Micro-units: Millennials trade space for spice of life PAGE 20
September 18, 2017
Volume 53, Issue 3
PAGE 29 Obama makes surprise Skype visit to Chicago meeting
ColumbiaChronicle.com
» ZOË HAWORTH/CHRONICLE
DACA debacle 800,000
young immigrants have been granted
DACA status
» ARIANA PORTALATIN & ERIC BRADACH MANAGING EDITORS NEARLY 800,000 UNDOCUMENTED immigrants who came to the United States as children are facing an uncertain future as President Donald Trump and his administration end an Obama-era program that gave those individuals protection from immediate deportation. The end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program would affect 42,376 Illinoisans. The program, enacted in June 2012 by former President Barack Obama, gave undocumented immigrants brought here before the age of 16, referred to as Dreamers, the ability to work, study and obtain driver’s licenses if their applications were approved. The rollback will take effect March 5, 2018, giving Congress time to pass legislation. DACA participants whose permits
expire before that date are allowed to apply for two-year renewals by Oct. 5. However, those whose permits expire after the end date are ineligible for renewals, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chicagoans in the program can go to the National Immigration Justice Center, 208 S. LaSalle St., which will be holding DACA renewal clinics and individual appointments until the deadline, according to the center’s website. Julián Lazalde, civic engagement manager for the Latino Policy Forum—a Chicago-based organization that strives to improve immigration policies for the Latino community—said Trump ending DACA was not a surprise. “Because [Trump] didn’t sign [DACA] out in that first week [in the White House], it gave some people a little bit of hope that he may have seen the light on this issue,”
42,376
of the Dreamers
are Illinoisans Lazalde said. “He gave somewhat conflicting statements over the last six months regarding [DACA recipients].” Illinois has the third highest population of approved DACA applicants, trailing California with 222,795 and Texas with 124,300, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. If the program is eliminated—and an alternative does not come to fruition—Illinois’ economy could be hit with a $2.3 billion spending power loss and $55 million in local and state tax revenue, according to a Sept. 6 press release from Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. There is a misconception that ending DACA will provide 800,000 U.S. citizens with employment, Lazalde said, but it is not a “one-for-one deal.” Rescinding the program will have ramifications not only for the nation’s economy but its higher educational institutions.
Currently, 45 percent of DACA recipients are enrolled in school, of whom 72 percent are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher. Among those who are currently in school, 94 percent said because of DACA, “[they] pursued educational opportunities that [they] previously could not,” according to an Aug. 28 Center for American Progress poll. In light of the Trump administration’s controversial announcement, universities nationwide have expressed support for DACA recipients. Faculty members from Harvard University, Tufts University and Babson College were arrested for blocking a street Sept. 7 while protesting against the announcement in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The University of California, which has about 4,000 DACA beneficiaries on its campus, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration
SEE DACA, PAGE 3
Nearly
» INFO COURTESY U.S. CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES
A Dreamer’s nightmare
editor’s note
Recent actions prove Columbia really cares
MANAGEMENT
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITORS
W
ith disasters everywhere— two hurricanes, more possibly on the way and the potential deportation of 800,000 immigrants— Columbia has stepped up to show its students that it does care about them. After Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and devastated the Houston area, Columbia representatives worked together to ensure outreach to all affected students—176 in total, as reported Sept. 11 by The Chronicle. Residence Life contacted the students with housing contracts, and advising staff contacted the rest of the students, and all students affected were accounted for. Following President Donald Trump’s possible cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which would take effect March 2018, Senior Vice President and Provost Stan Wearden and Vice President of Student Affairs Sharon Wilson-Taylor sent a Sept. 8 collegewide email affirming the college’s support for DACA recipients and outlining important facts and resources. “Our focus must be on assisting all members of our community through this period of uncertainty and providing students affected by this decision with as much information and support as possible,” the email read. Though the number of DACA recipients at Columbia is unknown because the college doesn’t track that information, Illinois has the third largest number of DACA recipient residents, and Columbia has students from all over the country and world who could be affected by the end of this program, as reported on the Front Page. Columbia’s unwavering support of its students in these matters is refreshing, important and much needed. This is the type of relationship a college should have with its students. Despite program changes and cancellations and collegewide budget cuts, Columbia students should feel confident that their college cares about their safety, well-being and feelings. Changes that may be upsetting should not be the only thing students focus on. Students should understand that 2 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
CAMPUS
CAMPUS EDITOR CAMPUS REPORTERS
Connor Carynski Tessa Brubaker Olivia Deloian Molly Walsh
ARTS & CULTURE
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ARTS & CULTURE REPORTERS
Jonathon Sadowski Kendrah Villiesse Alexa Rixon Miranda Manier
Columbia is a community full of likeminded people who support each other, METRO whether academically, professionally METRO EDITOR Jackie Murray or personally. These outreach programs METRO REPORTERS Savannah Eadens and announcements are not new for the Blaise Mesa college, but they really drive home the point that Columbia is a safe space for OPINIONS any of its students. OPINIONS EDITOR Tyra Bosnic After Trump was announced as the president-elect Nov. 9, 2016, represen COPY tatives from different departments sent COPY CHIEF Lauren Carlton out emails to their students offering COPY EDITORS Jay Berghuis Alex Swan support and understanding in a time that was troubling for many at Columbia, as GRAPHICS reported Nov. 14, 2016, by The Chronicle. GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Patrick Casey This was followed by a collegewide Samantha Conrad email the same day from President and Amelia Detwiler CEO Kwang-Wu Kim who explained his Jocelyn Moreno stance on the election results and was clear in his support of students. PHOTOGRAPHY “My fundamental responsibility is SENIOR PHOTO EDITOR Kevin Tiongson for our college and the well-being of our PHOTO EDITORS Erin Brown Mackenzie Crosson community. This is a moment when we, Monica Westlake the Columbia College Chicago community, must return to our core values and principles,” Kim shared. “Let me be clear. MULTIMEDIA We will protect our students, their rights MULTIMEDIA REPORTER Brock Stillmunks and their well-being. This is our common moral obligation.” With Hurricane Irma, Tropical ADVERTISING Storm Jose, the possible other storms SENIOR MARKETING CONSULTANT Micha Thurston on the East Coast, California recover MARKETING CONSULTANTS Conrad Queen Lainey Schiek ing from a state-of-emergency wildfire Mariana Rodriguez and an unpredictable president, there seem to be never-ending opportunities WEB for Columbia to continue its out WEBMASTER Eric Eldridge reach to students. The Chronicle hopes the college OPERATIONS continues to prioritize its students’ OFFICE ASSISTANTS McKayla Braid safety, security and well-being Gabriel de la Mora and create a welcoming environment for those who think there is SENIOR STAFF nowhere they fit in. For those people, GENERAL MANAGER Chris Richert Columbia needs to let them know it is FACULTY ADVISER Len Strazewski ASSISTANT FACULTY ADVISER Stephanie Goldberg here with open arms. zeitel@columbiachronicle.com
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DACA, FROM FRONT
to stop the program from ending, while universities in Iowa assured their support for those affected by the program. The nation seems to overwhelmingly agree, as 84 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of independents and 69 percent of Republicans think DACA recipients should be allowed to stay in the country, according to a Sept. 5 poll from POLITICO and Morning Consult.
94 %
when we learn from people that see things differently and are different than us.” Becerra-Ramirez said he has not received any communication from students concerned for the program’s possible end but did contact several faculty members searching for an official count on the number of DACA recipients attending the college. However, he learned that the college does not keep track of that information.
said because of DACA, “I pursued educational opportunities that I previously could not.” Following the Trump administration’s Sept. 5 announcement, President and CEO Kwang-Wu Kim sent a collegewide email expressing the college’s continued commitment to diversity and inclusion. Senior Vice President and Provost Stan Wearden and Vice President of Student Affairs Sharon Wilson-Taylor also sent an email Sept. 8 outlining information and resources for DACA recipients. Previously, Kim announced in a Dec. 7, 2016, email to the college community that he joined 435 other academic leaders in signing a petition to support DACA’s continuation. “President Trump’s decision is unjust and punitive toward those who have done nothing wrong,” the Sept. 8 email stated. “That’s why our focus must be on assisting all members of our community through this period of uncertainty, and providing students affected by this decision with as much information and support as possible.” Rogelio Becerra-Ramirez, coordinator of Student Diversity and Inclusion, said colleges and universities nationwide would be at a disadvantage if DACA ended. “There’s always an extreme advantage to having students that bring a different outlook [and] perspective to the college,” Becerra-Ramirez said. “We learn the most
College spokeswoman Anjali Julka said in a Sept. 8 email to The Chronicle that the college does not require students to provide documentation about their immigration status, so it does not maintain any data on students’ participation in the DACA program. The college continues to support all students, regardless of citizenship or country of origin, she added. Obama asked Congress several times throughout his first term to pass a comprehensive pathway to citizenship. But immigration reform repeatedly failed on Capitol Hill, including Sen. Dick Durbin’s, D-IL, DREAM Act, which has been circling Congress since 2001. Lazalde said he is optimistic that Congress will actively vote on immigration reform such as Durbin’s DREAM Act. However, because lawmakers will get pressure from both liberal and conservative constituents, he is unsure whether it will succeed. Heloísa Carramate, a junior communication major and president of the
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are pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher
» INFO COURTESY CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS
International Students Organization, said while she is happy that both Chicago and Columbia are showing support for DACA and defiance of Trump, the presidential administration’s unpredictability makes it hard to know what is coming next. “[Trump] keeps going back and forth and from what he said during the campaign and then what he’s doing now, it makes it even more scary because we don’t really know what direction we’re going so there’s no way to know what’s coming next,” Carramate said. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi announced they reached an agreement with Trump Sept. 13 to enshrine protections for DACA recipients while also providing funding for stronger border security. However, Trump denied in a Sept. 14 tweet a deal was made. Becerra-Ramirez said that while he also sees unpredictability in the administration’s decisions, he does think it will be able to come to a final agreement that benefits everyone.
“Anything is possible based on what we’ve seen thus far,” Becerra-Ramirez said. “I really think Trump has more to gain by going forward with DACA than not going forward. Both sides are able to get at least some of what they want out of this deal.” Education about the program and popular misconceptions is a crucial part of realizing the importance of the DACA program, Becerra-Ramirez said. “You hear people talk about DACA being amnesty or offering a path for citizenship or DACA allowing criminals to stay here in the country and if you know anything about DACA, you understand that if you have any kind of criminal background and if you don’t plan on attending school or having a job it’s extremely easy to lose your DACA privileges,” BecerraRamirez said. “It’s important to get that information out and the most efficient way to do that is by having those that are misinformed or perhaps they are informed about it but they are lobbying for a different message for whatever it is, to change their rhetoric.”
chronicle@colum.edu
Educators, legislators demand action after DACA announcement
» GR
45% of DACA recipients are in school
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 3
campus
» CONNOR CARYNSKI & TESSA BRUBAKER CAMPUS EDITOR & CAMPUS REPORTER AS COLUMBIA SELLS its last college-owned student housing center, administrators vow to maintain student resources as the college consolidates to create a compact campus.
The college announced plans to sell the 731 S. Plymouth Court Building earlier this month, commissioning real estate group Colliers International to manage the sale, as reported Sept. 11 by The Chronicle. Jerry Tarrer, senior vice president of Business Affairs and CFO, said he spoke with realtors from Colliers and was informed the » MONICA WESTLAKE/CHRONICLE
The 731 S. Plymouth Court Building will bring in about $20 million, according to Collier’s International, which will be handling the building’s sale.
building could sell either by the end of the year or early next year, assuming there are no complications with the transaction. Although the decision to sell the building was first decided by the college about two years ago, Tarrer said numerous recent factors made the college think now would be an opportune time to sell. “One of the [factors] is that we are building this new student center,” Tarrer said. “There are a number of functions that are within the 731 building that will be moving to the new student center or to other spaces on campus.” Tarrer said expenses associated with the age of the Plymouth Building, which was constructed in 1897, such as upkeep and energy use, also played a role in the college’s decision to sell it. Rising property values in the South Loop over the past 10 years also contributed, he added. “The property value here has gone up significantly, and there are a lot of players wanting to acquire assets in this area,” Tarrer said. “So we thought the property, if we
FREAKY FRESH! FREAKY FAST!
put it on the market, could yield a certain amount that we could then reinvest in the college as part of an overall broader vision of creating a more compact campus that would better meet our student needs,” Tarrer said. Tyler Hague, LEED AP vice president at Collier’s International, said more colleges are starting to lease rather than own their dorms, and that the student housing market is almost as strong as the apartment market in the area, which has been slowly appreciating in the Chicago area. “If you ask 98 percent of real estate practitioners, most people are potentially getting a little nervous that we are nearing the peak or end of this cycle,” Hague said. “I would say if you’re looking to capitalize on the market and strong urban assets, right now is probably a good time to sell.” Columbia is open to offers from buyers whether the building will be converted into apartments or remain student housing, as reported Sept. 11 by The Chronicle. However, Tarrer said the college
may continue to lease beds from the building, should it remain a student housing facility. “In all of the other properties, we have been able to work with the ownership to ensure, through master lease agreements, that the student experiences are not diminished because of that,” Tarrer said. “These are the sorts of factors we would have to weigh before deciding to enter into any kind of lease agreement.” Joshua Giordan, a junior cinema and television arts major, said although he understands the college’s reasons for putting the building up for sale, he will be upset if Columbia no longer had access to its recreational space and other amenities. “It’s one of the better public spaces to meet in,” Giordan said. “I commute so there are a few comfortable spaces like The Loft, but The Loft closes early, [so] I’ve hung out [at the Plymouth Building].” The Plymouth Building houses many student programs and amenities: the largest student health center on campus,
SEE PLYMOUTH, PAGE 12
Student experience to stay unchanged during dorm sale
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WAC opens new exhibit with variety of artwork » MONICA WESTLAKE/CHRONICLE
The Wabash Arts Corridor exhibit in 623 S. Wabash Ave. Building devotes space to showing how its murals were planned, and allows students to create a mural of their own.
THE WABASH ARTS Corridor opened a new exhibit Sept. 15 that includes murals and a variety of interactive and performance art. Neysa Page-Lieberman, director and curator of the Department of Exhibitions, Performance and Student Spaces, said she considers the new exhibit, located at the 623 S. Wabash Ave. Building, to be like a fall festival. “The name of this one is ‘STREET LEVEL,’” Page-Lieberman said. “It is a follow-up to a street art festival we did in 2016 called Big Walls, so this is the second inaugural festival.” Page-Lieberman said “STREET LEVEL,” which will run until Jan. 22, 2018, includes a series of new murals, WAC’s first performance art series, exhibitions around campus and several different multimedia installations are included. Although murals are the most visual and permanent form of art for WAC, PageLieberman said the curators wanted to diversify what it is known for. “We wanted to make sure we were thinking about public art way beyond murals, and that’s why we added performance, projection and even some outdoor installations,” PageLieberman added. Sydney Pacha, a second year graduate student in the master of arts management program who helped coordinate the exhibition, said she is excited about what the interactive spaces have to offer. “It’s to have visitors engage, instead of being this voyeuristic point of view, looking in on the outside,” Pacha said. Jeffreen Hayes, executive director of local nonprofit art organization Threewalls and
6 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
WAC curatorial adviser committee member, said she decided to join the project after Page-Lieberman told her about her vision for the festival. Performances from participants at Threewalls include performance artist and ceramicist Jennifer Ling Datchuk; Misty De Barry, who will present a one person play; and Michael Anthony Garcia, who will speak about consumerism, capitalism and immigration. The appearances will take place throughout the months of September and October. All performances have social justice themes, which Hayes said is a strong value to the Threewalls organization. “We were happy to partner with Columbia because I know that [Page-Lieberman] and her team not only believe in social justice, and inclusion and equity, but actually practice it,” Hayes said. Sam Kirk, a 2005 business and entrepreneurship alumna, is working on a mural located on the 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Building on the Wabash Avenue side, depicting Dolores Huerta, an activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers. When the WAC committee approached Kirk, the committee told her about the “Sí Se Puede” exhibit at Columbia, that also recognizes the activism of Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta. When Kirk decided to contribute a piece, she was excited to honor Huerta, whom she said has gone unrecognized through out the years. “What I’m really excited about at the exhibition is that it highlights all the talents Columbia has and how they’ve contributed that to WAC,” Pacha said. “So, it’s a really good marriage of Columbia and WAC together, but it’s also to engage community members.” odeloian@columbiachronicle.com
» OLIVIA DELOIAN CAMPUS REPORTER
REBECCA BRUNNER, A 2017 music alumna, said she was selected to participate in the blind auditions for Season 13 of NBC’s “The Voice” after several rounds of pre-auditions in several cities. “The Voice” is a reality TV singing competition during which contestants are able to compete for cash prizes and a recording contract that helps start their careers. Brunner auditioned for “The Voice” but, under contract, cannot disclose her results before her episode airs after the show’s premiere on Sept. 25. Brunner, who has been writing songs since she was 10 years old, said she does not normally get nervous before performances. However, those long-forgotten
nerves struck when she auditioned in front of celebrity judges Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson. “It was unbelievable performing for celebrity judges,” Brunner said. “[Whether] you make it or you don’t, you’re still getting this opportunity to be in front of four
people who have incredible careers in the field you’re trying to go in.” Steven Hadley, technical director in the Music Department, met Brunner around 2014 when she performed at the college in a show put on by his students from a live music production course. Her nice and easygoing personality
» COURTESY REBECCA BRUNNER
» TESSA BRUBAKER CAMPUS REPORTER
Rebecca Brunner, a 2017 music alumna, won Columbia’s Manifest song competition and was also the F.A.M.E. winner in 2017.
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particularly stood out to him as well as her talent, he said. “Whether she wins or loses, I don’t think that’s really important,” Hadley said. “True success comes from the lives we touch, and Rebecca is the type of person who can use her talent to really impact people.” Alyssa Gentile, a 2017 American Sign Language-English interpretation alumna and a close friend of Brunner, said she has never encountered a singer like Brunner. “Whatever path that she decides to choose, I know that she’s going
to be successful in doing it because it’s been her passion from [a] very young [age],” Gentile said. Brunner said Alicia Keys is one of her musical inspirations because she inspired her to learn piano and wants to go into soulpop. Other singers she said she greatly admires are Tori Kelly, Alessia Cara and Stevie Wonder. Brunner said her years at Columbia really helped her grow as a performer and network in her dream industry. “When I moved to Chicago and got that exposure at Columbia, I was able to make connections and have that networking ability to connect with other people who are in the field I want to work in,” Brunner said. She said she hopes working with celebrity judges can help her improve as a musician and hone her craft. “In my time on ‘The Voice,’ I’m looking forward to just getting exposure and working with a coach if I get selected,” Brunner said. “That would be a dream come true.” tbrubaker@columbiachronicle.com
Columbia alumna selected to audition for ‘The Voice’
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campus
ELLEN CHENOWETH HAS been appointed interim director and lead curator of the college’s nationally recognized Dance Presenting Series, following former director Bonnie Brooks’ retirement May 31. Chenoweth, who officially started Sept. 11, said she was familiar with DPS before hearing about the position and applied because she was excited to work for a program with such an esteemed reputation in the dance community. “There aren’t that many presenting series in the country that are this robust and have the history and legacy behind them, so it’s really a special thing here,” Chenoweth said.
Chenoweth holds a bachelor’s degree in history and policy studies from Rice University in Houston and received her master’s degree in dance from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. Previously Chenoweth served as program assistant for The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, managing director at Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, Maryland and independent consultant for dance groups such as the American Dance Institute in Seattle, Dance Metro DC and the Nichole Canuso Dance Company in Philadephia. Before accepting the position at Columbia, Chenoweth was also the director of development and communications at the Pig Iron Theatre Group, also in Philadelphia. Chenoweth said she will be focusing on fundraising and creating experiences for donors
that make them feel connected to the arts, along with her other responsibilities as director, such as curating the 2018–2019 season. “Artists and arts administrators sometimes feel fundraising is this gross thing [they] don’t want to do, [but] I feel like it makes everything possible,” Chenoweth said. “There’s so much opportunity with these amazing artists coming in to create experiences for donors that are interesting and exciting.” Dance Department Chair Peter Carpenter said Chenoweth responded to a nationwide search by the department and was selected because of her experience in marketing, communications and curation. According to Carpenter, Brooks left the college as part of the school’s Voluntary Separation Incentive Program, which was offered last spring, as reported
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Ellen Chenoweth, interim director of the Dance Presenting Series, will be responsible for curating performances for the 2018–2019 season.
March 6 by The Chronicle. He added that during her last few years as DPS director, Brooks worked closely with the Dance Department to lead the program. Brooks did not respond to The Chronicle’s requests for comment as of press time. “She was really instrumental in bringing stability to the program and incorporating the Dance Presenting Series with the academic department,” Carpenter said. “That’s really a significant legacy she leaves.” Carpenter said his department sought to hire an interim director
because the department was not aware Brooks was retiring until after the academic hiring cycle ended. The department was unable to hire someone who could also serve as a faculty member in the position. Chenoweth will serve as interim director without a faculty role until June 30, 2018, when a permanent director will be selected. Margi Cole, DPS program manager, said Chenoweth has recently been meeting with Dance Department faculty, familiarizing herself with the position and has adjusted well.
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New interim director appointed to Dance Presenting Series
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Check out the rest of the interview at ColumbiaChronicle.com
Columbia student grows in the music industry » MOLLY WALSH CAMPUS REPORTER
G
rowing up in a suburb outside of Detroit, Anna Agosta sang her first solo in her school’s annual Christmas concert at 5 years old. Since that performance and many others, the 21-year-old boasts numerous achievements, including her April 20 first place victory at Columbia’s Biggest Mouth competition, her May 12 opening performance at the annual Manifest Urban Art Festival and now her first EP, Greenhouse, which debuted Sept. 5 on Apple Music, SoundCloud and Spotify. After moving to Chicago almost four years ago, the senior music major has been focused on growing as an artist and learning the business aspects of music, hoping to manage herself in the future.
The Chronicle spoke with Agosta about Greenhouse, opportunities at Columbia and her plans for the future as an R&B soul singer and songwriter. THE CHRONICLE: How would you describe Greenhouse? ANNA AGOSTA: The project consists of five different songs about the growth I’ve experienced in my life over the past year. It was really about my inner growth, coming out as an artist and declaring what I stand for and who I am for people who have never heard me before.
myself, my music, my worth, my value and everything I write. There is nobody else doing it for me, so when I’m in a room full of men that work on the music side of things, I have to be confident in myself and let them know what I stand for while staying true to my art. How has Columbia helped your career? This school is full of a lot of opportunities, but they’re opportunities you have to get for yourself. When I first came here, the first things I saw were Big Mouth and Biggest Mouth, and I was in awe. I was a huge fan of everything and everyone. I just knew that as I progressed in this school, I wanted to do that. It was so crazy; I was just so happy to get into the competition of Biggest Mouth. I got in and I got to play with my best friends: my band. And when we won, it was just crazy. Columbia has really helped me figure out who I am as an artist, through different gigs I’ve done and different ensembles I’ve been in. It helped expand my talent because I learned to do things I normally wouldn’t have sung and helped me progress as an artist and learn who I am.
How has music helped you grow? How are you and your music different It’s taught me what it means to be an inde- from other artists? pendent artist who covers all aspects of what I don’t feel that I necessarily fit in a box for it takes to make a project. I have to represent R&B, especially with this project. My music
» COURTESY OREL CHOLLETTE
After singing and performing from a young age, senior music major Anna Agosta released her first EP, Greenhouse, Sept. 5.
is R&B soul, but it doesn’t sound like anything else. I don’t have an explanation to why that is, other than the fact that I always try to write about whatever is on my mind and in my heart. I’m not trying to sound like anybody else. I didn’t choose to sing R&B; I feel like my voice naturally fit into that category. When I was younger, I would sing and people would tell me that it was very soulful, and that was what naturally came to me.
1/31/18
10 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 11
campus PLYMOUTH, FROM PAGE 4
COMMUNICATNIG ABOUT TOUCH IN MUTUALLY SATISFYING WAYS WHEN
September 21, 2017 6:00 pm-7:30pm Plymouth Court WHEN
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RESIDENCE HALLS LOCATIONS
PLYMOUTH COURT
731 South Plymouth Court.
DWIGHT
642 South Clark Street
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NAVIGATING CONSENT
Residence Life’s main office, Student Health and Counseling Services offices, vending machines, a student lounge, a music practice room and a large performance practice room. Tarrer said the college will be careful in timing the sale so it coincides with the transfer of services and resources to other locations around campus so they will be available to students without pause. Tarrer said the college will soon be creating a master plan, in accordance with its Strategic Plan, which will plot the college’s future direction for its physical assets, buildings and properties. “I won’t say that there are plans to unload other properties at this point in time, but we are always operating under this broader premise [that] we want to have a compact campus and that we want to invest in our existing assets,” Tarrer said. “What you might see in the coming year is an initiative to do some longer-term planning, taking a look at our entire physical footprint and developing a plan, a long-term plan that would [bring] the college in the direction we want to see the college go.” Giordan said although he has always lived off campus, he was able to become a part of a community that formed in the Plymouth Building. “There’s this college concept that you know the people living in your building, [but] a lot of places you don’t,” Giordan said. “The [University Center] is massive, you don’t know anyone living in the UC, and you’ll maybe know people living on your floor. But most people here sort of know the other Plymouth [residents], there’s some Plymouth camaraderie, some Plymouth friendship.” DPS, FROM PAGE 8
September 28, 2017 6:00 pm-7:30pm The Arc CONTENT•Come to this program to learn about effective and healthy ways to communicate consent with an intimate partner.
12 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
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“She’s certainly knowledgeable about the field of dance and has some of her own creative work going on,” Cole said. “She has been writing about dance, and I think those are all things that will be a valuable asset to us.” Although some shows have already been booked for the 2018–2019 DPS season, Chenoweth will still need to curate additional performances for the series as well as manage those that have already been scheduled, according to Carpenter. Chenoweth said because she did not take an interest in dance until graduate school, she thinks people who do not think they are dancers or do not understand the art should still come and see the performances to widen their perspectives. “It’s an amazing lineup, so I really want the house to be full each night and for as many students as possible to come,” Chenoweth said.
ccarynski@columbiachronicle.com
WHEN
Band Capital Soiree muses its creative process » ColumbiaChronicle.com/Multimedia
Exhibit explores closed schools’ futures
» ALEXA RIXON ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
Creative Grounds is still finding more effective ways to learn what the community has to say. The exhibition should kickstart community action in a way a that City Hall meetings never could because it directly engages viewers, Aguirre said. “Everything in the way that you design engagement speaks to the level of investment and interest you have in that feedback you’re receiving,” Aguirre said. »COURTESY DANTON FLYOD
ALMOST FOUR YEARS later, only six of 43 Chicago Public Schools closed in 2013 have been repurposed. To spark conversation, Creative Grounds and 360 Nation’s Freedom Summer School collaborated to create an interactive map that tracks sold, for sale and repurposed schools. The exhibit, “Claiming Spaces,” allows the organizations to discuss affected communities’ futures. Urban designer Paola Aguirre founded Creative Grounds, a public interest design initiative in 2016 after she learned about the vacant schools. The exhibit, at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, 800 S. Halsted St., is scheduled to run Sept. 19 to March 31, 2018. “I started thinking [about] how design might support, accelerate or amplify repurposing efforts,” Aguirre said. “The tracking is an invitation for collective reflection.” Sarah Rothschild, education policy analyst for the Chicago Teachers Union,
said it is important to understand why schools are closing and why certain communities in the West Side, for example, lack development. Individuals need to understand how segregation affects schools as the city develops, as well as how modern gentrification trends play into the issue, Rothschild added. “[Children] don’t know what [their schools closing] means,” Rothschild said. “Having your school shut down and being sent somewhere else that is unfamiliar is just as traumatic as finding out you’re being kicked out of your house [without knowing] where you’re going.” The exhibition focuses primarily on the West Side because, out of 43 closed schools, 18 are located there. “Everyone talks about how the West Side and the South Side [have high crime rates],” Aguirre said. “But there’s a reason for that: The lack of investment plays a relevant role in that decay of condition. [We can look] at the map to see [where] we have to pay attention.” Many low-income families have difficulty relocating without a support
network because of housing discrimination, Rothschild said. Public transportation is lacking, and finding downtown jobs can be difficult. Students of 360 Nation’s Freedom Summer School at Charles Sumner Math and Science Academy, 4320 W. 5th Ave., worked with artist Leah Gipson to create wallpaper that will transform spaces at the Hull-House and the academy. The wallpaper will be fashioned from student-created artwork and found and repurposed materials, as well as photographs and protest signs made during the 2016–2017 academic year. “It’s not just about closed schools, but schools that are also thriving and fighting,” said Jennifer Scott, director of the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum. Looking forward, Aguirre would like to find ways to repurpose the schools based on the communities’ voices and needs, and foster compromise between each building’s different stakeholders. School buildings are worth saving because they hold strategic locations, acting as community hubs throughout generations, she said. “You can still build condos and sell to private owners, but is there a chance that some community program can be a part of it?” Aguirre said. “They don’t exclude each other. Can we find a way where that kind of integration could happen?”
arixon@columbiachronicle.com
arts culture
Students at Charles Sumner Math & Science Academy will collaborate with artist Leah Gipson to make wallpaper to transform their school walls. » COURTESY JANE ADDAMS HULL-HOUSE
To raise awareness and spur discussion about how closed Chicago Public Schools should be repurposed, a collaboration among designers, artists, educators and students is to be showcased Sept. 19 at The Jane Addams Hull-House, 800 S. Halsted St.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 13
arts & culture Thursday, Sept. 21 SCOTCH THE FILMMAKER House of Blues Chicago 329 N. Dearborn St. 6:30 p.m. $10
» ARIANA PORTALATIN MANAGING EDITOR
Child neglect masked as pranks for YouTube fame
Tuesday, Sept. 19
M
ÁSGEIR
JOSEPH
Bottom Lounge 1375 W. Lake St. 7 p.m. $20
Thalia Hall 1807 S. Allport St. 7 p.m. $20 advance, $25–$28 doors
Wednesday, Sept. 20
with the sentencing, and rightly so. While the parents’ probation will last only five years, the trauma experienced at such an early age is likely to last the kids’ lifetime. Defense attorney Stephen R. Tully said he will be filing a motion to reduce sentencing and/or remove charges from their records if the Martins abide by their probation conditions, but this should not be allowed. The sentencing and charges should be a permanent reminder that child neglect and abuse is unacceptable and cannot go unpunished. The parents claim harm was never intended and only created the channel, which gained about 800,000 subscribers since its launch, to help provide a better life for their children. They also posted an apology video to their channel saying they made a mistake—but are they truly sorry for the harm caused to their children or are they just sorry they got caught? It should not have taken a criminal investigation and a psychologist’s evaluation to determine that harm was inflicted on the children because it was obvious from their reactions to the pranks in the videos. While contact with them may not be easily given to the Martins, steps must also be taken to keep a careful eye on the three older children not included in the investigation to ensure that these pranks do not continue in the future. YouTube fame should not be had at the expense of those it is supposed to benefit, and it should not be sought through controversial practices that include the harm of others.
14 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
aportalatin@columbiachronicle.com
ichael Martin begins a video with three of his five children explaining a game he wants them to play called “Bottle Flip Slap,” which requires the kids to play against each other and take turns flipping a bottle on a small table. If the bottle lands on its side instead of standing up, the player is slapped by another child. Unfortunately for his daughter, she loses a round, and a screaming match ensues when one of his sons is reluctant to hit his sister. He eventually does so after being encouraged by Michael, who doesn’t console his daughter in any way during the video after she begins to cry in pain while curled up on the bedroom floor. This video is one of many that caused parents Michael and Heather Martin, who is the stepmother to the two youngest of the five children, to be sentenced Sept. 11 to five years of probation on two counts of child neglect after an investigation of the content of their YouTube channel, DaddyOFive. After public outcry in May about their “pranks” that often included their children crying or in pain, the two youngest children were taken out of the Martins’ custody and placed with their biological mother, Rose Hall, who also made a YouTube video thanking the platform’s community for revealing the controversial activities and calling for action. During examinations of the two children taken out of custody, psychologists determined the two children were traumatized by what their parents called “pranks.” The investigation ended after the Martins entered Alford plea deals, which allow them to maintain their innocence while acknowledging the evidence to the charges. According to a Sept. 11 Baltimore Sun article, the probation sentence includes conditions that the Martins may not have contact with the two children or Hall, unless permitted by the court, and cannot post videos or photos of the children on social media unless for “legitimate family purposes.” They also must comply with mental health treatment advised by their probation officer. Hall was not satisfied
Friday Sept. 22
Saturday, Sept. 23
FATHER JOHN MISTY
CAIFANES
Auditorium Theature 50 E. Congress Parkway 7:30 p.m. $29.50–$39.50
Aragon Ballroom 1106 W. Lawrence Ave. 7 p.m. $53
FROM THE FRONT ROW
Jay Som, songwriter Melina Duterte’s pop music project, performed Sept. 14 for a packed crowd at Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave.
» MACKENZIE CROSSON/CHRONICLE
arts & culture
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 15
arts & culture
» KENDRAH VILLIESSE ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER INSIDE A GALLERY, a large installation hangs as a tribute to a mother and hospice worker fighting for quality healthcare. Known for its exhibitions and partnerships with nonprofit organizations, the Weinberg/Newton Art Gallery, 300 W. Superior St., has worked with organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and the Illinois Council Against Gun Violence to spotlight social justice issues. Running alongside the exhibition is a series of events and programs that highlight the organization’s mission. This year, the gallery is spotlighting breast cancer patients’ battle for quality healthcare coverage with its “Take Care” exhibit, a joint project of the Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force—a nonprofit organization dedicated to fighting against
breast cancer care inequalities. Running from Sept. 15 until Jan. 10, 2018, the exhibit showcases four artists’ paintings, sculptures and installations. The Task Force was mainly interested in getting the Chicago community to know who they are, what they do and to understand that the issue of access to quality healthcare. “I was interested in expanding our notions of caretaking; it is not necessarily a doctor in a white suit or a nurse,” said Kasia Houlihan, the co-director of the Weinberg/ Newton Gallery and the gallery’s curator. “There are networks of support when our health is in need of attention.” The work on display illustrates the ideas of communities and support networks, part of the Breast Cancer Task Force’s mission. A battle with two tumors spurred artist Indira Allegra’s work, which illustrates fear, cancer and courage using elements of color, sound and heat that
16 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
contribute to an immersive experience, she said. Her installation “Did My Tumor Exhale A Memory of You” endeavors to create empathy and assert quality heath care as a human right, she added. “We achieve quality healthcare when as a country we believe everyone deserves it,” Allegra said. This can only come when there is a consensus that income level, citizenship, pre-existing conditions and disability should not exclude people from healthcare, she said. Joan Giroux, an associate professor in the Art and Art History Department and artist in the exhibit, recalled losing her mother, who was a geriatric nurse and hospice worker. Giroux focused on the idea of caregiving in a work that uses her mother’s hospital blanket and a drawing Giroux completed minutes before her mother died, to capture the closest things her mom was touching both physically and emotionally.
“We all individually have our own anxieties about losing choice and losing control,” Giroux said. “As we get older, we have to recognize that that is the normal part of being human.” Giroux also noticed how health care quality can be dependent on socioeconomic status. “It is very different when you’re being treated for something at Cook County [St. Roger Hospital] or if you’re at Northwestern [Medical Center]. It is a really different healthcare treatment,” Giroux said.
Houlihan agreed that race, identity and social status can have an impact on the odds of surviving a cancer diagnosis. “I am hoping that there are opportunities for self-reflection,” Houlihan said. “To understand, whether or not you have been directly affected by breast cancer, that this idea of a community of care and providing support for those in need is something that everyone should be conscious of and ‘Take Care’ to do.” kvilliesse@columbiachronicle.com
Breast cancer exhibit wants you to ‘Take Care’
» MACKENZIE CROSSON/CHRONICLE
Words participants use to describe the healthcare system are displayed in the “Take Care” exhibit at the Weinberg/Newton Art Gallery, 300 W. Superior St.
arts & culture
back after a lot of trauma and I see that a lot in Rogers Park, and TWO NEW ADDITIONS are coming I think it’s a quality to be emulated.” this fall to Rogers Park’s Mile Hasse’s proposal was unique, of Murals, a project intended to which is why she was chosen beautify the stretch of wall along for the project, said Lea Pinsky, the Glenwood Avenue Red Line co-manager of the Mile of Murals embankment, adjacent to the project along with her husband, Morse station. Dustin Harris. Mu ltidisciplina r y a r tist “She [has] images of all people. Gretchen Hasse will provide a All colors, people who are able-bodpiece called “Resilience,” which ied, people with disabilities, young, focuses on Rogers Park’s inclusive old, and they’re all walking down spirit. The other, “Be Happy,” is the street,” Pinsky said. “Scattered a collage by artist Thomas Kong, through that, with these buildings, who is working with artists from is the word ‘resilience.’” the Roman Susan Art Foundation. One or two works are added to “Resilience” is a response to this the Mile of Murals each year since year’s call for text-based mural the project’s 2007 inception. The proposals and reflects the neigh- project is a collaboration between borhood’s sense of community, the Rogers Park Business Alliance Hasse said. and Special Service Area 24. “It’s a strong [and supportive] The murals usually focus on community,” she said. “Resilience a specific theme that relates to is a quality of being able to come their location in the mile. Murals
on one side of the project focus on local and community values while murals on the other side focus on universal themes, according to Pinsky. “Be Happy,” will be located across from Kim’s Corner Food, 1371 W. Estes Ave., a convenience store Kong has owned for more than 10 years. About six years ago, he began creating collages with packaging materials from his store, such as Coca Cola labels, according to Kristin Abhalter, an artist who is contributing to the project through the Roman Susan Art Foundation. Kong’s collages, vividly colored by use of bright labels, decorate his convenience store. The collages are also on display at The Back Room, a gallery in the back of his store. Kong designed more than 200 collages in a two-week period
“Be Happy,” 1371 W. Estes Ave., is a mural depicting the collage work of Rogers Park retailer Thomas Kong, brought to the Mile of Murals through a collaboration with the Roman Susan Art Foundation.
following his decision to send a proposal for the Mile of Murals, Abhalter said. Eventually, this selection was whittled down to Kong and the Roman Susan Art Foundation’s favorites. “Dan [Miller, another artist from Roman Susan Art Foundation] has helped [Kong] mass produce these stickers that say ‘be happy,’ so those play a part in the collage designs,” Abhalter said, adding that the phrase “be
happy” is sprinkled throughout the mural. “Be Happy” and “Resilience” both play a part in Rogers Park’s mission of becoming an arts destination, according to Pinsky. “Rogers Park is a very arts-forward neighborhood,” she said. “Rogers Park really wants to put a public face on the fact they support the arts, and this project ... does that.” mmanier@columbiachronicle.com
» MIRANDA MANIER ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
» ERIN BROWN/CHRONICLE
Rogers Park’s Mile of Murals encourages resilience and happiness
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and if you mess up or drop something, you represent the capabilities of all women,” Rodeffer said, paraphrasing a story told by Sharon Davis, an artist from Omaha, Nebraska, who participated in a Q&A panel at the gallery Sept. 9. Kelsey Dalton, co-owner of Heart & Bone Signs in Chicago and a participant in the gallery, said many assume she cannot handle the work of sign painting. Dalton said she has overcome this by asserting her presence as a capable sign painter, adding that there is a positive aspect to working as a female sign painter. “I get a lot of attention from young girls who are shocked to see a woman on a ladder, Dalton said. In the week before “The PreVinylette Society’s” opening, 20 of the gallery’s artists came to Chicago to help design the exhibit. “It was this beautiful beehive,” Rodeffer said. “Everybody found a role and ... helped each other and lifted each other up.” mmanier@columbiachronicle.com
Sign painter exhibit shows off women’s handiwork
with the Pre-Vinylite Society collective she and her husband co-founded in 2010. They created it after learning about the PreRaphaelite Brotherhood, a group of 19th-century artists and writ» MIRANDA MANIER The exhibit was curated by sign p.m. Sept. 23, or by appointment ers who rebelled against the era’s ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER painters Meredith Kasabian and through Sept. 28, when there will academic and artistic conventions. Shelby Rodeffer and will feature be a closing reception at 6 p.m. “THE PRE-VINYLETTE SOCIETY,” a Kasabian and her husband—who more than 60 female painters’ showcase of work by female sign “The Pre-Vinylette Society’s” is also a sign painter—identified painters who design letter signs work from nine different coun- goal is to celebrate female talent with the Brotherhood’s spirit for businesses, events and ser- tries. The gallery, 1932 S. Halsted in the male-dominated trade of of rebellion. St., is open from 12 p.m. to 5 sign painting, Kasabian said. In vices, opened Sept. 8. “We felt as if we were being inunthe heyday of sign painting, trade dated with this poor quality vinyl magazines would feature male banner signage,” Kasabian said. sign painters, making them role Their response was forming models in the industry, she added. the Pre-Vinylite Society. The title “Women weren’t given those of the collective pays homage to kinds of opportunities,” Kasabian the Brotherhood that inspired said. “So, as far as there being [one] Kasabian, while “The Prewoman sign painter who every- Vinylette Society” is a feminine body knows because they were tweak on the Pre-Vinylite name. published, there’s very few.” Apart from the field’s entry barAfter sexual assault allegations riers, Rodeffer has also heard tales against then-presidential candi- of the pressures that female sign date Donald Trump came to light painters experience. in October 2016, Kasabian decided “You show up to do a job at a conto open the all-female gallery she struction site with other contract had been thinking about for years. workers who are almost always all This is the third sign painting male, and you’re unloading your “The Pre-Vinylette Society,” 1932 S. Halsted St., is an exhibit celebrating the work gallery Kasabian has curated gear and trying to put up a ladder, of female sign painters.
arts & culture
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O
ne would be hard-pressed to fit a bed, kitchen, bathroom and all their belongings into a Chicago parking space, but some renters could if they had to. In the world of micro-apartments, walls shift to reveal cabinets, entertainment stations and storage space. Sinks act as convertible counter tops, and some furniture leads a double life, with couches moonlighting as beds. Across the nation, renters are settling down in apartments that could only make “Sorcerer’s Stone”era Harry Potter, trapped in his little cupboard, jealous. Crammed into sub-500-square-foot spaces, tenants are trading in space for affordability and amenities to help combat rising rent prices. Rent in Chicago increased by an average of 14 percent from 2013–2016, according to apartment and student housing research firm Axiometrics; nationwide, the increase was a marginally more manageable 8.6 percent from 2014–2017. New developments of so-called micro-apartment complexes have attempted to ease big city renters’ financial burden—but Chicago has seen local developers focus more on luxury buildings with pools and coffee shops than affordability. There are more rental units being built in Chicago than ever—nearly
7,000 were under construction in fall 2016—and the sheer amount of them has increased by 150 percent since 2005, according to Axiometrics. Somehow, though, the supply has yet to reach the demand as prices keep increasing. Citywide, rental properties are at 94.5 percent occupancy, driving rents up and narrowing renters’ choices. Millennials are the target market for micro-apartments because they tend to gravitate toward an all-in-one location where they can work, shop and socialize, even if it means giving up space to save a little cash and achieve those desires. Chicago’s first luxury micro-apartments, FLATS Chicago, began development on seven buildings in Uptown and Edgewater in 2012, converting them into minuscule 275-square-footand-up units. There are currently 39 FLATS units available in six of the buildings, starting at $925 for a studio in Uptown’s Bachelor building, 1140 W. Wilson Ave., or reaching as high as $2,200 for a one-bedroom at Libertyville’s brand-new Manchester, 117 N. Lake St. The smallest FLATS studio apartments are under 200 square feet as of January—even smaller than the average Chicago parking space.
20 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
A one-bedroom unit at Uptown’s Lawrence House, a FLATS building at 1020 W. Lawrence Ave., costs $1,600 and up while two-bedrooms start at $2,850. Uptown locals can usually find themselves paying $1,200 for one-bedrooms and $1,550 for two-bedrooms, far easier on the wallet than a FLATS rental. Despite the well-above-average cost, Alex Samoylovich—co-founder and managing partner of Cedar Street, FLATS’s parent company— insisted the buildings are affordable when compared to the larger luxury apartment market. “If you look at FLATS, yes, it’s a little more expensive than a traditional studio, but you’re talking generic studios,” Samoylovich said. “When you’re comparing luxury properties, you take a studio that’s $1,800 while we’re at $1,200–$1,400. We are the affordable, approachable choice.” Some of the amenities that Samoylovich said make FLATS apartments worth the price are Lawrence House’s indoor pool, backyard, boxing ring, coffee shop and bar—all located within the property for tenants.
A 138-unit micro-apartment development is also on the way in Logan Square at 2342-48 N. California Ave. that will command $1,200 for a 439-square-foot studio apartment and $1,400 for a 537-square-foot one-bedroom—a heftier price tag than the $1,210 average rent for one-bedrooms in the same neighborhood. These sorts of developments are more focused on selling their aesthetics—luxury in a small package—than what used to be considered good value for the Chicago market, said AJ LaTrace, editor of Curbed Chicago, an online real estate publication. “I’ve seen the term thrown around so often: lifestyle development,” LaTrace said. “You’re not renting an apartment—you’re renting a FLATS apartment. Their thing is that, yeah, they’re charging $1,400 per month for rent, but you’re getting a freshly rehabbed apartment [with] high design and other [luxury] amenities. in it as well.”
comfortable living in a micro-apartment unless it was a significant bargain compared to her current $1,300 per month two-bedroom. “I could stand living in a place that small, but I don’t think I would prefer it,” Caleca said. “It would feel so cluttered and claustrophobic. I understand the trade-off of location and having the amenities, but I think I’d prefer something a little more mainstream, more conventional.” Those reactions are comparable to those of native Chicagoans. When new luxury co-housing and micro-apartment developments are proposed, local residents’ reactions are typically negative due to the inflated rents, LaTrace said. “The prices for what you get [in micro-apartments] don’t seem all that reasonable,” said Alby Gallun, senior reporter at Crain’s Chicago Business. “If you look at it on a [price]per-square-foot basis, it’s probably going to be more expensive [than an average apartment], but on a per-unit basis, the rents will be lower.” However, LaTrace noted that skeptics often do not realize that the pricier, luxury developments may not be intended for them. “[Chicagoans] see everything through our ‘Chicago lenses’ so much that we tend to forget that one of the fastest-growing demographics in our city is high-earning young professionals,” LaTrace said. Young professionals moving to Chicago may come from San Francisco
or New York City, where they are already more accustomed to paying exorbitant rates for minimal space, he said. The average one-bedroom rent in NYC is about $2,700, while San Francisco’s average one-bedroom rent is an astronomical $3,402. “They’re already so used to not having a lot of room,” LaTrace said. “When [out-of-town young professionals] see they can get their own studio for $1,400, to them that’s a steal.” Samoylovich did not specify the exact demographics of FLATS’ tenants but said its “sociographic” is “people living independent lifestyles [who] live beyond their living room walls.” Yet some fear that the “pay more for less” ethos of these apartments will change the value proposition for all Chicago renters. The average one-bedroom renter in Chicago already falls short of comfortably making rent, according to a 2015 report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The coalition estimated a renter needs to make $17.73 per hour working full time to comfortably afford rent—more than one dollar more per hour than the average tenant’s $16.46 hourly wage. Chicago’s escalating average rent will continue for at least the next one to two years, meaning renters may be stuck in the same place—for better or worse—until current developments are completed, according to Chris Pezza, director of the Chicago Association of Realtors.
“The tricky part with real estate is [that] supply may take two or three years to come online and finally meet the demand,” Pezza said. “There’s always sort of a lag [until] supply meets demand, and you have pricing equilibrium. It’s certainly not a question of ‘if,’ but ‘when,’ because all real estate is cyclical.” For millennials who don’t want to live in such tight quarters, the best bet would be to find a trustworthy realtor with citywide connections or simply opt to live with roommates, he added. The jury is still out as to whether Chicago’s micro-housing boom is just a transient trend or something more permanent. In fact, it’s “the million-dollar question,” LaTrace said. While it would appear to be little more than a trend currently, Pezza said downscale living quarters will more likely than not continue to be an option for years to come because younger demographics are becoming more and more used to cramming into their homes. Fortunately for people who still like their space, Gallun said he does not foresee the trend taking over the apartment market as long as rents begin falling in a meaningful way after the new development. “There is a segment of the market—there is demand for this stuff,” Gallun said. “It’s just a matter of how big [the trend] is. I don’t think it’s going to be a huge thing. It’s never going to represent half or even a quarter of the market.” jsadowski@columbiachronicle.com
Samoylovich tried to sum up FLATS’ shtick as he said, “There’s micro-units, and then there’s FLATS.” FLATS renters, he said, are minimalists, the likes of whom “use Uber—they’re trying to not need a car—use Airbnb” and enjoy the image of living in swanky branded apartments. For some Columbia students, the appeal of micro-apartments is elusive. Darrion Bush, a senior business and entrepreneurship major, currently lives with his parents and is looking for a place to call his own. He said that he would consider a place like the Lawrence House due to its desirable location—but only if it was the cheapest option. If there was a comparably priced non-luxury, non-micro apartment, he said he would likely favor the standard space. “I’m claustrophobic; I need space,” Bush said. “I don’t want to feel like I’m cramped in a room, so [I would] go with a bigger room.” Similarly, Katie Caleca, a junior education major who lives in Pilsen, said she wouldn’t be very
For additional reporting and information, see ColumbiaChronicle.com.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 21
arts & culture
» ERIN BROWN PHOTO EDITOR
As a Wisconsinite, I consider cheese to be a dietary staple, and this snack is sure to settle any cheese lover’s cravings. Fun to make and easy to bake, these garlic cheese balls are great any time of the day. They even hold up served as cold leftovers. However, be forewarned: You may want a breath mint or two after eating this snack.
Ingredients:
–1 can precooked biscuits (10 pieces) –20 half-inch cheddar cheese cubes –3 tablespoons butter –1 clove crushed garlic –1/3 cup Parmesan cheese –2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
Directions:
1. Cut biscuits in half, lightly kneading each. 2. Wrap one cheese cube in each biscuit and form sealed balls. 3. In separate dishes, combine Parmesan cheese with Italian seasoning, and melted butter with crushed garlic. 4. Dip the top of each ball in the butter and garlic mixture, then into the Parmesan and seasoning mixture. 5. Place balls on greased cooking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes in the oven at 375 degrees, or until golden brown. 6. Try getting a nice pull of cheese after they come out of the oven!
meOUT
» JOCELYN MORENO AND ERIN BROWN/CHRONICLE
CHECK
» PHOTOS KEVIN TIONGSON AND MONICA WESTLAKE/CHRONICLE
ebrown@columbiachronicle.com
GARLIC CHEESE BALLS
WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST THING IN YOUR CLOSET?
Peyton Waldera freshman music major
“A kimono. They aren’t worn much anymore.”
Blake Fortin senior cinema and television arts major Jakaria Burge junior communication major “Elephant onesie.”
22 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
“A long jacket with a faux fur collar. I like to wear that with Iris Apfel glasses. It breaks gender norms a little bit.”
arts & culture
THE CHRONICLE: What is your favorite part about touring? HOOKS: You get to go to places you probaAFTER CHANGING ITS name, hosting spon- bly never would have gone. I never traveled sored basement dance parties, releasing- before I started touring, so it was cool to see multiple EPs, embarking on a couple tours so many places. and starting its own record label, Zeds Dead has proven itself to be more than a How did you get to work with artists quote from “Pulp Fiction.” like Pusha T and Rivers Cuomo? Dylan Mamid and Zachary Rapp-Rovan We’re eight years in, so it’s taken a long time wanted to create music together, so they to get to a point in the industry where we formed Mass Productions in 2004 and can hit up people like [Pusha T and Rivers released their first independent album, Cuomo] and have them be interested in workFresh Beetz, in 2007, with Mamid and ing with us. Early on, we pretty much kept Rapp-Rovan taking on the aliases of DC to ourselves. So now it is awesome because and Hooks. They renamed the group in we get to collaborate with people we look up 2009 to Zeds Dead, a reference to Quentin to. We got to work with one of my favorite Tarantino’s classic film “Pulp Fiction.” rappers: Sean Price. It was pretty surreal Zeds Dead embraced house and dub- having listened to this guy’s work then being step in its 2009 debut track “Journey of a in the studio with him. He died shortly after Lifetime.” The duo has since released more that. It was amazing that we got to work with tunes and toured North America. him while he was alive. After a re-debut album, Northern Lights in 2016, the duo released two standalone How did you come up with the name tracks, this year. The Canadian artists are Zeds Dead? set to play a show Oct. 21 at Navy Pier, 600 It came from thinking of things that started E. Grand Ave., as part of the Deadbeats Tour. with a Z and a D [for] Zack and Dylan. We The Chronicle spoke with Hooks about were just saying things and then we said Zeds Dead, touring and the key to the 8-year- “Zeds Dead,” and we were like, “Hey, that’s a old duo’s continued success. reference to ‘Pulp Fiction.’”
» KENDRAH VILLIESSE ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
What is your writing process like? The way we used to do it was just working on our own and then coming together and critiquing each other’s work. But sometimes we get in the studio and start something fresh; sometimes we’ll work on something we worked on the night before. How long does it take to create a song? Some of these songs have been in the mix for a long time before we finish them. That is the
difficult part of being an artist: finishing your work because it is hard to determine when it is actually done. Sometimes you know [a song] is done, but sometimes, it takes a while. What has your response been like? It is amazing that we are in this place in our careers where we can make a living off really doing what we love. We are inspired, and the reactions are amazing.
kvilliesse@columbiachronicle.com
Zeds Dead to bring ‘Northern Lights’
» COURTESY ORIENTEER
audiofile
Canadian electronic music duo Zeds Dead will perform Oct. 21 at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.
NOW PLAYING Leaves fall, but the beat drops
Autumnal tunes for denim jacket dance parties » MACKENZIE CROSSON
» ERIN BROWN
PHOTO EDITOR “Change”
Listen to all the tracks at http://open.spotify.com/user/thecolumbiachronicle »MOLLY WALSH
PHOTO EDITOR J. Cole
CAMPUS REPORTER
“Origins”
Tennis
“Baba O’Riley”
The Who
“Supercut”
Lorde
“Mushaboom”
“Found It In Silence”
HAIM
“Chili Town”
Hinds
“Satellite”
Dave Matthews Band
Kendrick Lamar
“Paper Bag”
Fiona Apple
“Rich Girl”
Hall & Oates
“FEEL.” “Adult Diversion”
Alvvays
» ALEX SWAN
“Walking On Air” “You” “Friday I’m In Love” “Boston”
“Little Boy in the Grass”
Aurora
» BROOKE PAWLING STENNET
COPY EDITOR “Sweather Weather”
Feist
Kerli Binocular The Cure Augustana
“To Be Alone With You” “Old Pine” “Simple As This” “Everywhere” “Love”
“Wagon Wheel”
Ray LaMontagne
Old Crow Medicine Show
» SAMANTHA CONRAD
DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR The Neighbourhood
“You Are the Best Thing”
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Sufjan Stevens Ben Howard Jake Bugg Fleetwood Mac Lana Del Rey
“Withdrawal” “Days” “On Trees And Birds And Fire” “Seasons (Waiting On You)” “Dark Days”
Max Frost The Drums I Am Oak Future Islands Local Natives
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 23
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arts & culture
our staff’s top 5 picks:
Straying from Santaroga » CONNOR CARNYSKI CAMPUS EDITOR
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ccarnyski@columbiachronicle.com
cience fiction is too often considered a pulp genre that focuses more on special effects than elements of human connection, but the field is rich with compelling insights on humankind’s place in the universe. One such novel is Frank Herbert’s “The Santaroga Barrier,” which provides powerful commentary on the dangers of conformity. In the novel, first published in 1968, psychologist Gilbert Dasein is hired by an investment corporation to investigate a peculiar town called Santaroga—a task two investigators before him had attempted before succumbing to deadly “accidents.” The small town is almost entirely self-sufficient, rarely relying on imports and absolutely never exporting its own products. Santaroga’s citizens seem to have an almost supernatural connection with each other, evident in their similar speech, attitude and consumption of an odd substance called “jaspers.” Shortly after Dasein enters the town, he is confronted with numerous life-threatening but explainable “accidents”: A child with a bow nearly fires an arrow through his neck, and a waitress spikes his coffee with insecticide instead of sugar. Eventually, it becomes clear to Dasein that the townspeople are subconsciously trying to harm him. Santaroga’s populace were oblivious to their hostility to outsiders because they consumed a drug that produced conformity and violence. Hateful actions are easily concealed because of safety in numbers. That makes it even more important for individuals to step back and question their group motives.
FALL ACTIVITIES
‘SNL’ WEEKEND UPDATE MOMENTS
TARANTINO MOVIES
» TESSA BRUBAKER CAMPUS REPORTER
» MOLLY WALSH CAMPUS REPORTER
» OLIVIA DELOIAN CAMPUS REPORTER
Wear your biggest, comfiest sweater:
Amy Poehler’s “Eskimo Rap”:
“Inglourious Basterds”:
Now that all the gross summer humidity is fading away, dig into the back of your closet, dust off your storage bins and pull out those cozy sweaters. If you are running low on your sweater stash, check out some thrift stores in places like Wicker Park. Nothing will have you in the fall spirit more than cuddling up in the plush fabric during class.
Poehler coyly agrees to perform a rap written for Sarah Palin. She pulls a microphone out from under her desk, doesn’t miss a beat and spits bars like no other. My favorite lyric is “Shoot a mother-humpin’ moose/eight days of the week.”
Following Quentin Tarantino’s usual theme of vengeance, this film offers an alternate ending to World War II and incorporates powerful acting by Melanie Laurent, painful scenes and film noir style cinematography, all of which put this film at the top of my list.
Roseanne Rosannadanna:
“Pulp Fiction”:
Gilda Radner’s character is the segment’s consumer affairs reporter who goes into off-topic rants. She’s still one of the best characters to ever sit behind the Update desk performed by one of “SNL’s” best cast members.
Tarantino’s most well-known and seen by most—besides me—as his best film, “Pulp Fiction” is a witty classic ingrained in pop culture. Its timeless one-liners from Samuel L. Jackson and out-of-order scenes have influenced filmmakers since its 1994 release.
Jam out to Halloween music: Halloween isn’t for another month, but that doesn’t mean you can’t jam out to your favorite Halloween tunes. It’s never too early to dance to songs like “Spooky Scary Skeletons” and “The Monster Mash.” Jump in some leaves: Hear me out: I understand a lot of students live in the city, but that shouldn’t stop you from accomplishing this goal. Grab a group of friends, find a park and jump in a pile of leaves. Sometimes it’s fun to act like a kid again. Bake your favorite pie:
Tina Fey’s “B-----s get stuff done”: After Hillary Clinton received some misogynistic comments, Fey declares her support for Clinton by agreeing that Clinton is a b---h, and so is Amy Poehler, and so is she. And that’s OK because b---hes get stuff done.
“Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2”:
Seth Meyers and Stefon’s relationship:
“Django Unchained”:
Growing up, I always knew it was fall when I smelled my mom’s amazing apple and pumpkin pies baking in the oven. Spend a lazy Sunday morning baking a festive pie; your roommates will love you for it.
Bill Hader’s recurring character Stefon, the city correspondent, is an Update favorite. Between Stefon’s quirky personality and Meyers’ clean-cut appearance, the relationship between the two is a modern-day Shakespearean love tale that is hilarious and touching.
Buy a pumpkin:
Drunk Uncle:
There are several places to pick up pumpkins across the city. For example, you can buy decent ones from grocery stores or fall festivals around the city. Grab a couple and decorate them to add festivity to your apartment. Just be sure to bake the pumpkin seeds after.
Bobby Moynihan’s character is great because of the level of predictablity. Dressed in a sweater vest and some type of holiday-themed accessory with a glass of whiskey in his hand, Moynihan pokes fun at millennials until he has a drunken breakdown.
24 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
Combining two films into one, this gory classic is a brutal and entertaining revenge tale. With Tarantino’s muse Uma Thurman as the lead, this story pays stylistic homage to 1970s samurai films.
This heavily emotional film starring Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz is Tarantino’s first western, combined with vengeance in America’s antebellum South. This powerful tale of overcoming racism and slavery, mixed with iconic western themes, is unforgettable. “Death Proof”: Tarantino’s most forgotten film “Death Proof” is an underrated classic. Originally released as a double feature paying homage to grindhouse films, the movie centers on two groups of women being stalked by a killer. With empowering feminist themes and ‘60s-esque style, its forgotten beauty had to wrap up my list.
arts & culture
SCALE
MUSIC
VIDEO
VIRAL
RANDOM
HIPPO CAMPUS’ ‘WARM GLOW’
LOGAN PAUL’S ONE YEAR CELEBRATION
ANNOUNCEMENT OF NEW IPHONES
MONSTER ENERGY DRINKS
» ZOË HAWORTH ART DIRECTOR
» MOLLY WALSH CAMPUS REPORTER
» SAVANNAH EADENS METRO REPORTER
» JONATHON SADOWSKI ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
Hippo Campus released its third EP, warm glow, on Sept. 12 after teasing new music days prior on Twitter. It comes only seven months after the release of the band’s first album, Landmark. While I’m always excited to hear new music from my favorite bands, the three tracks are very reminiscent of the band’s early work as opposed to their latest music. However, the songs are still going to be added to my rotation. Along with releasing new songs, the band announced dates for a winter tour to start in January.
Logan Paul, a social media star, somehow acquired 10 million subscribers on YouTube in under a year and won a the 2017 Teen Choice Award award for Choice Male Web Star. Paul released a 19-minute video Sept. 12 celebrating one year of vlogging, and watching it is more painful than a kidney stone. Not sure if it’s the content or the creator, but I hated it. Somehow he managed to say “bro” more than 20 times. Also, he completely bashes his actual bro, Youtuber Jake Paul, at the end of the video. Not cool, bro.
When Apple announced release of the next iteration of iPhones Sept. 12, some were concerned CEO Tim Cook might’ve forgotten how to count. While the new iPhone 8 and 10th anniversary smartphone iPhone X were debuted, the internet took to memes questioning the missing iPhone 9. While it is comical, people will indulge in the new products and spend exorbitant amounts of money because, well, it’s Apple. Apple is cool, and they like to keep consumers on their toes. So, who cares that seven eight nine?
I’m not proud of the magnitude of my recent Monster consumption. The energy drink has been a go-to because of the long days full of classes, homework and deadlines. In light of this recent workload, I’ve been drinking a can every day or two, trying to line up the caffeine crash, so it comes on just when I go to bed. Spoiler: It hasn’t worked, leading me to feel drowsy in class, at work or going home—but never around bedtime, and always when I still need to be alert. There’s nothing exciting about this can of energy.
MUSIC
VIDEO
VIRAL
RANDOM
TINY MEAT GANG’S ‘SUPER XAN’
‘IT’
SERGIO DIPP’S SIDELINE REPORT
TEXTURE SHOTS
» ZOË EITEL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
» TESSA BRUBAKER CAMPUS REPORTER
» BLAISE MESA METRO REPORTER
» ALEXA RIXON ARTS & CULTURE REPORTER
Comedy rap duo Tiny Meat Gang—made up of YouTubers Cody Ko and Noel Miller—dropped its second song “Super Xan” this month after the first spent a short amount of time on the iTunes HipHop/Rap charts, though it never climbed higher than 180. This song, just like the duo’s first, is hilarious. Ko and Miller don’t take themselves too seriously like many social media rappers tend to, and the song has more than a couple lines that stick in your head for days, along with Ko’s echoing fake laugh.
If you watched the original 1990 movie “IT” and despised it, you’re not alone. However, have faith that the remake, released Sept. 8, is way better because of its genre diversity. The film manages to be terrifying while adding a surprising touch of humor. Though it’s definitely horrifying, there are some scenes that will probably make you laugh out loud. The group of friends known as “The Loser Club” will also warm your heart with their close bond. It’s one of the best horror movies to come out this year.
On Sept. 11, ESPN host Sergio Dipp took to the sidelines for Monday Night Football. The end result was probably one of the cringiest sideline reports ever. Dipp was shaky and stumbled on his words, and the internet quickly mocked him. To be fair, he was making his broadcasting debut on one of the biggest stages ESPN offers and was probably extremely nervous. Dipp shouldn’t have been ridiculed so harshly. We all get nervous sometimes, and at least he felt better and could make fun of himself after the game.
Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with routine and taking the ordinary for granted. Macro photography of everyday things can help us notice the magic in the mundane, which can lead to the body brimming with gratitude. These textures are so ambiguous it may begin to seem sensual. By obscuring expectations, we can see the shape for what it is, rather than eclipse it with preconceived notions. This allows for interesting connections. Fancy cameras aren’t needed, just a curious eye and a smartphone.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 25
opinions Betsy DeVos won’t prevent sexual assault, but Columbia can
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ecretary of Education Betsy DeVos confirmed that her department seemingly has no interest in preventing sexual assault on college campuses. She announced Sept. 7 that the Department of Education is rescinding former President Barack Obama administration’s guidelines on sexual assault in higher education institutions. The guidelines use the agency’s authority under Title IX—an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act that extends protection against discrimination to students—to require colleges to investigate and take appropriate action on victims’ behalf in order to receive federal funding. DeVos said the guidelines are unfair to individuals accused of sexual
assault because “one person denied due process is one too many.” As a general rule, victims do not come forward. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, for every 1,000 sexual assault cases, only 344 are reported. A reason these numbers are so low could be because of victim-blaming, which leads victims to feel more demonized than their attackers. With the odds already stacked against victims, this move by DeVos places even more strain on students who have faced unspeakable trauma. Sexual assaults will continue on campuses whether or not colleges are required to investigate them. While the DOE’s actions are reprehensible, the guidelines served as a superficial fix instead of addressing why victims are uncomfortable
EDITORIAL coming forward. Columbia, as an institution that should prioritize student safety, does provide helpful resources for students to promote that environment, but many students don’t even know about them. The Columbia Sexual Assault Awareness Education Committee is trying to improve how the campus handles sexual assault and Title IX issues. The college also offers an array of events and activities, such as self-defense classes and a series of informational events in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which focus on sexual assault and consent education for the college’s community. However, not enough students take advantage of these resources. Providing these activities shows awareness, but the spirit of education should compel colleges to discuss more deeply and frequently how to prevent sexual assault. Incoming freshmen are supposed to take a “required” online course on sexual assault, as reported Sept. 28, 2015 by the Chronicle, but low participation in this course shows it is not taken seriously enough.
Columbia, along with every private or public university, must educate students on consent. To do this, the college must make a stronger effort to communicate a zero-tolerance policy for sex offenders. The online course for incoming freshmen should move to a classroom setting, and the message should be reinforced throughout a student’s education. Sexual assault is not a comfortable topic as these online courses seem to suggest and should never be presented as something that students can casually click through. In light of DeVos’s decision, Columbia needs to move away from brief, cursory lessons and make them in-depth and expansive. In a room with their peers and trained faculty members, students must be able to ask: “Am I capable of assaulting someone and what can I do to make sure that I don’t?” Giving students robust training on consent and sexual assault prevention is more valuable than a set of guidelines for administrations to use after the trauma has already occurred.
Editorial Board Members Eric Bradach Managing Editor Brooke Pawling Stennett Digital Managing Editor Tyra Bosnic Opinions Editor Charlie Connelly Ad & Business Manager Tessa Brubaker Campus Reporter Blaise Mesa Metro Reporter
Kendrah Villiesse Arts & Culture Reporter Alex Swan Copy Editor Jay Berghuis Copy Editor Jocelyn Moreno Graphic Designer Monica Westlake Photo Editor
We’ve got you covered
@CCChronicle The Columbia Chronicle
26 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
Did you catch a mistake, think we could have covered a story better or have strong beliefs about an issue that faces all of us here at Columbia? Why not write a letter to the editor? At the bottom of Page 2, you’ll find a set of guidelines on how to do this. Let us hear from you. —The Columbia Chronicle Editorial Board
opinions
» TYRA BOSNIC OPINIONS EDITOR
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»JOCELYN MORENO/CHRONICLE
omewhere on the internet, someone is citing “Big Pharma” as a reason to oppose necessary vaccinations. But large pharmaceutical companies also can affect thousands of lives by failing to meet product safety standards. The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter Sept. 5 to pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for failing to investigate more than 100 cases of faulty EpiPens—an emergency auto-injector for treating anaphylaxis. According to the letter, Pfizer received hundreds of complaints about the auto-injectors used in allergy-related emergencies failing, including some situations that ultimately led to death.
» BROOKE PAWLING STENNETT DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR
Selena Gomez’s kidney transplant is a wake-up call
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elena Gomez’s kidney transplant shocked the world—but not in the way it should have. The 25-yearold singer wrote to her 126 million Instagram followers Sept. 14 that she laid low this summer because she needed a kidney transplant due to lupus—an autoimmune disorder that negatively affects the part of the body that fights off viruses and bacteria and subsequently causes autoantibodies to attack and destroy healthy tissue. This causes chronic pain, inflammation and damage in various body parts, including organs, skin and joints. Gomez’s “big reveal” shouldn’t be shocking to the world. It’s actually common for those who have lupus to need such drastic surgery, considering kidneys are usually the first of many organs attacked by lupus. While this is a great step in terms of representation in the media, it shouldn’t have taken her post to incite dialogue about the disease. Such a large percentage of society is still mostly uneducated about the illness. According to a May 9, 2016, survey conducted by the World Lupus Foundation, out of the 16,911 adults from 16 nations surveyed, 36 percent did not know lupus is a disease. Meanwhile, 51 percent could not identify or did not know that lupus can cause serious health complications, such as kidney failure, anemia or heart attacks. So why does a celebrity posting a picture of herself in a hospital bed was needed to show many of her fans that this illness can be dire? Despite affecting 1.5 million people—a staggering 90 percent of that number being women—the disease itself does not get the kind of attention and education that it deserves. According to a May 9 press release, a Twitter poll conducted by WL F found that out of 2,048 people from nine different countries who had lupus, 30 percent felt the emotional impact that comes with having lupus was underappreciated, and 47 percent said most of their doctors had little to no idea how living with the serious illness impacted their daily lives.
All of these numbers point to a desperate need for proper education to teach people— especially women—about lupus and how to get tested. It’s harrowing to think that many women are affected, yet a majority are seemingly unaware they are especially vulnerable to something that could kill them if not treated. More education in health classes and representation in media is needed so we can reach every corner of the world. Women need to know what this disease is and how it is treated. Most importantly, women of color need to be at the forefront of the educational movement. In a Sept. 11 study led by investigators at the New York University School of Medicine, women of color, especially Hispanic and Asian women, were found to be more likely to have lupus far more than their white counterparts. Additionally, women of color are more likely to suffer from kidney disease or kidney failure because of lupus, according to a Sept. 14 Chicago Tribune article. Fortunately, Gomez was able to successfully get treatment and a transplant. According to the same Chicago Tribune article, the number of people having successful treatment with transplants has increased. However, there is still a huge gap in health care for women of color, according to a March 8 article from The Hill. The most vulnerable people will continue to bear this burden of a disorder with the added health care inaccessibility in secret if we do not speak out. Gomez’s viral Instagram post is a wake-up call for us, and it is about time society finally listens. bpawlingsstennett@columbiachronicle.com
Drugmakers still place profit over people
tbosnic@columbiachronicle.com
COMMENTARY
Such a scandal isn’t new for one of the largest companies in pharmaceuticals. According to the Corporate Research Project, a nonprofit that researches and analyzes companies, faulty heart valves sold by a Pfizer subsidiary in the 1980s led to more than 100 people dying from complications related to the product. As if life-threatening negligence wasn’t enough, pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer have a long history of controversial pricing—and it is a history that began long before the worst Wu-Tang Clan fan, Martin Shkreli, irked the nation by gouging the price of life-saving medication. According to an Aug. 2, 1958, New York Times article, the Federal Trade Commission accused the company of price-fixing antibiotics the same year. Pfizer is but one perpetrator in the pharmaceutical industry. The same year the FTC accused the company of fixing prices on medication, five others were cited. More recently, BristolMyers Squibb paid a $30 million settlement in 2016 for offering gifts to doctors in exchange for prescribing the company’s medications. Lobbying state and federal government is a priority of Big Pharma. Currently, it’s fighting regulations on opioids like OxyContin, fentanyl and Vicodin, which are at the opioid crisis forefront, according to a Dec. 15, 2016, article by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity. Many Americans are aware the pharmaceutical industry can be untrustworthy. A Sept. 14, 2015, Gallup report showed that out of 1,011 adults aged 18 and older, many view the industry negatively. But the abuses continue. Corporate monopolies have a grip on the country’s health and well-being, and failure to rein them in has devastating consequences—which one can see year after year and scandal after scandal. It is about time Americans question how the state of healthcare and pharmaceuticals has come to this, and this is another opportunity to put pressure on prioritizing lives over profit.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 27
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metro
Former President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance via skype at the Obama Foundation’s Sept. 14 meeting to answer the public’s questions about the impact the Obama Presidential Center will have on the South Side community. Plans for the Obama Presidential Center include a library, museum, restaurant and athletic center. Gardens throughout the space will connect the buildings.
» SAVANNAH EADENS
Martin Luther King Drive—were Michael Strautmanis, vice president of civic FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK Obama shocked engagement of the Obama Foundation; audience members when he made a sur- Louise Bernard, museum director of the prise Skype appearance for the Obama OPC; Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, lead Foundation’s public meeting Sept. 14 to architects of the OPC; and Michael Van answer the community’s questions about Valkenburgh, landscape designer for the the Obama Presidential Center’s construc- OPC. Each spoke on the center’s conceptual tion in Jackson Park. plans. Strautmanis outlined the workplace “I wanted to emphasize to all of you initiative already in place. the reason why I wanted to have the “We are going to focus on young people Presidential Center on the South Side of who need and deserve a second chance,” Chicago,” Obama said at the meeting. “It’s Strautmanis said. “We will work with the not just because that place is near and dear labor unions to increase the pipeline of talto my heart ... it’s also because the South Side ent for a diverse workforce. We are going to is representative of all the amazing talent, engage the residents who live here.” creativity and community bonds that so According to a May 11 report from the often aren’t highlighted.” Obama Foundation, OPC’s construction In attendance at the meeting—held at will create 4,945 direct, indirect and secHyatt Regency McCormick Place, 2233 S. ondary jobs, which will pump $3.1 billion METRO REPORTER
Architect Billie Tsien answered community members’ questions at the Hyatt Regency Sept. 14 amid displays of graphics and information detailing plans for the OPC.
into the neighborhood’s economy over the next decade. The analysis also estimated the center will generate 625,000 to 760,000 visitors annually. Architects Williams and Tsien explained the center will have an open design with three main buildings, including the museum and a library they would like to become a Chicago Public Library branch. The open design concept’s goal is to unify the park and neighborhood. Williams said the buildings will be connected by gardens, and Tsien added that the center will be accessible to the Jackson Park lagoon and Lake Michigan. “We’re trying to make this a porous campus, something that you can walk through, not walk around,” Tsien said. OPC’s construction will lead to several changes in Jackson Park, including the definite closure of Cornell Drive and the relocation of a public football field and running track. Carol Adams, a 48-year neighborhood resident and South Shore Works committee member, said the changes and inconveniences are necessary in order to reach their goal. “[The OPC] will bring people to our jewel who otherwise might never have gotten here,” Adams said. “This is an opportunity for us to show this beautiful community, and for it to develop in ways it should, particularly in business and commerce.” When Strautmanis opened the floor to questions, Janette Taylor, who lives in Woodlawn, asked Obama to sign a “Community Benefits Agreement” to ensure that while the South Side neighborhoods will see an economic boost from OPC, residents will not be pushed out, property taxes will not rise and that the foundation will be
transparent throughout the process. Taylor is a member of a group who stood outside the hotel all day to make sure their voices were heard. Obama opposed signing an agreement because he said the OPC is a nonprofit that will bring money to the neighborhood. “The only reason Michelle [Obama] and I build in this community is so it benefits the community,” Obama replied. “We are going to set up a process in which everyone has a seat at the table—every organization will have its input. I’m not going to guarantee that every single person in the community is going to be perfectly happy with every decision we make because, if that were the case, nothing would ever be built.” Two Hyde Park Academy High School students asked Obama what programs will be available for students at the OPC. Obama said the center will provide educational programs to teach youth how to get involved in community activities, to apply for college and financial aid, as well as business professionals to help youth learn how to start businesses. There will also be a restaurant at the center that Obama said he hopes will provide part-time work to students. “We’re also going to be setting up a studio where we could have Chance [the Rapper] come in and teach young people how to use music as a tool,” Obama said. The Obama Foundation also announced Sept. 13 that Barack and Michelle Obama will be in Chicago Oct. 31 through Nov. 1 for an inaugural summit with civic leaders from all over the world. Strautmanis asked the audience to forget everything they know about other presidential libraries in the U.S. “The purpose of the Obama Presidential Center is to create a place that inspires and entertains, that gives families a safe and enjoyable place to gather and have fun on the South Side of Chicago,” Strautmanis said. seadens@columbiachronicle.com
Barack Obama answers community questions about Presidential Center
SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 29
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» ERIC BRADACH MANAGING EDITOR
DeVos continues to squeeze students’ bank accounts dry
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30 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
using them to fix the financial dilemma her generation created. It’s already difficult for millennials to find a job post graduation, but now they can expect to have higher interest rates from former executives whose job was to maximize profit. There are already deceivers looking to squeeze every penny out of students who don’t have much experience when it comes to personal financing. After seeing the White House administration in action for eight months, it seems like its agenda is to eradicate every protection previous administrations established for American citizens, such as exiting the nation out of the Paris Climate Agreement and a possible rollback of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Student protections are next on the chopping block, and that can have extreme consequences. Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, along with attorneys general from Illinois and Washington, sued Sallie Mae’s Navient, a for-profit student loan company, for “systematically and illegally failing borrowers at every stage of repayment,” as reported Jan. 30 by The Chronicle. One of its victims was an art student who now faces an $800 monthly payment thanks to high interest rates and deceiving tactics. Expect more of these stories should nothing be done to turn this Titanic in another direction. In the proper words of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-IL, in an Aug. 30 tweet which was in response to Schmoke’s appointment, “This is like the fox guarding the hen house.”
ebradach@columbiachronicle.com
ecretary of Education Betsy DeVos has tapped former college official Julian Schmoke, Jr., to lead the department’s fraud investigation unit. Problem is: His former employer was the for-profit institution DeVry University, which settled federal claims of misleading students with $100 million in 2016. DeVos—who is the only cabinet nominee in American history to be confirmed with a tie-breaking vote from the vice president—is unfortunately continuing her string of selecting former executives with for-profit agendas. In June, she appointed Arthur Wayne Johnson, who is the founder and CEO of Reunion Student Loan Finance Corporation. Fortunately for Schmoke and Johnson, they will feel right at home in President Donald Trump’s administration because the president himself has a habit of scamming young adults looking for opportunities with education. Look no further than the Trump University class action lawsuit in which the president agreed to pay a $25 million settlement to reimburse students who claimed they were defrauded. Unfortunately for college students, this will likely lead to smaller bank accounts and contribute to the national crisis of student loan debt, which has skyrocketed from $260 billion in 2004 to $1.4 trillion in 2017. Over that same time, the average individual debt escalated from $18,650 to $38,000, according to Debt.org. DeVos has no training or experience in education, other than supporting charter schools and private-school vouchers in the name of “school choice.” However, that’s nothing but a ploy to divert already dire funding away from public schools. Now, she is sinking her teeth into college student loans and emptying the pockets of the demographic that should be priority No. 1: students. So rather than helping students exit college with minimal to no debt, DeVos wants to add to the mountain that already exceeds credit card debt. Rather than thinking long term and making sure the next generation is set to take over, DeVos is
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Amazon is in search of a second location to mirror its Seattle headquarters, captured here. If chosen, the development could bring 50,000 jobs to Chicago.
Chicago bids for Amazon’s second headquarters » SAVANNAH EADENS METRO REPORTER ONLINE SHOPPING GIANT Amazon is searching for a city to host its second headquarters, and Chicago is a contender.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s CEO, announced the search Sept. 7 and said the new site could employ more than 50,000 people. The Seattle-based company is looking for a city with more than
32 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
one million people, a stable and business-friendly environment, and the potential to attract strong technical talent, according to Amazon’s request for proposal. Chicago could be a favorable location for the second headquarters because of its various universities, central location in the U.S. and acces to a strong transportation system, said Matthew Ragas, an associate professor in the College of Communications at DePaul University. “[Amazon] wants to be in a place with an awesome cultural scene that has progressive values, and Chicago has really, really big pieces of land [for it],” Ragas said. Another one of Amazon’s requirements is a location with more than 80,000 square feet, and Ragas said Chicago has undeveloped acreage that fits the criteria. If Amazon chooses Chicago, it may locate in or around the Loop because of access to public transportation, said Michael Edwards, president and CEO of Chicago Loop Alliance, which attracts investment to the Loop.
“[Amazon] would have a significant impact on retail sales, property values, residential interest in living downtown, and [it would] certainly put more bodies in the trains that go in and around the Loop,” Edwards said. Kyle Whitehead, government relations director at the Active Transportation Alliance said Chicago’s transportation system could meet Amazon’s needs. “It speaks to the need for us to continue to invest in modernizing, upgrading and expanding the system to meet demands of the employers currently here and attract new ones like Amazon,” Whitehead said. “In recent, years we’ve seen a trend in Chicago and other cities of major employers relocating their headquarters to downtown and young professionals wanting to live car-free lifestyles and work in places where they can easily access their office.” What may hinder Chicago’s chances is Illinois’ economic instability and the city’s high rates of gun violence, Ragas said, and while Mayor Rahm Emanuel has
been successful at bringing corporate employers to Chicago, the city would likely need to offer Amazon economic incentives. Amazon bought grocery chain Whole Foods in July, and Ragas said investors got nervous afterward because other large grocery store stock prices went down. “We’ve long talked about the negative impact [Amazon has] on small mom-and-pop businesses,” Ragas said. “They’ve become so big and powerful big businesses shake in their boots and worry about being ‘Amazon-ed.’ They are arguably the most powerful force in retail today, maybe even more so than Walmart.” Edwards said a second Amazon headquarters means the company will eventually be twice as big, which has the potential to hurt small businesses. “That’s twice as much competition for mom-and-pop stores in Chicago, and every other city,” Edwards said. “That can make it difficult for [the city] to remain vital from a retail perspective.” seadens@columbiachronicle.com
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Food incubator coming to East Garfield Park » BLAISE MESA METRO REPORTER EAST GARFIELD PARK will soon become home to a $32.4 million food and beverage incubator called The Hatchery Chicago. The Hatchery, scheduled for completion next year, will be a 65,000-square-foot facility with space for 56 kitchens and room for around 75–100 food industry entrepreneurs. Located at 320 N. Damen Ave., it will also have dry-cold storage, loading docks and meeting and office spaces for local food startups, according to a Sept. 6 press release from Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The incubator is expected to create 150 jobs in its first year and 900 jobs in the next five years. “[East Garfield Park is] an underserved area and a food desert, and our intention is to help vitalize the
community there,” said Natalie Shmulik, food business consultant for The Hatchery. “Our mission is economic growth and [to create] job opportunities.” Shmulik said the facility will also provide seminars, workshops and one-on-one business consulting. Ultimately, it will be a resource center that aims to create a stronger community, she added. The incubator will be financed with $7 million in Tax Increment Financing funds and will receive from the city 12 vacant lots valued at $150,000 for one dollar each. Additional financing will include $8.5 million in New Markets Tax Credits, with various grants and donations from the Kellogg Co., ConAgra Foodservice and the Walton Family Foundation, according to the press release. Local businesses should be excited about the opportunities
A mock up depicts the $32 million food and beverage incubator that is coming to East Garfield Park next year called the Hatchery Chicago.
provided by The Hatchery because it can connect small, new companies to larger ones, said Lisa Gundry, an entrepreneurship professor at DePaul University. Business incubators can be even more helpful if they focus on specific industries like food and beverage, she added. Inca Tea is one of several businesses that has been able to work with The Hatchery, according to Ryan Florio, founder and CEO of
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the Cleveland-based company, which sells tea to Bed Bath & Beyond, Whole Foods and other stores nationwide. “My problems are very similar to a lot of other food startup companies,” Florio said. “The networking and knowledge in the food industry [is helpful because] I don’t come from a food background.” The Hatchery also has mentored Viet Nom Nom, which used to be a small grab-and-go,
pop-up Vietnamese restaurant in Evanston that catered events, according to Alan Moy, co-owner of Viet Nom Nom. After the 2015 launch, Moy and his business partner, Noah Bleicher, realized they were not experienced enough in running a restaurant and lacked the connections and resources needed to grow. However, The Hatchery helped connect them to local bread and equipment companies, providing the tools they needed to succeed, Moy said. The Hatchery was like having an internal department that is constantly working on relationships and building connections with people, Moy said. The Hatchery turned Viet Nom Nom from a grab-and-go restaurant into a promising venue that plans to quickly expand throughout Chicago and beyond. “I tend to think that we have a good game plan and that we’d succeed,” Moy said, “but without The Hatchery, I don’t think we would have nearly the depth and quality of resources.” bmesa@columbiachronicle.com
» COURTESY CITY OF CHICAGO
» JACKIE MURRAY METRO EDITOR A TUG OF war between artistic expression and vandalism still exists in Chicago’s street art community as City Hall continues to quickly act upon resident’s graffiti complaints. Chicago has seen an 18 percent reduction in resident graffiti complaints over the last year, according to Department of Streets and Sanitation Director of Public Affairs Sara McGann. DSS attributes this to a new grid model of truck routes and new blaster trucks, which allow crews to sweep five wards a day, according to an Aug. 18 mayoral press release. “The prompt removal helps mitigate the problem and deter vandalism, so if vandals don’t have their
work displayed for long periods of time, it sort of seems like it’s not worth their time,” McGann said. DSS reported it has completed more than 57,000 graffiti removal calls in 2017 and now can act upon requests within five business days, cutting response time in half from previous years. The wards that receive the most resident complaints are the 12th, 47th, 33rd, 14th and 25th, according to McGann. If residents report graffiti, they most likely found it to be obscene or unacceptable, she noted. “If it’s public property, it can be taken down,” McGann said. “Most times, [it] will be taken down. Even if it were a beautiful message or piece, it’s vandalism.” Local artist Don’t Fret said about 97 percent of his citywide
Chicago has had a strained relationship with graffiti over the years. City Council passed an ordinance in 1992 banning spray paint sales in the city, which is still in effect. “I would take the train to work in the morning and I would see graffiti on windows or along the rooftops or on buildings, especially closer to the Loop,” said Daniel Makagon, a communications professor at DePaul University and
“It’s interesting to me that some people find my work antagonizing just because its placement is illegal, even when it’s just a character walking down the street or something,” he said. “You can debate all day public vs. private space and all the nuances, but to me, the bottom line is the street is supposed to be a place to share ideas.”
graffiti expert. “That graffiti would usually be gone by the time I was on my way home if I was [there] all day long.” In other major cities like Los Angeles, graffiti has historically been tied to gangs, Makagon said. However, graffiti is
treated differently in various cities and countries, he added. “It seems like in the U.S., there’s an effort to clean up graffiti whether it’s associated with gang violence [or if] it’s just seen as a nuisance crime,” he said. Makagon said it is understandable the city would be quick to wipe away an aesthetically uninteresting tag—a stylized signature depicting the artist’s name—despite
SEE GRAFFITI, PAGE 38
The city continues to accelerate its response to graffiti complaints
artwork has been taken down by the city. Don’t Fret has been marking Chicago with his artwork for more than 10 years. He explained he has put up pieces at 2 a.m. that were later removed at 9 a.m; meanwhile, other work he’s done remained undisturbed for up to two years. However, he said it is not frustrating for the work to be taken down and called it “par for the course.”
» PATRICK CASEY/CHRONICLE
Vandalism or Art?
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City Hall cracks down on cell phone black market
CELL PHONE RETAILERS now need to take extra precaution when accepting used cell phones from walk-in customers. Businesses that resell cell phones must now cross check all their products with the city’s stolen phone database, under a new ordinance City Council passed Sept. 6. Violators can have their business licenses revoked, according to the new law. “[This] should help, especially with seniors citizens because their phones are getting stolen,” said Evelyn Washington, chairwoman for the Senior Advisory Board for the City of Chicago. “They’re terrified to mess around with new gadgets because they’re scared [the phones] are going to be taken.” The new regulation expands a 2014 ordinance that required cell
phone unlocking services to keep records on customers and the devices they unlocked. About 14,500 cell phones were stolen in Chicago in 2016. Cell phones on the black market rarely lose value, and the Chicago Police Department estimates that they can be sold for $100 or more depending on the brand, according to a Sept. 6 press release from the Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Over Labor Day weekend, the city launched operation “Cell U 1,” a joint operation between the CPD and the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which recovered $5,000 worth of stolen phones from the XL Wireless on Cicero Ave. After attempting to sell stolen phones, the business was shut down and the owner charged with a felony. All resellers or trade-inphone companies will be required to comply with the amended
» INFO COURTESY CITY OF CHICAGO
ordinance, including major phone providers such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile. “If we get a phone for trade-in, we have to put in the model number,” said Jennifer S., team leader for Target Tech Department, 1154 S. Clark St., who asked her name to be withheld. “If the model number is reported stolen in our system, it’s not going to show it’s stolen. [The system] just won’t accept it.” While new laws are a good step forward, Jennifer said phone theft will be halted by technological advances in the phones themselves. “Phones should automatically lock,”Jennifer said. “The
.
finger print [scanner] that Samsung and Apple have is going to stop [more] people from stealing phones.”
New regulations have some victims of phone theft optimistic the crime rate will decrease. Elise Bloedow, a sophomore theatre major, said her phone was stolen out of her back pocket on a Red Line train in fall 2016. When she was exiting the train at the Harrison station, she realized her phone was missing. Had the stricter regulations been in place last year, she said her phone might not have been taken. It had been smashed in a car door a week before. “It was a messed up phone in the first place,” Bloedow said, “with everything they would have had to go through to get [the phone] unlocked, I don’t think they would have found it worth it.”
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the political significance of an artist announcing their existence, which is usually ignored. However, he added that the art’s location can determine how long it stays. “Some of the neighborhoods where there [are] more forms of public street art—like Wicker Park and Pilsen—are neighborhoods that in general are probably open to various modes of public communication,” Makagon said. “If something appears and they think it looks interesting, maybe they’re okay with leaving it; whereas in another neighborhood, they wouldn’t.” Outside of the city’s downtown area, public art is few and far between and graffiti can help fill in those gaps, Makagon said. “[It] is a way to provide an alternative aesthetic form in the city that adds to a city’s vibrancy and excitement,” he said. “Even if there’s disagreement [about the art], it’s good to have it versus to not have it.”
An on-duty construction worker searched for the proper tool to continue progress on Monroe Street by the LaSalle Street intersection on Sept. 15.
38 THE CHRONICLE SEPTEMBER 18, 2017
» KEVIN TIONGSON/CHRONICLE
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2017 THE CHRONICLE 39