The Columbia Chronicle, February 9, 2015

IN SI DE

THE

SEX

ISSUE

Chicago’s steamy gay bathhouse

Millennial dominatrix reveals all

Decoding the male G-spot

What your condom says about you

13

SPRING 2015

WEEKS LEFT

No. 1 Non-Daily College Newspaper in the Nation MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

THE OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO

VOLUME 50, ISSUE 18

Tuition, health fees rise, enrollment decreases Campus Reporter ENROLLMENT KEEPS FALLING, but

tuition keeps increasing—fulltime Columbia students will be expected to pay $756 more for tuition costs during the 2015–2016 academic year.

During a Dec. 9 meeting, the college’s Board of Trustees voted in favor of a 3.3 percent tuition increase, raising total full-time tuition prices from $22,884 to $23,640, President Kwang-Wu Kim announced in a Feb. 3 collegewide email. This is the second consecutive year that tuition increased at this rate, making it the secondlowest tuition increase in the last decade.

Despite the tuition cost, most student fees will hold steady with the exception of student health and U-pass fees, which will increase by $20 and $2 respectively.

Next year’s tuition increase is a result of increasing yearly costs as well as a decline in enrollment, said Stan Wearden, senior vice president and provost.

The administration understands the financial strain college can cause and is doing everything it can

$18,490

$19,140

$20,094

Year ‘09–’10

‘10–’11

‘11–’12

to make tuition as affordable as possible, Wearden said, which includes dipping deeper into the college’s operating budget to provide more scholarship money.

“The college has had to pull back on a number of other issues as we made it a priority to address student affordability,” said Mark Kelly, Vice President of Student Success.

+$756 $21,200

‘12–’13

Since fiscal year 2011, the college has increased its total unrestricted institutional aid from $16.9 million to $38 million, which is “well over a 100 percent increase,” Kelly said. Additionally, 72.6 percent of Columbia freshmen currently receive scholarship money from the school, a 28.7 percent increase from 2010. The total percentage of

$22,132

‘13–’14

$22,884

‘14–’15

undergraduates receiving scholarships has increased from 24.4 percent in 2010 to 48.3 percent this year.

Kelly presented this information to the college’s Student Government Association during its Feb. 3 meeting.

According to Kim, a number of factors determine tuition rates, including enrollment numbers, financial aid commitments to continuing

$23,640

‘15–’16

Colin King THE CHRONICLE Information Courtesy Cara Birch, Public Relations

Columbia TUITION INCRE ASE

SAM VINTON

students, the college’s dependence on tuition and trying to keep tuition lower than the national average.

“It’s a careful, thoughtful decision, and at all points everyone involved is talking about affordability and [the] impact on students and trying to do the best we can,” Kim said.

xx SEE TUITION, PG. 9

Industry Events out, Portfolio Day in College redefines networking events JACOB WITTICH Campus Editor INDUSTRY EVENTS, THE college’s annual series of networking events geared toward introducing graduating seniors to industry professionals, has seen its last day.

In its place, Columbia is set to debut Portfolio Day, an event that will give students time to review portfolios with professionals, on April 30. Instead of several events occurring over the course of several weeks like Industry Events, Portfolio Day will only occur once per academic year.

“Portfolio Day is a way for us to better support students toward their goals of employability and career outcomes and also find a

more efficient way to bring professionals on campus to have quality interactions with our students,” said Dirk Matthews, associate director of the Portfolio Center.

Industry Events were considered successful—last year’s series connected 700 professionals with 700 students—but feedback from professionals attending the events suggested students were not properly prepared for the opportunity.

According to Matthews, many industry professionals wished students would have come better prepared with completed portfolios and resumes.

“Professionals were frequently frustrated because they wanted to see more student work and there wasn’t really a way to actually look

Re-designing the Art + Design Department • PAGE 3

Hashtagging sexism • PAGE 11

at students’ work,” Matthews said.

To ensure students are more prepared prior to interacting with professionals, it is mandatory for students to attend a Portfolio Day Information Session—running from now through March 11—and follow an application and review process that includes developing a portfolio and resume in order to attend, according to Christie Andersen Asif, executive director of Career Initiatives at the Portfolio Center.

“Some events were more like cocktail parties, but in the end, both students and employers found them not terribly productive,” said Mark Kelly, vice president of Student Success. “Now it’s going to be very much centered on students’ work.

Students have to be ready, and we

Courtesy RADIO DEPARTMENT Industry Nights, a series of events that connected graduating students with working professionals, has been condensed into a single Portfolio Day event.

can in turn raise expectations for our employers’ creative industries.”

Industry Events were organized by major, and each event was restricted to students within that department, but feedback from industry professionals suggested they did not want to attend multiple events at the college to meet with students, according to Matthews.

“Industry Events were very inefficient for creative industry

Arm ‘rasslin’ ladies of Chicago • PAGE 20

professionals because the creative industries work from a much more interdisciplinary perspective than a lot of the academic departments do,” Matthews said.

Professionals would attend Industry Night for the department that most closely corresponded to their industry, and they would have to additionally attend multiple

xx SEE PORTFOLIO, PG. 9

Willie Wilson’s controversial bid for mayor • PAGE 35 T HE COLUMBIA C HRONICLE

The Columbia Chronicle 2 • February 9, 2015

Portfolio Day trumps Industry Night FOR MOST SENIORS and many juniors, Industry Night—an annual networking event hosted by the college’s individual departments— is a long-awaited promise at the end of an academic journey. It provided the opportunity to meet with working professionals in industries aligned with the college’s curriculum—an encounter that many hoped would spawn a job.

It is simple to see why its demise, as detailed in the Front Page story, may cause some students to feel slighted and confused. The college never really announced the end of the Industry Night series, and many students remain unaware of the change.

Although the college could have advertised the shift in focus earlier, the transition to the comparable Portfolio Day—an event that aims to better match students with employers in the pursuit to provide feedback on resumes and portfolios—is a much more logical and pragmatic alternative.

As detailed in the Front Page article, some of the driving factors behind the change include the perception that Columbia students came to the event unprepared and that professionals were dissatisfied.

There is infinitely more value in a portfolio or resume critique than there is in spending two hours schmoozing with working professionals at a networking event, squinting at their name tags to see if they are part of a new startup or one of the bigger fishes that everyone is trying to catch.

The truth of the matter is that Columbia students did show up unprepared to Industry Night despite the college having a dedicated center that aids students in preparation for such an event.

When I attended and volunteered at the Journalism Department’s Industry Night last year, the lack of effort that several students put into their portfolios and resumes was embarrassing and did nothing to combat the stereotypes that are often attached to Columbia students. I later learned that it was not a problem that was specific to my department but rather somewhat of a larger trend playing out with students of different majors.

Despite being seniors and juniors, too many students had nothing to show prospective employers.

Even if the event was only geared toward networking, ill-prepared students do not reflect kindly on

STAFF MASTHEAD

MANAGEMENT Tyler Eagle Kyra Senese Natalie Craig Jesse Hinchcliffe Katherine Davis

Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Managing Editor Ad & Business Manager Associate Editor

CAMPUS

the institution or the students who put effort and time into crafting the necessary materials needed to pursue employment post-graduation.

The seemingly stringent requirements placed on prospective Portfolio Day participants to attend a meeting or schedule an appointment with The Portfolio Center are hardly outlandish. Students should be required to visit the Portfolio Center long before Portfolio Day, or at least seek some form of advising from a professor or internship coordinator.

In an ideal world, the college would host Portfolio Day and then encourage students to take the feedback they received and use it to prepare for an Industry Night.

But given the choice between the two, Portfolio Day sounds superior.

It could help students be better prepared for lifelong success after walking across the stage. teagle@chroniclemail.com

Jacob Wittich Carissa Degen Megan Bennett Samantha Vinton

Campus Editor Senior Campus Reporter Campus Reporter Campus Reporter

SPORTS & HEALTH

Max Green Sports & Health Editor Abby Seitz Sports & Health Reporter Nancy Cooper Sports & Health Reporter

ARTS & CULTURE Baxter Barrowcliff Arts & Culture Editor Gina Scarpino Arts & Culture Reporter Spencer Hall Arts & Culture Reporter

OPINIONS

Caitlin Looney Opinions Editor

METRO

Matt McCall Metro Editor Bianca Martinez Metro Reporter Sarah Martinson Metro Reporter

COPY Abbas Haleem Copy Chief Ben Kowalski Copy Editor Lauren Tussey Copy Editor

GRAPHICS Andrea Cannon Alexander Aghayere Cassidy Johnson Colin King

Senior Graphic Designer Graphic Designer Graphic Designer Graphic Designer

PHOTOGRAPHY Lou Foglia Kaitlin Hetterscheidt Kelly Wenzel Nohemi Rosales

Senior Photo Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor Photo Editor

MULTIMEDIA Jaclyn Selesky Online Content Producer Jessica Scott Online Content Producer Saiyna Bashir Online Content Producer

ADVERTISING Myles Adams Assistant Advertising Manager Jetesa Asani Marketing Consultant Shanae Hundley Marketing Consultant

WEB Sean McEntee Webmaster

OPERATIONS Ethan Stocking-Anderson Office Assistant

SENIOR STAFF

Jeff Lyon Faculty Adviser Chris Richert General Manager Stephanie Goldberg Assistant Faculty Advisor 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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

Letters can be faxed to (312) 369-8430, emailed to Chronicle@colum.edu or mailed to:

Kaitlin Hetterscheidt THE CHRONICLE The David Roussève/REALITY dance company performed “Stardust” at the Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., Feb. 5–7. The performance, a blend of dance and theater, was a coming-of-age story for millennials and other social media users.

2 • February 9, 2015

The Chronicle 33 E. Congress Parkway, Suite 224 Chicago, IL. 60605-1996

Main line: (312) 369-8999 Advertising: (312) 369-8984 Campus: (312) 369-8964 Metro: (312) 369-8966 Arts & Culture: (312) 369-8969 Commentary: (312) 369-8967 Copy: (312) 369-8976 Photo: (312) 369-8973 Sports & Health: (312) 369-8970 Permission/Reproductions: (312) 369-8955 General Manager: (312) 369-8955 Faculty Adviser: (312) 369-8903

Monday, February 9, 2015

The Columbia Chronicle

Art + Design Department dismantled

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE Senior Vice President and Provost Stan Wearden speaks at a forum addressing questions from staff and faculty in affected departments at Hokin Auditorium in the 623 S. Wabash Ave. Building.

JACOB WITTICH & CARISSA DEGEN THE ART + Design Department will split into two new departments this

fall, forming the Art & Art History and Design departments.

Plans for these new departments began when John Green, interim dean of the School of Fine &

Performing Arts, sent a proposal to Stan Wearden, senior vice president and provost.

Staff and faculty in the Art + Design Department who support

High score for video game programs 1 University of Southern California

MEGAN BENNETT of Utah 2 University

for its hard work. The college was ranked because it has a quality pro3 gram that impresses game industry COLUMBIA IS RECEIVING recognition professionals, he added.

Institute ofasTechnology 4 DigiPen one of the best game design and game “Nobody is doing things on the College of Art scale and that Design 5 Savannah programming colleges in the country. we’re doing them here,” Successful Student, a website Dowd said.

Drexel University 6 that provides college rankings Dowd said the college’s approach to Rochester Institute of Technology 7 other and higher education inforits curriculum also sets it apart from mation, ranked Columbia No. 13 other programs. The Interactive Arts College 8 Hampshire on its list of “27 Best Video Game & Media Department offers a major Polytechnic 9 Rensselaer Colleges 2015,” putting the col- Institute in game design, which has concentralege above well-respected institu- Institute tions in game development, game art Warcester Polytechnic 10 tions such as New York University, and game sound design, and a major The New School for Design 11 Parsons in game programming, which teaches Cornell University and Michigan students the technology behind develState University.

Full Sail University 12 oping video games.

Tom Dowd, associate chair Columbia College Chicago 13 Robin Bargar, dean of the School of the Interactive Arts & Media of Media Arts, said designers and Department, said it feelsInstitute good for Massachusetts 14 programmers at other colleges are the department to be recognized of Technology often split up into different departments and not many are able to put the two majors in a collaborative environment like Columbia does, which is important for the students’ creative process.

“When you collaborate, you have Colin King THE CHRONICLE to have a shared Information from Successfulstudent.org language so you can

Campus Reporter Carnegie Mellon

//school rankings in video game design & programming

get to your goal,” Bargar said. “By having the programmers and the game designers study in the same program and the same classes, they develop a shared language even though their special areas of talent are different.”

Bargar said being on this list is not only good for attracting new students, but also for creating stronger relationships with alumni.

“When a program goes up in the rankings, it means that [for] students and graduates, their degree gets more valuable,” Bargar said.

Associate Dean of the School of Media Arts Mirella Shannon said there were 339 students enrolled in the Interactive Arts & Media Department as of Feb. 2 registration, a majority of whom are in the game programs. The department, Bargar said, has one of the highest retention rates of returning students each semester.

In addition to being placed on these kinds of lists, Dowd said the department’s ability to attract students has resulted in more support from the administration in the last few years.

“The department has continued to grow even when registration has [declined] across the college, but our numbers are up,” Dowd said.

design-related programs will separate and form the new Design Department, according to a Feb. 3 collegewide email from Green.

The remaining staff and faculty who support art and art history-related programs will merge with the Interdisciplinary Arts faculty and staff, creating the new Art & Art History Department, the email stated. These changes will be effective for the Fall 2015 Semester.

The college hosted a Feb. 6 forum in which Green, Wearden, Kelli Connell, interim associate dean of the School of Fine & Performing Arts, Tim Cozzens, interim chair of the Art + Design Department, and Niki Nolin, interim chair of the Interdisciplinary Arts Department, explained the changes to the affected departments to staff and faculty. “[Merging departments] gives us the opportunity to really imagine what the future of fine art provision can be, both for us as an institution and for us in relationship to the industry,” Green said.

Students’ paths to graduation will not be affected by this change,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

but curricular changes could occur in the future, Green said.

National searches for new department chairs will begin over the next two semesters. The search for the new chair of Design will begin during the spring semester, while the search for the new chair of Art & Art History will commence in the fall, Connell said.

The new Art & Art History Department will be home to the newly created Center for Book, Paper & Print Arts, consisting of the School of Fine & Performing Arts’ Anchor Graphics, the college’s nonprofit fine arts press, and the Center for Book and Paper Arts, the college’s book and hand papermaking program, according to Robin Bargar, dean of the School of Media Arts.

The Center for Book and Paper Arts—part of the Interdisciplinary Arts program—was previously housed within the School of Media Arts, but by transferring to the Art & Art History Department, it will now be part of the School of Fine & Performing Arts, Bargar said.

x x SEE SPLIT, PG.10

University of Southern California University of Utah Carnegie Mellon DigiPen Institute of Technology Savannah College of Art and Design Drexel University Rochester Institute of Technology Hampshire College Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Worcester Polytechnic Institute Parsons The New School for Design Full Sail University Columbia College Chicago Massachusetts Institute of Technology

//school rankings in video game design &

“We’re even up again this spring, which is remarkable, and the administration knows it.”

Aaron Ayala, a freshman game design major, said he decided to attend Columbia after hearing about the program from a friend. He said

he enjoys the professors because the majority of them have worked in the video game industry and are able to provide firsthand experience and advice.

xx SEE GAMING, PG.10 February 9, 2015 • 3

The Columbia Chronicle 4 • February 9, 2015

Loop students yak, question cyberbullying KATHERINE DAVIS Associate Editor COLUMBIA STUDENTS ARE not afraid to yak about their lives.

Yik Yak, a social media platform targeted at college students that allows users to post anonymously on a geolocation-centric feed, is gaining popularity among Chicago-area students who post nearly every 60 seconds, according to Cam Mullen, Yik Yak’s lead community developer.

Using Yik Yak on Columbia’s campus provides a collaborative feed that combines posts from students at neighboring institutions such as DePaul University, Roosevelt University and the University of Illinois at Chicago, causing the feed to be more diverse than those at most other campuses throughout the country, Mullen said.

“Because [Columbia’s feed] ... includes not only the students at Columbia College, but some of these other colleges nearby, the content is very diverse,” Mullen said. “What gets up-voted the most in metropolitan Chicago is stuff everyone can identify with. You have [posts] that are relevant to more than just one social group.”

The app, which debuted in January 2013, is used on more than 1,600 campuses nationwide, Mullen said.

Since the app’s inception, it has often been deemed an outlet for

cyberbullying, but Mullen said Yik Yak has systems in place to minimize negative behavior on the application. Monitoring posts, filtering racial and homophobic slurs and allowing users to down-vote posts until they are removed from the feed are methods Yik Yak uses to cut down on instances of cyberbullying, Mullen said. To prohibit younger users who are more likely to engage in cyberbullying, Mullen said the company has geo-fenced more than 85 percent of high schools and middle schools across the country, effectively blocking them from using the app.

“These tools are constantly being evolved and they are so much better today than they were six months ago and so much better than they were two months ago,” Mullen said. “We’re trying our hardest to improve these so we can reduce the amount of misuses to as little as possible.”

Ramone Hulet, a senior cinema art + science major and former Yik Yak user, said he initially tried the app because he wanted to feel connected to the campus and interact with students at different colleges. He eventually stopped using the app because he was not finding it to be a valuable social experience, though.

“If you post something, you’re not going to get a response unless it’s super risqué or crazy,” Hulet

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE Chicago-area college students are posting every 60 seconds on Yik Yak, a social media platform that allows users to post anonymously on a geolocation-centric feed, said Cam Mullen, the company’s lead community developer.

said. “It’s more like Twitter than a community, which is what I wanted it to be. It let me down.”

Marissa Mrozek, a junior cinema art + science and photography double major, said she finds Yik Yak humorous but dislikes the app because of the many instances of cyberbullying. Noting the sexist and homophobic remarks she has seen, Mrozek said she views Yik Yak as a way for people to be offensive without being held accountable.

“People use Yik Yak to really give their negative opinions on all the major issues that are currently in our society,” Mrozek said. “A lot of people use it to be mean.”

In addition to Yik Yak, Mrozek said she uses the Facebook and Tumblr apps most often and that she sees instances of cyberbullying on those platforms as well.

“I think [cyberbullying] is something that is always going to happen,” Mrozek said.

Mullen said the app is well-liked among college students despite concerns that the anonymity the app provides can be hurtful and problematic.

“One of our missions is to provide a voice to those who might not otherwise [have one],” Mullen said. “The reason people really like Yik Yak is that it creates a sense of community and belonging. Content is key, and the playing field is equal.” kdavis@chroniclemail.com

The Music Center at Columbia College Chicago 1014 S. Michigan Avenue

Music Department Events 230 S. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60604 312-427-5580•800-421-1899

M-F: 8:30am-5:30pm SAT: 8:30am-5pm

Offering and teaching the “gifts” of photography since 1899- “115 years”

5% EXTRA DISCOUNT

for students, teachers and faculty on most supplies

Tuesday February 10 Student Concert Series Wednesday February 11 Wednesday Noon Guitar Concert Series* at the Conaway Friday February 13 Jazz Gallery in the Lobby* Jazz Forum*

7:00 pm

12:00 pm

12:00 pm 2:00 pm

* Events marked with an asterisk do not give Recital Attendance Credit

Full service photographic store. Combines helpful and knowledgeable salespeople to satisfy your needs. www. centralcamera.com 4 • February 9, 2015

February 9, 2015 • 5

Campus

February 9, 2015 • 5

The Columbia Chronicle 6 • February 9, 2015

College introduces first low-residency program

SAM VINTON

Campus Reporter AS MOST STUDENTS head home for the summer, Columbia will be debuting its first low-residency graduate program, an intensive experience within the Interdisciplinary Arts Department during the Summer 2015 semester.

The new addition is a restructuring of the Interdisciplinary Arts master’s program. Focused on advancing the education of working artists and art educators, the program is designed to give students the opportunity to hone industry skills and lift them into another realm of professionalism, said Jenny Magnus, an adjunct professor within the Interdisciplinary Arts Department.

The program, currently offered as a one-year sequence, will give students the option to complete the program during two consecutive, intensive nine-week summer sessions on campus and an independent study during the interim year.

Developed with the working artist in mind, the eight- to 10-student program was designed to make it easier for professionals already in the industry to complete the degree, said Jeff Abell, an associate professor in the Interdisciplinary Arts Department and master’s program director. Abell said many potential students have expressed a strong interest in the concept in the past but

did not have the time to take three or four classes each week.

Condensing an entire program into two summers means students will be expected to complete the same number of hours in a shorter, more intense period of time, paving the way for complete immersion into the arts, said Magnus.

“It’s like art camp,” Magnus said.

“It’s really like you’re seeing the same people every day. You’re making work constantly.”

During the first summer, students will take classes in the sound, movement and visual arts, while the second summer will have students taking classes in performance, writing and professional practices.

Students will also participate in a week-long art theory symposium and present the work they create throughout the program.

According to Abell, this is equivalent to what graduate students would do during the regular program, with the exception of an art theory class called “Art as Discourse.” The class, which usually takes place throughout a 15-week period, will instead meet as a fiveday intensive seminar.

While the condensed classes will not offer the exact same experience, the change presents further opportunities for student learning, Abell said.

“It’s another thing to plunge into something that you’re doing day

after day, but I actually think that’s what’s exciting about it,” Abell said.

During the interim months, students will complete a directed grad project, working closely with a mentor from the Interdisciplinary Arts Department to create a specific, contracted project. They will also be required to participate in an online history course. The time will also give students a chance to apply and adapt what they learned during the first summer, Abell said.

“There’s this potential for what you learn in that first summer to percolate and grow and evolve and change before you come back for the second half of the whole thing,” he said.

Magnus said the restructuring of the program works in favor of both

the students and the college, utilizing space and resources that would otherwise go untouched during summer months.

“That’s part of the administrative brilliance of it,” Magnus said.

“It isn’t redesigning the wheel. It’s taking something that already exists and plugging it into these big, empty, gaping holes of almost nothing going on on campus during the summer.”

The introduction of this redesigned program could be part of a collegewide goal to expand on graduate study programs across all majors. At a Feb. 3 Student Government Association meeting, Senior Vice President and Provost Stan Wearden expressed the college’s interest in attracting more graduate students to the college.

Degree requirements

Sound

Visual Art

Week-long Art Theory Symposium Final showing of work

Colin King THE CHRONICLE Information from Interdisciplinary Arts Department

svinton@chroniclemail.com

Interdisciplinary Arts MA

First semester

Movement

“We haven’t really done much with graduate enrollment here,” Wearden said. “I’d like to see us start designing some professional master’s programs, many of which I feel could be offered either partially or fully online.”

Magnus said the shift reflects a growing trend among colleges seeking out ways to bring better value to education. According to Magnus, the new program does just that, which is what makes it so attractive to both administration and prospective students.

“I think this program changes lives,” she said. “I’ve seen it happen.

I find it really exciting to find a new way to offer that to people.”

In-between months Directed Graduate study Online history class

Second semester Performance

Writing Visual Arts Art as Practice Final showing of work

Next time you drive to campus consider parking at one of the newest parking garages available to college students and staff.

When parking remember your stall number and enter it into the pay stations located on the first floor in front of the mosaic wall.

Current rates apply.

801 S. Wabash

6 • February 9, 2015

February 9, 2015 • 7

Campus

February 9, 2015 • 7

The Columbia Chronicle 8 • February 9, 2015

Columbia finds spotlight behind the scenes

MEGAN BENNETT Campus Reporter

SEVERAL COLUMBIA FACULTY mem-

bers and alumni were honored last month by a local publication for their work behind the scenes of Chicago’s performance community.

Newcity, a Chicago-based arts and culture publication, released its annual “Players 2015: The Fifty People Who Really Perform for Chicago,” on Jan. 22. Among the honorees were six current campus community members: trustee Andrew Alexander; alumnus and adjunct in the Theatre Department Brian Posen; Chair of the Dance Department Onye Ozuzu and alumni Anna Shapiro, Michael Weber and Heather Hartley, according to an emailed statement from Cara Birch, public relations manager in the Public Relations Department.

The list alternates each year between focusing on performers and, as is the case this year, the people who work behind the scenes, said Newcity’s editor and publisher Brian Hieggelke.

Hieggelke said Newcity’s editorial team takes suggestions from critics and other industry professionals to compile a list that is representative of Chicago’s theater, opera, comedy and dance communities. “[Making] the list tends to mean something,” Hieggelke said.

Ozuzu, who also made the list in 2013, said she was pleasantly sur-

Courtesy BRIAN POSEN Brian Posen, an adjunct professor, was placed on the Newcity list for his work as the artistic director of Stage 773 and the executive producer of Chicago SketchFest.

prised to be honored again. She said she attributes a great deal of her recognition to her faculty and staff within the Dance Department.

“My team has been working hard with me to really think in innovative, new and out-of-the-box ways about the direction that dance is going, what kind of cultural practice we want our students to be involved with in the city and how to keep the Dance Center and Columbia at the leading edge of performance” she said. “We’ve been out there trying and experimenting with new things, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed.”

Posen, who also teaches at The Second City, was placed on the list

for his work with Stage 773 and Chicago SketchFest. He said he was humbled to be listed among such notable names.

For him, “performing for Chicago” means creating opportunities for local artists to grow, he said.

“I do things that make Chicago [better],” Posen said. “Everything I do serves the community and the artistic community in some way.”

Ozuzu said she believes the phrase “performing for Chicago” is expanding readers’ understanding of where performance happens.

“The list helps us understand that the performance that happens on stage is just the tip of the

NOW LEASING

iceberg of a whole infrastructure of performances that are happening every day in offices, around meeting tables, in telephone call conversations [and] in emails,” Ozuzu said.

Posen said several Columbians made the list because of the college’s strong connections to the local theater community.

“So much of the college is inviting working professionals in to teach,” Posen said. “As long as we still hold on to that mindset, we accumulate some of the greatest minds and talents that are relevant now, that are working now [and] that are changing the world.”

Hieggelke said because the college is arts-based, it normally has some connection to this list as well as other lists published by Newcity throughout the year.

Hartley, a 2007 alumna of the Interdisciplinary Arts graduate program, was placed on the list because of her role as the executive director of Audience Architects, a dance service organization in Chicago.

Hartley, who began her career as a performer, said she also enjoys the administrative side of performance and it was validating to be honored.

“You need to enjoy the not-asloudly applauded but also important and meaningful work of being an arts administrator,” Hartley said. “It’s hard work, just as the other side of the equation is.”

In addition to the artists on stage, Ozuzu said it is important to shine the spotlight on the people who work behind the scenes because performance is a collaboration of the two worlds.

“That polished, finished product on the stage is the result of a lot of creativity, effort and human endeavor,” Ozuzu said. “That’s why it’s important to shine a light on [the workers]. It speaks to a lot of what Columbia does, which is not only prepare students to fulfill their dreams, but to fill the entire iceberg—to prepare students to fill the whole infrastructure.” mbennett@chroniclemail.com

Check Out Infinite Chicago Before You Renew On-Campus!

RATES STARTING ThisBringAdInFor A Free Gift!

AT

$799

$500 Rent Credit Referral Bonus!

Lowest Rate Guarantee Until Jan. 31st!

Studios - 4 Bedrooms

Plus Cable & Internet

58

Bring This Ad In For A Free Gift!

312.724.6767 37 W Van Buren

8 • February 9, 2015

28 E. Jackson Blvd.

February 9, 2015 • 9

Campus

xx TUITION

xx PORTFOLIO

Even with this process, some students think the college is not providing them with the money they need to stay in school.

“Coming into school I had a 4.0 and a 33 [on my ACT] and I got $5,500 a year, which isn’t nothing, but it’s not a lot,” said Grace Allard, a freshman theatre major. “All I did in high school was think ‘I have to get scholarship money,’ so I got a 4.0 and a 33 and I came here, but they give so many scholarships to so many kids that they can barely give us any money.”

However, in addition to drawing from the operating budget, the college also needs to attract more donations in order to increase scholarship funding, Kim said.

“This is a college that doesn’t have a robust history of fundraising,” Kim said.

He compared Columbia to “fundraising machines” Northwestern University and University of Chicago, which have strong networks of alumni donors.

Because of this, Kim said the college will have to be more creative when it comes to increasing funding, and part of this plan includes rebuilding relationships with alumni to encourage donations. Kim added that the college will also work to appeal to people who believe in its mission and moral standings.

Another way to maintain college affordability is to combat declining enrollment, according to Wearden. In the future, the college will look to other forms of enrollment, including transfer, international and graduate students.

Wearden also said increasing the average class size by one student could save about $1 million in instructional costs.

Tuition increases at the college remain less than the national average for private colleges, according to Wearden, in accordance with a resolution that Columbia’s SGA introduced last year.

The SGA also approved the increase in student health fees for next year. The organization has the opportunity to vote on student health and student activities fees every three years, but SGA was able to vote on the health fees early because they felt there was a need for increased mental health services at the college that had to be addressed, said sophomore art and materials conservation major and SGA president Sara Kalinoski.

According to Kim, the money will be used specifically to increase resources at the counseling and student service office to provide more expertise for student health issues.

Some money will also be allocated to the disability office, he said.

“We thought that it was beneficial for our students to have enough counseling services and have enough therapists and counselors [available on campus,] just like every other school,” Kalinoski said. “I think mental health is such a huge thing that all of our students need, which is why we decided to vote on it.”

Although it voted to increase the college’s health center fees, Kalinoski said the SGA is dedicated to minimizing tuition costs to maintain college affordability.

“We are very involved in advocating for affordability,” Kalinoski said.

According to Wearden, the college’s administration will continue trying to balance keeping tuition as affordable as possible while maintaining the resources necessary to offer the highest possible quality of education to students.

“Ultimately, affordability has at least, I think, two factors,” Kim said. “One is cost, and the other is value. We’re all willing to stretch for something that we truly believe is valuable.”

events to reach out to students with all types of skill sets they were seeking, Matthews said.

Andersen Asif said combining Industry Events into a single event will benefit students because many have interests and experience beyond their majors but were limited to attending major-specific events. By bringing all the departments and industries together for a single event, students can meet with more professionals, and in turn, those professionals will not have to attend multiple events to meet students.

“Professionals kept asking to see everyone together, and the students kept saying they wanted to go to multiple events,” Andersen Asif said. “So then we wondered why we were doing multiple events that everyone wants to go to instead of just doing one big bang event.”

Pantelis Vassilakis, chair of the Audio Arts & Acoustics Department, said the switch from

Continued from Front Page

Continued from Front Page

Industry Events to Portfolio Day will be helpful because it signifies that the event is not a job fair and shifts the focus off of the industry, putting emphasis on the students’ work.

The change to Portfolio Day should also limit the level of stress that once surrounded Industry Events, where industry professionals would feel pressured to hire students and students would feel pressure by treating their interactions like job interviews, Vassilakis said.

The shift to Portfolio Day is also beneficial because it will encourage students to create a portfolio prior to graduation—something every graduate should have, Andersen Asif said.

“Not as many students are leaving Columbia with a portfolio as we would like, and this gives students a really concrete reason to get their portfolio created,” Andersen Asif said.

“We hope it can push more students to complete a portfolio [throughout college].”

Natalie Jordan, a junior advertising major, said she knew about previous Industry

Events and was looking forward to attending one designed specifically for her major, so she was disappointed that they had been condensed into a single event.

“This is the moment I’m working for at Columbia, and to hear that it’s now being phased out into one event is really scary for me as an artist because there are so many different types of artists out there [that I’m now competing with],” Jordan said.

Jordan said she hopes that combining the Industry Nights series into Portfolio Day will make it easier for students and professionals to interact in a one-stop-shop setting, but she said she is worried that the increased competition among students and overwhelmed professionals might make it stressful.

“It’s all about making the most of professionals’ time and making the most of students’ time and having something that’s more accessible,” Andersen Asif said. jwittich@chroniclemail.com

THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS CHICAGO + COLUMBIA COLLEGE ASSOCIATION OF BLACK JOURNALISTS PRESENT

CHICAGO MAYORAL CANDIDATES FORUM 2015

Mayoral Candidates (l to r): William "Doc" Walls, Bob Fioretti, Rahm Emanuel, Jesus "Chuy" Garcia, and Willie Wilson. Photograph Courtesy of Chicago Sun-­‐Times

Please join NABJ Chicago and the Columbia College Association of Black Journalists at our Chicago Mayoral Candidates Forum and hear firsthand how the candidates respond to questions from some of the city’s top Black journalists.

Confirmed to participate are: Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Millionaire Entrepreneur Willie Wilson, Cook County Commissioner Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, Community Activist William “Doc” Walls, and 2nd Ward Alderman Bob Fioretti.

Members and affiliates of NABJ Chicago and Columbia College Association of Black Journalists are invited for an enlightening evening of lively discussion on what matters most to Chicago.

Wednesday, February 11, 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm Film Row at Columbia College

1104 South Wabash Avenue, 8th Floor, Chicago

svinton@chroniclemail.com February 9, 2015 • 9

The Columbia Chronicle 10 • February 9, 2015

xx SPLIT

Continued from PG. 3

By merging into the new Art & Art History Department, the college’s Interdisciplinary Arts Department will now switch from the School of Media Arts to the School of Fine & Performing Arts, according to Bargar.

Bargar said this switch could benefit both the Interdisciplinary Arts program and the School of Fine & Performing Arts by introducing the Interdisciplinary Arts Department to a related undergraduate program and introducing new graduate studies to the School of Fine & Performing Arts.

“It looked to me like a lot of undergraduates that study in art + design might benefit from having some closer relationship to faculty that were really well-known artists in that area,” Bargar said.

Similarly, Jeff Abell, the master’s program

xx GAMING

Continued from PG. 3

“[My professors tell me to] work hard, stay here, study, do well [and] when you come out, have a portfolio,” Ayala said. “Do whatever work you can possibly do and show that you’re active in your field.”

Kristen Sambo, a junior game design major, said lists like the one Student Successful published helped her make a decision when searching for colleges with game programs.

Sambo said she eventually chose Columbia because she liked the environment and it had exactly what she wanted in a major. “[Those lists] did narrow it down because some of the [colleges] didn’t seem as good or it wasn’t going toward where I wanted to go,” she said.

Ayala said the only thing he hopes the department will improve upon in the future is creating more hands-on and fewer conceptual classes for freshmen so students can begin working in their major sooner.

The list accumulated information about

YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION TAX BENEFITS OR FREE TAX PREPARATION!

director, said students will benefit from the merger.

“An interdisciplinary approach is the real forward-looking approach to the fine arts,” Abell said.

Despite a three-year discussion of merging departments, Abell said the change, while long overdue, is positive for staff and faculty as well as students .

“There was always a certain amount of conflict between the folks who wanted to take the department in a fine arts direction and the folks who wanted it to be a design-oriented look at the practical part of art making,” Abell said. “I’m hoping this new idea of getting design its own department and the fine arts area its own departments will help to resolve some of the conflicts that have existed in the past.” jwittich@chroniclemail.com cdegen@chroniclemail.com each institution but was meant to look at the programs from the student perspective, according to Successful Student editor Jake Akins.

“It’s all considered from the student’s point of view,” Akins said about the list in a Feb. 4 emailed statement “A few key factors with Columbia is the [Interactive Arts & Media] program and the fact that graduates have been employed at Dreamation, Jellyvision, Red Eye Studio, WMS Industries Inc. and Liquid Generation. The lists are formed by doing research on the schools and their programs that are being considered.”

While being placed among Ivy League colleges and other large institutions is a great honor, Dowd said the department is always looking for ways to improve, including recruiting more faculty members and creating stand-alone majors for each concentration.

“We are certainly in good company,” Dowd said. “It’s a good position to be in, but we’re going to continue doing what we’re doing [within the department].” mbennett@chroniclemail.com

You and your family may be eligible to receive higher education tax benefits because you’re attending college. In order to claim your benefits you will need a 2014 1098-T form which becomes available January 31st. Visit 1098t.com to access your form and visit the Tax Incentive page found on the ‘Become Money Smart’ section of the SFS website for a video tutorial. while having your taxes prepared by a third party tax preparation services in several Chicagoland individual or family income. For more information on free tax help visit economicprogress.org and click on the ‘Clients’ tab.

colum.edu/sfs

Lou Foglia THE CHRONICLE Senior game art major Rebecca Smith works Maya, a 3D animation software program as she improves the user interface for a game design.

10 • February 9, 2015 TaxBenefitSFSAd-Chronicle14.indd 1

1/22/14 11:05 AM

Monday, February 9, 2015

The Columbia Chronicle

Brain reorganization cluttered after sense restored MAX GREEN Sports & Health Editor WHEN PEOPLE ARE born, their brains

Alexander Aghayere THE CHRONICLE

are primed to receive instructions on how to wire themselves based on the kinds of sensory input information they receive. However, for individuals born with sensory impairments, the neural blueprint is fleshed out differently—the brain plays to the strengths of the available sensory input.

In a study published Dec. 17 in The Journal of Neurophysiology, researchers from the University of Montreal and University of Trento in Italy followed a severely visually impaired patient as she underwent sight restoration surgery. Before undergoing surgery to have a prosthesis implanted in her right eye, the patient’s occipital cortex— the part of the

brain that is generally presumed to be responsible for processing visual input—was registering sound in order to compensate for the lack of input from her sense of sight, although she still registered some residual vision.

According to Matthew Dye, assistant professor of speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, crossmodal plasticity—the interchange of brain regions receiving signals from senses they normally would not—is also commonly observed in deaf individuals, where visual information processing routes through the temporal lobes, which are thought to be geared toward picking up sound signals.

“Where [crossmodal plasticity] is most commonly seen is you get sensory deprivation of some kind, so in deaf individuals or blind individuals,” Dye said. “What we know about the brain is while your genes kind of program a lot of brain development, there’s also this big effect of experience in sensory input.”

The study participant, who lived with very low vision since birth,

underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging three weeks before the sight-restoration surgery as well as twice after, at six weeks and again after seven months. According to the study, while the crossmodal auditory responses still overlapped with the patient’s visual cortex months after the procedure, there was some change in how the brain responded to sound.

“When we compared the brain activity maps between sessions, post- and pre-surgery, we [saw] some regions in the so-called normal visual cortex showed a decreased response to these auditory stimuli with time,” said Giulia Dormal, University of Montreal researcher and lead author of the study. “Seven months after surgery, we still found there were strong auditory-driven responses—the brain responses to these auditory stimuli in the occipital cortex.”

According to Dormal, the team found that although the visual cortex did maintain a certain ability to tune itself based on the sensory input it receives, the fMRI from seven months after the surgery reflected

that the post-implant reorganization may only be able to harmonize with the new information to a limited extent.

The researchers aimed to test as many aspects of visual perception as possible before and after the procedure, running evaluations of behavior, visual acuity, basic tasks and contrast sensitivity. Dormal said the team also tested higher level skills, such as motor perception and face recognition, because they are regulated by regions of the brain further up in the visual hierarchy.

“Still seven months after surgery she is below normal [vision] except for very raw spatial information,” Dormal said. “Telling us she indeed has better vision, but especially for raw visual information, whereas she has much more trouble with details.”

Depriving the occipital cortex of sensory input changes both its function and structure, according to Abhishek Banerjee, a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sur Laboratory.

xx SEE BRAIN, PG. 15

Well-being soars when women tweet about sexism ABBY SEITZ Sports & Health Reporter A RECENT EXAMINATION of women’s tweets about sexism has been linked to an improvement in female well-being, according to a Jan. 30 study published in the British Journal of Social Psychology.

The study took place over the course of three days. Different instances of sexism were presented to 93 female college students. On the first day, articles about sexism in the media were distributed. On day two, the study’s participants read articles regarding sexism in politics, and examples of sexism on the university’s campus were presented on the third day. The study’s participants were placed into four groups—one tweeted publicly about the sexism, one tweeted privately about sexism, one tweeted publicly about the weather, and one group was instructed not to tweet.

MONDAY, FEB. 9

“What I saw across the three days was that well-being increased, but only for the people who were asked to tweet [publicly],” said Dr. Mindi Foster, lead author and an associate professor of psychology

at Wilfrid Laurier University. “One of the reasons I think it leads to well-being is based on the linguistic analysis I did of the words that they used in their tweets … When people try to make meaning of a negative

Andrea Cannon THE CHRONICLE

TUESDAY, FEB. 10

event in their lives, it enhances their well-being.”

Participant well-being was measured before and after tweeting through mood questionnaires and well-being polls.

“One of the components of well-being is your mood, so positive and negative mood was measured,” Foster said. “Another component is psychological growth, so tapping into things such as being able to master your own environment, feeling autonomous, feeling that you can grow from experiences, those sorts of things.”

The study also explored how tweeting could serve as a medium for feminist collective action, or the actions taken together by individuals to achieve a common goal.

“We didn’t tell them explicitly to use collective action, yet when we coded all the tweets, it was clear that over 90 percent of them had used a form of collective action called con-

THURSDAY, FEB. 12

sensus mobilization,” Foster said.

“Essentially, they showed elements of trying to indicate that the state of affairs, namely sexism, was not appropriate and should be changed, so they were trying to get the word out that this was wrong.”

Tweets were analyzed for emotions, such as sadness and happiness, as well as overall well-being and linguistic markers. More than 90 percent of the tweets identified a problem, while 87 percent of the tweets criticized the examples of sexism presented. The women presented new information in more than half of the tweets to combat the sexism found in the news articles. Some examples of the tweets include, “I care about ideas not what you’re wearing.”

As the founder and president of Columbia-based O FACE (Feminists Actively and Comically

xx SEE TWITTER, PG. 15

SUNDAY, FEB. 15

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Arizona Coyotes

Northwestern Wildcats vs. MSU Spartans

Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Columbia Renegades vs. Rats B

Time : 7:30 p.m.

Place : United Center Where to watch : CSN

Time : 7 p.m.

Place : Welsh Ryan Arena Where to watch : BTN

Time : 7 p.m.

Place : United Center Where to watch : TNT

Time : 10 a.m.

Place : Bobby Hull Community Rink Where to watch : N/A February 9, 2015 • 11

The Columbia Chronicle 12 • February 9, 2015

ALLY DURBIN

Sport: Softball Team/School: Columbia College

Offseason trades reignite foul rivalry THERE’S NOTHING THAT warms my

heart like seeing the bright green grass of a well-maintained baseball field under a clear blue sky on a warm summer day, and with all the offseason signings from the Chicago White Sox and Cubs, I can’t help but be anxious for the baseball season to start.

Baseball, like other team sports, only gets better for fans when their favorite team signs great players or a new coach. As excited as I am to see how the Cubs compete with the additions of head coach Joe Maddon and pitcher Jon Lester, I’m looking forward to seeing what the White Sox have in store for the season. Sure, the Cubs have a phenomenal coach who took the underwhelming Tampa Bay Rays to the playoffs, and they have a dominating pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox. But what else do they have other than hopes, dreams and an unlikely prediction from the Back to the Future movie series that (jokingly) says the team will win it all in 2015? They sure don’t have bleachers—at least not any time soon.

The White Sox, on the other hand, picked up some true talent early in the offseason. I’m most excited by the signing of former

Cubs pitcher Jeff Samardzija, a strong right-handed starting pitcher who has thrown his share of complete games. I’m excited about him because he grew up a Sox fan and plans to leave White Sox color commentator Ken “Hawk” Harrelson speechless when he hits a home run against a National League team. The Sox desperately needed a solid righty in their pitching rotation, and why not add one who wants to hit?

However, they also needed a reliable closer. Oh, wait. That’s past tense. They covered that role with the addition of David Robertson, the closer who replaced the great Mariano Rivera on the New York Yankees after Rivera’s retirement.

They also picked up first baseman Adam LaRoche to take the team’s weight off the shoulders of José Abreu, last season’s American League rookie of the year and home run machine, who will need help with the retirement of previous first baseman Paul Konerko.

The Sox also resigned former second baseman Gordon Beckham, a defensive hero who struggled offensively, and former San Francisco Giants outfielder Melky Cabrera, who had tested positive for steroid use.

This might be the only one of the major signings that I have a problem with. Cabrera, who has faced a 50-game suspension because of his steroid use, detracts from the purity of my favorite sport. The only justification I can come up with for supporting a player like Melky is telling myself that it takes skill to play baseball. Sure, the steroids enhance his performance, but what fan doesn’t enjoy watching a home run clear a fence by a mile?

After both Chicago baseball teams finished with the same 73-89 record, these signings are exactly what Sox and Cubs fans need to reinvest themselves in the sport. And a crosstown World Series wouldn’t hurt, either. ahaleem@chroniclemail.com

WEEKLY WORKOUT

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE

ABBY SEITZ Sports & Health Reporter ALLY DURBIN, A sophomore art + design major from Muncie, Indiana, will be leading Columbia’s newly formed softball team this spring with co-captains Alexis Knox and Cassidy Lucas.

Durbin stepped up as a co-captain at an interest meeting after playing softball for more than 10 years. Durbin’s family of St. Louis Cardinals fans piqued her softball interest during elementary school, and she played on her high school’s varsity squad for four years.

Durbin chose to study graphic design after taking a web design and desktop publishing class in high school. She said she would like to work in advertising or on movie sets after she graduates.

The Chronicle spoke with Durbin about her passion for softball, her decision to become a co-captain and her aspirations for the team’s upcoming season.

THE CHRONICLE: What made you want to step up and become one of the team’s captains?

ALLY DURBIN: I really wanted it to

happen. I love softball and I haven’t played since high school, so I think I wanted to step up because I know what’s going on.

What are your goals for the team and this upcoming season?

Kaitlin Hetterscheidt THE CHRONICLE

DOWNWARD DOG BEGINNER INTERMEDIATE ADVANCED

NOHEMI ROSALES Photo Editor THIS INTERMEDIATE POSE relieves

stress in the hamstrings while strengthening the back, arms and shoulders. The downward dog pose involves deep stretching and can aid in improving digestion and spinal alignment.

12 • February 9, 2015

1. Begin with the hands and knees touching the floor.

2. Keeping the wrists directly underneath the shoulders and the knees below the hips, gently curl your toes.

3. Breathe in deeply, expanding the abdomen. During exhale, lower the tailbone toward the heels.

4. Transferring weight from arms to abdomen, raise the hips as if they were being pulled upward.

5. Be sure to keep a straight back, and focus on the alignment of your arms and shoulders.

6. Keep the arms straight shoulders rolled outward away from the ears. Hands should remain firm.

7. Release the hold while breathing slowly outward. Return to the tabletop position, knees and palms on the floor. nrosales@chroniclemail.com

For this first season especially, just to get everyone together. Ideally, we would get a league and get going, but even if for some reason we couldn’t, [we just want] to get girls together to play [softball]. If you love the sport and you haven’t had the opportunity to play since you graduated high school—being at a school like Columbia where it’s all about arts and creativity—it’s my goal to be able to make it happen so that people have that outlet to go and do something fun and athletic if that’s what they enjoy.

What makes you so passionate about playing softball?

[Softball] is something that I’ve always loved. It’s hard to find words to describe how it feels to make a play.

The feeling when your bat contacts

the ball—it’s an adrenaline rush to feel that and be out on the field.

What is your favorite memory from playing softball?

It was my junior year and I was playing second base. One time, in the middle of the game, someone hit a ball really hard and my friend caught it before it hit the ground at third base. There were runners on first and second and I don’t think they realized that she caught the ball. [The third baseman] threw it to me and we got a triple play. It was a really great moment because we all had to work together. It was a really big team moment.

What challenges does the team face right now?

One of our biggest goals right now is just to get together and have everyone introduce themselves and get to know each other. That way, we can start working toward becoming a team. Technically we are a team, but it’s hard to feel like a team until you’ve actually met your teammates, so I think that’s one of our biggest things so far.

Are you involved in any other activities or organizations on campus?

I’m part of The F Word, the feminist group on campus. I just joined at the end of last semester so I haven’t done much yet. We haven’t met yet this semester, but hopefully I will get going in being a more active member in the future. There’s some good things that they’re wanting to get going this semester.

You’re from Indiana—how did you become a St. Louis Cardinals fan?

My family always went to baseball games, and it was in my blood to like and watch baseball. My dad’s family is from [St. Louis] so they were huge fans. I’ve been to four or five games in the old Busch Stadium and I’ve been to three or four at the new Busch Stadium. I was actually at the game where Mark McGwire tied the home run record. We have the newspaper clipping from that game and then we have our tickets framed in my house. It’s really neat. aseitz@chroniclemail.com

February 9, 2015 • 13

Sports & Health

Combat Society steps up to battle NANCY COOPER Sports & Health Reporter COLUMBIA’S GALAHAD MEDIEVAL Com-

bat Society is bringing a new sport to the college that many students may be unfamiliar with—the medieval game known as Belegarth.

Caleigh Fleming, president of Galahad and cinema arts + science major, helped start the society last fall. Fleming said she started the group at Columbia because she did not want to drive hours away to play the game—which involves participants donning medieval gear and dueling with fiberglass foam swords—and thought it would be a great addition to the school.

“The closest place to play [the game] is outside the city,” Fleming said. “I also really like the Belegarth community and wanted to bring it here because it is a really inviting community. It’s great to be in a place where you can talk about ‘Star Wars,’ diseases and swords and not have people be like, ‘OK, nerd.’”

There are basic rules to the game, said Olivia Pugh, a sophomore television major and the event planner for Galahad. One hit to the torso is immediate death and the stricken player is removed from the game.

Any strike to a limb limits the person’s ability to use it—if an arm is hit, the person has to drop what he or she is holding with that arm, and if a leg is hit, the player has to drop to one knee. If two limbs are hit, the

team member is dead and disqualified from the game.

“Feet and hands don’t count, and you do not aim for peoples heads,” Pugh said. “Not only does it not count, but you are kind of a jerk.”

The sport’s origins can be traced back to 1966 to a group called the Society for Creative Anachronism, which focuses on the historical aspects of Belegarth, according to Brian Fong, vice president of the group and a junior audio arts & acoustics major. The original sport was called Dagorhir, Fong said.

SCA members inserted PVC pipes into pool noodles and wielded them as swords.

“Since then, [players] have learned a lot about foam and weapon construction,” Fong said. “It is a lot safer now.”

Fleming said the society com-

petes at both the city and national levels. There are three “realms” of Galahad in Chicago and teams can go to each other’s practices to compete in their battles.

“There are also national events, usually held when weather is warmer,” Fong said. “People come from all over the country and some [from around] the world. We all get together and have massive field battles. The last big event was Oktoberfest, and there were 600 people.”

Fleming said there are certain policies in place to protect the organization from liability issues, such as requiring participants to be 16 years or older to fight at national events, and minors must have a waiver signed by a legal guardian. “[The Galahad Medieval Society] is super fun, and we are super friendly,” Fong said. “We will liter-

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE The Galahad Medieval Combat Society teamed with the Renegades to bring Belegarth to Columbia’s campus.

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE Galahad, Columbia’s Combat Society is gearing up for the big Wolfpack opener in two weeks at Illinois State.

ally let anyone come and try out.”

Logan Henderson, the society’s treasurer and a freshman music major, said he wanted to join the Galahad team because the group looked awesome.

“I stumbled upon [the team] playing, and this guy rolled in front of me,” Henderson said. “I went to a practice, had a lot of fun and ended up falling into a bush. This is a really cool community.”

Fleming said her favorite weapon of choice to bring to battle is a giant hammer to which she added her own twist.

“I found industrial-quality dog squeakers and put it into the hammer,” Fleming said. “That is the best part, getting the squeaky kills.”

Pugh said the most rewarding aspect of participating in the society is how it allows her to engage in a different mode of thinking.

“It’s a different headspace than I’m used to,” Pugh said. “It allows

me to think about things in a different way for a little while.”

Something Fong found interesting about the society is the eclectic group of people that end up participating—people who onlookers might not expect to be interested.

“Through one way or another, they found Belegarth,” Fong said.

“Now their horizons have been expanded through it. They’re more receptive and enjoy geeky things.”

The society is gearing up for the Wolfpack Opener in two weeks at Illinois State University—the largest indoor event in Belegarth.

The team holds a Columbia-exclusive practice every week in room 307 at the 11th Street Campus Building, 72 E. 11th St. Open practice is held on Thursdays at EastWest University gymnasium, located inside The Flats, 829 S. Wabash Ave., from 7–10 p.m. ncooper@chroniclemail.com

February 9, 2015 • 13

The Columbia Chronicle 14 • February 9, 2015

ABBY SEITZ Sports & Health Reporter WHILE THERE ARE a wide range of devices and systems available for the visually impaired, few are able to replicate vision.

The Brainport device, originally developed in 2007 to help maintain balance, facilitates sensory substitution—the phenomenon of trying to generate the input normally received by a certain sense by tapping into the channel of another, such as braille, which utilizes touch. The Brainport is worn like a pair of glasses with a small camera attached to the bridge. A wire transmits visual input from the camera to a piece that users place on their tongue. The visual input is encoded as a sensory message and sent to the tongue piece, which conveys to electrodes that give the user a perception and understanding of their surroundings.

Patricia Grant, the director of clinical research at Wicab, Inc., Brainport’s developers, said the device is used to help people who are visually impaired or blind identify objects, navigate their environment or spot-read.

“It was developed to augment other assistive devices like the white cane,” Grant said. “It is a device that gives the person more information about their environment. It could be used for navigation, it could be used to identify dif-

ferent objects in front of a person.”

According to Grant, the advantages of the Brainport device are that it does not require surgery and has shown to be effective in trials.

The device is currently available in Canada and Europe and is in its final stages of gaining Food and Drug Administration approval before entering the U.S. market. The idea for the Brainport stems from the sensory substitution theories of neuroscientist Paul Bach-y-Rita, “We do not see with the eyes,” Bach-y-Rita wrote in a 2003 edition of Discover magazine. “The optical image does not go beyond the retina, where it is turned into the spatio-temporal nerves of [impulses] along the optic nerve fibers. The brain then recreates the images from analysis of the patterns.”

The Brainport device’s use of sensory substitution gives users a sense of the world around them, according to University of Pittsburgh Medical Center associate professor Ellen Mitchell.

“It doesn’t give them sight per se,” Mitchell said. “With training and use of the device, it [can] give a representation of what’s going on.”

Mitchell said that while the device cannot restore vision, patients may be able to strengthen their awareness of their surroundings and performance of certain tasks.

“With the right type of contrast, [patients who practice] are able to make out letters on a piece of pa-

per or letters on the board,” Mitchell said. “There was a patient who was able to open her mail and able to know what type of bill had come in the mail. It takes a lot of training and time with the assistive device to get to that point.”

Emilie Gossiaux was hit by a truck while riding her bicycle in New York City in October 2010. She sustained a traumatic head injury that left her blind. She began using the Brainport in 2012 after being recruited for a study of the technology through Lighthouse International, a non-profit organization in New York City that provides a variety of resources to the visually impaired. Gossiaux used the Brainport from July 2012 through the spring of 2014.

“They were doing a study on what people might use it for,” Gossiaux said. “Some people use it for traveling, some use it for playing with their kids, but I use it for drawing.”

A student at the prestigious Cooper Union art college in New York at the time, Gossiaux’s accident left her unable to create art like before.

She began producing art again two years after her accident, working primarily with industrial arts, such as ceramics and woodworking. By wearing the Brainport device, Gossiaux was able to utilize some of her former artistic mediums, such as painting and drawing.

“I used either black markers or black India ink,” Gossiaux said. “I

Alexander Aghayere THE CHRONICLE

Brainport device supplements sensory substitution

would start drawing on the page, but it took a really long time for me to get comfortable using it because it’s not that easy. I had to zoom in really, really close to the marker, like the point tip, in order to watch what I was drawing.”

Gossiaux described the feeling of the electrodes transmitting information as “prickly, like little tiny ant bites.”

The Brainport did not create vivid images for Gossiaux. However, she could make out objects in front of her, such as a door frame or a table. She said it took hours for her to link the information being given to

her in her tongue to the blurry images she saw in her mind.

“Sometimes, there would be light and shadow that I can see,” Gossiaux said. “You can’t see colors. It’s not black and white. It’s black and lighter shades of black. It was sort of looking at a screen on a TV that is really flat and you can’t see in three dimensions.”

Gossiaux compared her vision of her drawings to computer pixels.

“It’s like a computer animation and you’re trying to decipher [it] piece by piece,” Gossiaux said. aseitz@chroniclemail.com

The School of Liberal Arts and Sciences Announces the

ATTENTION STUDENTS:

Are you an illustrator? Do you have your pulse on-and something to say about-the historical, cultural, and political issues taking place in the world?

Submit an original political cartoon for the 2015 Paula F. Pfeffer & Cheryl Johnson-Odim Political Cartoon Contest for your chance to win a cash prize. A panel of judges from various academic departments will select five cartoons from the pool of submissions, and then award cash prizes to the students who created them. The First Place winner will receive $550, Second Place will receive $450, Third Place will receive $350, and two Honorable Mention winners will each receive $250.

In addition to cash prizes, all winners receive a certificate and will be honored at a reception on Tuesday, April 28, at the Columbia College Chicago Library.

Above: last year’s winning entry from YUNJING LI

SUBMISSIONS:

Both single-panel and multi-panel cartoons are acceptable for this contest. Submitted cartoons must be drawn or printed on 8.5x11 white paper. Please include your full name, address, phone number, student ID number, and email address on the back of the entry. You can submit up to five cartoons, and you can win more than one prize if you submit more than one cartoon.

HAND-DELIVER OR MAIL YOUR SUBMISSIONS TO:

Oscar Valdez Re: Political Cartoon Contest Department of Humanities, History, and Social Sciences 624 S. Michigan Ave. 10th floor, Suite 1000

For more information, visit colum.edu/PCC or contact Dr. Teresa Prados-Torreira, tprados-torreira@colum.edu or 312-369-7567.

Sponsored by the Department of Humanities, History, and Social Sciences in collaboration with The Columbia Chronicle.

THE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT CARTOONS IS FRIDAY, APRIL 10

14 • February 9, 2015

February 9, 2015 • 15

Sports & Health

xx TWITTER

Continued from PG. 11

STOCK PHOTO

xx BRAIN

Continued from PG. 11

“There is this window of plasticity, a window of opportunity when you manipulate sensory input, you can still see changes inside the brain,” Banerjee said. “It’s called the critical window.”

Banerjee said this window of plasticity operates on a kind of bell-shaped curve, as it is controlled by a number of internal and external factors, such as cell type or the kind of sensory input received, which influence how malleable the cortex is and for what length of time. These changes can take place in a short amount of time, especially if they occur during this critical period.

“If you deprive sensory input, there are some very quick but very robust changes that take place,” Banerjee said. “[When] crossmodal interaction is taking place, we understand very little at the cell-type level, in a more reduced manner than fMRI and studies where it’s easy to look at changes like that.

But this is an emerging area, and in the next 10 years people will understand more about how different modalities are processed together but at a very high resolution, at the cellular level.”

According to Dormal, the many cognitive shifts that occur in the brain when sensory deprivation takes place are more readily measurable. Behavioral changes become apparent along with sensory

compensations that patients make when their senses are impaired.

“What this study tells us is it gives some interesting perspective, that even in an adult brain there are still changes occurring and the brain is plastic, much less in adulthood than in childhood, the brain is capable of [reorganizing itself ] even in adulthood,” Dormal said. “It would be interesting to run group studies in order to measure the impact of this crossmodal plasticity, how this auditory-driven reorganization that occurs in the blind brain impacts visual recovery. [Its ability to] impair visual recovery is only one side of the story. It could also help as well.” mgreen@chroniclemail.com

Empower), freshman business & entrepreneurship major Grace Kinter utilizes Twitter and Facebook to share articles on feminism.

“Everyone who follows me sees it,” Kinter said. “They can either go past it and not think anything of it, or they can see it and it can make them think a little bit. Even if someone looks by and thinks about it a little bit and says, ‘Oh, you know what, that’s true.’ That’s making a small difference.”

O FACE primarily focuses on empowering female students and discussing the positives of being a woman, according to Kinter.

Through both her personal ac-

“It makes me mad, but it makes me want to work harder to be one of the people who helps change the gender gap,” Kinter said. “It’s so necessary for there to be a change.

There’s so many things that change constantly, so I don’t see why we can’t knock this whole gender gap.”

As the co-president of The F Word, a feminist campus organization, junior cinema art + science major Charlotte Adams also utilizes Facebook to share articles and information about feminism. “[Social media] plays a really important role in society changing,” Adams said. “I feel like even now, people have a misunderstanding of what feminism is, and I feel like combating that is what [The F Word] does on social media.”

[Social media] plays a really important role in society changing .”

— Charlotte Adams counts and the O FACE Facebook page, Kinter strives to spread anti-sexism messages while encouraging confidence.

“I just try to convey really positive messages,” Kinter said. “I think social media is taking over the world in a way. I have my fair amount of sharing what I just ate, but I also think, ‘Why not say it to share a positive message?’”

Kinter said seeing sexist material on the Internet also fuels her passion for feminism and activism.

Adams said posting pro-feminist messages and content to both The F Word and her personal account makes her feel that she is making a difference.

“I definitely feel like it’s empowering to share stories that [they] might not normally share,” Adams said. “I know in my personal experience, being more open about being a feminist [made my] self-confidence greatly improve.” aseitz@chroniclemail.com

February 9, 2015 • 15

The Columbia Chronicle 16 • February 9, 2015

NOVICE

SOUS CHEF

GURU

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup softened butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 3 ripe bananas, peeled and slightly mashed 1 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup mini chocolate chips 1 sliced banana (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Line 12–16 paper cupcake liners in muffin pan.

3. In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar, then beat in two eggs and continue stirring until light and creamy. Mix in bananas.

4. In another bowl, stir the flour and baking soda together, then add to large bowl and mix. Toss in chocolate chips.

5. Fill paper liners 3/4 of the way and top with bananas.

6. Bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE

ABBAS HALEEM Copy Chief THERE’S NOTHING LIKE my mom’s baking. She can whip up everything from the basic cookies, brownies and cake to complex desserts like magic squares and some crazy brownie-pudding-Cool Whip combination called a brownie trifle.

Still, nothing compares to her banana muffin recipe.

I had a “eureka” moment in high school, realizing the only thing that could make my mom’s banana muffins better was chocolate chips.

Start by preheating the oven and filling a muffin pan with paper cupcake liners. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together be-

fore adding in two eggs, and keep beating until the mixture is light and creamy.

That’s when the bananas should be mixed in. Get a separate bowl to mix flour and baking soda, and then marry the two mixes. Stir to make sure everything is evenly distributed and add chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips taste best and tend to melt better than the semi-sweet kind, adding a warm creaminess in every bite because, as you know, the chocolate gets everywhere.

For added flavor and aesthetic appeal, thinly slice an extra banana and put a slice atop each muffin. It might sink in a little bit, but that’s OK. It’ll act as a surprise burst of taste and texture.

Fill the paper liners up three quarters of the way. I like to use an ice cream scoop because it makes it easer to fill each paper cup evenly.

Bake the banana goodness in the oven for 20–25 minutes or until the muffins are light brown on top.

To check if the muffins are cooked through, insert a toothpick or knife.

It should come out clean if the muffins are done.

The muffins, like many other desserts, taste best fresh out of the oven, but if they are cooked just right, they will remain soft for days. Just be sure to put them in a container after they have cooled to ensure lasting perfection. ahaleem@chroniclemail.com

GET TOGETHER

& GATHER UP

EXPERIENCE LIFE FROM EVERY ANGLE.

16 • February 9, 2015

Monday, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

The Columbia Chronicle

‘Walking taco’ makes its way to Lincoln Square SPENCER HALL Arts & Culture Reporter AFTER COMPETITIVE EATERS and cre-

ators of Glutton Force 5­—the former food truck operation team of Tim “Gravy” Brown and Patrick “Deep Dish” Bertoletti—won an episode of the Food Network’s “Food Court Wars” that landed them a free spot in a mall food court, the pair is ready to relocate their Taco In A Bag restaurant.

Just one year after the duo settled at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee, Illinois, Brown and Bertoletti are ready to move on. Their lease at the food court shop is up at the end of February, and the pair signed a lease for a new brick and mortar storefront in Lincoln Square—the former site of HomeMade Pizza Co., 4603 N. Lincoln Ave. “The mall we were in has been very slow, so we decided that our concept is more suited for Chicago,” Bertoletti said. “We used to have a food truck in Chicago and whenever we do events there, we kill.”

Bertoletti and Brown agreed that although being located in the mall taught them valuable lessons on how to run a restaurant, it was time to move on from the shopping center to reach out to a more open-minded audience.

“When we’re in the city, even if we had something strange, they loved it,” Brown said. “They’ll try

it. They’re more adventurous. Out here, it’s just too tough for us to grab a market. These people, bless them, they’re nice people, but I just don’t think they get it.”

Brown said moving to the city will improve the appeal of Taco In a Bag because people within the city limits are more willing to try unusual foods, while patrons in shopping malls are looking for something familiar.

“The mall is a place for things that you know,” Brown said. “People come to a mall and expect certain things. You know there’s going to be a Hot Topic. You know there’s going to be a Zumiez. You know you’re going to get a piece of pizza the size of a laptop and some pretzels. That’s something you come to expect.”

Bertoletti, a renowned competitive eater and chef in his own right, said the chance to travel around the country—thanks to competing in eating contests—has helped influence his cooking style, making it more eclectic.

“I went to culinary school, and I’m a cook, so it’s a luxury most cooks don’t get,” Bertoletti said.

“I’ve seen a lot, eaten a lot and I’ve been to a lot of places.”

The idea for the walking taco, which is a bag filled with taco ingredients you can eat while on the go, came to the duo when they were visiting Buffalo for an eating competition seven years ago.

Courtesy TACO IN A BAG

“When we were in Buffalo, there was just some dude on the corner of the street opening up Doritos throwing liquid cheese and meat on top of all kinds of taco trimmings and it was really one of the most wonderful things we’ve ever had,” Brown said. “That was really the be-

ginning of it there, which was about seven years ago.”

While the Wicker Park taco restaurant Big Star has adopted the “walking taco” as well, the duo know it all derives from food truck .

“We realized that it was the perfect street and festival food,” Berto-

letti said. “We started with our food truck, and the whole intention was to do food festivals with it. That’s when we realized that the walking taco was pretty much the perfect food item for a street festival.”

xx SEE TACOS, PG. 28

Icelandic artist comments on American culture GINA SCARPINO Arts & Culture Reporter

PAINTED PATCHWORKS OF colorful

American comic book and pop culture excerpts are filling the walls of Mana Contemporary Chicago, an art center located at 2233 S. Throop St., until April 30.

The exhibition, “Erró: American Comics,” is traveling from Mana Contemporary headquarters in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is going to be presented courtesy of Galerie Ernst Hilger in Vienna, Austria.

Selena Ricks, public relations director for the gallery, said the show is part of Mana’s international gallery collection program.

“We opened the Erró show [in Jersey City] in September,” Ricks said. “We decided to have the show travel to Chicago to expand the audience and to see a new network.”

Erró is a post-modern artist from Iceland who creates collages from American comics and pop culture imagery and projects the collages onto a canvas and paints them.

The exhibition will run through April 30 and showcases 11 works Erró created between 1979–2009.

“Erró: American Comics” focuses on two dominant aspects in Erró’s work: superhero-themed narratives and his famous “Scapes” series. Through these two main themes, the exhibition commenys on society and culture in a man-

Courtesy MANA CONTEMPORARY Icelandic artist Erró creates collages using pop culture imagery and American comics. He projects the collages onto large-scale canvas and uses acrylic paints to replicate the images. This exhibit is Erró’s first show in Chicago.

ner similar to the many pop artists from the 60’s.

Austin St. Peter, an adjunct professor in Columbia’s English Department, said in an email that Erró has been creating art since 1958.

The first piece he saw by Erró was “The Daughters of Mao,” which was part of a catalog during his Chinese cycle in the 1990s.

“I thought [the piece] represented a beautiful critique of authoritarianism—a critique that came by way of the careful juxtaposition of limited elements,” St. Peter said.

“Erró contrasted a socialist realist-style portrait with a far more cartoonish, far less carefully rendered set of skeptical daughters.”

Ysabel Pinyol, curatorial director for Mana Contemporary, stated that pop culture imagery reflects his artistic belief that more is better, the email stated. “[Erró’s work is] busy, but it’s busy on purpose,” Ricks said.

xx SEE COMICS, PG. 28 February 9, 2015 • 17

The Columbia Chronicle Arts & Culture

18 • February 9, 2015

Comics from Columbia’s best and brightest, Edited by Andrea Cannon, Senior Graphic Designer and Zelda Galewsky, Contributing Comics Editor

FOR RELEASE FEBRUARY 15, 2015

THE TV CROSSWORD

by Jacqueline E. Mathews

18 ACROSS • February 9, 2015

1 “__ Bloods” 5 Role on “Alice” 8 “The __ Breed”; James Stewart movie

36 “The __”; Gregory Peck/Lee Remick horror film 37 “__ Brothers”; Will Ferrell movie 38 Long-running adventure series about a collie

ACROSS 1 “__ Bloods” 5 Role on “Alice” 8 “The __ Breed”; James Stewart movie 9 Jessica or Hope 12 “Little __ on the Prairie” 13 Frank and Marie Barone’s older son 14 Pod vegetable 15 Bernie and others 16 Andorra’s continent: abbr.

18 Peg for Nicklaus 19 Actor Azaria 20 “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. __” 21 Close at hand 23 Actor Gary __ 24 Storm or Gordon 25 Unconscious state 26 Actor Peter __ 28 Sitcom in which Sherman Hemsley played a deacon 29 Gabor and Longoria 30 Thick slice 32 Montgomery’s state: abbr.

35 Slangy refusal 36 “The __”; Gregory Peck/Lee Remick horror film 37 “__ Brothers”; Will Ferrell movie 38 Long-running adventure series about a collie 40 Phillips, once of “Dateline NBC” 41 “__ Wonder”; sitcom of the 1980s about a robot daughter 42 “__ Rock”; Simon & Garfunkel song 43 One of the Three Stooges 44 Prohibitionists

DOWN 1 “2 __ Girls” 2 Actress on “Parenthood” 3 __ Major; “Great Bear” constellation 4 Wide shoe width 5 Congregation 6 Blood analysis sites 7 “__ Tree Hill” 10 Medical drama series 11 Piano piece 12 “__ in Cleveland” 13 Galloped 15 Actress Winningham 17 Alejandro __ of “The Flying Nun” 19 Alan __, Jr., of “Gilligan’s Island” 20 Political commentator and TV journalist Brit __ 22 Corncobs 23 Explosive device 25 James or Scott 26 “Dancing with the Stars” judge 27 Skating rink shapes 30 Advice from Allen Funt 31 Bruce or Brandon 33 Horne and her namesakes 34 King Kong, for one 36 Norway’s capital 37 “__ Trek: Voyager” 39 Actor Waterston 40 “The __ Caesar Show”

February 9, 2015 • 19

Arts & Culture

Comedians bring HIJINKS to iO stage SPENCER HALL Arts & Culture Reporter SKETCH COMEDY IS always a welcoming plat-

form for new, high-concept ideas. The weirder the idea, the better.

This is good news for HIJINKS, the fivepiece sketch comedy group that brought its show “HIJINKSfest” to its new home at the iO Theater, 1501 N. Kingsbury St., on Feb. 7.

The group is composed of members Clayton Margeson, Jude Tedmori, Mike Klasek, Alex Hanpeter and Kyle Reinhard. Over the last year, the group has made a name for itself in Chicago, thanks in part to its experimental 12-show run at the Public House Theatre, 3914 N. Clark St.. Before joining together, the ensemble was originally split into two separate sketch groups known as Sovereign and Two Bunnies Eating Flowers.

“We are all improvisers and sketch writers by trade, and I was in a group with Mike Klasek,” Margeson said. “He approached me about that because he said, ‘I want to do sketches like nobody else, and you seem like a maniac who will do anything.’”

During the groups’ residences at the Public House, the members came up with the idea to become one big supergroup.

“We were still doing shows separately, but we were all on similar wavelengths, and [we] got along really well,” Margeson said. “I think it was Chris Geiger at Public House Theatre who said, ‘You should all do a split bill show where Two Bunnies opens for Sovereign one week and Sovereign opens for Bunnies the next week.’ We were like, ‘That’s not super interesting because that’s what other groups would do.’ So instead we were like, ‘Let’s just make one supergroup.’”

The comedy performances tend to be physically taxing on the HIJINKS perormers. The seemingly endless, high-energy performances of the experimental sketches often take a toll on the performers.

“None of the shows are easy, so we’re all kind of worried because there’s going to be a lot of screaming, physical movement and [mock] violence and stunts,” Klasek said.

Tedmori said the spirit of the shows, albeit a bit chaotic at times, helps keep the audience involved with every performance.

“Luckily, [all of the shows] are high-energy,” Tedmori said. “We crafted the running order of the shows to not be chronological, but to keep the audience’s attention and keep it varied so there’s not back-to-back stuff.”

Making it to the iO is a dream for the members of HIJINKS. iO’s history, and its new Lincoln Park location, made the decision to perform at the theater an easy one.

“It is going to be awesome,” Tedmori said.

“We’re super excited because the new theater’s so nice, and they’ve been nothing but accommodating. Just the fact that they’re letting us do this show—which is an uncharted thing nobody’s done before—is awesome.”

Margeson said working with the theater has been an exciting experience because iO is open to an array of ideas, no matter how eccentric and experimental they may be.

“We’re so used to being told no, so we were thrown when we were told yes,” Margeson said. “Normally we push it so far that people are like, ‘No, you can’t do that. You can’t light anyone on fire or get completely naked.’ With this it’s just been ‘Yes, yes, yes.’”

The members of HIJINKS said they are excited to try new things on the iO stage.

“We’ve gotten into trouble with the marketing, but they’ve been on our side and totally supportive,” Klasek said. “It’s a dream come true.”

Courtesy JUDE TEDMORI The ensemble members of HIJINKS performing “The Book of HIJINKS” during the Jangleheart Circus comedy festival at The Den Theatre, 1333 N. Milwaukee Ave. The group celebrated its new home at the iO on Feb. 7.

MY MEATS ATE

REAL VEGGIES

SERIOUS DELIVERY!

TM

TO FIND THE LOCATION NEAREST YOU VISIT JIMMYJOHNS.COM ©2014 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

shall@chroniclemail.com February 9, 2015 • 19

The Columbia Chronicle

20 • February 9, 2015

Chicago ladies redefine arm ‘rasslin’ The city’s League of Lady Arm Wrestlers gears up for XXI: My Bloody Valentine STORY BY DESIGN BY PHOTOS COURTESY OF

Wrestling and theater have gone together since almost the beginning, whether wrestling fans want to admit it or not. Lights, pyrotechnics and theme songs often accompany wrestlers making dramatic entrances, as with Hulk Hogan’s “I am a real American,” proclaiming Hogan the ultimate patriot.

The Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers, which is set to host CLLAW XXI: My Bloody Valentine on Feb. 13 at the Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N Kedzie Blvd., goes in for the same theatrical elements as the beloved SmackDowns and cage matches of World Wrestling Entertainment, except for one thing—the arm wresting is actually real.

Karie Miller started CLLAW in February 2009 and now plays the role of Rockke L. Squeltch, CLLAW XXI Mistress of Ceremonialism and an ensemble member of the Sideshow Theatre Company. While pursuing a graduate degree at the University o f Virginia with other future members of the Sideshow Theatre, Miller said she participated in the original League of Lady Arm Wrestlers, founded in Charlottesville by theater actress Jennifer Hoyt Tidwell. When she moved to Chicago to join the Sideshow Theatre Company, Miller offered up the idea as a possible event series and fundraiser for the theater, and the Chicago league was born.

Miller said she got Tidwell’s blessing to start her own league of arm wrestlers in Chicago, and CLLAW

20 • February 9, 2015

BAXTER BARROWCLIFF Arts & Culture Editor CASSIDY JOHNSON Graphic Designer JAMES RAND

now brings hundreds of spectators to each event, which was not the case during the organization’s humble beginnings.

“At our first event, we had 40-some people maybe,” Karie Miller said. “At our last event, we had almost 700.”

Produced by the Sideshow Theatre, CLLAW is very much a theatrical

event. The majority of the wrestlers involved have some sort of theater background, although it is not a requirement, and all of the characters portrayed by the wrestlers are just that—characters with their own personas and backstories. Miller said personas portrayed during the events are just as important to the show as the arm wrestling itself.

“The bigger performative element of it is the energy coming off of the wrestlers and their personalities, so when you walk in you’re smacked in the face by these crazy characters,” Miller said.

“That’s what’s really on display more than the actual physical strength—this explosion of character, explosion of charisma that all of these ladies crank out.”

Kaye Straub, who wrestles under the moniker “Macho Ma’am Candy Savage,” a nod to the late Macho Man Randy Savage, one of the most well-known professional wrestlers of all time, said she got involved with CLLAW shortly after moving to Chicago because the combination of theater and wrestling matched her personal interests perfectly.

“I was looking for a hobby that was artistic and fun,” Straub said. “I’ve always been a big WWE fan and [since] I went to school for theater I was like, ‘I have to do this.’”

Straub is a two-time champion of CLLAW and will be defending her title at the upcoming event. During the last two years in the league, Straub has become one of the audience favorites and said her character’s Facebook fan page has more than 300 likes.

Straub became a fan favorite after her first wrestling match in the league, when she defeated seven-time CLLAW champion the Killer Bee. Straub said she tied with the Killer Bee and had to spin the “stalemate wheel,” which is spun to decide a playoff competition between the rivals. Straub’s

February 9, 2015 • 21 Arts & Culture

event ended up being dancing, and she said she defeated her opponent by dancing her heart out and becoming a fan favorite.

“Now, whenever I go [to CLLAW] I still have people bringing my trading card from two years ago or [people] who remember me and I remember them or who like me on Facebook and I’ve never met them before,” Straub said. “It’s pretty cool—starting to build a fan base of strangers.”

Kelsey Miller, CLLAW coordinator and Karie’s sister, wrestles under the name Lumberjack Jill, which was inspired by her time spent in a Conservation corps in New Hampshire. Kelsey Miller said a lot more goes into these events and performances than meets the eye.

Although the arm wrestling itself is real, the competitions are still works of theater, so CLLAW events have to be organized according to who fights, what the “drama” in each match may be and what possible antics might be used by the arm wrestlers, Kelsey Miller said.

“It’s all well and good to watch an arm wrestling event, but in order to keep audience members coming back, it’s the other stuff that happens besides that,” Kelsey Miller said. “So we ask, ‘Are you going to have any antics on stage? Are you going to kick chairs? Are you going to grab her face and kiss her? Are you going to hit her with a ruler?’ It’s how you’re going to add that extra ‘umph’ to your match.”

According to Kelsey Miller, CLLAW events are held three times a year, traditionally with one event in the beginning of the year, one during the summer and another in the fall. Kelsey Miller said the arm wrestling matches are organized by a standard bracket system with the winning wrestlers advancing to the subsequent rounds until a champion of the CLLAW tournament is victorious.

There is also an opportunity for wrestlers to be named “crowd favorite,” which is decided by the cheers of the audience and is usually won by one of the lady wrestlers who lost their match, Kelsey Miller said.

Brittany Meyer, aka Stone Cold Jane Austen, joined CLLAW last year and has only performed in one event prior to the upcoming CLLAW XXI. With little experience in theater— and essentially no experience as a lady arm wrestler or CLLAW attendee— Meyer was uncertain as to how theatrical her first performance would be.

“I was kind of taken aback by it because, until

the week of [my first CLLAW], I was not aware that this was a part of a large interactive theater piece,” Meyer said.

“I was under the impression that I would have like 10 minutes on stage total, between coming out and then leaving. You’re walking around the whole time, you’re constantly interacting with people and you will have to be in character as much as possible doing whatever you want to do.”

The names of the lady arm wrestlers are just as theatrical as the wrestling itself and take careful thought and consideration to craft, Meyer said. She is one of the few who have developed a character based on a preexisting professional male wrestler, in this case Stone Cold Steve Austin.

“I really wanted to have a wrestler’s name,” Meyer said. “I tried it with other famous wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, but I couldn’t come up with a good gimmick for that…. We kind of put the idea together of Stone Cold Jane Austen, which is kind of the perfect feminine twist for this character.”

Most CLLAW events feature a variety of activities aside from arm wrestling, according to Straub. She said the Feb. 13 CLLAW event will feature bands Gay Name and Swimsuit Addition playing live during the intermission and, like always, audience members will get to bet on the lady wrestlers of their choosing by using “CLLAWBUX,” which designate proceeds to go toward 826CHI, a nonprofit writing and tutoring center in Chicago, Straub said.

“It’s like 30 percent competition, 30 percent freak show carnival ... and it’s like 100 percent chaos,” Straub said. “It’s 100 percent awesome is what it is. There is so much going on, there’s constant entertainment, whether it’s the actual match or the stuff we do in between…. the audience is just as much a part of the show and the energy and the atmosphere as anybody else.”

Alisa Rosenthal, who wrestles under the moniker Marie Armtoinette, said while all the wrestlers strive to be theatrical and win their matches, each wrestler approaches participating in CLLAW in her own calculated way.

“Everyone is coming from a different place, like I’m coming from theater,” Rosenthal said. “Other people, like Macho Ma’am, that’s a lifestyle. She does an awesome job of really being that character and getting people pumped up on Facebook because she’s coming from the athletic side, and other former champions are real tough chicks, but I kind of ride

on charisma.”

With audience satisfaction in check, the next priority for CLLAW is the fundraising, and the organization it will partner with changes from one event to the next. Kelsey Miller said the charity partnering is a leftover concept from the original Charlottesville league—but the chosen organizations are always art-based.

Karie Miller said the Collective of Lady Arm Wrestlers has spread to more than 30 different leagues throughout the U.S., all of which are based on philanthropic ideals, although each league chooses its own charities.

“It’s important that it stays philanthropic like that—that’s a big cornerstone of this CLAW idea,” Karie Miller said.

“The one in Charlottesville would raise money for a different charity each time they did it. There were elements of [the league] that we wanted to preserve, and that was a really important one.”

Along with scoping out various arts charities, Karie Miller said CLLAW is also focused on ensuring the audience members remain comfortable, even if things get crazy.

“As crazy as we go, we are equally as serious about being safe, not just in the ring with each other, but [with] all of the audience members,” Karie Miller said. “We have a commitment against sexual harassment, we have a commitment to supporting all genders and gender identifications, we have a commitment to a safe space, so you should feel comfortable bringing your crazy flag just as much as we’re bringing our crazy flag.”

In the end, it is all about having a good time, whether it is the prizes won from betting on the winners—which can be a delight—or a dollar-store pregnancy test from betting on a loser, the kissing booths or interacting with the wrestlers who walk through the crowd, Karie Miller said.

“In some ways, it’s like you’re going on this crazy road trip with a bunch of people you don’t know and they’re completely bonkers,” Karie Miller said. “But you just trust that it’s going to be fine because CLLAW says you’re going to get to the other side OK.” The show is open to adults 21 and older, tickets are $10 or $15 admission plus 10 CLLAWBUX.

bbarrowcliff@chroniclemail.com

February 9, 2015 • 21

The Columbia Chronicle 22 • February 9, 2015

‘Jupiter Ascending’ stuns visually, story stagnates ETHAN STOCKING-ANDERSON Film Critic IN THE RECENT sci-fi film “Jupiter As-

cending,” Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) is a humble housecleaner who turns into space royalty in a “Star Wars”-meets-“Cinderella” story, in which she saves the galaxy.

Written and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski—the duo known for “The Matrix” trilogy and “Cloud Atlas”­ —their latest venture into sci-fi fantasy was filmed in Chicago.

Throughout the film, Jones lands on the hit list of the solar system’s evil alien emperor Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne). However, Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), a wolfman alien hybrid, is tasked with guiding Jones through the many perils of the universe that she always longed to explore.

The film uses innovative stunt techniques rather than computer-generated imagery, and it is better for it. The impressive visuals seem more authentic and convincing because the Wachowskis and cinematographer John Toll managed to avoid the pitfalls of relying too heavily on CGI effects, that call attention to themselves.

The filmmakers take advantage of Panocams, a new cinematic camera device, which was mounted on a helicopter to effectively capture a stuntman and 180 degrees of the Chicago skyline during sunrise for the most thrilling scene of the

entire movie. The Chicago-native directors are not afraid to make a spectacle of their beloved city, especially during a devastating intergalactic space battle.

The film is pleasing to the eye from start to finish, with beautiful scenes of space, planets and ships.

The design of the foreign worlds and their architecture are convincing and creative. One space ship has a Renaissance cathedral-like design, and the alien metropolises have exceptional steampunk-style architecture. Most importantly, these extraterrestrial worlds are convincing and fascinating. The Wachowskis are never vague about the sources of their inspiration, and the blend of visual inventiveness they bring included in the film raises standards for films to come.

However, the visual effects write a check that the story and characters cannot cash. As fresh as the scenery may be, the plot is stale.

More than one reference to Terry Gilliam’s “Brazil,” oddly enough, does not bail it out, even while featuring a brief yet satisfying cameo with the Monty Python alumnus.

Much of the film carries a gravely serious tone. Because Tatum and Bean are cast as stone-cold military characters, the burden of comic relief falls at the feet of the protagonist Jones, and Kunis’ attempts to crack wise fall flat. The movie is not without its chuckles, though, as Eddie Redmayne’s explosive perfor-

mance received more laughter than was intended. Tatum may have played a more interesting character in this movie, but by no means is he Han Solo—neither is Bean’s character for that matter.

“Jupiter Ascending” borrows from sci-fi classics like “Star Wars”

15% OFF Mon - Thurs Students, faculty, and staff Void Friday - Sunday

412 S. MICHIGAN AVE. CHICAGO, IL 60605

312.939.7855 Sun.–Tues. 7:30 – 9 p.m. / Wed-Sat. 7:30 –11 p.m.

Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · After Theater · Fine Wines · Great Spirits · Espresso

WE DELIVER!

8am - 8pm - Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Gelato · Espresso · Desserts · Soup · Salads · Sandwiches · Burgers · Wraps

www.artists-cafe.com 22 • February 9, 2015

estockinganderson@chroniclemail.com

IMDb

-SINCE 1961-

312.583.9940

Though the movie’s overall plot line is unlikely to turn many heads, the film’s graphics will, and audiences are more likely to see future projects utilizing similar technology for visual delight.

Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis and Academy Award nominee Eddie Redmayne make up the star-studded ensemble for the new sci-film adventure film “Jupiter Ascending.”

Arti Café t

1150 S. WABASH AVE. CHICAGO, IL 60605

and “Terminator” but does not succeed in emulating any of their successes, nor that of recent space-adventure smashes “Guardians of the Galaxy” or “Interstellar.” “Jupiter Ascending” is neither simple and accessible to viewers nor unnecessarily complicated and confusing.

February 9, 2015 • 23

Arts & Culture

February 9, 2015 • 23

The Columbia Chronicle 24 • February 9, 2015

PVRIS turns heads with static sound I was recording electronic music on my computer. We were always hesitant to incorporate it into the music we were releasing. Eventually when we got to the studio with Blake [Harnage], he just gave us the confidence. Finally, we took the dive and released music with [electronic music] incorporated into it.

GINA SCARPINO Arts & Culture Reporter TURNING HEADS IN the alternative music scene with its evocative sound, Lowell, Massachusetts, native band PVRIS (pronounced “Paris”) released its debut album White Noise in November 2014.

In late 2012, Lynn Gunnulfsen (vocals/guitar), Brad Griffin (drums), Alex Babinski (keyboard/ guitar) and Brian MacDonald (keyboard/bass) came together to form PVRIS. The band released its self-titled EP in March 2013, which helped earn the band a spot on the Ernie Ball stage during the Vans Warped Tour that summer. Griffin parted ways with PVRIS at the end of the summer, but his departure did not stop the remaining trio from recording with Blake Harnage of the band Versa. The band released its acoustic EP on April 1, 2014, and spent the spring on tour before announcing in June that PVRIS had officially signed to Rise Records.

PVRIS released “St. Patrick” in late June 2014—the first single off the band’s debut album. The band started gaining attention in the alternative community for its transformed sound and haunting lyrics after the song’s release, and White Noise earned the No. 6 spot on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart.

The Chronicle spoke with Gunnulfsen about the inspiration for White Noise, the band’s change in sound and how the album was received by fans.

THE CHRONICLE: Between signing to Rise Records and releasing your debut album, PVRIS had a crazy year in 2014. What has been the most surreal part for you so far?

What was it like working on the album with Blake Harnage?

Courtesy SAM SAN ROMAN PVRIS gained attention last summer with its transformed electronic-based alternative sound. Its debut album, White Noise debuted on Nov. 4, 2014 via Rise Records.

LYNN GUNNULFSEN: The biggest thing of the year was putting our record out. Before we released it, it had been done for seven or eight months. We released it right around the time that we wanted to record it, so I think that was the biggest thing.

If we didn’t release the record, all the other opportunities that have come up wouldn’t [have] happened.

Why did you decide to name the album White Noise?

We had a really tough time naming the record. We knew we wanted something ghostly and paranormal because the whole record is themed around ghosts. We were so indecisive on names, and there was one day where we were like, “What if

24 • February 9, 2015

we take one of the songs from the record and name the record that.”

So we thought White Noise was the most [suitable] because when I think of white noise, I think of TV static and electronics. I also think of paranormal stuff, so the two tied together are what the record is anyway. Our record has a lot of electronic influences, and the lyrical content is very ghost-themed and haunting in a way. The two of them tied together into White Noise.

What inspired the haunting sound for the record?

I’m very into very dark and sad-sounding music in general, so that was immediately a no-brainer. But when we were making the

record, I was going through a really tough time. Because I didn’t know where this feeling was coming from, it was like a ghost in a way and like I was being haunted by something. That just turned into the whole metaphor and the overall theme for the record—not letting your ghosts and demons get to you.

White Noise had a different sound than both of your EPs. What inspired you to take the album in a different direction stylistically?

The change was a lot more gradual than people realize. Our first EP, which I kind of don’t want to talk about because we don’t want it to be talked about anymore—but even when we were recording that EP,

It was awesome. He taught us so much and he’s such a weird, goofy dude. He has a very similar sense of humor as the rest of us, so we were always cracking jokes and being stupid. One crazy thing about him is that he works nocturnally, so we would wake up at 3 p.m. and work until 8 or 9 in the morning. It was really backwards, but it was fun because I feel like it got the best creativity out of us.... One of the huge things he taught us was not to box ourselves in and don’t make the music people are expecting you to make.

When you do that, the music will speak honestly.

White Noise has been out for a few months now. What has the response been like?

The response has been so positive, and it seems like everyone is going crazy about it, which is awesome because we really weren’t sure what to expect. We all knew that we were proud of the record, but we weren’t sure how people would receive it. The response has been amazing, and so many amazing opportunities have come up. gscarpino@chroniclemail.com

“Favorite collaborations”

Jake Wittich, Campus Editor

Baxter Barrowcliff, Arts & Culture Editor

TELEPHONE Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé ALL OF THE LIGHTS Kanye West ft. Rihanna & Kid Kudi POWER TRIP J. Cole feat. Miguel LADY MARMALADE Christina Aguilera ft Lil’ Kim FOURFIVESECONDS Kanye West ft Rihanna and Paul McCartney

GOT YOUR MONEY Ol’ Dirty Bastard ft. Kelis IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD John Coltrane & Duke Ellington TAKE A FALL FOR ME James Blake ft. RZA BLOOMDIDO Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie THE GIRL IS MINE Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney

Nancy Cooper, Sports & Health Reporter

Gina Scarpino, Arts & Culture Reporter

DRUNK IN LOVE Beyoncé ft. Jay Z LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE Eminem ft. Rihanna UNDER PRESSURE Queen & David Bowie SCREAM Michael & Janet Jackson BOUND 2 Kanye West ft. Charlie Wilson

DANCING IN THE STREET David Bowie & Mick Jagger THE WORST GUYS Childish Gamgino ft. Chance the Rapper LOST IN THE WORLD Kanye West ft. Bon Iver TAKE ME AWAY Bleachers ft. Grimes WALK THIS WAY Run DMC ft. Aerosmith

Spencer Hall, Arts & Culture Reporter

Carissa Degen, Senior Campus Reporter

PINK MATTER Frank Ocean ft. Andre 3000 INT’L PLAYERS ANTHEM UGK ft. Outkast DRIVE SLOW Kanye West feat. Paul Wall DEAR GOD The Roots ft. Monsters of Folk OTIS Kanye West & Jay Z

THE NEXT EPISODE Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg IRIE Ty Dolla $ign ft. Wiz Khalifa

COLLARD GREENS Schoolboy Q ft. Kendrick Lamar

PASS IT MY WAY Mod Sun ft. Pat Brown SHABBA A$AP Ferg ft. A$AP Rocky

February 9, 2015 • 25

Arts & Culture

Friday, Feb. 13

YouTube boosts accessibility of interactive music videos ARTISTS LIKE KANYE West and Arcade

ence of watching videos online.

“Your videos bring your fans front and center, behind the scenes and everywhere in between,” the press release read. “But what if your fans could choose from different camera angles of the same video while that video is playing?”

One of many reasons the website claimed its newest tool would be a game-changer is that in theory, viewers would be more likely to spend more time watching a certain video or to watch the same video multiple times from different angles if they felt like they could control the way in which they view videos. If the theory proves correct, it could mean increased revenue for popular YouTubers, whose advertising dollars could increase significantly due to fans spending longer amounts of time on the pages or boosting their number of page views.

Billboard reported that some users may have issues with audio discontinuity if they try to switch views quickly, but after visiting any YouTube channel that has posted a video since Feb. 4 that is multi-angle compatible, a message will appear on the screen alerting viewers that holding down their left or right arrow keys just a tad longer than usual will make for a

Riviera Theatre 4746 N. Racine Ave. 7:30 p.m. $35, 18+

Monday, Feb. 9

Friday, Feb. 13

MORITAT

THE TRAGIC THRILLS

Empty Bottle 1035 N. Western Ave. 9 p.m.

Free, 21+

Beat Kitchen 2100 W. Belmont Ave. 7 p.m. $12, 17+

Tuesday, Feb. 10 smoother transition between the many different camera angles.

The idea for the multi-angle and toggle options for YouTube’s videos has apparently been in talks for a while, and according to the Billboard report, it is meant to add to the Generation C—creation, curation, connection and community—toolbelt. Now YouTubers can also be video editors.

While videos allowing users to drag their mouse to the right or left to focus in on a certain portion of the music video set or performance have been offered by the likes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Miranda Lambert since 2012, YouTube’s new tool will make toggling videos more practical and accessible action for users and artists alike. ksenese@chroniclemail.com

Friday, Feb. 13

MELANIE MARTINEZ

THE EXPENDABLES

Lincoln Hall 2424 N. Lincoln Ave. 7 p.m. $18

Bottom Lounge 1375 W. Lake St. 7 p.m. $18, 18+

Wednesday, Feb. 11

Saturday, Feb. 14

OVERCLOCKED

NOCTURNA

Subterranean 2011 W. North Ave. 8:30 p.m. $8, 21+

Metro 3730 N. Clark St. 11 p.m. $10, 18+

Thursday, Feb. 12

Sunday, Feb. 15

AMERICAN WOLF

IRMA THOMAS

Schubas 3159 N. Southport Ave. 8 p.m. $8, 18+

Thalia Hall 1807 S. Allport St. 6:30 p.m. $26+

Kelly Wenzel THE CHRONICLE

Fire have dabbled with interactive music videos in the past, but YouTube is taking steps to make such videos much more common.

The video-sharing website announced the creation of a new user-friendly tool on Feb. 4 that will allow visitors the ability to interact more directly with artist music videos, according to a same-day Billboard report.

Effective immediately, users who upload videos to YouTube will have the choice to send multiple camera angles through to the site in addition to the accompanying audio track. YouTube will take care of fusing the different feeds together, allowing viewers to toggle the video as they watch it and choose what camera angle they would like to watch a video from, giving users the ability to switch up their view without pausing the video, according to Billboard.

Press materials from YouTube stated that the new tool is one of the video-sharing website’s many initiatives to facilitate interaction between users and creators and to make artists’ work more relatable to fans.

The YouTube press release asked readers to think about how the latest innovation would impact the experi-

BUSH

TAYLOR SCHEIBE

senior journalism major WHAT ARE YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY PLANS? “Celebrating my 5 1/2 year anniversary with my boyfriend.”

MUSA ISA

junior cinema art + science major WHAT ARE YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY PLANS? “None, as of now.”

AMY MUOUNA

junior art + design major WHAT ARE YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY PLANS? “No plans right now.”

TATSUYA KURIHARA

junior art + design major WHAT ARE YOUR VALENTINE’S DAY PLANS? “Nothing.”

February 9, 2015 • 25

The Columbia Chronicle 26 • February 9, 2015

‘How Do You Do It?’ stands brutally honest COLIN MCINERNEY Game Critic “HOW DO YOU Do It?” is exploratory in its design—refreshingly simple and an honest piece of work from someone who has something clever to say. It tackles the subject of sex from the perspective of an awkward pre-teen girl.

Nina Freeman’s new game will make you throw out all notions of what you think a video game can be.

The medium that started as a way to bring traditional games into new technologies has spent the last few years exploring its depths and limits. Freeman’s past projects largely consist of vignette games—games that capture a feeling or a moment in life. The games end up being deeply personal as a result and arouse feelings that players might never expect to feel from looking at a screen and pressing a few buttons.

“How Do You Do It?” is a game about sex. That sentence evokes a lot of different images for people.

Whether it be something deeply personal and emotional or something fun, sex is a complicated subject to tackle and is largely considered taboo in video games. When BioWare tackles the complex notion of relationships in games like “Mass Effect,” the relationships tend to feel more like simulations than authentic interactions, as they often have a definitive end when sex comes around.

26 • February 9, 2015

Courtesy ninasays.so/howdoyoudoit/

“How Do You Do it?” is a video game about a girl learning about sex with her dolls while her mom is out of the house, she tries to not get caught by mom when she returns.

In this game, players take control of a little girl, supposedly representing Freeman herself at age 12. A brief scene plays in which the girl’s mom leaves the house while delightful and somewhat ambient music plays. The stage of the game is set. The girl wanders to her toy box and pulls out a male and female

doll—both naked—and the player is given control. Players can mash the dolls together haphazardly and rotate each one clockwise. During this time, there is a thought bubble over her head, her mind racing as she wonders what the hell sex is, recalling the love scene between Jack and Rose in a car down below deck

in the ship’s storage cabin from the 1997 movie “Titanic.”

“Why was it so cloudy in there?” the girl muses. “Clouds don’t go in cars.”

The game ends when the front door clicks open. Mom will catch you if the dolls are together, and she will not if the dolls are apart. It is

very easy to get lost in the game and get caught by Mom; you might not even hear the front door or realize that it is opening. “How Do You Do It?” manages to capture the feeling of being a child confused and intrigued by sex without coming off as creepy or disingenuous.

That feeling is further cemented by the disorienting lack of progress indicators. There is no way to know if players are doing well in this game or not, just as teens expierence. At the end of the game, a screen pops up stating, “You might have done sex (number) times!” There is no real measure of what doing sex might be beyond the game’s own indicator, which it staunchly refuses to reveal.

“How Do You Do It?” is not for sale. It can be played for free at Freeman’s website at ninasays.so/ howdoyoudoit. The game is currently nominated as a finalist for the “Nuovo Award” at the Independent Games Festival, an award given to intriguing and exploratory new games. The fact that the game is not a nominee for the “Excellence in Design” award is a shame, as no game elicits such a unique and strange feeling that comes naturally, while adults often forget exactly how awkward the whole experience can be. If you become uncomfortable playing “How Do You Do It?” then the game has succeeded. chronicle@colum.edu

February 9, 2015 • 27

Arts & Culture

Stay COZ Y & WARM this Valentine’s Day with ShopColumbia!

SHOPCOLUMBIA: YOUR DESTINATION FOR COZY GIFTS, CARDS, JEWELRY, FINE ART, AND MORE!

ShopColumbia

623 S Wabash Ave, first floor Chicago, IL 60605 Store Hours: M, T, W & F: 11am - 5pm. TH: 11am - 7pm

Phone: 312.369.8616 Email: shop@colum.edu Online store: http://shop.colum.edu Facebook: facebook.com/shopcolumbia Tumblr: shopcolumbia.tumblr.com/ Crochet Mittens by Kirsten Renz, Graphic Design ‘16

February 9, 2015 • 27

The Columbia Chronicle 28 • February 9, 2015

xx TACOS

xx COMICS

Although plenty of Chicagoans already know about Big Star’s walking taco, Brown and Bertoletti said their original “walking taco” is a step above the rest.

“Big Star basically takes Fritos and covers them with chili,” Brown said. “We’ve been doing ours a lot longer than that. I am not s--tting on Big Star because Big Star is a very good restaurant, but our [walking tacos] are all homemade.”

Lisa Ripson, a spokeswoman for the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce, expressed her excitement about Taco In A Bag. In an emailed statement, Ripson said the new restaurant will fit right in with the other restaurants.

“Eating in Lincoln Square is like taking a mini trip around the globe,” Ripson said. “We welcome another great concept and option for people to dine in Lincoln Square.”

The opening date for the new location is undecided, but the duo is aiming for an April opening this spring. While Bertoletti and Brown are grateful for the experience they had in the food court, they said they are excited to make the move.

“The way I look at it was that it was a test kitchen for a year, where we figured everything out,” Bertoletti said. “I know what works now.

If you open in Chicago, there are no excuses. You’ve got to be on your game from day one.”

“He’s really making a comment about American culture and mass consumption,” Ricks said.

Since the beginning of his career, Erró has continuously used his artwork to create a series of vital interventions, St. Peter said in the email.

“When Erró’s interventions are at their strongest, they come by way of his canny ability to use montage and juxtaposition,” St. Peter said.

Continued from PG. 19

shall@chroniclemail.com

Continued from PG. 19

“[He uses these] to enable his collage and combination work to move beyond simply representing culture to making a second-order critique.”

Now at the age of 83, Erró has made a fundamental shift in terms of the physical size of his art pieces and through his appropriation strategies, St. Peter noted in an email.

“Erró’s earlier period works used juxtaposition to produce second-order criticisms of culture and observer, form and content, media

and figurative representation, [and] conservative politics,” St. Peter’s email continued. “I’m concerned that Erró’s combination of French revolutionary spirit with an American pop art sensibility may have ceded the revolutionary Geist— leaving in its place the type of work that earlier period Erró would have critiqued.”

Ricks said when the exhibit was shown in Jersey City, it resonated with the college students that came to see the show because they

gscarpino@chroniclemail.com

Courtesy MANA CONTEMPORARY “Erró: American Comics” is the new exhibition at Mana Contemporary Chicago, 2233 S. Throop St., and is showcasing 11 works by Icelandic post-modern artist Erró. The show opened Feb. 8 and will run through April 30.

stay current visit us online @ www.columbiachronicle.com 28 • February 9, 2015

connected and related to the pop culture imagery of Wonder Woman and other iconic superheroes that was shown. “[I am hoping this exhibit] stirs some debate about the use of comics in art,” Ricks said. “I think for Erró, his statement is really about how American culture is spreading internationally to become a global culture and I think that’s an interesting statement [to make].”

facebook twitter instagram

February 9, 2015 • 29

Arts & Culture

The Portfolio Center, on behalf of the Albert P. Weisman Trust, announces the 2015 Weisman Award recipients. These students will receive $2,000 to complete a significant project in their chosen fields.

Please join us in congratulating the following students:

ALEX ABRAHAMSON

CINEMA ART + SCIENCE

ELIZABETH JOAN ALLEN

INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS

GRAYON HUGH BAGWELL

INTERACTIVE ARTS & MEDIA

HANNAH BATSEL

INTERDISCIPLINARY BOOK AND PAPER

LINDSEY BORGNA

PHOTOGRAPHY

ADRIENNE CISKEY

INTERDISCIPLINARY ARTS

ROBERT CARNILIUS COGDELL III

CINEMA ART + SCIENCE

TAYLOR EDIN

FINE ARTS

WHIT FORRESTER

PHOTOGRAPHY

ROBERTO GUTIERREZ

ILLUSTRATION

KELSEY HAYENGA

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

ELAINE CATHERINE MILLER

PHOTOGRAPHY

JONATHAN MOELLER

CINEMA ART + SCIENCE

TIN NGUYEN

CINEMA ART + SCIENCE

MATTHEW K ROBINSON

BUSINESS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The Albert P. Weisman Award is made possible by the generosity of the Weisman family, the Weisman Committee and the many friends of Albert P. Weisman who donate both time and resources to make this award possible.

The Weisman Exhibition will run from September 8th through October 16th 2015.

February 9, 2015 • 29

The Columbia Chronicle 30 • February 9, 2015

BLOG: “I Love Charts” Do you ever enjoy looking at charts and wish there was a place you could go to look at an endless amount of them until your eyes hurt from staring at all the charts and reading all the precious information they hold? Look no further and blink your eyes—there’s a blog dedicated to chart lovers that’s filled with unrelated chart content. There are humorous charts, scientific charts, homemade charts by 8-year-olds and a chart that depicts tequila mixology. Get to charting!

Check it out at: http://ilovecharts.tumblr.com/ VIDEO: “Mean Tweets - Music Edition #2” Jimmy Kimmel continues his “Mean Tweets” series with “Music Edition #2,” which this time includes harsh words for pop stars Lady Gaga, Britney Spears and Katy Perry, indie artists Haim and Sam Smith, and even YouTube sensation PSY. With R.E.M.’s comforting “Everybody Hurts” in the background, Kimmel’s sinister series also targets rappers, skewering Drake, Childish Gambino and Wiz Khalifa. Khalifa laughed off his mean tweet immediately with a signature stoner chuckle.

Check it out at: http://bit.ly/MeanTweets8

Spencer Hall Arts & Culture Reporter

Baxter Barrowcliff Arts & Culture Editor

Gina Scarpino Arts & Culture Reporter

THINGS MICHAEL BUBLÉ DOES WHEN CHRISTMAS ENDS

GREATEST JAZZ SAXOPHONISTS

WAYS TO EMBARRASS PEOPLE

He hibernates until Sept. 27: From Black Friday until 11:59 p.m. on Christmas day, Michael Bublé is everywhere.

For someone who works that hard for a straight month, it is safe to say Bublé deserves a bit of a break. That’s why Bublé is all about cuddling up with his Dean Martin teddy bear the minute Christmas ends until Sept. 27.

Charlie “Bird” Parker: An obvious choice, Parker is the greatest sax player to have ever lived. He basically invented bebop, with a little help from Dizzy Gillespie. He changed the way jazz is heard and played forever. Oh, and the man is also partially responsible for Miles Davis’ career, so you’re welcome, world.

He gently brushes the hair of his Frank Sinatra doll for several hours inside his shrine to the Rat Pack: It is no secret that one of Michael Bublé’s most obvious musical inspirations is Old Blue Eyes. That is why he spends five hours every morning brushing his Sinatra doll.

John Coltrane: Not only was he a sideman to Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk, Coltrane’s work on Impulse! Records was extremely influential on the budding modal jazz and free jazz genres of the 1960s—an era that doesn’t even include Blue Train, Giant Steps and Coltrane Jazz, the albums for which he is best known.

Impromptu dance party: There is nothing better than breaking out into an unexpected dance number while at a store with friends or family. Two seconds in, if whoever you are with does not participate, he or she will suffer from extreme embarrassment. This is by far my favorite way to embarrass people because I have been told (by many people) that I dance like a drunk dad. Oddly enough, I am totally OK with that. As my best friend always says when I break out into a horrible dance number, “I will not hesitate to leave you here and drive home without you.”

He answers all of your mom’s fan-mail: During the holiday season, Bublé gets a ton of fanmail from mothers all across the Midwest. He tries his best to personally answer each, and that is why Bublé delivers handwritten letters with his signature Brut cologne scent dribbled onto the envelope when he finally wakes up from his hibernation.

He vandalizes Harry Connick Jr.’s personal property: Bublé sneaks into Harry Connick Jr.’s house in the darkness of the night, siphons the gasoline from his 1957 Chevy Bel Air and incinerates a map of New Orleans on his front yard. Bublé then tiptoes into Connick Jr.’s house, draws a silly villainous mustache on his 13 autographed portraits of Jerry Lee Lewis and leaves a cuff link on the kitchen table to let Connick Jr. knows what’s going down.

He rereads the entire “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” novels: Bublé is a huge fan of the “Traveling Pants” film series, but whenever he gets a break from crooning Bing Crosby Christmas tunes, he prefers the book series. The books hit a nerve that Blake Lively’s performance as Bridget just does not fully encapsulate. He likes to refer to this period in which he reads the novels as his “happy place.”

Ornette Coleman: Coleman is the man behind one of the most influential jazz records of all time and essentially the first free jazz record, 1959’s The Shape of Jazz to Come.

Originally considered a joke for his style and being from the West Coast, Coleman and his interracial quartet, which was quite rare at the time, produced a string of albums that would establish free jazz as a respectable form.

Sonny Rollins: Another associate of the great Miles Davis, Rollins is widely considered to be one of the most influential players in the jazz world for his material in the hard bop genre, bebop and then some, as well as performing in one of the first trios to omit the piano. He is also responsible for one of my favorite album covers of all time, Way Out West.

Pharoah Sanders: First off, the guy calls himself Pharoah, a nickname given to him by Sun Ra, so obviously he makes the list. Secondly, he spent his formative years playing with John Coltrane. Sanders’ playing was even an influence on Coltrane, and he would go on and delve further into the world of free jazz. Ornette Coleman once described him as “probably the best tenor player in the world.”

Say dumb things: Personally, I have quite a track record for saying dumb things. For example, I expressed my excitement for snow by saying “We can be like the red pandas in that one YouTube video where they run around in the snow!”

Saying things like that makes the person you are talking to suffer from secondhand embarrassment.

Sing badly: If your jam comes on when you are out in public, sometimes you just cannot help but belt it out at the top of your lungs. Have the time of your life while everyone else suffers. It always works when you are trying to make people uncomfortable.

Suggest doing something stupid: One time, a good friend of mine said, “We should get eggplants and bananas tattooed on our elbows!” This led to an immediate face palm followed by an “Are you f–ing kidding me?” Embarrassment achieved.

Bring up humiliating stories: This is the best way to embarrass people. Recalling a time when someone tried ordering french fries but instead said “I want potato” will always humiliate whoever you are talking to. And yes, I have actually witnessed someone saying “I want potato” while ordering a meal. Needless to say, we never returned to that restaurant.

Kelly Wenzel THE CHRONICLE Ben Howard, a singer-songwriter from London, performed a sold-out show on Feb. 4 at The Riviera Theatre, 4746 N. Racine Ave. The jam-packed audience listened attentively as Howard played his low-key set. He will complete his current U.S. tour by the end of February.

30 • February 9, 2015

February 9, 2015 • 31

Arts & Culture

Uhmmm, WTF?

No– just... no.

It’s whatever.

I can dig it.

YAAASS!

“Empire” season 1

“Only One” by Kanye West

“Fresh Off the Boat” season 1

“Breaking Greenville” season 1

If you like drama, hip-hop and sex, then catch “Empire,” the new hit series on Fox. From rags to riches and from the prison to the penthouse, Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson are exceptional. The two stars deliver a phenomenal performance. — J. Scott

Kanye West’s new music video is cute, but I’m ready for some real action. I miss the raw and scary vibes from the “Black Skinhead” video. I understand West is always reinventing his music, but I’m waiting for something that is going to make me want to turn up. — K. Davis

I’m really enjoying the diversity beginning to emerge on primetime television. “Boat” follows a Taiwanese family as they move from Washington D.C. to Orlando to open a steak restaurant. It’s a charming family show and you should check it out. — C. Jefferson

This is a show that is supposed to give viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the world of TV news. It centers around two rival TV stations in Greenville, Mississippi, as they try to top one another in the ratings. This is some raunchy small-town stuff. — C. Jefferson

Snapchat app update I could not be more annoyed with this app’s latest update. Not only can you no longer creep on everyone else’s Best Friends, the new “discover” addition is pointless and is difficult to get out of. Keep it simple and traditional, Snapchat. — M. Bennett

myHomework app

Wunderlist app

Pandora app update

This app is just what I needed to get organized while starting the spring semester. You can enter your class schedule, upload documents and assignments and set reminders to help stay on top of your classes. It even syncs your Apple devices. — J. Wittich

Whether you are working on a group project or looking to find better ways to coordinate grocery shopping with your roommate, Wunderlist should be your go-to. The app allows users to make their lists shareable and editable to anyone they choose. — S. Vinton

The other day my phone updated the Pandora Radio app without my permission and I wish it had not. While the changes to what music plays are minimal, the new appearance throws me off and looks lame. In this case, less is definitely more. — C. Degen

“One Time” by Migos

“And I Love Her” by Passenger

The ATL trio, Migos, released “One Time” a song off of their album Y.R.N. 2. The mellow beat goes against the usual Migos’ chaotic, club banger sound. Quavo outshines the rest of the group as usual, and the song is a little repetitive. — N. Craig

Mike Rosenberg released a new song while on tour in Australia and New Zealand. Written while enjoying the scenery of New Zealand, “And I Love Her” is a sweet melody with metaphorical, swoon-worthy lyrics. His lightness never fails to carry listeners away. — N. Rosales

Shadows In The Night

by Bob Dylan

“The Best Room”

by Modest Mouse

“Adventure Time: Marceline Gone Adrift #1”

“World’s largest DDoS attack reached 400Gbps” by John E. Dunn This article published Jan. 27 by Techworld details the ever-growing concern of DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks. An attack that occurred in December broke records for being the largest in history. — C. King

Boom! Studios’ six part mini comic book series takes “Adventure Time’s” Princess Bubblegum on a quest to rescue Marceline from deep space. This series will be a great addition to any “Adventure Time” fan’s collection. — A. Cannon

Dylan definitely rises to the occasion with his new album. His expressive vocals add an entirely different layer to his music and makes Shadow In The Night very enjoyable to listen to. This record is beautiful. — K. Wenzel

This song from forthcoming Modest Mouse album Strangers to Ourselves is a pleasant re-visitation to a band I have been longing to hear more material from. It is a promising foreshadow into what can be expected. — L. Foglia

Pretzel chips and hummus

NARS lipstick

This food duo has become a main staple in my diet. The fact that it is delicious is enough to keep me hooked but it is also healthy makes this snacktivity guilt-free. If you have not tried this amazing food pairing, you’re truly missing out. — C. Johnson

Whether you like bright reds or more neutral pinks, NARS lipstick has long-lasting wear that will make your lips look camera ready.

The rich pigment in each color gives it a matte finish that makes it a real competitor for other brands like Benefit or Too Faced. — K. Davis

February 9, 2015 • 31

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

The Columbia Chronicle NATIONAL EDITORIAL

Vaccines a must, in medicine we trust

VACCINATIONS WILL REMAIN a major

point of contention between those who do and those who don’t believe in science for the foreseeable future. With measles making its way into recent headlines amid a U.S. outbreak, it seems that many need a refresher on the necessity of immunization. However, forcing people to face cold, hard, scientifically proven facts is becoming more and more difficult with the increasing popularity of anti-vaccination ideologies.

More than 195 cases of measles—the single most infectious and contagious disease—have been reported across the country after an outbreak occurred at Disneyland in December 2014, according to a Jan. 29 New York Times report.

Yes, the Happiest Place on Earth is the hub of what could very well become an epidemic if parents and the government do not wise up.

Congress should make immunizations for preventable diseases mandatory for children under the age of 2—the optimal age, according to the Center for Disease Control—as it has become evident that those who choose to opt out of or those who claim they cannot afford vaccinations are now becoming public health troglodytes. Vaccinations should be required because the reemergence of measles, a disease that was declared virtually eliminated in 2000, is unacceptable.

Higher education households, low-income households and religious communities are the most likely to deny vaccines altogether or under-immunize their children, according to a Feb. 3 International Business Times report. The individuals in these groups exist in small geographical clusters across the country, such as Northern California’s Marin County, according to the report.

Though these clusters may seem insignificant, they are not, because one unvaccinated child is all it takes to create a national public heath crisis.

The hope is that parents do not willingly put their child in danger, but it is worrisome that

any parent would not want the best possible medical care and method of disease prevention for their child. Vaccinations are the most effective medical care and method of prevention for children. To deny basic science is irrational and negligent. It may very well be that parents believe their child’s immune system is enough to ward off infection, but when that child is taken ill by a disease that could have been completely avoided with proper vaccinations and goes on to infect others, it should be criminal because the failure to act amounts to reckless endangerment.

However, there is also no excuse for parents who claim they cannot afford to vaccinate their children because the CDC’s Vaccines for Children Program provides vaccines to clinics and doctors’ offices across the country, that then administer vaccines to eligible children free of charge.

For those who are actively choosing to ignore the facts because this blog said this or that neighbor said that, the government should prioritize awareness and education, as science literacy is clearly an issue in this country.

That said, it’s not ignorance of science on the right; it is simply anti-government rhetoric.

Regardless, the ethics of not vaccinating a child should be considered, and the government in turn should require immunizations regardless of religious, political or philosophical claims.

With an irrational fear of Ebola still looming, the lack of rational fear for a very real outbreak of measles is disconcerting— particularly because cases have now been confirmed in the Chicago area, according to a Feb. 6 Chicago Tribune report. When a preventable disease reemerges, it is time to take stock and reevaluate how the U.S. has regressed to a time where a once antiquated disease is a clear and present danger. When a disease that kills thousands every year in countries without the medical capabilities the U.S. has reemerges, it is time to make the tough but easy decision of requiring vaccinations.

CAMPUS EDITORIAL

Snow day: Students refuse to ‘Let It Go’ THE COLLEGE’S DECISION to keep the

campus open Feb. 2 in the wake of the fifth-heaviest snowstorm in Chicago’s recorded history was met with the usual vitriol seen when students are forced to go through a day-to-day routine that is only somewhat inconvenienced by Mother Nature.

With more than 19 inches of snowfall recorded at O’Hare International Airport­—and some parts of the city seeing up to 22 inches— many students and faculty thought it was necessary to call a snow day.

However, the Alert Now or Send Word Now message that went out on Feb. 1 produced no such outcome. Columbia opted to cancel all classes beginning before 10 a.m. on Feb. 2 instead of calling a snow day, as neighboring college DePaul University did.

Many factors go into making the decision on whether or not to close the campus due to inclement weather. Unfortunately for students and staff, what they want is not one of those factors. The inconvenience of waking up early to account for delays in traffic and public transit is annoying, as is the prospect of trudging through un-shoveled snow, but that’s life, especially for those training to become adult professionals.

It is upon students to take responsibility for themselves.

College is a time to create routine and learn how to manage the obligations and responsibilities that come along with adulthood.

It is not the time to whine and complain about having to make a little more effort than usual to go into the Loop for expensive, prepaid classes.

This is not to say the administration is always right when it comes to making the call on whether classes should be canceled. The administration has definitely slipped up before, like last year when classes were still held as temperatures outside dropped well below zero. It is imperative that when there is a recognized threat—such as last year’s polar vortex—to the safety and well-being of students that the administration take the necessary measures to keep the student body safe.

Winter storm Linus, which was classified as a blizzard later in the evening on Feb. 1 due to extreme whiteout conditions, did not measure up to the dangers of last winter’s subzero temperatures.

Had conditions worsened, the college’s administration may have called a snow day, but as the snow

petered off into the early morning of Feb. 2, it was clear that while many Chicago residents were up to their knees in snow, it was not insurmountable, nor a serious risk to students and faculty commuting into the city.

Nevertheless, Columbia’s campus being centrally located in Chicago’s South Loop is a curse and a blessing. Although the campus is spread out across many city blocks, making it difficult to trek through 19 inches of snow, it also sits on many major city streets and intersections, making it a top priority for shoveling and plowing routes.

Of course, any sort of nasty weather—be it insufferable heat or torrential downpour—can cause frustration among students and faculty, but when weather is nothing more than an aggravation, as Feb. 2’s proved to be, it is on each individual to buck up and show up.

It is about making the decision to hold oneself accountable for being present and making the most of it because, if anything, college is still optional, but future job and career obligations are not. So consider this practice for the real world, when inclement weather is the least of everyone’s concerns and snow days are a thing of the past.

EDITORIAL CARTOON

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Baxter Barrowcliff Arts & Culture Editor Saiyna Bashir Online Content Producer Carissa Degen Senior Campus Reporter

Tyler Eagle Editor-in-Chief Caitlin Looney Opinions Editor Matt McCall Metro Editor

Abby Seitz Sports & Health Reporter Kyra Senese Managing Editor Jacob Wittich Campus Editor

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 32 • February 9, 2015

February 9, 2015 • 33

Opinion

Inmates denied parole, lack available housing

NATALIE CRAIG Managing Editor EVERY YEAR, APPROXIMATELY 1,200 state prison inmates are denied parole because they are unable to secure housing that complies with parole requirements. This process is referred to as “violation at the door,” which affects 1,000 convicted sex offenders and 200 other inmates without a sex crime background, according to a Jan. 25 Chicago Tribune article.

The Illinois Department of Corrections is required to assist inmates on mandatory supervised release in finding a home but is not required to obtain residential placement for those inmates, according to Supreme Court documents. IDOC is not doing enough to ensure that inmates have the ability to succeed after

they leave prison, though. This prohibits the release of inmates from prison.

Johnny Cordey is the most recently released inmate to challenge “violation at the door.”

Cordey spent more than a year in prison after his release date because he could not find housing that met his parole requirements.

He was sentenced to 36 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault and was scheduled to be released on parole in April 2013. However, he was taken back into custody at the Menard Correctional Center in Menard,

better suited for state legislature, according to the court documents.

Not only does this practice set prisoners up for failure after they have served their sentence, but it also costs taxpayers $25 million annually to keep inmates in prison past their release dates, according to the Tribune’s report.

In an effort to lessen this, IDOC hosts reentry summits, which give inmates the opportunity to learn about economics, religion, employment, housing and other topics that make reintegration back into society easier, according to IDOC’s website.

on parole or probation, which can help them reintegrate into society after spending years or even decades behind bars. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, inmates are required to follow specific rules and fulfill certain conditions that ensure they comply with the law and do not pose a threat to society while on parole.

While on probation, inmates are allowed to work in the community, attend counseling sessions and earn money through working at approved locations, all with support from friends and family, according to the American

In order to ensure that inmates are released on time and that Illinois taxpayers are not paying for overcrowded prisons, IDOC should implement an extensive housing program.

However, sex offenders have a difficult time covering costs for proper housing and finding a home that is in accordance with GPS electronic monitoring devices because they cannot live within 500 feet of a school, park or day care center and need to be electronically monitored.

When inmates return to prison after initial release, they are unable to experience the benefits of being

Illinois, to serve a three-year term of mandatory supervised release.

Cordey was finally released on Oct. 14, 2014. He filed a petition Nov. 20 seeking the Supreme Court to rule the “violation at the door” practice unconstitutional because it violated his equal protection and due rights process.

However, the Supreme Court decided not to take jurisdiction over the issue because it was

Probation and Parole Association.

Probation is essential to reducing crime and ensuring that inmates have an opportunity to learn how to be law-abiding citizens after they are released from prison.

In order to ensure that inmates are released on time and that Illinois taxpayers are not paying for overcrowded prisons, IDOC should implement an extensive housing program that will

guarantee inmates are placed in halfway houses or other housing that meets its specific requirements by their scheduled release date.

Unless such a program is created, the state’s inmate recidivism rates will only continue to grow. It already was the highest in the nation at 51.7 in 2011, according to a June 6, 2014, The Youth Project blog post.

Inmates are at a higher risk of resorting to criminal activity to make money if they are stripped of the opportunity to gain employment and life skills during their probation period or while living in a halfway house.

The APPA recognizes that inmates are capable of changing their behaviors if they are integrated into society under supervision. Parole can encourage constructive behavioral change when inmates accept responsibility for their actions and their future role in society.

However, because IDOC lacks a more comprehensive housing program, more inmates will remain in prison and miss out on the intervention and reintegration process, diminishing their chances of success and the safety of their communities. ncraig@chroniclemail.com STUDENT POLL

Should the government require vaccinations?

“No, you are in control of your own body.”

Jasmine Ransom senior marketing major

“No, it should be a personal choice—strongly encouraged but not enforced.”

Natasha Ivanov senior public relations major

“No, it should be the decision of the parent.”

Kyle Charmelo senior audio arts & acoustics major

Super Bowl XLIX: Seahawks, Patriots and sharks?

NANCY COOPER Sports & Health Reporter SUPER BOWL XLIX went down in history Feb. 1 with a record-breaking 114.4 million viewers tuning in to see some good old-fashioned football, highly-anticipated commercials and compelling halftime entertainment.

The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks played some valiant football, but the Seahawks could not pull through (in the fourth quarter) due to what is quickly becoming known as one of the worst calls in Super Bowl history.

Seattle was down by four points, leaving running back Marshawn Lynch running the ball to the

half-yard line with a minute left in the game. Most football fans know the next play call: Run the ball, again. Instead, quarterback Russell Wilson passed the ball with an interception right into the hands of New England cornerback Malcolm Butler. Game over.

The Pats won 28-24 and fans instantly took to social media with #worstcallever. Former professional football player Emmitt Smith said on Twitter on Feb.1 that it was the worst play he has seen in NFL history. Former NFL wide receiver Terrell Owens tweeted, “That play will haunt Pete [Carroll] for the rest of his life.”

NBC commentator Cris Collinsworth said, “You’ve got Marshawn Lynch, who is borderline unstoppable in this area of the field. I will never get over throwing the ball in that situation.”

So, what were the Seahawks thinking? Whatever it was, it definitely cost them the Super Bowl.

Thank goodness there was a break in the nail-biting game to enjoy some good Pepsi-sponsored entertainment. This year, pop star Katy Perry hosted the halftime show with special cameo appearances by Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott.

Perry opened the show with her hit “Roar” while riding into Phoenix’s Glendale Stadium on a giant mechanical lion. Although Perry was a “firework,” the outlandishness of the performances and cheesy outfits had fans giggling.

Mechanical lions, dancing sharks, shooting stars and Perry’s flamed outfit caused a stir with thousands of people tweeting about the singer’s performance.

According to Twitter, World Wrestling Entertainment said, “Thank you Katy Perry for your salute to @WWE Legend Bam Bam Bigelow!”

Other viewers compared her outfits to a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, a Hot Dog on a Stick, Pokémon’s Magmar and Will Ferrell’s fiery one-piece from “Blades of Glory.”

Though everyone loves a good dancing shark, perhaps Perry could have taken the route of a Super Bowl halftime show legend, such as Beyoncé’s performance two years ago.

Perry’s performance was pretty solid, but Missy Elliott was the halftime “Hail Mary.” The 43-yearold singer was looking fly with her sleek ponytail, huge hooped earrings and rockin’ leather baseball

cap. Elliott captured the viewers with her medley of “Get Your Freak On,” “Work It” and “Control.”

Perry and Kravitz’s awkward grinding to “I Kissed a Girl” had viewers gawking at what an odd pair they were. Even Kravitz’s own daughter posted an image on Instagram of Perry’s booty rubbing up against her famed papa and a shot of herself from the “Divergent” films looking confused with the word “Dad?” on it.

Now, onto a Super Bowl fan favorite: the commercials. Once again, Budweiser captured viewers with a heartfelt commercial about a lost puppy that ventures his way back home to his Budweiser Clydesdale buddies. It made you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Snickers played on “The Brady Brunch” and had fans rolling with laughter with Danny Trejo as Marsha and Steve Buscemi as Jan. Seeing beloved villain Trejo holding a machete while freaking out on Mike and Carol was priceless.

The pair added a wonderful twist to one of the most beloved families in TV history.

This year’s commercials toned down the skimp and sleaze, replacing it with startling ads and serious messages.

For instance, the NFL’s “No More” campaign drew attention to domestic violence with a real 9-1-1 call from a victim who pretends to order a pizza while her attacker is still in the room. This chilling ad instantly silenced me mid-nacho bite. The solemn commercial left an impact and brought attention to a relevant issue.

Nationwide insurance also provided viewers with a sobering ad about a young boy’s journey. The boy states in the ad, “I will never learn to ride a bike or get cooties. I will never learn to fly or travel the world with my best friend.” The boy later deadpans, “I could not grow up because I died from an accident.”

Nationwide gets an F for taking the commercial too far. What was once an upbeat place full of cheering fans turned into a depressing one full of Debbie Downers.

Maybe next year’s advertisers will stick to the consistent lineup of commercials centered on puppies, wings, beer and chips.

Overall, Super Bowl XLIX was a success. It kept viewers entertained, and isn’t that the whole point? ncooper@chroniclemail.com February 9, 2015 • 33

The Columbia Chronicle 34 • February 9, 2015

APPLY FOR 2015–2016 FINANCIAL AID F O L L O W T H E S T E P S /C O M P L E T E Y O U R F I N A N C I A L P L A N

1 2 3 SUBMIT

SUBMIT YOUR 2015–2016 FAFSA AT WWW.FAFSA.GOV

FILE YOUR 2014 TAXES ELECTRONICALLY

UPDATING...

UPDATE YOUR FAFSA ONLINE WITH THE IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL

APPLY FOR 2015–2016 FINANCIAL AID FOLLOW THE STEPS/COMPLETE YOUR FINANCIAL PLAN SUBMIT YOUR FAFSA ONLINE AT WWW.FAFSA.GOV

FILE YOUR 2014 TAXES ELECTRONICALLY WITH THE IRS

UPDATE YOUR FAFSA ONLINE WITH THE IRS DATA RETRIEVAL TOOL

When: As soon as January 1st

When: During the month of February

When: 30 days after filing your taxes electronically

If you won’t have your taxes filed by this time, use estimated income figures to submit your FAFSA. Submitting your 2015– 2016 FAFSA by February 1st will allow you to:

Learn about tax incentives and free tax preparation services you may be eligible to receive by visiting colum.edu/ becomemoneysmart and click, “Tax Incentive Information” for more details.

Completing your 2014 taxes during February will allow you to:

Log onto www.fafsa.gov to make FAFSA Corrections. Using the IRS Data Retrieval tool will allow you to:

•

Receive your 2015–2016 Award Letter

by April 2015

•

Get a head start on completing Columbia Scholarship applications Deadlines for completed applications begin February 1st.

•

Update your FAFSA with your actual tax figures using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool

•

Reduce the number of potential errors on your FAFSA for a more accurate 2015–2016 Award Letter

•

Create an accurate financial plan for 2015–2016 in a timely manner

•

Avoid the need to submit tax documents if selected for verification

colum.edu/sfs FAFSAReminderPoster.indd 1

34 • February 9, 2015

11/18/14 4:16 PM

Monday, February 9, 2015

The Columbia Chronicle

Willie Wilson speaks candidly at luncheon MATT MCCALL Metro Editor

Lou Foglia THE CHRONICLE Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson spoke to supporters during a luncheon at Maggiano’s Banquets, 111 W. Grand Ave.

SARAH MARTINSON Metro Reporter MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL announced in

a Jan. 30 press release an unprecedented deal between four major wireless competitors—T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint—and the City of Chicago to fund a $32.5 million upgrade to the Chicago Transit Authority’s 4G wireless network.

Courtney Bosh, media consultant at Chicago Infrastructure Trust, the company that brokered the deal, said while it is unusual for competitors to work together and it would be easier to work with just one wireless company, the partnership between the wireless companies and the city is the best solution for everyone.

T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have all agreed to jointly fund the installation, maintenance and operation of the 4G network for the CTA. Aldridge Electric, Inc., the contractor chosen for the project, started construction at the beginning of January. The project should be finished by the end of the year, Bosh said.

“In a city like Chicago, all four of those carriers have huge customer bases,” Bosh said. “So of course [the CTA] wants to serve all of their customers, not just Sprint customers or not just T-Mobile custom-

ers, so this will be for everyone’s mutual benefit.”

Chris Austin, 29, a data analyst and software engineer for MAX Digital who regularly rides the Red and Blue lines, said he thinks it is odd to jointly fund the project.

“Any time that you have somebody with different kinds of interests paying for something that they want people to use their services, there’s always things to be wary of,” Austin said.

However, Colleen Finkl, a CTA rider and individual assistance branch chief for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, agreed with Bosh in saying that the partnership is in everyone’s best interest.

“You see corporations coming together for their own greater good often,” Finkl said. “It’s for their benefit—they can advertise that you can use your phone while commuting.”

None of the four wireless companies could be reached for comment about why they were working together and funding the CTA’s wireless upgrade.

Bosh said the CTA was already working on a wireless network upgrade before reaching out to the CIT. When they did reach out to

xx SEE CTA, PG.39

IN HIS THICK Louisiana accent, mayoral candidate Willie Wilson addressed a small, mostly black crowd including many clergy on Feb. 5 at Maggiano’s Banquets, 111 W. Grand Ave. He talked of the 2013 Chicago Public School closings, the need to lower taxes and issues within the Chicago Police Department.

Wilson, 66, who is black, said he is not the “black candidate” in this race, but the best candidate for all citizens, and he referred to white audience members as “whities.”

“To the whities here, I want to let you know, I ain’t prejudiced,” he said.

He called out Chicago’s black aldermen, whom he said slavishly follow Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s lead, and the ministers whom he said have “sold out.”

The luncheon, sponsored by the City Club of Chicago, came one day after the first televised mayoral debate on WTTW-TV this election season. The second televised debate came later that night.

In a hall significantly less packed than usual, a crowd full of lively preachers sat at 15 cleanly set tables topped with breadbaskets and plates of chicken Parmesan.

Wilson stepped up to the podium and spoke more like a minister than a politician. As he spoke, whoops and hollers of “Amen” and “All right” were heard. He said he had a speech prepared but decided to speak “from the heart.”

“I’m not running because I’m black, or African-American, or colored or a Negro,” he said. “I’m running because I’m the best human being for this job.”

Among the Chicago ministers attending were the Rev. Stephen Thurston of New Covenant Ministry Baptist Church, 754 E. 77th St., president of the National Baptist Convention of America.

“I just don’t even know how many ministers we have in the door,” observed Jacki Robinson-Ivy, member of the City Club of Chicago, before introducing Wilson.

Wilson, a self-made millionaire, is fully funding his own campaign.

He has attacked his challengers for their fundraising efforts, particularly Emanuel, who has raised

almost $30 million in donations since 2010.

Throughout his speech, Wilson stressed that lowering taxes would bring more business to the Chicago area, and the candidate spoke frankly about headline issues such as policing, red light cameras and the location of the Obama Presidential Library.

He said Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy has “got to go” because of the city’s red light cameras, calling the native New Yorker out of touch with the realities of Chicago crime. He added that police officers “make him nervous” and joked about telling his driver to be careful around them. He proposed that the department rid itself of a superintendent altogether and break off into four districts instead.

Wilson, then specifically addressing the white members of the audience, criticized Emanuel for the 2013 closing of 49 CPS schools, calling the decision ignorant of what many Chicagoans living in dangerous neighborhoods are cognizant of—gang territory.

When the schools closed, the

xx SEE WILLIE, PG.39

Wireless companies front bill for 4G upgrade

EDITOR NAME Position Title

Kelly Wenzel THE CHRONICLE Major wireless providers T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint will soon provide 4G wireless coverage to Red and Blue Line CTA stations as part of a $32.5 million deal.

February 9, 2015 • 35

The Columbia Chronicle 36 • February 9, 2015

Occupation: Butcher

Mayoral candidates lack time, plan to fix racial segregation CHICAGO’S HYPER-SEGREGATED NEIGHBORHOODS quickly became a topic of

discussion during the first mayoral debate of 2015, which took place on Feb. 4 and was broadcast on WTTW’s “Chicago Tonight.” Mayoral candidates incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Alderman Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward), Cook County Commissioner Jesús “Chuy” García and businessman Willie Wilson attended the forum hosted

by Phil Ponce.

Candidates shared their views on the minimum wage and the closing of 49 Chicago Public Schools. Approximately two and a half minutes were spent discussing Chicago’s history of racial segregation. However, the debate on red light cameras lasted approximately five minutes as candidates made it a point to blame Emanuel and his motorcade for running red lights.

Red light cameras were put into place in 2003 and have since been surrounded by scandals, according to an ongoing Chicago Tribune series of red light camera stories and investigations.

While these cameras inconvenience city officials and drivers, they do not deserve more floor time

than racial segregation, which can be directly tied to Chicago’s rising crime and poverty rates.

According to the Social IMPACT Research Center’s Analysis of the Census Bureau’s 2008–2012 American Community Survey and the Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago’s South and West sides have the highest concentration of black people at 91–100 percent, while North Side neighborhood populations are at most 50 percent black. The unemployment rate in South Side neighborhoods ranges from 15 to more than 30 percent.

During the last five minutes of the debate, Ponce asked candidates why Chicago is still so segregated.

Given the brief time limit, none of the candidates were able to supply new information or ways to fix the issue.

Fioretti responded by pointing to economic issues and school closings in minority neighborhoods.

García spoke about the history of segregated housing patterns and provided possible solutions to bring the city to a more balanced state by diversification, raising minimum wage and promoting

economic development in the “leftbehind neighborhoods.”

Emanuel pointed to the city’s long history of housing policies that sparked economic disparities among different races. However, Emanuel finished his answer saying, “Illinois and Chicago have elected more African-Americans to the U.S. Senate, statewide and to Congress than any other state.”

Racial segregation and income inequalities will continue to escalate if politicians cannot devote more time, money and planning to provide equal opportunity and fair living conditions for the entire city.

Chicago and its people need more than two minutes. ncraig@chroniclemail.com

ROB LEVITT

Neighborhood: Wicker Park/Bucktown

Kelly Wenzel THE CHRONICLE Left to right: Rob Levitt, Jimmy Shay, McCullough Kelly-Willis and Erin Stanley slice and dice at The Butcher & Larder.

MAX GREEN Sports & Health Editor CHICAGO IS HOME to many local

food vendors and restaurateurs who boast sustainability and local sourcing, but few set the bar as high as The Butcher & Larder.

Married couple Rob and Allie Levitt opened their combination restaurant-and-butchery, located at 1026 N. Milwaukee Ave., in 2011 on a mission to offer the city its first one-stop spot for sustainable, allwhole animal butchering.

The store has since become a staple for foodies and patrons of humanely-raised animal products, cornering the market on purveying food with transparent origins and cultivating relationships with local farms. The store has managed to successfully partner with other local restaurants and even beer breweries to churn out an artisanal concoctions such as pates, sausages and charcuterie made in-house, while continuing to adapt the old world art of butchering for the modern city-dweller.

The Chronicle spoke with Rob Levitt about sustainable food, how offering less can be more, and why The Butcher & Larder can barely keep its chef case stocked.

THE CHRONICLE: What inspired you to open a sustainable butcher shop?

ROB LEVITT: My wife and I had a restaurant and as much as we could, we bought our animals whole. What we couldn’t buy whole we would ask the farmers what parts they had that they couldn’t sell. We were included in a book about people who did that sort of thing, and we were flipping through a preview copy of the book, and there were a bunch of people who were our age all over the country opening up these little old school shops. We were like, “Why not? Why shouldn’t we do this?

There is nothing like this in Chicago, and it seems like a thing. What the heck?” We found this space and some investors and here we are.

Why do you offer in-shop classes and demonstrations?

Nohemi Rosales THE CHRONICLE After a meeting between residents threatened with eviction and property management on Feb. 3, organizers from Centro Autónomo worked as a third party to enhance communication. Centro Autónomo is a community nonprofit organization in Albany Park that has been fighting against foreclosures and evictions in the neighborhood.

36 • February 9, 2015

I think people are fascinated by the idea of the spectacle of it, of watching it, seeing it happen. People are genuinely interested in learning

more about what they’re eating. If you start with a whole pig and see how all of the different parts come apart and you see us talking about what you can do with all these different pieces, then it becomes a lot more approachable.

What is your take on the sustainable food community in Chicago?

When we opened our [previous] restaurant back in 2008, it wasn’t as common a thing to go into a restaurant that had a very small, limited menu that changed all the time and wasn’t afraid to run out of things and really push the fact that we were trying to do things sustainably and responsibly. I think it was starting but it wasn’t there. Now you have a lot more options, but along with that being a more popular thing you have the bandwagon people. The thing that we believe more than anything else is that the kind of food we sell here and at least half of the reason why we do it is because it tastes better.

What do customers get from your shop that they cannot elsewhere?

People come to my store looking for a 36-ounce porterhouse and walk out with an eight-ounce chuck flap and come back telling me it was the best steak [they’ve] ever had. That’s the thing. If you’re careful with where you source your product, you’re going to get a better tasting product—something that might be a more expensive price per pound but you don’t need as much. You’re satisfied with a smaller portion and it’s more delicious and it tastes like something. You can see the craft of what’s going on here. You can see the care.

How has your business changed?

The store has become this living, breathing thing where it’s not just about me and Allie anymore. It’s very much taken on the personality of everybody that works here.

We have an amazing staff now. I do my best to let people know that it’s really the whole staff. It might be my store, but it’s everybody’s pride that’s out in the case. It’s this really wonderful thing that has evolved out of this little idea. mgreen@chroniclemail.com

February 9, 2015 • 37

Metro

SARAH MARTINSON Metro Reporter WITH THE GRACE period for a new law having ended Feb. 1, Amazon will now be collecting sales tax from Illinois customers.

Revisions made to the state Use Tax Act now mandate that out-ofstate retailers register with the state of Illinois to collect and remit sales tax.

Michael Lucci, director of jobs and growth for the Illinois Policy Institute, said the so-called “Amazon Tax” will hurt small businesses and entrepreneurs, especially in Chicago. Illinois has the second highest tax rate in the Midwest and the 10th–12th highest tax rate in the U.S., said Lucci.

Terry Horstman, spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Revenue, said while the Amazon Tax went into effect Jan. 1, IDOR gave businesses an extension. Horstman said IDOR knew smaller businesses, in particular, would have trouble meeting the original deadline.

“So long as retailers made a reasonable effort to understand the requirements of the laws that applied to them and took steps toward compliance, the IDOR exercised discretion against issuing assessments,” Horstman said.

Illinois has a 6.25 percent tax rate, and the City of Chicago adds 3 percent on top of state taxes, charging Chicago residents a 9 per-

cent tax rate, Lucci said. According to the City of Chicago’s website, local residents pay additional taxes on entertainment attractions, bottled water, gas, cigarettes, hotel accommodations, liquor, fountain soft drinks, electricity, restaurant tabs and telecommunications.

Jordan Gilbertson, 24, an Amazon Prime member with a background in finance, said he did not think taxes in Illinois were too high and is not discouraged from shopping on Amazon.com because it is charging local customers sales tax.

“As long as what you are trying to fund or pay for is ultimately being paid for by the people you’re taxing, I think that’s fine,” Gilbertson said.

Congress tried to pass a bill in 2011 called the Main Street Fairness Act that would allow states to require online retailers to charge their customers sales tax, but it expired before it was put to vote. The Illinois Supreme Court declared a similar bill with the same name unconstitutional in 2013. Later, in 2014, the legislators passed revisions to the Use Tax Act to mandate online retailers charge sales tax leading to what is now referred to as the Amazon Tax. If a law requiring all online retailers to charge customers sales tax is passed at the federal level, it would hurt small businesses and entrepreneurs that are first starting out and trying to forge ground in online retailing, Lucci said.

He added that he thinks Amazon can handle the lost revenues, but small businesses cannot, and Amazon would not have been able to handle the added tax burden when it was establishing its customer base either.

Furthermore, if all online retailers are required to charge customers a sales tax, Amazon could have a competitive advantage because small businesses would not be able to compete if they are losing revenue from sales tax, Lucci said.

Lucci said he thinks Amazon likely did not fight revisions made to the Use Tax Act because it plans to open a distribution center in Illinois this year. The company would have to start charging its customers sales tax like all brick-and-mortar stores do if it opens a distribution center in Illinois, he said.

According to Lucci and Horstman, before Amazon was deemed responsible for charging its customers a sales tax, customers were supposed to account for online retail sales tax when they filed their income taxes.

Horstman said the state loses an estimated $212 million from uncollected online retail sales tax.

Amazon customers are supposed to list their expenditures to be subject to sales tax, but most customers do not know that and would have difficulty figuring out how much their purchases add up to, Lucci said.

Cassidy Johnson THE CHRONICLE

Chicago citizens primed for ‘Amazon Tax’

According to Lucci, more residents would stay in the area and the state would collect more tax dollars if Illinois lowered its tax rates. He said the state has lost $7.6 billion in revenue from residents who left the state in the last 20 years.

The Illinois Policy Institute advocates for tax fairness; it believes income taxes should be phased out and replaced by a broader consumption tax, Lucci said. smartinson@chroniclemail.com

What Remains Barbara Diener, Pao Houa Her, Jon Rafman, Lieko Shiga

MAIN GALLERY

KATJA STUKE + OLIVER SIEBER: YOU AND ME UPSTAIRS GALLERY January 26—March 22

mocp.org

Image Credit: Lieko Shiga Rasen Kaigan 2008-12

February 9, 2015 • 37

The Columbia Chronicle 38 • February 9, 2015

Babies at suburban day care diagnosed with measles BONNIE MILLER RUBIN & MICHELLE MANCHIR MCT Campus FIVE CHILDREN AT a KinderCare Learning Center in northwest suburban Palatine have been diagnosed with measles, Illinois and Cook County health officials announced Feb. 5.

Public health officials are investigating the cluster of measles cases at the center, 929 E. Palatine Road, according to a statement. Two cases have been confirmed with laboratory testing while the other three diagnoses are pending test results, according to a joint statement from health officials. All five children are under the age of 1.

The announcement comes about a week after Cook County officials announced the state’s first confirmed case this year of the respiratory disease, traced to a suburban Cook County resident that officials would only identify as being older than 18. The officials had listed three locations where others may have been exposed to the patient in mid-January—including two in Palatine.

Cook County officials say it’s not clear if the adult’s diagnosis is linked to the children at the day care or to the outbreak associated with Disneyland, which has grown to more than 100 cases.

Students and staff at the Palatine facility have been notified, and

38 • February 9, 2015

anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine has been instructed to remain at home. Anyone at the facility who did not have an updated vaccination record is “excluded from the center” until Feb. 24, said Colleen Moran, spokeswoman for KinderCare, which runs 1,500 learning centers in the U.S. that offer care and schooling for infants through 12-year-olds.

Moran said the center was following the guidance of the Cook County Public Health Department by keeping unvaccinated children and staff away from the center until that date, calling it “a precaution.”

“We just want everyone to recover quickly and to stay safe,” Moran said.

Cook County officials say any resident who is unvaccinated and experiences measles symptoms of a high fever and rash should call their local health department and their doctor.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can cause severe health complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis and death. It is transmitted by contact with an infected person through coughing or sneezing and can remain in the air and on surfaces for up to two hours. Infected people are contagious from four days before their rash starts through four days afterward, according to state and county health officials.

Children as young as those who were diagnosed with measles from the child care center are not recommended for the vaccine.

That’s because “their immune response doesn’t last,” Ingalls Memorial Hospital Dr. Wendell Wheeler said. “It’s a temporary response, which is why we wait until 12 months.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians all recommend that children get their first dose of the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine at 12–15 months old and a second shot at 4–6 years old, before starting kindergarten.

Despite a national MMR vaccination coverage level of 92 percent,

one child in 12 in the United States is not receiving the first dose of MMR vaccine on time, underscoring considerable measles susceptibility across the country, according to the CDC. Unvaccinated children are among the most vulnerable to measles, which is among the most contagious diseases, Wheeler said.

“The very young have small airways,” Wheeler said. “The disease has thick mucus and the two don’t go together. They are not moving air well and they get into trouble,” he said, adding that pneumonia is often a complication.

If a child has only the first dose of the measles vaccine, he or she may not be fully protected.

About 5–10 percent do not develop an adequate immune response

after one dose, which is why a second dose is necessary, said Dr. Tina Tan, an infectious disease specialist at Lurie Children’s Hospital.

The vaccine is required for Illinois students.

Statewide, the percentage of school children who have complied with measles vaccination rules has remained about 98 percent over the past decade, according to the Illinois State Board of Education, which collects data from public and nonpublic schools. However, this includes both those who got the vaccine and those who officially opted out of vaccinations for religious or medical reasons, according to the agency. chronicle@colum.edu

TNS Newswire Five children at KinderCare Learning Center, 929 E. Palatine Rd. in Palatine, Illinois, were diagnosed with measles. The disease is highly contagious and can be fatal. They were all under the age of 1.

February 9, 2015 • 39

meTro

» WILLIE

Continued from PG. 35

city established the Safe Passage program, which provided routes to guide students through dangerous areas that may house rival gangs.

On the South and West sides, the difference between blocks can be huge. Wilson himself lost a child to gang violence. The program is not safe enough for Wilson, as he proposed reopening the closed schools at the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board’s mayoral debate Jan. 27.

“When you close 50 schools and

you talk about education, and I’m talking to the whities right now, you [African-Americans] already know this,” Wilson said. “The mayor has said, ‘I closed schools because of education.’ Education doesn’t mean a thing if you send our kids into gang territory, and they lose a life.”

Wilson added that he thinks the Obama Presidential Library should be placed in Washington Park.

“You’re talking jobs,” Wilson said. “You’ve got a piece of land sitting there, not really bringing what you call economic empowerment contracts … It’s good for the tourists

and business as well.”

Wilson apologized for his performance the previous night, explaining that when asked in a rapid-fire series of questions if he gave money to panhandlers, he said “no,” only because he did not know what the word “panhandler” meant.

In a press conference after Wilson’s speech, he was asked if he thought his voter base was black.

Frank Avila, Wilson’s attorney and senior advisor, later leapt in to say Wilson’s support base was “a rainbow,” and accused Emanuel of be-

ing hard on minority communities.

“Mr. Wilson has a rainbow campaign,” Avila said. “Rahm Emanuel is not only anti-African-American, but he’s also anti-Hispanic. While he was an advisor to President Clinton, an advisor to President Obama and in Congress, he always fought against immigration. Now he’s Mr. Immigration. So the question is not what percentage my candidate is going to get of the African-American vote, but what he’s going to get of all votes.” mmccall@chroniclemail.com

» CTA

Continued from PG. 35

evaluate financial options for the upgrade, Bosh said CIT recommended collaborating with wireless companies to fund the project.

The CTA originally planned on financing the project itself before CIT approached the four companies to work with the city to build the 4G wireless network for the CTA. Besides funding the project, Bosh said the wireless companies will join forces to design a nextgeneration Distributed Antenna System to carry the wireless signals of all four carriers’ coverage made of the latest fiber optic cable.

“This is another way that we are investing in a modern CTA to encourage ridership, make Chicago more economically competitive and open up more economic opportunities to more residents throughout the city,” Emanuel said in the press release.

Finkl said she was not concerned about the wireless companies working together as much as she was for safety. She said a 4G wireless upgrade could make it possible for terrorists to detonate explosives in CTA tunnels.

The wireless companies signed a cooperative agreement with the Federal Communications Commissions so their partnership is not considered a collusion or a conflict of interest, Bosh said.

Lou Foglia THE CHRONICLE Louisiana-born mayoral candidate Willie Wilson, 66, announced he would run for mayor on Dec. 8. During his Feb. 5 speech, Wilson spoke about taxes, new policing strategies and his “panhandler” faux pas at the previous debate.

smartinson@chroniclemail.com

900 South Wabash Avenue (Entrance on 9thth Street)

Chicago, Illinois 60605 (312) 753 753--3025 Fax: (312) 753 753--3151 www.indigodigitalprinting.com e-mail: indigo@rcn.com

Color Digital Copies / Prints • B&W Digital Copies / Prints • Business Cards • Personal & Business Stationery • Brochures • Post Cards Mailers • Newsletters • Booklets • Flyers • Posters • Banners Large Format Printing • Binding • Laminating and More...

We are a locally o ned and operated store. We offer student, faculty and Universities staff discounts, 10% or

more, just by presenting a University issued ID. Free local pick-ups and deliveries. Student organizations and Universities accounts available. (subject of approval) 10% or more for adding our logo. (also subject of approval)

Take an Hour to Change your Life

peacecorps.gov/openings Apply today.

1.855.855.1961 | chicago@peacecorps.gov February 9, 2015 • 39