The Courier Student Newspaper Portfolio

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Joseph Molino

GRAPHICS EDITOR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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Mazzochi and Napolitano talk boycott and a new trustee

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Women’s basketball breaks loss streak PAGE 17 >

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Club brings Meatless Mondays to campus p7

Community vs. college

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Testing center switch provides new opportunity for returning students p3 FEATURES:

COD alumni showcase talents in Wings Gallery

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selecte as new college Presiden

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OPINION

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COD launches first veteran transition program p3

Why it’s time to retire the idea of “plus-sized.”p16

COD hosts competition; lacks team members p17

SPORTS

FEATURES

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Ann Furries, gamers and LARPers take COD by storm at 21st annual CODCON p7Rondea

What we expect to see from Panthers p10 F E A the T U new R Etrustee S Sodexo offers health conscious choices: vs. Broncos: why to choose them for your own sake p7 who has the The Courier’s endorsements for this year’s Student Leadership Council Elections Kanye and Rihanna What to expect from Seventh trustee display artistic track · F O C U S the upcoming · seated upper hand? evolution season OPINION, PAGE 12 >

p12

Baseball confident despite end of winning streak p17

What we want to see in a new president p10

NEWS, PAGE 3 >

EDITORIAL

Prejudice at play in our debate over Syrian citizens

NEWS

Final three presidential candidates chosen p3

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An Inside Look at the Lives of COD’s Muslim students

SPORTS

Muslim Student

C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R / / 2 7 A P R I L 2 0 1 6 / / V O L U M E 5 0 – I S S U E 2 7

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PAGE 11 > NEWS

COURIER COURIER FEATURES

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Weather balloon

Association hosts launch proves COD Softball ranked third in the nation Islam Awareness successful Week Shows promising start to season ahead p14 EXCLUSIVE: WOZNIAK TALKS PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH COMMITTEE

COLLEGE OF DUPAGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER \\ 03 FEBRUARY 2016 \\ VOLUME 50, ISSUE 16

FEATURES

COD Distinguished Alumni Mariam Paré shares her incredible story

C O L L E G E O F D U P A G E S T U D E N T N E W S P A P E R / / 4 M AY 2 0 1 6 / / V O L U M E 5 0 – I S S

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Burning for Bernie p10

success in upcoming season p12

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COD students start longboard company p7

Meet your presidential candidates p11

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Andie tries being happy...it had to happen sometime p18

SPORTS

Softball s ends with team p21

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Exploring COD’s best kept secret: The Warhol collection p7

OPINION

The naked truth: Kim Kardashian’s nude photo sparks valuable debate p16

O R I E NT AT I O N 2016 FALL SPORTS

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Art Institute partnership provides free admission for students and faculty p4 FEATURES

SPORTS

Tennis undefeated season challenged

by Prairie State p17

Men’s Basketball looking Trustee Olsen And the Oscar to shrug off conference sworn in at board goes to... p6 struggles wrote aheading SATIREinto section. p17 meeting p4 We couldn’t think of something funny to go here. We playoffs p15

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Historical reenactment club hosts live-action events p9

Board votes to bring back BTE p3

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COD Track and Field F E A T U start R E to S heat up as outdoor season arrives p17

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COD Faculty Association clears air with the Board p3

Why race does not go hand in hand with opportunity p7

Looking back at the most notable COD studentathletes p15

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The Definitive Guide to Playing Pokémon Go on the College p17-18

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Finding Your Way Around Campus p10-11 – Picking the Right Major for Yourself p8

FEATURES

Zayn Malik’s new album contradicts and confuses listeners p8

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a COURIER OPINION publication

We need a national ban on the tampon tax. Period. p10

COD Homecoming, Student Employment Fair & More!

SPORTS

COD Women’s basketball faces a rough season p14

COURIER

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O R I E NT AT I O N 2016 FALL The Definitive Guide to Playing Pokémon Go on the College p17-18

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Finding Your Way Around Campus p10-11 – Picking the Right Major for Yourself p8

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NEWS

NIU and COD implement a new reverse transfer agreement p3

a COURIER publication

COD Homecoming, Student Employment Fair & More!

Worst case scenario: Our choice for the third party presidential race p10-11

SPORTS

FEATURES

The hungry Bulls – will they capture their prey? p16

The Iraq you don’t know p10-11

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trust. clarity. synergy.

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P A G E S 10 - 11

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Damon Williams talk on COD’s diversity and inclusion series p3

FEATURES

SPORTS

“The Magic Play” explores deep emotion p6

Chaps fall to Anoka in District Championship p15

COURIER

SPORTS

FEATURES

OPINION

Sunset 5k and Food Truck Rally p8

Critical thinking will save our country p12

Women’s Volleyball shows tenacity; falls short p15

O P I N I O N

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Ann Rondeau’s plans for the College p5

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No Man’s Sky Chaparral’s CO LLE GE O F D U PAG E S T U D EN T N EWS PA P ER // holds 21 S EP T EM B ER 2016 Champion // VO LU M E 51 – I S S U E 04 The restructuring NEWS an existential crisis conquest over Iowa of SLC p3 for us all p19 Q&A: Student Central p22 Trustee Lucy Escamilla p3

O P I N I O N

The mystery mystery The surrounding COD’s COD’s surrounding Audit Report Report will will Audit blow your your mind mind p3p3 blow

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Make sure to check out our Road to the Election series starting next week C O LLE G E O F D U PAG E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R / / 0 5 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 6 / / V O L U M E 5 1 – I S S U E 0 6

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Things You You Didn’t Didn’t Know Know About About the the 88 Things Future of of Journalism Journalism (#7 (#7 might might shock shock you!) you!) p10-11 p10-11 Future

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SPORTS

WHO planning to increase revenue from sugary drinks p3

Selina Trepp: Do you have cents for nonsense? p5

Women’s Soccer preparing for tournament game p18

SPORTS

National Anthem controversy p16

NEWS

OPINION

Companies have opinions too p12

Chaps suffer third Homecoming loss.

Is it a curse?

pages 20-21

NEWS

Center for Diversity starts inclusion series p3

P A G E S 8 - 9

A sit-down with COD Alum Eboo Patel p7

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Audit report: points for improvement for COD p3

COLLEGE OF DUPAGE THROUGH THE YEARS

FEATURES

TO FEEL SAFE

NEWS

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F E AT U R E S

Inside College of Dupage’s Fall Fusion Dance event p7

More money for comfy guinea pigs and rabbits liners p3

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FEATURES

SPORTS

Eric Andre live in Chicago p10-11

Q+A: Why do COD Athletics exist? p16

FEATURES

COD Alum Leigh Stein talks about relationships p7

OPINION

First presidential debate: what just happened? p16

SPORTS

Medical Marijuana should be allowed in Pro Sports p16

COURIER

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C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R / / 2 6 A P R I L 2 0 1 7 / / V O L U M E 5 1 – I S S U E 2 6

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F E A T U R E S // P A G E S 1 0 - 1 1

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F E A T U R E S

ANNUAL J U R I E D TAXI S T U D EDRIVER NT A RT S H OW

this democracy?

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COD among colleges across U.S. offering free opioid reversing drug p3

Aaron Hernandez: Black History Story of disappointment Month caps off not tragedy festivities with Apollo Live

Free tuition is terrible: Why New York’s free tuition program is short sighted p14

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C O LLE G E O F D U PAGOPINION E S T U D E N T N EW S PA P E R / / 2 2 F E B RSPORTS UA RY 2 0 1 7 / / VO L U M E 5 1 – I S S U E 1 8 FEATURES

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BTE’s “Good People” opens doors for students p7

SPORTS

THE

FEATURES

Olive-Harvey College to COD’s rescue amid Harper’s injury problem p12

OPINION

A presidency with an explosive start p11

NEWS

F E A T UOPINION R E S F //O PCAUGSE S

NEWS

COD inaugurates women in STEM career day p4

NEWS

Budget committee recommends T E N F E E T T A Ltuition L E Rrates for budget resolution p3

F O C U S

COD students elect new officers for the 2017-18 year p4 COD Track and Field aiming for gold this season p15

Inside COD’s automotive technology program p9

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The media’s Student Spotlight: distortion between journalism and hit Maxine pieces Butcher p13

OPINION

FEATURES

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OPINION

COD tuition freeze leaves titanic room for anxiety p14

SPORTS

Betsy DeVos’ confirmation is a

Chaparral Football attract new players p13

P A G tragic E 1 2mismatch

for our future p11

COURIER

NEWS NEWS

FEATURES

SPORTS

Duterte’s regime: the Philippines in peril p4

“Unveiled,” uncovers the reality of living as a Muslim woman p7

Lady Chap’s explosive performance at the N4C Jamboree p19

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A tour of COD’s student-run Waterleaf Restaurant p3F E A T U R E S , p 1 3

NEWS

FEATURES

SPORTS

Q&A with SLC President Kiley Pooler p3

“Dark Light” opens at Cleve Carney Art Gallery p6

Shooting hoops with COD’s basketball team p15

THE

C O L L E G E O F D U PAG E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R / / 1 5 M A R C H 2 0 1 7 / / V O L U M E 5 1 – I S S U E 2 1

OPINION

SPORTS

Vandy’s forecast for the 2017 NBA season p16-17

Award Shows praise sell-outs and cheap thrills p13

COURIERC COURIER

FEATURES

NEWS

Legalizing

FEATURES

OPINION

Inside the best

The road to legalizing weed has just begun p14

C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P Emarijuana R / / 0 3 Min AY 2017 // VOLUM E 51 – ISSUE 27 dispensary

Illinois: Will it succeed? p5

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in Illinois p10-11

Zlatka Burtis:

NEWS

OPINION

SPORTS

Q&A with Vice

The end of privacy: An attempt to change culture through espionage p15

COD Baseball and Softball team schedules for the semester p18

President of turning news Student Affairs Earl Dowling pages 6-7 into art

p4-5

NEWS

FEATURES

SPORTS

Elections spotlight: Meet Dan Markwell, the de facto 2nd Student Trustee p3

Amanda Williams: Transforming the South Side through color p7

Penn St. Board Member lord’s comments shows that nothing has been learned p13

NEWS

Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs pays homage to Vietnam veterans PAGE 3 NEWS

Honey Bees: Pollinating a better future for COD p4

OPINION

The disconnect between educator and student has never been greater p12

SPORTS

Is the Western Conference overrated? p15 FEATURES

The Simpson family: A testament to the college’s progression and opportunity p8

OPINION

SPORTS

Pharmaceutics and the beginning of our mass extinction p11

Catching up with COD Softball’s Bailey Engel p12

C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R — 1 3 S E P T E M B E R 2 01 7 — VO L U M E 5 2

C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R — 1 8 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 — V O L U M E 5 2

COLLEGE OF DUPAGE STUDENT NEWSPAPER

VOL. 52

— 27 SEPTEMBER 2017 —

SPORTS

COD Food Truck Rally & Sunset 5K C O L L E G E O F D U PA G E S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R — 2 5 O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7 — V O L U M E 5 2

pages 16—17

FEATURES

FEATURES

NEWS

SPORTS

Aaron Ozee’s Regulus makes waves among young readers p7

An interview with the president of the Black Student Alliance p3

Haunted I l l i n o i s FEATURES p 1 2 - 1 3 Luftwerk: Color Code

Chaps start fast in win over Kankakee p13

page 7

OPINION

NEWS

Picking the Right Major for Yourself p6

Exploring COD’S Natural Wonders p16

Campus

Honeybees at Work p17

Map

p10-11

NEWS

Chaparrals struggle in red zone early but explode late p14

OPINION

FEATURES

No answer from the HERE Board of Trustees over COMES THE faculty employment rejection p3 RAINBOW

SPORTS

You can’t make this stuff up: the Harvey Weinstein controversy p12

Showcasing COD’s rich culture and diversity p6

Puerto Rico needs the mainland’s help to move on from Hurricane Maria p14

BTE’s “The 39 Steps” already wowing crowds at the MAC p8

p8-9

NEWS // pages 4—5 NEWS

OPINION

A sit down with the new dean of Biology and Health Sciences p4

FEATURES

OPINION

Get your groove on: The Mac hosts annual Fall Fusion dance concert p8

SPORTS

Joel Osteen raises suspicion during the crisis of Hurricane Harvey p10

Amazon wants you to forfeit your privacy for convenience p12

COD Football’s defense shines in win over Olivet Nazarene p12

OPINION OPINION

NEWS

OPINION

Board of Trustees approves Mia Igyarto temporary contract p4

SPORTS

Chaps Men’s Soccer thoroughly dominated in Regional p15

SPORTS

Cheating your way out of the full college experience p15

Big day for Jackson propels Bears to an ugly win p17

page 88 page

OPINION, p12

NEWS

FEATURES

COD hosts Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force Hearing p6

SPORTS

Wings Student Gallery: Animalia Nexus p10-11

Point / Counterpoint: UEFA Champions League p14

NEWS NEWS

SPORTS SPORTS

FEATURES

Women “Breaking Boundaries” lead panel discussion at COD p3

Hispanic Heritage Month goes out with a bang p6

Lady Chaps unprepared in defeat against Madison p11

SPORTS

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More tech and less security puts everyone at risk p4

FEATURES

Wanna make a difference? Try bleeding p7

FEATURES/p10—11

Forest Preserves In Color

NEWS

Angel Price on what it’s like being a “trendsetter” in a STEM-related field p6

FEATURES

Office of Financial Assistance to host Life Happens! event p15

SPORTS

Trubisky plagued by offensive inconsistency in first start p16

FALL NEWS

COD is finally off the hook: Probation lifted p4

OPINION

GOP tax reform ultimately puts students into more debt p7

SPORTS

Peace and the Chaps stand up well to pressure p17

2 017

OPINION

Moving forward with accountability and transparency p10

Joseph Joseph Joseph Molino Molino Molino EXPERIENCE

Graphic Designer 428 N Addison Rd Villa Park, IL 60181 630.362.9386 yosepmolino@gmail.com Portfolio link: https://bit.ly/2S0qLoq

Community Building Supervisor / Lombard Park District 433 E St Charles Rd, Lombard, IL 60148 April 2016 — Present

Weddings at the Park Supervisor / Lombard Park District 433 E St Charles Rd, Lombard, IL 60148 April 2016 — Present

Editor-in-Chief / The Courier Student Newspaper 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 August 2017 — November 2017 Graphics Editor / The Courier Student Newspaper 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

February 2016 - May 2017 Graphic Designer / All Clear Co., Inc. 428 N Addison Rd., Villa Park, IL 60181 October 2015 - January 2016

SKILLS

Technical Skills Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, InDesign, Lightroom, Photoshop and Premiere Pro Design Skills Typography, print and layout Design, logo, identity and branding, traditional and digital painting, illustration, digital and film Photography Soft Skills Creativity, writing skills, visual and verbal communication, time management, planning and problem solving,leadership, flexibility and collaboration

Associates in Fine Arts College of DuPage 425 Fawell Blvd, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137 January 2016 — Present

EDUCATION

Freshman and Sophomore Year University of the Philippines Los Baños Pedro R. Sandoval Ave, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines 4031 July 2011 — April 2013 Secondary Education University of the Philippines Rural High School Bay, Laguna, Philippines 4033 July 2007 — April 2011

First Place in Page Design, Division I ​2017 Award for Excellence in Illinois Community College Newspapers, Sponsored by the Illinois Community College Journalism Association

AWARDS

Second Place in Arts Review, Division I 2017 Award for Excellence in Illinois Community College Newspapers, Sponsored by the Illinois Community College Journalism Association First Place in Page Design, Division I 2016 Award for Excellence in Illinois Community College Newspapers, Sponsored by the Illinois Community College Journalism Association Second Place in Front Page Design, Division I ​2016 Award for Excellence in Illinois Community College Newspapers, Sponsored by the Illinois Community College Journalism Association

James Fuller / ​Courier Student Newspaper Adviser 630.942.4269 · fullerj103@cod.edu Dave Littwin / ​Facilities and Aquatics Manager 630.953.2370 · dlittwin@lombardparks.com

REFERENCES

The Courier’s endorsements for this year’s Student Leadership Council Elections p12

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Art Institute partnership provides free admission for students and faculty p4 FEATURES

Exploring COD’s best kept secret: The Warhol collection p7

OPINION

The naked truth: Kim Kardashian’s nude photo sparks valuable debate p16

SPORTS

COD Track and Field start to heat up as outdoor season arrives p17

We couldn’t think of something funny to go here. We wrote a SATIRE section. p17

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Zayn Malik’s new album contradicts and confuses listeners p8

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OPINION

We need a national ban on the tampon tax. Period. p10

SPORTS

COD Women’s basketball faces a rough season p14

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NEWS

Weather balloon launch proves successful p3

FEATURES

Muslim Student Association hosts Islam Awareness Week p5

SPORTS

Baseball confident despite end of winning streak p17

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WE WANT YOU

NEWS

Center for Diversity starts inclusion series p3

TO FEEL SAFE page 4

FEATURES

SPORTS

Eric Andre live in Chicago p10-11

Q+A: Why do COD Athletics exist? p16

THE COURIER CO OLLLL E G E O OF F D DU U PA PA G E S T U D DE EN N TT N NE EW WS S PA PA P E R · 00 77 S SE EP P TTE EM MB B E R 22 00 11 66 ·· V VO OLL U M ME E 55 11 –– IIS SS SU UE E 0022 C

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Things You You Didn’t Didn’t Know Know About About the the 88 Things Future of of Journalism Journalism (#7 (#7 might might shock shock you!) you!) p10-11 p10-11 Future N

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The mystery mystery The surrounding COD’s COD’s surrounding Audit Report Report will will Audit blow your your mind mind p3p3 blow

You put what where?!

Every girl should try this amazing body p14 hack p14

Thisarticle articlewill will open open This your eyes eyes on on the the your beauty of of Football Football beauty #FootballChangesLives p16 p16 #FootballChangesLives

Make sure to check out our Road to the Election series starting next week

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Chaps suffer third Homecoming loss.

Is it a curse?

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Audit report: points for improvement for COD p3

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COD Alum Leigh Stein talks about relationships p7

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First presidential debate: what just happened? p16

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Sunset 5k and Food Truck Rally p8

Critical thinking will save our country p12

Women’s Volleyball shows tenacity; falls short p15

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The Iraq you don’t know p10-11

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“The Magic Play” explores deep emotion p6

Chaps fall to Anoka in District Championship p15

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Q&A with SLC President Kiley Pooler p3

“Dark Light” opens at Cleve Carney Art Gallery p6

Shooting hoops with COD’s basketball team p15

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A tour of COD’s student-run Waterleaf Restaurant p3

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Award Shows praise sell-outs and cheap thrills p13

Vandy’s forecast for the 2017 NBA season p16-17

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Duterte’s regime: the Philippines in peril p4

“Unveiled,” uncovers the reality of living as a Muslim woman p7

Lady Chap’s explosive performance at the N4C Jamboree p19

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Elections spotlight: Meet Dan Markwell, the de facto 2nd Student Trustee p3

Amanda Williams: Transforming the South Side through color p7

Penn St. Board Member lord’s comments shows that nothing has been learned p13

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Legalizing marijuana in Illinois: Will it succeed? p5

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Inside the best dispensary in Illinois p10-11

The road to legalizing weed has just begun p14

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The Simpson family: A testament to the college’s progression and opportunity p8

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Pharmaceutics and the beginning of our mass extinction p11

Catching up with COD Softball’s Bailey Engel p12

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Picking the Right Major for Yourself p6

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Honeybees at Work p17

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COD hosts Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force Hearing p6

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Wings Student Gallery: Animalia Nexus p10-11

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Hispanic Heritage Month goes out with a bang p6

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Board of Trustees approves Mia Igyarto temporary contract p4

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Cheating your way out of the full college experience p15

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Big day for Jackson propels Bears to an ugly win p17

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Get your groove on: The Mac hosts annual Fall Fusion dance concert p8

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Amazon wants you to forfeit your privacy for convenience p12

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Chaps Men’s Soccer thoroughly dominated in Regional p15

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Forest Preserves In Color

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COD is finally off the hook: Probation lifted p4

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GOP tax reform ultimately puts students into more debt p7

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Peace and the Chaps stand up well to pressure p17

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EDITO

College of DuPag

We at the Courier believe that over the course of 50 years, the College amples of how. Learn more about these stories and more from COD

Campus THEN - The staff worked in trailers that were right outside of farms on Lambert Rd. The bookstore was located on Roosevelt Rd., and it was completely separate from the “campus”, and it was also utilized as the school’s library.

Many of the main classroom buildings were built similarly to a warehouse with walls separating each room. They were supposed to be up temporarily (only about 10 years) but ended up lasting almost 40 years on campus.

NOW - We have state of the art facilities, featuring a beautiful library, bookstore, study areas, hundreds of classrooms, and a quad. The majority of the buildings on campus are connected, essentially as one long hallway.

This makes all of our lives easier during the cold and wet months.

News

THEN - The Courier has been a major news source f COD since the college opened. The newspaper was ori inally mostly news stories and was done entirely in pri since the internet didn’t exist yet!

NOW - We at the Courier work tirelessly to bring y current and breaking news, both in print and through o website and social media. We have created sections of t paper for features, opinion, and sports, and we have r cently added areas such as our coffee break (which no includes poetry) and music page where we are able show our creative side.

8 // codcourier.org // 28 September 2016

NION

ORIAL

ge then and now

e of DuPage has changed and grown for the better. Here are some exex D’s 50 Years of Stories series at the College of Dupage YouTube page.

Sports THEN - The sports at COD were entirely self-sufficient.

There were no facilities set up for the teams, so the coaches and players managed everything themselves.

The football team practiced for the first two years of COD at Lewis College. There was no designated home field.

NOW - We have a beautiful, recently renovated football field, as well as a baseball field, soccer fields and fitness center.

Connections and Bonds THEN - Since the beginning, COD has been a place for people to create lasting friendships. This was especially true when the school was first opened because the only way it would run smoothly was with inherent trust in your peers, coworkers, professors and bosses.

NOW - COD has seen good times and bad, and it has only gotten stronger as these initial bonds have deepened and new ones have grown. This has become an institution that can handle anything as long as we believe in it.

for igig int,

you our the rere ow to

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY COD ARCHIVES

28 September 2016 // codcourier.org // 9

GRAPHICS BY JOSEPH MOLINO

12 // codcourier.org // 19 October 2016

OPINION EDITORIAL

Trump trumps on our presidential dreams Donald Trump strikes fear in people all over the world. He also inspires many with his anger for how the United States government has been handled for some time. He believes he can “Make America Great Again.”

Unless he can find ways to change some major aspects of his campaign, we at the Courier think otherwise.

The U.S. is already great.

We have room for improvement, but we have also come a long way. His slogan implies that we are not only a bad country right now, but that we were better at a previous time.

One can only wonder what time he is referring to. Is it a time of segregation? A time of political corruption or trickle down economics? A time of terrorism? Slavery? What could he possibly mean by “again?”

There were, of course, great moments in our country’s history. However, this slogan insinuates that we should be moving backward in time when we should, in fact, always be moving forwards.

It’s clear through the few policies he shares with us that he does want to take us back to the past.

His entire campaign is based on anti-globalism.

His first major proposition was to build a wall on the Mexican border, isolating us from our neighboring

country. He wants nothing to do with the Syrian refugees. All of his complaints on his opponent, Hillary Clinton, are based on the fact that, as the Secretary of State, she maintained relationships with foreign countries. Trump believes playing it safe is necessary for this day and age, especially when countries like North Korea and Russia may be a threat at a nuclear level.

Aside from his general beliefs in anti-globalism, however, Trump has been very unclear about what he actually wants to get done as President. In fact, we have noticed the entire election process as a whole has begun shifting away from politics and towards culture and social climate.

Debate questions are centered around social movements and ideas like Black Lives Matter or equal pay for women.

While these are hugely important issues, and while we would certainly like to know Trump’s stance on them, we are generally lacking in-depth details about what Trump envisions as the path to

EDITORIAL BOARD OPINION EDITOR MIRANDA SHELTON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LUCAS KOPROWSKI PHOTO EDITOR BETHANY BERG GRAPHICS EDITOR JOSEPH MOLINO FEATURES EDITOR CAROLINE BRODERICK SPORTS EDITOR ALEX GARCIA

making America great again. This leaves us feeling uneasy as we get closer to election day. Does anyone know exactly what they’re voting for when they cast a vote for Trump?

A vote for Trump is clearly a vote for the “alt-

right.”

The alt-right is not just one organization; it’s a movement of people who side with right wing ideals, but who are also fed up with mainstream conservatism in the United States. According to CNN, “They exist almost exclusively online, talking to each other on alt-right blogs and select Reddit and 4chan forums. To the

extent a “normie” -- altright and web slang for a normal person -- is likely to encounter them, Twitter has emerged as the preferred avenue for the harassment and trolling of assorted rivals, enemies, and other targeted groups, often women a n d

Jews.”

If Trump is elected, the Republican Party as we know it will implode entirely. It will become the new face of political rebellion. It will become the alt-right.

There have been many arguments about Trump’s loyalty to the Republican Party. However, with the rise of the alt-right, it’s

clear he has found a niche.

The actions of the altright are a carbon copy of Trump’s campaign strategy throughout this election. It’s one based on bullying, trolling, aggression and anger. Trump doesn’t restrain himself, and neither do his followers.

That being said, we aren’t entirely sure this is a bad thing. Being brutally honest is better than hiding everything. We’d rather know a candidate’s true motivations than not.

However, Trump may soon learn that he will not get very far as a president with a short fuse.

It’s essential for our president to be diplomatic, especially when meeting with high-ranking leaders from o t h e r countries. He cannot threaten nuclear war because Kim Jung Un sent him a mean tweet.

While there are certain things in this country to be angry about, Trump needs to learn to control his anger and use it to put power behind his platform.

It’s no secret that we at the Courier are not avid supporters of Trump. That being said, we could see him at least becoming a more viable candidate for

us if he made a few simple changes to his political strategy.

There is nothing wrong with being upfront about what he thinks is wrong.

We like to know what’s going on, and it’s good to know where our president stands. But don’t be rude about it. He needs to explain what his issue is and see if he can work together with someone to find a solution. These are problem-solving strategies that are taught in the first grade. If six- year-olds can grasp it, so can a potential U.S. president.

Secondly, he needs to tell us, the potential voters, about his policies. We don’t just want to hear him rant about “the wall” anymore. We want to hear his plans for real change.

Finally, and most importantly, Trump must understand that in order to succeed as our country’s leader he needs to collaborate. He needs to stop vilifying the Democratic Party as well as the mainstream Republican Party. He doesn’t have to agree with them, but if he becomes president he will have to work with them.

If Trump isn’t able to change, even slightly, before his potential election, we fear the worst for this country. Until then, however, we must wait.

Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school. We encourage readers to submit a “Letter to the Editor” voicing their opinions on topics discussed in the editorial. See page 12 for more details on submitting a letter.

19 October 2016 // codcourier.org // 13

OPINION EDITORIAL

Clinton: The better of two evils?

Hillary Clinton is not all she’s cracked up to be. The once promising candidate has now found herself in an uphill presidential battle, and she keeps getting pushed back down. That being said, people haven’t been entirely fair to her this election season.

While she certainly has her faults, Clint o n may be our only hope at surviving the next four years.

People have been quick to blame Clinton for just about anything they can get away with.

The number of ridiculous accusations coming from the right wing (namely the alt-right) is staggering yet unsurprising. A few of the more farcical theories go so far as to say she has a body double for events, or that she is fed information through an earpiece during her speeches.

A lot of these claims stem from a mob mentality that her running mate, Donald Trump, is pushing onto his supporters.

He’s normalized conspiracy theorist thinking with statements such as: “This whole election is being rigged. The whole thing is

one big fix. One big, ugly lie.”

The problem with statements like these is that he’s set up the framework for violence, anger and even potential rioting if Clinton is elected president.

S om e how, she

manages to take on these and other ridiculous claims with grace and eloquence, further proving her strength as a woman and as a presidential candidate.

At the end of the day, the largest problem she’s dealing with this election is sexism. President Barack Obama’s campaign was riddled with similar undertones of racism. People expect more from her

EDITORIAL BOARD OPINION EDITOR MIRANDA SHELTON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LUCAS KOPROWSKI PHOTO EDITOR BETHANY BERG GRAPHICS EDITOR JOSEPH MOLINO FEATURES EDITOR CAROLINE BRODERICK SPORTS EDITOR ALEX GARCIA

12 // codcourier.org // 26 October 2016

as a candidate than they do from Trump, and when she reaches those expectations all it does for her is level the playing field, instead of putting her ahead (as it should).

That being

said, Clinton is a flawed candidate. One point of major concern are her corporate ties and connections to big banks.

Much of her funding comes from billion dollar companies with questionable motives. We worry she has the potential to become a corporate puppet.

This was proven to be a possibility through her 30,322 deleted emails

published by WikiLeaks in the past few weeks.

Many incoming and outgoing messages discuss her funders’ ties to her campaign, a n d

many are troublesome companies like Citigroup Inc. or Goldman Sachs (her first and second highest donors, respectively).

Despite her major flaws, Clinton would still make a better president than Trump. She has her demons, but she handles herself as a president should. She understands diplomacy and executes it well (as proven during the three presidential debates).

She has experience working with other countries as the secretary of state. She is friendly with the leaders of many of our allies, and she i working towards

civil relations with those countries that may potentially be dangerous to the U.S. She knows what’s going on in Washington.

She’s been a core part of the government for 30 years, and whether or not you believe she’s done a good job, you cannot discredit the work she’s put into bettering our great country.

S he

is also a godsend to the Democratic Party.

While she is more centrist than the other major candidate contender, Bernie Sanders, she has embraced many of his ideas and welcomed them into her campaign. A perfect example of this is her proposal for eliminating in-state tuition for public colleges for families with annual incomes up to $125,000. This would be a huge step in the right

direction for our country and would affect a huge chunk of the college student population.

A lot of people say she just wants to continue Obama’s presidential policies and have a relatively uneventful four years. We think otherwise. While she shares many of the same policies with our president, she does want to continue pushing positive change forward.

She just wants to do it slowly. While t h i s might be infuriating for us millennials, who want to see immediate change, it might actually be for the best. Immediate and abrupt change can be jarring, especially to something as large as political party. It’s the same reason the Republican Party as we know it is imploding right before our very eyes.

Clinton may not be the president the Democratic Party wants, but she’s the president they need. We can only hope that if elected, she keeps the promises she has made this campaign.

BUTTON PINS PROVIDED BY SHOP.HILLARYCLINTON.COM

Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school. We encourage readers to submit a “Letter to the Editor” voicing their opinions on topics discussed in the editorial.

GRAPHICS BY JOSEPH MOLINO

26 October 2016 // codcourier.org // 13

10 // codcourier.org // 02 November 2016

GRAPHIC BY JOSEPH MOLINO

OPINION EDITORIAL

We refuse to dance with the Devils Why we’re not endorsing anyone this election Who would you rather vote for: A Giant Douche?

Or a Turd Sandwich?

Although a South Park reference, this hyperbole rings true in romanticising the vulgarity of this election season. Between the raunchy poster boy for the alt-right and the blue devil herself, we cannot decide who is worse. This is why we refuse to endorse either candidate this election year.

Hillary Clinton has proven herself to be unreliable.

She has made it clear that she will voice whatever opinion will get her what she wants, and what she wants right now is the presidency.

As she continues her campaign against Donald Trump, she has been preaching about climate change and how we as a world have to learn to rely on green energy. Yet when faced with the decision to pass the proposal of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which is the largest environmental concern in the U.S. as of late, she was in total support of the fossil fuel industry.

At first we thought this

wishy-washy nature of hers could be from her learning new information, but when you look at the facts it’s clear it’s just her doing

whatever she can to get what she wants.

According to Greenpeace, “Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Super PAC supporting her have received more than $6.9 million from the fossil fuel industry.” When she needed big business funders she wasn’t afraid to appease these oil giants. However, now that she and Trump are getting closer to the

EDITORIAL BOARD OPINION EDITOR MIRANDA SHELTON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LUCAS KOPROWSKI PHOTO EDITOR BETHANY BERG GRAPHICS EDITOR JOSEPH MOLINO FEATURES EDITOR CAROLINE BRODERICK SPORTS EDITOR ALEX GARCIA

election, her best bet at winning is swinging the millennial voters. It’s no secret that one of the issues we millennials care about most is climate change, because we will be the people who have to fight it most.

So here she is, hypocritically preaching in her debates and speeches that climate change is a beast that we all have to tackle together, when some of the biggest causes of climate change are the reason she’s able to stand at that podium in the first place.

Unfortunately, her running mate is no better.

Trump has proven himself to be unapologetically racist, sexist and xenophobic.

His questionable past and plans of the future make it clear to us that he is amazingly unfit for the presidential office.

Trump often boasts that he wants to run America like he would a business, with little outside influence and a focus on internal affairs. He uses his net worth as a marker of his preparedness for office.

However, we believe the best qualification is one of political experience.

Gautam Mukunda, a professor at Harvard Business School, explained in an interview with the Huffington Post, “[Business] Skills are far less transferable than we think they are. Even when you move from one company to another, you may not be successful.

When y o u move from a company to the gove r n m e n t , that’s a larger leap.”

While success in business is no easy feat, it takes a certain set of skills that aren’t always cut out for other positions, even those in other fields of business. Assuming that Trump’s 31 years of success (the amount of time he has been successful without the aid of his father) would be equivalent to that of someone who’s been successful in politics

is naive. Yet it’s a thought process we have been seeing in a large amount of Trump supporters.

Our issue isn’t just with the candidates, but also with the counter culture sur-

rounding each campaign.

Both sides of our political infrastructure have morphed campaign rhetoric into hate speech. This dangerous game only serves to separate, divide and devour our society into an abyss of discontent.

People no longer take serious time to learn about their potential candidates.

They listen to biased media blindly without forming their own opinions. People should not rely on any one media source, including us, for all their facts. No matter how these publications and news shows try, there will always be a spin.

That being said, that’s not entirely the people’s fault. For many people, mainstream media is their only source of information. It should be their job to share all information about both candidates. We’ve noticed that most rightwing biased stations and papers have focused on Clinton scandals while generally avoiding discussion of Trump, while left-wing media does exactly the opposite.

By doing so, they’ve let the country down.

We believe the entire election process has been poorly handled, and we hold the country accountable. By not endorsing a major party candidate, we are actively not condoning the behavior that has come with the election. We refuse to play into our outdated system.

Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school. We encourage readers to submit a “Letter to the Editor” voicing their opinions on topics discussed in the editorial. See page 12 for more details on submitting a letter.

MASKS PROVIDED BY PARTYCITY.COM 02 November 2016 // codcourier.org // 11

We are the Hearts – EXGF Genre: Alternative, Pop Similar to: EDEN, Jon Bellion, Halsey

This track came out of nowhere. For its cult-pop feel, it wasn’t on any radio station, nor spanning multiple Spotify playlists. Instead, I stumbled upon it out of the blue and fell in love. Filled with beautiful imagery and victorious trumpets, this is a song I would associate being with a movie trailer for the pure hype it holds. EXGF’s message with the song is one that resonates with a sense of eternal youth: “We are the lost generation. But are we the ones who are truly lost? The dreamers, the freethinkers, the creators. Our hearts bleed but never die.” It’s the kind of song that you listen to when you want to realize you’re bigger than you feel. —Beth

Fear Less – Nick Murphy Genre: Electronica Similar to: Tim Rogers, Jack Ladder

Although this is Nick Murphy’s first track since letting go of his previous moniker, Chet Faker, the feel of the piece remains true to his original sound. His unique and spacious electronic beats, hand-in-hand with his wonderful voice envelops your sense of hearing into an unknown void away from civilization. This new song owns a more electronic vibe than his previous works, such as “Talk is Cheap,” which focuses more on his vocal prowess. I found out about him through Spotify’s “New Releases” tab this past Friday, and I wish I heard of him sooner. —Lucas

Goji Berry Sunset – Jealous of the Birds Genre: Indie Similar to: She Drew the Gun, Xylaroo

This song has single-handedly saved me from countless bouts of stress induced rage in the past week alone. Singer/songwriter Naomi Hamilton weaves together simple guitar melodies, ethereal vocals and lush, poetic lyrics to generate ultimate contentedness within the listener. Jealous of the Birds’ debut album, Parma Violets, is an eclectic mixture of simple guitar and quirky lyrics that set it apart from the typical indie album. Whether it’s a crisp Sunday morning and you need some feel good music to accompany your coffee, or a Wednesday evening and you’re on the verge of a mental collapse, Jealous of the Birds won’t disappoint. —Bridget

Beverly Laurel – Tame Impala Genre: Psychedelic Rock Similar to: MGMT, Neon Indian, Grimes

The simplistic drum beat mixed with exquisite synth swells and sugary melody makes this song the perfect Fall jam. Imagine: the air is crisp and cool, the sun warmly hugs your skin and the trees are changing. The leaves are falling as you walk around your neighborhood, while the song’s pulsating bass mellows down with each single step you make. Even though Beverly Laurel is just a bonus track from the deluxe edition of Tame Impala’s Lonerism 7” Vinyl, it’s still arguably one of their best. It’s a complete transformation from the band’s usual rock vibe into pure psychedelic electro bliss. Kevin Parker’s voice as he sings “I know what’s right for me” over and over again will leave you in a deep haze. —Joseph

The Pigeon – Jeffrey Lewis Genre: Indie Similar to: Kimya Dawson, that weird guy the lived on your corner singing folk songs

This isn’t a song so much as a spoken word of a playfully yiddish New Yorker spewing thoughts of pigeons. When listening it makes me oddly reminiscent of a time I never witnessed: one of ice boxes and tenement homes, and finding joy in depression (economic or otherwise).

The music is very chill, and a great thing to just listen to when you want to think for a while. Definitely the perfect rainy day jam. —Andie

14 // codcourier.org // 28 September 2016

”

F E AT U R E S

“

gives a new meaning to your ink Caroline Broderick · Features Editor

PHOTOS BY CAROLINE BRODERICK

6 // codcourier.org // 09 November 2016

A piece of art, a trashy symbol, a meaningful memory. Tattoos mean varying things to each person, but behind each tattoo is a story, a piece of someone’s history.

“Tattoo,” the latest exhibition at the Field Museum, which opened Oct. 21, explores this history and the incredible stories that have created the contemporary art of tattoos.

Separated into different ideas, visitors are first welcomed to glass doors with a common dragon symbol often tattooed, projected over the doors.

Visitors are open to the question, “What does a tattoo do?” as they overlook a dark room, with large photographs and silicone bodies spread over the gray walls.

The exhibition provides two worlds for visitors: past and present. Through the representation of past and present, stigmas behind tattoos are slashed, and a new meaning is brought to the art. Tattoos now are choices by individuals and a part of culture, but visitors are shown various cultures, outside of our own, where

tattoos were one used for different meanings such as in theater, for solely women in China, in the gulags, and Japanese gang members.

The exhibition helps put the tattoo artistry on a global scale as well, showing artwork for tattoo artists throughout the world.

Much of the art shown is represented on silicone bodies. Whether it was a whole torso, a back, or just an arm or leg, each body part was modeled after a real person and then sent to artists to tattoo themselves.

This exciting part of the exhibit was very unique, visitors were able to appreciate tattoos on raw, bare skin up close instead of viewing solely photographs.

When photographs were presented, they stood out amongst the gray walls, lit and blown up so that visitors may see details in the tattoos the photographs showed, but also the individuals who were the canvas.

Many other photographs were very small, contrasting the large

scale pictures. These were placed amongst clusters of other small photographs. This was because these were genuine, older pictures from times where sailors were tattooed, or even when heavily-tattooed women were seen as attractions in a circus.

As you walk through the dark exhibit, ancient artifacts are scattered with modern pieces. Topics separated the pieces, ranging from stories behind tattoos to tools used, and even punishment.

The exhibition ends with the most interactive and creative part: a live tattoo artist.

In a museum-created tattoo shop, every visitor was able to look upon an artist as he began a back piece on his client. After learning about the art so intensely, it only makes sense to be shown how it is done in real time.

Whether you have tattoos, hate tattoos, or have no opinion, “Tattoo” brings an incredible life and showcases a shocking timeline to the art that covers so many bodies today.

F E AT U R E S Inside look at the Dimensions Student Runway Show Vandy Manyeh ¡ Reporter

The Fashion Studies Department at the College of DuPage on May 12, hosted an annual fashion show to showcase the work of students and alumni of the college. Named and styled "Dimensions," the event featured the "Country Club Chic" work done by COD alumna Peach Carr. This year's show was unique.

Students who are into design had the opportunity to team up with visual merchandising students, as a way to share a designer's concept. Miss Illinois Royalty International Deidre Cericola and other models walked the runway.

8 // codcourier.org // Summer 2017

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY: COD NEWSROOM Summer 2017 // codcourier.org // 9

F E AT U R E S

Classic Movie Review: Taxi Driver Kitt Fresa · News Editor

In a city full of bright lights, a man drives in darkness. Solitude is the last thing you would expect to find in New York City.

This is the story of a man who could not take it anymore. A man who refuses to watch the scum fill the streets as people just walk on by. Travis Bickle monotonously lurks through the grimy streets of New York City in his cab to pick up the scum he despises.

It's a cycle that builds a dark anger and rage inside him which forms his psychosis. With every passenger who slides into his taxi, his anger swells and develops a broad insanity that deepens his loneliness.

In many ways Travis is just like the rest of us.

Loneliness can drive people to extremes. Isolation from life itself can be maddening. You’re alive, but not living. The absence of being is no different from death. What do you have to lose when you have never lived? Nothing. This is deeply apart of Travis, and it’s what drives him to “really go out and do something.” Distraught with the sights he sees on a daily basis, he strives to find a purpose. However, Travis is trapped in loneliness and he only has himself to confide in.

As the film begins we see Travis become the Taxi Driver. Opting for nights, “anytime, anywhere” he repeats. His demeanor and his silence portray him as somebody who has a rooted hatred. As time goes on Travis’s mind succumbs to more and more of his own insanity. His quest for a purpose festers into something psychotic and he be-

gins to commit himself to a more sinister ideology.

Travis has reached commitment. He makes a few calls and meeting is set up.

Travis meets a gun salesman in a hotel room. The salesman, dressed in a tailored brown suit displays his pistols on the hotel bed. The meeting ends and Travis buys 4 pistols and returns home to begin his training.

He begins to weaponize himself. The time for action is dawning on his horizon and he is preparing for nightfall. He prepares his weapons along with training his body.

Travis’s purpose is becoming more clear.

As he drives his taxi around the day he stumbles upon a young girl (Played by Jodie Foster) he’s seen before. He gets out a finds that she's a prostitute. Here he discovers her name is Iris. Devoid of a purpose or a plan of action, Travis volunteers himself to rescue Iris from the hell he sees her in.

Travis’s plan isn’t revealed until he acts on it.

Assassinate Palantine. The camera pans the crowd watching Palantine give his speech and Travis is revealed towards the back of the crowd. He has shaved his hair into a mohawk, he has become a psycho.

Looking on, clapping for Palantine, he watches and waits until he gets off stage. Travis rushes while reaching for his .44 but is discovered too soon and runs for it, narrowly escaping. His plan has failed but the rage, the unspent purpose remains. Night falls and Travis returns to the whorehouse where he

10 // codcourier.org // 22 March 2017

saw Iris. Insanity pours onto the screen. Travis kills everyone in his way in order to rescue Iris inside.

The ticking time bomb has exploded. It is over. Travis Bickle has succeeded.

Nobody does it better than Scorsese, De Niro, and Schrader. That last name might sound unfamiliar and it’s because he stays off the screen. Paul Schrader, the writer of Taxi Driver is very much Travis himself. While writing the script for Scorsese, the writer had been through some traumatic times.

Newly divorced from his wife, he spiraled into loneliness. Finishing the script in under a month, one could speculate the emotions of those events transformed into the emotions of Taxi Driver. Loneliness, Isolation and an inspiration from the diaries of Arthur Bremer all went into the melting pot that Schrader forged into Taxi Driver.

Scorsese said once while talking about Taxi Driver that, “the precision with which Schrader was able to create t h e

character, the feeling, the thoughts, and psychological insight of this character Travis Bickle, I just identified with him. We understood how he felt.”

Scorsese confessed that he knew, “Schrader had hit a truth with the audience.”

“There was something that touched a chord with me. I felt I could express that through the visual interpretation of the film, and utilizing the key instrument. The Voice.

The Actor.

Robert D e

Niro.”

Taxi Driver is a manifesto that's resonates with American society. As Americans we hold a certain value for heroes who rescue a person from a terrible world. We grant a license to kill because we see it as a just cause. In the classic story of

F E AT U R E S

“There is no escape.” –Travis Bickle The Searchers, a Western starring John Wayne, the same idea is played upon.

A man’s niece is captured by Coman-

ches and he doesn’t care how many he needs to kill in order to get her back.

It’s that same insanity Travis has, but because we sympathize with Travis we stick with him for awhile.

The scene where Travis looks for advice is such a key scene. It’s the point in the f i l m

SOURCE: IMdb.com

where we establish a larger sympathy for Travis, but we also see he’s staring to go insane. He tries to look for answers from “Wizard”, another taxi driver but with no avail. After admitting that “things got me down” he pauses and spills out “I just want to go out and really… really, really do something.”

“Taxi life you mean?”

Wizard says. It’s here that you realize Travis is no longer talking to Wizard, but just himself. The quandaries of his mind are too immense for any normal man to solve. This scene is also where Travis finds his purpose, he knows it’s evil but it is justice.

He is the

only one who will act when no one else will. When everyone else is just another one of them. There lies that just cause again. How far are we as an audience, willing to let him take it though? There is a charisma to Travis we hold, but when does that sympathy fade? Where do we as an audience draw the line and say we can no longer stand behind Travis’s cause?

Another to keep in mind is that Travis is a racist.

You can feel the tension as he stares at the black men across the dinner.

He drops an Alka-Seltzer tab into his water and he spaces out watching the water bubble. Travis is just that, bubbling over, tired of the things he sees, and tired of seeing the people who commit those crimes. Not even five minutes later Travis walks out with Wizard to talk and a group of black men walk by. Travis stares at the leader as he walks by and the leader stares back. The camera tracks each character and slowly zooms in and create a visible tension between the two. Later on Travis is in a convenience store when a black man walks in and begins to rob the cashier at gunpoint. Travis sneaks behind him and shoots him. There is hardly any hesitation. Travis stands over him as the man lays lifeless on ground, gun still in hand Travis pins his hand to ground with his foot. The cashier says, “he’ll handle it” and Travis leaves.

The ending shootout was originally intended for Travis’ victims to be black, but Scorsese along with

Schrader decided it would make the movie into a racist kind of film. The film is not intended to be racist, it’s only Travis’ character that is suppose to have that racist undertone.

Travis’ obsession with guns and his superfluous use of violence is another way we as Americans identify with him. That classic .44 Magnum, which spans almost the entire length of Travis’ midsection has America written all over it.

Travis’ final scene in which he kills indiscriminately is something we all find an entertaining connection to. We as Americans crave that violent entertainment, and Travis’ rampage is under our category.

It’s that classic mirror scene that is the key to it all though. “You talking to me?” he repeats to the mirror. The camera shifts from watching Travis talk to himself, to Travis talking to us. “You talking to me?” he asks again as he looks straight into the camera.

The things we see in Travis, the guns, the violence, the racism are a reflection of who we are as a society.

Travis is American Society.

As Travis’ rampage comes to a close and he recuperates there is something people often miss.

As he drives Betsy home he drives off back into the night. Driving back into darkness he quickly checks his mirror as if he saw something behind him. The dream begins again. Travis’ insanity has fueled a hatred he has deep inside him. The ticking time bomb has reset. It all begins again. Travis is not finished with the streets of New York.

22 March 2017 // codcourier.org // 11

SPORTS

Homecoming 2016 Alex Garcia · Sports Editor

PHOTOS BY BETH BERG/COURIER

Homecoming weekend at College of DuPage was filled with spirit, pride, and a bad taste of disappointment as the Chaparrals lose their second game of the season, and the third consecutive Homecoming game.

The Ellsworth Panthers traveled to COD in some pretty

scattered rainy conditions, but still come away with a victory by pounding the Chaparrals 27-7.

Who is to blame for this hard lose at home for the Chaparrals? I think a better question would be what shined through the clouds for the Chaps?

20 // codcourier.org // 05 October 2016

While there wasn’t too much goodfor an overall team loss, there are spots where the Chaps stayed true to their defensive nature, but it wasn’t enough against the Panthers roaring offense.

“Bend but don’t break!”

This is a phrase commonly heard on the field, and the name of the game for the Chap’s defense.

Although it was the defense that did their best to hold their helmets high and hang in the game, there wasn’t e n o u g h from them to force turnovers and stay off the field.

Time of

possession was a hard stat against the Chaps as their defense unit was forced to be on the field, for what felt like every other play.

The defense, as good of a fight as they gave, couldn’t win their battle.

While the defense was the biggest gleam of hope for the Chaps, there were many levels of the defense which didn’t put pressure on the Panthers offense.

There are three levels to a defense: the defensive line, the line backing core, and the secondary, none of which were dynamic enough to cause tur n-

overs.

With the lack of pressure to the quarterback, they were able to give the offense time to scout the field and pass the ball down the sidelines, and in the middle of the field. The secondary hard trouble covering the wide

receiver screens, as the first offensive drive for the Panthers ended with a 61-yard catch and run by Marcel Williams to the end zone off of a wide receiver screen. If this wasn’t an early sign of the fight to come, then the Chaps had a rude awakening. As the game went on, there was just

SPORTS

not enough pressure to hold down the backfield, whether it was stopping the run, or getting to the ball in the air.

I did say this defense was their saving grace for as long as the chaps could hold down the Panthers.

While they were able to hold the offense to a few stops and a hand full of good plays, like the first sack of the game by Jamal Williams for a loss of 5 yards, it was the complete lack of offense that really killed the Chaps, as this high scoring team was put in their place.

Besides the early touchdown drive the Chaps had, ending with a 2 yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Tavion Pauldo, it was difficult to get anything going on the offense.

“Well we put different guys at running back to see who gets hot. That’s been the problem, trying to find a guy for the game who is getting hot. This is a running type of game so it's very important we get it going.” Said running

back coach Albert Lee Cruse when I asked him about the lack of the run game at halftime.

For a team that has had a self of good running backs, including Marcus Jester who had a 109 rushing yard game week one of the season, weren’t able to get anyone going against the Panthers. The Chaps offense has been a balanced one for the season, dangerous to any defense as they would be unpredictable and able to beat teams on the ground or in the air, they were unable to carry over that way of football in this game. Along with the offense being forced to be one dimensional with the run game, the passing game couldn’t get going, especially with 3 interceptions all thrown in the air, including one in the end zone.

The Chaps couldn’t get their receivers open enough for them to make the

catches they are known for. This hasn’t been a big issue for the Chaps as spreading the ball around on their balanced offense was working pretty well.

Their lead wide receiver, Arturo Romero, had a 101-yard game in week two and they were able to throw four touchdowns to four

differ-

ent receivers. Sadly, they weren’t able to get many catches, let alone touchdowns, last Saturday.

This was their kryptonite as they had many opportunities to score points, tie the game, and give some credit back to the defense.

There was also a lot of

y e l -

low out on the field for the Chaps as they were flagged more than 7 times, 3 or 4 of those coming from false starts on the offensive line during the game. Just another contribution to their offensive woes. It gets frustrating for a team to be in the fight but continue to get flagged and lose yards in the harshest of ways, next to the turnovers.

This was a completely different team than what fans, and I’m sure the team, is used to being.

Even with a lackluster performance from the Chaparrals against the Panthers, there were still reasons to not give up. Although the Chaps need to really take some time to watch film, they need to take the positives from the negatives.

They put up a good fight on the defense, and that side of the ball is definitely the “winning” side. However, they still need to get back to giving

pressure to opposing offensive lines. They have marched away with wins due to their aggressive defense, averaging two sacks per game, so the defense needs to get back to hitting the quarterback.

While the offense really struggled, they have the opportunity to get back into full gear by thinking of ways to get the ground game going early, but being unpredictable enough to throw the ball when the chances creates itself.

They have also struggled on special teams throughout the first few games of the season, but looked like they made progress in this game, especially with the work horse the punter was.

The Chaps have a lot of film to watch this week. If they are able to get back to the style of football they were playing early on in the season, they could come back home and get another win against the Erie Kats next Saturday at COD’s Bjarne Ullsvik Football Stadium.

05 October 2016 // codcourier.org // 21

NEWS

Q+A / Ann Rondeau talks

about her first academic year as president, and what she has in store for the college Vandy Manyeh · News Editor

COD President Ann Rondeau sat down with Courier News Editor Vandy Manyeh to talk about her first year in campus and her plans moving forward.

T

o mark beginning of Ann Rondeau’s second year as College of DuPage president, the Courier sat down to discuss the progress the college has made: from academic affairs, adherence to the Higher Learning Commission’s recommendations to have COD’s accreditation status settled, and the stability the college has experienced under the Rondeau-led leadership.

Vandy Manyeh: What has been your biggest accomplishment since becoming president of COD? Ann Rondeau: In the first year, we had a couple of things to do. One is to

keep an exquisite focus on HLC, getting off of probation and maintaining our accreditation and moving forward. We did that.

We have been focused on HLC. No. 2 was to just get things settled down, and get into a good place so that people were feeling stabilized and the environment was stabilized. The third thing was to laugh more; just to enjoy each other more, trust each other more, have a sense of each other’s confidence, have people breathe more easily and to have a sense that we are moving forward. I think we’ve done those things, and now I think this year is going to

4 codcourier.org — 30 August 2017

be about students’ success, students’ success, and students’ success. What that means is we will continue with the HLC, and we have some improvements to make. They identified some areas that we have to do further improvements on; we have to do that. We have some areas of what we learned from Noel-Levitz (“A provider of technology-enabled solutions and services for enrollment.”) and some surveys that we can improve on. And then working on things like assessments - measuring and understanding what the data is telling us.

VM: How do you feel

being president of COD, the second largest provider of higher education in Illinois?

AR: You cannot imagine how extraordinarily privileged I feel. I was privileged to come on board.

This is a great place. It is great physically. It is great with our students and faculty. Look at our finances – we are in a great shape financially. We are not in the same place like some of our peer institutions. This is where I am meant to be. It was a calling for me to be here, and I will always have this as a very special place.

I think this was a place I was meant to come to after my other experiences. This

is the culmination, not the end state of something.

All those other things that came before prepared me for now so that I can give the best I can to all of you.

VM: What is the current relationship like between Dr. Rondeau and the faculty?

AR: Excellent. We have a brilliant faculty, and there’s no question about that. There is always business to do, and there is always things and business to attend. There will be people who don’t always agree on the same things, but what I’m sure of is the integrity, the confidence and the competence of

Hannah Davis/Courier

people talking to each other as professionals do.

Where we don’t agree with each other, that’s perfectly fine. We have those kinds of discussions and come to a good place, and where we agree with each other we move fast and well.

I don’t know whether the students know that this is a brilliant faculty; it is high end. This is a faculty that’s dedicated to one thing.

And that’s happening in the classrooms. There’s not a lot of distractions. They love their discipline, and they are excited to share it with you all. They are focused on your learning.

This is a great treasure.

NEWS VM: The college signed a new agreement with the village of Glen Ellyn in April of this year. What has been the benefits of that agreement?

AR: Colleges should be able to get along with the town in which they are, and we had some difficulties with the Village of Glen Ellyn that went on for too long. That is just not good because taxpayers want us to get along with each other. Taxpayers, residents and voters intend for that to happen.

Yes, it is important for the town in which we are and the college. And also for a second reason. One, you should. Two, it brings great financial benefit to us and to them. We are now doing some innovative work called Innovation DuPage that will be looking at how we can help the entire district and county with business innovation. And this is all going to be at College of DuPage in the Village of Glen Ellyn. Thirdly, good governance. The village leaders of Glen Ellyn and the board of trustees of the College of DuPage can easily talk to each other and come to some agreements. We share common roads. We have common facilities. We have those kinds of common things.

So it is better for us to talk together.

VM: During your first year, you signed two trans-

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fer agreements - one with Northern Illinois University and the other agreement with the University of Illinois-Chicago.

What are you going to do about having more transfer agreements between COD and other universities in Illinois?

AR: As you know, we had one for several years with the UIC engineering department. It’s the pathway into UIC’s engi-

the University of West London. We are looking at an international transfer agreement with the University of West London that began with Professor Theodore Darden who worked with them in Criminal Justice disciplines. They look a lot like us in some ways although they are a four-year school.

It will be terrific if we can get that done by next year.

like the board and Ann Rondeau are on the same page. What have you done to improve the relationship between the board of trustees and the president?

AR: One of the first things I did was to have the administrators separate from the board of trustees at board meetings.

It happened to be that the president was sitting with the board of trustees. The board of trustees is the

is professionally engaged and we talk about things.

It is just respect, respect for each other, respect for the voters and college, respect for the students and knowing that your first mission is students’ success. Everything else is secondary and tertiary. Once you have that common understanding, you can do a lot of things. But trust is very important, I cannot over-

“I think this year is going to be about students’ success, students’ success, and students’ success.” neering disciplines. We’ve got a long-term one with Elmhurst College and Benedictine University.

We have a reverse transfer with NIU; that is if you go to NIU in the case of the former editor-in-chief (Lucas Koprowski) of the Courier Newspaper. If you go there, even if you haven’t gotten your degree out of here, once you get enough credit hours, we will then send you an associate’s diploma because you have earned the credits. Frankly, you know we have this cool thing going that we are working on a transfer agreement with

We are looking at this year a little bit. Some things can happen as to how long it takes to get things done.

We are very excited about that. We are doing well.

We are doing it with as many schools that make sense in Illinois, and we are doing it with the University of West London also.

VM: The night your contract was approved, former Trustees Dianne McGuire and Erin Birt were absent. Trustee Joseph Wozniak also abstained from a vote to have your contract approved. Now, it seems

@CODCourier

legislature; they are voted in by voters. They are elected officials. The administration is like the executive branch. So when you begin making that distinction, you begin to clarify roles, and so that’s really important for trust and transparency. Their role is to legislate, oversee and give us our policies. Our role is to execute, make it happen and to administer. So the first thing you do is clarify roles. The second thing you do is have a forthright conversation. This is a board where I can have forthright conversations, it

@codcourier

emphasize that. We not there entirely with whole school, but we better than we were. fragile, but it is real.

are the are It’s

VM: The Board of Trustees in June approved a 2.6-percent salary increase for you. Do you see that as a pay for a job well done?

AR: I’m not kidding you when I say that payment for a job well done is your success. So that’s my first reward; it’s making sure that we have people leaving here healthy in every way and better. To the specific

business question: it is the same as everybody else has gotten, and so I didn’t want any more than that, and I didn’t even ask for that. It was fair for the board to do it. It’s a business question, and the answer is I got what everybody else got.

VM: Do you have anything else to say?

AR: How much I appreciate the Courier. There have been some articles in the Courier that I’ve had to call out. I showed it to my faculty and asked what are we doing about this, how do we feel about it, but I want to be able to discuss. So what the Courier has been for me is, it is an expression of the students’ voice. At times, I agree with some articles, at times I don’t, at times it has been substantive, at times stylistic, whatever it is; the Courier has been a voice. SLC is a voice. The student trustee is a voice.

Now you have a student on the board. Seeing students and talking to you all is a voice. Your clubs are a voice, but the Courier is a written voice that has been formulated and thought about. I want to thank the Courier. I truly mean that. You’ve been able to help me be better because of letting me see some of your worlds through your eyes. I even read about the music you write about, and some of the movies and the artists. Thanks.

COD Courier Student Newspaper

30 August 2017 — codcourier.org 5

FOCUS

EDITORIAL / Stricter gun control laws is a matter of public safety People rallying for stricter gun control in the streets of Las Vegas after the shooting incident

O

n Sunday Oct. 1st, the deadliest mass shooting in US history took place. A gunman opened fire on a crowd attending an outdoor country music concert from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas. More than 500 people were injured and at least 58 people were killed in the horrific event. This latest tragedy has inevitably reopened the public debate surrounding stricter gun control laws, but there are still people who don’t want to discuss the harm a maniac with a gun can inflict.

“I think it’s particularly inappropriate to politicize an event like this.” said Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell when the topic was brought up.

When asked if the U.S. has a “gun violence problem” by a reporter at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, President Donald Trump responded by declaring, “We’re not going to talk about that today.

We won’t talk about that.”

Conversely, Rep. John Lewis told the members of Congress to “have courage” and “bring common-sense gun control legislation to a vote.” He then pleaded, “How many more dead bodies will it take to wake up this Congress? This must stop, and it must stop now.

We were elected to lead.”

There’s little doubt the

EDITORIAL BOARD OPINION EDITOR KIMBERLY WILSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF JOSEPH MOLINO FEATURES EDITOR JACKIE PAWL GRAPHICS EDITOR ANTHONY TRAN SPORTS EDITOR CARLOS PETERSEN PHOTOGRAPHER HANNAH DAVIS REPORTER BRIAN MCKENNA

12 codcourier.org — 11 October 2017

injured and their families, as well as the families of the deceased, need our thoughts and our prayers now, as House Majority Whip Steve Scalise alluded to during an interview on Fox News. However, unfortunately, thoughts and prayers probably won’t stop this from happening again. Stricter gun control laws would, at the very least, be a proper start. As Rep. Katherine Clark said in an interview with ABC News, “The best way to honor victims of gun violence in our country is to take action.”

America has never taken a second thought about shielding its citizens from outside danger. Travel

Creative Commons

bans have been implemented, border walls have been proposed, and wars were even started all in the name of keeping those who threatened the safety of Americans at bay. So how is it that when Americans kill other Americans, by way of mass shootings, the consensus is we’re at a loss for what can be done? It seems nonsensical for the government to continue to do nothing to stop these mass shootings.

Many opposing stricter gun control laws have reiterated that such laws would not necessarily stop mass shootings from occurring, but an article posted on Newsweek’s website says “nonpartisan

fact-checking organization PolitiFact found in 2015, ‘States with laws that restrict guns do tend to have lower death rates.’” Even if criminals can’t be stopped from finding a way to perpetrate criminal acts, that doesn’t mean we should be making it any easier for them to get away with it.

From implementing a gun registry to mandatory training and updated skills checks for all gun owners, there are several measures that can be taken to reduce these kinds of tragedies. An article on NBC News’ website states that a bipartisan bill is being worked on by Rep. Carlos Curbelo of Florida to ban bomb stocks, "a device

used to rapidly accelerate a weapon's’ rate of fire." A dozen bomb stocks were said to have been found in the shooter’s hotel room.

It’s easy for us to shy away from the conversation of how we’re going to stop mass shootings from becoming all too normal in American society. However not talking about it and not taking any action isn’t going to help find a solution. Something must be done to stop these horrendous acts from happening, otherwise they will continue to happen. In the words of former President Ronald Reagan, “I know it’s a hell of a challenge, but ask yourselves if not us, who, if not now, when?”

Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school. We encourage readers to submit a “Letter to the Editor” voicing their opinions on topics discussed in the editorial.

FOCUS PHOTO POLL

This week, Opinion Editor Kimberly Wilson, along with Photo Editor Hannah Davis, went around campus to ask students if the country has enough gun control regulations and if they think the law should be stricter.

Matt Digman “I feel like there needs to be stricter regulations. I feel like we’re not doing enough to stop people who are mentally ill or have histories of violence and stuff like that from getting very deadly weapons that could easily kill people.”

Phoebe Newton

Eileen Martin

“I think they need to be stricter. It’s just so difficult because every state does its own thing you know. In Illinois we have FOID (Firearm Owners Identification) cards but then in other states they have a completely different system. I think maybe we need one system for everybody, something at a federal level, not a state by state thing.”

“They [gun control regulations] need to be stricter. In light of all the recent events. I just finished the newspaper reading about the Las Vegas incident which was just horrendous and the regular citizen just feels that it’s out of control, and I would be one of those people.”

Imani Williams “I don’t think there’s enough gun control. Due to recent activities that have been happening, such as the older man that killed all those people in Las Vegas, and he was actually targeting Lollapalooza–and all the school shootings that we have, shootings in Chicago and shootings all over the world and, we even have younger people that have access to guns, so, I don’t think we have enough gun control at all.”

Rosemary Davy “We have a huge problem in this country I think, so, yeah, I think we need way more gun control, we barely have any control.”

Taran Singh “Definitely I think that there should be more gun regulations. Gun violence has definitely increased so I feel like we should enforce them[gun control regulations] more and have more specific rules. A lot of violence has been happening lately with guns and all that so they should definitely step up the rules on gun control.”

11 October 2017 — codcourier.org 13

FEATURES

10 codcourier.org — 27 September 2017

FEATURES

If you happen to pass by Douglas Park during the end of Summer and notice a palpable disturbance in the air, a disturbance that draws you in closer, or one that could only come from the multitude of alter egos that make an appearance, you have probably arrived at Riot Fest.

Riot Fest is best known for featuring music that would fall into the categories of punk, rock, metal, and alternative, but also supplies it’s music lovers with carnival rides and more band merch than you could fit in an average white suburban household. While it is an event that takes pride in its artists, the people who truly give Riot Fest the vibe that we’ve all come to appreciate are the venue goers who dress for the occasion particularly those who pull out all the stops. And just incase you missed it, here is a collection of those who made Riot Fest 2017 memorable.

Riot Fest 2017 Hannah Davis · Photo Editor

27 September 2017 — codcourier.org 11

NOW HIRING

Orientation Leaders

$500

Scholarship Opportunity

"I met my best frien ds!"

!" n u f h c u m "It was so Requirements at a Glance: Currently enrolled at College of DuPage with a GPA of 2.0 or higher Ready to challenge yourself, be part of a team, make friends and meet new people

What are Orientation Leaders?

"I became a better leader."

Orientation Leaders are the face of the college! They serve as positive & passionate role models, as well as sources of support and information for new, first time students.

Sounds great! How do I Apply?

Applications and Recommendation Forms are available through the Office of Student Life (SSC 1217), and online at www.cod.edu/ol 12 // codcourier.org // 22 March 2017

F E AT U R E S

TV REVIEW “ABSTRACT”

Looking at art and design with a fresh pair of eyes

NETFLIX

Joseph Molino · Graphics Editor

When we talk about art, the world is divided into people who appreciate it and people who are intimidated by it. This creates a certain type of classism – art appreciation has been given the negative connotation that it’s only for people who are talented and have been educated by its history and principles. The rift becomes even larger as piles of so-called “art snobs” make people feel humiliated and guilty for not understanding a piece of art right away.

That’s why many people in our world are kept in the dark from the grandiose experience brought by human talent and creation through design.

Netflix’s new documentary series about art is a misnomer – despite the

title “Abstract,” the show makes art accessible and approachable for everyone. The show spotlights eight creative minds who are at the height of their careers and are pioneers in their chosen fields. From illustration to architecture and photography, each episode is crafted differently, celebrating the craft of each artist on screen in unique ways.

The episodes are introspections reflecting the artists’ personalities: – Christoph Niemann’s quirky and brilliant illustrations, – Tinker Hatfield’s innovative approach with Nike shoes, – Es Devlin’s transformative stage designs, – Bjarke Ingels’ unconventional ideas on architec-

ture, – Ralph Gille’s bold and headstrong automotive designs, – Paula Scher’s boisterous and unapologetic typographies, – Platon’s ability to capture the human soul in his photographs, and – Ilse Crawford’s immaculate and tasteful interiors.

The opening sequence of the first episode alone will get you hooked right away.

The art of Christoph Niemann is presented through animation full of quirky delights. An illustration of a man riding a bicycle is drawn on a car’s window, making it look as if there’s a stick figure doing laps in the traffic as it moves with the car. The camera then cuts to the artist on his

way to his pristine workplace, echoing MTV’s highly underrated show, “Cribs.” Tasked to create a virtual reality inspired cover for the New Yorker, he then proceeds to sit on his desk, with a pencil in hand, saying “Art, to a large degree, is staring on paper."

There’s a rush of excitement every time a creator explains his thought process and his inspirations, and Abstract conveys this really well. Being an artist myself, I found that one line Christoph Niemann said resonated to my core. Even though I work digitally, a huge chunk of my time is spent star-

ing at a blank document -– be it for designing the newspaper every week or creating illustrations and paintings. I spend most of my time racking my brain for ideas to come out so that the single dot I make transforms into intricate and meaningful work.

Creative or not, you’ll find more of these intimate moments from the show that you could easily relate to. What sets this documentary apart is the willingness of the artists to let you step inside their minds, revealing their vulnerabilities and the challenges they face with each idea, sketch and

brush stroke they make.

Abstract isn’t just for artists or people who aspire to be one – it’s for everyone who wants to celebrate pure design. The show not only gives fresh insight, but it also familiarizes the viewers with the focus applied in the creation of what most of us take for granted. The documentaries help the viewer appreciate not only the art but also the artist behind the work. I highly recommend this documentary series if you’re looking for inspiration or even if you just want to take a look at the world with a fresh pair of eyes.

22 March 2017 // codcourier.org // 13

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TV REVIEW

Expanding the human palate with cannabis

“BONG APPÉTIT” VICELAND

Joseph Molino · Graphics Editor

You’ve never really tasted food until you’ve experienced the munchies from getting high.

If you’re familiar with stoner culture, the word “edible” is always immediately associated with brownies. Space brownies. Stoners and pot heads have been lacing these rich, gooey, chocolatey squares with cannabis so they could get high inconspicuously in public. No smoke, no smell, less hassle, more sustained high.

These advantages coupled with today’s push for marijuana legalization has widened the horizon for experimenting with weed infused food.

Viceland’s Bong Appétit follows the same prem-

ise of making edibles and takes it to the next level as we see cuisines across the world infused with different forms of cannabis.

It’s basically a laid back, non-competitive Iron Chef where the secret ingredient is weed, and the challenge is to push marijuana’s limitations. Alton Brown is replaced with a less intense, but equally passionate, Abdullah Saeed as host, accompanied by his two sidekicks, Vanessa Lavorato of Marigold Sweets for culinary guidance and Ry Prichard, a cannabis infusion guru.

The 20-minute episodic docu-series follows Saeed as he invites distinguished culinary experts into the Bong Appétit home (apt-

8 // codcourier.org // 19 April 2017

ly named, Casa de Bong) to prepare infused multicourse dinners for a set of cannabis aficionados. The chefs prepare their meals in a kitchen with a pantry brimming with what Abdullah claims is “the biggest selection of marijuana ingredients ever assembled.”

My introduction to the series started when a friend shared an episode titled “Filipino Flower Feast” on Facebook. This immediately caught my attention because if there’s one thing us Filipinos are most proud of, it’s our food. But Filipino cuisine, at best, is very conservative and traditional. It doesn’t leave any room for experimentation.

I remember reading through my mom’s handwritten cookbook when I was younger– every single ingredient set in stone.

They’re written like the ten commandments from the Bible: “Thou shalt follow thy recipe by the (cook) book.” You can not add or subtract or swap out any ingredient. I even made the mistake once, asking my mom if we could add oyster sauce in her Adobo recipe, and she looked at me with such disdain on her face, like it was blasphemy to even suggest we add a new depth of flavor in her cooking.

Marijuana? and Filipino food??? The two doesn’t add up at all, but I knew I just had to see it.

The penultimate episode shows how food and weed are both communal, and how there is no more communal way to eat than a traditional Filipino Kamayan feast.

Kamayan c o m e s from the w o r d hand, roughly translating to eating with your hands. It’s basically a buffet where

F E AT U R E S

an assortment of food is laid out on top of banana leaves as everyone shares and eats with their bare hands. Saeed enlists the help of experienced cannabis chef and expert of traditional Filipino cuisine Miguel Trinidad to masterfully infuse his dishes with everything from cannabis leaves and buds to extracted terpenes and various forms of hash. The menu consists of Bicol Express, a spicy dish made of sous-vide pork shoulder in cannabis coconut milk, slow-cooked barbecue ribs marinated in canna oil, canna butter poached prawns, all of which are lying in a bed of garlic rice infused with CBD

(Cannabidiol, a cannabis compound). Halo-halo is served last for dessert, which literally translates to “mix-mix”, and is made up of shaved ice and evaporated milk with a variety of candied fruit, sweet red beans, flan, topped with taro ice cream infused with hash.

Everyone digs in, sharing pieces of meat and handfuls of rice, exchanging stories while having a great time, making me miss home all the more but at the same time leaves me with a sense of yearning, too. Yearning to experience Filipino cuisine the same way these people did. The bastardization of this Filipino tradition that I grew

up with is what makes Bong Appétit a brilliant show– one that would certainly make my mom’s head shake in disapproval.

The show is not afraid to further the discourse on cooking with marijuana.

Saeed poetically ends the premier episode with the show’s mission statement: “Our specific goal is to push the limits of edible cannabis, to infuse foods in ways that no one has ever done before. But, perhaps, one day, people will look back and say this was the first place that that happened.”

No one has seen food and marijuana’s boundaries pushed this far. It challenges traditional aspects

of cooking, as it becomes a recurring theme in every episode throughout the series: from Ganja Grandma who learned how to infuse her traditional Italian cuisine for her epileptic daughter, a holiday dinner complete with an enormous Christmas tree blunt, to camping out in the wilderness and making hash smores. The show sheds a light on how cannabis and food go hand in hand in bringing people together, across ages and cultures.

Bong Appétit does not only push marijuana’s envelope (or for this matter, marijuana’s iconic baggie); it also expands the knowledge of its viewers on the

science of getting high.

You get bits and pieces of trivia with each episode.

As Lavorato and Prichard put it, not every dish they’re gonna serve will get you high. CBD is incorporated throughout the meal to act as a counterbalance to mellow out the intensity of the high produced by THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol, another psychoactive cannabis compound). This is how everyone in the show stays comprehensible– THC and CBD work hand in hand as crescendos and diminuendos, balancing each other out as the meals progress. The show also gives the audience a little peek on how hash oils are made, the difference of

sativa, indica and hybrid strains, and how terpenes are used as aromatics for adding different depths of flavor in dishes. These well thought-out pairings and mouth-watering amalgamation of flavors will not only leave you hungry but also curious for more.

With the marijuana reform our generation is experiencing first hand, the future of edibles isn’t limited to brownies anymore.

Bong Appétit excites our tastebuds with a new set of flavors the culinary world has yet to conquer, giving us a chance to expand both our minds and palates, as we explore cannabis as a new ingredient for cooking.

The second season of Bong Appétit premieres at 10:30 p.m. this Wednesday, on Viceland.

Kamayan, a traditional Filipino feast where a group of people share food on the same table, eating with their bare hands

Source: Viceland

19 April 2017 // codcourier.org // 9

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TV REVIEW “BIG LITTLE LIES” HBO

Marriage, motherhood and murder Joseph Molino · Graphics Editor

Imagine driving down the west coast of California on an especially gloomy day. The sky is heavily overcast, but there’s no sign of rain. You can feel the clouds wanting to shed tears, but nothing will just come out. You turn your head towards the horizon: the oscillating waves, the muddled coastline, the big boulders of rock formations– everything is heavily tinted in awful hues of blue. The whole scenery looks as if it was painted by Picasso himself, during his depressing blue phase. An eerie silence is in the air, even though you can see the waves crashing from afar.

You turn the radio on to liven up the uncan-

ny silence only to hear a raspy old voice, solemnly recounting a tragic event from last night. A freak accident in the small town you’re heading to. Someone met their untimely demise from falling down a flight of stairs, during, as the radio host exclaims, a lavish parent-teacher fundraising event for a local charter school. The police are still inconclusive as to what really happened, according to the reporter. They’re still investigating the scene of the crime, and the name of the person who died is still kept under wraps. The voice cuts to a woman who claims to be a witness. “Six people are involved– six parents who have stirred up some drama over the

past few weeks…”, a sense of malice and disdain lingers in her tone.

Suddenly the looming dreadfulness of the morning makes sense. Intrigue eats your very core as you listen closely to the harrowing details of the tragedy. There’s more to it than meets the eye. You turn the volume up, eager to find out more.

Somebody’s dead, and no one knows who did it nor what exactly happened.

HBO’s latest mini-series, Big Little Lies, hooks you up right away as it exceptionally captures the audience with the tried and tested whodunit premise by spinning it into a social commentary on the

suburban life of the rich and successful. The show has drummed up rave reviews and quite a bit of a following, which should not be a surprise to anyone– it’s absolutely a guilty pleasure. Big Little Lies is the lovechild of Desperate Housewives and True Detective: a dose of suburban glamour shrouded in a fog of murder and mystery set in million dollar mansions along the coastline of Monterey, California.

Based on the novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies follows three moms of first graders, whose perfect lives unravel to the point of murder. Directed by Dallas Buyers Club’s JeanMarc Vallée, the seven part

mini-series is masterfully crafted into a level of sophistication that is not afraid to play up the crime and drama by interweaving shots of the investigation, malicious gossip, and even shots of the surging sea as the tension rises with each passing episode. Every scene is accompanied by a superb soundtrack that elevates the show into a truly cinematic masterpiece.

Big Little Lies stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley as Madeline Martha McKenzie, Celeste Wright and Jane Chapman respectively, making the show a powerhouse in acting.

The casting is brilliant, as the three main actresses add in the multitude of

(Left photo, L-R) Reese Witherspoon with Darby Camp, Shailene Woodley with Iain Armitage and Nicole Kidman with Cameron and Nicholas Corvetti

8 // codcourier.org // 26 April 2017

layers to the already overused housewife and mother roles they were cast in, putting a different spin on what could have been a typical domestic drama.

The first episode backtracks to the first day of school as the families of the first-graders are introduced. Witherspoon’s character, Madeline, loves to be the center of attention, your typical helicopter mom with a first-grade daughter and a teenage daughter from her first marriage. Considered as the alpha female in town, her personality clashes with everyone; she’s your typical goody two shoes until you wrong her. Madeline’s go-to whenever she needs advice, Celeste Wright,

Source: IMdb.com

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is a retired lawyer and a mother of twin sons who are also beginning at the same school. Nicole Kidman plays her exquisitely as a very kept, calm and collected woman, living a perfect life with a perfect marriage. New to town is Woodley’s Jane Chapman, a mysterious young single mother who just moved to Monterey to raise her only son, Ziggy.

The series of unfortunate events commence as the school bell rang to mark the end of the school day. The shark-infested waters of the elementary school are instantaneously revealed as both parents and first graders are huddled into a group, as the teacher accuses a student of choking another student. Shocking everyone, Renata Klein’s (played by Laura Dern) daughter, Amabella steps up to show red marks on her neck and points to Ziggy, claiming he attempted to choke her, which the boy denies right

away. Chaos ensues as everyone’s maternal instincts kick in.

Renata threateningly spouts, “Ziggy, do you see her neck? If you ever touch my little girl again, you are gonna be in big trouble!” leaving Jane and Ziggy petrified by the accusation.

This confrontation ignites Madeline to step up for the newcomers, basically saying the kid is innocent after proven guilty and that Renata needs to apologize to the kid right away.

The battle lines are drawn as Renata and Madeline’s personalities clash, creating a monstrous rivalry between the two of them with everyone taking sides.

The show cleverly utilizes this double-whodunit mystery as motivation for each and every character’s actions throughout the series. The first episode also explores how elementary schools are full of impossible situations like this one, and raises the question: Can a 6-yearold child a l -

ready be a sociopath? The first episode not only tackles modern suburban life but also parenting, and the anxieties that come along with it. The truth is murky, and even though the amount of evidence is stacked against Ziggy, Jane’s forthright trust and belief in her son triumphs but this devotion ultimately raise the tension and suspicion between the mother and son.

An unlikely friendship develops between Madeline, Jane, and Celeste, serving as the catalyst that pulls these women through the tragedy which slowly unfolds as the show progresses. Secrets are revealed as the first episode ends, with Madeline struggling to connect with her older daughter, Abigail as she tries to cope with her ex-husband Nathan and his young yoga instructor wife, Bonnie at the same time. Celeste’s marriage doesn’t seem all too perfect after all, as her husband Perry starts to show signs of being violent and abusive. Jane's motives for moving to Monterey are still relatively un-

known.

Yes, the whole premise of Big Little Lies is a little bit trashy and cliché. The driving force of the show is pitting women against women, but the plot is handled with respect by elevating each character’s strengths and flaws exceptionally well. The A-list cast gives their roles more than justice with their powerful yet nuanced performances. The conniving nature and the sniping between the moms, the mysterious backstories, the sex and the violence– each piece all adds up to a hypnotic package that surely whets your appetite for more.

A lot of people dismiss the show, saying it only caters to women. The story revolves around conflict made by them, after all. But once you parse through and let yourself be immersed in the rich storytelling, you will find that the show is ultimately a very timely critique on the gender roles and norms our society has been abiding by. And this is what makes

these characters relatable; they’re not just prissy, self-absorbed, rich women living in million dollar mansions by the beach.

Big Little Lies displays the hardships these women go through: from the double standards of being a mother and a wife to the anxieties of parenting.

Jane is looked down upon by many for being a single mother, and as one witness condescendingly recounts from the investigation, “She drives a dusty old Prius parked outside of a Barney’s.” Madeline is constantly searching for approval and recognition among her peers, as she struggles to prove to her ex-husband that her new marriage is far better than his. Celeste tries her hardest to live up to the expectations of having a happy family and a perfect marriage, putting her career on hold to raise her twin sons.

Renata dealing with the fear and disconnect people attribute to women in power, as she just joined the board of PayPal.

Big Little Lies is a commentary on the falsehood of the ‘perfect life’ and how easy it takes for it to crumble. It’s a powerful study on friendship and the bonds women make amidst drama and confusion.

Is Celeste’s marriage in jeopardy because of the looming violence between her and her husband? Why is Madeline trying so hard to one-up her ex-husband’s marriage? Who is Jane, and is she running from someone? Who really choked Amabella?

What will be Renata’s next move? Who fell down the flight of stairs and died? Why did it happen?

Whose domestic palace is going to crumble next?

The questions just pile on, and as the first episode ends, you’ll be begging for more twists and turns to come along your way.

Who knew suburban life could be this exciting and dramatic?

26 April 2017 // codcourier.org // 9

FEATURES

Photo provided by eclipse.aas.org

Photos provided by COD Newsroom

8 codcourier.org — 30 August 2017

FEATURES

The Great American Eclipse of 2017 Joseph Molino · Editor-in-Chief

The moon slowly passing in front of the sun as seen in a telescope from the campus

A

s a professor of astronomy, Joe DalSanto knew a total eclipse would have a dramatic visual impact on the sky. He didn't know it would have an equally dramatic impact on him.

DalSanto, who witnessed the event that day under Carbondale’s clear skies, says the experience was surprisingly emotional. “I was deeply affected and became very quiet while others were cheering and celebrating. Some were moved to tears. We were all surprised by how much we were affected emotionally.”

“This was the supreme natural phenomenon to witness,” COD’s own Joe DalSanto enthusiastically recounts of last week’s solar eclipse. DalSanto, COD’s own Professor of Astronomy, traveled to Carbondale to witness the moon completely eclipse the sun, the moment known as totality, along with thousands of so-called ‘eclipse chasers’ across the nation who wanted to revel in the ephemeral moment that some people can only experience once in their lifetime.

Back at the College, hundreds of students, fac-

ulty, staff, and visitors were visibly moved by the event as everyone came together to view the cosmic alignment of the sun, the moon, and our planet.

COD’s Astronomy Department made quite the event of the natural phenomenon, which last occurred in US skies in 1979.

To witness the spectacle, hundreds of people set-up in the atrium and on the COD grounds, wearing department provided solar safety glasses and a telescope for viewing.

As the event itself started, the group stared up at the sky to see the sun

Photo by Justin Gaetz

giving off a breathtaking orange glow. An audible, almost serene silence traversed throughout the campus as the path of the moon in the skies above COD covered about 90 percent of the sun. Despite the sporadic cloud cover which persisted on throughout the event and into the afternoon, the sight was awe-inspiring.

However, arguably more astounding than the event itself was the way people watched and reacted to it.

For an afternoon, the nation set aside any and all of its superficial divisions to stare up at the sky and

witness a rare and natural beauty.

And even for those who did not have the chance to witness the event firsthand or did not care to, Dal Santo argues that it still holds great importance.

“This was the supreme natural phenomenon to experience. If we care about the other natural experiences here on Earth – the Grand Canyon, the giant redwoods of California, volcanoes of Hawaii, glaciers, rain forests, – this one exceeds them because it is larger than our world.

This puts a human into contact with the motions

of [the] Moon and Sun directly.”

Do not fret, however, because, despite the rare nature of the event, the next total solar eclipse is scheduled to be visible over the US again. Seven years from now, the path of totality will cross over Carbondale’s skies for a second time — a very impressive feat which, in DalSanto’s words, “gives us direct context and shows us how small we really are. It is a humbling experience that enriches life enormously.”

Photo provided by eclipse.aas.org

30 August 2017 — codcourier.org 9

MUSIC Elegies for emotional catharsis Joseph Molino Editor-in-Chief

S

adness, as I have come to accept, has become detrimental to my growth as a person.

Whenever I play songs on shuffle, I always skip sad songs. I have grown tired of anything associated with sadness; consuming anything sad ultimately makes me feel extremely small and helpless, duped by my own empathy. I have a problem dealing with my own sadness, and I try not to add onto it as much as I can.

Some people move on with their lives right away after listening to a sad tune, reading a sad book, or watching a sad movie, but it doesn’t work for me that way. I tend to get absorbed and become entrenched into any media I consume.

Whenever it’s melancholic, tragic or both, the dreary, heavy feeling stays with me. This feeling lingers until it engulfs me, kick-starting an endless cycle that’s really hard to break.

I close my eyes and my mind slowly drifts away into the middle of a sea of pitch black stupor. My body feels heavy and light at the same time, making me queasy. A knot forms in my stomach and it’s the only thing keeping me afloat.

That’s why experiencing Mount Eerie’s music live for the first time felt like a beam of brightness from a lighthouse— a signal of hope as the contours of a nearby shore becomes more visible.

Phil Elverum, under

the pseudonym Mount Eerie, has been treading uncharted waters, too, of grief, despair and loss. His wife, Genevieve Castree Elverum, died only two months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She left him and their newborn daughter behind.

The dread and sorrow of having to see the woman he promised to spend the rest of his life with wither into a hollow and lifeless corpse tore apart the very fabric of his existence. And his new album lays it out all for everyone to share.

Genevieve’s singing voice flooded the halls of their home–crashing against the walls, drowning him with the memories and dreams they shared together. Less than a year after her death, Phil Elverum returns with ‘A Crow Looked at Me’, an autobiographical chronicling of the months after her passing, written and recorded using her instruments.

The looming nostalgia and longing to be with her again became the vessel for him to craft a haunting examination of personal loss.

“Death is real.” These are the first words that came out of Phil Elverum’s mouth, as he somberly strums his acoustic guitar.

Thalia Hall goes numbingly silent, as the spotlight warms the musician’s stature against the stark cold blue curtains in the background. The weight of the hall kept getting heavier as he recounts the events that transpired during that most dreaded day of his life. Opening with his first single, ’Real Death’, he repeats ‘My knees fail / My brain fails / Words fail’ in intervals of long pauses as the tempo of the song transitions between the creases of life and death. Like a beam of brightness, he bares his soul, unafraid to

14 codcourier.org — 13 September 2017

be seen at his most broken. is fleeting as everything During this moment of comes running back as clarity, when he enunciates soon as he walks back into ‘It’s dumb / I don’t want to the house, the dark winlearn anything from this”, I dow of the room where his realize that sadness makes wife died looming in his us human. Grief, despair, field of vision. Mount Eesorrow, and every shade in rie shows how these seembetween them are part of ingly mundane, simple living and I’ve been sup- moments of routine sudpressing myself from fully denly become infused with experiencing the complex- profundity as death shatities of life. And as I was ters every aspect of life, reveling in this newfound giving them new meaning. realization, he abruptly This willingness to bare it ends the song, whisper- all makes him all the ing, “I love you.” Silence more relatable, his creeps up in the entire hall vulnerability ofonce again, and he lets out fering solace to a long sigh.

Reliving the CONCERT REVIEW details of his wife’s death every time “Mount Eerie” he performs must take a Thalia Hall toll, but he courageously treaded on. With eloquence and painful honesty, he confronted himself and the loneliness that has ingrained its roots deep inside him.

By the time he performs my favorite track, ‘When I Take out the Garbage at Night’, audible sniffles and collective sighs started to echo in the room.

The song tackles the disassociation people sometimes feel whenever they get lost doing the most menial chores in brutal realism. He narrates becoming one with the universe every time he takes the garbage out at night, and for a brief moment, he forgets everything– the death of his wife, his life, his existence. A sense of peace resonates in his voice but the moment

the collective human experience. The sad and tragic nature of his music is a reminder that suffering is inevitable in our lives, and however we choose to deal with it, no matter the outcome changes our perception of the world forever.

By performing these songs live over and over again, Elverum has managed to transform his

music into a meditative process for healing not just for him, but for people who are going through similar situations in their own lives. He has been actively doing what I’ve been suppressing my entire life: confronting his fear and grief head on.

This is what makes his live performance a revelatory experience– one that has given me a newfound appreciation for life, a deeper understanding of sadness as I grasp the complexities of death and what it truly means to live. It’s OK to be sad as long as you don’t let it consume you. The tragedy Phil Elverum had to go through never stopped him from noticing the world; if anything, it seems to have pried his eyes open for good.

Illustration by Joseph Molino/Courier

OPINION We need a national ban on the tampon tax. Period.

Periods are an ugly affair. Women find themselves crippled in pain, bloated, fatigued, hungry, emotional and, of course, bloody for a week out of every month. Menstruation is an unwanted and uncontrollable natural body function, which is why it is strange women in Chicago have been paying 10.25 percent more on what is known as the “tampon tax” for feminine products. Until now.

Chicago recently passed legislation removing the tax on feminine products and the state of Illinois is likely to follow in the city’s lead.

This would make Illinois the sixth state to remove the tampon tax, while 40 other states continue in their backwards practice (four states have no sales tax). While it is something to be celebrated that Chicago has joined the right side of history, there’s still the question of why feminine products ever faced a luxury tax to begin with.

By definition, a luxury tax is meant for products not considered essential, while items such as groceries, prescriptions, or other necessities are exempt. Yet nothing about tampons and pads falls

under the category of “nonessential.” Women already face the burden of monthly bleeding, and the most commonly used solution to aid that situation is not considered essential throughout the country.

A typical box of tampons plus tax costs around $10. A woman can go through as much as an entire box per month, totalling about $120 per year on required feminine hygiene. Not to mention that for each week of menstruation, a variety of sizes and boxes can be required. If those products are truly a luxury, and therefore are not actually a necessity, what are women meant to do if they can’t afford them?

Bleed publicly through their clothes, onto furniture or the ground?

If the topic disgusts

you, you’re not alone.

We are taught not to speak freely and openly about women’s

bodies as purely sexual and not understating their true functions, our society has become a

menstruation—in part because it is an unsettling topic, but also because female anatomy and health is less emphasized than the male counterpart. However, by regarding women’s

place where condoms are often given out for free and tampons and pads almost never are. And while condoms face the same tax that feminine products do in so many states, they are not an absolute necessity for

an entire gender. Women cannot choose to not have their period if they can’t afford tampons that month. Men have no such unavoidable condition.

Sure, it isn’t the biggest problem in the country.

Not by far. But it shouldn’t have ever been a problem to begin with, and it’s a fairly easy one to fix. Women too often face arbitrary discrimination, and the tampon tax is only proof that this discrimination can manifest itself in all levels of society.

Perhaps the tax was not put in place as a misogynistic practice but merely because no one took into account how it actually would affect women without sufficient funds.

Either way, there is a problem. Women are not a lesser gender or an afterthought, yet it’s hard to imagine that if men experienced periods that so little thought would be put into their hygiene and health.

Of course, with every step forward for women there will be those trying to demote the cause into nothing more than a spec-

tacle. The removal of the tampon tax in Chicago is no different. In the comments section of an article by The Washington Post, amid various comments by supportive women, a male user wrote, “If women don’t have to pay tax on tampons men shouldn’t have to pay tax on roofies.” If anything sums up the illogical and chauvinistic viewpoints of the opposing side on this particular issue, that has to be it. Luckily, comments such as the one above are not commonplace, as most men and women can understand the advocacy for removing the tax.

While there is clearly a long way to go before the tampon tax is completely removed around the world, we can still celebrate this victory in Chicago and look to the future for more like it. In fact, there are a number of campaigns for feminine products to be made free altogether, with some schools and public restrooms across the country already offering these items at no cost.

However, until all states initiate these laws, the tax on feminine products is simply another daily struggle for millions of women.

GRAPHIC JOSEPH MOLINO/COURIER

COURIER

THE

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EDITORIAL BOARD OPINION EDITOR MAGGIE CURRAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF KELLY WYNNE PHOTO EDITOR BETHANY BERG GRAPHICS EDITOR JOSEPH MOLINO FEATURES EDITOR CAROLINE BRODERICK REPORTER MIRANDA SHELTON

10 // codcourier.org // 30 March 2016

Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school.

Writers can express their views in a “Letter to the Editor”.” All correspondence and letters for publication must be typed and signed with the author’s contact information and full name.

Letters can be sent via e-mail to editor@cod.edu. The subject heading to the message must read “Letter to the Editor.” The writer’s first and last names, major (if student) or occupation title, street address, city, state and complete phone number with area code must be included for identity verification by the Courier. Deadline for letters meant for publication is noon on Fridays. Letters are subject to editing for grammar, style, language, length and libel. All letters represent the views of the author, not the editorial board.

OPINION EDITORIAL

Welcome to the end of privacy

Vault 7, espionage and an attempt to change culture You are no longer in control of your life. Every single aspect of your existence can be tapped into, hacked and cataloged by the eyes of Big Brother as you are labeled with an ID number specifying you as a resource rather than a human. The threat of Big Brother spying on its citizenry is no longer just behind the cover of an Orwellian nightmare; it has become absolute and reality.

“Year Zero” is part one of a multi-phase information leak of classified documents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) called “Vault 7.”

This information purge will be released through Wikileaks, the illustrious organization which handled the Hillary Clinton and John Podesta email scandal. Year Zero revealed covert programs run by the CIA that leave the American citizen in peril through their malpractice of manipulating weaknesses in popular software for their advantage.

From Bradley Manning to Edward Snowden, and now to Vault 7, data leak after data leak has shown the entire world how much information the U.S. stockpiles on the global community and its domestic citizenry.

Manning released hundreds upon thousands of documents about the Iraq

and Afghanistan War, miscellaneous airstrikes gone rogue with countless citizen casualties and Guantanamo Bay documents illustrating the cruelty brought onto its prisoners. Snowden released priceless information on the U.S. National Security Agency’s (NSA) countless projects and programs that aim to find vulnerabilities in software and technology like Google Drive, multiple popular social media websites and your smartphone in order to track down criminals and terrorists.

Vault 7 is yet another marker that shows how notorious and deeply un-American the U.S. government runs its agencies. No other country in the world has had three major data leaks in the past decade outlining in vivid detail how three major parts of said government goes against the moral fabric upon which it was built.

The most scandalous part of this new leak is the CIA’s disgusting practice of hoarding vulnerabilities in American software.

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LUCAS KOPROWSKI FEATURES EDITOR CAROLINE BRODERICK GRAPHICS EDITOR JOSEPH MOLINO PHOTOGRAPHER DAVID JURA REPORTER VANDY MANYEH REPORTER HULON WARE SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER ALIZAY RIZVI

Hoarding vulnerabilities means the government found ways to break into software and

lected them and used them in order to further allow themselves access inside large user databases.

Through hoarding vulnerabilities, the CIA has been able to create permanent b a c k d o o r s into everything you use d a i l y.

Most notably, your smart-

jeopardize the information its holding, and chose not to share the liabilities with the software manufacturers in question.

Instead, the agency col-

phone has been utterly compromised. Both Android and Apple have been broken into, and now have backdoors available to the U.S. government for

whenever they want to tap into someone’s daily activity.

Whether or not you worry about the government tapping into your phone camera while you smoke weed or take a shower is irrelevant to the fact that every single phone in the world is now compromised. The U.S. has the ability to tap into anyone’s phone across the globe and listen in on their conversations, whether over a call or turning the phone’s microphone on as it sits in a person’s pocket.

The CIA also has the ability to tap into smart TV’s microphones and listen to people when the TV is in a fake off mode while plugged into an outlet.

As well, they can control cars remotely through their comp u t e r systems.

W i r e d magazine showed how this is possible in a video from 2015, where they hacked into a 2014 Jeep Cherokee and turned off the engine while it was being driven on the highway.

What is most worrying about these documents,

however, is how they prove the government is attempting to shift culture through subliminal alterations in everyday media. The CIA proposed a program called the “Meme Warfare Center” (MWC), which aims to create memes in order to shift societal ideas and morals through analyzing the culture of specific populations of people, friendly or foe, and disseminate them organically into the population.

The MWC is just one of many different programs linked in this leak aimed at altering cultural values and shifting them to those which would provide less friction.

Although Year Zero is only about one percent of the entire information mass that will be leaked under the guise of Vault 7, it is enough to show how little the U.S. cares about respecting anyone’s privacy. Through the signing of the Espionage Act and the Patriot Act, slowly but surely the government has taken the voice of its people away and has given it a false sense of free will.

We, as a nation, have given up our freedom for a false sense of security.

To quote George Orwell’s 1984, “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

Views expressed in The Courier represent opinions of majority of editorial board. The Courier encourages all students, faculty, staff, administrators and community members to voice their opinions on all the topics concerning them both in and out of school. We encourage readers to submit a “Letter to the Editor” voicing their opinions on topics discussed in the editorial.

GRAPHIC BY JOSEPH MOLINO/COURIER

15 March 2017 // codcourier.org // 15

ALBUM REVIEW:

F E AT U R E S

Bon Iver astonishes with unexpected new sound Bridget Kingston · News Editor

The pitiful woes of unwanted fame have never sounded so superb. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has unapologetically chucked his chilly Wisconsin cabin and acoustic guitar for his stunning third album, “22, A Million.”

Instead, he grapples with synthesizers, symbolism and some serious voice manipulation to create the most dizzying mixture of grit and grace.

The entire record is an intricately plotted projection of Vernon’s most troubling existential questions yet. It’s sprinkled with indecipherable

symbols and connections to his previous works, as seen through his use of numbers and symbols on every track title.

Although this latest creation stands alone musically, it shares the same ideological skeleton as his cathartic two previous albums.

Coming out of a five year hiatus, seemingly bored with the conventional notions of music, Vernon soaks every inch of this album with the unforeseen. Opening track "22 (OVER S∞∞N)" exhibits acute use of Auto-Tune to distort Vernon’s typically simple,

12 // codcourier.org // 05 October 2016

forlorn vocals beyond recognition. The first half of the album rattles and clunks; it dips a toe on either side of the line separating menacing from masterful.

"715 - CR ∑∑ KS,” with its ardent layering and harmonizing of distorted vocals sans any instrumentals, was clearly a nod to “Woods.” The similarly acapella song caught the attention of Kanye West back

in 2010, which he utilized on “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”

Halfway through the 10 track album, the emotionally upheaving sounds taper off, easing into the smoother sentiment more frequently associated with Bon Iver.

“29 #Strafford APTS,” spurs familiarity with the scattering of guitar, banjo and hazy saxophones.

Bon Iver’s previous album, with the majority of its mellow,

savory tracks named after geographical locations, allowed Vernon to build a habitat for his memories and inquisitions.

With “22, A Million,” he disperses these same dispositions into the void, allowing them to expand and morph without restrictions.

Maybe none of us even have the right or intellectual capability to try and form a unified interpretation of this unrelated jumble of symbols and hidden meanings; which perhaps is why it’s so intoxicatingly beautiful.

“22, A Million” serves as a final

resting place of two decades of searching for self-understanding like a religion; and coming to the inner-resolution of potentially never finding that understanding. The paradoxical qualities that seem to encompass everything about Justin Vernon have been thrown under the microscope for the world to see. I can’t think of any reason more pure to propel one further into the realm of artistic acclaim.

ALBUM REVIEW:

F E AT U R E S

Mount Ninji and Da Nice Time Kid Lucas Koprowski · Editor-in-Chief

Before I found Die Antwoord, I wasn’t living life to its fullest extent.

The constant berating of radio hits by “artists” like Chainsmokers and DJ Khaled gentrifies the entire i d e a

of musical expression into an algorithm for record labels to exploit the public into only understanding maybe four to five genres of music. This process has taken over to the extent of people scowling at the notion of something not fitting their favorite genre as music.

The quirky, almost satirical

style of Die Antwoord is my choice of music for shaking off the bolted down rust of disgusting Auto-Tune and

generic beats forcefully screwed into our ears by every form of media.

Yolandi and Ninja’s roots in South African music, in conjunction with their fusion of well-developed electro and multi-lingual rap, pushed my definition of what music is to an entirely new reality.

In their newest piece of mindless self-indulgent musical expression, “Mount Ninji and da Nice Time Kid,” the duo take their style to an entirely redefined level. From cover to cover, the entire album is an eloquent loogie to the face of societal conf o r m i t y.

E v e r y track has a completely different texture and tone, which throws you into a bipolar mixture of rapid and mellow e n e r g y.

The best example of their refluxed energy mixture comes at the introduction of their album, “We Have Candy.” The constant shift of fast drum and bass to their more orchestral vocals, juxtaposed to the obviously playful lyrics, sets the tone of the entire album right off the bat as energetic and light hearted.

As do most modern artists, Die Antwoord’s most popular tracks have varied sexual themes.

However, the duo takes the idea of a sexual track far and beyond anything you would see from artists like Kesha and Nicki Minaj. In their previous mixtape leading up to this album, the song “Gucci Coochie” was all about how Yolandi’s love comes at the price of practically becoming her man slave.

Following in the footsteps of that song on this album is “Daddy,” an upbeat dance track about Yo l a n d i wanting her sugar daddy to buy her ever ything she desires, from chocolate bunnies to cars.

The production quality of the fast paced, catchy beat outright clears all questioning of the lyrical content, and that is what makes Die Antwoord’s music so powerful. Their music is able to absorb the listener’s attention long enough for their anxieties and frustrations to slip away out of their minds into the ether of the

musical bombardment they’re experiencing.

I could go on forever about the other 13 tracks on this album, but honestly I don’t want to ruin any more of the experience. This

is by far the rap duo’s best work. All of their previous works are still amazing by their own marks, but none of them compare to this mind-numbing, over-stimulating masterpiece.

w o r k takes you on a wild adventure through different themes of nostalgia and discomfort within the story arch hinted at in each song. This 05 October 2016 // codcourier.org // 13

MUSIC

the black community are the chosen ones of God, due to their hardships most likely referencing the civil rights movement and how badly poor black populations are treated within the U.S...

His references of Deuteronomy are laced throughout the album, with the perpetual idea that the black community has become the modern-day Israelites.

His personal conviction to God allows him to become critical in a detached manner of his community towards their ideas of success coinciding with illegal and sinuous activity. “I know he walks the Earth; But it's money to get, bitches to hit, yah; Zeroes to flip, temptation is, yah; First on my list, I can't resist, yah” Throughout the album, he constantly flips between two characters within himself that contradict and cause his depression and anger to set ablaze. In the following track “ELEMENT.” his attitude flips towards willing to die and kill for his ambitions. The death of his grandma focuses his anger into

a passionate flame that no longer stands for his family, but the entire Compton community.

After “ELEM E N T. ” h o w e v e r, the album diverts into a mess of conflicting productions that are aimed well, however miss Lamar’s status quo of quality seen

throughout his discography. “LOYALTY.” is the absolute worst track on the listing. It sounds close to a Soundcloud demo, and Rihanna makes the entire bit

come off like an early Calvin Harris release like “18 Months.”

“HUMBLE.” is a flame-engulfed track popping off a catapult with the intention of setting ablaze the monotonous and repetitive rappers who use the same beats rehashed in order stay relevant in the scene, as well catching the media’s interpretation of beautify and humanity along the way.

The best track in this collection has to go to either “LUST.” or “XXX.” The former’s mischievous tone sets the tone to be disgusting in nature while connected to lyrics asking if he can just “put the head in.” “XXX.” somehow makes U2 relevant again, with Lamar utilizing their soft oaky tone over his description of how the hood takes away any aspirations towards an education and aims them towards pipe dreams

like gang life or rapping.

There are ideas littered throughout this piece that piece the mind of Lamar into an omniscient being of his community and a symbol for the black community.

Although disjointed and lackluster at times, when he finds his stride he’s able to capitalize on his iconic storytelling and push his narrative beyond anyone in his same realm of rap. “ D U C K WO R T H . ” stamps his collection with a classic beat and a realization that the black community is pointing fingers around to find the cause of their problems, when in actuality it’s all within their own morality. The song follows the story of Lamar’s father Kenneth Duckworth, and a single event that could have ended his father’s life and altered Lamar’s life in ways only fiction could recreate.

With one final gunshot popped off into Lamar’s character, the album reverses completely and end back where he began.

The blind woman is God. She knows nothing, is completely lost, yet knows all.

ILLUSTRATION BY JOSEPH MOLINO 26 April 2017 // codcourier.org // 17

OPINION LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:

Lucas Koprowski · Editor-in-Chief

Why am I still here? I promised myself the first week of my freshman year I wouldn’t be one of those losers who sticks around for a third year at a community college, yet here I am. Whether it ’s because I realized it ’s OK to take another year to find out what you truly want to do, or it ’s because I’ve accepted becoming a loser, I’ve found College of DuPage to be a dysfunctional home I’m not ready to part with yet.

Over my past two years here at COD, I’ve experienced many things that I otherwise wouldn’t have at a four-year institution. I took 3 hours of public transportation daily to get to and from COD for the first three months of my first semester when it would have only taken 45 minutes to an hour to do the same trip by car. I also helped create a secular club here on campus, but left at the end of the semester due to visionary differences. Most importantly however, I was forced to overcome my awkward shyness by writing

for the Courier, which in turn forced me to talk to complete strangers.

Since starting with the Courier, I’ve had to change the way I react to social situations in order to surpass my former isolationist attitude towards life. As the photography editor, I was allowed to stay quiet by standing in the corner of a room and take photos for everyone’s articles.

When I started my second year, I moved from my photography position over to sports writing. I would write about the games and what ’s happening in and around the sports atmosphere at COD. The stands were bleak at best, being half filled with families of the athletes as well as super fans of COD athletics.

Nonetheless, I had to push myself further to be active on the sidelines, as well as communicate with coaches and their star athletes to produce adequate work.

What really dislodged my introversion was becoming the paper’s news editor, where I talked to COD adminis-

12 // codcourier.org // 31 August 2016

tration and tried my best to keep composure. I remember coming out of some of the more important interviews I did earlier into that position with jitters and cold sweat beating down my forehead from anxiety. After probably a month or two of this, I slowly overcame this and realized everyone is just human. It seems pretty obvious now, but in the moments before an interview it was far from my philosophy.

I also learned what failure truly meant after these past two years at COD. No, it wasn’t because I was at a community college. I haven’t always had a good work ethic, but I always shot high and hoped for the best without putting enough effort into my craft.

That ’s why it took me three times to interview for the Editor-in-Chief position for the paper before I got the job, as well the reason why I only

have a 2.6 GPA. I’m not proud of my laziness, but I am proud of the lessons my failure provided.

I’ve found out how to work efficiently after being sick of falling short of my goals for three semesters in a row, and I’ve taught myself how to manage life to arrive at the end of a goal successfully. I’ve lost 30 pounds this past summer, and I’m going to use the same work ethic to achieve straight A’s.

If there’s one thing you take away from this memoir of my college experience, it ’s that

COD has shaped me into the person I am today. The tools provided to me by this institution taught me how to overcome my bashfulness, redesign my work ethic, and make life-changing friendships along the way. To answer the question I first posed, I’m still at COD because I need to give back to the community, which has done so much for me.

Lucas Koprowski ¡ Editor-in-Chief

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Joseph Molino/Courier

Crying would be a subtle and visceral way to release all the pent-up emotion I have towards leaving this newspaper after this semester’s final issue.

Since September of 2014, I’ve been a part of the College of DuPage Courier student newspaper. I’ve learned a lot about not only myself but everyone I have encountered in my reporting. From watching former COD President Robert Breuder being slammed by citizens during a three-hour-long public comment to nearly being assaulted at the Trump rally that never came to be in early 2016, I’ve gained experiences and memories that have changed my perception of the world.

However, blaring thoughts in my head drive me to hate my past self, as well as convince me to run far away from this newspaper office that I’ve turned into my home.

That sounds over-dramatic.

I live in the United States. I have a roof over my head that keeps me dry.

I’m in college, and I don’t have many bills due to living with my mom. I get paid to manage my community college’s newspaper for Christ’s sake.

I have a wonderful job.

Life is simple. It is easy in concept, and I should be thriving under the freedom I’ve been so fortunate to enjoy.

The privilege that flows perpendicular with my life should harbor success. If it doesn’t, then I’d be a fool and an abuser to take these freedoms I’ve been allotted for granted.

I shouldn’t be getting C’s in my classes, nor should I be smearing the trust of the people who have helped me attain these freedoms by dropping classes or not studying.

I’d be a loser not to be thriving.

Of course, that mindset comes with its drawbacks. I’ve certainly felt more anxious and some-

Most people cannot innately run like a machine, and when they compare themselves to “that kid” in class who doesn’t understand the first week’s material after six weeks into the semester, they believe they’re in good standing.

I’m here in this very moment writing this sob piece to make myself

The habits I built from the summer to help improve my studying completely fell flat on its face once I started compromising my routine with dating and trying new social experiences rather than studying.

With this publication, I told myself it’s OK to fail. I told myself it’s all a learning

cus on your failures as a white flag. For me, over analyzation leads to an addiction towards my deeper insecurities and pushes me towards the wrong kind of perspective. Instead, let me focus on my failures as lessons, not regrets.

My laissez-faire leadership style isn’t for everyone, and some people

what depressed under these mental conditions. They’ve cut my appetite and stumped my hunger for success.

The anxiety I, and many others in the same situation, have faced locks us into a paralyzing fear of taking the next step forward. I find myself having YouTube marathons for hours at a time in an attempt to alleviate my goose-skinned emotions.

That’s life though.

feel better about my own shortcomings this past year. I did not live up to any of the goals I put up in August for my education or this publication.

I did not get straightA’s, and I was a fool for setting that standard so high for myself when I can barely read a Stephen King novel, let alone understand why Walt Whitman is a gay-poetic revolutionary of his time.

experience. I’ve lost more friendships in a span of four months than I had organically within a half decade before starting my lead role, and I feel like I am leaving this paper stagnant of any improvement.

Regret only leads to self-loathing, so I’ll try not to bog myself down any further with ideas of wanting to go back in time. It isn’t healthy.

It isn’t healthy to fo-

ask to be micromanaged.

Although I hate being told what every step of the process is every time I need to complete a task, others need that sort of structure. I now understand that I can’t let everybody run free, even though it harbors the most creative success once their own personal groove is found.

I cannot treat everyone with the same decency

as I would with a close friend. Confrontation is a necessary evil. Deal with outliers before they influence the entire trend.

Giving people chances is one thing, but not addressing the problem through giving people more opportunity to fail is an entirely other issue.

It was a slippery slope every single time I let them fall into the trap. To all who I didn’t catch, I’m sorry.

It wasn’t that I refused to help you. I couldn’t even catch myself from falling into the same hole.

My stagnation towards not studying and postponing my work caused my limbs to become a mix of lead and iron, and I couldn’t find my own way to escape the boomerang of habit.

That single aspect of this past year has been the bane of my existence, and I couldn’t find a way around it in time to help my coworkers.

Humility is my greatest ally, with a dagger at my throat no matter where I stand. It helps me face my shadow and overcome personal groundhog days. Vulnerability is the world’s most powerful double-edged sword, and humility opens us up to the reality we fail to see.

To look at failures as a part of you rather than a weighted jacket you place upon your shoulders is to take in the full array of colors provided by life.

Rainbows become dreary in comparison to the vivid images seen between the words of your regrets.

I am a loser, though.

Take what I say with a grain of salt.

10 May 2017 // codcourier.org // 19

Joseph Molino Graphic Designer

630.362.9386 yosepmolino@gmail.com