PAGE 4: Sexual assault awareness event sees low student attendance
PAGE 7: Local historian captures bright spot in LGBTQ history
PAGE 5: Free on-campus pantry offers clothes and toiletries WEB: CFAC and college reach tentative agreement—what’s next? Volume 54, Issue 27
April 22, 2019
ColumbiaChronicle.com
Transgender Students allege mistreatment, lack of support on campus » BLAISE MESA MANAGING EDITOR FORMER THEATRE DESIGN
major Niko Gotowko dropped out of Columbia last semester due in part to the alleged transphobia he experienced. Gotowko said teachers within the Theatre Department were misgendering him and, in some cases, would make him feel uncomfortable when discussing his pronouns. One teacher used incorrect pronouns so often other students began misgendering him. It is uncertain how many students have similar complaints. Their complaints represent a new and growing dilemma for Columbia and other schools seeking to include transgender students in their diversity initiatives. Misgendering is when someone misidentifies another person by using the wrong pronouns, such as using he/him pronouns when they/them are preferred. Director of the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office Charee Mosby-Holloway called misgendering “an act of violence.” Junior radio major Hayden Hoerner also said his time at Columbia has been filled with problems. Hoerner said the first time being misgendered by a professor is like being snapped with a rubber band. Each additional time he is misgendered, the feeling gets worse,
»GRACE SENIOR/CHRONICLE
until it makes him want to vomit, he said. That feeling can worsen depending on the level of severity or who is doing the misgendering. To address the needs of LGBTQ students on campus, the college created the Gender Inclusive Initiative. “Columbia is one of few colleges in the country to have launched a five-year initiative dedicated solely to gender inclusivity,” said Senior Director of the college’s News Office Lambrini Lukidis in a March 19 email to The Chronicle. After initially interviewing Mosby-Holloway, The Chronicle requested a follow-up interview that was denied by the News Office. All questions were forwarded to Lukidis, who said, “Columbia is in many ways ahead of other institutions on this matter in terms of breadth, scope and approach.” As part of the initiative, the college created a name change form on the website and created a pronoun usage guide. But even with those measures in place, some staff and faculty members still misgender students. “I asked a teacher to use my preferred pronouns, and she keeps misgendering me like I never said anything,” said freshman creative writing major Eliza, who preferred to have their last name withheld. “That hurts, because trans people have been erased and killed in history, so how much has really changed?” SEE FEATURE, PAGES 8 & 9
editor’s note
College must continue discussion on diversity, inclusion progress » ARIANA PORTALATIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A
s reported on the Front Page, transgender students may not feel as accepted on campus as they had hoped to be when choosing to attend Columbia. Furthermore, a story on Page 3 explores the Native American population on campus and the need for an increased presence and support of this community. The complaints and concerns of these groups are important to recognize and correct as the college moves toward being a leader in diversity in higher education. Columbia has succeeded in setting an example for other colleges, but it still has a long way to go. As stated in the Front Page article, students are critical of the college’s diversity initiatives and how they have been treated on campus. These complaints include misgendering and accessibility of gender-inclusive options on campus, and led to at least one student leaving the school. The college is in an ongoing process of becoming an inclusive campus for people of all identities. Its five-year Strategic Plan launched in 2015 lists diversity as an integral part of the college’s growth and success. Columbia has worked to integrate diversity and inclusion into every aspect of its existence: faculty and staff, enrollment, academics and student experience, just to name a few. The college has accomplished more than most colleges and universities when it comes to these initiatives, even being praised by the Higher Learning Commission for its efforts. However, there is more to be done. Not only should the college be taking charge of these initiatives because it is the right thing to do, it will also help recruit more students and faculty and retain the ones who are already here. According to an April 14 article by The Chronicle of Higher Education, recent studies show students’ sense of belonging is a crucial factor of their well-being and persistence. According to the article, interaction with diverse peers and support from college staff was directly related to students feeling welcome on campus. Additionally, the article states various student communities have increasingly shared concerns with college leaders. 2 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 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
Despite this, some students may still not be open to communicating these As reported COPY CHIEF issues with college officials. COPY EDITORS on the Page 8, students were either not aware of how to make a report or were afraid of being labeled a problem student. While faculty and administration SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER may be open to discussing these issues, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS these conversations need to be facilitated and encouraged with students. Additionally, students need to be made aware of the resources and support so they SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR available to them on campus STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS know where to go and who to turn to when a problem arises. These conversations are the solution to diversity issues. It’s important for schools like Columbia to maintain communication with students about VIDEOGRAPHERS what’s needed for continued success. Students should always feel accepted and supported, and every complaint is a sign of a problem that needs to be fixed. MEDIA SALES REPS College faculty and administration have been open about the work that BRAND MANAGER still needs to be done and the problems still being faced. As reported March 22 by The Chronicle, President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim and DEI Co-Directors WEBMASTER Fo Wilson and Raquel Monroe discussed the role of everyone on campus in pushing the college forward during a campus DEI forum. GENERAL MANAGER “The work has to be done by all of FACULTY ADVISER us for it to be effective,” Wilson said. “We all have to pitch in and roll up our sleeves.” With the long road the college is on to fulfilling its goals and the work required to do it, communication is key to making sure each problem is addressed and adequately solved. @ aportalatin@columbiachronicle.com
e CCC hronicl
@C CChronicle
Miranda Manier Bridget Ekis Knox Keranen Kendall Polidori Katherine Savage Yasmeen Sheikah Kaci Watt Alexandra Yetter Jay Berghuis
COPY Kristen Nichols Eden Bunna Margaret Smith
GRAPHICS Grace Senior Patrick Casey Shane Tolentino Fernanda Weissbuch
PHOTOGRAPHY Mike Rundle Ignacio Calderon Steven Nunez Halie Parkinson Orlando Pinder Patrick Reponse
MULTIMEDIA Ethan Sandock Alex White
Main line: (312) 369-8999 Editor-in-Chief: (312) 369-8959 Advertising: (312) 369-8984 Creative Director: (312) 369-8960 Digital Content: (312) 369-8961 Production: (312) 369-8834 News Editor: (312) 369-8968 Copy Chief: (312) 369-8976 Webmaster: (312) 369-8894 Permission/Reproductions: (312) 369-8955 Faculty Adviser: (312) 369-8905
The Chronicle is a student-produced publication of Columbia College Chicago and does not necessarily represent, in whole or in part, the views of college administrators, faculty or students. All text, photos and graphics are the property of The Chronicle and may not be reproduced or published without written permission. Editorials are the opinions of the Editorial Board of The Chronicle. Columns are the opinions of the author(s). Views expressed in this publication are those of the writer and are not the opinions of The Chronicle, Columbia’s Communication Department or Columbia College Chicago. Letters to the editor must include full name, year, major and phone number. All letters are edited for grammar and may be cut due to a limit of space. The Chronicle holds the right to limit any one person’s submissions to three per semester.
ADVERTISING/ MARKETING Breanne Jacobs Kathryn Williams Tara Woods Lauren Carlton
WEB Jonathan Winicki
SENIOR STAFF Travis Truitt Curtis Lawrence
Letters can be emailed to Chronicle@colum.edu or mailed to: Th
e Chronicle
The Columbia Chronicle 600 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, IL. 60605
campus
Students elect 2019–2020 SGA Board » ColumbiaChronicle.com
Dwindling numbers of native students at Columbia results in lack of representation » KNOX KERANEN STAFF REPORTER NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS are few and far between at Columbia, a college that advertises its diversity. As of Spring 2019, there are 11 American Indian/Alaskan undergraduate students enrolled, according to Institutional Effectiveness. Junior illustration major Gabriel Marin is one of those 11. Marin understood there were not going to be many Native American students at Columbia when he transferred from Marquette University in Wisconsin, but he said he is frustrated with how few there actually are. “No wonder I couldn’t find anybody else. There’s 10 other people,” Marin said. Raquel Monroe, associate professor of dance and co-director of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said DEI is aware of low enrollment among Native American students, but said low numbers are a problem at higher education institutions nationwide. “That’s absolutely something we would look into at the DEI office,” Monroe said. “The DEI advisory committee is our way of thinking about how to get more people involved in those types of issues in terms of recruitment and developing programs.” The DEI advisory committee was created to develop DEI initiatives beginning in fall 2019. The committee will be comprised of full-time faculty, part-time faculty and staff, as well as students and administrators. “It’s really frustrating that Native [American] students don’t really get support like the other students do,” Marin said. As a transgender student, Marin is more comfortable at Columbia than he was at Marquette—a Catholic Jesuit university—because the college has a more welcoming environment. However, some instructors have used outdated terms to identify Native American people and culture, he said. “Sometimes a teacher will say Indian instead of Native American or Indigenous people, and that can get
annoying,” Marin said. Native American students are one of the few ethnic groups without an organization or club at the college. Although the college provides an inclusive environment, Eurocentric courses are dominant, Marin said. Students would be interested in courses on Native American culture, and it would be beneficial to have Native American instructors teaching those subjects, he added. Professor in the English and Creative Writing Department Karen Osborne, whose expertise includes Native American literature, said more Native American faculty and courses would attract more Native American students. “When students see people they identify with, that inspires them,” Osborne said. “We could have a program in Native American
studies, but you have to have a Native American faculty member heading that kind of a program.” Dwindling Native American enrollment at the college has coincided with overall enrollment declines. In 2010, there were 46 Native American undergraduate students and four graduate students at the college. Since then, Native American enrollment has dropped each year. Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and chief executive of the American Indian College Fund, wrote in a June 17, 2018, article for The Chronicle of Higher Education about the factors that contribute to low enrollment at schools nationwide. “Many students tell us they feel invisible or unwelcome at mainstream colleges, and we have no reason to believe this will change until those institutions take steps to remedy systemic and institutional racism,” she wrote. “This, coupled with
financial need, may be the reason for low college enrollment and degree-attainment rates among Native Americans.” During a March 14 DEI forum, President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim said he invited Native American rap artist and Columbia alumnus Frank Waln into his office just before he graduated in 2014 to ask him about his experience. Waln told Kim he liked Columbia, but said it is not a good school for Native American students because the college failed to recognize a different tradition. “I have been thinking about that a long time,” Kim said. “I realized we [have] got to do it right.” Before he began his tenure in 2013, Kim was the dean and director of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Arizona State University has one of the largest populations of Native American students in the country, but the attrition rate—students who drop out before completing a degree—for those students is more than 50%, according to Kim. “It is a classic model of what doesn’t work in this space, which is to spend all of [one’s] energy focusing on getting people to come and not thinking at all about ‘what are [we] providing?’” Kim said. Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for additional reporting.
» GRACE SENIOR/CHRONICLE
APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 3
campus
College holds events for Sexual Assault Awareness Month despite low student interest » ALEXANDRA YETTER STAFF REPORTER
for help. “When I think about the stigma piece of it, that’s a bigger, broader umbrella of our rape culture in our day-to-day interactions,” Villa said. “That has a big impact on students feeling safe to utilize the resources.” A lot of Villa’s work involves promoting Columbia’s sexual assault resources, which can be used to help students who feel threatened by adjusting their class schedules or taking interim measures to ensure victims
» FERNANDA WEISSBUCH/CHRONICLE
IN A CULTURAL climate that is bringing sexual assault to the forefront of public attention, Columbia’s Equity Issues Office is offering informational events during Sexual Assault Awareness month, but student turnout so far has been low. In the first event of the month, only seven people attended the April 10 lecture organized by the Equity Issues Office, held in the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office, 618 S. Michigan Ave. The presentation instructed attendees on how to be responsible bystanders to sexual assault or harassment by teaching methods of intervention, such as having friends give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down when someone is hitting on them at a party.
Director of Student Organizations and Leadership Orterio Villa said more students should utilize the college’s resources and the school should promote those resources. He added that promoting events is more than handing out informational fliers. Villa attributed students’ infrequent use of campus resources and attendance at events to a lack of understanding on what qualifies as sexual assault and the cultural stigma behind asking
do not run into perpetrators on campus, Villa said. He added that employees in Counseling Services and Student Relations are trained and licensed confidential advisors. The college’s Equity Issues Office handles all sexual assault, harassment and misconduct cases, though it only files police reports at the student’s request. Faculty and staff are required to report any incidents, but students can also speak to a confidential advisor without it being reported to the Equity Issues Office. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, college women aged 18–24 have three times the risk of experiencing sexual violence compared to all women. Of all students nationwide, 11.2% experience rape or sexual assault, and 4.2% of students experience stalking.
Twenty-eight cases of rape and 35 cases of fondling were reported to Columbia between 2015 and 2017, according to the 2018 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Sasha Solov, an advocate at Life Span—an agency that provides survivors with legal services, advocacy and counseling—hosts many of Columbia’s events about sexual assault prevention. She said it is crucial that colleges provide training and resources. In workshops she has hosted at other colleges, Solov said she gets a wide variety of attendance rates and often has to use class credit or free food as incentives to attract students to the events. “There has been greater conversation over the last several years about the epidemic of sexual violence on college campuses,” Solov said. “Young people often have gotten no education around consent, healthy relationships or boundaries.” ayetter@columbiachronicle.com
The Music Center at Columbia College Chicago 1014 S. Michigan Avenue
M u s i c
D e p a r t m e n t
E v e n t s
Monday April 22 Groove Band in Concert
7:00 pm
Tuesday April 23 Lofstrom Xtet in Concert at the Sherwood
7:00 pm
Wednesday April 24 Wednesday Noon Guitar Concert Series at the Conaway American Roots Ensemble in Concert
12:00 pm 7:00 pm
Thursday April 25 Brandon C. Stanley Senior Recital at the Sherwood 7:00 pm Brett Grant Senior Recital 7:00 pm Friday April 26 Vocal Techniques II Final Performance
4 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 2019
1:00 pm
campus
The Rack helps students dress to impress » KACI WATT STAFF REPORTER
If students are looking to donate to The Rack, they can do so in person at the front desk or email the SDI office with their inquiry. “We have many students who struggle with getting their basic needs met—home, housing, security, safety, those sorts of things,” Mosby-Holloway said. “Sometimes shampoo or toothpaste [are needed] to get through a week. If we have the ability to provide that, then we want to be able to provide that service for our students.” Student employees in the SDI office also had input on the creation and construction of The Rack, including junior creative writing major Joyce Guo. The student workers painted the room and constructed the shelving units for the supplies to be stored. Guo will be taking on a role as a store associate. As a member of queer organizations on campus, Guo said The
Sophomore game art major Nasr Bin Safwan attended the opening April 18 and said he is looking forward to seeing the space evolve and donating items. “For a school that prides itself on diversity and inclusion, this is something I would expect,” Bin Safwan said. “It’s a nice concept that people can give away stuff, and it can end up in a nice home. It’s all about sharing and community.” kwatt@columbiachronicle.com » HALIE PARKINSON/CHRONICLE
WHETHER YOU NEED a necktie for an upcoming interview, toothpaste to freshen up or just want a new T-shirt, The Rack is an option for all students. The Rack, 618 S. Michigan Ave., is a new clothing and toiletries shop for students to get products they need for free in an affirming and nonjudgmental environment, Director of the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office Charee Mosby-Holloway said. The idea for The Rack arose from a clothing swap held last year by Columbia Pride, a student organization that promotes an inclusive LGBTQ community on campus. There was a large number of clothing items left over after the event that were stored at the SDI office, and the organizers wanted to find a way to give students access to the clothing, Mosby-Holloway said.
An important aspect of The Rack is providing a space for nonbinary students to comfortably get clothes that fit their identity, Mosby-Holloway said. “[Sometimes people don’t] feel comfortable going to Target and shopping in the section that best allows them to express their gender, whether they don’t have the money or just don’t feel safe or it’s not a possibility,” she said. “Everyone should be able to get the things they need in a place where they feel affirmed and they feel safe to do so.” Students can access The Rack Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. –6 p.m. in the SDI office located on the fourth floor of 618 S. Michigan Ave. To enter the store, students must check in at the front desk and provide their Oasis ID number. The inventory is reliant upon donations to have the store stocked as much as possible at all times, Mosby-Holloway said.
Rack was something that made sense to have on campus and for her to help develop. “At Columbia, we make a lot of assumptions about the students,” Guo said. “We assume everyone here has money or everyone here doesn’t have money. Both of these assumptions exist simultaneously. We also assume everyone has the resources they need to live life to the fullest when that isn’t true, especially for a lot of trans students on campus.”
The Rack, 618 S. Michigan Ave., is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
G I B
S M A E DR
all m S t r Sta I UD
ac t
ua l
s i ze
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 APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 5
campus
Up Close & Personal with
Mario
APR 25 12-2P.M. FILM ROW 1104 S. Wabash Ave. 8th Floor Join GRAMMY®-nominated R&B singer Mario as he discusses his career, and the making of his new album, Dancing Shadows, which debuted at #1 on the iTunes R&B/Soul Chart. Moderated by Adjunct Professor Jeff Morrow.
RSVP on http://bit.ly/mario425 6 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 2019
Today!
arts culture
SWMRS band discusses social awareness in music » ColumbiaChronicle.com
LGBTQ history finds a home on the page— sex toys, birdcages and all
» MIRANDA MANIER NEWS EDITOR IN 1974, PEOPLE who visited Dugan’s Bistro in River North between 12 p.m. and 2 a.m. may have been lucky enough to stumble upon the Bearded Lady, stripping down to her one-piece bathing suit with a birdcage in her hair while the Isley Brothers’ “Who’s That Lady” blasted in the background. Dugan’s Bistro—once at 420 N. Dearborn St.—has been gone almost four decades, but grassroots LGBTQ historian and writer Owen Keehnen is doing all he can to hold the whispers of its legacy and that of the Bearded Lady together. Keehnen said he has been recording LGBTQ history since the 1980s, when he started interviewing activists and writers in the community simply to chronicle their stories. When he first started writing nonfiction books in 2010, he realized so much LGBTQ history is out there but not consolidated. He said making sure these local, personal accounts are written down is important, otherwise they can be lost in the general cultural narrative.
“[The Bearded Lady’s act] ... was this incredible celebration of fun, and it ... embodied the carefree attitude [of the community], especially during the preAIDS era,” he said. “I really wanted that captured because … gay history can get really simplified in the modern era.” Keehnen’s recently-released book, “Dugan’s Bistro and the Legend of the Bearded Lady,” was conceived after he spoke to someone about the gay nightlife scene of the 1970s and they said they could not imagine how the Bearded Lady spent her time offstage. “Immediately, that was like catnip for me,” he said. “I became obsessed with finding out what the Bearded Lady [did] in their day-to-day life.” What was originally a book about various entertainers of the era, including the Bearded Lady, evolved into a story of her own and of Dugan’s Bistro. Dugan’s Bistro was sometimes called “the Studio 54 of the Midwest,” a reference to a nightclub in New York that was an iconic part of the gay nightlife in the ‘70s. However, Dugan’s Bistro actually opened in 1973— “four years before Studio 54,” Keehnen said. “In other words, it opened
half the disco era earlier, and a lot of the disco norms ... were pioneered by The Bistro.” The Bearded Lady’s routine would begin with her back to the audience—what Keehnen said she called “giving back to the community”—and would then turn the performance into a kind of burlesque routine, stripping away layers upon layers of house dresses and ponchos until she got down to what was typically her one-piece bathing suit. Her only rule, Keehnen said, was that nothing could go over her head, so as not to disturb the objects she had strewn in her hair and her beard, which could include anything from sex toys to lawn ornaments. In Keehnen’s favorite example, a telephone handset was suspended by wires, and out of the receiver was a speech bubble that read, “Hello.” Junior cinema arts and science major Halonah Abraham Paiss thinks that in general, queer history is ignored in history classes, and said it’s important for those stories to be shared so young queer people feel represented. According to junior fiction major Jerakah Greene, it is also important to
share LGBTQ history with young people because it gives them context for what came before them. “We have tunnel vision, all of us do, and it’s really important to know where we came from and the reason we have marriage equality, the reason [people ask about pronouns],” Greene said. “That didn’t just happen. People made it happen. It can be really irresponsible not to take it upon yourself to learn that history and take account of the privileges we have as queer people in 2019.” However, Keehnen said it is crucial to not just focus on the heavier parts of the past. With the dark cloud of the AIDS crisis of the 1980s hanging over the LGBTQ community, Keehnen said stories from the 1970s often get glossed over because they seem “frivolous” in comparison. “It’s a great way to also celebrate a lot of those people who were lost in the AIDS epidemic,” he said. “To portray them as these people having an incredible time and being more than a grim statistic. These were human beings, and a lot of them were having the time of their lives.” mmanier@columbiachronicle.com » COURTESY LEGACY PROJECT
» COURTESY CHUCK SHOTWELL
The Bearded Lady was a headliner for the gay nightclub Dugan’s Bistro, once at 420 N. Dearborn St., from 1973 to 1982. She would wear layers upon layers of clothing, which she would strip away during her set while a song such as “Who’s That Lady” by the Isley Brothers played. When the crowd would scream for The Bearded Lady, she would scream back.
APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 7
feature FEATURE, FROM FRONT
Story by Blaise Mesa But neither Gotowko nor Hoerner reported their complaints. Gotowko said he was not aware of how to report an issue; Hoerner was afraid of being labeled as a problem student if he reported any complaints. “It got to the point where I felt like if I made a big stink about it, I would be labeled as a problem student or [be] ignored outright,” Gotowko said. “I’d be making a fuss over something that wasn’t ever going to change.” Beyond the Title IX process, students can complain to multiple places at the college, including: the SDI office; Student Relations in the Dean of Students Office; the Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office; or the Equity Issues Office. The college has tried to address some reporting issues by adjusting SDI’s office hours from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. to 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. to be more accessible to students. MosbyHolloway said she expects to stay until 7 p.m. most days. For after-hours reporting, students can email complaints to SDI at inclusion@ colum.edu or use the anonymous complaint form on the college’s website. “We try as best we can to be as accessible as possible,” Mosby-Holloway said. Repeated misgendering after a student’s gender expression has been clarified appears to violate Columbia’s Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy. The policy states, “Columbia will not tolerate harassment or discrimination based on religion, race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability or ethnicity by or of its students, faculty or staff.” The policy also states the college is “committed to maintaining an environment that respects the dignity of all individuals.” Janely Rivera, director of Equity Issues and Title IX Coordinator, said
8 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 2019
Design by Grace Senior in an April 19 email to The Chronicle the Sexual Misconduct Policy protects students who are repeatedly misgendered in class and on campus. Hoerner also said he did not receive gender-inclusive housing despite applying for it his freshman year in 2016. He was also not notified when he was denied the housing and was roomed with women. “While we do not guarantee any housing format or assignment when the request is made, we work very hard to accommodate every request and the needs of each student,” Lukidis said in a March 21 email to The Chronicle. “A student is always informed about their housing assignment well in advance of moving in through the housing portal.” Hoerner alleges he has also been misgendered outside the classroom, by a janitor. Once while using the men’s restroom two years ago, Hoerner said a janitor walked in and told him he was using the men’s restroom as if to correct him, even though Hoerner identifies as a male. Hoerner said he does not feel comfortable or safe using gender-specific restrooms because of the 2017 incident. He estimated he has used the restrooms on campus three to five times total since his sophomore year. Misgendering has become so prevalent Hoerner began to avoid sharing his preferred pronouns with teachers, especially if he rarely communicates with them. “Intentional or unintentional, it doesn’t matter to me,” Hoerner said. “I was told I would be supported and accepted 100% here.”
Columbia does not mandate staff training on pronoun awareness, but the Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office can conduct training for faculty if requested. Mosby-Holloway said her office offers training for students and staff. The Office of Academic Diversity, Equity and Inclusion was not available for comment. Dear Aunaetitrakul, assistant director for gender and sexuality at the Angelina Pedroso Center at Northeastern Illinois University, said NEIU also does not have mandatory training on pronoun usage for its faculty. She said the university does have an optional four and a half hour training session on the topic, as well as other similar topics for faculty and staff. Aunaetitrakul noted it can be difficult to get teachers to attend training, and some faculty members may not be open to change because they are set in their ways. She added misgendering is hard to investigate in order to prevent it in the future. Mosby-Holloway noted the importance of training faculty because they have the most face time with students. She added it is important students see themselves represented in programming. She has visited classrooms to help make more students comfortable reporting incidents. “The more accessible you can make reporting, the more accessible you can make resources,” Mosby-Holloway said. “It can be a huge risk for someone to disclose their experience.” Both Gotowko and Hoerner cited a lack of gender-inclusive
restrooms which has prevented them from using the restroom even when they really needed to. Columbia’s website shows there are 17 gender-inclusive restrooms as of 2016, but according to Lukidis, the college currently has 20 on its campus. That is more than NEIU, a school that touts its commitment to diversity. NEIU, which has nearly 9,000 students, has eight gender-inclusive restrooms, with only three of them available past 5 p.m. The number of gender-inclusive restrooms per building varies. Some buildings, such as 1600 S. State St., have one gender-inclusive restroom, while the 916 S. Wabash Ave. building has six. All future campus construction will include gender-neutral restrooms, according to Lukidis. An additional gender-inclusive restroom will be installed this summer at the Dance Center, 1306 S. Michigan Ave., and there will be eight gender-inclusive restrooms at the new Student Center and one gender-inclusive locker room. Gender-inclusive restrooms were a major part of the Gender Inclusive Initiative, which the college is currently revisiting. The college had planned to assess the program two years ago but has yet to complete the assessment. Because multiple offices are involved, it is difficult to gather all the information, but Mosby-Holloway said she hopes to have it by Fall 2019. The Gender Inclusive Initiative also examined pronoun awareness, gender-inclusive
feature housing, counseling services, Title IX and educational resources, according to the college’s website. It was first implemented seven years ago, according to Mosby-Holloway. The college will continue to collect feedback from focus groups with students, which will be held toward the end of the spring semester, according to Mosby-Holloway. The focus groups will gather feedback on the initiative’s success thus far, as well as other ideas to further build a more inclusive college, she said. Mosby-Hol loway sa id st udent feedback is essential to creating successful programming. She said it is important to report complaints so the college has knowledge of issues and can act on them. Mosby-Holloway has only been able to keep track of general complaints during the year she has been at Columbia. She added she has not received any complaints from transgender students within the last couple of months. Regarding students being misgendered by professors, Mosby-Holloway said she may never be able to see the total number of reported complaints the office has received. Lexington Lawson served as the coordinator of the former Office of LGBTQ Community and Culture at Columbia for about a year until leaving in 2016. Lawson said the college was creating a
bias-reporting system that would help track complaints of any nature. The college has experienced changes since Lawson left. The former Multicultural Affairs Office became SDI in Fall 2017. SDI currently has two employees, in addition to those employed in the Academic DEI Office, which works closer with faculty. The reporting database was part of a five-year advocacy plan, which included the Gender Inclusive Initiative, Lawson said. The college does not have a bias-reporting database in place, according to an April 3 email from Lukidis. Colleges are not legally required to have a bias-reporting database, but some colleges are moving in that direction, Aunaetitrakul said. She previously worked at Texas A&M University, which did have a biasreporting system. A bias-reporting system can be different at every college, but generally, it is a database to log reported complaints. These databases can be used to track misgendering or incidents involving racial bias. “We’ve had this on the agenda for a long time,” Lawson said. “What are they afraid of? Why are [they] afraid of confronting this?” Lukidis said she spoke to multiple people who were at the college during the alleged planning of the bias-reporting system. She said they had no knowledge of the database Lawson mentioned, though the News Office denied The Chronicle the opportunity to verify that directly with staff members who may have worked with Lawson.
SDI is a programming office that uses data—such as reported complaints— they receive from the college to create successful programs. Without clear numbers, the office is “poking in the dark,” MosbyHolloway said. “There are folks who are committed and trying to pull it together,” Mosby-Holloway said. “Are we there yet? No. Could I get that information right now? No. Do I hope in the next year or two we have a better way to get that information? Absolutely.” Just because institutions have zero complaints does not mean the student population is thriving, said Naseeb Bhangal, assistant director for race and ethnicity education at NEIU, who previously worked at Loyola University Chicago and Gonzaga University. “My rule of thumb is [not to] wait for complaints to prompt [concern] about certain communities,” she said. She noted institutions are data-driven, and an influx of complaints will help universities focus their resources. If an institution is receiving fewer complaints from one student population compared to another, they will focus on the group of students with more complaints, regardless of the issue, Bhangal said. There are other factors that could limit student complaints, such as unfamiliarity with administrators or students complaining to trusted individuals rather than staff in diversity offices, Mosby-Holloway said. When students make complaints to the correct offices, the complaint can move down different pathways. If students believe the incident was malicious, the compla int will
be taken to human resources, which has a paper trail. Although Mosby-Holloway and others at Columbia said they were not aware of the bias-reporting system Lawson referenced, she said she likes to keep track of complaints even if the student does not think the incident was malicious. “I always want to make sure a student has complete agency over their experience,” Mosby-Holloway said. In 2015, the college began implementing initiatives stated in its Strategic Plan, including several diversity goals and commitments, scheduled to be completed in 2020. The Higher Learning Commission recently applauded Columbia for its commitment to making diversity, equity and inclusion an essential part of students’ educational experience, as reported March 18 by The Chronicle. Mosby-Holloway said Columbia is working on a couple programs to ensure transgender students feel more welcomed and comfortable. She helped create The Rack, which helps students find professional clothing that fits within their gender identity, and Careering While Queering, an LGBTQ career advice event. In the fall, SDI will offer a week-long queer health and wellness workshop. “Diversity, equity and inclusion has to be systemic, and it has to be sustainable,” Mosby-Holloway said. “Every single person in every single department has to have some buy in. They have to be committed to education and to serving our students.” Mars Robinson contributed to this report. bmesa@columbiachronicle.com
APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 9
opinions
Vaccinations are about more than personal choice
I
be easy to believe vaccines are no longer necessary in the late stages of herd immunity, we must remain vigilant and aware that without vaccines, any number of diseases could once again invade the population. If this were a conversation about personal choice, those against vaccinations for any reason would have every right to refuse. In the U.S., people have the right to make decisions that may be detrimental to their own health, safety and well-being. We may choose to take on the complications and costs associated with an illness for ourselves. But nobody has the right to make that decision for anyone
else. Anti-vaccine views are on the rise across the nation, and we must combat them with education about the efficacy of vaccines. Without vaccines—or even with a marginally reduced vaccinated population—diseases that were once a distant memory could come rearing back into public health. Vaccinating is about more than protecting your own body from measles or another disease. It is about protecting those at risk, particularly young children and those who have compromised immune systems. Dr. Manish Sadarangani, director of the Vaccine Evaluation Center at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital, explained in an April 2016 interview for the Oxford Vaccine Group that 90-95% of the population must be vaccinated to prevent the » PATRICK CASEY/CHRONICLE
n 2000, measles was considered an eliminated disease due to the efficacy and widespread use of the MMR vaccine. According to an April 16 CNN report, in the last 19 years, cases of measles have increased to the second-highest level in a quarter century, with more than 555 cases reported in the U.S. within the first three months of 2019 alone. At least seven confirmed cases have been reported in the greater Chicago area as well, according to an April 16 WQAD report. In a CNN interview, Dr. William Schaffner, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, attributed the jump in measles cases to the anti-vaccination movement, which has been gaining popularity and has turned back the clock on a previously eliminated, potentially fatal disease. Though it may
EDITORIAL
spread of a highly-contagious disease such as measles. In the interview, he points out that before the measles vaccine, every person who contracted measles would be responsible for infecting 10 or more others. It is the responsibility of individuals to see themselves as part of a group choosing to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We can agree as human beings that the health and safety of our communities is our personal responsibility. Protecting those most vulnerable among us is a call every person who is able must take up by choosing to get vaccinated and by vaccinating their children. Saving the lives of people who cannot be vaccinated is our obligation, one we must not let be clouded by misinformation or anti-science views. chronicle@colum.edu
Editorial Board Members Molly Walsh Managing Editor Blaise Mesa Managing Editor Knox Keranen Staff Reporter Katherine Savage Staff Reporter Kaci Watt Staff Reporter
Alexandra Yetter Staff Reporter Margaret Smith Copy Editor Mike Rundle Senior Photo Editor 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?
4/5/2019
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 Chronicle Editorial Board MSF Print Ad - Vectr
CAMPAIGN JOBS! HELP BUILD LOCAL SUPPORT FOR DOCTORS AROUND THE WORLD Work with Grassroots Campaigns on behalf of Doctors Without Borders Full-time/Part-time/Career Earn $12 - 16 per hour
Call (312) 574-3794 • grassrootscampaigns.com 10 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 2018
opinions POLITICAL CARTOON CONTEST
1ST PLACE: ADELE SEGO
2ND PLACE: MEGAN RIVERA
3RD PLACE: SUNG MIN BYUN
HONORABLE MENTION: MEL VARGAS
After receiving 32 entries for The 2019 Paula Pfeffer and Cheryl Johnson-Odim Political Cartoon Contest, judges have announced the winners. The Annual contest winners receive a certificate and a monetary prize. Adele Sego, a senior traditional animation major, won first place for her cartoon and will receive $550. Senior illustration major Megan Rivera won second place and will receive $450. Junior animation major Sung Min Byun took third place and will receive $350. Junior illustration majors Mel Vargas and Shane Tolentino both received honorable mentions for their cartoons and will each receive $250. The winners will be honored during a campus luncheon April 24.
HONORABLE MENTION: SHANE TOLENTINO
WE’RE G N I R I H GRAPHIC DESIGNERS - MEDIA SALES REPS - REPORTERS COPY EDITORS - VIDEOGRAPHERS - PHOTOGRAPHERS
APPLY AT COLUMBIACHRONICLE.COM/EMPLOYMENT
DEADLINE TO APPLY: MAY 31ST, 2019 QUESTIONS? CONTACT US CHRONEMPLOYMENT@GMAIL.COM APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 11
opinions
12 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 2019
metro Proposed SNAP bill offers state senate food for thought
Garfield Park Conservatory explores planet life under light » ColumbiaChronicle.com/Multimedia
» KNOX KERANEN
STAFF REPORTER
[whether] a student is available for SNAP,” Baker said. The bill had its first of three readings in the House April 11. If passed, the law would go into effect in October 2020. State Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), who represents Chicago’s West Side, said low-income college students have a unique disadvantage. “There’s this immediate deficit in the food program for college students,” Ford said. “[When]you’re in high school, there’s a food program. You get free
lunch [or] reduced lunch. But when you’re in college and living on your own, there’s no safety net.” kkeranen@columbiachronicle.com
» SHANE TOLENTINO/CHRONICLE
THE NUMBER OF Illinois participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have increased over the last year, but college students are still going hungry. A bill drafted in the state Senate could change that by increasing awareness for students who may qualify for the program. Illinois Senate Bill 1641, drafted by State Sen. Robert Peters (D-Chicago), requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to identify and flag college students who are eligible to receive SNAP. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless came to Peters with the bill to expand SNAP access, and he gladly brought it to the Senate, he said. “I chomped at the bit to take a bill [so that] college kids of all ages are able to get food ... and eat and have some security and dignity and safety,” Peters said. Having been unemployed, Peters said he understands how living with food scarcity and in a desperate state of mind can cause someone to make decisions that may negatively impact their life. “Why would you want to stay in college when you have to struggle in so many other areas for something that doesn’t guarantee you the prosperity you have been told you would get?” Peters asked. Eligibility for SNAP will be determined in part by income reported on a student’s FAFSA, a form completed each year by college students or their parents to assess their financial need. Other eligibility requirements will be made available by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the Department of Human Services. “Let’s make sure that people who fill out a FAFSA form get a notification that says they get food. Let’s take one thing off their plate,” Peters said. The bill passed the Senate with a 46-1 vote on April 10. The resounding support surprised Peters, but he hopes the bill will continue to pass through the state House of Representatives and then to the governor’s desk for his signature. Junior music technology major Ben Brody said the current system puts a burden on the student to recognize their own eligibility.
“I’m sure there are students who don’t know about it,” Brody said. “It’s hard to tell if I don’t know about it because I don’t need the assistance that it provides ... or if it’s a lack of [promoting] the program.” Kari Sommers, associate dean of Student Life and adjunct professor in the Business and Entrepreneurship Department, said the Student Life Office has previously posted notices on email newsletters that students may qualify for SNAP, but it was an in-house initiative, not due to a government request. “We want it to be as available as possible,” Sommers said. Students who are reported as food-insecure by faculty members, students or themselves are referred to Student Life. After providing additional information, students are able to access ColumbiaCares, The Rack—an on-campus closet for clothing and toiletries—and Columbia Care Packages, Sommers said. Columbia Care Packages encompasses the school’s food pantry, located in Suite 307 at 623 S. Wabash Ave. “It’s very important to us that if a student is in need, they are treated with the utmost dignity and respect,” Sommers said. Sommers said Columbia Care Packages is in its beginning stages and is mostly stocked by Student Life staff, including Sommers. According to Lambrini Lukidis, senior director of the college’s News Office, “Starting in fall semester, students will be able to apply any federal financial aid credit/ refund to a campus card they will be able to use at the new food facility at the Student Center as well as other food facilities operated by Columbia College Chicago. This also will be open to students on a payment plan. We encourage any student struggling with food insecurity and other issues that jeopardize their ability to focus on or continue their studies to contact the Dean of Students’ office.” Lynne Baker, director of communications for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, said if the current draft of the bill is passed, it would cause ISAC to notify students who may not actually qualify for SNAP. “The information that’s available to ISAC isn’t really sufficient to say definitively
APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 13
metro
» YASMEEN SHEIKAH STAFF REPORTER MONTHS ARE OFTEN set aside to raise awareness and support cures for various diseases and disorders, but one Chicago group is taking a different approach; they are celebrating. The Autism Society declared April National Autism Awareness Month in 1970 as a way to educate people about autism. Nearly 50 years later, some autistic people say they want the month to be about acceptance not awareness. “The way [other organizations] frame Autism Awareness Month is [that] ‘autism is this tragedy. It’s this disease, let’s find a way to cure it,’” said Erin Schroeder, one of the event organizers for Autistics Against Curing Autism. “The autistic community is trying to rebrand it so that people become
more understanding and accepting of autistic people.” Autism is often described as a disorder that affects individuals’ communication methods. Autism spectrum disorder is a term used to describe a wide variety of characteristics at different levels of intensity. The spectrum includes Asperger’s syndrome and pervasive developmental disorders. These conditions can be mild or severe depending on diagnosis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 68 children in the U.S. have an autism spectrum disorder, which can present itself before age 3 and last throughout life. More than 3.5 million Americans need additional health, educational and caregiving services. John Elder Robinson, a neurodiversity scholar at the College of William and Mary and the author
of the New York Times best-selling novel “Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s,” went most of his life undiagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and then found out at the age of 40 that he was on the autism spectrum. Robinson said people on the autism spectrum may also suffer from chronic intestinal pain, epilepsy and sleep disorders. While some people may treat the pain, they do not necessarily want to erase their autistic traits, he said. Robinson is an adviser to the Center for Neurodiversity at Landmark College in Vermont, and a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “There’s no good side to having a broken leg. There’s no good side to having a bacterial infection, but autism often brings with it
» STEVEN NUNEZ/CHRONICLE
Autism Awareness Month highlights acceptance
Timotheus Gordon Jr., promotions specialist at Autistics Against Curing Autism, said he prefers the term autism acceptance rather than autism awareness.
exceptional powers of focus or concentration—unusual creative abilities,” Robinson said. “You read all the time about how tech companies in Silicon Valley are run by autistic people, so autism really has two sides to it, and people only see the bad.” Autistics Against Curing Autism is holding a meeting April 27 at 1 p.m. at Jason’s Deli, 1258 S. Canal St., to discuss future plans and events. Timotheus Gordon Jr., a member of Autistics Against Curing
Autism, said he wishes communities of color, specifically in Chicago, would be more accepting of autistic people and help them be a part of the community. “Employ us. Use us. Let us be leaders. Let us be parents. Let us build families,” Gordon said. “Just let us be humans; let us be citizens. That’s what we want.” Visit ColumbiaChronicle.com for the full story ysheikah@columbiachronicle.com
DELILAH’S 2771 N. Lincoln * (773) 472-2771
PUNK ROCK MONDAYS
$1 American Beer
$2 Jim Beam Free Pool !!!
Check Out More Events
Delilahschicago.com 14 THE CHRONICLE APRIL 22, 2019
metro
APRIL 22, 2019 THE CHRONICLE 15
WANT TO WIN A PAIR OF 4-DAY PASSES TO LOLLAPALOOZA 2019?
X FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM @CCCHRONICLE FOR THE FIRST CLUE, POSTED ON FRIDAY, APRIL 26 AT NOON.