senioritis too early (remember you haven’t graduated yet). Fill out college applications first quarter. Have great time management, don’t let college/FAFSA/scholarship deadlines pass you by. Take advantage of the wonderful help of your teachers and College Career Center. Balance time between, college admissions, classes and social life. Stay out trouble and don’t get any detentions (administration is serious when it comes to graduation and prom). ENJOY your last year of high school, make the best of every moment...your time is winding down.
Habits There is no ONE way to study, we all have different strategies we use that we have found work best for us. But one thing the Seen knows is that two heads are better than one when it comes to getting results. Do you and your friends talk about school and your classes on a regular basis? Does your social circle also include other students from your classes? If not...start! Research shows that students who study and socialize together do better in school. Yes. Achieving better results can start with sitting down at a table with your books and some friends. It makes a lot of sense. Think about all the different ways that people learn: visual, audio, kinesthetic (by doing). A study group incorporates all these different activities which means that studying together ultimately:
engages you.
It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure. coco chanel