PAGE 3: Talking with Teachers event had zero student attendance
PAGE 14: Sen. Bernie Sanders kicks off 2020 campaign at Navy Pier
PAGE 8: Jada Yuan dishes on a year of traveling across the globe PAGE 11: COMMENTARY: Diet changes can increase sustainability Volume 54, Issue 22
March 11, 2019
Police: Student made up attack
ColumbiaChronicle.com » KATHERINE SAVAGE, KACI WATT & ALEXANDRA YETTER
STAFF REPORTERS
SEE ATTACK, PAGE 3
AFTER REPORTS THAT a female Columbia student was stabbed in Grant Park late in the night on March 6, police say the woman confessed she faked the incident. A March 7 Crime Advisory alert from the college reported a 23-year-old female had been in Grant Park “late Wednesday night” when she was robbed by a “heavyset black male, six feet tall, between 25–30 years of age, with short hair, wearing a green puffy jacket and blue jeans.” She said she told the perpetrator she had no money and handed over her debit card. She told Chicago police the perpetrator then stabbed her three times and fled at around 9:50 p.m. The woman walked to 7-Eleven, 535 S. State St., and asked an employee to call the police. According to the Crime Advisory, she was then taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in stable condition and treated for non life-threatening injuries. She spoke with her mother, and Columbia personnel were with her at the hospital. CPD Public Relations Coordinator Howard Ludwig said after a review of surveillance footage, the incident was unfounded and did not occur as reported. The Chicago Tribune reported March 7 the student later admitted to CPD officers the attack never took place. Ludwig told The Chronicle charges for falsifying a police report are possible. Charges had not been filed as of press time. Columbia’s Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications Mark Rosati declined to comment. The 7-Eleven employee on shift with a co-worker said it was around 10:45 p.m. when the student came into the store. He was not surprised she had faked the attack because of the oddly shaped pattern of brightly-colored blood on her gray leggings and the way she stood covering her abdomen with her jacket, he said. The employee said she was calm and “didn’t seem traumatized.” He identified her as a tall, Caucasian woman with light hair. He said police sounded “hesitant upon arrival” and questioned her for about 15 minutes before paramedics put her on a stretcher, on which she sat upright.
» IGNACIO CALDERON/CHRONICLE
editor’s note
False attack tarnishes Columbia, Chicago’s reputation » ARIANA PORTALATIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A
n alarming campus security alert of a student being stabbed near campus has turned into a confusing story that gets stranger as more details unfold, the most telling being that the attack may not have happened as reported, if at all, as reported on the Front Page. A March 6 Campus Safety and Security crime advisory stated a 23-year-old student was walking alone in Grant Park late at night when a black man “approached her from behind, pulled her hair, and demanded money,” before stabbing her three times in the abdomen and fleeing with her debit card, Public Relations Coordinator for the Chicago Police Department Howard Ludwig confirmed. On March 7, another crime advisory revealed the report of the attack was unfounded based on obtained video evidence. Details of the incident are surprising but nothing new. The story is reminiscent of the allegedly orchestrated Jussie Smollett attack. Smollett was charged in February with felony disorderly conduct for staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself in January. The two stories are very similar: Both alarmed the public and ignited conversations about public safety and race. But when it was revealed the Smollett attack may have been staged, the conversations switched from concern to anger. If the charges are correct, Smollett wasted the police’s time and added to negative stereotypes about Chicago and its black community. The same is happening here within the Columbia community. According to the college’s Institutional Effectiveness website, only 3,171 of the college’s 6,825 total students for fall 2018 come from Chicago and the surrounding metro area. The majority of Columbia’s students are not from the city, and common questions from potential students and their parents are about Chicago’s crime rates and the college’s campus safety. Safety is a major deciding factor for students, as it should be for a school at the center of a city with high crime rates. An alert of a student being stabbed near campus is scary. What do you think was running through the minds of those within the Columbia community? Current students and their parents were 2 THE CHRONICLE MARCH 11, 2019
MANAGEMENT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITORS
Ariana Portalatin Blaise Mesa Molly Walsh Zack Jackson Micha Thurston
CREATIVE DIRECTOR AD & BUSINESS MANAGER
REPORTERS
NEWS EDITOR REPORTERS
OPINIONS EDITOR
most likely scared, but students who may still be deciding on what college to attend lower on COPY CHIEF probably knocked Columbia COPY EDITORS their list of possible schools. The college has also been actively making efforts to improve campus safety in response to these concerns. With the declining GRAPHIC DESIGNERS enrollment Columbia is currently trying to fix, this false report does not help. One detail that remains under question is how the student described the man who attacked her. Of everything SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR that had to be figured out before and STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS during this incident, one of them was how the student would describe the attacker when speaking to police. Unfortunately, black Americans are more often accused of crimes they did not commit. According to a March Registry VIDEOGRAPHERS 2017 report by the National of Exonerations, 47 percent of wrongful convictions in the study involved African-Americans. In one of the most segregated cities in the U.S., she chose MEDIA SALES REPS to describe her attacker as black, adding fuel to the fire as if staging an attack BRAND MANAGER wasn’t bad enough by itself. As of press time, we don’t know who this student is, what her motivations were or if charges will be filed against WEBMASTER her. What we do know is that filing a false report is wrong and not in the best interest of the college or Chicago. When a false report is made about GENERAL MANAGER anything, the impact is larger than just FACULTY ADVISER the person who made it. People need to think twice before deciding to make a false claim or stage an attack. When this does happen, it’s important for us to remember that stereotypes are not fact, and it is up to us to control the narrative and reputations of those affected by these lies. @c cchronicle
aportalatin@columbiachronicle.com
Miranda Manier Bridget Ekis Knox Keranen Kendall Polidori Katherine Savage Yasmeen Sheikah Kaci Watt Alexandra Yetter Jay Berghuis
@c cchronicle
COPY Kristen Nichols Eden Bunna Margaret Smith
GRAPHICS Patrick Casey Grace Senior Shane Tolentino Fernanda Weissbuch
PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Rundle Ignacio Calderon Steven Nunez Halie Parkinson Orlando Pinder Patrick Reponse
MULTIMEDIA Ethan Sandock Alex White
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Alumna hosts domestic violence fundraiser » ColumbiaChronicle.com/Multimedia
Students not ‘Talking with Teachers’
» KATHERINE SAVAGE STAFF REPORTER STUDENTS COMPLAIN ABOUT teachers and heavy course loads, but an event geared toward the issue received no student turnout. Talking with Teachers was held at the Learning Studio, 33 E. Ida B. Wells Drive, March 4, 5 and 7. The event’s goal was to help students learn effective ways to communicate with faculty, especially as academic progress reports are being sent out, said Assistant Director of College Advising Lauren Targ. “The academic progress reports are going out, and we want to make sure students who get a notification feel comfortable reaching out and saying, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’” Targ
said. “An academic progress report generally means you can turn this around.” The event was coordinated with the Student Persistence team, a branch of Columbia’s College Advising Center that supports academic success, and was part of a series of workshops geared toward student success. “I would love to hear from the students. The students who are engaged are showing up, and maybe students don’t know about certain things,” Targ said. “I’ve heard posters work, and I’ve heard they don’t work. I’ve heard emails work, and I’ve heard they don’t work.” Sophomore acting major Dale French said he had not heard of this particular event. He does not look at the flyers posted on campus,
and said he thinks email notifications to students of upcoming events on campus would be a more effective way to advertise. “A lot of kids here and at other colleges are going to have to learn how to talk to their teachers,” French said. “People assume they know how to do it already. They feel like they don’t have to learn, but then can come off sounding disrespectful.” French added he has attended a few events at Columbia that he has heard about by word of mouth. Targ said the event was advertised on social media and on posters displayed in elevators. She said she wants student input on how to advertise more effectively. “I try and run things by the students at the front desk to see what they think,” Targ said.
“Word of mouth is great. Maybe they’ll tell their friends that it’s not so intimidating.” Targ said she wants to include an event similar to Talking with Teachers at freshman orientation. Moving forward, Coordinator of Student Persistence Bess Fuertes said they will put more focus on advertising the programs and spreading the word in order to get more students to attend future workshops at the Learning Studio. “As the students who went through the last workshop series begin to talk to their classmates or their friends, my hope is that word of mouth will carry like wildfire,” Fuertes said. ksavage@columbiachronicle.com » MIKE RUNDLE/CHRONICLE
No students attended multiple Talking with Teachers events hosted at the Learning Studio, 33 E. Ida B. Wells Drive. The events were meant to show students how to effectively communicate with teachers. ATTACK, FROM FRONT
The employee added he overheard the police ask many more questions and one officer say, “Oh, that’s strange.” Students thought the incident was strange because the 23-year-old identified the alleged perpetrator as a black male. Sophomore radio major Malaysia White said at first she felt concerned that a woman had been stabbed alone at night, but upon hearing it was faked, said incidents like this give black people and Chicago a bad rap.
“Chicago is not always a bad place. [An incident like] her stabbing makes our crime look worse than it is,” White said. Sophomore radio major Jori Roberts added that the student’s actions were not fair to the school, and she even sent prayers to the woman during a WCRX broadcast after the initial report. “The school really felt for you; the students really felt for you,” Roberts said. “A lot of students called their parents as soon as they got the first update, [and] they’re like, ‘I don’t want to be here anymore. I feel
unsafe.’ It is making our school look bad; it’s making our school have a bad reputation. It’s making Chicago have more of [a] bad reputation. It just makes black people have a bad reputation.” Multiple students were reminded of the Jussie Smollett incident that occurred Jan. 29, in which Smollett alleged he had been the victim of a violent hate crime in Streeterville, but police later said the attack was made up. University of Chicago student Celeste Cruz-Carandang, who lives in the South
Loop, said she was appalled by the racial stereotype, but believed the woman may have made up the attack because of a mental health problem. “I do think there’s something more because it seems like there was some sort of mental health crisis involved,” Cruz-Carandang said. “We shouldn’t be as quick to judge, especially if it is such a young woman, and [it] seems like there is an obvious crisis there.” chronicle@colum.edu
MARCH 11, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 3
campus
Free STI/HIV testing offered at student Health Center » KACI WATT STAFF REPORTER ONE IN TWO sexually-active individuals will contract a Sexually Transmitted Infection by age 25, according to the American Sexual Health Association. To help combat this, the student Health Center, 731 S. Plymouth Court, offers free STI/HIV testing. The testing is sponsored by Student Health and Support, the Health Center, the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System. Sergio Tundo, program coordinator for STI/HIV screening at
Lurie Children’s Hospital, said the hospital has worked with Columbia for a number of years using various testing services but now does the testing exclusively through the Health Center. The testing is offered once per month by appointment from 12–4:30 p.m. Each month, there are 10 appointment slots available, Tundo said. Upcoming testing dates are March 21 and April 18. “We know there is a need for HIV and STI screening, espe-
cially among LGBTQ youth,” Tundo said. According to Joanne Brown, chair of the Sexual Health Promotion and Clinical Care Coalition for the American College Health Association, the highest prevalence of STIs is among people ages 15–24, an age group that makes up a large portion of the population on college campuses, which demonstrates the need for on-campus testing services. Tundo said students do not need to have symptoms to be tested. They added that the Center for Disease Control recommends those who are at a higher risk
of acquiring HIV and STIs to be tested every three to six months. Testing at Columbia is made possible through a grant funded by the CDC, Tundo said. HIV screenings show results in 20 minutes. However, if a student is getting tested through a urine sample or swab for an STI, such as gonorrhea, chlamydia or trichomoniasis, the results will usually take a week to come in, Tundo added. For students who receive positive test results, free treatment is available at Lurie Children’s Outpatient Services, 1440 N. Dayton St., to those under 25. If a student is over 25, Lurie staff refers patients to another free facility, Tundo said. Those who cannot wait for campus testing should go to a local health department or Planned Parenthood, Brown said.
“Planned Parenthood is another place to go to for testing and other services for all genders,” Brown said. “Sometimes people don’t realize that [its services are] not just for female bodies.” Sophomore music business management major Sierra Hill said she was made aware of the on-campus testing opportunities when she went to the Health Center for another reason. “It’s wonderful,” she said. “You would hope that a college would have [testing] available to everyone. It is definitely necessary.” Hill wishes the testing was available more often to increase student access. “Why is it only one day?” Hill said. “What if I can’t come that one day? What if I work? What if I have class?” kwatt@columbiachronicle.com
» PATRICK CASEY/CHRONICLE
columbia_college_chicago
The Music Center at Columbia College Chicago 1014 S. Michigan Avenue
M u s i c
D e p a r t m e n t
E v e n t s
Artist in Residence: Cory Henry Monday March 11 Meet the Artist: A Conversation with Cory Henry
12:00 pm
Tuesday March 12 Student Piano & Strings Recital #3 at the Sherwood
7:00 pm
Wednesday March 13 Wednesday Noon Guitar Concert Series at the Conaway 12:00 pm American Roots Ensemble in Concert 7:00 pm Thursday March 14 Student Piano & Strings Recital #4 at the Sherwood
7:00 pm
Friday March 15 Cory Henry Residency Concert at the Music Center 7:00 pm For tickets, visit tickets.colum.edu or call 312-369-8330
#InstaReady on LinkedIn PLYMOUTH THURSDAY MARCH 14 2019 3-5pm
FREE PROFESSIONAL HEADSHOTS & LINKEDIN TECHNIQUES
4 THE CHRONICLE MARCH 11, 2019
campus
Alumnus helps produce web series about mayoral race » BRIDGET EKIS STAFF REPORTER FRESH OFF WORKING on Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) campaign for the 2018 midterms, filmmaker and Chicago resident Sean Raju returned from Boston to cover the mayoral election in partnership with Columbia alumnus Hussien Salama. Salama, a 2018 journalism alumnus and former colleague of Raju’s, suggested a web series because he has a background in digital media strategies.
Raju hosts the show, which is a first for him since he is not used to being in front of the camera. Salama works behind the scenes, organizing shoots and editing scripts and footage. The team has had up to three volunteers who have helped with research, writing and shoots. The Facebook page for the series has collected over 3,000 followers and likes since its first post in December. All the facts in the videos are sourced from local news organizations, such as the Chicago Tri-
It’s very important for me to have everything I say grounded in facts. SEAN RAJU bune, Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Reader. Each video contains citations when Raju mentions information he has pulled from a print piece. Because Raju’s goal is to be factual and transparent, citation links are provided for viewers. When clicked, viewers are directed to a Google document with the video’s sources. “To be a host and to be talking about this stuff publicly, I need to keep in mind that I can’t be spec-
bekis@columbiachronicle.com
Raju released his first episode Dec. 17, approximately two months before the mayoral election. Toni Preckwinkle and Lori Lightfoot have advanced to a runoff election April 2. » COURTESY SEAN RAJU
The two teamed up to work on the web series, “Chicago’s New Boss,” in December 2018. The first epsiode was released Dec. 17, and one to two episodes have been released weekly, covering a variety of topics around the mayoral election including attack ads, profiles on candidates and the runoff election. “The goal of this isn’t just me talking in a one-directional way to an audience,” Raju said. “It’s very much audience-informed.”
ulating, conjecturing or going off rumors,” Raju said. “It’s very important for me to have everything I say be grounded in facts.” According to Salama, Facebook is the series’ main source of connection to their audience. “People want their information synthesized in this format,” he said. “They want to be more knowledgeable and more aware.” Lincoln Park resident Stephanie Sims regularly watches the series, having found it through mutual friends who were sharing it on Facebook. “It’s extremely informative and also entertaining and digestible,” Sims said. Sims is able to watch or listen to it while commuting or cooking dinner. The series is more efficient than traditional news because it does not require sitting down and reading, she said. At times, Raju can be overwhelmed by the hopeless nature of the city’s politics. But his work on the web series has shifted his view of the election cycle. “The more time I’ve spent covering this race [and] the more time I’ve spent talking to regular people involved in politics, the more hope I get,” Raju said.
MARCH 11, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 5
campus
THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO PRESENTS:
CORY HENRY RESIDENCY CONCERT March 15, 7 p.m. Music Center Concert Hall 1014 S. Michigan Ave. $20 General admission $10 Staff, faculty, and family of performers $5
Students with ID
For tickets, call 312-369-8330 or visit tickets.colum.edu 6 THE CHRONICLE MARCH 11, 2019
arts culture
Essay contest awards comic book store to lucky winner » ColumbiaChronicle.com
Folktales bring communities together in new audio drama
uses his wits and gumption to survive; a young woman navigates through a world filled with monsters; and Greek King of Ithaca Odysseus travels on five new adventures. These are all examples of stories recreated by the Make-Believe Association, a community of artists creating audio dramas designed to bring people from different backgrounds together, according to Founder and Executive Producer Jeremy McCarter. “In a city with theatrical vibrancy, and the audio and radio legacy of Chicago, there was a way to put the two together,” McCarter said. “We combined [it] in a way that is designed to have a real social benefit.” There are currently three different audio story adaptations: “Lost Books of the Odyssey,” “Bruh Rabbit” and “Brava,” all centered around the theme “Grown Folks Fables.” “If the purpose of the company is to get different kinds of people into a room together to talk with each other, then the richest conversation would be one that forced everybody to travel some imaginative distance,” McCarter said. Episodes are recorded in Chicago with live audiences to encourage discussion, according to its website. The newest episodes, “The Lost Books of the Odyssey” and “Bruh Rabbit,” were recorded at the Harold Washington Public Library, 400 S. State St. “Any public space that invites a lot of different kinds of people to share an experience and do something together is an asset to American life,” McCarter said. “You can’t have a democracy unless you have opportunities for people to engage in conversation and debate in face-to-face settings.” The first episode recorded was “Brava,” a Mexican folktale about a girl’s journey through a land filled with monsters. Writer Nancy García Loza said she saw many red flags in the original tale, such as the Western undertones and the heavy influences from Disney films. She wanted to adapt the story to center around the young girl’s will to live and make it relatable to a wider audience. A TRICKSTER RABBIT
» COURTESY MAKE-BELIEVE ASSOCIATION
» KATHERINE SAVAGE STAFF REPORTER
“Brava” was recorded in Pilsen at the National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., because of its rich Latinx community. The space is accessible to community residents who they want to connect with through the audio dramas, García Loza said. She added that it made sense to use a space that is both beautiful and significant historically and culturally. In the episode, there is a “corrido,” an old song tradition from Mexico used for telling stories or the news, García Loza said. Many of the original corridos are tales of femicide, she said. “I was able to list off a dozen corridos about women that were all [cautionary] tales and about the murders of women,” García Loza said. “Not only do [we] need a new story, we need a new song.” McCarter said the most important aspect of the Make-Believe Association is collaboration. Every script is written collaboratively, and there are many people working on the project, from the sound team to the writers to the audience, he said. McCarter will be speaking with Columbia students in the “Oral Traditions” course March 12 taught by Associate Professor Erin McCarthy. McCarthy said she is interested in discussing collaboration with the association because the concept sometimes frustrates students. McCarthy wants to introduce her students to audio drama to teach them about adapting and updating stories. “[I want students] to see how [MakeBelieve] is taking stories and looking at them, asking questions and getting people to think and have a conversation and a dialogue in a different way,” McCarthy said. When released, the season finale will feature a one-act adapted story, “What Use are Flowers?” by Lorraine Hansberry. In total, season one will feature six episodes. “Audio storytelling is incredibly rich. It engages your imagination in a way that plays and movies don’t,” McCarter said. “Make-Believe stories reflect the culture of Chicago, and it’s fascinating and also great fun to listen to people hash out what they think a story might mean.” ksavage@columbiachronicle.com
The Make-Believe Association is bringing together a community of artists from different backgrounds to create the first season of a six-part audio drama about folktales from different cultures.
MARCH 11, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 7
arts & culture
Unpacking New York Times reporter’s year of traveling » COURTESY TODD HEISLER, THE NEW YORK TIMES
Inaugural New York Times 52 Places Traveler Jada Yuan spent a full year traveling to 52 places across the globe, going to destinations such as Chile, Italy and Disney Springs, Florida, sharing her experiences.
YUAN: Total shock. They said they would let me know on a Friday. On Thursday, they asked me to hop AMONG 13,000 APPLICANTS for on the phone again. I was fighting one job, Jada Yuan was selected for my life, fighting for this job. I to become The New York Times’ wrote out all these talking points. inaugural 52 Places Traveler. She I got all revved up to argue my way visited every destination that was into this job, and then I got it. They on The Times’ “Places to Travel in recorded the reaction, but they’ve 2018” list, published Feb. 12, 2018, never used that footage because it writing about her experiences and was super boring. I was just like, the significance of those locations. ‘Oh, wow. Thanks.’ Yuan’s career has also included writing celebrity profiles and fea- Have you traveled a lot ture articles, such as one about throughout your life? what it was like to date using the I had not traveled this extensively, online dating app Tinder in cities ever. The longest trips I’d taken around the U.S. for Cosmopolitan. were all in college. I did a summer Looking for something different in in Italy. I always thought I’d get to 2017, she stumbled on an opportu- do more travel. I got accepted to a nity to journey off the beaten path. study abroad program my junior After a full year trekking year. It was not financially and ecothrough deserts and taking count- nomically feasible for me to do it. less planes, boats and trains, Yuan I always thought I would get that finished her journey in January. chance again—a year of traveling. Looking back on her travels, she Life sort of happened. I lived by the shared her tips, must-visit desti- idea that if I had enough money nations and trip highlights with to pay my rent and eat and travel, The Chronicle. then I was good. I didn’t need anything more than that. THE CHRONICLE: How did you react when you found out What was the best and worst you got the job? part of your travels? » ALEXANDRA YETTER STAFF REPORTER
8 THE CHRONICLE MARCH 11, 2019
I really liked waking up for sunrises. In New York, because I work in publishing, no one wakes up early. I never purposefully was waking up for sunrises, and because I had this whole new photography aspect, I was often orienting my days around getting shots. That time of day is a really beautiful time of day to take a photograph. It was always worth it to wake up for a sunrise. A place that was not the greatest fit for me was Disney Springs, Florida, just because I didn’t have enough time there [and] Disney requires a lot [of] planning. I didn’t even make it into Disney World, so my experience was wandering a gigantic parking lot and eventually getting roadside Peruvian food, which was delicious. Did you ever feel like giving up on the project? When I got to Chile, I was having a really hard time. It was mostly about the writing. It was really hard for me, as someone who had grown up doing feature writing, to be working on this schedule where I wasn’t getting any sleep and then also had to be turning things in
on deadline. I was working for a important than the destination big publication and wasn’t always [and] the better time you have. getting things right; the internet was not always kind to me. At What places do you think some point, that piled up. I called a every traveler should visit? friend, and I started talking about Go to Patagonia, if you can, in Chile. quitting. She talked me into giv- [Also visit] Palermo, [Italy], and go ing it a couple days, and it went south; go as far south as you can get away. It was hard, but it was really until you’re at the very bottom of amazing. I ate great food. I met the Amalfi Coast. I [also] found it amazing people. I saw some of the really easy to travel in Southeast most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen Asia. Go to Siem Reap, Cambodia, in my life, and I learned a lot about as a starter place, which is where myself. I learned how to travel; I Angkor Wat [temple] is. learned to rely on myself. Why is it important to travel? What are your tips for stu- It expands your idea of who people dents traveling on a budget? are in the world. Everyone in the I would suggest hostels over world is trying to put food on the Airbnbs ... if you’re solo traveling. table and live their lives. There are You’ll meet more people; you’ll universal things whether or not have friends to go out with; you’ll you speak the same language. We save a lot of money. The one caveat live in a really divisive time right I have about them is you meet lots now in America, and it’s importof travelers, but you don’t meet ant to remember those commonlocals because you’re all hanging alities among different groups out in your hostel bubble. Just take of people. Traveling really an area and [use] as much local helps you understand yourself transport as you can. Trains and when you’re stripped of your boats are the best forms of trans- possessions and your sense port. Travel slowly. The more you of comfort. settle into traveling as your way of life, the journey [becomes] more ayetter@columbiachronicle.com
afro
arts & culture
fest featuring
chai
tulani
Kenyan hip-hop artist Chai Tulani (top right) & The Bomba headlined Afro Fest Feb. 23 at DuSable Museum of African American History, 740 E. 56th Place. Patrick Reponse, Staff Photographer
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S M A E DR
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L VE WITHOUT LIMI S Im p la n t ize ac t u a l s
No Cost IUDs and Implants with Free Lyft Rides
.ORG MARCH 11, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 9
opinions Holidays should be about more than escapism
» SHANE TOLENTINO/CHRONICLE
LE
department after a lawsuit, according to television station WTTW. The city has spent nearly $1.5 million on software which “determines networks of association, centers of influence and potential signs of radicalization” on social media, according to WTTW. CPD has pointed out its actions are legal, but critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that mass surveillance on citizens without explicit clarity is unethical. The software allows police to see what the ACLU describes as a “detailed picture of people and groups.” It allows the police to know when protests may occur and what political affiliations people have. The information being accessed is public, so
RONIC
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he Chicago Police Department has been monitoring the social media accounts of Chicagoans for five years beginning in 2014, according to documents released Feb. 27 by the
the CPD’s actions are legal, but that does not make its actions inherently ethical. It is definitely possible technology like this could help prevent crimes, or at least help piece things together after a crime has been committed. A lot of criminal activity is happening on the internet now, and being able to monitor social media accounts could help the police stop drug dealers or sexual predators. Social media posts became a significant part of the investigation after 2018’s Tree of Life synagogue shooting, ultimately helping police put together a full picture of the suspect. However, if this technology is in the hands of a corrupt police force, it could be dangerous. Since CPD’s relationship with the city residents, especially those in black communities, has been shaky at best for many years, there needs to be accountability if the police are going to possess technology like this. Collecting information based on political affiliations could be a
IOR /CH
CPD must fix its spying by increasing transparency
C E SEN
and unwind, and so we turn holidays into something they do not need to be. We use holidays as a way to cope with a society outpacing us. We see it as harmless because it gives us an excuse to grab tacos with our friends or spend time with our significant others. The culture that makes us feel like we need holidays is the one that destroys our enjoyment of them. Capitalism values commodities and consumption above everything else. It would rather sell us a narrow-minded, appropriated caricature of Mexican life centered around sombreros, tacos and margaritas than encourage us to discover the nuances of an unfamiliar culture. When we remove respect and tradition from holidays and replace them with consumption and excess, we create an exhausting cycle. We waste money on things we do not actually want and never find any fulfillment, meaning or value. Holidays have stopped being a time to connect with our histories and
chronicle@colum.edu
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t. Patrick’s Day is rapidly approaching, which means Americans are ready to don “Kiss me, I’m Irish” shirts, dye the Chicago River green and binge-drink from morning to night. Store aisles are lined with chocolate gold pieces and tacky green suits covered in four-leaf clovers. This version of the holiday is a far cry from what was once a deeply religious holiday celebrated with religious services and feasts. We might be having fun, but we might also be doing more damage than we realize. In the U.S., holidays are largely commercialized; buy chocolates and diamonds on Valentine’s Day, order half-off margaritas on Cinco de Mayo and end Thanksgiving early to buy gifts for Christmas. We know very little about what we’re even celebrating. St. Valentine was a martyr. Cinco de Mayo honors the Mexican army’s victory at the Battle of Puebla. Society has become so demanding of us that we are desperate for any chance to relax
communities and have become a vehicle for consumption. Even our movies revolve around rediscovering the “true meaning” of holiday seasons, signaling a clear disconnect between the way we are currently celebrating and the ways we want to celebrate. Holidays are inherently valuable because they give us a chance to slow down and do something besides work. But partying, costumes and blowout sales are just a distraction from the fact that our culture is eating us alive. We need to escape day-to-day challenges without bastardizing the celebrations of other groups. This is not to say that taking part in holidays that aren’t “ours” is necessarily a bad thing. Celebrating and investing in cultures that are not our own can be an incredibly meaningful tool for societal change. If we can
EDITORIAL approach these holidays with a desire to connect with others and respect the ways cultures come together, we might get more out of them than a hangover.
EDITORIAL good thing if it leads to rounding up threatening neo-Nazis, but it could also be very dangerous if it results in the targeting of nonviolent Black Lives Matter protesters. The fact that the police kept records of the surveillance private shows a pressing lack of transparency by the department, and it needs to rectify that before all trust is lost. We still do not know what information is being collected or what it is being used for. In order to increase safety, there needs to be trust between the police and the community they have been tasked with serving. Keeping secrets about official proceedings hidden behind red tape, locked doors and lawsuits help foster mistrust of the police. The rules and regulations on this technology must be strict, well-enforced and, most importantly, easily accessible to the public. Communities deserve to know they are being watched. chronicle@colum.edu
Editorial Board Members Jay Berghuis Opinions Editor Blaise Mesa Managing Editor Zack Jackson Creative Director Kendall Polidori Staff Reporter Katherine Savage Staff Reporter Margaret Smith Copy Editor
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Ignacio Calderon Staff Photographer Steven Nunez Staff Photographer Ethan Sandock Videographer Lauren Carlton Brand Manager Jonathan Winicki Webmaster
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
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Let’s get to the meat of climate change » IGNACIO CALDERON STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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hen we think of the causes of climate change, we tend to focus on transportation as the main culprit. While gas emissions are a contributor, there’s a larger cause right under our noses: food. I have always had a great admiration for nature. Growing up in Cochabamba, Bolivia, a city surrounded by mountains, it was hard to avoid. I have countless memories of family trips playing in rivers and camping in forests. I remember trying to be as “green” as possible to conserve the places I loved. I avoided plastic bags at the supermarket, used my bike to get around the city and even timed my showers. I believed I was doing my part. But, unaware of the consequences, I was eating meat almost every day—until I found out making a single hamburger uses around 660 gallons of water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
There is a long process behind meat production, including excessive use of water, electricity and food. In the U.S., just 5 percent of freshwater is for domestic use, while 55 percent is used for animal agriculture. According to the EPA’s website, the transportation sector makes up 14 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Food production makes up 24 percent; other studies show even higher numbers, as reported by the scientific journal Animal Feed Science and Technology. As upsetting as this may be, it also means we can have a tremendous impact by simply tweaking what we eat. To put things into perspective, if all farmland were used to produce food directly for humans instead of using 45 percent for livestock or biofuel, we could feed an additional 3 billion people, according to a July 18, 2014, Vox article. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that as of 2017, 821 million people are suffering from chronic undernourishment. Those people would not go hungry if resources were distributed effectively and without waste. By reducing our beef consumption, we could not only reduce the greenhouse effect by a substantial amount, but we could feed the entire population in the process. Since learning this information, I have become a vegetarian, but drastic diet changes are not necessary. Small steps like cutting out red meat make a difference. The good news is that alternatives such as soy meat provide the same type of protein as animal meat, and they taste just as good. What we eat is a choice we constantly face, and that choice can help our planet and population. icalderon@columbiachronicle.com
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metro Endometriosis Month: getting public about women’s privates Organizations partner to empower women with city walk » Page 13
MARCH IS ENDOMETRIOSIS Awareness Month, and people around Chicago and the world are working to inform others about this chronic condition. Endometriosis is a disorder where endometrial tissue is found outside of the uterus causing severe pain in the pelvis and other areas. Dr. Andrew Cook, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology in Los Gatos, California, said endometriosis affects 10 to 15 percent of women in the U.S. and approximately 176 million women worldwide. Cook said the most common, and usually the first, sign of endometriosis is painful menstrual cramps. The cramps are more severe and may even be debilitating. “I don’t care who you are or how tough you are, it gets to a point where it will bring a woman to her knees,” he said. “What gets more frustrating is it [begins to happen] every day of the month.” According to Cook, symptoms typically occur when a girl starts her menstrual cycle for the first time. On average, it takes about 10 years for a woman to be diagnosed with endometriosis. A hysterectomy—the removal of the uterus—does not cure endometriosis because the tissue is located on the exterior of the uterus, Cook said. BuzzFeed Senior Editor Lara Parker has been living with endometriosis for more than a decade. It took more than five years to be diagnosed, and her first symptoms started in high school, when she would get random, severe menstrual pain. “I would throw up, pass out and lose consciousness,” Parker said. “It wasn’t happening to my friends. I thought my body was a bit more dramatic, or I just wasn’t as good at dealing with menstrual cramps as everyone else was.” Parker made frequent visits to the hospital. After falling to the floor in pain while
My mission is to make sure at some point, when I walk into a room, I’m going to say ‘I have endometriosis,’ and everyone in that room is going to know what it is.
LARA PARKER
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have a few people come speak afterward.” Chicago’s EndoMarch is scheduled for March 30 from 12–4 p.m., starting at the Oak Park Township offices located at 105 S. Oak Park Ave. Witt said organizers are finalizing the event, and she is planning more throughout the year, including local groups for women
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running, she was rushed to the emergency room. When she arrived, she was told nothing was wrong. “The doctor just told me it was period cramps and to take Tylenol next time,” Parker said. “I was like, ‘That was not period cramps. I couldn’t walk. I got here in an ambulance.’” To manage her symptoms, Parker relies mostly on cannabis, creams and anti-inflammatory medications. Parker is currently writing a book titled “Vagina Problems.” Her book is set to be released in the summer of 2020. “My mission is to make sure at some point, when I walk into a room, I’m going to say ‘I have endometriosis,’ and everyone in that room is going to know what it is,” Parker said. Sarah Witt, co-organizer for the Worl d w i de EndoMarch, a walk to raise awareness for endometriosis, is also trying to get help to women sooner. For Witt, it took 10 years to be diagnosed with the disorder. Witt has had endometriosis for more than 15 years, and she has been involved in online awareness forums. She came across EndoMarch and noticed there was not one in Chicago. In 2018, Witt decided to host the first Chicago EndoMarch alongside co-organizer Julie Kuhn. “Last year, we were able to do the march and show a documentary at the library in Oak Park,” Witt said. “This year, we are hoping to do the walk and maybe
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who have endometriosis. “Other than what we do, I don’t think anybody does anything else [for Endometriosis Awareness Month],” Witt said. “A lot of women struggle with it; it’s more common than people think.” ysheikah@columbiachronicle.com
» KENDALL POLIDORI STAFF REPORTER CITIZENS OF CHICAGO took an empowering march in the shoes of women to bring awareness to homelessness in Chicago. “Winter Walk: a Mile in Her Shoes” took place March 3, starting at Harry S. Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave. The goal was to educate people about homelessness among women in Chicago. The walk is held in the winter to show that homelessness and women’s struggles do not pause during any conditions. The march was hosted by the She ROCKS It organization which teamed up with Sisters Helping Each Other Inc. and Sarah’s Circle, all nonprofit organizations that support and provide services for women to help them move forward and rebuild their future. The walk has been held 27 times before, and the event was free of charge. Sarah’s Circle, 4838 N. Sheridan
Road, has spent more than 30 years as a refuge for women who are homeless or in need of a safe place. The organization provides resources to empower women emotionally and physically. She ROCKS It helps women with a number of issues, such as education, entrepreneurship, confidence and homelessness. Founder Joyce Dawkins said women are not always recognized as struggling with homelessness. “You never really know what another woman goes through
until you walk a mile in her shoes,” Dawkins said. Dawkins runs She ROCKS It and S.H.E. Inc., which partners with other organizations such as Sarah’s Circle. The purpose of this is to not only host educational events for women, but also to help other organizations reach their missions’ goal. “The theme of the day is meant to show some camaraderie for the women we serve,” said Mary Necastro, Sarah’s Circle development associate. “It is meant to promote education about the issues women who are homeless face.” Sarah’s Circle functions completely
Walkers attended the SHE Walks a Mile in Her Shoes march March 3 to bring awareness to homelessness among women.
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Walk a mile in Her shoes
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SHE Walks a Mile in Her Shoes march March 3, which began at Harry S. Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave.
on donations, government grants and private foundations. Necastro said the donors come from all over the world, but the walk is solely based in Chicago. “Chicagoans have a really good sense of social responsibility,” Necastro said. “We understand that homelessness could happen to anyone.” Necastro said women she encounters are resilient and that although they face hardships, they
work hard every day to get back on their feet. “It is a growing problem. Sarah’s Circle is doing so much to help women in need,” said Chris Hale, associate principal at Perkins+Will, an architecture and design firm that sponsors the walk. “We’re really honored and see it as a privilege [to] help them support their mission,” Hale said. kpolidori@columbiachronicle.com
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» ALEXANDRA YETTER STAFF REPORTER SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) declared political revolution during the launch of his 2020 presidential campaign, which included a stop in Chicago. During a March 3 rally held at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave., Sanders labeled President Donald Trump “the most dangerous president in modern American history.” He also called out the University of Chicago for promoting segregation in the 1960s and echoed campaign promises from his 2016 presidential bid. “[Democrats] thought we were kind of crazy and extreme,” Sanders said during the rally. “We are gathered here tonight to complete the political revolution we started three years ago.” Sanders spoke of a sit-in he participated in during his time as a political science major at the University of Chicago in the ‘60s. An organization he was a part of decided to test whether the university-owned apartments were segregated by sending in a black
couple and a white couple to try to secure an apartment. The black couple was told there were no units available. Just hours later, the white couple went in and found they had a choice in units. After discouraging comments from the university president, the students staged a sit-in in front of the chancellor’s office to protest the university’s discrimination. “My four years here in Chicago was an extraordinary moment in my life, and very much shaped my worldview and what I wanted to do,” Sanders said. Danny Lyon, a filmmaker and friend of Sanders’ while at the University of Chicago, was the campus photographer who captured photos of the sit-in. “When they did that sit-in, people didn’t care. No one patted Bernie on the back. But that demonstration that he led was the first sit-in to take place anywhere in the North,” Lyon said during the rally. “Young people don’t want to know about history. Young people want to make history.” Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, a constituent
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Sanders rallies at Navy Pier
Sen. Bernie Sanders stressed dismantling social and racial inequality during a March 3 rally at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.
of Sanders and fellow Vermont native, spoke at the event about Sanders as a man. “Ice cream is good, but a president of the United States that truly stands for justice in all its flavors, that is euphoric,” Cohen said. “[Sanders] has a clear vision of how to make America kind again. He doesn’t go with the trends, he sets the trends.” Sen. Nina Turner (D-Ohio) also spoke and touted Sanders’ progressive ideals when it comes to calling out corporate America, as well as his persistence following his 2016 defeat. In his address, Sanders
re-visited campaign promises from his first run, including: the guarantee of health care for all as a human right, adjusting tax brackets, raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and prioritizing affordable housing. Many Illinoisans earn $8.25 an hour for minimum wage, but under recently-passed state legislation the minimum wage will increase intermittently until it reaches $15 in 2025. He also promised free public college education, as well as making loans more affordable—a promise that impresses many of his young supporters.
In a crowded field of progressive candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination, Sanders’ socialist ideals and activism may continue to set him apart. “We cannot allow the very rich to become even richer while over 20 percent of our children live in poverty; while veterans who defended this country sleep out on the streets; and seniors cannot afford the medicine they need,” Sanders said. “Real change never takes place from the top on down. It always takes place from the bottom on up.” ayetter@columbiachronicle.com
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Ireland native Margaret O’Brien pours a glass of Guinness Friday, March 8 at Kitty O’ Sheas, 720 S. Michigan Ave. “[St. Patrick’s Day] is crazy, and it’s one of our busiest days. We go through so much Guinness.”
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