Feb. 24, 2020 | The Columbia Chronicle

FEB

24

2020

» LUCAS SMITH/CHRONICLE

LIGHTS, CAMERA, SUBSCRIBE Columbia students tune in to YouTube to create and expand their community Story by Dyana Daniels | See “YouTube,” page 4

Campus, page 3

Arts & Culture, page 6

Metro, page 17

Housing Guide, pages 7–14

Rosita Sands selected as dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts

The Field Museum celebrates Carl Cotton for Black History Month

Chicago City Council declares a climate emergency

Housing Fair in Student Center, 5th floor, Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m.

editor’s note

Why I am not voting, but you should be

>> staff MANAGEMENT

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

» ALEXANDRA YETTER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I

n the coming weeks, I will not fill out an absentee ballot in the 2020 primaries.

In early March, I will not head to the polls ahead of time. And on March 17, I will not wake up early to arrive at my voting precinct the moment it opens, fill out a ballot, put on an “I voted” sticker proudly and have breakfast at a greasy diner in celebration, as is my father’s voting tradition.

By now, you must be scratching your head in confusion or, if you’re like my mother, passionately informing me of all the reasons why I should be exercising my right to vote. Am I not the person who has routinely written editor’s notes every week for the past few months with the common theme of calling my generation to action? Am I not the person who criticizes passive activism?

You are correct. I am. But for me, choosing not to vote in this election—and every election for the remainder of my journalistic career—is my own moral statement.

I, like many other journalists, choose not to vote in primary elections to refrain from real or perceived bias in my reporting. As someone who has regularly covered current 2020 presidential candidates—such as former Vice President Joe Biden; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), as well as former 2020 candidates Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper—it has always been imperative to me that I remain unbiased in all interpretations.

According to a Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018, survey by Pew Research Center, 75% of people said it is never acceptable for a news organization to be biased toward one political party, and only 52% of people said news oultets are doing well at reporting on varying political issues fairly. What’s more, the media was rated highest for how well they cover important issues, but lowest for fair political coverage.

As someone who aims to cover politics in my post-graduate journalism career, this is unacceptable and warrants drastic action on the part of all journalists.

Although the candidate I may vote for is private in a primary election, the party I vote for is public information that can be found by anyone. What’s more, by walking into a polling place and stating my political affiliation, whether it be Republican, Democrat or independent, I

VOL. 55, ISSUE 19

Alexandra Yetter

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

MANAGING EDITORS

SENIOR VIDEO EDITOR

Ignacio Calderon

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Shane Tolentino

Mike Rundle Mari Devereaux Kendall Polidori Main Line: (312) 369-8977 Editor-in-Chief: (312) 369-8834 Director of Photography: (312) 369-8961 Managing Editors: (312) 369-8963

REPORTERS

NEWS EDITOR

Paige Barnes

OPINIONS EDITOR

Margaret Smith

REPORTERS

Isaiah Colbert Dyana Daniels Nick Forsythe Lauren Leazenby Myer Lee Mateusz Janik June Keating Val eria Mancera-Saavedra Jonah Ocuto Ryan Rosenberger

am automatically putting a flashing neon sign above my head telling all readers that I am biased toward a particular party.

In that same vein, as a college reporter I would not vote in any Student Government Association election or participate in public

COPY forums about the college to avoid being perceived as having bias for or against different

COPY EDITORS Summer Hoagland-Abernathy aspects and people at the school.

Brooklyn Kiosow Ella Watylyk This is a small price to pay to ensure the work I do is as fair, objective and balanced GRAPHICS as possible, with the sole mission of conveying important information to the public so

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Jennifer Chavez it may elect the representatives it deems fit.

Wesley Enriquez As former Executive Editor of The John Sammis Lucas Smith Washington Post Leonard Downie Jr. wrote in an online chat on the news site

MULTIMEDIA in 2004: “I decided to stop voting when I

DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Camilla Forte became the ultimate gatekeeper for what PHOTOJOURNALISTS Justin Anderson is published in the newspaper. I wanted to Zac Clingenpeel keep a completely open mind about everyMengshin Lin thing we covered and not make a decision, Jacqueline Luttrell Steven Nunez even in my own mind or the privacy of the voting booth, about who should be president

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Blaise Mesa or mayor, for example.”

But make no mistake—I will always ADVERTISING/ encourage non-journalists to participate MARKETING in the democrtic process by exercising their right to vote. In fact, expect me to pester MEDIA SALES REPS Cale Holder Sunjoy Walls every person in my vicinity on Tuesday, Katie Williams March 17 about whether they’ve voted.

In the 2016 presidential primary, only SENIOR STAFF 36.9% of people voted in Illinois, according to data by Vox. Many of those people, GENERAL MANAGER Travis Truitt including some of my fellow classmates, FACULTY ADVISER Curtis Lawrence had sit-out remorse when, a few months later, President Donald Trump was elected.

So, no matter who you favor, don’t regret not voting after the fact. Get your “I voted” sticker and wear it proudly so I can cross my fingers that my reporting helped you feel confident in your vote.

2 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 24, 2020

ayetter@columbiachronicle.com

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Adjunct faculty member Raymond “Terry” Tatum dead at 64 » ColumbiaChronicle.com » IGNACIO CALDERON/CHRONICLE

campus

Faculty and students weigh in on ‘new’ dean Rosita Sands » MARI DEVEREAUX

MANAGING EDITOR

years of experience at the college, leadership skills and a focus on integrating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into the curriculum, Rosita Sands was selected as dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts—a choice faculty and students hope will lead to interdisciplinary collaboration, higher enrollment numbers and academic innovation.

Sands won’t be totally starting from scratch, though, as she has served as interim dean of the school since 2018. Senior Vice President and Provost Marcella David formally announced Sands’ permanent appointment on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in a collegewide email.

Fashion Studies Department Chair Colbey Reid was also being considered for the position.

Reid’s vision for the school focused on creating partnerships with businesses, rethinking the college’s brand and generating revenue through departments working together on various projects.

WITH NEARLY 20

APPOINTMENT In an interview with the Chronicle, David said she found

both candidates to be “highly qualified and engaged” after attending their presentations delivered as part of the hiring process. But after conferring with President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim, department chairs and faculty, she determined Sands was the best choice for the position at this time.

Sands’ proven managerial success in a time of enrollment instability, a “revolutionary” passion for DEI initiatives and her dedication to serving faculty interests put her ahead as a candidate, David said.

“She has a very strong vision of … the visual arts as a continuum and, similarly, the performing arts as a continuum,” David said. “There’s overlap in their curriculum, but design also supports what’s happening in theatre [and] in music.”

VISION Sands’ approach to the school will be based on interdisciplinary action across all aspects, from training students to bringing in prospective ones.

Sands said there is already collaboration and communication between different departments, and she encourages deans, chairs and faculty to get

together to have a conversation about finding or repurposing resources for students’ needs.

“It just makes sense,” Sands said. “The professions we’re training students for are interdisciplinary, so we need to give them that experience while they are here.”

Sands said the School of Fine and Performing Arts is partnering with the Undergraduate Admissions and Enrollment Management offices on recruitment visits to schools, showcasing student work and highlighting what makes Columbia stand out.

FACULTY WEIGH IN After working with Sands for years in the Music Department, Ilya Levinson said he has no concerns about her leadership.

“She’s a good listener,” said Levinson, an associate professor in the department. “She [has a] background as a researcher, and she can listen and she can synthesize information and come up with the right solution.”

Levinson said it’s important for Sands to focus on collaborations between the School of Fine and Performing Arts, the School of Media Arts and the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences because of the inherent

ties audio arts and acoustics, history and philosophy have to fine and performing arts.

Khalid Long, an assistant professor in the Theatre Department, said the school needs more resources for faculty and students along with more attention paid to the needs of the larger campus community.

“If we create cross-campus collaborations, that would expand what it is that we do and create opportunities for both faculty and staff,” Long said. “[It would] also give us a greater depth to the identity of the college.”

Sands said she wants to help departments work on continually revising curriculum and programming to be relevant, current and diverse.

“It’s largely looking at the curriculum to make sure … it is inclusive of various voices, various aesthetics, various traditions,” Sands said. “Faculty need to be aware of the changing demands of various industries, and we need to make sure our curriculum keeps up with that.”

STUDENT INPUT Jocelyn Costea, a sophomore marketing and arts management double major, said the

Business and Entrepreneurship Department within the school can be marketed more effectively to future students. Before attending Columbia, she said she was not aware the college offered the business major.

“I also see business as an art,” Costea said. “You have to be creative, you have to be innovative, you have to be able to do things differently than other people to be more successful.”

Rita Dennin, a senior interdisciplinary documentary major, said while she enjoys the benefits of her professors’ connections and experience, she wants to see photography classes incorporate more editing and business skills—something she hopes can be implemented in the future.

Moving forward, David said she hopes Sands is able to continue existing initiatives while facilitating and encouraging more conversations within the School of Fine and Performing Arts and across Columbia.

“She has, not only great skill, but great potential,” David said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when she unfurls her wings and starts soaring.” mdevereaux@columbiachronicle.com

FEBRUARY 24, 2020 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE

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campus

Lights, camera, subscribe: Columbia students tune in to YouTube to create and expand their community » DYANA DANIELS STAFF REPORTER

bed at 3 in the morning, Claire McConnell had the idea to create a YouTube channel about Broadway, which later evolved into making “a day in the life” vlogs. Little did she know she was tapping into a new trend.

“I was watching Lesli Margherita do her ‘Looks on Books’ [vlog], and I was like ‘I could do this,’” said McConnell, a sophomore musical theatre major.

LYING IN HER

From YouTube to TikTok, college students are using social media to give viewers insight into what an average day on their campuses looks like in what is becoming a marketing tool for college recruiters in their battle to boost admissions.

“It gives an authentic student perspective,” said Lambrini Lukidis, associate vice president for Strategic Communications and External Relations. “It is most valuable because it is coming from the student perspective.”

At the University of Florida Gainesville, students are using social media to gain attention and reach bigger audiences. Their mascot participated in challenges on TikTok. This was a way to have fun but also promote their campus to prospective students.

Rather than visiting college campuses to scope out what attending the institution would feel like, prospective students are increasingly turning to YouTube.

When searching “Columbia College Chicago” on YouTube, many of

» ZACHARY CLINGENPEEL/CHRONICLE

(From left) Kate Roberts and Kassidy Graf created their channel Jerry Crew Comedy while in high school as a way to share inside jokes with subscribers.

Claire McConnell (above) created Broadway Vlogs as a way to share her love for musical theatre with the world.

4 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE FEBUARY 24, 2020

the top videos that pop up are dorm tours, admissions tips and tell-alls made by current students which offer an authentic characterization of life at Columbia.

Quite a few of McConnell’s subscribers have told her they plan on enrolling at Columbia after watching her vlogs.

“That is what people do now— they look on YouTube for videos,” McConnell said.

McConnell created her video series, “Education Broadway,” to show the experiences of musical theatre students at Columbia, as well as on other college campuses such as Tisch School of the Arts, Wagner College in New York and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Each Columbia vlog is filmed and edited by the student creator to provide an insider’s take for students and parents.

“It was for people who were going to college and looking at places to be … because you do not go to a college unless you know someone,” McConnell said.

The students behind Jerry Crew Comedy—junior marketing major Kassidy Graf and her best friend Kate Roberts, a junior comedy major—use their channel, a self-described digital scrapbook, as a way for their subscribers to be a part of their inside jokes.

“There is an epidemic of loneliness in our society right now and the internet is interesting because it is the first time in human history where you can have [a] community that isn’t centered around a building or meeting place,” Graf said. “So, it opens up an opportunity to connect with people.”

Graf’s secondary channel, The Hippie Catholic, was created because Graf wanted to share another part of herself that is both Catholic and liberal within Columbia, which is full of different people with different beliefs, Graf said.

“We have ... every kind of people here,” Graf said. “I feel like it would be good for me to have videos that explain how this works.”

Graf also uses her channels to connect with subscribers on something important to many Columbia students and prospective attendees—mental health positivity.

The aim of the Jerry Crew is to make people laugh and connect with others, and both Roberts and Graf have seen it resonate with their subscribers.

“If you are doing what you love, at least one person is amused— or, in this case, two people,” Graf said. “I love this school so much. Everyone is really supportive—we have such a great community here.”

Columbia has its own YouTube channel that focuses on institutional marketing in addition to channels hosted by different departments and faculty members, Lukidis said.

“We want to create a larger footprint,” Lukidis said. “We have talked about having students be part of more formalized marketing campaigns in terms of documenting and chronicling their experience on campus.”

Lukidis said Columbia is interested in reaching prospective students from as young as 12 and has considered using emerging sites such as TikTok, but is still focusing on more traditional social media platforms.

“Some people might say it’s antiquated, but we have a healthy following and engagement even on Facebook,” she said.

McConnell said while her vlog did not start out as a recruiting tool, she’s glad to see Columbia is taking notice of the evolving platforms on social media and that she has become an unofficial part of the school’s recruitment efforts.

“It is heartening to see our students really love Columbia and want to—on their own—make videos about the college and share their experiences,” Lukidis said. “It is validation for the type of campus we have.” ddaniels@columbiachronicle.com

campus

» KENDALL POLIDORI MANAGING EDITOR

gathered around a table with posters featuring Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) scattered about, all of them staring intently at the TV screen in front of them as they positioned “Students for Warren” buttons onto their shirts.

As Warren delivered passionate remarks and jabs at former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the students clapped and cheered for what many politicos called Warren’s best debate performance.

The small but enthusiastic group gathered for a night of discussion on Warren’s vision for “real, structural change” and to watch the NBC Democratic debate held in Las Vegas over cheese and pepperoni pizza and FOUR EAGER STUDENTS

soda at the Student Center, 754 S. Wabash Ave. This was the first event held by the “Students for Warren” group, created by watch party organizer Anna Busalacchi, a freshman public relations major, with the help of her faculty adviser, Anne Marie Mitchell.

Busalacchi said theirs is the first student group supporting a current presidential candidate, that she is aware of, at the college.

Kick-started just two weeks prior, the Warren supporters are not officially registered as a student organization at Columbia yet. However, Busalacchi said they are working on becoming sponsored by the Communication Department.

Mitchell, an associate professor in the Communication

» MIKE RUNDLE/CHRONICLE

These Columbia students ‘stan’ Elizabeth Warren for her policies Department, said it is crucial for students to get involved because the outcome of the election impacts them, whether they know it or not.

“The problem is a lot of students don’t really clearly understand or feel the connection of what’s happening in our political life to their own life,” Mitchell said.

Jake Eisendrath, a junior radio major, has been a Warren supporter for years. Not only is he impressed with the work she has accomplished as a senator, but he said her personality resonates closely with him because she is “open, honest and real.”

Visit ColumbiaChronicle. com for additional reporting. kpolidori@columbiachronicle.com

Freshman public relations major Anna Busalacchi organizes a watch party.

Music Center at Columbia College Chicago 1014 S. Michigan Avenue

M u s i c

D e p a r t m e n t

E v e n t s

Tuesday Feb.25 Meet the Artist with Isaiah Sharkey

12:00 PM

Thursday Feb. 27 SGA Open Mic Night in the lobby

5:00 PM

Student Piano and String Recital at the Sherwood.

7:00 PM

Friday Feb. 28 Isaiah Sharkey Residency Concert

7:00 PM

FEBRUARY 24, 2020 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE 5

Columbia-based alt-rock band SOK is ‘in the booth’ » ColumbiaChronicle.com

» JUSTIN ANDERSON/CHRONICLE

arts&culture

Field Museum honors its first African American taxidermist Carl Cotton » PAIGE BARNES

NEWS EDITOR

Field Museum, visitors can catch sight of a bird wading through the stalks of a marsh, a snapping turtle ready to take its first breath of air and a monkey ready to jump to the next branch.

These are just a few of the animals who have come to life due to the work of taxidermist Carl Cotton.

Beginning in 1947, Cotton worked for 25 years at the Field Museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive. Unbeknownst to many, he was the museum’s first African American taxidermist.

This February, Cotton is recWALKING THROUGH THE

ognized in honor of Black History Month for his contributions of creating life-like animal figures and exhibits for the Field Museum. It is also the museum’s first time officially celebrating Black History Month, said Tori Lee, the exhibit’s developer.

It took Cotton, who grew up in Washington Park on the South Side, seven years to land a position at the museum after initially writing the director of the museum for a position in the taxidermy department. After being hired, he was promoted to staff taxidermist five years later.

Lee said it is important for the Field Museum to recognize the long tradition of black history at the museum and

to highlight people working behind-the-scenes who often go unacknowledged.

Lee first came across a photo of Cotton when Reda Brooks, the museum’s exhibitions budget coordinator, showed her a picture of him working on the “Marsh Birds of the Upper Nile” diorama in a book celebrating the museum’s 125th anniversary.

“I saw it and I knew there had to be a bigger story there,” Lee said. “I really felt like we could highlight him for Black History Month. And then it kind of grew and grew.”

Working to piece together his career, Lee began asking around to see if anyone had informa-

tion about Cotton’s time at the museum, as well as trying to connect with Cotton’s family to build his story.

Lee said it was challenging to sort through the museum’s archives and the interviews she had with his family and friends after connecting with them through a Twitter post.

However, driven by a “grassroots movement,” it became a human story driven by human experience.

“It’s easy to find stuff about kings and pharaohs and people who held a lot of power in life,” Lee said. “It’s harder to find stuff about people who are just doing good, daily work.”

Approximately 20 exhibitions

currently have items Cotton has worked on, but she said there are many unaccounted for that have been relocated or dismantled.

Cotton’s legacy is seen by thousands of people each year.

Lee said she wants visitors to learn about the person behind the animals and exhibits they love to see at the museum.

“I want people to come to the exhibit and identify with different parts of this man’s story,” Lee said. “This is someone who was driven by a passion, by something he loved and it led him into spheres that were typically not open to him at the time.” pbarnes@columbiachronicle.com

» JUSTIN ANDERSON/CHRONICLE

» COURTESY THE FIELD MUSEUM

Tori Lee is the exhibit developer who brought the Cotton exhibition to the Field Museum.

6 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 24, 2020

This image shows Cotton at work in 1951, four years after joining the museum as a taxidermist.

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arts & culture

» RYAN ROSENBERGER STAFF REPORTER

sound of his roaring vocals over a blaring trap beat, Chicago hip-hop artist Israel Unzueta stands apart from other rappers.

Aside from his boisterous vocal performances, Unzueta has a specialty that not many rappers share, though it is becoming more popular: He is bilingual. By using English and Spanish in his music, he said it serves as an avenue to express himself.

“It allows me to tap into both sides of who I am,” said Unzueta, a former audio design and production major at Columbia, who is known in the music industry as REALXTY. “My whole family is of Latin descent; they all came from Mexico. My Latin roots are INSTANTLY, FROM THE

very strong, but also, I grew up in America. Being bilingual allows me to tell the story of both sides of my heritage.”

Over the years, Latin music has gradually found its place in the American musical hierarchy, becoming the fifth most streamed genre in the country, according to a 2018 year-end report on music album consumption in the U.S. by BuzzAngle Music.

Due to the surge, there is one sub-genre of Latin music that has gained traction in particular, Latin trap.

A close cousin of American trap music—a sub-genre of hip-hop characterized by its catchy melodies, snappy hi-hats and heavy bass—Latin trap is a style of music originating from Puerto Rico.

Unzueta said he first noticed

the Latin trap movement enter the mainstream in 2017 when Post Malone dropped the remix to his song “Rockstar,” which featured Nicky Jam and Ozuna, both of whom are Latin artists.

“That was huge,” Unzueta said.

“I saw that, and was like, ‘Oh my goodness. That’s one of the biggest American artists [with] some Latin artists, and they’re playing them on the radio.’”

Freelance music journalist Mártin Córdova said Latin trap and American trap are similar in sound, in regards to hi-hats and bass. He said there are artists who get a bit more complex with their work, and those are the ones getting shows internationally.

“There are a few [artists] who stand out and do things differently,” Cordova said. “Those are the ones who are ... trying to get to

the U.S.” C h i c a g o recording artist Ryan Lara, also known as RYEN, has been billed as a rising star in the Latin trap arena after the release of his 2018 project, “24.” It features eight songs in a 20-minute project that spans Israel Unzueta is a Chicago-based hip-hop artist. a multitude of genres such as pop, R&B and, “We have stories to tell, and we of course, Latin trap. Lara said have talent and we have skill. We he’s a big fan of incorporat- have a lot to offer,” Unzueta said. ing Latin trap rhythms into “It’s not going anywhere for the his music. next 10 years. It’s going to keep Latin trap has served as a vehi- rising and rising.” cle for Latin artists to express rrosenberger@columbiachronicle.com themselves culturally.

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» COURTESY ISRAEL UNZUETA

Former Columbia student is part of growing Latin trap music movement

metro

Alderperson addresses gun violence in Pilsen, Chinatown » ColumbiaChronicle.com » JENNIFER CHAVEZ AND CAMILLA FORTE/CHRONICLE

The ‘deadheading’ season: plight of the ride-share driver »MYER LEE STAFF REPORTER KYRA HENDRICKS , a senior creative writing major, moved out of her parents’ home at 18, she understood she would have to find a job in order to pay rent and maintain her independence.

So, in December 2018, Hendricks began driving for the ride-share company Uber, which was her sole source of income for six months until she had to get an additional job to pay bills.

“It is really difficult during those slow seasons because if you’re driving to pay your rent or your bills or books or whatever, it’s really up in the air as to how much you could make,” Hendricks said. “You could be WHEN

driving for hours and get next to no rides.”

In the ride-share industry, driving without a passenger for miles is a practice known as “deadheading,” which happens at various points throughout the year but is more pronounced during the early months of the year due to many people making New Year’s resolutions to save money, among other factors.

In fact, Uber recommends drivers take a break during this time because of how slow business becomes, according to the company’s blog.

“It’s a fact that January is probably the slowest month of the year when it comes to rideshare drivers due to the seasonal effect,” said Sergio Avedian,

16 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 24, 2020

senior contributor for the blog and podcast The Rideshare Guy. “February and March continues [the slow season] because it’s winter and people don’t go out as much.”

Avedian said people tend to go out less because they have a lot of bills due after the holidays and taking ride-shares becomes “a luxury.”

Additionally, a boom in drivers is causing oversaturation of the marketplace with “eight Uber cars and eight Lyft cars” on every street corner, Avedian said.

This has caused drivers’ utilization rates to decrease.

Utilization rate is the percentage of time a driver has someone in their car relative to their overall workday, he said. The higher

the utilization rate, the more earnings the driver is making.

“In the old days, driver utilization rates were close to 100%. You could basically nonstop drive if you wished,” Avedian said. “Nowadays, in a very busy city—I’m in Los Angeles, and it’s a very busy city when it comes to ride-share—my personal utilization rate is down to 50%.”

Hendricks, who drove 40 to 45 hours a week in Chicago, felt the difference in money on those slower days when she was often deadheading.

“During the slow times, I could be making anywhere from $60 to $75 a day,” she said. “Whereas, when it’s a little more populated in the city, I could make anywhere from $100 to $200 a day.”

Despite the fact that she no longer drives, Hendricks does not discourage people from working for a rideshare company because of the flexibility it offers, though she warns that rent can be difficult to pay during the slow season.

She said it is “a great idea” for college students with cars because they can make their own hours.

According to a study by the JPMorgan Chase Institute released in September 2018, ride-share drivers made 53% less in 2017 than they did in 2013.

In Los Angeles, Avedian said driver rates went from $3.25 per mile in 2012 to 60 cents today. mlee@columbiachronicle.com

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Chicago declares climate emergency, protestors not satisfied » JONAH OCUTO STAFF REPORTER AFTER

PUBLIC

TESTIMONY

happened in 1995, where 700 people died due to heat exhaustion,” Cardenas said. “It’s real; it’s happening to a lot of cities. Our world is going to change as we know it ... our choices matter, especially the mental choices.”

Cardenas said with the City Council’s declaration, Chicago joins more than 1,300 jurisdictions, countries and cities in 27 countries who have “sounded

the alarm,” including the nations of Wales, Scotland, Ireland and France and the cities of New York and Los Angeles, to name a few.

Along with the declaration, the resolution calls for the “initiation of [an] emergency climate mobilization effort,” which Ald. Matthew Martin (47th Ward), who also co-sponsored the resolution, said could include a number of ways to combat climatic change. » JONAH OCUTO/CHRONICLE

from local climate activists, the Chicago City Council voted unanimously to declare a state of “climate emergency.” The decision caused protestors and activists, who felt the declaration did not go far enough, to erupt, shouting over City Council proceedings before being removed from the chambers and continuing their chants in the hallway.

The activists from Slaughter Free Chicago, Animal Rebellion Chicago and Free From Harm were booed by other meeting attendees and were escorted out of council chambers by law enforcement moments after the vote.

Robert Grillo, founder and director of animal rights group Free From Harm, said the City Council’s decision “means nothing.”

“They haven’t done anything except declare a symbolic declaration,” Grillo said.

In order to create substantial change, Grillo said city officials need to implement a plan to transition to a plant-based food system, cut ties with and divest from animal agriculture interests and close slaughterhouses in the city.

Frustrated with the City Council’s lack of action, Catrina Roberts, a member of Slaughter Free Chicago, said they will continue promoting action to combat the climate crisis.

Co-sponsored by Ald. George Cardenas (12th Ward), the Climate Emergency Resolution passed through the Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy Monday, Feb. 10.

“Chicago, by the way, is in one of America’s most severe heat zones.

According to scientists from the University of Michigan, Chicago will experience more severe heat-waves like ... the one that

Climate activists are escorted from the Feb. 19 City Council meeting for disruption after the Council voted unanimously to declare a climate emergency.

“We’ve got about a half dozen things that we should be able to move on pretty quickly when it comes to the next steps in response to declaring a climate emergency,” Martin said. “One is going to be taking a really hard look at our recycling program, as well as looking at what we can do from a composting standpoint, whether it’s just within our particular communities or throughout the broader city.”

But for some, that is not enough.

Grillo, while expressing interest in working with the city to create a plan to combat the climate crisis, said the group is not willing to “beg and plead” for the city’s attention.

“We want to work with the city.

But we’re tired of asking,” Grillo said. “We’re demanding to be part of the process. … If they try to keep us outside of this process, we’ll rebel.” jocuto@columbiachronicle.com

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FEBRUARY 24, 2020 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE 17

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THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO PRESENTS:

ISAIAH SHARKEY RESIDENCY CONCERT ISAIAH SHARKEY

THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO PRESENTS:

February 28, 7 p.m.

Music Center Concert Hall 1014 S. Michigan Ave.

RESIDENCY CONCERT February 28, 7 p.m.

Music Center Concert Hall 1014 S. Michigan Ave. $20 General admission $10 Staff, faculty, and family of performers

$20 General admission

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$10 Staff, faculty, and family of performers $5

Students with ID For tickets, call 312-369-8330 or visit tickets.colum.edu

18 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 24, 2020

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O PI N I O N

Eating Disorder Awareness Week, let’s talk about it » BROOKLYN KIOSOW COPY EDITOR

E

» JENNIFER CHAVEZ/CHRONICLE

ditor’s Note: This commentary centers around the subject of eating disorders in recognition of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, Monday, Feb. 24 - Sunday, March 1; the Chronicle apologizes for any discomfort this may cause.

As posts for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week come flooding into my timeline, I wonder: How do we talk about eating disorders? It might seem complicated, but it is simple: We must talk about them without encouraging and romanticizing them.

The conversation surrounding depression and anxiety has become more prominent and less stigmatized, but eating disorders are still often romanticized and misrepresented with well-meaning, yet sometimes inaccurate advice being more prominent. On Tumblr, there are accounts dedicated to pro-anorexia content using hashtags such as #proana and #anatricks.

lose and maintain weight or our exercise regimen.

While I understood she didn’t want readers to mimic unhealthy tactics, it still felt wrong telling people how to write about their mental illness. These writers weren’t These accounts say things like “Black cof- sharing their experience to boast or encourfee is a meal, right?” and “Fat lasts longer age others to do what they did. Instead, they than flavor or cravings.” were sharing their experience because it is In the worst moments of my eating theirs to share, and in many cases, a way for disorder, I found these photos and posts them to heal and understand their disorder. comforting. They cemented that what I was According to the National Eating doing was okay, even though I was slowly Disorder Association, approximately 20 killing myself. million women and 10 million men in When I went to the Association of America will have an eating disorder at Writers & Writing Programs Conference in some point in their lives. While these numPortland, Oregon, in 2019, I attended the bers may be shocking, what is even more panel “Writing About Mental Illness.” distressing is how seldom eating disorders, At the panel, I was thrown by their warning signs and their risks are the moderator’s approach to included in the conversation surroundwriting about eating dising mental illness. orders. We were told not While there are many mental side effects to talk about our lowthat come with an eating disorder, a few of est weight, what the more serious physical effects include: we ate to stomach ruptures, fainting or dizziness, numbness in the hands and feet, hypothermia and death.

The double-edged sword of this conversation is that eating disorders need to be discussed, but the way they are currently being discussed is wrong. This discussion

can be seen online or, in my experience, through policing writers and how they write about their eating disorder.

There are examples of beneficial conversations in the media regarding eating disorders. In the 2017 film “To the Bone,” actress Lily Collins portrays a 20-year-old woman dealing with anorexia. While this film has many flaws and could be criticized for “triggering,” it is a representation of how eating disorders can impact entire families and how difficult recovery truly is.

To encourage more discussions like this, we must look to people who are continuing to make strides toward a more positive conversation, such as Roxane Gay, the author of several essays about the body.

We, too, must share our own experiences on social media—without using harmful language or hashtags—to let others know they aren’t alone. We must talk about the warning signs, the risks and what to do if someone is struggling.

If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call or chat online with the NEDA helpline at 800-931-2237 or online at www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/help-support/ contact-helpline. bkiosow@columbiachronicle.com

COMIC » WESLEY ENRIQUEZ/CHRONICLE

Rats: You don’t find them, they find you FEBRUARY 24, 2020 THE COLUMBIA CHRONICLE 19

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