weekly
THE
Get messed up on (vitamin) pills p.3
VOL.4, ISSUE 4 04.23.09
The
United
States of
Northwestern
We have borders, an anthem, a flag, a police force and now, a budget deficit. As the nation struggles to deal with a global recession, NU’s adminisitration is grappling with losses of our own, to the tune of 1.8 billion dollars p.5
02 07 08
STONER THEATER SWEET TEES LOONEY’S TUNES
2
the weekly
04.23.09
THE WEEKLY MEMO There’s no thematic thread running through this issue; it’s more like potpourri (though I wouldn’t use it to freshen up your powder room), or a feast of delectable stories (Be warned: The ink is indelible, not edible). A little bit of this, a dash of that, and presto – you’ve got yourself a Weekly. Ali Pechman gives you the lowdown on NU couples who are tying the knot (p. 2). Alex Ilyashov spices things up with a well-curated set of movie recommendations from the owners of Evanston’s best video store, After Hours (p. 4). There’s a meaty story on NU’s budget woes (p. 5), and Coco Keevan stirs a great profile into the mix of Threadless – a t-shirt design company that refuses to believe that too many cooks spoil the broth (p. 7). And, of course, we have three saucy Confirmed & Denieds, which readers seem to devour like a kid sneaking dessert before the main course. But I know you’re starving, so I’ll quit yapping. A final request, though: Gorge yourselves. I promise that even if you lap up every word, this is one treat that won’t add an inch to your waistline. KYLE BERLIN THE
weekly
EDITOR IN CHIEF kyle berlin
kyleberlin2010@u.northwestern.edu
MANAGING EDITOR alexandra ilyashov
ilyashov@u.northwestern.edu
ASSISTANT EDITORS emmy blotnick jeremy gordon
e-blotnick@northwestern.edu jeremygordon2007@u.northwestern.edu
ART DIRECTOR sara fay
s-fay@northwestern.edu
ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR kristyn armour
kristynarmour2007@u.northwestern.edu
SURVEY AT STARBUCKS
five-year plan
T
This week, we pondered getting hitched, like, now. As weird and ridiculous as that seems, some of our peers are indeed donning marital bling to class and planning engagement fetes between midterms. We asked 100 students in Norris if they hope to be at the altar in the next five years. We got some “Hell no!” reactions, along with bitter mutterings about bagging a boo first. That said, a third of students responded in the affirmative. At least the bachelorette bashes will make the transition from college debauchery to real world a bit easier, no?
67 33
YES
NO
contact the weekly at: 847.491.4901 send confirmed and denied tips to the managing editor want to join our staff? e-mail our editor in chief A weekly supplement to The Daily Northwestern.
WHAT IF
YOU WERE ENGAGED BEFORE GRADUATION
&denied
confirmed GREEKEND (G)RECAP Those who became fiendishly invested in SAE’s Paddy Murphy Week gathered at The Keg on Saturday, where the winner was revealed at midnight. The crowd seemed shocked to hear it was TriDelt after houses KD, A Phi and Pi Phi had strong performances in the week’s events. Seems the winning ladies found a loophole: Turning in a fat stack of receipts from Wild Dogz and Cosi, two eateries that had agreed to donate to SAE’s philanthropy, which were tallied as points. From what SAE coaches told us, the receipts gave TriDelt the lead – to think, all it took was either a hot dog binge or a dumpster dive! Classy behavior all around, sororosisters; maybe next year everyone can go on a scavenger hunt in search of some perspective. THE HIGHLIGHTS OF FANTASIA NORML’s screening of the 1940s Disney film “Fantasia” in Tech on 4/20 sounds like it was a pothead’s paradise. One moviegoer told us that “everyone there had goofy looks on their faces” – sweet mother Mary Jane, are we shocked! NORML members passed out bubbles, giving the crowd a chance to show off their exhalation skills. Bubbles were followed by drug policy trivia with wizard hats for prizes. In a perfect school, we’d be rewarded with wizard caps every time we answered a question correctly (you can get to work on that now, new ASG administration). The sounds of rustling chip bags and
munching echoed through LR3, with viewers gasping and bursting into giggles even during the not-so-funny parts. Another attendee told us everyone laughed during a scene about mushrooms (he referred to it just as “that mushroom scene” as though we’re a bunch of Fantasia scholars). The fun came to a halt when the DVD stopped working and nobody had the attention span to repair it. As this week’s Social Diarist lamented: “Silly stoners.” Drug Week rules. B-DAY BLACKOUTS Judging by the number of 21st birthday party Evites flooding our spam folder this week, it seems like July of 1988 was a month of sweaty humping for parents of NU students everywhere. One birthday girl told us she’s looking forward to “finally becoming legal after six years of drinking” and will celebrate in Lincoln Park. Also, a birthday extravaganza held by 808 Productions will be going down at the pulsing hair gel convention that is Enclave. But wait, it gets better: Co-coordinator Jordan Simkovic claims a Pussycat Doll will make an appearance. We’ve never seen a Pussycat Doll separated from her crew of honeys; we can only imagine she looks like a lady of the night venturing out from under the bridge (that’s some grandpa talk for a prostitute, you guys). In any case, happy birthday to all, and to all a good bar fight. WEEKLY EDITORS
Sounds scary and overly mature, but two precocious Northwestern women have chosen to tie the knot while most of their peers have yet to earn their Bachelor’s “We didn’t really like each other,” Caitlin When Weinberg senior and NROTC says. “When you’re in high school you’re not member Andrea Kaltenbach met her interested in people who just graduated from husband-to-be, it wasn’t Cupid’s arrow that college.” struck her: It was his rifle. The two later reconnected and started dat“We were cleaning our rifles next to each other,” she says of her first encounter with her ing when she was a Northwestern sophomore, though she was skeptical about the idea of fiancé, a senior at the University of Florida whom she met at an ROTC program the sum- a L.D.R. But because Caitlin’s now-husband is six years older than she is and saw a future mer after freshman year. As the mystery man with her, she felt like she didn’t really have a left to put away his weapon, Kaltenbach went choice. Having a far-away boyfriend allowed through his stuff to find out his name: Phillip. Caitlin to focus on schoolwork and friends She instantly had a crush, which soon turned without worrying about the pressures of an into a long distance relationship – one that on-campus relationship. Besides, mood-killing resulted in marriage. Long distance relationmidterm schedules and drunken, meaningless ships get a bad rep in college – its common nickname, “L.D.R.”, sounds more like an STD hookups don’t make NU a particularly conducive place for true romance; Caitlin didn’t than true love – but for some, an L.D.R. can think she was actually pave the way to getting “I was lucky enough to find the missing out. “If I were hitched. person I am going to spend dating someone Initially, my own age I Kaltenbach the rest of my life with when would have never had no interest I’m 21 as opposed to 28.” gotten married,” whatsoever in Caitlin says, a long distance ANDREA KALTENBACH who is currently relationship. Weinberg senior working as a “There are plenty wedding consultant and personal trainer in of guys here. Why would I want to make the Bay Area. “I would have never gotten marmyself stressed and miss someone?” Kaltenried while I was at Northwestern.” bach says. Andrea and Philip stayed in touch To that end, Kaltenbach plans to wait out by phone and online, but only saw each other her nuptials a bit. The couple will remain enonce in person. “After he came in to visit it gaged as they establish their military careers, was clear that anyone I had dated before him finishing their training and deployments. and anyone I would date after him wouldn’t While many of Kaltenbach’s friends from even compare,” Kaltenbach says. Though he’s Ohio are engaged, she is an anomaly among based in Florida and she lives in Ohio and ather friends at Northwestern. tends Northwestern, they began dating. Both girls think they are too young to get For some, neither distance nor age differmarried, but didn’t really see an alternative ence gets in the way of starting something situation. serious. “I was lucky enough to find the person Caitlin Arnold née Roberts, a 22-year-old I am going to spend the rest of my life with Weinberg senior, graduated early this fall and when I’m 21, as opposed to 28. The fact that married her husband, Stephen Arnold, last I’m in school is what’s weird, not my specific month. Caitlin met her husband volunteering age,” Kaltenbach said. “And it’s not like we’re in the Bay Area while she was in high school 20 right?” and he had just graduated from U.C.L.A. ALI PECHMAN
“Part morality tale, part voyeuristic time trip. Strong stuff !” -Michael Cieply, The New York Times
“Impresses with style.” “Electrifying performances!” -Troy Patterson, SPIN
-Dennis Dermody, PAPER Magazine
“A totally faithful adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ novel. Delivers guilty pleasures aplenty.” -Rob Nelson, Variety
SELECT ENGAGEMENTS START FRIDAY, APRIL 24 Daily Northwestern
the weekly
04.23.09
3
Vitamins A-B-C, easy as Omega-3 When we made our rounds talking to local health experts, dietitians and nutritionists, we asked “Which vitamins are we missing if we subsist solely on skunked beer and Chicago-style pizza?� We were met with expressions of disappointment unlike anything we’ve seen since we threw high school parties while our parents were out of town, as well as some tips to help us get our acts together and our diets closer to balanced. VEGETABLES
VITAMIN A
For night owls who spend stressful evenings in the library, vitamin A can improve night vision and prevent wrinkles. That’s right, we said night vision. Monique Ryan, a nutritionist based in Evanston, says to “think orange, red, deep green vegetables like red grapefruit and leafy green vegetables� when trying to incorporate vitamin A in your diet.
VITAMIN D
Chicago-area dietitian Bindi Desai Lessing says college students’ diets tend to lack vitamin D, especially because Evanston is depressingly sun-deprived. She recommends taking vitamin D supplements, since there aren’t many food sources that contain it naturally. Luckily, your body produces it in response to sunlight, so catching rays for 10 minutes a few times a week from April-September should be sufficient, Ryan said.
VITAMIN E
Brian Erickson, a team member in the Whole Body department at Whole Foods, says the college diet tends to consist of foods cooked with inexpensive, “lousy oils� that lack vitamins. He encourages cooking at home and using coconut or palm oils instead. Both are good sources of vitamin E, which is said to promote healthy hair, skin and nails (and who doesn’t want that?).
OMEGA-3
James Klaer Twist, manager of Chaz Nutrition and Health on Davis Street, says not to shy away from the good fats, like Omega-3 fatty acids. They calm inflammation and can be found in oily fish like salmon and trout, as well as seeds like hemp and flax. If oily fish isn’t your thing, Erickson recommends buying whole flaxseeds and pulverizing them in a coffee grinder, while Lessing suggests Whole Foods’ whole grain flaxseed pancake mix ($3.99 for 36 oz.) and gluten-free flaxseed muffin mix ($3.39 for 12 oz.) to save you the trouble.
CALCIUM
Ryan says it’s a good measure to take a daily multivitamin if your diet isn’t exactly balanced, but as Twist cautions, supplements like One-A-Day and Centrum are actually low on important nutrients like calcium. Twist recommends up to 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day for women under 40, while Ryan adds that “lattes are good ways (to get enough calcium) and yogurt, skim milk in the dining halls,� she says. If that’s not enough, Ryan suggests students head over to CVS and buy inexpensive calcium supplements with calcium carbonate.
PROBIOTICS
Erickson describes probiotics as “critters� that live in your small and large intestine, but don’t let that gross you out. These bacteria help your digestive system function smoothly. The live organisms in products like Culturelle and Jarrodophilus EPS (available at Whole Foods) can help reintroduce good balance into your intestinal tract. OK, fine, we’re grossed out.
EMMY BLOTNICK Leezia Dhalla contributed reporting
social diary [a McCormick junior]
14 tuesday
15 wednesday
16 thursday
17 friday
Worked an 8 a.m. shift at the YMCA pool, pretty brutal...though not as brutal as when I had a 5 a.m. shift and woke up at 5:30 in Fiji in a post-Passover seder state of disarray. Worked all morning then ate lunch for a few hours before going back for my evening shift. Smoked a bowl with one of my housemates and looked at things to buy online with airline miles.
Class, problem set, class, gym, then NORMLSSDP meeting. We did a lot of important planning for drug week, designed fliers, etc. I really hope people come to our events! After that I went to a friend’s house and smoked a joint, then met up with some other friends and smoked multiple bowls and enjoyed the goodness of salsa.
No class on Thurdays this quarter. My high school ex came over and we made art. Halfway through we felt uninspired so we smoked a J. After drawing I worked on a group problem set in Tech. Three hours later we hadn’t completed a single problem. Chilled with a friend who found my driver’s liscense in his couch, which will come in handy when I turn 21 next month.
Walked from Tech to Main Street without socks for an SSDP conference call; 35 minutes and two ripe feet later, the call was cancelled due to lack of participation. Silly stoners. Smoked a spliff and played with a friend’s cat. Pool, then went to a lingerie party which was ... intimate. Had two drinks, remembered I hate being drunk, then got high with freshmen.
Y ER AT IV S M EL RT A D A 00 ST 11:
G AV IF A TC IL A A R BL D E
For those of us not getting anywhere near three to five servings of vegetables a day, Twist and Erickson recommend powdered greens such as Barlean’s Greens. These mixes contain just about every green plant you’ve ever heard of and pack a true nutritional punch, but their lawn-like chlorophyll taste may take some getting used to. Twist suggests mixing a scoop of powder with pineapple juice instead of water to help with the whole “I’m drinking grass� thing.
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Happy Holiday! And happy Drug Week! Early class then flyered at the rock for an hour. Smoked in the Weinberg Garden with a pal before class then worked out. On my way home, a friend offered me a brownie. I accepted. Class was WAY more engaging than usual; I actually think I learned more than when I’m not stoned ...
Did some homework, worked out, had a house meeting. I found out that I have three days to move out of my room and into a double with one of my male housemates so two female subletters from Bahrain can live there instead. LOL. Quick dinner break for a bowl and pizza with neighbors. Passed out.
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4
the weekly
04.23.09
[
Guy 1: “Today has been so full of quests.” Guy 2: “Dude, you haven’t left the house yet.” Guy 1: “Yeah, but I’m about to!” - Monday, 4:20 p.m.
OVERHEARD AT NU
]
PEER ADVISER
After Hours
The libes doesn’t have that obscure foreign film noir you’ve been pining for. You’ve exhausted the selection of “rom coms” (that’s romantic comedy for those unfamiliar with the ditzy powers of Kate Hudson and her ilk) on your bookmarked pirated movie Web sites. Plus, Netflix simply requires too much planning – and a bit of timely luck – in order to get a hold of that sublime stoner flick when it’s, um, high time for a movie night. So take a jaunt down Foster Street, the unofficial equator of NU’s Evanston territory, to video rental mecca After Hours, 911 Foster St. We came up with a couple of apropos and all-too-familiar movie nights that might figure into your social calendar and put co-owners and Evanston locals Charlie Albin and Karen Binor to the test. Albin has worked at other video spots and Binor couldn’t get over the dearth of legit rental places locally, especially compared to college towns like Madison, so the duo set up shop two years ago. “There used to just be Blockbuster here, and it sucked,” Binor says. So whether you’re banking on some booty, craving some bromance or in the mood for a David Gordon Green marathon, check out these film buffs’ suggestions for almost every ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV occasion.
[Get thee to a sorority living room] SLUMBER PARTY HITS
Dirty Love “It’s not your typical rom com, since it’s about the hot girl (Jenny McCarthy) going after the nerdy guy,” Karen says. ALSO: Pretty in Pink, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
[Picky and, well, pretentious] ARTHOUSE SELECTIONS
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover “The film is very nuanced. Every shot has a purpose,” Charlie says. “It’s hard to watch but grimy and beautiful. I mean, they don’t talk for like the first 20 minutes,” Karen adds. ALSO: Reflections of Evil
[Guaranteed to score] DATE PICKS
Frivolous Lola “The cover alone says it all; it’s nothing but ass,” Charlie says. ALSO: Seven, Pillow Book
Sean Collins Walsh/The Daily Northwestern
Co-owner of movie mecca After Hours, Evanston local Charlie Albin puts in his two cents for your next movie night.
[Frat hard or go home] BEST OF THE BRO FLICKS
[Beyond Pineapple Express] DAVID GORDON GREEN MUSTS
Slap Shot “It’s a ‘70s hockey movie starring Paul Newman and it’s probably the funniest movie ever made,” Charlie says. ALSO: Weird Science, Waiting, Rudy, The Foot Fist Way
Snow Angels “We don’t really rent it out often and it’s totally the opposite of Pineapple Express, but it’s one of the better dramas out there,” Karen says. ALSO: Undertow, All the Real Girls
[High(ly) entertaining] STONER SMORGASBORD
The Room “This is an amazingly awesome movie when you’re high… You’ll have no idea what you’re watching, and it’s full of sick irony. It’s the new Rocky Horror,” Charlie says. ALSO: Dazed and Confused, Videodrome, Smiley Face
[Charlie and Karen’s Favorite Flicks] TRUST THEM. Karen’s picks: Sweetie, Idiocracy Charlie’s pick: Zandalee “Anything starring Nicholas Cage with facial hair.”
this weekend in music
@ P I C K - S TA I G E R FRIDAY 24
APR. 24 - 26, 2009
25
SATURDAY
Symphonic Wind Ensemble
Thaviu-Isaak Endowed Piano Scholarship Competition
Pick-Staiger
Lutkin Hall
7:30 p.m., $7/5/4
3 p.m., free
Mallory Thompson, conductor Francis Poulenc, Suite Française Ned Rorem, Sinfonia for 15 Wind Instruments Modest Mussorgsky (arr. Ravel/Hindsley), Pictures at an Exhibition
This annual competition features Northwestern piano students nominated by the Bienen School of Music piano faculty. Honoring the school’s late professors Samuel Thaviu and Donald Isaak, the scholarship is the Northwestern piano program’s most prestigious honor.
Symphonic Wind Ensemble
NOR THWESTERN UNIVERSITY BIENEN SCHOOL OF MUSIC TICKETS : 847.467.4000 W W W . P I C K S TA I G E R . O R G
the weekly
Wildcat Nation in Recession How to lose Greenland and still survive Northwestern is a bit like a small country. Apart from having its own flag, anthem and police force, it has its own borders, and its citizens pay for the privilege of residing within them and using services the country provides with their tax dollars a.k.a. tuition. Currently, NU spends $1.35 billion a year to pay for these services and employs 7,100 people to provide them. But the government of NU, like every government around the globe, now has to face the effects of the financial meltdown on its own little corner of the world. Consider $1.8 billion. That’s the amount our endowment shrank since last summer. Think of the endowment – formerly $7.4 billion now at $5.6 billion – as a national treasury we draw on to supply our nation. What happens when a nation loses nearly a quarter of that treasury? You have to cut a few things. Northwestern has been forced to trim its budgets for fiscal year 2010. According to projections announced by President Henry Bienen in February, NU must reduce 3 percent of its operating costs from FY 2009. This loss of approximately $40.5 million will be handled by James Hurley, associate vice president for budget planning analysis and allocation. Currently, his office ensures that every vice president, dean and director responsible for their own departments within the university agrees to take 3 percent from each of their budgets, then present that package to the board of trustees: the most formidible, voters this university has. Already, the university has slowed its hiring, closed the pharmacy at Searle and has announced it will defer $90 million of new construction. His reaction to the situation? “We were fortunate,” Hurley said. He may well be right, as the news from peer institutions has been comparatively grisly. A few miles south, the University of Chicago has announced 5 percent budget cuts, totalling $143 million. Cornell University faces a $200 million budget shortfall. Most dramatically, the college at Harvard is losing $220 million, 19 percent of its $1.15 billion budget, leading to a faculty salary freeze, an offer of buyout packages to senior faculty and some staff layoffs. Hurley said NU’s comparatively low spending increases during the last few years has saved it from making the same reductions as other universities when their endowments fell. “It’s a balance of prudence and investment,” Hurley said. “ It’s served us well historically, and it’s served us particularly well this time.” Dr. Richard Vedder, director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and an NU Alumnus (CAS ’62), agreed with this assessment. Although he is never quick to praise the administration (last year, he called its financial aid packages “tepid”), he agreed that NU’s conservative spending strategy has given it a better outlook than other institutions. “Universities often engage in obfuscation, but in this case, I’m inclined to believe the administration,” Vedder said. Meanwhile, NU must deal with its own problems, which stem not only from a decline in income, but also from some increasing expenses. One is obviously financial aid, as the budget has already been announced as jumping from $75 to $86 million next year. Michael Mills, associate provost for enrollment said the number of freshmen applying for financial aid has already increased 20 percent on the basis of the declining economy. What’s more, he said, the numbers of returning students asking for financial aid wouldn’t be clear until the fall, meaning there is a possibility of greater increases if those numbers exceed
projections. “It’s unsettling not knowing until time passes,” Mills said. There have also been slight salary increases across the board, as well as benefit adjustments that will see university staff employees receive as many benefits as its faculty, Hurley said. These rising expenses in a time of declining revenue lead to cuts elsewhere. At a university level, the cuts are to be those of omission: raises smaller than they have been in the past, fewer hires to receive them and less programs created. “New positions, new programs, new money for travel for professional development, any list of student needs and improvements – the increase in financial aid really consumed all that,” Hurley said. “For this year and probably for next, we won’t have any dollars for new programs and investment.” The largest losses are likely to be to capital projects. Bienen announced in February that $90 million would be saved from delaying various proposed capital projects. Hurley declined to mention which projects these would be, saying they were still working on selecting them. Hurley said this is a favorable outcome compared to alternatives. “It’s easier for us to throttle back on those things than having overcommitted our budget and having to throttle back on staff and faculty,” he said.
“We’re trying to get employees to take advantage of educational opportunities that take advantage of local travel,” he said. “We’re also bringing educators into the university rather than having sending a number of people out.” Wood said these cuts were similar to those made for FY 2003, during budget reductions caused by the effects of America’s last economic recession. “I think 3 percent is an amount that most people can live with. We took 3 percent cuts in 2003, so I don’t think that anybody said anything when they were made then,” she said. As with the rest of America, a great deal of what NU may achieve in the coming years depends on funding from the federal government. As a part of the Finding the cuts stimulus package, the Obama administraYet for all the talk tion is increasing about universityresearch spending at “For this year and wide issues, a budget universities around invariably boils down probably for next, we the country. to the X of Y each said won’t have any dollars theWorkman department can buy stimulus packwith Z. Hurley said age could lead to for new programs the university is curan increase of up and investment.” rently between the to $100 million in JAMES HURLEY second meeting of government funding VP, Office of Budget Planning the Board of Trustfor research at NU, ees’s budget comisthrough agencies sion, when it agrees such as the National Institutes of Health, on a general outline of the budget for the over the package’s two-year lifespan. next year, setting the tuition increase and “At this point, they’re just guesstimates. changes to the operating budget, and its We assume that we would have the kind of third meeting, when they receive the finalsuccess we’d have in the regular competiized budget for the next fiscal year. That tions with the stimulus funding,” he said. leaves all departments of the university to In addition, there is an opportunity to finalize and submit their budget, with 3 use NIH money for renovating research percent spending less than last year. facilities to help complete the “infill” of Center for Student Involvement Directhe gap between the B and C wings of Tech tor Helen Wood said her organization with new facilities as well as renovations at simply made the cuts equally throughout the Feinberg medical school. Lueptow said her department. the application still hadn’t been submitted, “We made a decision to cut across the but given that the NIH had helped with board,” Wood said. “Three percent got the construction of other buildings in the taken from the bottom line.” past, it was possible it would award NU Meanwhile, in undergraduate studies, funding for the infill. the need to maintain a constant standard “The only difference is that it is on an of education and research precludes cutaccelerated time frame and there’s more ting teaching staff. This means schools are funding available,” Lueptow said. forced to find small savings wherever they can, said Prof. Richard Lueptow, senior Knocking on Wood associate dean for operations and research Sitting in what amounts to our univerfor the McCormick School of Engineering. sity’s capital building, the Rebecca Crown This results in a closer look at expenses Center, Hurley again stressed various than in years past, Lueptow said. Among points of good news. Yet for every piece of the options McCormick is examining are good news, he rapped the wooden table, cutting the numbers of software being almost in prayer that it wouldn’t vanlicensed for students to use in computer ish. Other universities were doing just as labs, slowing the replacement rate for com- poorly as we were. The markets had been puters for administrative staff and reducing recovering for the last month. Every rap an the number of models of copier to save on acknowledgement of just how lucky NU repair costs. was, how unfortunate other universities For Don Workman, associate vice had been and just how bad things could get president of resarch operations, it means should the market decline further. Even in fewer social events and travel to conferthe capital of a billionaire kingdom, surences for professional development for his rounded by stacks of financial statements employees than in years past. He said the outlining plans and contingencies, was the department had already reduced its own cold fact that world events could and will budget this year as a way to save money for intrude on our state again, its fortune esthe next funding cycle, so the cuts would sentially hostage to blind luck. be smaller next year than in other departments. MICHAEL GSOVSKI
How the competition looks Cornell University Cuts: Faces a $200 million budget defecit. Specifics: Paused all new construction and is reconsidering how many students it should admit each year. Harvard College Cuts: Down $220 million, 19 percent from last year. Specifics: Has frozen salaries, offered senior faculty buyout packages and is firing some contracted workers. Stanford University Cuts: Loss of approximately 15 percent of $800 million non-research budget over two years. Specifics: Has eliminated two advising programs and cut budgets for several others , the President and Chief Budget officer have cut own salaries 10 percent in solidarity. Johns Hopkins University Cuts: $100 million over two years. Specifics: Frozen hiring and salaries, eliminated overtime, began layoffs. Duke University Cuts: $125 million, or 6 percent of the budget. Specifics: Salary freezes for everyone earning >$50,000, everybody else gets a one-time bonus of $1,000. Yale University Cuts: $70 to $80 million Specifics: Laying off up to 300 people, has set a salary freeze for employees above $75,000, stopped construction planning Princeton University Cuts: $82 million Specifics: Enacted non-binding hiring freeze, delayed construction of $330 milllion neuroscience building, giving higher raises only to employees at the bottom of the pay scale
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04.23.09
BEHIND THE SCENES
Big community in small numbers Black frats and sororities follow unique rituals and traditions Danielle Cadet always knew she’d go Greek. She arrived at Northwestern with a goal to join the same sorority her family members had joined decades before. “My godmother told me I only had one option if I wanted to be Greek,” the Medill junior says. But Cadet wasn’t allowed to begin the rush process until her sophomore year. And it didn’t involve timed conversations, a rigorous dress code, cookies and waiting outside in the snow. Instead, it wasn’t so different from applying to NU – minus the fantasizing about hypothetical roommates. Cadet picked up a “rush packet” and turned in proof of her campus involvement, community service, a transcript and two recommendation letters. She then interviewed with the sorority’s membership intake chair and adviser over a week-long process. After multiple screenings, Cadet was accepted into Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of NU’s six Black Greek-letter Organizations, or BGLO’s. The AKA’s are one of three predominately black sororities on campus along with Delta Sigma Theta and Zeta Phi Beta. All three are members of the National Pan Hellenic Council, the governing body which also presides over three fraternities on NU’s campus – Phi Beta Sigma, Alpha Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi. BGLO’s were founded in the early 1900s because Black students were not allowed to join traditional fraternities and sororities. Kappa Alpha Psi became NU’s first predominantly Black fraternity in 1917 after being founded at Indiana University in 1911.
“It’s definitely a very big force within the black community especially for students who plan on pursuing high education,” Cadet says. Total NPHC membership at NU fluctuates between 50 and 60 students with each chapter having between four and 18 members, but small numbers doesn’t make joining easier. “There are definitely people who come and don’t make it,” she says. “We do look for qualified individuals because our chapter is so small that every member is very important.” Rodney Carew, current outgoing vice president of NPHC, says the small numbers are only a problem when it comes to housing. In order to get a house on campus, an organization must have a certain number of people, says Carew, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. “Given that our numbers are never above 10 or 15, it’s not feasible,” the Weinberg senior says. “We can’t guarantee sustained numbers. When we’re dealing with 87 black freshmen, we’re only going to have so many people who are interested in Greek life.” But the small numbers can also be an asset, as new pledges aren’t overexposed to unfamiliar faces with varying interests in getting to know the younger members. “Personally, I felt it would be easier to cultivate a sense of brotherhood with a few men who I could get to know intimately as opposed to 20 or 30 people,” he says. Jeniece Fleming, outgoing president of NPHC and a member of Delta Sigma Theta says when new members are initiated into BGLO’s, pledge classes are called “lines.” Each new member is given a line name and number depending on his or her order of
Please join us for a special CRAIN LECTURE honoring
2008 Winner of the Medill Medal for Courage in Journalism
JOANNA CONNORS
Members of Zeta Phi Beta perform during Greekscene initiation. “You are given a name based on your personality – something that can be attributed to being uniquely you,” she says. “My name is Savoy after a nightclub in Harlem.” The organizations aren’t just limited to black students – there are at least five other students in NPHC organizations who are not black. “We are historically black, but we’re not exclusively black,” Fleming says. When Jesse Yang came to NU three years ago, he had no intention of joining a fraternity. Yang, who is of Chinese descent, eventually ended up joining Phi Beta Sigma. “Before I even stepped foot on campus I never thought I’d join a fraternity,” the Weinberg senior says. “I had these images of a bunch of guys living in a house and having parties. That wasn’t what I wanted.” Although Yang has gotten his share of confused stares, he admits he’s never felt more comfortable. Despite his Asian background, it seemed like a natural fit. “Obviously, people think it’s weird. To this day I have not met another Asian member of my frat, even nationally,” he says. “But I feel very comfortable in the Black community.” For Beth Lynk, who became an official
Daily File Photo member of Delta Sigma Theta last month, it was the emphasis on community service which attracted her. The sorority, like the other NPHC organizations, has at least three service projects every week. “Since last winter, I’ve been volunteering with the Delta Academy, a mentoring organization where I met many of the women in the sorority,” the Communication sophomore says. “I know my parents weren’t too gung-ho about me joining a sorority until they realized it had an emphasis on public service.” But on NU’s campus, the NPHC organizations have gone unnoticed, Cadet says. While the organizations are known for their annual step show, Greekscene, they are known for little else. She said she hopes to change their reputation to something more than stepping. Since Cadet “crossed” or became an official member, she says she’s proud to be part to be part of such a historical organization. “As a female it’s incredible that the founders of the organization were able to start something that has become so much bigger than them,” she says. “They were trailblazers. They took that step when society was neither kind nor inviting.” ALEXANDRA FINKEL
BO BURNHAM FRIDAY MAY 8 47/ 3(/73 s 0-
Reporter, The Plain Dealer .
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Monday, April 27, 2009 5:30 p.m. McCormick Tribune Center Forum 1870 Campus Drive
A Reporter Investigates Her Own Story Connors will discuss her courageous, award-winning series “Beyond Rape: A Survivor’s Journey” with her editor and Medill Medal judges. Casual reception with light dinner to follow.
MEDILL
www.medill.northwestern.edu
Free and open to the public The Gertrude and G.D. Crain Jr. Lecture Series
LAKESHORE THEATER 3175 N. BROADWAY AT BELMONT
Tickets available at www.lakeshoretheater.com or call 773-472-3492
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the weekly
04.23.09
A few nights ago, I was riding back from an event on a school bus, getting frisky with my boyfriend in the last row. I started giving him head, despite the fact that it was really, really bumpy on the road. I can only hope that no one saw… - Weinberg junior
REGRET OF THE WEEK
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Photos by Coco Keevan/The Daily Northwestern
Creative threads, a lot less glamour Threadless’ Ravenswood store reinvents the fashion industry, one witty T-shirt at a time
G
reg Christian is not a typical clothing designer. He has never been to Fashion Week (New York, Milan or otherwise) and his designs have never been prominently displayed across the covers of Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. He’s not old and leathery, like Karl Lagerfeld, or old and more leathery, like Donatella Versace. He’s a sophomore at Azusa Pacific University near Los Angeles and is just twenty years old, studying graphic design. He enrolled in his first formal art class in college, and he drafts most of his designs by hands. In the last month, Christian has put his training in graphic design to good use by developing T-shirt designs for Chicago-based conglom-
erate Threadless, the community-centered online apparel corporation. Jeffrey Kalmikoff, Chief Creative Officer of skinnyCorp/Threadless, says Threadless receives 150 submissions daily, and between its inception in 2000 and late 2007, it has printed more than 900 designs. It continues to thrive, with the empire now including a retail store in Belmont and Threadless Tee-V, a weekly video segment featuring bands and Threadless employees highlighting the random nature of the Threadless lifestyle. Kalmikoff estimates that the Threadless warehouse, headquartered in Ravenswood, ships out between 80,000 and 90,000 tees
The 2008-2009 Klopsteg seminar series in SCIENCE IN HUMAN CULTURE presents:
Gianna Pomata JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
“A Word of the Empirics: the ancient concept of observation and its recovery in early modern medicine”
Lunch will be provided. Friday, April 24, 2009 12:00 - 1:30p.m. Hagstrum Room University Hall 201 1897 Sheridan Road Evanston Campus
process: design, voting and consumption. monthly – and the number is rapidly growing. It’s obvious to see which designs succeed. Each week, nearly 1,500 new T-shirt designs There is a submission box on the Web site compete online, all fashioned by independent to request reprints and avid Threadless users designers like Christian. Design hopefuls download the Threadless-specific T-shirt tem- blog religiously on the designs they love, hate plate, shaped like a plain white tee and upload and wish were printed in definitively limited numbers so as to maintain the hip undertheir image. In the downloadable “Submission Kit,” po- ground buzz. A Threadless “celebrity” shirt tential artists are encouraged to read a lengthy such as “The Communist Party” by designer Tom Burns – the T-shirt featuring prominent document headed “Explanation of SubmisCommunists Lenin, Stalin, Castro, Mao and sion Decline Reasons” in bold orange letters, Marx getting inebriated at a party – will be wherein 16 encompassing rationales are given reprinted several times. Burns sees several of for refusal to even submit a design for vote. his designs sell out rapidly and requested for The reasons are simple but deliberate, includreprint. The celebrity, though, based on the ing excessive use of text or inappropriate design of an everyman, is short-lived. material. “A submission can be declined if it “I am really no longer one of the successcontains material or themes that make us feel ful designers over there. I had my run for a a little uneasy. That’s no small feat!” the exbit, but that was a few years ago; now there planation proclaims, emphasizing Threadless’ are a whole new crop of winners,” Burns says. proclivity to tread the line of vulgarity. Think Burns, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., accepts that of the raunchy “Afternoon Delight,” which success hinges 100 percent on the opinion of features two unicorns humping (for lack of a the consumer. “I wish it were fine art, but it better term) underneath a rainbow. isn’t,” Burns says, laughing. If the submitted design passes the ThreadBrowsing the Threadless Web site, a user less test, the design is posted to the Web is bombarded by a litany of colors, designs, site, where it is voted upon by the hundreds slogans and images. There are pole-vaulting of thousands of registered users who log on elephants and skeleton daily. Users devour the pandas battling new content released “I wish it were fine art, faces, military tanks and the on Mondays, tripping Ninja Turtles, unover their tongues to but it isn’t.” TOM BURNS masked and expressing comment or blog about Threadless Designer the countenances of a fantastically witty their namesakes. There release. Seven designs are political and pop are chosen for print culture references, mixing in bizarre sight every week, based on a combination of voting gags that require a double take or two to results and employee preferences. Two previfigure out. It’s curious, then, where ideas for ous designs are also chosen for reprint, and submission come from. the winners are printed in batches of 1,500. Streetwear Clothing Industries designer The Threadless business model – that Jazz Ton uses the minutiae of everyday life for of so-called “user innovation” – runs like a his designs, which prominently feature bright perpetual T-shirt competition. New designs cartoon exaggerations mixed with the media are constantly added to the display, and user of real life. “Living, sleeping, having sex...” he participation is key to the operation’s exissays, “You’ll get my means.” tence. In a simple subjective method, users For Barcelonian graphic design student vote on a particular design on a scale of one Toni Garcia Matas, inspiration also comes to five, with the additional option of selecting from the daily workings of life. “In the train, “I’d buy it!” when I go to college at night… when I go to Threadless is no longer cowering on the sleep, seeing other designs from other designinterwebs in Web site advertisements, hidden ers …” It is the simplicity of life that propels underground and covering the chests of teenMatas’s designs. He has submitted 28 designs aged hipsters with clever messages and colorin the last two years. ful pictures. Chicago musician Bob Nanna, Threadless is the new media of fashion, of Braid and Hey Mercedes, heralds the breaking down the “name brand” by incorcompany with short ditties narrating designs. porating strictly user-generated content, Threadspotting also follows the appearance, navigated by amateur and professional artists. in large numbers, of Threadless shirts on the With just as much of a premium on creativtorsos of celebrities – Nickelodeon’s Drake ity as large-scale brands such as Marc Jacobs and Josh were spotted in tees in their madeor Gucci, Threadless is at the cutting edge of for-TV Christmas special. the wearable fashion revolution. Threadless Digital artist, illustrator and Threadless is a phenomenal outlet for a Northwestern contributor May Chan of Kuala Lumpur student with skill and artistic ability but lacksuggests that Threadless’ business model is ing the time to commit fully to the fashion most conducive for up-and-coming artists. industry. With designers hailing from all “If you’re an art (or) design student, this is rounded corners of the globe, ranging in age, a platform to get your work out there. As experience and motivation, it’s the future. On a freelancer, it’s another way to get interthe horizon: robots, zombies and word puns national exposure,” Chan says. The level of almost too clever to function. consumer involvement poses Threadless as a “community-sourced” business venture, allowing consumers to be directly involved in the three most critical components of the retail COCO KEEVAN
8
the weekly
04.23.09
WHY WE LIKE...
MAN ON THE BEAT
‘i wanna do it for st. paul’
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE
Jordan Looney, NERD Hopper
by P.T. ANDERSON
ordan Looney (aka J. Loonz) is not your ordinary hip-hop artist, branding himself as a nerd and spreading his message through infectious beats. The “St. Paulitician� is set to drop his second album, NERD Hop Volume 2, following the release of Volume 1 earlier this year. Call him what you want, but the Communication junior is just getting started, changing Northwestern’s hip-hop scene one nerd at a time.
P
aul Thomas Anderson’s Punch-Drunk Love is an oddity and a masterpiece. The film garnered astonishment for its lead role by Adam Sandler, with a wonderfully surrealist, honest and funny performance that most never thought possible from him. Seven years after its release, the film still resonates strongly for me, even after my interest in film has diminished. I would like to think that I was more pretentious when Punch-Drunk Love came out than I am now. I figure this is a testament to the film’s subtle balance of overblown indie drama and absurd silliness. I don’t want to criticize the dramatic aspects of the film by calling them pretentious. It’s probably too harsh of a descriptor for a story and characters that feel very honest and real beneath the more surreal aspects of the film. Adam Sandler is the bridge that makes the film’s awkward comedy work so well amongst the art film backdrop. The film feels like nothing that Sandler has ever acted in, yet the performance does not feel like it came out of nowhere. His signature quirks are present, and they bring out a character who is likeable, angry, funny and uncomfortably awkward. My favorite sequence in the film is when Sandler’s character takes a trip to Hawaii to find the girl he has recently met and fallen in love with (played by the masterful Emily Watson). The scene plays out to a song from the Popeye live-action film. It is definitely weird and would feel out of place in most situations, but in a film like this, it mysteriously works. I love this film because I see myself in it. Do not take this the wrong way if you have seen it, I barely relate to any of the characters in it. Instead I see the intersection of my collegiate, pompous interests with the quirkiness and absurdity of life that I cherish. tristan sandler
J
Tell me how you got started with this whole hip-hop business. It was last quarter I dropped NERD Hop Volume 1 and that was a compilation of songs that I made over the past summer, past six or seven months and did some recording in Europe and had a couple of songs on there. It was a culmination of the long process that we had. Zack Johnson and I worked together and created this state of mind called NERD hop. What exactly is NERD hop? We all kinda go through life and a lot of people try to put labels on that saying you’re a sorority girl and a freshman, all these things, but you know, they structure our lives. The basis behind NERD hop is be yourself and do whatever it is that makes you happy. A nerd is someone who is intelligent and happy about something. When did you realize hip-hop was your calling? My mom was a poet and my dad played the bongos and my grandpa played the jazz piano. Music was a big part of my life growing up. It was always just kind of easy for me to get into. Every day, I wake up and think, “Is this rap thing really possible?� I do it because I love it and I’m going to go and be successful at it because I like to do it. I’m not even looking for the big cars and money. If that comes, I’m happy with it.
What are one or two of the songs you hope fans will absolutely love off your album? Off the first album, you gotta listen to “Look at me Now.� It’s over a Ratatat beat and a lot of different people can rock to it. This new album, I’m trying to get more lyrical. I have this track by Passion Pit, called “Sleepyhead� and I remix that and it’s real hot. It has an electro, techno kind of feel it. Describe what sets you apart from other hip-hop artists out there. A lot of people are in it for the money and I just look at it differently. It’s something I do as a passion, regardless of what I’m doing with it. My knowledge of hip-hop, I try to draw from an older generation, it’s all about like lyricism and everyone today talks about “swag.� They say ridiculous shit. I’m not trying to hate on them, but that’s what makes me different. No one big comes out of St. Paul either. And I wanna do it for St. Paul. What is the one thing music related you hope to accomplish in the next five or 10 years? I would like to drop a studio-quality album. It would be a dream to see your time and effort going into one project. How would that come out? How would that sound? Would I really be successful? If not hip-hop, what would you want to do? I’ve been looking into advertising, they have to have that guy in every firm that puts that one word into a McDonald’s advertisement or something. Like “dope.� Maybe law school or a record company. Record companies might not be around for too much longer. No one is buying albums anymore. Momo zhao
Photo Illustration by Sean Collins Walsh/The Daily Northwestern
THE BROW critical reviews on the week’s new releases LOW BROW
I
didn’t expect much from the new comedy starring the deliciously tanned and toned Ken doll of our generation, Zac Efron. The film was entertaining but predictable, with a shiny and kempt cast and chuckle-inducing one liners. The plot follows Mike O’Donnell, a former high school basketball star who, thanks to an impending divorce and estrangement from his two teenage children, is crashing at his geeky best friend’s pad, which resembles a Trekkie’s (or Hobbit’s) wet dream. The plot is convenient, but the end result is a feel-good comedy and 102 minutes of staring deep into Efron’s gorgeous eyes. COCO KEEVAN
HIGH BROW
MID BROW
17 Again
St. Vincent Actor
Crank 2: High Voltage
S
crew you, Chelios. Jason Statham reprises his role as horny, indestructible hit man Chev Chelios and this time he’s got to electrocute himself or his artificial heart will stop pumping. All right, sign me up for 90 minutes of that. But this time around the film’s action is bizarrely homoerotic and bigoted. The result is a confused and idiotic sequel so unlike the first Crank film, which was surprisingly effortless in its hilarious riffs off of our over-caffeinated and over-stimulated culture, that I left the theater feeling embarassed for the film’s cast. ANDREW SHEIVACHMAN
T
here is sense that St. Vincent (Annie Clark) is recreating these private moments as if on an intimate, handcrafted stage, with a dream-like landscape of orchestrations and even a little tinkering of bells. Her lyrics support the endeavor, as in the beautiful “Just the Same But Brand New� as she singsighs in the chorus, “I do my best impression of weightlessness.� Strangely, the title track, “Actor of Out of Work,� is the weakest of the lot, with obvious lyrics and a pop-rock sensibility that makes it awkward in what is otherwise a dreamy world upon St. Vincent’s stage. ALI PECHMAN
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