The Columbia Chronicle, December 9, 2019

PAGE 3: Health center no longer offers flu vaccine, citing little demand

PAGES 8-9: Columbia student, known as Preme, paves path through Chicago hip-hop

PAGE 7: Uptown salon buzzes with laughter and family PAGE 13: Local officials stress importance of 2020 U.S. census Volume 55, Issue 14

» GRACE SENIOR/CHRONICLE

December 9, 2019

ColumbiaChronicle.com

SEE DECADE IN REVIEW, PAGE 6

editor’s note

Student loan borrowers need better support from the government

» BLAISE MESA CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

S

tudent loans are stacking up for millions of Americans, and while student borrowers drown, the U.S. Department of Education proves time and time again it is both incompetent and unwilling to help those in debt. An NPR investigation found that borrowers with disabilities are not getting federal relief from their student loans.

“It was at a point where I couldn’t do anything,” Drew Lehman, a student loan borrower who couldn’t work after severely injuring his back in a car accident, told NPR. “I was having trouble getting up, walking and doing basic things around the house were next to impossible.”

Lehman is one of thousands of borrowers with loans piling up and no way to make enough money to pay off his debt. While the bills stacked up, Lehman could have taken advantage of a program to forgive his debt but was not alerted to this opportunity by the Department of Education. Lehman heard from his loan company about the program, and when he asked for more information about it, he was told to look it up for himself.

“People don’t even know about this.

They don’t find out about it. Nobody tells you about it,” he said in a Wednesday, Dec. 4 NPR story.

The Department of Education did send letters to potential candidates alerting them of the program, but only 36% responded. That could potentially be due to the department’s loan recipient records being outdated, as reported in the NPR story.

An abysmal 36% respondent rate should have been seen as a failure to the department. Furthermore, sending someone mail about an unheard of student loan program may seem like a scam and undoubtedly reduced the rates at which candidates would respond.

This joins a growing list of the department’s blunders, including rejecting 99% of applicants for the federal student loan forgiveness plan and collecting loans from an estimated 45,801 defrauded students—borrowers whose school loan program misled them or violated the law—while dragging their feet to forgive the debts, as reported Tuesday, Dec. 3 by Fox News.

At what point do we draw the line and hold the Department of Education 2 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

MANAGEMENT CO-EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Blaise Mesa Alexandra Yetter

MANAGING EDITOR

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Grace Senior

DIGITAL CONTENT & BRAND MANAGER

Micha Thurston

Miranda Manier

REPORTERS

NEWS EDITORS

Katherine Savage Kendall Polidori REPORTERS Paige Barnes Isaiah Colbert Dyana Daniels Mari Devereaux Mateusz Janik Knox Keranen Lauren Leazenby Valeria Mancera-Saavedra

accountable? With each mistake there are serious risks to the lives of student

COPY borrowers as the bills pile up.

COPY CHIEF Margaret Smith To make matters worse, the

COPY EDITORS Summer Hoagland-Abernathy Department of Education told Congress Ella Watylyk it had discharged 40% of loans from borrowers with “significant, permanent GRAPHICS disabilities.” But according to NPR’s SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER Shane Tolentino investigation, only 28% of borrowers’

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Maddy Asma Jennifer Chavez loans had been forgiven between March Wesley Enriquez 2016 and September 2019.

The Department of Education should be embarrassed by its many failures.

MULTIMEDIA Systematic change is desperately needed

SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR Mike Rundle to reform the student loan PHOTOJOURNALISTS system.

Korrigan Agen The department’s actions imply it Justin Anderson Ignacio Calderón cares very little about students and that Camilla Forte it doesn’t mind saddling students with Jacqueline Luttrell thousands of dollars worth of predatory Steven Nunez student loans. Where else would these

PODCAST PRODUCER Yasmeen Sheikah failures be tolerated?

ADVERTISING/ The system is set up to provide few MARKETING chances of success for students to repay SALES MANAGER Anthony Karlsson their loans, as evidenced by the millions

MEDIA SALES REPS Breanne Jacobs of borrowers drowning in student Cale Holder loan debt.

Kathryn Williams To be clear, I have no issues with the Tara Woods amount of my debt. I’m happy with my choice in schools and would make the SENIOR STAFF same decisions if I were to do it all over need to be GENERAL MANAGER Travis Truitt again. But student borrowers

FACULTY ADVISER Curtis Lawrence better protected.

It should not take legal action for defrauded or disabled students to save and/or receive the money they rightly deserve. While the Department of Education stumbles its way through these cases and works to forgive student @c e Th @c cchronicle e C h ro n i c l cchronicle loans, these borrowers are dealing with the stress and anxiety that come with the monthly student loan payments they CORRECTION: On pages 8-9 of our Dec. 2 issue, the story stated the shouldn’t have to be paying. bmesa@columbiachronicle.com

Main Line: (312) 369-8977 General Manager: (312) 369-8955 Editors-in-Chief: (312) 369-8959 (312) 369-8961 Advertising: (312) 369-8984 Creative Director: (312) 369-8986 Production: (312) 369-8834 News Editors: (312) 369-8980 (312) 369-8963 Copy Chief: (312) 369-8976 Faculty Adviser: (312) 369-8905

incorrect number of Graduate Assistants employed by Residence Life. There are four total GAs. The Chronicle regrets this error.

The Columbia Chronicle is a student-produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of college administrators, faculty or students.

All text, photos and graphics are the property of The Columbia Chronicle and may not be reproduced or published without written permission.

Editorials are the opinions of the Editorial Board of The Columbia Chronicle. Columns are the opinions of the author(s).

Views expressed in this publication are those of the writer and are not the opinions of The Columbia Chronicle, Columbia’s Communication Department or Columbia College Chicago.

Letters to the editor must include full name, year, major and phone number.

All letters are edited for grammar and may be cut due to a limit of space.

The Columbia Chronicle holds the right to limit any one person’s submissions to three per semester.

Letters can be emailed to Chronicle@colum.edu or mailed to: The Columbia Chronicle 600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL. 60605

campus

CFAC Election results announced Monday, Dec. 9 » ColumbiaChronicle.com

Students enter flu season with little assistance from college » JUSTIN ANDERSON PHOTOJOURNALIST WHEN BRI EITTREIM planned her trip home to Minnesota, she made sure everything was in order. She had her bags packed, her transportation home arranged and was prepared to get a flu shot.

If she had not gone home, she would not have been vaccinated at all because she said the cost of an out-of-state flu shot can strain her budget.

Without insurance, flu shots at CVS and Walgreens can cost nearly $40 for those aged 2 to 64.

Eittreim, a junior fashion studies major, has illness-induced asthma, which means catching the flu could result in her being hospitalized for days.

“Most people fail to realize that the free flu shots offered through local pharmacies [are] most often paid for by their insurance,” said Eittreim, whose out-of-state insurance does not give her all of the benefits in Illinois as it would back home. “I shouldn’t have to go back to Minnesota simply to get a flu shot.”

Only some health care plans extend their coverage out-ofstate. Specifically, Preferred

Provider Organizations and Point-of-Service Plans allow those who are covered to use their health insurance in other networks while health insurance plans such as Health Maintenance Organizations and Exclusive Provider Organizations often do not allow for crossnetwork care.

Students can receive flu shots in Chicago, just not at Columbia, which only offers the flu shot to staff and faculty with insurance through the school. Columbia discontinued flu shot availability for students because there was not much demand for the vaccine when it was offered, said Keisha Cowen, senior director of campus communications.

“If a student expresses need for a flu shot but can’t afford it, the Health Center or Student Relations can recommend a location where students can receive a flu shot at low- or no-cost in the area,” Cowen said in a Thursday, Nov. 7 email statement to the Chronicle.

According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, 61% of students said lowering the price of a shot or making it free would significantly

increase the likelihood of them going to get the shot.

The same study found only 8 to 39% of students on college campuses received the flu vaccine in 2017, with 46% of college students saying they “typically get vaccinated.” That is far below the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s “Healthy People 2020” goal, which aims to have 70% of those above the age of 18 receive a flu shot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone get the vaccine by the end of October, according to an Oct. 16 email sent to some Columbia staff from the Human Resources Department.

But, with the winter months in full swing, students said they have received little-to-no communication from the school regarding the flu shot.

The mid-October email from HR alerted staff who have insurance through the school to “free” flu shots available to them at the CareATC Clinic, an on-campus health center for faculty, staff and their families that opened in March 2008.

Max Goldberg, sophomore photography major, said he has

not seen the college do much to encourage students to receive the vaccine. Goldberg said he might have seen a poster or two, but thinks the school needs to do a better job with advertising if they would like students to get the vaccine at off-campus clinics, as the school does not offer students the flu shot anymore.

Beverly Anderson, associate dean of Student Health and Support, said the flu vaccine is only asked about on rare occasions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends people keep their distance from those infected, which might pose a challenge for the approximately 32% of students who live on campus and the students who live off-campus with either roommates or family.

Some parents in the Columbia College Chicago Families private Facebook group said their students received shots during previous years, while others said it is not the school’s job to give students flu shots.

“I don’t see why Columbia owes our kids a flu shot,” wrote Sara Taylor on the Facebook page.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure our kids get their shots.”

In a follow-up email with the Chronicle, Taylor said, “I believe Columbia doesn’t owe us [flu shots]—unless they roll it into tuition. Many insurance programs already have that in their costs as a way for preventive care.”

Another parent posting in the Facebook group wrote she has a daughter whose out-of-state insurance does not cover the shot, similar to Eittreim. She said her daughter received the vaccine at a health fair during the first few weeks of school in her first two years at Columbia but had to go to Walmart this year.

Troy Mize, a sophomore film major, knows his parents would want him to get a flu shot. He has not yet gotten the shot this year but plans on doing so soon.

“It’s just kind of common sense,” Mize said. “With the fact that the winters are so cold and that people do get so sick easily, it is more understandable to get a flu shot.” janderson@columbiachronicle.com » WESLEY ENRIQUEZ/CHRONICLE

DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 3

campus

Q&A: Professor commemorates legacy of activist Fred Hampton » PAIGE BARNES STAFF REPORTER

and chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party Fred Hampton was brutally murdered by a Chicago police officer as he slept in bed next to his pregnant fiancée.

Tuesday, Dec. 4 marked the 50-year anniversary of the murder.

To commemorate it, Associate Professor in the English and Creative WritingDepartment Gary Johnson wrote a 6-page narrative poem on Hampton’s death.

Johnson’s narrative, “Good and Dead,” draws upon the 1971 documentary “The Murder of Fred Hampton,” along with two books—“The Assassination of Fred Hampton” by Jeffery Haas and “Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times” by Amy IN 1969, ACTIVIST

Sonnie—to sequentially tell the “bare-bones” story of the day it happened. As chairman, Hampton led rallies, worked with the People’s Free Medical Center on Chicago’s West Side and helped lay the groundwork for other civil rights organizations.

Johnson spoke with the Chronicle about his interest in Hampton’s legacy and the impact his murder had on Chicago.

THE CHRONICLE: What inspired you to write a tribute to Hampton?

JOHNSON: It goes back to when Fred Hampton was a Black Panther. ... I [came] to a Columbia College Chicago sociology class ... in the ‘70s. The teacher there [showed] “The Murder of Fred Hampton,” the film by Mike Gray, and it just blew the whole class away. I knew nothing about it until that film.

It [showed] the aftermath of what happened when the cops busted into the Panther safe house and shot it up and you’re just thinking, ‘How is this possible that the police could come into somebody’s house and do these kinds of things?’ I’ve ended up writing about race in Chicago for my whole career, based on that one class I had.

What impact have you had on Columbia students by writing about Hampton’s death?

I’ve seen other tributes to him written in poetry … [but] I felt it was important to retell the story to a new generation.

There’s a context of the story that I try to get into the narrative, so new audiences coming to it can say, ‘Oh my god, this really happened?’

Well, here it is. It’s in black and white.

How did you decide to best to tell this story?

It’s funny, this has been cut down, it’s like six pages, but it’s in poetry form, of course. It was 10 pages where I had ... myself [and] my education coming to this subject matter going back 40 years. In the last draft of it, I cut myself out because it’s not about me. It’s about Fred and the organization, who the Panthers were and how they affected the city.

What is the significance of the narrative’s title?

‘Good and Dead’ is the title of the piece. That’s what the police said [when they] went into his room after they had machine gunned the room through the wall. … They came in and just shot through the wall, but then they went in ... and that’s when the cop says, ‘He’s good and dead now.’

With the retelling of his story, how can people prevent diluting history?

It all depends on who’s holding the pen and who’s telling the story. … It would be interesting to see as we sit here now … what is being reported in all the other news agencies [because] it’s a national story. So, what are they saying about that story? Are they depicting it? And really what happened? Or is there going to be spin?

I would say as harshly as I’m telling it, I’m telling it as harshly because that’s what happened.

I mean, this guy was just wiped out. And maybe some people can’t look at this version.

Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for the full text of Johnson’s poem. pbarnes@columbiachronicle.com » STEVEN NUNEZ/CHRONICLE

Associate Professor in the English and Creative Writing Department Gary Johnson wrote a 6-page narrative poem on Black Panther Party activist and chairman Fred Hampton, killed by Chicago police 50 years ago.

4 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

campus

College pilots two new stops for Security Escort Program » KNOX KERANEN STAFF REPORTER

stops for the escort program.

McEachen said she felt like the school was not providing the escort program that it promotes.

Due to McEachen’s suggestion, Campus Safety and Security is now piloting the two new stops, which are “considerably further from our core campus,” according to Associate Vice President of Campus Safety and Security Ronald Sodini.

Sodini said it was too early to comment on the number of escorted rides to these stops thus far. It is still undecided whether the stops will become permanent.

Sodini said students should consider the purpose of the escort program before calling.

“The objective of the safe ride program is not to replace transportation, per se. We are a mechanism to enhance safety in your travel,” Sodini said. “You have to recognize that it’s not Uber ... [where] you hit the button and we are there in five minutes.”

The escort program was created in Fall 2018 as a safety initiative, as reported Oct. 21 by the Chronicle. Students used the service more than 2,000 times in the inaugural year, according to the Chronicle article. This year, the school doubled-down on the program and purchased a van specifically for escorting students.

Information about the program can be found at the bottom of campus security alert emails, on

Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for additional reporting. kkeranen@columbiachronicle.com »JUSTIN ANDERSON/CHRONICLE

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGN major and commuter Sadaf Akhtar takes a course that ends around 10 p.m. on Saturdays. Not wanting to walk or take a bus to Ogilvie Transportation Center, 500 W. Madison St., she instead recently called the campus Security Escort Program to get a ride.

However, a dispatcher at Campus Safety and Security told her they could not accommodate her because the service did not go that far off-campus.

According to Columbia’s website, the Security Escort Program will bring students and employees from one campus location to another and is available seven days a week from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. during the Fall and Spring semesters.

The program extends to and from the Harrison Red Line, LaSalle Blue Line, the Roosevelt

Red Line, the Harold Washington Library-State/Van Buren stop, the Van Buren Metra station and the Museum Campus/11th Street Metra and South Shore station.

Ahktar exchanged phone calls with security until they agreed to give her a ride, and even then the dispatchers kept telling her “this is a one-time deal,” which she said made her feel guilty about using the service.

Maddy McEachen, junior graphic design major, was present during Akhtar’s ride, and said Akhtar’s experience was “devastating” for her friend. This inspired McEachen to try to change the program.

At a Thursday, Oct. 24 student advisory committee meeting—a monthly Campus Safety and Security meeting open to students for suggestions and concerns— McEachen convinced Campus Safety and Security to add the Ogilvie Transportation Center and Union Station to its list of

the Columbia website and its app.

Additional information has also been made available at security desks in Columbia buildings.

To get a ride, Columbia students can call 312-369-SAFE, or 7233, during hours of operation.

The program operates on a firstcome, first-served basis, and passengers are required to show a student ID.

New this academic year, the school purchased a van specifically for escorted rides.

The 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

Monday December 9 Singer’s Showcase

7:00 pm

Tuesday December 10 Audio Arts & Acoustics Recital

7:00 pm

Wednesday December 11 Wednesday Noon Guitar Concert Series at the Conaway Center Breakaway Vocal Ensemble ChicagoVox and Gospel Band: Showcase in Concert

12:00 pm 12:30 pm 8:00 pm

Thursday December 12 Fusion Ensemble & R&B Ensemble: Showcase

7:00 pm

Friday December 13 Composition Recital at the Sherwood

1:00 pm

12/31/19

DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 5

arts culture

“White Christmas” back on Broadway in Chicago » ColumbiaChronicle.com

» ALEXANDRA YETTER CO-EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

» MIRANDA MANIER MANAGING EDITOR

» MARGARET SMITH COPY CHIEF

MOVIES “Crazy Rich Asians” Although the Oscars maintained its time-old tradition of being white-male-dominated, some movies in Hollywood finally delivered the diversity audiences have been craving. It’s hard not to point to the 2018 film comedy-drama “Crazy Rich Asians,” starring Constance Wu and Henry Golding, based on a book by Kevin Kwan. The film was made up of an allAsian cast for the first time in 25 years of Hollywood blockbuster history, and shocked movie executives when the film became wildly popular, grossing $238.5 million in the box office, plus a spin-off film to be shot in 2020.

- Alexandra Yetter » WESLEY ENRIQUEZ/CHRONICLE Also see: “Eighth Grade” & “Get Out”

» JENNIFER CHAVEZ/CHRONICLE

The Chronicle’s 2010s Decade in Review

SONGS “Aqua rium” - Easy Mac Many people college age, or slightly older, can look back on one artist and remember him for truly shaping their generation: Mac Miller. Miller was more than a famous musician— his music reached out to people, many of whom were hurting in some way, and spoke to them like a friend or confidant. Before his devastating death in September 2018, Miller crafted numerous albums including “Watching Movies with the Sound Off,” a masterpiece of its time that explores the highs and lows of life. The song “Aquarium” from this album speaks to the idea of idealization in current times and how fleeting life can be when we endlessly follow these romanticized ideas. Both a submission to this concept and a warning sign for it, Miller fluidly speaks to his listeners over an easy-going beat. - Margaret Smith Also see: “Let It Go” & “Run Away With Me”

POLITICAL MOMENTS 2018 midterms In 2018, women broke records when the highest number of women were elected to political office during the midterms, largely in response to President Donald Trump’s 2016 election. More than 100 women were elected to Congress across the nation, including the now-infamous “squad”—Rep.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.). - Alexandra Yetter Also see: Dr. Ford testifying & legalization of gay marriage

» SHANE TOLENTINO/CHRONICLE

WEIRDEST MOMENTS Ted Cruz sharing Twitter porn Yes, you did read that correctly. In September 2017, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) “liked” a pornographic tweet on his account.

Now, while this is not the same as outright tweeting p o r n o g r a p h y, “liking”

» SHANE TOLENTINO/CHRONICLE

6 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

a tweet is enough to have it pop up on someone else’s timeline, showing a certain user interacted with the tweet. After followers were outraged the senator would share such a thing, the tweet was removed from his page and reported to Twitter. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The conservative senator could make as many half-baked claims of it being an accident as he wanted, but Ted, the truth is, we know this was just to distract from you being the Zodiac Killer.

- Margaret Smith Also see: Russia hacking election & Fyre Fest

FASHION MOMENTS Tumblr girl clothes Remember thigh high socks with Doc Martens and a pleated American Apparel skirt?

How about mustardyellow Kanken backpacks shrugged over a thrifted, oversized sweater? An edgy graphic T-shirt and mom jeans? For all these things, we have the aesthetic of Tumblr girls to thank. These trends borrow heavily from the ‘90s, and honestly, I’m here for it. A little bit grungy and a little bit preppy, my high school wardrobe was pretty much copied from the blogs I followed—and looking around campus, I

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would wager most Columbia students’ wardrobes still are.

- Miranda Manier Also see: Handmaid’s dress & Fenty X Savage show Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for more on the decade. chronicle@colum.edu

City Grange holiday pop-up blooms in Beverly just in time for holidays

the City Grange garden center was the brainchild of president and founder LaManda Joy, who created it as a way to make gardening as accessible as possible in the city.

“There’s a lot of information out there and a lot of garden centers in the suburban areas... but there’s not so much happening for urban dwellers,” Joy said.

Joy said gardening, whether it be for food or flowers, can contribute positively to an individual’s well-being, the local community and even the overall planet.

» CAMILLA FORTE PHOTOJOURNALIST

In addition to City Grange’s primary location, 5500 N. Western Ave., north of Lincoln Square, its holiday pop-up opened its doors to Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood— at 9911 S. Walden Parkway—Nov. 23, ringing in the season with an assortment of festive greens, decor and locally-made gifts.

A socially-conscious company,

Alongside seasonal plants, the holiday pop-up also offers locally-sourced, nature-inspired gifts.

The pop-up offers a selection of bulbs and other plants to keep gardeners engaged with the practice even during the colder months.

» CAMILLA FORTE/CHRONICLE

economic needs of the community it is a part of.

The Grange movement origiINSPIRED BY THE historic Grange nated during the American Civil movement of the 1800s, City War, when farmers fought against Grange aims to empower individ- the monopolization of agriculture uals to take up urban gardening by encouraging individualism and and contribute to the social and better farming practices.

arts & culture By providing tools, guidance, community-centered events and classes on the practice of gardening, City Grange aims to facilitate that process by becoming a onestop-shop for both experienced and aspiring urban gardeners.

Following the success of the business’ first location, which opened in April 2019, Joy is hoping to expand the center’s reach to five more locations across the city by 2025.

While the pop-up will only stick around until Sunday, Dec. 22, City Grange is set to return to Beverly, with plans in place for a second location to open in that neighborhood in spring 2020. For now, the pop-up will feature holiday-geared products such as seasonal decorations, holiday arrangements and nature-inspired stocking stuffers.

“I have seen firsthand how a relationship with plants changes peoples’ lives, enriches their lives, ... makes their life more beautiful,” Joy said. “We just want to do that on a bigger scale.” cforte@columbiachronicle.com

» JACQUELINE LUTTRELL

PHOTOJOURNALIST MUSIC, LAUGHTER, THE buzz of razors and various languages fill the room as a parade of people walking in and out stop to hug, laugh and converse about family, work and life in general.

Located in the heart of Uptown, First Impression Salon, 4556 N. Broadway, reflects Chicago’s coexistence of cultures. The natural ability and hard work of Yatta Sherif, a soft-spoken West African woman from Liberia, led her to a place that now feels like home.

She came to the U.S. in 1989 while fleeing the civil war in Liberia. She said she also did hair back in Africa, and that it was her passion.

“When I first came to America, I worked in a beauty salon with this lady ... for about a month just to get a feel of doing hair overseas,” Sherif said. “I did not have my license or nothing, and all I was

doing was braiding hair. And then it got busy and she looked at me and said, ‘I know you can do it. I need you to shampoo clients, and I need you to put rollers in their hair.’”

Sherif said she had never rolled hair professionally, but after a day on the floor, she realized it was a natural talent and was advised to get a license. She soon enrolled in the Cannella School of Hair Design, a cosmetology school with locations across the Chicago area.

After graduating from Cannella in 1992, Sherif took a part-time job at a McDonald’s, where her manager noticed her work ethic and referred her to a friend who needed someone to run his salon.

She managed the salon for six years until an opportunity to take over the business presented itself.

This was the beginning of a career for Sherif that has welcomed international clientele with a strong sense of family that reflects her new community in Uptown.

» JACQUELINE LUTTRELL/CHRONICLE

Cultures, hair and life experiences intertwine in this Uptown salon First Impression employs Nigerian, Ghanaian and black American stylists and barbers.

“Being in Uptown, you have multiple cultures in one area,” said Burton Hood El, a barber at the salon, while giving a line up to one of his customers. “It’s keeping me on my toes, dealing with different people.”

The salon also helps him find new ways to “relate and communicate,” he said.

For Sherif, her salon is about more than hair or even how far she has come.

“This is almost like home.

Uptown is a real diverse neighborhood … you see a lot of different people,” she said “It is not only hair we are doing in here, it‘s almost like we are counseling. … It’s a family thing.”

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

Yatta Sherif (left) owner of First Impression Salon with customer Nancy Diamond (right) of Boystown.

DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 7

feature

FROM 2 A.M. AFTER-PARTies TO 2 P.M. CLASSES

Self-taught DJ creates own path in Chicago hip-hop » STEVEN NUNEZ PHOTOJOURNALIST WHEN QUENTIN MOORE was 12 years old, his mom bought him his first DJ equipment, a Numark Mixtrack Pro I when they didn’t have much money. But the moment he began to take his work seriously was in eighth grade when he DJed for his school’s pep rally.

“Sometimes, [my mom] looks at me crazy because she wanted me to be in school and get a job and all that, but I tell her a lot of stuff has changed,” he said. “I tell her every day, I really feel in my heart DJing is going to work.”

Growing up in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood, Moore, known professionally as Preme, was inspired to become a DJ after listening to different genres of music and becoming passionate about rap music. He considers himself a “rap head” and a “student of the game,” meaning that he not only listens to rap music, he also studies the importance of lyrics and how they affect people.

Fresh out of high school, Preme has already made a place for himself in the industry after he DJed for Lyrical Lemonade’s Summer Smash Festival in 2018. The festival had approximately 11,000 attendees.

Since then, he has had a presence on Chicago’s hiphop scene as an opening DJ for Lyrical Lemonade and SPKRBX-sponsored shows, all while attending Columbia as a music business major.

Moore remembers listening to artists when he was young such as Nelly, Eminem and Bow Wow. He got his start early on as a kid, DJing from his mom’s desktop and playing “DJ Hero” on Xbox 360.

8 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

He attended Urban Prep Charter Academy for Young Men, 521 E. 35th St., in Bronzeville, and joined the hiphop club where he met UGLYFRIEND, a producer at the time who worked with notable Chicago rappers like Famous Dex and Warhol.SS. Moore was then introduced to Soundcloud, a free music streaming platform, which opened doors for him, discovering up-and-coming talent in Chicago and the world of hip-hop.

During his senior year of high school, he took a break from DJing to focus on school, but when the following summer came around and he hadn’t yet gotten his foot in the door of the music industry, he broke down in frustration.

“One day, I just had a crazy breakdown, I was texting all the famous people I knew [to say] ‘If you just give me a shot, any type of shot, I’ll literally pull through, you don’t even got to pay me,’” he said.

Moore was quickly given the chance to DJ for Lyrical Lemonade’s first festival, Summer Smash, held in Douglas Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Dr., in August 2018.

“They definitely helped me kick down a door, but I feel like I still got a lot more to do,” Moore said.

At Columbia, Moore connected with Johnathon “Zebo” Gust—an adjunct professor in the Communication Department and a club DJ—in one of his radio courses. Moore has learned from Zebo’s producing, DJ stories and connection to festivals.

Moore also encourages students to come out to the events he is part of, and although he enjoys his experience with school, he will not pass up any outside opportunities that come his way.

“A great man told me: ‘Don’t ever skip opportunities that could change your life,’” Moore said.

But, with all that is on his plate, Moore has been struggling between school life and taking professional opportunities, going from DJing an after-party until 2 a.m. to heading to class hours later that same day. “But I feel like that’s prepared me for life,” he added.

With the help of his manager, Moore has also learned to be assertive with the value of his work, such as not letting labels “finesse” him.

Moore’s main inspiration stems from Chase B, Travis Scott’s DJ, but the best DJing advice he was given was from DJ Oreo, a Chicago DJ who has worked with notable musicians like Chance The Rapper. The pair met at the Taste of Chicago food festival in 2015 when DJ Oreo told Moore to connect with the crowd and “play what your mama like,” meaning that he should be musically diverse.

For him, it’s “game day” when he has to perform.

His pre-performance routine is to pray, and check which songs are hot to play before his high-energy shows. Preme picks timeless songs that resonate with everyone.

With the Preme name making its way through the Chicago hip-hop scene, Moore’s ultimate goal is to be known as more than just a DJ; he wants to be an artist.

He wants to continue making connections and changing the narrative of the DJ music scene.

“I can’t believe people trust me,” he said, “with the power to be able to make them happy and make them jump around. It’s crazy.” snunez@columbiachronicle.com

feature

“If you go back to elements of hip-hop, if you ain’t have a DJ, you had no music.

”

“

A great man told me: ‘Don’t ever skip opportunities that could change your life.’”

DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 9

opinions

COLUMN

» MICHA THURSTON DIGITAL/BRAND MANAGER

I

n the spring of 2016, I entered suite 224 of what was then the 33 E. Congress Parkway building. A senior in high school, I was on a campus tour alongside my sister, grandmother and a handful of other prospective Columbia students.

Scanning the room, a girl with pink

COLUMN

know you have forever gained both a number one fan and an advocate.

To those who will follow after me: remember why you started. Find your voice and use it. This paper at its core belongs wholeheartedly to each and every student that walks this campus.

Every page, word, idea or thought submitted to this 10-by-11 inch newsprint belongs to you and no one else.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

To my mentors Adjunct Professor in the Cinema and Television Arts Department Claudette Roper and Associate Professor in the Communication Department and Chronicle Faculty Adviser Curtis Lawrence, your support, advocacy and advice to student creatives is invaluable. To General

not for the Columbia Chronicle.

When I applied to work here, it was on a whim. I had one internship under my belt, writing things you could barely call articles for a website that has since gone under, and it occurred to me that it would be good for me to have a reason to write regularly on deadline. I had no idea I was finding the launching pad for not only my career but the rest of my life.

I started at Columbia a semester late, and if you think it’s hard to make friends and find your place at this school normally, try missing all the traditional orientations and dorm experiences. I moved off-campus as soon

as I could and spent most of my time with people who have never stepped foot in a Columbia building, so I had no sense of community at this school.

The Chronicle completely changed all that.

Not to sound like every single other goodbye column that has ever been written by people leaving this paper, but the Chronicle was a home. I made lifelong friends here and met some of the best professional mentors I could have asked for. My work has improved from barely-articles to award-winning ones, and my f leeting interest in journalism has blossomed into what now feels like an inevitable passion.

» MIRANDA MANIER MANAGING EDITOR

I

have not taken a single journalism class. In fact, I’m not positive if I have even taken a single class in the Communication Department. But here I sit, teary-eyed at my keyboard, thinking about how I would not have had a single opportunity that I have experienced the past 2 1/2 years if 10 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

Manager Travis Truitt, you came in at one of the Chronicle’s lowest points, and you pushed us to conquer.

To the Chronicle’s most avid critic but ultimately greatest advocate, former Associate Professor in the Communication Department and former Chronicle Faculty Adviser Len Strazewski, thank you for raising and setting the bar for student journalists.

To Chris Richert, former general manager and my father figure, words cannot describe how thankful I am for having you in my life. Although our friendship has surely seen its ups and downs, it is both irreplaceable and something I will forever cherish.

Although my college story does not begin and end with the Chronicle, it definitely makes up much of the plot.

Overworked and underpaid, some might think I missed out on the college experience. But when I think about Zoë Eitel, Ariana Portalatin, Grace Senior, Alexandra Yetter, Mike Rundle, Margaret Smith, Chris Richert and, most of all, our midnight runs to Bar Louie—I know I’ve had the best college experience of them all. mthurston@columbiachronicle.com

» FILE PHOTO

So long, and thanks for all the bylines

and blue hair introduced herself as Zoë Eitel, an Arts & Culture reporter for the Chronicle. Fast forward three years, Eitel is now my roommate and one of my best friends.

But this story is not unique for the Chronicle’s staff members.

Whether it’s building skills, confirming or redirecting career paths or creating some of the most memorable friendships I will ever have, these are all things that just happen naturally when working for the Chronicle.

That being said, my decision to “retire” a semester prior to my graduation was not an easy one to make. But after six academic semesters, two summers, four different roles and more colleagues than I can count, I know I’m ready to move on.

Over the years I have seen many changes within the walls of suite 224—from staffing to page count to policies, and even a new general manager. This road has not been easy. I’m not the first nor will I be the last to cry over this student-run newspaper, and ironically enough, I have no interest in entering the journalism industry.

But to future student journalists, creatives and Chronicle staffers to come,

» MADDY ASMA/CHRONICLE

Goodbye to my home away from home

Get the latest news in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter » ColumbiaChronicle.com

The Chronicle taught me who I am, what I want to do and how I can get there. I am incredibly grateful for each person whose path I crossed in that cramped newsroom, but more than anything, I am grateful for the institution itself.

Student-run newspapers are rare and special; they turn students into real journalists as they push themselves and take ownership of their work. The job is often thankless and always demanding, but I would not trade a minute of the many hours I eagerly gave for anything.

I am grateful for the opportunity I had here to become something I didn’t know I could be. I am grateful that so many more students will be able to take advantage of this paper and learn, grow, stumble and blossom within its walls and behind its bylines.

This career path might never make me an extravagant amount of money, so I might never be able to give back to this paper the way I wish I could. But if gratitude and love count for anything, I would keep the Chronicle’s always-precarious budget af loat for years to come. mmanier@columbiachronicle.com

opinions

COLUMN

It was real, it was fun—it was real fun » KATHERINE SAVAGE NEWS EDITOR

W

» WESLEY ENRIQUEZ/CHRONICLE

hen I came to Columbia in Fall 2017, I was a transfer student from Moraine Valley Community College and a commuter who knew nothing about navigating the city. My first year at Columbia was not the best; I pretty much went to class and went home, and in between classes I would get lunch by myself and take naps in the library.

I’m not the most chatty person so it was hard for me at first to make relationships with classmates. But, in Spring 2018 I took the “College Newspaper Workshop” course and began partnering with the Chronicle to write contributing articles. I knew instantly I wanted to work there.

Going into the Chronicle as an employee, I had only published two articles from College Newspaper Workshop, and I never worked on a newspaper before then—my high school didn’t even have one and I never joined the one at my community college.

Now, I’m not usually one to get all sentimental and mushy, but honestly, the Chronicle quickly became the best part of my college experience. Who needs college parties when you can have the thrill of writing a breaking news story?

Through the Chronicle, I attended events and shows I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to, and now I feel I have more knowledge of the campus and the city than the average person does. By having weekly bylines and learning endlessly, I was lucky enough to work with amazing people who are more than just coworkers. Now at school, I have people to goof off with, gossip with and go to lunch with.

There are countless people to name and I’ll probably forget some of you,

but I am so incredibly lucky to call you all my coworkers and friends. To my partner in crime, Kaci Watt, thank you for listening to my complaints, helping me write my articles, giving me a place to stay on late nights and going on ice cream runs with me.

Thank you to all the staffers who I’ve shared a special bond with, especially Alexandra Yetter, Bridget Ekis, Dyana Daniels, Lauren Leazenby and Mari Devereaux.

Thank you to Curtis Lawrence and Travis Truitt for being exceptional mentors, who taught me to look at the little details with great care. Curtis, I’ll miss all of your hilarious comments, and Travis, as much as I hate to say it, I’ll miss your puns.

Thank you to the amazing professors at Columbia—Betsy Edgerton, Stephanie Goldberg, Noah Isackson and Sam Roe— who have taught me everything I know about journalism and inspired me to push myself further. I can’t forget my professors at Moraine Valley Community College— William Hogan, Jeffrey McCully and Eric Devillez—you helped me figure out what path I wanted to take and helped shape my writing in ways I didn’t even realize until looking back.

Thank you to my family—I feel like I’m giving an Oscar speech—for letting me go a little bit off the beaten path and always staying by my side no matter what.

I don’t exactly have a plan for what’s next but I have a sneaking suspicion everything will work out. As the great Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote, “There’s a million things I haven’t done, just you wait.” ksavage@columbiachronicle.com

You know you know an , so them for the

DEADLINE: February 3, 2020: We invite faculty nominations from students and from Columbia College Chicago peers.

To nominate a faculty member, send an email to ETA@colum.edu and include the following information: •Your name and status (student or faculty) •The nominee's name and department •Briefly explain how this faculty member made a difference in your educational experience or significantly contributed to student learning at Columbia.

Office of the Provost DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 11

top picks

BEST PHOTOS OF THE FALL 2019 SEMESTER SELECTED BY THE PHOTO DESK

A variety of subjects came through the viewfinders of Chronicle photographers in the Fall 2019 semester, highlighted by intense protests, star-studded shows and other unique experiences. Chosen exclusively by the Chronicle’s Photo Desk, these are some of the images that our photographers are especially proud of.

PHOTOGRAPHED & WRITTEN BY

CAMILLA FORTE “Climate protesters break police lines”

Several hundred climate protestors, led by Extinction Rebellion, broke police lines near Daley Plaza Monday, Oct. 7 resulting in at least one arrest and blocked traffic.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY

MIKE RUNDLE Featured in “Chicago wants to ‘dump Trump’” by Alexandra Yetter Schyler Cunningham, Uptown resident, faces off with a Trump supporter Monday, Oct. 28 on Wacker Drive near Trump Tower.

PHOTOGRAPHED & WRITTEN BY

JUSTIN ANDERSON

“Competitors itching to win the beard and moustache competition” A contestant known as “El Chapo” holds back his jacket to reveal his Detriot pride while competing in the partial beard freestyle category Tuesday, Nov. 19.

PHOTOGRAPHED BY

MIKE RUNDLE Featured in “Review: Riot Fest 2019’s greatest hits” by Kendall Polidori

PHOTOGRAPHED & WRITTEN BY

STEVEN NUNEZ “Tyler, The Creator brings ‘Igor’ to life”

Tyler, The Creator visited Credit Union 1 Arena, 525 S. Racine Ave., Thursday, Sept. 5 for the third stop on his tour.

12 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

Franz Lyons of Turnstile performs on the Roots Stage Saturday, Sept. 14 at Riot Fest in Douglas Park, 1401 S. Sacramento Drive.

metro

See the full gallery of Andrew Yang’s visit to Chicago » ColumbiaChronicle.com

Yo cuento: Some Chicago neighborhoods ‘hard to count’ in census LEADING UP TO the 2020 census, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) is going door to door in the neighborhoods he represents to spread awareness about the importance of participating in the census.

“I do hope at every level of government we, as public officials, come out, we door knock, we go door-to-door, block-by-block, neighborhood-by-neighborhood, city-by-city across the country to make sure we do what is right and constitutional, which is making sure that everyone is counted,” Sigcho-Lopez said.

As many as 2.2 million people among the Hispanic and Latinx community will be undercounted in the 2020 census, as projected by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization.

The census is a constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the United States, helping the federal government keep track of population, determine the amount of federal funding state and local governments are given and the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to a U.S. Census Bureau population estimate in July 2018, 29% of Chicago’s population, or approximately 785,000 people, are classified as Hispanic or Latino. Due to language

barriers, lack of information and distrust of the government, some individuals either choose not to fill out their census surveys or are not able to, Sigcho-Lopez said.

Sigcho-Lopez represents some of the hardest geographic areas to count for the census in Chicago, including the Pilsen neighborhood.

A geographic area is dubbed as “Hard to Count” by the U.S. Census Bureau if it had a self-response rate that was 73% or less in the 2010 decennial census, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.

In the 2010 census, approximately 60% of households in the Pilsen neighborhood mailed back their surveys, causing the area to have one of the lowest self-response rates in the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Hard to Count Map. The remaining households were either counted with an in-person “non-response follow-up” or not counted at all, according to the IDHS. If these areas are undercounted, they could lose out on key federal services, including the Medical Assistance Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Section 8 Housing and the Federal Pell Grant program, to name a few, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Undergraduate students can be awarded the Federal Pell Grant if they display exceptional financial need.

Yadira Ramirez, who works at Panadería Nuevo León, 1634 W. 18th St., in Pilsen, believes in the importance of of participating in the census.

» CAMILLA FORTE/CHRONICLE

» KNOX KERANEN STAFF REPORTER

The U.S. Census Bureau has labeled Pilsen as one of the hardest to count communities due to low self-response rates.

A 1% undercount would result in Illinois losing approximately $19.6 million per year, resulting in a total loss of $195.6 million for 10 years, according to IDHS. Those who fill out the census form are asked to provide information about every person living in the household: name, relationship, sex, age, date of birth, race and whether they are of Hispanic origin or not.

According to a March 15, 2010, Pew Research Center article, the U.S. Census Bureau added a new question to the 2010 census survey because college students were not sure whether to be counted at their college or home address.

To avoid counting college students twice, the census now asks “whether each person listed as living in a household sometimes lives or stays somewhere else. For those who answer ‘yes,’ the options include ‘in college housing,’” according to the Pew Research Center article.

In early 2018, the Trump administration proposed adding a citizenship status question to the census—a proposal the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately struck down in June.

Yadira Ramirez, an employee at Panadería Nuevo León, 1634 W. 18th St., in Pilsen, said she participated in the 2010 census and plans to fill out the survey online in the upcoming count.

Ramirez said she is glad adding the citizenship question was denied by the Supreme Court because it is more important to know the number of people in the country, rather than their documentation status.

Sigcho-Lopez said the immigration policies of the Trump administration have exasperated fears within immigrant communities, and added it is especially important vulnerable communities are properly counted.

“People are afraid of leaving their homes, afraid of opening their doors, so now the fear has reached unprecedented levels,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “It will have tremendous implications if we are not counted [and] those resources do not reach the areas where there is [the] most need.”

To better reach those areas in need, for the first time ever in 2020, households will be able to fill out the census survey online and by phone, with instructions received by mail. In years past, the only option was to return the survey by mail, which is still an option for the 2020 survey.

However, a resident like Deloria—a Pilsen local who requested only her first name be used, given the contentious subject—w i l l ret ur n her census survey by mail, as

she does not have internet access in her home.

Deloria is not the only one without internet access, making it more difficult to participate in the census.

According to a 2013-2017 American Community Survey—a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau that gathers housing and population information in 4-year increments—approximately 23% of households in the 4th Congressional District had no internet access. The 4th Congressional District encompasses portions of the South and West Sides of Chicago, including Pilsen.

Natalia Escarpita, another Pilsen local, said she participates in the census because she thinks it is “mandatory for us Christians,” in reference to the Gospel’s mention of Jesus participating in the Census of Quirinius, she said. She added that it is also important for funding for communities.

Despite her support for the census, she said undocumented immigrants are justified in being wary of the process. “ Yo u ca nnot bla me them,” Escarpita said. “You wouldn’t do it if you were i l lega l; you wou ld ta ke your precautions.” kkeranen@columbiachronicle.com

DECEMBER 9, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 13

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Latest community-run mental health center opens on West Side » DYANA DANIELS STAFF REPORTER

14 THE CHRONICLE DECEMBER 9, 2019

“I went to as many monthly meetings [as I could],” said Kathy Powers, a member of Old St. Patrick’s.

Powers was one of five members of Old St. Patrick’s who assisted with creating the center. She was present when the commissioners were picked, when the group was planning to find a place for the center to be located and when Catholic Charities was chosen as the service provider for the center.

Powers said she has a renewed faith in the governmental process after this referendum assisted the community in creati n g a new menta l health center.

“I think it is critical,” Powers said. “Especially as we are losing mental health services in lots of communities. I think if people had the opportunity to do it, it can be life changing.”

In addition to other services, Smith said the center will hire a training coordinator by December who w i l l put toget her

workshops and groups to help the community debunk myths around mental health.

“I think people are more invested when they know that they made a little part of that happen versus it being something that the government has put together or something that can go away because there is no longer grant funding,” Smith said. “I think people are definitely more emotionally invested when they know they were a part of it.”

Mike Schuetter, a part-time substance abuse counselor at the center, said there have not been many clients who have stopped by so far. There have also been prospective clients who the center had to turn away. Unlike the Kedzie Center, which works with residents’ insurance companies, services offered at the Encompassing Center are free to residents in the area through Catholic Charities—a big supporter of the center— and the referendum. “ We get some people who need the service, and then we find out they live 10 minutes outside the

a r e a ,” S c hue t t e r sa id.

“And so we have to refer them to other places.”

Currently, the center is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday. “[The center is] still in that early stage where people are still learning that we’re here,” Smith said. “So we have [had] guests pop up, people come to see the center. A lot of other partnering organizations have been excited to know that they have somewhere to refer their clients [to] if they need counseling services or just trainings or workshops and things like that.”

Ingram and other residents say they are confident the center will catch on once the word gets out, and they have no regrets about their efforts.

“If I felt that this was not worth fighting for—trying to find and make a difference in my neighborhood—I would not be here,” Ingram said. “But I like where I live... I think we need to have more people that get involved.” ddaniels@columbiachronicle.com » IGNACIO CALDRON/CHRONICLE

ABOUT SEVEN YEARS after former Mayor Rahm Emanuel shocked mental health advocates and those needing help by closing half of the mental health centers in the city, West Side residents have taken matters into their own hands by funding and opening their own facility.

“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, as they say, to get this started,” said Jennifer Smith, program director of the Encompassing Center, 3019 W. Harrison St., which opened its doors in October.

She said the idea for the center came about through a team known as “ The Commissioners.” The governing commission—made up of community residents, consumers and doctors in the West Side Expanded Mental Health Services Program— oversee the center and host meetings every third Monday of the month.

I n a dd it ion , mu lt iple organizations had a hand in the creation of the center through the West Side Community Access Network, which is made up of 40 community groups including police departments, organizations, park districts, senior homes and church programs. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago also played a leading role.

The center sits down the street from the 11th District police station, 3151 W. Harrison St., and across the street from Jensen Elementary Scholastic Academy, 3030 W. Harrison St. “It is centrally located,” said Jacquelyn Ingram, a parishioner at St. Agatha Catholic Church, 3147 W. Douglass Blvd., and North Lawndale resident. “You can get right to it with the number seven [Harrison]bus.”

The center, which offers individual and family therapy, substance abuse treatment and a variety of educational services, can be easy to miss with only a white compass decal and the name of the center near the front door.

The Encompassing Center is the second community-funded

mental health center in Chicago.

The Kedzie Center, 4141 N. Kedzie Ave., the first community-run center created through a referendum, opened in 2014, serving the A lbany Park, Irving Park, Forest Glen and North Park communities.

The Kedzie Center’s referendum received 74% support, said Michael Snedeker, executive director of the Coalition to Save Our Mental Health Centers, a nonprofit organization that assists in restoring and expanding mental health services.

“The need for mental health services in the community is there,” Snedeker said. “To have a new center that provides services directly to community residents regardless of their ability to pay is a really important resource.”

After countless meetings, the residents of the Near West Side, North Lawndale and East and West Garfield Park neighborhoods realized they would have to dig into their own pockets and agreed to raise their property taxes to fund the Encompassing Center.

“We explained to [residents] that it would be based on their property taxes,” Ingram said. “It would be $4 for every $1,000 of your property tax.”

To prepare for this, residents collected signatures for a petition to hold a referendum in 2015. The goal was 2,500, but the petition garnered 10,000. The referendum, which appeared on the November 2016 ballot, passed with more than 86% of the vote, according to an Oct. 23 article by the Chicago Catholic.

“I think just in general, this idea was just genius to get people that are in the community to say what they need and what they want and to actually be able to use things such as a tax r efer en du m to make that possible is just great,” Smith said.

More Catholic churches and residents were involved in the process as well. Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 700 W. Adams St., assisted in spreading the word about the referendum in early 2015 at church services.

The Encompassing Center, 3019 W. Harrison St., opened its doors in October and offers services ranging from case management to substance abuse services to residents of East and West Garfield Park, Near West Side and North Lawndale.

metro

Green Day and “Uprising” by Muse blasted as people wearing “MATH” hats raised “Humanity First” signs and cheered for Democratic presidental candidate Andrew Yang.

Thousands attended Yang’s rally Thursday, Dec. 5, packing the Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum at University of Illinois at Chicago, 725 W. Roosevelt Road.

Yang is a technology entrepreneur and founder of Venture for America who has never held public office. He has been polling at approximately 3% among voters.

“We know who got us to this point,” Yang said at the rally. “It was not the media companies.

It was not the folks in D.C. planning years in advance. It was us, it was you, it was the people of this country.”

“AMERICAN IDIOT” BY

FEATURED PHOTO: ANDREW YANG AT UIC

» CAMILLA FORTE/CHRONICLE

» MARI DEVEREAUX STAFF REPORTER

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

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