The Columbia Chronicle April 12, 2010

Page 1

A push for students to complete course evaluations

chronicle

A look at Apple’s latest gadget

THE COLUMBIA

The Official News Source of Columbia College Chicago

April 12, 2010

Volume 45 Number 26

» PAGE 36

WEB-EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

WEB

ON THE

Activism

ColumbiaChronicle.com

through art

Brent Lewis THE CHRONICLE

The Media Summit hit day two Friday morning with a small panel discussion, moderated by Jeanette Forman (far right), about trends in the way we discover media and broadcast it to the world around us. The panel consisted of Jeff Spitz, filmmaker, Sarah Lu of Radio Arte, Amalia Deloney from The Center of Media Justice and Tracy Van Slyke from The Media Consortium all discussing how the media has changed.

Activists, media makers gather to discuss forward thinking ideas in media by Laura Nalin

Assistant Campus Editor COLUMBIA STUDENTS, faculty and staff

gathered April 7-9 with community news organizations, media activists, bloggers and independent journalists for “Art, Access & Action: The Moral Imperative,” an arts and media summit proposed last November. The summit was held in the 1104 Center, 1104 S. Wabash Ave. It addressed social justice issues and how activists have used traditional and new media as a tool to bring about social change. Artwork and photographs from Film and Video faculty member Laurie Little’s course Documenting Social Injustice lined the 8th-floor walls along with tables of pamphlets from various organizations. The meeting was organized by senior Film and Video major Kevin Gosztola in partnership with the college’s Critical Encounters program. Part of Critical Encounters’ mission is to create an ongoing dialogue among students, staff and faculty regarding what the college community can do as future

artists and media makers of our culture. The event kicked off on April 7 with a discussion entitled “When Should I Throw Myself on a Hand-Grenade? The Nature of Morality,” which brought together art, philosophy, neuroscience and social theory to study the nature of morality. The discussion was led by humanities, history and social sciences faculty member Tom Greif, cultural studies faculty member Stephen Asma and University of Illinois at Chicago philosophy professor Colin Klein. Following the April 7 discussion was the summit kickstart, held 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., in which faculty members, journalists, historians and filmmakers gathered to discuss the importance of artists and how human experiences affect the choices we make. Pan Papacosta, science and math faculty member, presented “The Artist as an Architect for Social Justice.” In the panel, he discussed how each artist has potential to impact society in a great way. His presentation included a slideshow of 80 art pieces including paintings, photographs, films, novels, poetry and sculptures he felt conveyed powerful messages regarding civil rights and » SEE SUMMIT, PG. 11

» SEE PG. 13

Lakeshore closes its doors Long-ignored financial issues causes a Chicago theater to shut down by Brianna Wellen Assistant Arts & Culture Editor WHEN LAKESHORE The-

ater, 3175 N. Broadway, announced on April 1 it was closing, many of its shows’ fans believed the announcement to be a horrible April Fool’s Day prank. The abrupt notice left many fans confused and speculating about whether the news was actually true. In the days following, it became clear the sudden announcement was no joke, and owner Chris Ritter would be shutting the theater down due to financial turmoil after a final show by Jim Jeffries on April 10, with local comedians performing for the last time on April 8. The closure came as a shock to many

unaware of the theater’s financial situation because tickets have been selling better than ever. According to Ritter, even though the revenue is more than enough to keep day-to-day operations running, not enough money was put into the theater when it was opened. Past debts and future growth expenses began building up, and it was Ritter’s own hopeful mindset that kept the theater open as long as it has been. “I suppose a more responsible businessman would have announced closing six months ago,” Ritter said. -Marty DeRosa “I have been hanging onto the idea that something positive would happen for too long.” Acts are booked and tickets are sold months in advance, so Ritter never felt it was the right time to pull the plug.

It was, hands down, the best place to perform standup in the city.”

» SEE PG. 39

» SEE PG. 20

» SEE LAKESHORE, PG. 28

INDEX

A&C

H&F

Fans invade for Final Four

Colum alum makes “CA$H”

METRO

CAMPUS

2

CPS unveils new menu H&F

13

A&C

19

COMMENTARY

36

METRO

39


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