College continues Strategic Plan implementation PAGE 20
PAGE 13 February 26, 2018
Are record deals still a big deal?
SGA Redefines Blackness
Volume 53, Issue 21
ColumbiaChronicle.com
SEE PAGE 3
» MOLLY WALSH CAMPUS REPORTER
For the first time since the organization’s start in 2002, Student Government Association’s executive board consists of all black students. In honor of Black History Month, the SGA board spoke with The Chronicle about becoming leaders on campus, the importance of representation and their definitions of black boy joy and black girl magic.
» MACKENZIE CROSSON/CHRONICLE
editor’s note
Awards aren’t everything, but they sure feel good
MANAGEMENT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITORS
I
t’s no secret that I think The Chronicle is the best. It’s full of dedicated, talented and inspiring students who work long hours for little compensation because they love it. It’s an incredibly inspiring and supportive place to work, and the paper produces professional-level work and spurs change in the college. During Feb. 16–17, The Chronicle was once again honored with state-wide awards at the 2017 Illinois College Press Association convention and awards luncheon. As reported Feb. 23 by The Chronicle, we received 20 awards for work produced in the Spring 2017 and Fall 2017 semesters and spent the two days hearing talks and learning new skills from industry professionals. I gave a speech to my staff the night before the awards luncheon. Through a half-gone voice lost from a cold I’m still getting over, I told the 30 or so student reporters, editors, graphic designers, photographers, videographers and media sales reps that it didn’t matter if we won any awards the next day. That it didn’t matter if we didn’t win best in the state again. That it didn’t matter if ICPA didn’t recognize our greatness because we did; we knew how hard we worked—how much blood, sweat and tears went into each issue that we produced. I gave this speech only a couple hours after I had to be convinced of the same thing by my fellow managers after it finally settled in that half of my time as editor-in-chief was being judged by industry professionals. I was worried that not winning the same number of—or more—awards as last year would mean I was a failure as a leader. But they convinced me of what I really already knew: The awards aren’t about me, or any specific staff member—even if only one name is on the plaque. Every person on staff contributes to every piece of content that is produced by The Chronicle, even if indirectly. Each member of the team is integral to our success, and if just one person slacks or has an off week, it throws the whole system off. And we all benefit from each other’s success and talent, too. So as I gave my speech that included about as many tears as I expected it would, I saw the thing that makes me happy to do the job I do and makes me 2 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018
DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR CREATIVE DIRECTOR AD & BUSINESS MANAGER
CAMPUS REPORTERS
CAMPUS Tessa Brubaker Olivia Deloian Molly Walsh
ARTS & CULTURE
ARTS & CULTURE REPORTERS
proud to have been part of The Chronicle METRO REPORTERS for so long: the love and support of the paper’s staff. I saw staff members who have known each other for years or weeks hugging and comforting each other. I saw OPINIONS EDITOR teary eyes and smiles as they took in my words and understood what I was saying. But mostly, I saw The Chronicle family COPY CHIEF that I am always talking about. COPY EDITORS After the awards luncheon, we took the stack of awards we had managed to rack up and counted them. We had 20. Sure, this was less than last year when we GRAPHIC DESIGNERS received more than 30, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I was thinking about how ADVERTISING DESIGNER we were honored with being named best in state again. I was thinking we must have really deserved that award because SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS it is almost unheard of for a single paper to receive the honor three years in a row. STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS And more than anything, I was thinking how lucky I was to be surrounded by the people who stood around me. MULTIMEDIA EDITOR And as the 30 or so of us gathered MULTIMEDIA REPORTERS around a single table that held our stack of awards and people traded off taking pictures of the General Excellence plaque or their own certificates, I gave another MEDIA SALES REPS speech. What can I say, I love speeches. MARKETING ASSISTANT My voice was even rougher than it was the night before, but it didn’t matter: Everyone was listening. I reiterated much of what WEBMASTER I had said the ONLINE CONTENT PRODUCER previous night about being immensely proud of them and spoke again on the awards’ lack of importance. last night: OFFICE ASSISTANT I said, “I meant what I said We know we do amazing work and winning these awards doesn’t matter, GENERAL MANAGER but it does feel damn good.” FACULTY ADVISER You can’t base how hard you’re ASSISTANT FACULTY ADVISER going to work or how much you’ll put into something based on the awards you want to win because that’s not how great work gets done. Great work gets done by people who care, and The Chronicle cares. zeitel@columbiachronicle.com
» ZOË EITEL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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The 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 Chronicle and may not be reproduced or published without written permission. Editorials are the opinions of the Editorial Board of The 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 Chronicle, Columbia’s Journalism 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 Chronicle holds the right to limit any one person’s submissions to three per semester.
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Chronicle employees test their black history knowledge » ColumbiaChronicle.com/Multimedia
Veronique Hill, executive vice president of Communications for SGA, sophomore public relations major
THE CHRONICLE: What does it mean to be in a leadership position on an allblack executive board? VERONIQUE HALL: It’s an honor. When I came to this school, I wanted to be a leader. I wanted to make change on this campus, whether it was through Student Government Association or through any other thing I did on my own. The fact that I’m on the board with all of these amazing and incredible black leaders who have the exact same vision and professionalism and drive that I do, it is the most incredible and inspiring feeling. As members of a minority group, do you ever feel intimidated about being leaders in the community? It’s more empowering. Change only happens when you take that first step. It might be hard and you might get backlash, or you might be in seriously scary experiences, but change isn’t going to happen if you just stand back there and be scared and not do anything. We came here to achieve our goals. And we have to achieve our goals by making those scary first steps, whether it’s with administration or dealing with people within the South Loop. It’s not scary. It makes us work better. What is your definition of black girl magic? Black girl magic is making your black existence and experience known everyday.
Cameron Hubert, representative to the Board of Trustees, junior cinema and television arts major
Malik Woolfork, SGA president, senior business and entrepreneurship major
How does it feel to be the leader of the first all-black SGA board? MALIK WOOLFORK: It feels great. We have this way of communicating with each other that is natural but also allows us to communicate with the student body in a more personable way. It is easier for us to relate to students having issues with regards to the election and immigration. We can relate to the Columbia students [easier]. It is a different type of energy. It is one of the first times we have been able to have
an executive board meeting and be able to discuss some serious topics, but at the same time, we are playing jazz in the background. It allows me to see how diverse the black race is because none of us are the same person. There are three of us that come from Ohio, but we are from different parts of Ohio. Our backgrounds and our focuses in college are different. It really shows how just because the whole board is of African-American students, it doesn’t mean we are all the same. We are able to challenge each other on our thoughts, which you can do with any member on our board. What do black boy and girl magic and melanin poppin’ mean to you? Those are things that as a black male, I would have never thought that this would be such a big thing, but it is because throughout media, throughout history, there has not always been positive images of black males shown. Black males have always been the threat. If you see black males, it is either sports,
someone getting arrested, someone got into some type of news scandal. There is never anything positive. Just to point out that black boys are happy, enjoying life and growing. We smile. We listen to music. Everything is not bad or horrible for us. It changes the narrative of the black male. When I first saw the hashtag for black boy joy, people were really enjoying it just because it was a picture of this black male smiling. When I thought about it, we don’t see it as much in media. It is just another way in black culture to share our culture and our experience and our lifestyle with the rest of the world. Just thinking about it makes me happy. Melanin poppin’ means accepting yourself and celebrating your blackness— however you may define that. Every black person has a different definition of what it means to be black. It should not be required to have us think of only one type of black person. My black boy magic, my black boy joy, my melanin poppin’ is all different from others, but that is what makes me, me.
don’t want to show up late to anything. We always want representation present at events because we don’t want it to go back to, “You know, they are an all-black eboard.” We always have to work two times harder in almost everything.
What do you want people to know about being black? FRITA BEAUCHAMP: We have to work two times harder. There is a certain way we have to present ourselves. If we say we are going to do something and if we say we are going to email a certain administrator on campus, we have to follow through with it. Because we are an all-black eboard, we
How do you advise others to handle white supremacy? You can’t get through to people like that. People like that don’t want to be open minded; they don’t want to see change. They want to stay angry and mad. Keep fighting, keep speaking your mind, keep fighting for what it is worth but don’t waste your energy on those ignorant people. Speak to [white supremacists] and try to get through to them, but there is only so much you can do and say. It’s not going to change their mind. Don’t stop fighting, just find other avenues. Keep minding your business, speaking your mind and keep going to the government with your issues.
Do you ever feel like you are more in the hot seat because you are a black person in a leadership position? CAMERON HUBERT: Yes. But when I walk into these spaces, I don’t have a sense of self. I walk in as a member of the student body. Maya Angelou said,“I come as one but stand as 10,000,” That speaks to this position beautifully. I’m voicing the fires within me because of what students are telling me. My job is to make sure I put the other people in the hot seat if need be.
What should people who are not black know about Black History Month? It should serve as a reminder of where we’ve come from as a country and never revert back to those older ideologies. We are all one people and this month should be a reminder that there have been trailblazers in all of these minority communities that paved the way for what we do today. We can all be great leaders if given the opportunity. We have a long way to go but we have come really far.
Frita Beauchamp, vice president of finance for SGA, junior cinema and television arts major
Jazmin Bryant, executive vice president of SGA, sophomore cinema and television arts major
Why is it important to celebrate being black? JAZMIN BRYANT: Years of sacrifice and years of enslavement; we know the stories and the unfortunate things that happened through history. It’s crucial to be honest with ourselves and where we’ve come from and how we came and celebrate that. How do you celebrate being a black woman? Just by surrounding myself with other black women and other people who can relate to me and even women just in general. Just uplifting one another and really inspiring one another. We are better together than apart as women and as black women, it is just important. A lot of times black women are competing with one another. The best thing we can do is uplift one another and be more positive and be more friendly and loving toward one another. mwalsh@columbiachronicle.com
» PHOTOS MACKENZIE CROSSON/CHRONICLE
SGA, FROM FRONT
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 3
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» OLIVIA DELOIAN CAMPUS REPORTER IN THE WAKE of the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting that killed 17 students and faculty and injured many others, a national outcry for gun regulation raises social and political questions. But locally, the most important is: How safe is Columbia from a similar tragedy? Ronald Sodini, associate vice president of Campus Safety and Security, said campus security has acknowledged the possibility of a shooting occuring at Columbia. “It’s our responsibility to make sure we’re always thinking about serious incidents on the campus,” Sodini said. “[Therefore] there are a number of measures that our department and our college has taken in this area.”
» ZOË HAWORTH/CHRONICLE
How Columbia ensures student safety
Sodini said security has invested in the mass-notification Send Word Now system to notify students, faculty and staff of campus emergencies. It also has an ongoing relationship with the Chicago Police Department to
keep college security and students up to date, he added. Sodini explained that students have the option to be notified by email, text or phone call. He encourages students to keep their information up to date in order to
come to you. You move around, you throw things, you scream.” Brticevich said the classes are held at least once a month for faculty and staff, and every few months for students. Senior theatre major Laura Maynard said she thinks a school shooting is unlikely in an urban setting like Columbia. “It’s different coming from the idea of an urban environment,” Maynard said. “When you think of the other places where colleges have shootings, it’s a lot of places that are in more rural areas as far as the universities.” Although school shootings do not typically happen at urban colleges, Maynard said she still does not necessarily feel safe because of the lack of strict national gun laws. “It’s not Columbia; it’s because any lunatic can walk in with a gun, can walk in anywhere just as much as he could walk in here,” Maynard said. Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for additional reporting.
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get proper notification in the event of a shooting on campus. Sodini said each college building has a different procedure, but in order to ensure students’ safety, he is unable to disclose specifics. Mark Brticevich, coordinator of Fitness, Athletics and Recreation, has hosted an active shooter response training on campus for students and staff since 2016. Brticevich said the training courses start with a historical background of active shooters on college campuses to give students a feel for the statistics as well as the “run, hide and fight” model developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. There have been eight reported school shootings in the country so far this year, an added factor of concern because of its early date. “If somebody is coming at you with a gun, and you can’t hide, and you can’t run, then you have to swarm that person as quickly as possible,” Brticevich said. “You don’t swarm them by running straight at them, or by standing there and waiting for the person to
campus
On & Off Campus
housing fair Tuesday, February 27 11am–4pm stage two, 618 S. Michigan Ave.
· giveaways · · free food · · special discounts · · students, faculty, staff·
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 5
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» TESSA BRUBAKER CAMPUS REPORTER
» ZACHARY KELTNER/CHRONICLE
WHEN JUNIOR CINEMA and television arts major Nabil Aouad was at New Student Convocation three years ago, he said he was shocked there was no official film club for him to join.
“I was looking for a film club and there’s no recognized film club on campus, which I thought was a little bit strange because of how big our film program is,” Aouad said. He said that spurred his desire to create a film organization for people to gather, watch and casually discuss films—The Art House.
The Art House is a student organization that meets twice a week so members can screen and discuss films, sometimes with a special guest, Aouad said. Tuesdays are reserved for experimental and rare films while Thursdays are for narrative films. Aouad said because Columbia is more focused on hands-on production, a community that holds critical discussions on film theory is needed. “You can watch three films in a day and that’s great, but they can
From left, Nicholas Swanton, Nabil Aouad and Christopher Rohrbeck showcase films every week and lead discussions. Aouad said anyone can come to showcases no matter their major.
THE
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Stop by the offices of the Columbia Chronicle located at 33 East Congress, Suite 224 (312) 369-8999 for your chance to win a pass for two to the special advance screening on Wednesday, February 28. No purchase necessary. One pass per person. Screening passes valid strictly for Columbia College Chicago students, staff, and faculty only and are distributed at the discretion of the promotional partner. Those that have received a screening pass or promotional prize within the last 90 days are not eligible.
IN THEATERS MARCH 2
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6 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018 COLUMBIA CHRONICLE
blend in with each other,” Aouad said. “It’s such a powerful thing to have a conversation with people for an hour. That’s such an important factor we want to cultivate.” Nicholas Swanton, a junior cinema and television arts major, selects and usually hosts the experimental films on Tuesdays, which he finds himself. Swanton said he wanted to specifically highlight experimental films because they are not often shown in Columbia courses, which typically play Hollywood films. “I want to show films that resonate with people on different levels and not some action story that gets your heart pounding,” Swanton said, “something that connects with you on a different level in making you think about yourself as a member of the world.” Christopher Rohrbeck, a junior cinema and television arts major, said The Art House differs from Columbia’s Cinema Slapdown, a film showcase and debate of two sides that involves a referee, because of its size. Cinema Slapdown is large and chaotic
while The Art House is more relaxed, conversational and does not require viewers to yell across an audience of about 100 students, Rohrbeck said. “I’d like to think that anyone who comes in here can be a part of that family and we welcome them to show their own films,” Rohrbeck said. “That’s a great environment for them to be in. It’s great to come into a club and hear your opinion matters and your perspective on film matters.” The Art House meets every Tuesday and Thursday at 1104 S. Wabash Ave. Building. Tuesdays meet in room 504 and Thursdays meet in room 502. Swanton said the club’s most gratifying aspect is it gets people excited about and looking forward to watching films. “You don’t need to be a film student to come to this club,” Aoaud said. “You don’t need to know who the filmmaker is, you don’t need to know the context. You just need to respond to something.” tbrubaker@columbiachronicle.com
The Art House focuses on film discussion
» OLIVIA DELOIAN CAMPUS REPORTER COLUMBIA AND TECHNOLOGY center 1871 have partnered for an advertising and public relations course designed to provide students with professional experience and samples for their portfolios. 1871, located at 222 W. Merchandise Mart Plaza, was founded in 2012 to support Chicago’s digital startup community and now hosts more than 400 digital startups. Kevin Christophersen, associate professor in the Communication Department, said the partnership began in fall 2017 when the department’s “Agency” course had to rethink how it secured clients because of funding cuts. Christophersen said he reached out to 1871 in August 2017.
“I thought [1871] could be our clients in general,” Christophersen said. “Then we started talking to them and [they were] like, ‘Why don’t we supply you guys with our clients for startups?’” Anne Marie Mitchell, associate chair and professor in the Communication Department, said they were able to expand this semester so the class is a combination of two courses: “Agency” and “PR Campaigns.” Both Christophersen and Mitchell teach the class to incorporate aspects of each course to give students professional experiences, Christophersen said. “This gives students a chance to do real work in real time for real clients, which is our promise as a college,” Mitchell said. “Our promise is always to make sure our students are ready to hit
Anne Marie Mitchell, associate chair and professor in the Communication Department, said students can work with 1871 both in and outside the classroom.
the ground running and have all that real portfolio work, so it has already been such a huge success this semester.” Mitchell said 40 students are currently enrolled in the 3-credit semester-long course, in which students meet with clients and develop strategies for them as a
combined advertising and public relations team. Kendall McDermott, a junior advertising major, said she was excited to take the course after her adviser recommended it. “Getting experience working with the client and working in client services has been really
valuable because we don’t [usually] get that opportunity,” McDermott said. “Going back and forth with the client, making sure they’re happy and managing the project has been a great learning experience.” McDermott said the class is in the early stages of working with company Javaya, a craft coffee online marketplace, which has allowed students to interview customers about the product as well as assist the company with public relations outreach. Mitchell said during the first two weeks of the course, all eight start-up companies from 1871 came to campus to familiarize students with their businesses. Students are also able to travel to 1871 every Thursday or work on their assignments on campus. “They work as an integrated team, so the PR people can support the ad executions and vice versa,” Mitchell said. “It’s truly interdisciplinary, truly an exciting cross training opportunity, just like how it works in the real world.” odeloian@columbiachronicle.com
Partnership with 1871 advertises opportunities
» ERIN DICKSON/CHRONICLE
campus
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 7
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The Exploring Series KAREN RICHMAN, PH.D.: EXPLORING HAITIAN SPIRITUALITIES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2018, 7 PM-9 PM Library at Columbia College Chicago Room 301 - Library North Reading Room 624 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60605 Dr. Karen Richman presents a lecture defining Vodou as a religion and practice deeply rooted in Haitian culture, history, and spirituality. As a professor, Dr. Richman teaches courses in LatinX and Caribbean Studies and serves as the Director of LatinX Undergraduate Studies at the University of Notre Dame's Institute of Latino Studies. She is a board member of the Haitian American Museum of Chicago, a center for cultural and educational programming, located in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood. Following Dr. Richman's presentation, there will be a Q&A session and book signing of her book, Migration and Vodou (New Diasporas Series of the University of Florida Press, 2005). Light refreshments will be served.
REY ANDÚJAR, PH.D.: EXPLORING DOMINICAN POETRY WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018, 7 PM-9 PM Library at Columbia College Chicago Room 301 - Library North Reading Room 624 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60605 Please join us for an informal conversation with Chicago performance artist, poet, and scholar, Dr. Rey Andújar. He will discuss and read from his book, Saturnalia (7 Vientos Press, 2014), making connections to contemporary Caribbean culture. Andújar is originally from Dominican Republic and obtained a PhD with Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe. His writings have been published in Contratiempo, Chicago's Latino/a literary magazine, and he wrote the criticallyacclaimed play, Adverses with the Aguijon Theartre Company. Following Dr. Andújar’s presentation, there will be a Q&A session and book signing of Saturnalia. Light refreshments will be served. Guest speakers courtesy of Jesus Macarena-Avila's course: "CARIBBEAN ART, LITERATURE AND MUSIC". Sponsored by the CCC Library and media sponsor is Illinois Latino Voice.
Illinois Latino Voice
8 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018
Iñiguez Design
» TESSA BRUBAKER CAMPUS REPORTER “JACK AND ANNA,” a graduate thesis
film, showcases a queer relationship during the early 19th century and presents all of the issues of that period, including the fight of being with the person you love. Ksenia Ivanova, a second year graduate student in the Cinema and Television Arts Department, was researching ideas for her thesis film when she came across a true story from 1913 that inspired the film. Ivanova said she found an article online about two young girls who were married; one girl named Helen called herself Jack. Ivanova said the story inspired her to create a film about the relationship of Jack and Anna. “It’s a story about struggling and identity. Jack was struggling with his identity. He’s trying to figure out who he really is through
this journey,” Ivanova said. “This story will be interesting to anyone because we all have our own fears and doubts, [and that] is what we want to show through this story.” Ivanova, who is directing and co-writing the film, said she wanted to craft a picture that challenged her. “I was trying to find something that would touch my heart and later I would be able to turn it into the story,” Ivanova said. Ivanova said she started developing the screenplay around fall 2017 and plans to shoot this coming August. Taylor Smith, a junior cinema and television arts major, is the lead producer. Smith said there are several challenges to creating a period set more then a century ago. “It’s a period piece, which means more money. It also needs period accuracy,” Smith said. “So finding
From left, Luke Dyra, Mia Elliott, Taylor Smith, Ksenia Ivanova and Savannah Oakes were given seven months to complete the film, with shooting expected to start this coming August.
locations and getting wardrobe and getting a good production designer to make this world come to life would be the trickiest thing.” This is an important movie for people to see because it will resonate with a large portion of the college’s student body, Smith said. “I know there’s a lot of LGBTQ students here at Columbia and this is a film about a woman who decided she wanted to do what’s best for her and become a man to do that,” Smith said.
THE
Savannah Oakes, a 2017 cinema and television arts alumna, is co-screenwriter with Ivanova. Oakes said accuracy was a hurdle when writing the script. “It’s different than usual, since it’s not necessarily adapted, but it’s inspired by someone’s real life,” Oakes said. “A lot of [the process] was looking at actual documents that someone had found and stuff from that period and place in time and different references to stories and queer relationships.”
Ivanova said the story’s strength is illustrating the importance of having to fight for your own happiness and to be with the people who you love. “This story is very important nowadays especially if we speak about LGBTQ people,” Ivanova said. “It’s all about showing we need to do something about our own fears. Even if society is so much against you, you can still have this choice.” tbrubaker@columbiachronicle.com
Film showcases being queer 100 years ago
» COURTESY TAYLOR SMITH
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INVITE YOU TO A SPECIAL ADVANCE SCREENING Stop by the offices of the Columbia Chronicle located at 33 East Congress, Suite 224 (312) 369-8999
Stop by the offices of the Columbia Chronicle
for your chance to win a pass for two to the special advance screening on Wednesday, March 7. No purchase necessary. One pass per person. Screening passes valid strictly for Columbia College Chicago students, staff, and faculty only and are distributed at the discretion of the promotional partner. Those that have received a screening pass or promotional prize within the last 90 days are not eligible.
IN CHICAGO THEATERS MARCH 9 ThoroughbredsMovie |
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located at 33 East Congress, Suite 224, Chicago, IL 60605
for your chance to win a pass for two to the special advance screening on Tuesday, March 6. No purchase necessary, while supplies last. Void where prohibited or restricted by law. A limited number of passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Please refer to screening passes for all other restrictions. Limit one admit-two pass per person. Screening passes valid strictly for Columbia College Chicago students, staff, and faculty only and are distributed at the discretion of the promotional partner. Those that have received a screening pass or promotional prize within the last 90 days are not eligible. This film is rated R for horror violence and terror throughout, and for language.
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Review: Mac McCaughan and the rest of the band are fed up » ColumbiaChronicle.com
DO ARTISTS NEED A RECORD LABEL IN 2018? » ALEXY EROUART ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
IN THE LAST five years, Chance The Rapper released his magnum opus Acid Rap, successfully lobbied to change how Grammy-nominated albums are determined and has achieved notable international success without a traditional recording or publishing company. His message to other independent artists is loud and clear: Any musician can achieve success with a good team, proper patience and ingenuity. In December 2017, DJBooth.net, an online news site covering the music industry, pushed back against Chance’s message, calling it “misleading” and noting that Chance has been represented by booking agent Cara Lewis of Creative Artists Agency, who has worked with Eminem, Kanye West and others, since before Acid Rap’s release. The article said Chance cut a $500,000 deal with Apple Music for two weeks of exclusivity, distributing the 2016 Grammywinning album Coloring Book with its streaming platform. Perhaps the streaming revolution and advent of legitimate online distribution have given artists the chance to reach fans directly, but has it given them the keys to widespread acclaim and success? Maybe not, but it has given them more of an opportunity to try for those Billboardtopping hits and more of a chance for reasonable success. Anna Agosta, a senior music major and R&B/soul singer, said artists must do whatever they can to jumpstart their careers before seeking a label’s help. But if the perfect deal were to arise, Agosta said she would strongly consider signing a traditional deal. Agosta added that even if an artist is independent, they will still need to get music heard and distributed through different channels. “You can’t do anything all on your own,” Agosta said.
Loren Wells, an assistant professor of Instruction in the Business and Entrepreneurship Department and a practicing music lawyer, noted that a label is not necessary if an artist has modest goals of making a small amount of money in the local scene. But if one has loftier aspirations of competing in national and international markets through commercial radio play, touring, high budget marketing campaigns and all the other appealing aspects that go into distributing music on a major label scale, they will more than likely need to sign to a label. Major labels and major-administered indie label artists account for the vast majority of the hit records according to any metric, across every medium, from Billboard’s radio charts to Spotify’s streaming charts, and Nielsen’s consumption charts to iTunes downloads, Wells said. Alex Fruchter, an assistant professor of Instruction in the Business and Entrepreneurship Department and co-owner of Closed Sessions record label, said labels offer perks such as a larger, more experienced marketing team, a recording budget, a more objective business perspective and an insight into marketing, promotion and business in general. Fruchter said there is always a trade off in signing with a record company. The label may determine which songs are commercially satisfactory and can be approved for release or the artist must give up a piece of the backend revenue once the music is exploited for profit. “If you want extra resources, if you want more people involved, if you
want to work with experts, you’re not going to have complete ownership of the project,” Fruchter said. “From a legal standpoint, you may actually be giving up ownership of your master recording or splitting publishing [rights].” Some perceive major labels as cold, impersonal machines, commoditizing artists rather than developing them, which creates distrust and sometimes halts the music-making process altogether if a label cannot get on the same page as its artist. Noah Sims, a music producer and DJ, said even credible artists such as Frank Ocean have had to deal with these issues due to internal label disputes. “It happens over and over again since the recording industry began, that you have to be careful because there are people who are just trying to make money off of you and take advantage of you,” Sims said. “While I don’t distrust the process completely, there is an inherent necessity in being very careful of going into the record label business.” Brent Butcher, a music and entertainment attorney, said in order to maintain control and leverage, artists must maintain ownership of publishing rights. “The overall goal is: Keep as much as you can for yourself as far as ownership goes,” Butcher said. While major labels offer larger possibilities, they also take higher cuts of revenue and rights percentages, and as a result,
some artists would prefer signing to an independent label—a label not owned or affiliated with a major label—to maintain a certain personal quality and avoid being another member of a roster. Sims said if he were to sign with a label, it would have to be on a project-by-project basis to maintain flexibility and to feel assured that they could take music to a higher level than the artist could market. While it may not be realistic to think any artist can achieve Chance’s level of success or reach internationally by using these different outlets, Agosta thinks it can be done. Even if your music cannot be on top of the Billboard charts, it does not mean you cannot make a decent living as a musician, she added. Regardless of whether artists are signing with an independent label, a major label, or opting out of signing to one altogether, they will need a good team in order to succeed, Fruchter said. Do you need a label to make money and create a local brand? Right now, the answer seems to be a resounding no. However, even with new opportunities to reach a widespread, global audience, the gatekeepers are not going away any time soon, according to Wells. “In every generation you have creatives, funders, and audiences,” Wells said. “And that distribution changes.”
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London-based band Girl Ray played an intimate “In the Round” performance at Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. on Feb. 21. For “In the Round” performances at Thalia Hall, bands perform in the middle of the floor rather than on a stage. Girl Ray is on tour opening for Porches until March 24 with the final show at Bowery Ballroom in New York City.
James Tsitiridis (’17)
The 2018 Paula F. Pfeffer and Cheryl Johnson-Odim
POLITICAL CARTOON CONTEST ATTENTION STUDENTS: Submit an original political cartoon for the 2018 Paula F. Pfeffer & Cheryl Johnson-Odim Political Cartoon Contest for your chance to win a cash prize. A panel of judges will select 5 winning cartoons for cash prizes up to $550.
THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT CARTOONS IS MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2018. For more information, visit colum.edu/PCC or contact Dr. Teresa Prados-Torreira, tprados-torreira@colum.edu
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FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 13
arts & culture A celebration of international, independent film chicagofeministfilmfestival.com
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March 7-9, 2018
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Film Row Cinema 1104 S. Wabash Ave. 8th floor
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» ARIANA PORTALATIN MANAGING EDITOR
Drake donates nearly $1M in newest music video
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written critique for partying in Miami without investing anything into the city. Drake has enough stardom to not need this kind of self promotion. The rapper was apparently not a fan of the criticism and confronted Rosenberg about it. According to a Feb. 22 Complex article, Drake angrily called Rosenberg, asking the radio personality, “I don’t understand how I could do something so positive and you could find a way to make it negative.” After backlash from audience members, Rosenberg went back on air Feb. 22 to explain the phone call, pointing out how upset the rapper was by his comments. “I could hear in his voice that this was very clearly the most important thing that he’s ever done,” Rosenberg said. “He was clearly very affected by doing something so good for people. He meant it so sincerely. It made me feel terrible.” Drake also explained to Rosenberg the work that goes into making a music video of that nature, which is why it may have looked staged and inauthentic, including how the people given money were chosen and the process of giving the money away. It’s important that Drake took the time to explain the logistics behind the music video to help others understand the process and to deter criticism from what he felt was a positive event. Drake’s deeds are something to be praised and encouraged in order for the work to continue. Ultimately, the result of more fortunate celebrities helping others is far more rewarding than sales, video views or chart listings.
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rake’s Feb. 16 music video release for his single, “God’s Plan,” is bringing the rapper great success. The song is currently in its fourth week on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart and has accumulated more than 54 million views. However, the song’s popularity is not entirely because of the music itself, but the actions within the video. In the video, Drake is distributing his million-dollar production budget to people around Miami, telling supermarket shoppers that everything on the shelves is free, surprising a student with a scholarship check, giving gift cards to women at a shelter and more. Drake has been praised for his generosity and he’s even proud of himself, as he should be. Donating money and showing these acts of kindness is important for celebrities, especially those with as much influence as Drake. While some may have questioned the sincerity of the video, many have taken note of the positive response overpowering the small amount of criticism. In a Feb. 17 tweet, Adult Swim Senior Vice President and Creative Director of On-Air Jason DeMarco wrote, “The Drake video is good. Insanely rich ppl giving money away is good, I don’t care if it’s self-serving.” However, one opponent stood out among all the praise. Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg did question the motives behind the video, saying, “Is it a little bit cheap to use those emotions of, ‘Look at this person in need getting something good,’ and transfer those emotions onto yourself?” “I don’t know the last time I saw a four-minute montage of ‘Look at all the nice things I do,’” Rosenberg said. It’s easy to question the authenticity of a celebrity doing good deeds, particularly with celebrities as prolific as Drake. Acts of kindness should come from a good place rather than self promotion. In a Feb. 20 CNBC article, reporter Emmie Martin did consider that the video may have been in response to a years-old feud with artist Uncle Luke who once slammed Drake and other rappers in a
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 15
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ARE YOU THE NEXT MANIFEST CREATIVE DIRECTOR? Are you looking for a job, exposure and the opportunity to build your body of work? If so, apply to become the Creative Director of Manifest Urban Arts Festival 2019. Submit one or more pieces of original work that can be used as the look, feel and identity of Manifest utilizing the prompt “AMPLIFY” Your design should convey Manifest as edgy, innovative, unique, diverse and ambitious while keeping with the theme:
am · pli · fy 1. 2. 3. 4.
To To To To
make larger or more powerful (as in amount, importance, or intensity) increase the strength of; especially : to make louder expand in stating or describing, as by details or illustrations; clarify by expanding discourse at length; expatiate or expand one's remarks, speech, ideas, etc.
The chosen entry will win a year-long paid student worker position as the 2019 Manifest Creative Director. Instructions, examples and additional information can be found at colum.edu/manifest.
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Exhibit highlights work of Midwestern women
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» COURTESY WOMAN MADE GALLERY
DEB FLAGEL STARTED 2018 by asking a question: What kind of art is coming out of the Midwest? As executive director of Woman Made Gallery, 2150 S. Canalport Ave., Flagel curated an exhibition to help herself answer that question. From March 2–24, Woman Made will display its inaugural Midwest Open, featuring work from female artists from all 12 Midwestern states. Flagel hopes the Midwest Open will explore several other questions as well, such as whether the immediacy of sharing art over the internet has made the concept of “regional art” disappear. She also wonders whether contemporary artists are influenced by the style, themes and work of other artists they are exposed to
mmanier@columbiachronicle.com
» MIRANDA MANIER ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
Barbara Kay Herring, a fine arts people judging the exhibit might While Flagel does not think the artist also from Chicago. In the have different experiences and the Midwest is inferior to the East Big Apple, those opportunities work may not resonate with them. or West coasts, she said it can might be available only at exhibits “I would like to see artists talk sometimes feel that way. With that are specifically for artists 55 more about what it means to live the Midwest Open, though, she and older. where they live,” Flagel said. “It’s hopes Midwesterners will feel online, rather than their own geoThe discrepancy in represen- wonderful that we’re all influenced proud of their contributions to graphical surroundings. tation outside the Midwest can by each other ... [but] I also think the arts. “These are questions [Woman boil down to regional differences, there’s room that should be made “It’s nice for Midwestern artMade’s board] had in our minds, Flagel said. If an art gallery in LA for reflections from a particular ists to not always get lumped but we didn’t have the answers has a national open call for sub- area in the United States, just together with other artists, but to,” Flagel said. “So we thought a missions, and a Midwestern art- so that we don’t lose the flavor of to get showcased themselves,” nice way to start gathering some ist enters their work, she said the where we live.” Flagel said. of those answers is just to host a Midwest Open.” Cathleen Clarke, a figurative artist from Chicago, was excited about the Midwest Open when she heard about it. “Midwest artists are really underrepresented,” Clarke said. “There’s a lot more great artists out here that nobody knows about because everyone’s focused on [Los Angeles] or New York [City] artists. So it’s so important they’re bringing a spotlight to artists in the Midwest.” The Midwest also has more Illinois artists Barbara Kay Herring and Cathleen Clarke will both have work displayed at the Midwest Open exhibit March room for older female artists, 2–24 at Woman Made Gallery, 2150 S. Canalport Ave. Pictured: Herring’s painting “Street Patterns” (left) and Clarke’s compared to New York City, said “Ashes.”
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Stamper, known to audiences as The Black Madonna, to Garden in 2016. THIS YEAR’S DAPHNE series—a Garden said he wanted to month-long collection of shows merge Maria’s vision with his own and talks dedicated to underrep- view of Daphne, which expanded resented artists in the electronic the series’ inclusion of underrepmusic scene—is a reminder to resented minority groups. EDM fans of the need for cultural “Over the course of the years, diversity in the genre. it’s expanded in scope and definiThis will be the fourth year tion,” Garden said. “I have brought of SmartBar Chicago’s Daphne multiple parties in to advise, and series, 3730 N. Clark St., which it has been more of a listening got its name in part from Daphne, exercise for me and therefore it a figure in greek mythology, and has expanded.” Daphne Oram, an innovator in Garden said he pushed to include electronic music. those outside the traditional power The series started in 2015 structures of EDM music, which as a movement to prove that is dominated by white, cisgender, women have been and will be heterosexual males, and give them important to dance and elec- a platform to create their own tronic music, according to Jason shows and discussions. Garden, SmartBar’s current tal“I let [the artists] largely program ent booker. The series changed it and acted more as a switchboard hands from its creator Maria than the motor behind things,”
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» COURTESY SMARTBAR
» MAYAN DARBYSHIRE ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
Daphne 2018 seeks to educate as well as entertain and runs March. 1–31 at SmartBar Chicago, 3730 N. Clark St.
Garden said. “That has had a much better effect on the program as a whole. It’s more diverse; there are people I wouldn’t have known about who are awesome that we are having be involved, and people feel more ownership over it.”
The month offers an array of educational demonstrations, all free to the public 18 years old and older, as well as performances from prominent artists, including Honey Dijon and The Black Madonna. The festivities range from multidisciplinary symposiums that feature DJs, journalists, promoters and record labels, to a hands-on DJ workshop for people who may not have any equipment but want to learn the skills. Daphne also educates audiences on music history. Glenna Fitch, a DJ known to audiences as SOLD, is hosting a discussion March 2 with fellow artist HI-Vis, on the women of experimental electronic music, with examples dating back to the 1930s. Fitch said they wanted to keep the spirit of Chelsea Faith Dolan, known as Cherushii, alive after she died in an Oakland warehouse fire in 2016. Cherushii was a music historian, and Fitch wanted to continue the tradition of educating the public. Fitch said they hope audiences can glean the importance of
accessibility and representation in the music business. “If this was something I had when I was their age and seeing that, ‘Oh, this is normal. Other women or non-binary people also make music,’’’ Fitch said, “that would have made me feel a lot more comfortable about getting into it.” Hiroko Yamamura, a long standing DJ/producer in the Chicago electronic scene, is scheduled to perform March 1 at SmartBar. Yamamura said while she has had good friends in the industry, other female DJs are not so lucky. “There is a lot of doubt of sincerity and knowledge if you’re a woman, especially when it comes to music production,” Yamamura said “It’s always kind of a novelty that a woman would know how to work audio applications and know how to use drum machines and synthesis methodology.” Garden said events like Daphne strive to let artists build something, rather than displaying people through the dominant culture. mdarbyshire@columbiachronicle.com
Daphne 2018 severs the boys-club setlist
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Strategic Plan
Strategic Plan check-in
» PHOTO COURTESY GENSLER
Goal 1: Student Success
A major component of student success at the college is the move toward more selective enrollment and away from open enrollment, which was abandoned in 2012. Kim discussed during the Feb. 7 event how open enrollment has not benefited the college because admitted students included those who would not succeed
here. To combat this, Wearden has begun analyzing data and communicating with faculty to determine the best students to admit to help stabilize the college’s declining enrollment. Wearden said the traditional practice of measuring a student’s ability to succeed at Columbia, including GPA, class rank
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Goal 2: 21st-Century Success Many of the objectives for Student Success intertwine with establishing a 21st-Century Curriculum, including new programs and department mergers. In the Spring 2017 Semester, four departments merged into two, which resulted in the creation of the English and Creative Writing Department and the Cinema and Television Arts Department. The college created the Digital Learning Office, led by Vice Provost for Digital Learning Robert Green, in spring 2017. Green was appointed by Wearden April 12, 2016, to improve online education programs
intended to increase enrollment and generate revenue. The new office is also overseeing the college’s switch from the Moodle Learning Management System to Canvas, which is set to be fully in place by the Fall 2018 Semester. Courses were offered in summer 2017 to introduce the new platform to campus. These courses included “American Sign Language I,” “Foundations of Creative Writing,” “Introduction to Game Development,” “Introduction to Social Media and Digital Strategies” and “SelfManagement and Freelancing.” » FILE PHOTO
AS COLUMBIA NEARS the end of the Strategic Plan’s third year of implementation, the college has undergone transformation while working to achieve goals in the 41-page document. While some goals have been completed, the college has more to look forward to and areas in need of improvement, administrators say. The Strategic Plan was approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2015 and includes six key sections: Student Success; 21st-Century Curriculum; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Engaging Difference; Community Engagement; Optimizing Enrollment; and Aligning Resources with Goals. While each section includes specific objectives, the plan itself is flexible, according to the administration, and can change as work progresses. “The idea here is to take Columbia to the next level,” Senior Vice President and Provost Stan Wearden said in a Feb. 13 interview with The Chronicle. “We’re laying the groundwork now. As we move into years four and five, we can begin to start assessing the impact of the changes we’ve made and then
in all likelihood still making some adjustments. We don’t want to assume we’ve got everything right.” During a Feb. 7 Presidential Update event, President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim updated faculty and staff on the college’s progress while also encouraging the college to continue improving graduation rates and post-graduation employment for students, as reported Feb. 12 by The Chronicle. Wearden told faculty and staff in a Feb. 19 email about the college’s accomplishments for the 21st-Century Curriculum goal, including the recent establishment of the new Columbia Core Curriculum and modifications of many majors, minors and degree programs. Wearden said he was grateful for faculty and staff’s work in these areas, which he said has contributed to the implementation’s success. “Change is hard, and it’s a little frightening,” Wearden said. “It can feel threatening to take on change, but the faculty and staff here have not been that way. They’ve been creative and excited about it and they’ve made a lot happen very fast and I’m grateful to faculty and staff for that.”
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» ARIANA PORTALATIN MANAGING EDITOR
Numerous town halls were held during the Spring 2017 Semester before department mergers were announced to discuss the changes with faculty and students.
and test scores, is not the most efficient because it does not always allow the college to identify a successful student. “Students who are interested in creative industries, communications, media, sometimes find themselves feeling isolated in those high school environments, and as a consequence, they don’t always do as well academically,” Wearden said. “We want to be able to identify those students, too. We’re digging deeper into high school transcripts to see what else besides overall high school GPA is correlated with the students who succeed here.” Progress toward completing the first goal has also included curricular changes to majors and degree programs, which also fulfills objectives for the 21st Century Curriculum goal. As reported Feb. 20 by The Chronicle, the new core curriculum includes two new courses titled “Creative World,” which would be required for transfer students, and “Business, Technology and Communication,” which would be required for all upperclassmen. Students will also be required to take 15 credit hours of 2000 level or higher courses, replacing the
current six, and six credit hours that fall under a new diversity, equity and inclusion category. During the 2016–2017 academic year, the college introduced several new majors and minors, including undergraduate degrees in communication, creative writing and fashion studies and minors in creative writing, graphic design and hip-hop dance. Wearden said the curriculum changes, which include the Universal Learning Outcomes and roadmaps to graduation, are important so students are clear on their degree requirements and better prepared for their post-graduation careers. “If students are learning what we intend to teach, that’s great,” Wearden said. “If they’re not, that means we need to improve the courses.” The construction of the student center at the corner of Wabash Avenue and 8th Street, scheduled to be completed by fall 2019, has become a key focus of the college. A first look at the $50 million center was released to the campus community May 2, 2017, and the college officially broke ground on the center last fall, as reported Nov. 20, 2017, by The Chronicle.
Strategic Plan around the country, especially the top Goal 3: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Goal 4: Community ricula programs—the ones we want to be as good as or better than.” and would like to have those hires Engaging Difference diversity Vice President of Student Affairs Sharon completed before the end of spring semester, Engagement comparing their curriculum to similar cur-
to begin teaching next fall. Shenoda said these two initiatives are great feats for the college that will improve its diversity. He added that he has also begun work with multiple departments to create DEI plans for curriculum and setting goals for the department faculty to implement DEI into the new Columbia Core. The new Student Diversity and Inclusion Office was also created during the Fall 2017 Semester to replace the former Multicultural Affairs Office, as reported Sept. 11, 2017, by The Chronicle. Implementing DEI initiatives has not been much of a challenge for Shenoda’s office, he said, because DEI is such an integral part of the college’s mission. “They’re significant undertakings by any institution to hire four faculty focused in these areas, as well as the extensiveness of the Undoing Racism workshops, are pretty major feats to accomplish in the first year of a position like this,” Shenoda said.
» FILE PHOTO
Professor in English and Creative Writing Department Matthew Shenoda was appointed to the new position of dean of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and special adviser to the president during the Spring 2017 Semester. Shenoda also became chair of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which is focused on increasing diversity at the college. The office points to two primary accomplishments, including the recently introduced Undoing Racism workshops and faculty hires, Shenoda said. Columbia hired The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond to host 15 Undoing Racism workshops for faculty and staff during the Fall 2017 Semester to continue until May 15, as reported Oct. 23, 2017, by The Chronicle. Shenoda added that his office has begun a cluster hire of four tenure-track faculty members focused in teaching about
The Multicultural Affairs Office was changed to the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office at a new location, 618 S. Michigan Ave., Sept. 7, 2017, to be more inclusive of Columbia’s diverse campus.
Goal 6: Aligning Resources with Goals: Vice President of Business Affairs and CFO Jerry Tarrer said he is working with Wearden to craft a new budget model, which will be used to allocate resources collegewide. “My predecessor, Michelle Gates, had started down the path of developing a budget model, but with her departure, it got put on the back burner, so since I’ve been here, the provost and I have been rekindling the discussion around a budget model because it is a key aspect of what’s called out in goal six,” Tarrer said. “You’ll see numerous references to resource allocation, aligning resources with our goals and incentivizing behavior,
all those things are accomplished through a new budget model, so he and I have been working on that in hope of rolling something out this spring or later in the summer.” Along with the Digital Learning Office, Wearden said the college has made progress improving systems and infrastructure, including Wi-Fi accessibility, phone systems and moving all servers to a secure off-campus location monitored 24/7 to protect data. Despite these changes, Wearden said these areas still need improvement. “We need to make sure our students have access to technologies that are current in their fields and can really use those technologies and get to know them. In most cases we have them; it’s often the case we don’t we enough of them,” Wearden said.
Accomplishments in the fourth Strategic Plan goal included changes to internships to promote industry participation. Wearden said every major at the college will soon include an internship requirement or some form of experiential learning to prepare students for employment after graduation. “It’s connecting with the professional work environment so students get that opportunity as part of their curriculum before they graduate,” Wearden said. “Faculty and staff have been really involved in looking at what employers want,
Wilson-Taylor said the Career Center, 618 S. Michigan Ave., has allowed the college to centralize internships into one location and create relationships with industry professionals. Online internship courses have also been added to increase career readiness. Wilson-Taylor added that the Student Affairs Office’s main goal is to prepare students for graduation and engage them within their fields with internships. “It’s always about getting the students experiential learning and when the students come in the front door, how do you engage them so they feel like they’re a part of the college,” Wilson-Taylor said.
Goal 5: Optimizing enrollment The college’s continuously declining enrollment has been an annual issue as the college searches for ways to become stable and retain students. Columbia experienced a 10 percent overall student body loss from fall 2016 to fall 2017, leaving the college with 7,312 total students for its eighth consecutive year of enrollment decline. The falling enrollment has also led to annual tuition increases dating back to before 2010. While the college is working to improve overall enrollment, it is also focused on
including transfer and international students. Chief of Staff Laurent Pernot said the college has seen an increase in these groups, as well as a net gain in new students for the Spring 2018 Semester. Pernot added that while implementing change can be challenging, recent enrollment numbers are “heartening.” “We’re seeing some signs of improvement, however modest, but signs that are heartening on the enrollment front,” Pernot said. “That’s not to say we’ve arrived by any means and we certainly have a ways to go.”
The college has also increased its focus on alumni engagement, which has improved its funding with recent donations. Shawn Wax was appointed vice president for Development and Alumni Relations March 13, 2017, at a time of low alumni donations and a high turnover rate for the position since 2013. The college’s donation revenue has continuously declined, according to several of the college’s fiscal year budgets. For the 2014–2015 fiscal year, the college reported $7.7 million in gifts, contracts and other income—which includes donations. That number fell to $1.4 million for 2015–2016 and again to $1.2 million for 2016–2017. Columbia received a $1 million challenge grant Jan. 17 from the Efroymson Family Fund to support the new student center’s construction and fund student programs, as reported Jan. 27 by The Chronicle. The Museum of Contemporary Photography, 624 S. Michigan Ave., was also awarded $1 million Feb. 1 from The David C. and Sarajean Ruttenberg Arts Foundation. Malik Woolfork, Student Government Association president and senior business
and entrepreneurship major, said a highlight of the Strategic Plan implementation is the increase in alumni engagement on campus. “Starting at Columbia in 2014, we had this thing where we would see [and] hear about alumni, but never recent alumni. It would be alumni that graduated 30, 40 years ago that are either well off in their careers, or they’re retired,” Woolfork said. “Now we’re starting to see current alumni that are breaking into their industries. That’s one of the biggest highlights that we’ve seen so far, seeing our alumni give back to the school.” Tarrer said Columbia’s commitment to implementing the Strategic Plan is what drove him to the college, adding that the college is succeeding in following through with its goals. “I came here because we have a plan and we’re serious about implementing this plan,” Tarrer said. “I’ve been at a number of institutions that have developed plans but one of the things that guarantees the success of executing any plan you have is the commitment from the community, but also putting your money where your mouth is and Columbia’s done a great job of doing that.”
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audiofile
COIN embraces mid-20s’ ‘growing pains’
» MIRANDA MANIER ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
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THE CHRONICLE: What does the name COIN mean and why is it all caps? CHASE LAWRENCE: The all caps is not so deep. When we first started, we did not like how the lowercase “i” looked. [As for
how to work each other’s weaknesses. In times past, we’ve all had strengths, and we’ve learned how to work [those] from day one, but now we’re learning how to use each other’s weaknesses to our advantages. What makes COIN different than other indie pop bands? We came in at an interesting time when the genre didn’t really exist; there wasn’t a name
What themes appear in How Will You Know If You Never Try? Missed opportunity. A lot of it has to do with regret and potentially not having regret. In retrospect, it does get a little preachy at times, and that’s where we were. We were having a lot of existential questions. [“Growing Pains” is] more honest and conversational with where we are as people, rather than where we are as icons, or as a legacy. It’s more about where we are at 25. How has COIN grown since you got together in college? I’d say my early 20s are the weirdest time of my life so far. You’re so vulnerable, and you’re figuring out who you are. We’ve all personally grown, and musically [and creatively] is a whole other thing. We’re finally learning
COIN played a stop of its How Will You Know If You Never Try tour at the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Feb. 24.
NOW PLAYING Rockabye
Songs to block out your partner’s snoring » GRACE SENIOR
“Since U Been Gone” “Ridin’ Solo” “Stronger” “It’s My Life”
Listen to all the tracks at http://open.spotify.com/user/thecolumbiachronicle
» TYRA BOSNIC
MEDIA SALES REP “No Scrubs”
for it. There’s such an over-saturation of these bands, and it’s become a scene and a sound, and people are almost impersonating at times. Just to check the boxes of, “This is what an indie pop song needs. It needs claps, xylophone.” These melodies and these sounds, they come out of me. I can just sit at a piano when I wake up in the morning with these melodies in my mind.
» COURTESY MICHELLE GRECO
OIN is an example of the value of connections made in college. Belmont University classmates Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen, Joe Memmel and Zach Dyke teamed up in 2013 after Memmel and Lawrence took a music theory class together. The group has been crafting upbeat indie pop tunes since. These tunes have included the 2015 single “Run” and the 2017 single “Talk Too Much.” COIN recently followed up its 2017 album How Will You Know If You Never Try with the single “Growing Pains.” The band made a stop on its tour of the album and accompanying single at the House of Blues, 329 N. Dearborn St., Feb. 24. The Chronicle spoke to Lawrence, COIN’s lead vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter, about the band’s stylized name, themes of the band’s latest album and what it’s like to be a young artist.
the name itself], I just wanted to play one show. That was the whole point of the band; it started just to play one show. So we weren’t thinking hard about the name. I live close to where the Kentucky Derby happens, that’s where I’m from, so I looked through this horse race database of [horse names], and I found this one named Lucky Coin. So I was like, “Luck. That’s what I’ll call us.” And it was obviously taken. So I was like, “I guess coin?”
» MICHA THURSTON
OPINIONS EDITOR TLC Kelly Clarkson Jason Derulo Britney Spears Bon Jovi
» HAWK THOTTUPURAM
“Bigmouth Strikes Again” “I Wanna Be Sedated” “Sleepyhead” “I’m Always Tired” “Lullaby”
AD & BUSINESS MANAGER The Smiths
“Leave (Get Out)”
Rihanna
Passion Pit
“Sorry”
Beyonce
Joyce Manor
“CRZY”
Kehlani
The Cure
“There Goes My Baby”
METRO REPORTER
“California Dreamin’” The Mamas & the Papas
“Big Fat Mouth”
Arlie
“Time in a Bottle”
“Good Morning”
Ralph Castelli
“Float On”
“Indigo Puff”
Sandra Karma
“Loud Pipes”
“Dreams” “Time”
Aerosmith Fleetwood Mac Pink Floyd
“Bedroom” “Sweet Dreams”
Usher
» BLAISE MESA
ADVERTISING DESIGNER
Jim Croce
JoJo
“Take a Bow”
Ramones
» HANNAH LI ANDERSON
MULTIMEDIA REPORTER
“Dream On”
mmanier@columbiachronicle.com
arts & culture
“Dream”
Litany
“No Sleep”
BØRNS
“Late Night”
Imagine Dragons Modest Mouse Ratatat Wiz Khalifa Foals
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 23
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arts & culture
our staff’s top 5 picks:
Column: Oh yeah, the Olympics were on » BLAISE MESA METRO REPORTER
A
bmesa@columbiachronicle.com
s the Olympics wrap up, some people are left scratching their heads. Despite all the anticipation, this year was a disappointment. Team U.S.A. started and ended slowly, which provided little time to cheer. At one point, the U.S. was 17 medals behind the leader, Norway, which throttled fan excitement. Because of unfortunate scheduling and time zone differences in South Korea, NBC played some Olympic events late at night and into the early morning. If you wanted to watch your favorite Olympians compete for gold, you had to clear your schedule. Even the opening ceremony was less than ideal. For those interested in watching, it started at 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and could only be streamed. The broadcast TV version wasn’t available until 8 p.m., and by then, social media had already distributed highlights of the event. It would be a near impossible task to make every single event viewable, but the Olympics should have scheduled more important events earlier like the World Cup has done. The Olympics have been historically one of the grandest competitions, but this year the ratings have been comparable to a random NFL game, such as week two of the 2017 NFL season. The Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys game only drew 25.97 million viewers as compared to the Olympic opening ceremony’s estimated 28.3 million viewers. The Olympics provided few memorable moments and U.S. medals.
WORST CHANGES TO ‘SURVIVOR’
TAYLOR SWIFT MUSIC VIDEOS
BRITISH FOODS
» JAY BERGHUIS COPY EDITOR
» LAUREN CARLTON COPY CHIEF
» MACKENZIE CROSSON SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR
Fire-making Final Four twist:
“You Belong With Me”:
Full English breakfast:
By eliminating a true vote at the final four and leaving it to a fire-making competition at the end of Season 35, the show’s production team undermined an essential strategic element: the social game. Making this a permanent change is an insult to long-time fans who actually value the game over production.
This song tells the story of a geeky girl falling for a football star who is dating the hot cheerleader. The music video storytelling is excellent, but what makes this one stand out is that Taylor stars as the geeky girl but also plays the hot cheerleader by wearing a brunette wig.
In this classic dish, various combinations of bacon, sausage, fried eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and toast come together on your plate for the heartiest meal to kickstart your day. A scoop of baked beans or black pudding is usually added somewhere in between these other staples, but the secret’s out: I eat around them.
Redemption Island:
“Everything Has Changed”:
With this twist, voted-out players are able to return to the game, which undercuts the primary reason to watch Survivor: strategy. Redemption Island reduces the entire game to physical strength, meaning that scrawny but smart players have a lesser chance.
This song features Ed Sheeran, and when I first watched this video, I was surprised Taylor and Ed didn’t make an appearance until the last 20 seconds. The video follows two kids—who look very similar to Ed and Taylor—throughout their day at school. The ending has a sweet twist that you’ll have to see for yourself.
Hidden Immunity Idols:
“Blank Space”:
Production has put way too many idols into the show the last few seasons. One per tribe and one at merge is plenty. Don’t give a bad player three consecutive free outs if they haven’t played a strong social and strategic game—looking at you, Ben Driebergen. Looking. At. You.
The song is iconic. The video is iconic. Taylor playing the crazy ex-girlfriend the media has painted her to be, stabbing a heart shaped cake with a knife and swinging a golf club to ruin her boyfriend’s car? I’m here for it.
New Final Tribal Council format: Season 34 introduced a permanent, reformatted final tribal council that denies each juror a conclusive time to address the finalists. Instead, it’s a free-forall, and the loudest and most obnoxious players dominate FTC while the favorite finalist gets all the screen time. Anything that makes Jeff Probst smile with glee: We don’t trust you anymore, Jeff, especially with “Ghost Island” coming up. Stop over-complicating the format. Let people play the damn game.
24 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018
“Our Song”: This video makes the list because of nostalgia. The nail polish, the rose petals, the big phone....Can we bring back 2006? “Look What You Made Me Do”: This video was the first from Taylor’s most recent album and introduced us to her new, reinvented self. The highlight of this video is “The Taylor Mountain.” The new Taylor stands on top of a platform and below are all of her past selves trying to crawl their way to the top. With iconic outfits, such as her silver dress from the Fearless Tour and the ringmaster costume from the Red Tour, the old Taylor really is dead.
Tea and scones: This choice requires no real explanation. Just think of Britain or the queen and it all makes sense. Terry’s Chocolate Orange: The chocolate-orange combination is something I’d never heard of before crossing the pond, but I soon realized I’d been missing out. You can either get the full orange in a box or a pack of mini chocolate orange slices in a bag. The bags are more versatile, so I made sure to bring 10 back in my suitcase. Sunday roast: The first time I had a real roast was in the Welsh countryside, and it defines being British. Nothing beats this traditional meal made up of roasted meat and potatoes, stuffing, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy to top it off. McVitie’s Digestive biscuits: Elevate McVitie’s plain Digestives to the next level with its milk chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel and chocolate orange biscuits. Most people will have a biscuit or two with their tea after dinner because of its dry and crumbly texture—or you can be like me and eat a whole pack in one sitting with nothing to wash them down.
arts & culture
SCALE
MUSIC
VIDEO
VIRAL
RANDOM
BEACH HOUSE’S ‘LEMON GLOW’
NETFLIX’S ‘EVERYTHING SUCKS’
NORMAL PEOPLE TRY MAKEUP
HALO TOP ICE CREAM
» ERIN DICKSON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
» MICHA THURSTON AD & BUSINESS MANAGER
I have been anticipating new Beach House music since its last release in 2015, and I can say all of my expectations were met with its new single “Lemon Glow,” released Feb. 14. The track delivers the dreaminess Beach House is known for but also propels it forward. A pulsing tempo and urgent synths compliment a steady drum beat and Victoria Legrand’s vocals. I hope this song is a glimpse of what the future has to offer.
Netflix released its latest original series “Everything Sucks” Feb. 16, and honestly, the title fits. It’s like someone bingewatched “Stranger Things,” “Freaks and Geeks” and the Netflix sequel “Wet Hot American Summer,” all in one sitting and decided to write a overly long script. I’m not sure what Netflix was trying to accomplish with this one, but pumping out a new show or movie seemingly every day really isn’t working.
This week has seen yet another YouTube fad blowing up: an influx of YouTubers attempting to follow the intricate tutorials of professional makeup artists. The growing trend has resulted in countless hours of confusion and frustration from those who attempt to recreate the beautiful looks with little to no makeup skill, but at least it’s given the rest of us more than our fair share of laughs. Jenna Marbles’ hilarious attempt was a personal favorite.
Halo Top ice cream is a sad excuse for a dessert. Not only does it have ingredients that most people don’t recognize, such as carob gum, guar gum and vegetable glycerin, but it also tastes like fake sweeteners. It’s 2018 and don’t people know that calories don’t matter in the grand scheme of health? In my opinion, if you want to indulge in some delicious ice cream, go for high quality, grass-fed dairy from Jeni’s Ice Cream.
MUSIC
VIDEO
VIRAL
RANDOM
» JAY BERGHUIS COPY EDITOR
» SAMANTHA CONRAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER
AARON CARTER’S ‘LØVë’
EDWARD AVILA FERGIE SINGING REACTION TO RED VELVET NATIONAL ANTHEM
» ARIANA PORTALATIN MANAGING EDITOR
» BROOKE PAWLING STENNETT DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR
» LAUREN CARLTON COPY CHIEF
If you don’t know about Edward Avila on YouTube, maybe his bio will catch your attention: “I like beauty and the booty.” Avila is a delight to watch put on makeup, but even better is seeing him react to K-Pop girl groups like Red Velvet. The music video of its latest single “Bad Boy” is a work of art and Avila’s Feb. 16 reaction to it is just as good. From the extreme closeups to the moment he puts his foot up in the air in celebration of when one member is looking fierce will have you cracking up.
Fergie sang the National Anthem Feb. 18 at the NBA Allstar game, and after her performance, people were not impressed. Her rendition was far too sexy and the ad-lib runs were unnecessary. Lebron James and Draymond Green couldn’t keep a straight face during the performance that made a mockery of the anthem. Fergie took a risk, but it obviously didn’t turn out how she hyped it. Will this be the next Mariah Carey “All I Want For Christmas Is You”?
Aaron Carter’s first album in 15 years, LøVë, was released Feb. 16 with a rather unoriginal musical cover—“I Want Candy,” originally written in 1965 by The Strangeloves, and also the single that gained him popularity in 2000. The cover is like a billion others and is not unique enough to set it apart from the rest. What makes it worse is the song is a combination of three previously released remixes of the same song. It doesn’t get more unoriginal than that.
AMAZON ALEXA ORDERING PRODUCTS » ZACK JACKSON GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Be careful how close you put your smart speakers to your TV or you might end up with random products. One man’s Amazon Alexa speaker picked up audio from a cat commercial that was playing on his nearby TV and ended up ordering him a bag of cat food. He complained about the incident—obviously—and Amazon has since responded, stating that ads are not meant to trigger its smart home speakers. Doesn’t exactly explain away the cat food, though.
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 25
arts & culture
Paleo
Chocolate Chunk Coconut Bars » SAMANTHA CONRAD GRAPHIC DESIGNER
sconrad@columbiachronicle.com
Satisfy your sweet tooth with low-glycemic chocolate, melt-in-your-mouth bars! Free of gluten, dairy and refined sugars, they won’ t leave you feeling sluggish and you’ ll skip the sugar crash. You can enjoy these bars hot, cold or under a big scoop of So Delicious coconut ice cream. These bars are perfect for a healthy twist on a party dessert or to store in your fridge for a nightly treat.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
1/2 cup organic unrefined coconut sugar
1. Combine wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.
1/4 cup organic coconut flour
2. Mix dry ingredients in with wet ingredients.
1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup Enjoy Life semisweet chocolate mega chunks 1/2 cup organic creamy almond butter 1/3 cup organic melted unrefined coconut oil
3. Fold in chocolate chunks. 4. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish greased with coconut oil. 5. Bake 18 minutes at 350 degrees.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg
recipe » SAMANTHA CONRAD AND KEVIN TIONGSON/CHRONICLE
26 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018
arts & culture
ยกHAPPY
HOUR!
Tex-Mex Canteen
Available at
ยกTaco Bar!
Tacos Al Pastor (2) Tacos de Hongos (2) Pork shoulder, pineapple, cilanBraised mushrooms & cilantro tro & onion Tacos de Alambre (2) Skirt steak, bacon, carmelized onions + peppers, chihuahua cheese, blackberry morita jam
BITES Tostada de Tinga
Chipotle braised chicken thigh, crema, cilantro
$5 Torta
Breaded steak, queso oaxaca, lettuce, tomato & spicy mayo on bolillo bread
$6 Enchiladas
Chicken and potato, mole verde, chihuahua cheese, crema, green cabbage & pickled onion
$7
$4
Drinks
Estrella Jalisco.........................$4 Tecate Can..................................$4 Lobo Rey Margarita..................$5 Olmeca Altos Reposado, Combier, Lime, Simple
Ketel y Soda...............................$6 Ketel One Vodka served with choice of Lime, Pineapple or Mandarin Jarrito
T & T............................................$7 Tecate + Cazadores Reposado Tequila Shot (Sub Patron Silver +2)
Wa l k e r - R i t a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 7 Johnny Walker Black, Combier, Lime, Simple
1307 S Wabash Ave, Chicago, IL 60605 312-624-9090 FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 27
opinions
Food box proposal a new low, even for Trump administration
P
resident Donald Trump’s administration has gotten creative in exhibiting its disregard for the poor. A proposal in the administration’s budget request for the 2019 fiscal year would drastically affect low-income people’s access to and choice of food. About half of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients’ benefits would come in a “USDA Foods Package.” Recipients currently use a stored value card with a designated amount of money loaded based on a household’s income to pay for groceries. The measure’s backers laud the idea as a step forward even though it would slash SNAP’s budget by nearly 30 percent. Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney stated recipients will receive part of their benefits in “a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of...the cash.” Mulvaney makes the proposal sound like a glamorous re-imagining of SNAP benefits by comparing it to a luxury
subscription service that delivers preassembled meal kits that can cost more than $200 a month. Looking deeper at the administration’s description of the food packages, the comparison is laughable. The budget proposal described what would be included in the package, detailing “shelf-stable milk, ready-to-eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans and canned fruit and vegetables.” The package would not include fresh fruits and vegetables. Rather than taking the age-old approach of disenfranchising low-income people by claiming they are unworthy of a basic necessity like food and simply proposing draconian budget cuts, the administration has cooked up an even more dictatorial plot: Deprive poor people of their agency, restrict their access to vital resources and pretend such despicable actions are revolutionary. As if the mere notion that low-income people will be able to eat nutritiously
Good news for student journalists: Your work matters
S
omewhere in a U.S. classroom, there is a student who will one day break a news story that will change the world. Schools nationwide are training the up-and-coming voices in journalism, and some new legislative efforts are ensuring they are heard. The Missouri House of Representatives passed the Cronkite New Voices Act, a bill that would guarantee protections from censorship for student journalists in public high schools, universities and colleges. Students would be protected from administrative interference, with the bill stating that “material in schoolsponsored media shall not be suppressed solely because it involves political or controversial subject matter.”
The provision exempts student articles that are libelous or slanderous, invade privacy, threaten violence or use vulgar or offensive language, allowing teachers and administrators to use some level of prior restraint. Nine states, including Illinois, already have laws in place that are similar to the Cronkite New Voices Act. If this bill becomes law, student journalists in the state’s schools will finally be given the protection they need to inform their peers and act as the watchdogs of their campuses. Student publications are not lesser than the national papers that produce powerful journalism for the public on a daily basis. But students are rarely given validation that the work they do is important.
and stay healthy through this bureaucratic intrusion wasn’t absurd enough, recent actions by the Trump administration show its ineptitude for logistics that threatens the wellbeing of millions in the country. The administration could not even deliver life-saving aid to Puerto Rico as the island struggles to rebuild after the long-term devastating effects of Hurricane Irma. The Federal Emergency Management Agency was ordered to deliver 30 million meals to Puerto Rican residents in October 2017, and under the supervision of a vendor who had absolutely no experience in large-scale disaster relief, only 50,000 meals were delivered to the island. The idea that the government spends too much money on a vulnerable group that receives the bare minimum in government assistance continues to unfold as the Pentagon requests one of the largest military budget increases in years. The administration is plainly admitting that fueling a dangerous, destructive war machine is more important than feeding poor families. There comes a point when it is not even worth trying to refute the Trump
EDITORIAL administration’s claims with facts. There is no use in desperately reminding citizens that the SNAP budget is eclipsed by our enormous spending on the military when the administration makes the conclusion that too many tax dollars go to feeding the hungry. It is pointless to constantly assert that food stamps account for one of the lowest fraud rates in federal programs when politicians use fictitious criminal poor people as a scapegoat for cutting welfare. If the administration is blinded by its disdain for the marginalized to the point it considers dictating the diets of millions of people a useful effort, we have moved far past the realm of reality. Facts don’t matter to the leaders who are fueled by their own bigotry because they are bent on using their power to turn the world upside-down. Angry social media posts, carefully worded opinion pieces and political discourse are not enough. We must continue to make a valiant effort to mobilize and empower leaders who have our best interests at heart. We have run out of the right words to denounce evil acts; only action will suffice from here.
Dismissing student-produced journalism is a thoughtless oversight of the effort young people put into writing important stories that can spur needed change on their campuses. Most concerning, it can discourage aspiring journalists from delving into the stories that need to be told. In January, students at Herriman High School in Utah were forced to start a newspaper independent from their school after administrators took down an article about alleged misconduct by a teacher from the original school-sponsored newspaper’s website. If we want our news to be reported with a high standard of integrity, accuracy and depth, aspiring journalists must be encouraged to strive for those values early in life rather than be conditioned to create work that follows the status quo and unquestioningly suits leaders who do not want to be held accountable for their actions.
EDITORIAL Missouri is taking steps to let student journalists at public institutions be heard, but this effort must continue until every student journalist in the country is afforded the right to publish news that matters. At The Chronicle, we are well aware of the importance of having editorial freedom from the college. We spend our days in the newsroom reporting, writing articles and carefully editing and fact-checking to ensure we deliver well-reported, hard-hitting news to the campus community. We know much of our coverage reveals information the college may find unfavorable. We use our freedom to create strong journalism that follows the ethical guidelines we uphold and that holds powerful people accountable. Every student should be afforded this right, and schools across the country should support the young minds who will be the future change-makers of our nation.
Editorial Board Members Brooke Pawling Stennett Digital Managing Editor Tyra Bosnic Opinions Editor Molly Walsh Campus Reporter Blaise Mesa Metro Reporter Mayan Darbyshire Arts & Culture Reporter
Kami Rieck Media Sales Rep Hawk Thottupuram Multimedia Reporter Erin Dickson Staff Photographer Eric Eldridge Webmaster
28 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018
Did you catch a mistake, think we could have covered a story better or have strong beliefs about an issue that faces all of us here at Columbia? Why not write a letter to the editor? At the bottom of Page 2, you’ll find a set of guidelines on how to do this. Let us hear from you. —The Columbia Chronicle Editorial Board
opinions
Though Jung points out in his Feb. 15 article that his Korean is “like a 10-yearold’s,” in the words of RM, at least Billboard had the decency to send someone who can interview a Korean group in the language its members are comfortable, no matter if he got help or not. Jung took to Twitter shortly after the release of the interview, stating in a Feb. 15 tweet: “[A]lso, props to Billboard for hiring someone (yes, in this case me) who can speak Korean to interview a Korean group. I’ve seen way too COMMENTARY many publications send non-Korean speaking reporters to cover K-Pop and it truly blows my mind how that’s acceptable journalistic practice.” Props to Billboard, indeed, but Jung brings up an important point about how sending a non-Korean speaking journalist to interview BTS has become commonplace since its big wave started. Why didn’t someone step in and say, “Let’s find a journalist who can speak Korean for the red carpet”? And that » BROOKE PAWLING STENNETT awkward Nov. 27, 2017, Ellen Degeneres DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR interview with a translator doesn’t count because, last time I checked, Degeneres doesn’t speak any Korean. Magazines had the same oversight n the last year, South Korean boyband when stars of long-awaited “Black BTS, also known as Bulletproof BoyPanther” graced the covers of pubscouts, has achieved unparalleled success in the U.S. for a group that does lications such as Time, Variety and not sing in English—except for a few British GQ and no one thought to lyrics. 2017 was huge for BTS: It became say, “Let’s find a black photographer.” the first ever K-Pop group to win a BillThese big magazines could have made board award, hit top 10 on the American a point to bring in a black photographer to iTunes charts, performed at the Amershow that opportunity and diversity can ican Music Awards and rung in 2018 on and will happen across all professions—to Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. give even more weight to this importBut the success came with a major ant moment in film history. However, drawback. The only member of the group according to a Feb. 14 Undefeated article, who speaks semi-fluent English is the none did. How can we expect diversity “leader,” RM, though other members in the journalism industry when we memorize certain phrases for interconsistently shut down opportunities views. During the group’s press tours for journalists of color to tell stories? in March and November 2017, the other Though we don’t know how the article six members were forced to sit in nearly would have fared had it not been a man complete silence until RM got a second who can speak Korean sent to do the to breathe and translate the questions. job, there is something entirely special And most of the time, there was no time about Jung’s article, given his ability to to translate, thus alienating the members communicate with the members about and resulting in mass video compilaimportant topics such as Korean poltions of painfully awkward silences. Not itics, social commentary and mental only did the members not understand a health. There is also something special majority of what was being said, but the about “Black Panther” as a film, given journalists also floundered when the that it is shot by a black director and members did their best to communicate filled with important political comand were met with blank looks or a quick mentary that a white director would diversion. Sure, this is funny in retrospect, have never been able to capture. but it wasn’t until BTS was the face of When the answer is sitting Billboard Magazine’s February issue that right in front of us—breaking box it became apparent how unfunny it was. office records, dominating music E. Alex Jung, a freelance journalcharts—it doesn’t make sense why ist was sent to Seoul, South Korea, the journalism industry is still to interview BTS for the cover. trying to formulate the question.
BTS, ‘Black Panther’ prove journalism industry needs to change
bpawlingstennett@columbiachronicle.com
I
In response to Feb. 19 Letter to the Editor LETTER TO THE EDITOR
A
ssociate Dean of Student Life Kari L. Sommers’ letter in the Chronicle, though well intentioned, wasn’t warmly received by veterans. As a student veteran of Columbia, I understand all the offerings of the Student Diversity and Inclusion area. However, using student veterans as an added amenity SDI offers and to enrich the life of other students is not our purpose on campus. Don’t get me wrong, we will still enrich the communities we’re in regardless of where we find ourselves because we’re professionals. But taking away our space and forcing us in SDI is not in the best interest of student veterans and not what I want.
There are many issues and discussions between veterans that are beneficial and that civilians wouldn’t understand or be comfortable around. I started school with my deployment in Iraq still fresh in my mind. Columbia still provided a separate veteran space for us then, and it was a large part of why I wanted to continue attending Columbia after the break I took last year. Many student veterans start school right after they’re discharged. Having a space of our own to connect can keep new and current veterans attending Columbia and help provide continuity and support in their transition back to civilian life. Danny Woodruff, junior radio major
EDITORIAL CARTOON
>> MOLLY WALSH/CHRONICLE
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 29
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March 25, 2018
Lieutenant Governor candidates discuss higher education issues » ColumbiaChronicle.com/Multimedia
Ambassador Haley: UN diplomats are glued to Trump’s tweets
» SAVANNAH EADENS METRO REPORTOR
The most anticipated question was asked by a U of Chicago student through Axelrod: Do Trump’s tweets affect U.S. diplomatic relationships with other countries? “When I wake up, I often don’t know what [Trump] is going to tweet about, so we are always moving through life with his tweets in mind,” Haley said. “I found in the U.N., [diplomats] are glued to his tweets. That is the president speaking directly and not through the media—they take every word he says seriously and act accordingly.” Katie DeLong, a freshman biology and biochemistry student at U of C who attended
» PHOTOS ERIN DICKSON/CHRONICLE
BEFORE CURRENT U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley started her job, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger gave her this advice: “Put yourself in your adversary’s shoes, understand what he or she wants and use that to guide your negotiations. You don’t have to agree with them, and most of the time you won’t, but you have to understand where they’re coming from.” At a Feb. 22 University of Chicago Institute of Politics event, Haley addressed an audience of students, faculty and politicians about her current role as the country’s chief representative to the U.N. and the way she uses policy as a global voice for the American people. “Real leadership is bringing people around to your point of view by showing how it is in their best interest,” Haley said. “Recently, there seems to be more of an inclination to seek virtue in our differences than build on what we have in common. That can be a recipe for an endless conflict.” Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, responded to questions from U of C students and David Axelrod, director of the Institute of Politics and former senior adviser to former President Barack Obama. Along with advocating for a halt in trade to North Korea due to its threatening nuclear program, Haley said Russia is defending Syria’s chemical weapons’ use and has meddled in U.S. elections. Referring to Special
Counsel Robert Mueller’s recent indictments of 13 Russian officials, Haley said Russia’s new weapon of choice is election interference. Axelrod responded that while Haley has consistently made strong comments about Russia’s wrongdoings, President Donald Trump has dismissed the issue. Axelrod also remarked on the country’s U.N. allies’ criticism on moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “This was our decision. We did not say anything about defining the borders of Israel, or the peace process—that is for the Israelis and the Palestinians to decide,” Haley said in response. Axelrod defended American allies who recognized the gravity of the decision. “Presidents—Republican and Democrat alike—who preceded this presidency all had the same policy which was to keep our embassy in Tel Aviv because the status of Jerusalem is so central to the prospect of negotiating some sort of peace between the Israelis and Palestinians,” Axelrod said. Haley said she supports Trump’s plan to “keep Americans safe” by not allowing Syrian refugees in the U.S. for security reasons and a lack of information about the refugees. But the U.S. is currently investing in infrastructure like hospitals and school for countries with Syran refugee camps, such as Jordan and Turkey, she added. As a daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley said she benefited firsthand from immigration, “the fabric of American life.”
the event, said Haley’s take on policy—with Kissinger’s advice—is important because no matter the realm of study, people need to be interdisciplinary in order to understand exactly how their discipline can make a difference. DeLong said she expects a formal position from politicians when releasing statements, and it is “jarring” when Trump tweets “adhominem” attacks. “It is strange and worrying that he can make a statement so quickly, without consultation of other people,” DeLong said. “But at the same time, he was elected to his position, so that is within his power to do so. It’s important that he is recognized as a world leader but because of the lack of forethought that appears to go into some of these tweets, I can see a time where that could be detrimental to our plans.” seadens@columbiachronicle.com
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University of Chicago students and faculty, along with Chicago media, gathered to hear U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley speak with David Axelrod, Obama’s former chief strategist about foreign policy, human rights and even President Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 31
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metro to take food off of people’s plates,” Morello said. “Food banks are efficient and effective, but we simply would not be able to make up that gap [left by the budget cut].”
“Any cut to the SNAP program would be incredibly devastating to our hungry neighbors,” said Paul Morello, senior manager of public relations at the Greater Chicago Food Depository. “The logistics required to implement this program [effectively] would be monumental to overcome.” The Greater Chicago Food Depository serves about 812,000 individuals in Cook County each year, according to Morello. For every meal they provide, SNAP programs provide 12 meals to families in need, he added. If approved, the USDA Harvest Boxes would only be distributed to individuals on SNAP receiving more than $90 a month in benefits, which is an estimated 81 percent of recipients. “If that cut does go into effect, it’s definitely going to affect how people are getting food. It’s going
The proposal is a radical change that would be a burden to individuals in need, said Elizabeth Wolkomir, senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, D.C.,based progressive think tank. “Instead of going to the store, a working mom would have to figure out how she would pick up a box of food that [is] maybe only available during certain windows or much farther away from her home,” Wolkomir said. Along with potential cuts to the SNAP program, the USDA Harvest
» BLAISE MESA METRO REPORTER FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM beneficiaries may soon be receiving boxes of food and a reduced ability to make purchases themselves because of a budget proposal that could be detrimental to their health, according to experts. A proposal to save an estimated $129 billion over 10 years in the U.S. 2019 fiscal year budget would create the USDA Harvest Box, a food box that would replace half of some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance recipients’ benefits. The food would be selected without participants’ guidance and would include items such as shelf-stable milk, juice, grains, ready-to-eat cereals, pasta, peanut butter, beans, canned meat, poultry or fish, and canned fruits and vegetables.
Box proposal has received criticism about the lack of options and nutritional value it may provide. More clarity about what these food boxes are going to contain is
» ZACK JACKSON/CHRONICLE
needed, said Cindy Leung, assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan. “For example, it said it would include ready-to-eat cereal; does that mean cereals that are heavy in added sugar or cereal fortified with a lot of vitamins and minerals?” Leung said. “Even for one food like cereal, there’s a huge variety.” Specific contents of the food boxes are unknown at this point, but Leung said the food should be high in whole grains, low in sodium and provide other nutritional benefits. The boxes should also include foods that are already consumed by SNAP participants and are culturally accepted across many backgrounds, so they do not cause any drastic changes in recipients’ lifestyles or diets, she added. “I’m not sure why we would walk away from a program that has helped curb the problem of hunger and has effectively targeted poverty in this country for decades,” Wolkomir said. bmesa@columbiachronicle.com
Food box could take food off tables for SNAP beneficiaries
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» SAVANNAH EADENS METRO REPORTER WABASH AVENUE HAS been a street tourists and residents pass by on their way between iconic destinations such as Millennium Park and State Street’s shopping district, said Chicago Loop Alliance President and CEO Michael Edwards. But now, he is working to redefine its landscape. Edwards created the Wabash Street Café Program in 2017 as part of an effort to perk up the dark and cluttered stretch of the street below. If plans continue, Wabash Avenue will be filled with outdoor cafés for the summer. Currently, 13 restaurants on Wabash Avenue have outdoor cafes and about 20 others may participate in the program, which will give the street a better design aesthetic and increase business Edwards said.
The alliance will help restaurateurs complete city permit applications, Edwards added. “Outdoor cafés tend to be very visible and they work like an [advertising] sign,” he said. “When [restaurants] are full of people, it attracts more people to the area.” Cafés cost about $10,000– $12,000 to build and have an average return on investment of
» JOCELYN MORENO/CHRONICLE
two to three years, Edwards said. While interested in joining the program, Jim Mannos, owner of Exchequer Pub, 226 S. Wabash Ave., said he is concerned about possible crime upticks in an outdoor space. “People I have talked with in the restaurant industry are shying away from it because, when you have an outdoor café, you have people flying by and they rip off purses,” he said. Exchequer, which has been on Wabash Avenue since 1969, had an outdoor café for about four years in the early 2000s, Mannos said. It
removed the space when homeless people started to loiter in the area and it became a hassle to maintain. David Broz, principal of Gensler Chicago’s office, the architect group designing the cafés, said Mannos’ experience is outdated and unlike what is anticipated for this new project. “When the Chicago Loop Alliance first started doing place making in the city, we looked at other cities,” Broz said. “New York has some great published research that found [street] interventions like this actually decrease crime because crime like that tends to stay away from areas with high public presence.” Only restaurants between Wacker Drive and Congress Parkway are under consideration for the program, and it will not include most of the restaurants on Columbia’s campus south of Congress Parkway, according to Edwards. Rubikar Macharya, manager of Himalayan Restaurant, 606 S. Wabash Ave., which opened in August 2017, said although the
Wabash Street Café Program would not apply to the restaurant, an outdoor café would be a strong business opportunity to attract more students and tourists. Gensler has been pushing for a a unified design aesthetic for that will alleviate the annoyance with the noisy traffic, Broz said. “On Wabash, we saw a need to have a common aesthetic through all the restaurants so it feels more like a plaza,” Broz said. Edwards said when restaurants add seats outside, it brings business and profit. Peach & Green, a café at 33 S. Wabash Ave., added an outdoor cafe to its restaurant last year. Owner Katie Cantwell said the Chicago Loop Alliance pushed it to create an outdoor space, and the 30 additional seats, along with stylish plants helped change the dynamic. “Anything that brings the street alive is really valuable,” Cantwell said. “Anytime you’re able to be out enjoying that gorgeous sunshine in the summer is really great [for business].” seadens@columbiachronicle.com
Outdoor cafés on Wabash spice up neighborhood
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» BLAISE MESA METRO REPORTER
» PHOTOS KEVIN TIONGSON/CHRONICLE
CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS officials and local residents continue to debate a proposed Chicago Classical Academy charter school in the South Loop.
If approved, the open-enrollment charter school would serve the surrounding neighborhoods with class sizes projected to be 50 per grade. The school would be public, require no testing to enter and would educate students tuition-free, according to Alice
Alice Epstein, founder of Chicago Classical Academy Charter School, argued in favor of Chicago Classical at a Feb. 20 hearing.
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Epstein, founder of the Chicago Classical Academy. Classical academies offer a distinctive curriculum that teaches students about the U.S. Constitution, historical court cases, Latin and grammar. “The South Loop is a fast-growing, family-oriented neighborhood with a strong need for elementary and high school seats,” Epstein said during a Feb. 20 Illinois State School Charter Commission hearing. “The diversity of the neighborhood, the surrounding communities and the accessibility to the city as a whole make it an ideal spot to open an open-enrollment classical school that will add choices to families without straining the resources to any existing local schools.” The K–8 school currently has approximately 115 intended enrollees and was scheduled to open by fall 2018 before its proposal was denied in a Dec. 6, 2017, board of education meeting, according to Mary Bradley, executive director of the office of innovation incubation at CPS.
Illinois State Charter School Commissioners Lisa Schuchart and David Feinberg examined the charter school’s case for appeal at the hearing.
During the hearing, Bradley said there were several problems with the Chicago Classical’s December proposal, including a lack of community support, an instructional leader, an unreasonable budget, clear programming and support for students with disabilities and English learners. There are some decent charter schools in America, said William Sampson, professor and chair of the Department of Public Policy. However, he added, “the average charter school does not outperform the average public school on standardized test scores.”
While there is a need for schools in the South Loop, a charter school might not be the best approach, Sampson said. Other than questions raised about the quality of curriculum, critics at the hearing were frustrated about the school’s low level of community support. Both neighborhood aldermen Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) and Sophia King (4th Ward) have not supported the school, according to Epstein. Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for additional reporting.
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Charter school debate grows in South Loop
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FEBRUARY 26, 2018 THE CHRONICLE 37
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38 THE CHRONICLE FEBRUARY 26, 2018
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, spoke in support of Jesús Chuy Garcia, a candidate for Illinois’ 4th congressional district. On Feb. 22 at Apollos 2000, 2875 W. Cermak Road. Sanders advocated for raising the minumim wage to $15 an hour, free college tuition, Medicare for all and the protection of DACA recipients.
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