Vol. lXXI ... No. 18 rooseVelttorch.commoNday, February 2, 2015

The Roosevelt TorchoFFIcIal studeNt Newspaper oF rooseVelt uNIVersIty • chIcago • schaumburg

BY DALY TONGRENSTAFF REPORTER

The Gage Gallery held the grand opening of its newest exhibition entitled “Crime Then and Now: Through the Lens of the Chicago Tri-bune” on Jan. 22.

Michael Zajakowski, a photo editor for the Chicago Tribune, and Tyra Robert-son, the former Roosevelt University director of in-structional technology, cu-rated the show.

The opening began with a reception at 5 p.m. that ran until just before 6 p.m when Zajakowski began his talk to a crowded room.

He told the audience of the “gold mine” that sits below the Chicago Tribune build-ing: a basement full of photo archives of city events over the past several decades.

Zajakowski said that around the same time Tri-bune workers began to dissect old crime photos, the paper also expanded its overnight crime beat, putting more journalists and photojournalists on the streets to document rising rates of city crime.

“Seeing the vintage crime photos and the new crime photos feed into our photo archive almost simulta-neously was an odd juxta-position that I felt invited further explanation,” Zaja-kowski said. “There’s such a stark difference between these two sets of pictures, and yet they are covering the same subject.”

The exhibit explores the evolution, motive and access of photojournalism in crime throughout Chicago.

This exhibit is the second installment in the Gage Gallery’s “Above the Fold” series, which celebrates de-cades of Chicago photojour-nalism.

Robertson discussed how the exhibit came together, and why it was important for the Gage Gallery to focus on photojournalism.

“The idea for the ‘Above the Fold’ series kind of solid-ified for me when the Chi-cago Sun-Times fired their full-time staff,” Robertson said. “I felt it was important for the gallery to take time

Gage Gallery exhibit explores city crime in Chicago

PHOTO BY BREANNA WALSH Michael Zajakowski, the Chicago Tribune’s photo editor, speaks at the Gage Gallery in Chicago on Jan. 22, 2015.

Wrigley Field to open season without bleachersPAGE 8

It’s time to give the middle class a breakPAGE 5

Wabash garden encourages sustainabilityPAGE 3

and focus on photojournal-ism and the role it has in our society.”

Director of the Gage Gal-lery Mike Ensdorf attended the show’s opening and talk-ed about the “emotionally jarring” effect of the exhibit..

“One of the things that I love about this show is that there’s a strange and sort of disjointed experience that you have looking at these archival photographs that are very gruesome, with the contemporary photographs, which tend to be less grue-some but much more emo-tionally jarring,” Ensdorf said.

The exhibit is laid out across the gallery walls in two main sections. On

one side of the room, crime photos from as early as the 1920s can be seen, featur-ing a variety of shots rang-ing from courtroom images to morgues to prison cells.

The black and white im-ages, some of which feature criminals such as Al Ca-pone and John Dillinger, are contrasted on the other side of the room.

The Chicago Tribune’s overnight crime beat pho-tojournalists have taken startling images of crime scenes, memorials and grieving family members who experience firsthand the crime that exists in this city. Their images, recent and relatable, sit in opposi-tion against the old timey

archival photographs. Zajakowski further ex-

plained the many rounds of editing it took to create the show and credited a few of the many hands involved in the completion of this proj-ect.

He also spoke about gun violence in Chicago, recall-ing some of the more high profile tragedies that have occurred throughout the city over the past few years and noted journalists’ dedi-cation to this continued ca-lamity.

“Covering these stories is some of the most important work that we do,” Zajakow-ski said.

The exhibit will run through April 11.

BY RACHEL POPASTAFF REPORTER

The Student Involve-ment Fair had a small-er student turnout than last semester, as student organizations still ac-tively recruited the Roo-sevelt University com-munity on Jan. 22 in the Congress Lounge.

Despite once being primarily a commut-er-based university, RU now has over 45 student organizations to choose from, according to the university’s website. There was a lot of vari-ety when it came to the kinds of organizations and services represent-ed, ranging from Eco-nomics Club to Wabash Community Council and the Counseling Center.

The CC provided in-formation on access to mental health services to students for free.

“Finals are a big time for us,” Kat Kusner said, a graduate student who works in the CC.

They run an event called ‘De-Stress Fest’ right before finals to help curb the stress that stu-dents sometimes feel. Last semester, the CC brought in therapy dogs for students to play with during finals week, and they plan on doing so again this semester.

“We cater to students based on stress levels,” Brett Sonday, another graduate student who works in the CC said.

The organization’s most popular pro-grams are the group therapy and mindful-ness sessions. The CC also promoted national awareness weeks like anti-smoking and an-ti-bullying week in order to promote better mental health to the students of Roosevelt. The CC exists for the benefit of the stu-dents, and that is some-thing the organization wanted students to bet-ter understand.

“Students sometimes think that if they see a counselor, it means that something is wrong,” Kusner explained.

“It’s OK to seek coun-seling if you need it,” Sonday added.

Part of the cost of at-tending Roosevelt goes toward organizations like the CC, so it bene-fits students to take ad-vantage of the resources available to them.

Another student orga-nization that took part in the fair was Cru. Cru is an international student organization that unites Christians together across multiple campus-es and countries.

“Cru is a caring com-munity that’s passionate about connecting people to Jesus Christ,” Allie Kutrubis, a staff mem-ber with Cru explained.

The organization ad-vocated creating a sense of unity on campus since some students can feel alienated when having so many new peers. The organization also en-couraged acceptance of all kinds of different peo-ple.

“Whether you’re a Christian or not and like to talk about spiri-tual things, you’re more than welcome to come to the meetings,” Kutrubis said.

...cont. page 2

Student Involvement Fair highlights student organizations

PHOTO BY BREANNA WALSH Left to right: Guadalupe Sandoval from Roosevelt University and Crystal Ro-driguez from Columbia University representing Gamma Phi Omega Inter-national Sorority, Inc. at the Student Involvement Fair.

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2 | The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015

News

BY DALY TONGRENSTAFF REPORTER

The office of Residence Life, which operates out of Roosevelt University’s Wa-bash Building, has hired Brooke Bernard to become the new director of the on campus housing program.

Bernard hails from a long list of previous educational institutions, having worked in the residence life field for the past 10 years. Most recently, she worked at the University of Iowa as the as-sistant director of Residence Education.

Bernard became a part of Roosevelt’s Residence Life program when she was hired in November 2014. She began work this past January that included facili-tating updated training ses-sions for resident assistants in the Wabash Building.

“The spring training we received was very informa-tional and thorough for the time that we were given. I’m excited for this semester and the future with having Brooke [Bernard] as our di-rector,” Shelby McMasters said, an RA in the Wabash Building.

Bernard served as an RA during her undergraduate years at the University of Il-linois Urbana-Champaign.

“It was a life changing experience. I loved being an RA and being a part of my staff team,” Bernard said.

From U. of I., Bernard went to New York Univer-sity and worked toward her master’s degree while serving as an assistant hall

director. She took a position as a residence hall director at Stony Brook University, where she worked for two years. Her next stop was Pace University, also in New York, where she collaborat-ed with the dean of students to create a Faculty-in-Res-idence program, which fo-cused on creating continued student-faculty interaction on campus.

Bernard moved from New York to Iowa in 2012, and her work there was largely comprised of advancing liv-ing-learning communities on campus--something that is a fairly new element of RU’s residence halls.

“LLCs enhance the stu-dent college experience, and I look forward to working closely with staff at Roos-evelt [University] to further develop the Roosevelt com-munities,” Bernard said.

Bernard has had the op-portunity to work on both traditional style college cam-puses, as well as more urban campuses, like at Roosevelt.

“So, in many ways, join-ing the community at Roo-sevelt University feels like coming home,” she said.

Bernard stated that she is excited to begin working closely with the Residence Life staff, including grad-uate hall coordinators and RA’s, to make these visions happen.

“Our goal is to grow the Residence Life program in ways that better support our student population and to work toward the goals artic-ulated in the university stra-tegic plan,” Bernard said.

Bernard hopes to accom-plish these goals by drawing on her previous professional experience, as well as her appreciation for the univer-sity’s social justice mis-sion, which is one that she holds in high regard.

“I believe in the impor-tance of creating an inclu-sive, socially just and val-idating environment that models mutual respect while encouraging critical thinking, self-reflection and personal account-ability. Throughout my career, I have developed a deep appreciation for cul-ture and diversity,” Ber-nard said. “I am commit-ted to the development of purposeful partnerships dedicated to providing students the best resourc-es, advocacy and support

to ensure their academic success, personal growth, leadership development, sat-isfaction and persistence.”

Residence Life hires new director committed to social justice mission

COURTESY OF LINKEDIN/BROOKE BERNARD

PLEASE SEND MAIL TO The Roosevelt Torch, 18 S. Michigan Ave., Room 515 or rutorchnews@gmail.com. • Letters to the editor may be shortened to fit available space.

312.281.3242

@RUTorch/roosevelttorchnews

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Shawn Gakhal

MANAGING EDITORCourtney Clark

LAYOUT EDITOR Emma Iglesias

PHOTO EDITORBreanna Walsh

COPY EDITORMegan Schuller

WEB EDITORAustin Slott

GRAPHIC CONTRIBUTORPook Piyatida

STAFF REPORTERSKatherine GageLauren GrimaldiJoshua M. HicksRachel PopaDaly Tongren

BUSINESS MANAGERTom CiceroASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER Efe IyareTORCH CONSULTANTEric HahnFACULTY ADVISORBilly Montgomery

PUBLICATION POLICYViews expressed are those of the authors and are not an expression of Roosevelt University policy. The Roosevelt Torch prides itself in its dedication to addressing news that affects the Roosevelt community while uncovering stories that both enlighten and entertain. All advertising is subject to acceptance.The business department can be reached at torchbu@roosevelt.edu

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ATM stolen from Saler-no’s pizza

An ATM was stolen from Salerno’s pizza on the near West Side late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning accord-ing to reports from DNAin-fo.com. The burglary at the 1201 W. Grand Ave. location comes just after a nearby restaurant, Sushi Dokku at 823 W. Ran-dolph St., was burglarized earlier in the month.

According to Salerno’s co-owner Peter Lia, the offenders entered through the window and that employees found broken locks.

According to Chicago police officer Jose Estra-da, an unknown amount of cash was stolen from the restaurant.

Authorities do not have suspects for either crimes at this time.

Man uses stun gun during CTA robbery

A woman who was changing lines at the Roosevelt CTA station was robbed by a man at 2:38 p.m. with a stun gun on Friday, Jan. 23, ac-cording to DNAinfo.com. Authorities say the man pulled out the stun gun on the woman and took her cellphone.

Police have said the suspect is a black male, between the ages of 20-30, and standing at 5-foot-7 to 6 feet tall.

Robbery warnings issued for Lincoln Park, Lakeview

Police have issued warnings to the neigh-borhoods of Lincoln Park and Lakeview after a string of home robberies took place. According to DNAinfo.com, the suspects are said to enter through the back doors to the home.

In mid-January, it is be-lieved by authorities that three people entered a home located at the 1000 block of West Altgeld Street at around 2:50 p.m.

The first suspect was described as being 5-foot-

7 to 5-foot-10, weighing 170-210 pounds, and seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a ¾ length jacket, with gray Adidas gym shoes that have a leather stripe. An additional suspect was a similar height, weighing in at 190-220 pounds and said to be wearing a base-ball hat with white cursive on the front. The second robbery occurred Jan. 22, at 3:45 p.m. at the 3000 block of N. Greenview Ave., police said.

String of robberies against women leads to police warning in the South Loop

The Chicago Police Department has issued a warning to the South Loop after multiple women were attacked while walking in the area, according to DNAinfo.com. In each incident, a man approached the victim from behind and pushed or punched her to the ground, then proceed-ed to take her purse or cellphone, police said.

The most recent crime within this string took place on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at around 8:12 p.m. at the 1600 block of South Prairie Avenue. The others incidents are said to have occurred at the 1900 block of South Indiana Avenue, the 1500 block of South Indiana Avenue and the 1500 block of South Wabash Avenue.

CRIME BLOTTERThe Roosevelt Torch crime blotter serves to in-form students about recent crime activity in and around the Chicago area, with a specific focus on those that could closely affect college students.

— Lauren Grimaldi, Staff Reporter

Some activities that Cru has already planned this year included boat cruis-es, retreats and attending a conference called Indy CC. The conference united Christians all throughout the Great Lakes area. Students went into the in-ner-city Indianapolis area and handed out care pack-ages to those in need.

Also represented at the fair was SPEED, one of the most prominent stu-

dent organizations on campus. They planned most of the large campus events such as homecom-ing and the talent show-case. There are many different ways to get in-volved with SPEED.

“Students can join SPEED Addicts and help us out at events,” Nicole Iwinski, a sophomore member of SPEED ex-plained.

Some events SPEED

has organized so far have been trips to Six Flags, whirlyball outings, a Blue Man Group performance and much more. Often, there are prizes at SPEED events, so the group rec-ommends that students keep an eye out for tickets to events in the Center for Student Involvement of-fice.

The SIF was an oppor-tunity to showcase the many organizations and

resources available for students to become in-volved with on campus. Having a wide variety of student organizations at Roosevelt certainly helps create many opportunities for students.

For more information on Cru, the organization conducts meetings every Wednesday at 5 p.m. in the Auditorium Building, room 516.

‘Student Involvement Fair highlights student organizations’ cont. from page 1

Classifieds

BY MEGAN SCHULLERCOPY EDITOR

Tango Buenos Ai-res, the esteemed Ar-gentinean dance com-pany, performed its show the “Song of Eva Perón” at the Auditori-um Theatre on Jan. 25.

Bringing a full house into the theater, the story of one of Argentina’s most influential women was brought to life onstage in an innovative way. Rath-er than being portrayed in words, the narrative was told mostly through music and tango stylis-tic dance choreography.

Featuring only a 10 member dance ensem-ble, six musicians, and one vocalist, the “Song of Eva Perón” was quite unique and unforgetta-ble. The show was a one-night performance on its tour across the Unit-ed States and Canada.

Directed by Rosario Bauzá and Fernando Marzán, the cast creat-ed an artistic portray-al of a significant life that ended all too soon.

The opening scene be-gins with Perón center stage singing one of the only two songs sang in the entire production titled, “I’ll Take Care of You Until the End.”

The song is used as an instrumental reprise throughout the show, but the powerful moment is the impact of the fore-shadowing within the song. Alluding to the work she later does as an advocate for women’s suffrage and improv-ing the lives of the poor while first lady, it sends an important message.

“Do not be afraid. I have to go for now/Stand for your rights and what you deserve may come/ I’ll take care of you un-til the end/I shall fight for what is fair/If you’ve been pushed down or hurt whomever/Think of me, I’m always there/ I’ll take care of you until the end,” vocalist Lucia Alonso sings in the opening scene.

The production then transitions, taking the audience back in time through Perón’s life starting from the 1930s when she left her small hometown of Los Toldos to move to the bustling city of Buenos Aires to become an actress.

As the performance continued, the dancers ac-tively portrayed the pivot-al moments in Perón’s life that shaped her into the powerful figure she be-came during her lifetime.

Each scene was set by

a different style of tango dances. Partners glided together across the audi-torium stage effortlessly, stylistically and com-pletely in sync. While the dancers each had their particular moments to shine, it was refresh-ing to see the orches-tra share the limelight.

In between some in-tense tango scenes, the orchestra had its own musical solos. Following one of those solos, Perón meets and dances with Juan Perón in the sec-ond half of the show, and the climax nicely weaves the rest of her story in.

The tango dances

were often fast-paced, leaving the audience to feel like they became a part of the story. Tango Buenos Aires told Eva Perón’s story beautiful-ly with so few words, by letting the expressive storyline come through via the tango dances and orchestrated music.

It managed to capture not only the essence of her life story, but it illustrated the art form of tango and its cultural history in Ar-gentina. There have been many forms of recounting Perón’s life in films and musicals, but this pro-duction was incredibly creative and invigorating.

BY LAUREN GRIMALDISTAFF REPORTER

Roosevelt University is known to faculty and students alike as very green and environmen-tally friendly campus. The sustainability pro-gram at the school is orientated around mak-ing students more con-scious of how to treat the world around them so it’s left in great condition for future generations.

One of the biggest projects the sustainabil-ity program has taken on to further its mission is the Wabash garden.

“The garden was orig-inally green rooftop cov-er space, implemented as a part of the Wabash Building design when it was put up in 2012 in or-der to help with energy efficiency and Leader-ship in Energy and Envi-ronmental Design cred-its,” sustainability major Rebecca Quesnell said. “But then it was thought,

‘Why not have a func-tioning garden, too?’ and so the garden was born.”

Quesnell went on to explain a little about the garden’s beginning, as well.

“The Wabash rooftop garden is entering its third year for springtime planting. It was started back in 2013 and con-tinues to grow stronger every year, in terms of both production and in-volvement from the RU [Roosevelt University] community,” she said.

Still, the garden is always looking for more volunteers that are willing to help out.

“I feel that RU stu-dents should be involved in some component of the garden, because it is not any one person’s garden. It is communal, and it is here for every-one to utilize, which can be done in many ways,” Quesnell said.

What many may not realize is that there are

many different ways to get involved in the garden other than the act of planting.

“We are in current need of help for some of our current planning groups, such as but not limited to creating signage and gathering supplies,” Quesnell ex-plained. “Those who just want to help plant are welcome, too.”

This openness for contributions is some-thing new for the gar-den, and it’s believed that this will help it continue to flourish. Quesnell said that this is the first year the garden will be open to the RU community in its totality and en-courages that students and others get in-volved if they so please.

The idea of having a garden in an urban set-ting such as RU may seem a little peculiar to some, it turns out that thought just plays right

into the intention of the garden in the first place.

“The overall goal is to have the garden be a symbol of urban sus-tainability. Involvement from as much of the RU community, as is possi-

ble, is a long-term goal, while repurposing mate-rials to incorporate into the design of the gar-den in following years is also an ongoing dis-cussion,” Quesnell said.

Those interested in

helping out with the garden are asked to con-tact Rebecca Quesnell at rquesnell@roosevelt.edu for more information.

The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015 | 3

FeaturesEco-friendly Wabash garden encourages sustainability, volunteer opportunities abound

‘Song of Eva Perón’ shakes up Auditorium Theatre

COURTESY OF CAROL FOX AND ASSOCIATES ‘Song of Eva Perón’ performed by the Tango Buenos Aires dance company at the Auditorium Theatre.

COURTESY OF WORDPRESS/ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY SUSTAINABILITY The Wabash garden was established in 2012 as a part of the Wabash Building design.

PHOTO BY MEGAN SCHULLERLeft to right: Musical director Fernando Marzan and dancers Matia Vidoni, Hector Faclon and Hector Eduar-do Fernandez signing CDs after the show.

4 | The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015

pop culture radarBY RACHEL POPA | STAFF REPORTER

‘ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE’The New York Times best-seller by Anthony Doerr follows the story of the convergence of two com-pletely different lives during the time of World War II. The paths of Marie-Laurie, a blind Parisian, and Werner, a member of the Hitler Youth, intertwine in the most seemingly impossible ways. Marie-Lau-rie’s family possesses a mysterious and valuable jewel, while Werner tries to escape his past when the weight of the human loss caused by the work he has done begins to weigh on his shoulders. This book isn’t just another World War II novel, as it focuses more on the lives and hardships of the main characters. “All the Light We Cannot See” was on The New York Times’ list of the top 10 best books of 2014 and was a finalist for the National Book Award.

‘BIG LITTLE LIES’The stories of three suburban mothers come together in this outrageous, soap-opera like tale by Liane Moriarty. The book follows and ex-pands upon many domestic issues such as dealing with ex-husbands, white lies, children and other parents.

Movies & TV

‘STILL ALICE’A Harvard psychology and linguistics professor is diagnosed with Alzhei-mer’s disease in this New York Times best-seller by Lisa Genova. At only 50 years old, she finds herself increas-ingly disoriented, and she finds the life she worked so hard to build for herself unraveling apart. This book provides a rare and unique look into the life of someone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. This book was also recently turned into a movie starring Julianne Moore.

BOOKS

‘GALAVANT’This quirky musical comedy follows the valiant knight called Galavant, as he tries to win back the heart of the stolen love of his life, Madalena. He is also on a quest to find his “happily ever after,” which was stolen from him by the evil King Richard. He is aided in his quest by Princess Isabella and his squire, Sid. The series premiered on ABC on Jan. 4.

‘MORTDECAI’Johnny Depp once again plays an offbeat, quirky character in “Mordecai,” a movie about a stolen painting and a debonair art dealer’s quest to track it down. But that’s not all: the painting is rumored to contain a code that leads to hidden Nazi gold. The movie was released on Jan. 23.

‘UNBROKEN’This true story about the seem-ingly incomprehensible trials that an Olympian-turned-World War II soldier faced was recently turned into a major motion picture. This best-selling novel by Lauren Hillenbrand tells the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who becomes an airman during World War II. His plane is shot down, and he miraculously survives, left stranded in the Pacific Ocean. Zamperini must then rely on his own will to live in order to get him through countless ordeals. “Un-broken” was Time magazine’s top nonfiction book of the year.

‘AGENT CARTER’Think of Peggy Carter as the female James Bond. In the brand new Marvel ABC series, Agent Peggy Car-ter must balance being a single woman in the 1940s, while at the same time moonlighting as a secret agent for a man named Howard Stark. However, she is not in it alone, as she is accompanied by Stark’s butler, Edwin Jarvis. The series premiered on Jan. 6.

Brittany Ota,admission counselor “My favorite part of my outfit is this jacket, be-cause I got it for Christ-mas. No matter what, I’m wearing it’s my pop of color.”

Kathleen Mordecai, catering director “My favorite part of my outfit are my tights, and I like them because they make my legs look skinny.”

Freeda Brook, head of user services in the library “My favorite part of my outfit is my blazer that I’m wearing. It’s a Pendleton blazer that I found in a Goodwill or second hand shop somewhere, and it was just a good find.”

BY BREANNA WALSH | PHOTO EDITOR

Internet‘TAYLOR SWIFT’STWITTER AND INSTAGRAM WERE HACKED’ Taylor Swift is the newest in a string of celebrities to have one of her social media accounts hacked. The down-to-earth song-stress took the whole situation like a true champ, later tweeting “Cause the hackers gonna hack, hack, hack, hack, hack.” While in control of Swift’s account, the hackers demanded the payment

of three bitcoins, or $788, in exchange for nude photos of the star. However, Swift quickly denied the existence of such pho-tos in a later tweet.

‘PROJECT ALMANAC’Shot in the found-footage style of movies, “Project Almanac” is about a group of friends who find blueprints to a time machine. They end up building it and go back in time to fix all of their past mistakes. However, they soon realize that changing the past comes with severe consequences. The movie was released on Jan. 30.

‘WOMEN’S IDEAL BODY TYPES THROUGHOUT HISTORY’This artistic, yet eye-opening video highlights and brings attention to standards of beauty throughout time. The timeline that the video outlines begins all the way back in ancient Egypt and extends to over 2000 years later to today’s standard of beauty. The ideal standard of beauty ranges from slender to curvy and everything in between. Most

of the world’s cultures are rep-resented in the timeline, making for a fasci-

nating peek into both history and culture.

‘23 HARRY POTTER QUOTES AS DATING ADVICE’Have you ever wondered what professor Snape would say if you asked him for dating advice? Well, now you don’t have to thanks to Buzzfeed. None of the quotes have been changed, but rather reimagined as if the characters saying them were marriage counselors. Some highlights are: “The trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are

worst for them,” said by Albus Dumbledore. Also, “There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them,” which is said by the narrator in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” All the quotes are accompanied by hilarious GIFs as well, making this a must for any “Harry Potter” fan.

‘ALL FEMALE ‘GHOSTBUSTERS’ CAST SPARKS CONTROVERSY’It was recently confirmed that the classic film “Ghostbusters” is getting a feminine

reboot. The film will be remade with an all-female cast rumored to be comprised of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. Some critics have shunned the idea of the film saying that it’s, “Hollywood gender pandering.” But with the hilariously and star-studded cast that it’s rumored to have, it’s bound to be a hit either way. Paul Feig, the director of the hysterical movie “Bridesmaids,” is going to be directing the “Ghost-

busters” reboot, which is slated to begin filming this coming summer.

FASHION FOCUS

The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015 | 5

edItorIal & opINIoN

BY RACHEL POPASTAFF REPORTER

In light of the recent Charlie Hebdo attacks, a lot of blame has been put on those who practice Is-lam. The two men respon-sible for the attacks were Islamic extremists, so that has caused many to cast a wary eye toward those who practice Islam. Said and Cherif Kouachi were aspiring jihadis who mur-dered 12 people involved with the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine on Jan. 7. In times of great panic and disbelief, it is all too easy to start pointing fingers.

The same phenomenon occurred after the events of 9/11. People seem to as-sume that since radical members of a certain reli-gion exist that means that all who practice a specific religion are extremists as

well. I think such beliefs stem from underlying ig-norance about the religion under scrutiny.

I don’t think many peo-ple really understand what Islam is about, or they only have a basic understand-ing about the religion. To many people, it’s easier to be ignorant and rely on ste-reotypes and horrific news stories rather than to actu-ally research to better un-derstand a religion. I don’t think it’s fair to automati-cally assume that everyone who practices Islam is a terrorist; extremists exist in all religions.

The Ku Klux Klan is an ugly example of a Chris-tian extremist group. The KKK were famous for lynching, or brutally kill-ing, black people during the 1960s, although the violent group dates back to the late 1800s as well.

They were also known for discriminating against other religions such as Catholicism and Judaism, although they seemed to discriminate against ev-eryone who, in general, wasn’t a white, Anglo-Sax-on Protestant, or WASP. The KKK is considered by many to be a domestic terrorist group, according to a report done by Politico.com.

Americans often seem to think of terrorists as people who are foreign to our country, but the truth is that people who want to do us harm can be living closer to us than we think.

In general, it’s just not right to generalize about an entire group of people just because of the actions of a few radicals. That’s not fair to those who aren’t radical. In my opinion, as humans, we are more alike

than we are different. After all, did you know

that many of the world’s religions share similar be-liefs? Twenty-one religions share a variation of the Golden Rule, according to Religioustolerance.org. The Golden Rule, in a nut-shell, is to treat others how you would like to be treat-ed. That poses an interest-ing question: how would you feel if someone judged you based on the actions of someone else? Could you do the same to others?

We are taught from a very young age that ev-ery person on Earth is a unique individual. There is nobody on the planet who is exactly identical to an-other. As a result, I think we should think of every-one as if they are their own person, rather than judg-ing them based on their religion.

BY LAUREN GRIMALDI STAFF REPORTER

Recently, President Barack Obama made a proposal that would raise taxes on the wealthy and thus lessen the burden on members of the middle class.

The proposal itself isn’t a groundbreaking idea, it’s been tossed around for years, and it’s actual passing by Con-gress will be a struggle. Nevertheless, this plan is more than necessary and could ease some of the financial troubles America has been facing in the past few years.

Let’s face it, if tax-es were decreased on the middle class more opportunities for them would open up. Fewer families would end up in poverty or in need of government aid, and that would save the govern-ment money to focus on different areas of need.

Wealthier people can simply just afford to pay more. Higher taxes on them will not force them into poverty. They’ll still be able to pay for their food, home and children’s college.

It’s fair to say that no one wants to pay higher taxes regardless of their income. That’s very un-derstandable. But taxes aren’t going away. So why can’t we make it fair?

The income gap is as high as ever in this coun-try, and this is just one of

the ways that we can try to fix it. In Illinois, in or-der to be in the top 1 per-cent of income you must make $424,000 per year.

According to Vox.com, the ratio of income to the top 1 percent to the bot-tom 99 percent in Illinois is 29.7 percent. Those within the top 1 percent can afford to pay a higher tax rate than they cur-rently do now. Obviously

they don’t want to, but without this change the income gap will only be-come stronger and even more destructive to the country and its future.

A stronger middle class will make for a better America.

Having more money will open more oppor-tunities for middle class families. The top 1 percent is already

strong. They won’t be weakened to a noticeable point with higher taxes. They’ll be just fine.

American economist Larry Summers believes that raising taxes on the wealthy would reduce income inequality.

“Today’s tax code al-lows a far larger share of the income of the rich to escape taxation than the poor or middle class,”

Summers said in an op-ed for the Washington Post. “Closing loopholes that only the wealthy can en-joy would enable targeted tax measures such as the earned-income tax cred-it to raise the incomes of the poor and middle class more than dollar for dollar by incentivizing working and saving.”

In a study done by the Institute on Taxation and

Economic Policy it showed that when taking into account state and sales taxes, it’s often the middle class that ends up pay-ing more in taxes than those who are wealthy.

Still, no one is going to volunteer to pay more taxes. But it’s time we reform the system to stop hurting those that are already in pain and finally give them a break.

GRAPHIC BY POOK PIYATIDA

It’s time to give the middle class a break

GRAPHIC BY POOK PIYATIDA

Religious extremists come in many different variations

6 | The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015

BY JOSHUA M. HICKSSTAFF REPORTER

NBA players recently paid tribute to the memory of Eric Garner this past De-cember by donning “I can’t breathe” T-shirts during pregame warm-ups.

Derrick Rose was one of the first and most prom-inent players to wear the T-shirt, as other superstars like Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kobe Bryant soon followed suit to high-light the injustice.

The shirts refer to Eric Garner, an African-Amer-ican man who was choked to death by police in Staten Island in an arrest attempt by a police officer July 17. The quote refers to Gar-ner stating that he couldn’t breathe, as he was put in a choke hold by the officer. He died from suffocation.

The incident occurred before the Mike Brown in-cident happened in Fergu-son, MO on Aug. 9. Both police officers were non-in-dicted by juries.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has shown in-terest and some support in the NBA players’ protests but has asked them to fol-low the league’s guidelines and go back to wearing the team’s original outfits during warm-ups.

Although, Silver has every right to suspend players and fine them for wearing non-NBA gear in

pregame warm-ups, I’m glad he didn’t.

Silver should have al-lowed the NBA players to express their interest in showing different ways to protest. This police brutali-ty has been a consistent is-sue in America, especially in the African-American community. For athletes to be able to wear those shirts, it shows their sup-port to the Garner family and a way for them to take part in fighting for justice through non-violence. Sil-ver is unknowingly taking away the right for NBA players in the league to ex-press their feelings toward the men that were slaugh-tered by police.

As a former college bas-ketball athlete, I under-stand the different rules and regulations for a team being in uniform, espe-cially during warm-ups. Teams are required to have on team apparel in all phases of the game. This shows unity and profes-sionalism.

But in this case, isn’t the “I can’t breathe” T-shirt the same thing? Teams have worn this shirt together in unity to support Garner’s family in the suffering of that terri-ble tragedy that never re-ceived justice.

If an entire team wears the T-shirts, it technically isn’t breaking the rules as far as NBA regulations. Al-

though it may not have the team’s name on the shirts, they are still representing an opinion of the incident in a peaceful way.

Who cares if it doesn’t have an NBA logo on it? It has meaning to it. It rep-resents the saying, “Black lives matter.”

Silver may have support-ed the protest, but I don’t understand why he didn’t let it last longer. Protesting for a game isn’t going to cut it if we want to show signs of change in our society. Many players in the NBA have proven that they sup-port the family and victim

of the horrific tragedy in Staten Island. They al-ready can’t go out and pro-test, so why not let them peacefully protest within the boundaries of the game when appropriate for an extended period of time?

The NBA players want to be a part of change in

their communities and pro-testing is one of the ways to do that.

Commissioner Silver, please don’t take away the chance of peace by shun-ning their voices because of what others might think.

COURTESY OF HECTOR AMEZCUA/SACRAMENTO BEE/TNSThe Sacramento Kings’ Ben McLemore wears a T-shirt during warmups that reads “I can’t breathe” in support of Eric Garner on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014.

Why NBA players’ support for Eric Garner matters

edItorIal & opINIoN

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ROCKET_Roosevelt_University_11x7.indd 1 10/1/14 8:33 AM

BY KATHERINE GAGESTAFF REPOTER

Elizabeth Elie, an in-tegrated marketing com-munications graduate student, is set to grad-uate in May 2015, but when she isn’t in class, Elie can be found record-ing her own music under the name of Lizzie G.

Lizzie G wrote a rap song titled “RU DRAFT” to bring about awareness on the subject, after it was announced that the NFL Draft would pro-vide a scheduling con-flict with the spring 2015 commencement ceremo-ny, and that the Audito-rium Theatre would not be the venue. Since then, the matter has been re-solved, but Elie’s mes-sage didn’t go unnoticed.

Along with ‘RU DRAFT,’ Lizzy G has also released two albums and is currently working on recording her third. She will be releasing sev-eral video productions, which can be viewed at Lizziegmusic.com.

Lizzie G’s work has been featured on 107.5-WGCI, WPWX Power 92, CBS2, NBC5, ABC7, WGN9, Goddess Girl magazine, The Villager and Northern Star On-line, among others.

The Roosevelt Torch sat down with the up-and-coming artist, as she talked about her excite-ment that the NFL Draft will be hosted by Roos-evelt, and about the leg-

acy of the Auditorium Theatre conducting her graduation ceremony.

Roosevelt Torch: How long did it take you to create the song?

Lizzie G: “It took me a couple hours to write the song. I knew exact-ly what I wanted to talk about in the song, and I had a beat already. I just needed to articu-late my words and feel-ings in a succinct [and] energetic manner.”

RT: What do you think makes Roosevelt the perfect place for the draft?

LG: By Roosevelt University being in the Loop of Chicago near Michigan Avenue and Grant Park, the draft will provide the ulti-mate experience for vis-itors, fans and incom-ing players. It shows that our institution is premiere in our city.

RT: Are you a sports fan?

LG: Yes, I am defi-nitely a sports fan. I represent for all Chica-go teams through victo-ries or losses. I watch a lot of basketball on TV--out of all sports--but I attend baseball games at least twice a summer.

RT: What are your mu-sical plans for the future?

LG: My musical career plans for the future is to be the spokeswoman of positive entertainment and social justice for youth in Chicago. I posi-tion myself as an educat-

ed female rapper, because my message through my music is a powerful one--encouraging young people to express their talent, while gaining an education. You can do both. My plan is to be introduced and signed to an agency that will help further my message and talent.

RT: What impact does the song have on you as well as the Roosevelt community?

LG: I feel honored to be a part of this well-known institution and community in Chicago. I also look forward to networking and building relationships with peo-ple who will be in town

that weekend coming from all over. As a grad-uate student, I want to welcome visitors in with open arms by sharing with them my message and experience of being a student here at RU [Roo-sevelt University]. Stu-dents may feel some type of way that graduation got moved, but we must

look at the positive angle of this whole weekend, and how Roosevelt Uni-versity will be a part of history in the future.

Students can listen to “RU DRAFT” at Sound-cloud.com/lizziegmusic.

Lizzy’s third album will be released at the end of February 2015.

The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015 | 7

BY DALY TONGRENSTAFF REPORTER

Portland’s most critical-ly acclaimed folk rockers the Decemberists released its seventh studio album, “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World” on Capitol Records on Jan. 20.

Next to the rest of the band’s discography, which is often noted for it’s concep-tual and narrative styling, “Beautiful World” seems a bit disjointed. It’s a good album, and there are a few songs that stand out as some of the band’s fin-est work. But it seems as though the Decemberists struggled with parts of its editing.

Frontman Colin Meloy

makes sure to address these changes in the al-bum’s opening number. “We know you built your life around us/Would we change, we had to change some,” Meloy sings. The interlude sets the stage for the album’s direction, in a way that could be seen as pretentious if anyone other than Meloy was singing it. He puts an endearing spin on an otherwise grandiose track.

The album starts on a high note, with the first sev-eral tracks serving as solid examples of the changing sound Meloy warns listen-ers about early on.

“Philomena” is an ex-tremely catchy, upbeat pop tune with smart lyrics and

outstanding harmonies. It’s followed by “Make You Bet-ter,” the album’s first single. The song, while easily the album’s most commercial release, is a perfect pow-er ballad that puts a more electric sound to a classic Decemberists’ set of lyrics.

Separating the album’s promising beginning from its crowning conclusion is a slew of twangy tracks that create a divide in the album’s direction. Though, Meloy did warn us.

These few tracks, in-cluding the stripped down “Carolina Law” and the forgettable “Mistral,” put the album just over the 50-minute mark. This isn’t long by the Decemberists’ standards but without its

usual conceptual purpose, the length makes the al-bum drag along for a while.

The LP gets back on track with the penulti-mate “12/17/12,” Meloy’s introspective, eloquent re-sponse to the Sandy Hook shootings that occurred in Connecticut a few years ago. This track, along with a few others on “Beauti-ful World,” is told from the most adult perspective the band has managed to put across yet.

While “Beautiful World” lacks the sort of cohesion that’s expected from a band like the Decemberists, the album as a whole isn’t a disappointment. What it lacks in order, it makes up for in a respectable sort of

deviation. Meloy guaranteed

change, and the band de-livered.

Along with the album’s release came a celebra-tory proclamation from Portland’s mayor, Char-lie Hales, which granted Jan. 20, “Decemberists Day.” During a ceremony at City Hall, Hales pre-sented the band with an official document stating, “The Decemberists thus embody the Portland val-ues of passion, engage-ment and communitari-anism with the Portland aesthetic of homegrown, forthright, slightly hippie and often bespectacled glo-ry.”

COURTESY OF FACEBOOK/LIZZIE G

Roosevelt graduate student releases ‘RU DRAFT,’ brings message of social justice

Decemberists gain new musical perspective on ‘Beautiful World’

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIAPortland-based indie-rock band the Decemberists re-leased its seventh studio al-bum, “What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World,” on Jan. 20.

arts&eNtertaINmeNt

8 | The RoosevelT ToRch | FebRuaRy 2, 2015

BY JOSHUA M. HICKSSTAFF REPORTER

Roosevelt Lakers men’s basketball team made a surge in the second half to defeat Purdue-North Central University 74-70 at the Goodman Center on Jan. 28.

Senior guard Joe Harks and junior guard Kevin Priebe scored a team-high 21 points each.

The Lakers’ pace to start the game was slow, but the high energy and aggressive play of fresh-man Joshua Dillingham, who chipped in with four points and nine rebounds, helped get the team back on track. Dillingham started in place of senior forward/center Jeremiah Jackson, who missed the previous game due to a concussion.

Priebe said that Dilling-ham’s energy and aggres-sive play gave the team an early boost.

“[Josh Dillingham] came in as a freshman and gave us a major boost. He played with con-fidence, and we wouldn’t have won this game with-out him,” Priebe said.

Jackson agreed with Priebe, and believes that

he’s going to be a great player for the team.

“Josh is a good player. He played well tonight. He is going to be a great player for us,” Jackson said.

The Lakers went into halftime with a 41-33 lead.

In the second half, the scoring of Panthers’ sophomore Cyril Lewis, who chipped in 19 points, sparked a comeback, which gave the Panthers the lead midway through the game.

Down the stretch, se-nior guard Tyree York scored a go-ahead layup by Harks with 4.3 seconds left in regulation, as the Lakers were able to seal the win .

To date, the Lakers are 8-4 in conference.

York, who finished the game with 13 points, said that the leadership was very key for the Lakers down the stretch.

“Leadership played a big part down the stretch. The older guys have been through these kinds of games many times, enough to know what’s going on and lead the younger guys in the right direction,” York said.

Harks agreed with York’s sentiment and said that the seniors aren’t the only ones that showed leadership throughout the game.

“I think our players, se-niors to freshman, showed their own type of lead-ership. The leaders real-ly stepped up and made plays when they needed to,” Harks said.

Harks went on to ex-plain what areas the team needs to improve upon.

“We must improve and learn how to really keep teams in a hole and keep them there,” he said. “We had a couple times where we go up eight or nine points, and then they would come back and end up tying the game late. That can’t happen.”

The team is currently setting its sight on the na-tional tournament.

“We must continue to win every game we can in hopes to make it to the na-tional tournament,” York said.

The Lakers (14-8) will play its next home game against Cardinal Stritch University at the Good-man Center on Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

Joe Harks’ clutch play secures victo-ry for the Lakers

BY DALY TONGRENSTAFF REPORTER

Opening day for the Chi-cago Cubs will come as it does every year, but without its famous bleachers.

The team is set to play their first game against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 5, but major park ren-ovations involving the out-field bleachers are not set for completion until May. This decision affects fans across the board, including casual attendees and season ticket holders alike.

This construction issue is a part of Wrigley Field’s complete renovation, which has become known as the 1060 Project. This construc-tion plan is reportedly set to occur over the span of four years, with the end product being an upgraded, yet still historic ballpark.

The bleachers are consid-

ered to be the first phase of the Wrigley rebuild and are set to increase both sitting and standing room in the outfield, according to the multimillion-dollar 1060 Project plan.

“The 1060 Project will ensure the viability of the ballpark for future gener-ations of Cubs fans, while preserving the beauty, charm and historic features fans have come to know and love,” the team said in a press release last October.

Team officials broke the news of unfinished bleach-ers to fans during the Cubs Convention, which took place in mid-January.

Crane Kenney, who is the Cubs president of busi-ness operations, admitted that the project was always viewed as challenging for its time frame.

“We’re rebuilding a 100-year-old facility,” Ken-

ney said at the convention. “There are going to be inconveniences for every-body—for us, for the media, and for our fans as we get this done. It’s just a reality.”

Season ticket holders, who purchased seats in the affected bleacher areas, are being offered the option of a refund or relocation for the 15 home games that they will be missing due to con-struction.

The left-field bleachers are set to be done in early May, with the right-field side to follow later that month, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.

Other renovations set to occur include new outfield signs, clubhouse expansion, bullpen relocation, conces-sion improvement, press box renovation and more.

Theo Epstein, Cubs pres-ident of baseball operations, spoke to WSCR-AM 670

last week about the Cubs’ offseason, fu-ture and construc-tion.

“Our clubhouse, that’s going to debut on Opening Day in 2016 is going to be the second biggest in all of baseball after Yankee Stadium. It’s going to be state-of-the-art,” Epstein said.

Epstein went on to discuss the worth of the 1060 Project, stating he believes better facilities will lead to the team hav-ing a better record and improve overall ball-park experience.

“It’s going to be an out-standing place to interact with your teammates and prepare to win a baseball game. So that affects us in terms of wins and losses

and that’s the most import-ant thing,” he said.

Meanwhile, amid mass construction, Cubs owner Tom Ricketts has reported-ly purchased three of the rooftop buildings that sit across from Wrigley Field.

This purchase follows lawsuits from rooftop own-ers regarding concerns of their views being blocked due to part of the 1060 con-struction plan.

Wrigley Field to host Cubs opener without famed bleachers

COURTESY OF BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS Wrigley Field’s bleachers won’t be open until May 11 due to renovation.

sports

PHOTO BY CARLI SCHLAKERKorey Ryan dribbles the ball in a game against Purdue-North Central University on Jan. 28,

2015.