the argus | vol 1 iss 3
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Independent UIC Student NewsTRANSCRIPT
Save like never before: USG, SSC, and Edhance together launch new sav-ings program at UIC
The Undergraduate Student Gov-ernment’s (USG) Student Savings Club (SSC), under the partnership with Hermes Media Incorporation (publisher of the Argus), is launching Edhance Incorporation, a nationwide
discount service that helps cost-con-scious college and university students save money at business around UIC.
Student Savings Club was founded by Patrick Moriarity (president of Collegiate Services) whose aim was to provide simple and efficient ways for students to save money.
“I’ve been working with students
for the past 20 years. Wherever the school, wherever they live, it’s our goal to provide a money-saving service to students without charging them anything because students are gener-ally cost-conscious and the two demo-graphic groups who are most likely to use discounts are older people and stu-
After all the studying and at-tending those two hours lectures, students need a place to relax. Stu-dents need somewhere to go, to let loose, and let their minds be free for just a while.
With all the information being thrown at us about the different clubs and organizations they can join, some students may be inter-ested in finding commitment-free
activities to partake in. Ever won-der what activities UIC offers for students?
One activity is rock climbing. If working out is something that seems to take your mind off of daily stresses, or you’re just looking for a fun alternative to stay in shape rath-er than hitting the weight room, then rock climbing may be for you. The Student Recreation Facility houses a 43 feet tall rock climbing wall available for use by all students, with the assistance of one of the cer-tified climbers on staff.
Kiran Kripakaran, an M.B.A. graduate student, signed up for rock climbing classes to become certified for only $30. Kripakaran says he finds climbing to be “very
It’s a steep fall from the top, but Michael Gates Gill managed to land gracefully, on his feet and with a renewed sense of purpose.
What an average person would consider a dream, Gill lived as a lifestyle: a 25-room mansion in Bronxeville, growing up around icons such as Jackie Onassis, J.D. Salinger and Ernest Hemingway, an Ivy-league education and a six-figure salary at one of the world’s
top advertising agencies. In his 60’s, however, the depth
of his devastation mirrored the height of his success: fired from a prestigious job, divorced and diagnosed with a brain tumor, Gill was sad, broke and making $10.50 an hour as a barista at Starbucks. Gill hit rock bottom.
Or did he?On Sept. 30, Gill spoke to
UIC students and told them that the 180-degree change that would’ve left most people devas-tated invigorated his life and pro-vided him with a deeper sense of fulfillment.
“One night, after closing up at Starbucks, I looked up to the stars and thought to myself, ‘I’m
Save like never beforeUndergraduate Student Government brings new savings program to UIC
Famous “Starbucks” author shares new lease on life
UIC offers several activities for students on a budget
Campus Housing invites author of “How Starbucks Saved My Life” to UIC as part of the freshman reading program.
USG teams up with the Student Savings Club and Edhance team up to bring discounts to UIC students.
RUTH TANGONANSKARLET WALLS
See DEALS on Page 2
See ACTIVITIES on Page 13See STARBUCKS on Page 4
Volume 1 Monday, October 4, 2010Issue 3
LEO FLIMAN/the ARGUSMIKE MORIARTY/the ARGUS
INHAE LEE
MICHAEL GATES GILL ADDRESSES STUDENTS BILLARDS IN STUDENT CENTER EAST
BRIANNA MILKA/the ARGUSTO PROMOTE THE NEW PROGRAM USG IS GIVING AWAY 1,000 COLLECTABLE BUTTONS AND 5,000 BOOKMARKS.
Breaking News: Chicago Flame in hot water
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Campus Housing invites author of “How Starbucks Saved My Life” to UIC as part of the freshman reading program.
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A UIC professor files a $50,000 defamation of character lawsuit against former News Editor Gregory Royal Pratt and the publisher of the Chicago Flame.
visit: reposts.uicargus.com for more
dents.”Over the past 15 years, SSC, operat-
ing under USG, has focused on students as Moriarity and his employees actively applied their strong belief in person-to-person communication by visiting numerous local businesses to negotiate discounts for UIC students.
USG is maintained under the guid-ance of president Saad Jamil, who best summarized his role in the organization as the leader of “a collection of individu-als who hope to positively impact the university.”
Focusing on the new partnership between SSC and Edhance, Jamil said, “SSC hasn’t been pushed enough to stu-dents and our (USG) job this year is to make sure that it’s promoted better than it had been in the past.” While the vi-sion was clear, difficulties followed as many local businesses forgot and even-tually stopped handing out discounts and much of the student population remained uninformed about SSC and its benefits.
In the past, students had to show their student IDs and carry around laminated, wallet-sized cards that listed local businesses that they can receive discounts from.
Jamil said, “Without these cards, it made it difficult for both students and employees to know about the offered discounts. As a two part system, SSC sent these cards to be distributed along with stickers and door hangers that local businesses would be required to wear as an unambiguous indication of their par-ticipation and as ways of raising aware-ness of the service at UIC.
Unfortunately, not all businesses followed through and the problem of uninformed students and employees continued.” Meanwhile, things looked promising when, “Businesses such as Tuscany agreed to offer discounts to UIC students because they went there all the time for 5$ pizzas from 11-6PM,”
said Jason Lynch, who is the SSC liaison to USG.
At the same time, “The problem was the confusion because in many cases, only the owners would know that their business is a part of SSC but the infor-mation wouldn’t trickle down to the staff. So if students walked into stores like this and showed their icard, they wouldn’t know what to do,” said Lynch.
Efforts to inform students and busi-nesses were made through other ways like posters and stickers but, “It wasn’t effective.” Participating businesses like Massa, Subway (Taylor St.), and Thai Bowl fail to offer discounts unless the possibility of such is initiated by the in-formed students themselves.
Moriarity said, “Years ago, that was just the way it was; that was the best technology for its time. But now, SSC can do something of a larger nature and coordinate so that we can share the discounts that we’re getting from every-where with UIC students through the partnership with Edhance.”
In a grander scale, Edhance organiz-es with national businesses like Apple, Target, and Walmart in locations across the country to provide student dis-counts that SSC was unable to provide.
“With problems of national policies for organizing discounts for individual businesses, we needed to find something at a national basis and Enhance has fig-ured out a way to make that happen.” said Moriarity.
Edhance joined SSC under the shared vision of saving students money through discounts. Registering with Edhance at deals.uicargus.com for free allows students to save money on both in-store and online purchases. “When I found out a way we can provide this kind of thing for our students nation-ally, it seemed like a great opportunity. We do not make business out of selling to students. It has to be free for the stu-dents; that’s our policy.” said Moriarity.
Now that the scope of businesses
negotiating discounts has expanded, cutting out coupons and signing up for numerous membership cards to save money will no longer be necessary.
Furthermore, there is no need to dis-play student IDs at the register because the student’s preferred choice of credit (up to 5) or debit card will be connected to the system that identifies him or her as a student after they have completed the registration process with their col-lege or university email address. Email notifications with information on the resulting discounts are sent out for every purchase made within a few days from the participating businesses both local and nationwide.
Students will also automatically re-ceive cash back when they reach a $10 or $25 limit, which they set themselves, in savings on their card of choice because Edhance keeps a tally of the amount of money spent and sends the saved cash back into the purchaser’s card.
“I can imagine it would be difficult for many students to accept the safety and security aspect of signing up their credit card on a site that they are unfa-miliar with. It may be a little worrisome at first but from what I have been told, this service is very secure, professional, and every effort will be made to assure the students’ information,” said Jamil.
Under U.S. laws and company poli-cies, Edhance guarantees privacy pro-tection for all users that voluntarily sub-mit their personal information for this service. “The technicalities are specific so it’s important for everyone to check out the fact page and be informed about how Edhance operates. For instance, you probably won’t get the discount or cash back if you use a gift card or cou-pons,” said Lynch.
Further information about Mem-bership Agreement and Privacy Policy can be found at edhance.com/about/terms. For more general information about Edhance, go to edhance.com/about/information.
Apart from regular discounts when in-store purchasing, additional savings are provided when shopping online. Participating nationwide businesses include Apple, Education Store, Tar-get, Dell, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, Sephora, Sally Beauty, Finish Line, Lids, Drugstore.com, Old Navy, GAP, Text-books.com, Hot Topic and more.
Jamil said, “This partnership be-tween SSC and Edhance is super excit-ing because now, not only will students know that they have the option to get discounts, but they will get them even if they don’t if they register for Edhance. The fact that you save money through discounts every time you shop and re-ceive reminder email to show you how much money you saved is a brilliant idea.”
Jamil further commented on the poor economic state and debt crisis of
Illinois and its detrimental effects on UIC students, “When funds like the MAP Grant, Pell Grant, Federal Stu-dent Aid cannot be used for its purposes of financially aiding students towards their academic pursuits, any ways that provide students with opportunities to save money is helpful even if it’s saving as little as 30 cents you save from the fries you bought because money adds up.”
Hermes Media, Inc will be holding campaign booths all week to promote the partnership of SSC and Edhance. Students can find them in the quad, near BSB, by the bookstore, in Stu-dent Center West, and in JST. They are staffed from 10am til 3pm, and they will be handing out free buttons and book-marks while they last.
News Monday, October 4, 20102
DEALS from page 1
Governor Quin addressed UIC College of Dentistry September 17, announcing $2.5 million in funding.
Governor Patrick Quinn said in a press conference in the College of Dentistry at the University of Illi-nois at Chicago on September 17th that $2.5 million will be funded to improve the infrastructure in the college. Gov. Quinn spoke highly of the medical and dental programs at UIC, he also praised the students, teachers and staff for helping train the dentists of the future that make
a difference in the oral health of American citizens, especially in Illi-nois. He said, “It’s important to have healthy smiles when everyone in Il-linois could be having healthy teeth and good oral health”.
He also mentioned that UIC Dentistry students follow by the standard, “If you save one life, you save the world” and are of high standard in their academics. He said, “We understand that it’s tough economic times, we can’t just run in place. We have to build and make things that will last for a long time. I
See QUINN on Page 4
KAROL SLOWIKOWSKI/the ARGUSILLINOIS GOVERNOR PATRICK QUINN
Gov. Quinn visits UIC
Program launches with nearly 400 retailers onboard. More coming.
INHAE LEE/the ARGUS
Collect all 10! deals.uicargus.com+ 1 mystery button...
Former governor Jim Edgar came to UIC’s Cardinal Room this past Wednesday to speak about the future of Chicago and Illinois.
Edgar explained his stance on improving the political state of af-fairs in Illinois by first tackling the $13 billion deficit the state has accumulated. According to Ed-gar, there needs to be a change in political thinking and in citizens’ perception of state income versus expenditures. He opened the floor to questions from the audience af-ter his speech.
Chicago is intrinsically connect-ed to Illinois politics. Any change that happens in state policy will have a direct impact on residents living in this city.
Edgar said, “How Chicago does, is dependent on how the state does. The city receives a substantial amount of funding from Spring-field.”
“If the state is in trouble, and let me tell you the state of Illinois is in huge trouble, it has an impact on the city of Chicago,” said Edgar. He stressed the importance of the link between residents here and the state, focusing on the students here at UIC by mentioning the impor-tance of this University to the city.
In order to start paving the way to a more stable and successful fu-ture, Edgar said, “One of the most important lessons to learn if you’re going to be in government, or want to do anything, is you can’t spend money you don’t have. And if you do, there’s going to be a day of reckoning.”
“You may be able to borrow money for a while, we’ve done a lot of that in Illinois in the past few years, but you’ve got to pay that back. And when you borrow money to pay for ongoing expendi-tures, every year you have to borrow money just to stay where you are, and that’s just what we’ve done.”
Due to the expenditures in the budget, the state has racked up one
of the largest deficits in recent his-tory.
Edgar said, “this fiscal year we had about a $13 billion deficit in a general revenue budget of about $27 billion. That’s a huge deficit. That’s far worse than I had to deal
with in 1991.” In order to start making head-
way into filling the deficit, the state is going to need to cut spending and eliminate some services.
“The cuts that I’m talking about are severe,” Edgar said, “There’s a lot of good programs that are going to have to go.” Since it is difficult for
state officials to agree on what a wasteful expenditure is, many pro-grams beneficial to state residents are going to be cut.
Edgar said, “Even if you got rid of all the waste in government, even if you got rid of all the state employ-
ees in government, you wouldn’t come close to filling that 13 billion dollar hole.” To get back on stable financial footing state residents are going to have to accept a long fu-ture of decreased state spending.
The duties for the future gov-
ernor of Illinois will be difficult according to Edgar. He said with regards to future leaders, “One of the things we need in government is discipline. When I went through this in the early 90s we cut a lot of things in the first two years, but for the next five or six years I had to just continue to keep saying ‘no.’”
Residents will have to be patient in order for the state to recover. Edgar said regarding cuts in pro-grams, “it’s going to take the public to understand that, and to be supportive of their leaders.”
Future state officials must display fortitude in
their decisions to benefit the state. Regarding the pace that the new gubernatorial staff will have to work at, Edgar said, “Dealing with this quickly as opposed to later. That’s going to be a huge challenge.”
Success in government is not en-
tirely dependent on a single person. The entire staff must be competent and confident enough to ensure positive outcomes. Looking back at his time in office, Edgar said “If you get in a point of leadership, you’re only as good as the folks around you. I was fortunate to have some good people working with me.” It is important for the staff to be able to point out mistakes to one another as well.
Edgar attributed his positive gubernatorial term to his staff most able to check him back into reality.
Edgar said, “I had people par-ticularly in the governor staff who knew that they could tell me when I was wrong,” he continued, “You need to have people around you who will keep your feet on the ground and will tell you when you’re wrong.” A state official can-not get too big a head about their position, and must accept the fact that not every idea they come up with is a good one.
The decision to cut the budgets of state programs still hangs in the balance, and improving the rela-tions between residents and state officials can take time. The revenue from property taxes has remained constant, and has been benefitting Illinois reliably.
Edgar said, “Property tax is the only thing bringing in money right now. As screwed up as it is, at least it doesn’t fluctuate like income tax and sales tax.” Changing the regu-lations surrounding this tax would be irrelevant at the moment. Edgar said regarding the tax, “It’s not the problem at this moment.”
State residents have control over their leaders. Edgar encouraged the audience to be active in local and state politics, and to voice concerns to their legislators.
Edgar said, “Everybody has to be part of the solution. Communicate with your legislature; the best thing is to see them in person.” Even if visiting a legislator proves difficult, Edgar recommended writing letters for a more personal approach than e-mail can provide.
Volume 1 Issue 3
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“If the state is in trouble, and let me tell you the state of Illinois is in huge trouble, it
has an impact on the city of Chicago”— Former Governor Jim Edgar
EVAN SITT/the ARGUSEDGAR TALKS ABOUT THE ILLINOIS BUDGET DEFICIT
KAROL SLOWIKOWSKI
Stop spending, start acting:Former governer Jim Edgar shares solutions to the Illinois deficit
Argus exclusive!
save an extra $5 when you use coupon code:
uicarguswww.thedrinkdeck.com1 deck of cards : $520 in savings
particularly want to thank students in the medical school and the dental school for their steadfast commit-ment to service.”
Gov. Quinn added, “In the state of Illinois, half of all dentists hold a medical degree from the College of Dentistry at the University of Illi-nois at Chicago”. The welfare of the citizens of Illinois is a prime issue of concern for the governor, evident in the bills he signs. He said, “We have a lot of great people in our state of Illinois – 13 million altogether – it’s
very important that we have decent healthcare for everybody”.
Gov. Quinn signed a bill that was passed into law by legislature that invests in maintaining and re-modeling the dental building. The $2.5 million will replace windows, elevators, install new lights and fire alarm systems, saving money from taxpayers and being environmen-tally sustainable to benefit both stu-dents and the community.
Karen Fredrickson, Regional Manager of the Illinois Capital Development Board (CDB) said, “Renovating and reusing an existing building is not only green but will save the taxpayers’ money, upgrad-ing the building envelope and light-ing system will pre-up power in the existing power system for the new, high-tech computerized equipment that the students will be learning on.”
In addition, Fredrickson ex-plained the relationship between CDB and UIC. She said, “CDB has partnered with U of I, UIC on more than 200 projects, large and small, from landscaping the East campus to building the $50 million mo-lecular biology research facility just down the street here…not only will this project put Illinois residents to work in construction, it will prepare
students for good careers when they have graduated and provide well-trained dentists to serve the people of Illinois for years to come”.
In addition, the state of Illinois has received $350 million dollars in grants to lay the foundation of high-speed internet in Illinois, linking up state-wide hospitals in one network to relay information and data faster.
The Illinois Medical District, containing the College of Dentistry, Medicine and other UIC colleges as well as a number of other medi-cal institutions, was recognized as an area providing tremendous eco-nomic opportunities for Illinois, supplying 140 jobs in construction alone for the infrastructure project.
Robert Fioretti, Chicago Alder-man of the 2nd Ward, discussed how new jobs would be created in this project, benefitting the community. He said, “Economic development means not only the jobs that are here in this area and here for UIC…but what it means is the economic engine for the future generation be-cause quality healthcare and quality education serves for a quality future for all of us, and that’s what today is all about. The 140 construction jobs that come along with this project that the governor has seen and has a vision for to contribute to the UIC;
it’s his vision that we’re implement-ing here…that our kids have quality healthcare and our kids have a qual-ity education.”
Warren Chapman, Vice-Chan-cellor for External Affairs at UIC, said that “The State [of Illinois] rec-ognized the need for reinvestment in education infrastructure, espe-cially our health professions”.
Danny Solis, Chicago Alderman of the 25th Ward, proclaimed and thanked Gov. Quinn, stating that his strategy to maintain the educa-tion institutions in the state were courageous. “He’s a courageous man – I don’t care who is saying that we don’t have to raise taxes in Illinois
next year. We’re going to have to raise taxes to make our state work. And the strategy that he has about investing in our infrastructure, about building, about investing in the educational institutions in the state is absolutely the right thing to do. So not only as the alderman of the medical district and the Univer-sity of Illinois, also as a resident of the Illinois Medical District, I just want to say, ‘Thank you, Governor’ for the great job you’re doing.”
Solis added, “He’s always been an advocate for citizens of Illinois…he has always been thinking about Illinois and Illinois residents and what’s good for Illinois.
happier than I’ve ever been,’” Gill said during the speech. “That didn’t make sense to me so I took a walk around the block and thought about it, but it was true. I’m happier than I’ve ever been in what’s consid-ered a low-wage service job than at my other high-paying job.”
Gill spoke to UIC students at the SCE Cardinal room about his book and this summer’s Freshman Read Program reading assignment, “How Starbucks Saved My Life.” In his book, Gill describes how he went from a life of impressive afflu-ence to quiet fulfillment.
The son of the New Yorker critic Brendan Gates Gill, Michael grew up among the literary elite. At 19, Gill spent his summer in Spain and ran with the bulls in Pamplona at the behest of Ernest Hemingway. After Yale, he took a job at J. Wal-ter Thompson where he would later become its Creative Director and Vice-President.
At 53, things took a turn when one morning his protégé took him out to breakfast and told him that he no longer had a job. Things took an even worse turn years later when Gill went through a divorce and was diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“Like everyone else who goes through this, I got caught up in self-pity,” he said. “When these things happen, we get locked in a cocoon thinking, ‘My life is so unfair. My life is terrible.’”
One day, Gill found himself at a Starbucks in Manhattan’s Upper East Side where he was asked if he needed a job by the young, African-American woman who managed the store, Crystal. The man who has never stepped into a Wal-Mart and who has never even filled out a job
application was on track to becom-ing a Starbucks barista.
“This is where my life began to turn out,” Gill said. “Sometimes in life everyone gets into this box, and my experience is that the only way to get out is to move forward and say ‘yes.’ I did so without think-ing, because if I thought about it I would’ve said to myself, ‘I don’t want to turn in my suit for a green apron serving other people coffee. That would be humiliating.’
Gill drew on his life experiences to help UIC students put things into perspective.
“When I was fired, I received a professional death sentence,” Gill said. “In America we always ask, ‘What do you do?’ As students, you always get asked, ‘What do you want to do?’ In other countries they ask about you and who you are. Here, we are defined by what we do.”
This pressure, Gill said, places people in the same debilitating pat-tern that prevents them from mov-ing on to something better.
“Leap with faith rather than hover in fear, “Gill said. “We all get stuck, but you need that forward motion to make things happen. If you get stuck, whether it’s in a rela-tionship, a class or a paper, the best thing to do is move forward with some kind of action.”
Gill taps into the college expe-rience and tell students that being tethered to electronics, a sched-ule, and constant stimulation puts students under a constant state of stress. Gill advised students to find 20 minutes of solitude to allow for peace and self-discovery.
“Listen to your own heart,” Gill said. “You’re going to have parents, teachers and friends urging you on. Every second is so stressful. Con-
sciously or subconsciously you’re so stressed out by all those external things. I went virtually my entire life without checking with my own heart. Make sure you take time ev-ery day to check and make sure that you’re doing is what you truly love.”
Students who read the book said Gill’s talk gave them a different perspective on the book. Freshman Nicky Smith said the talk gave him an insight both into the book and on Gill himself.
“The talk was like an extended edition of the book,” Smith said. “I liked getting updated on his life. He still works at Starbucks which means he stayed true to his heart. He didn’t just quit after selling books.
“After reading the book, you get the impression that he’s arrogant. Hearing him speak, he doesn’t seem arrogant at all. Listening to him speak and asking him questions gives you a better idea of who he is.”
Freshman Kristin Orr agreed.“Reading the book he seemed re-
ally arrogant,” Orr said. “It seemed like he was just doing this for pub-licity. After listening to him, the story seemed more real. It wasn’t like he was just trying to sell you books. I was able to put a face be-hind the book and a person behind the story.”
Junior Giselle De La Rosa, how-ever, said the talk seemed more like a summary of the book, and it did not delve into issues that the book tackled.
“The talk didn’t go deep enough,” she said. “In the book, he touched on some really interesting issues like race and white privilege. I thought his talk would elaborate on these, but it didn’t. I didn’t get anything new.”
The book chronicled Gill’s trans-formation as a man, De La Rosa
said, which turned out to be refresh-ing.
“He started off really close mind-ed,” she said. “Throughout the book he has these epiphanies where he re-alizes how much of an [a**] he was in his past life. Later on, he started to consider his coworkers as friends and family. It’s refreshing to read a white privileged person see that, especially when he judged them so quickly when he first came in.”
When asked if he ever reached out to people from his past, Gill said during the talk that he this concept hadn’t occurred to him.
De La Rosa said this makes her question the epiphanies in the book.
“How can you have an enlight-ening experience about dignity and respecting people without trying to contact the people you’ve hurt in the past?” she said.
Overall, De La Rosa said the book leaves people, especially fresh-men, with an important message.
“Students come here with a ca-
reer planned in front of them,” she said. “They never really think about what makes them happy. We try to encourage freshmen to meet other people, study abroad, do things so they can enjoy in college. He left a message that everyone should hear.”
Gill’s book is currently being developed into a movie, with Tom Hanks slated to star and Gus Van San in talks to direct. Gill’s new book “How to Save Your Own Life” was released in Dec. 2009.
Despite enjoying relative success, Gill still works at Starbucks.
He leaves students with advice he lives by.
“Make sure you’re doing what you love to do,” he said. “And I don’t mean in some abstract future, but today. Life is not years ahead, life is a day by day process. You’ve got to be in sync with your heart today, or you gradually lose the future that you love.”
Monday, October 4, 2010
QUINN from page 3
KAROL SLOWIKOWSKI/the ARGUS
News4
KAROL SLOWIKOWSKI/the ARGUSGOV. QUINN AT AT COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY
STARBUCKS from page 1
MIKE MORIARTY/the ARGUS
After losing his job, Yale graduate Gill found work at Starbucks
MICHAEL GATES GILL IN THE CARDINAL ROOM
Gov. Quinn gives high praise to the College of Dentistry for excellence
I treat my women like a museum exhibit—examining every inch without ever touching. I have also stolen my fair share of lacey unmen-tionables and slowly inhaled into them, but who hasn’t? You should think of me as a distant admirer, something of a Prince Charming in the trees, if you will. The only thing I’m guilty of is proving the weather man wrong. On days where the fore-cast calls for sunshine, some lucky ladies look out of their window only to find heavy condensation due to labored breathing, and typically scattered showers. That’s just how I do things.
I am a regular guy with needs like everybody else. You all take care of business in front of a computer screen or television, I take care of my business while silently leering through your shutters. Either way, nobody gets hurt. Aren’t college people smart enough to recognize victimless crimes when you see them?
To my surprise, I happened to catch a particularly embarrassing UIC Crime Alert in my inbox a
few weeks ago. An alleged “Peeping Tom” was spotted at Marie Robin-son Hall just before midnight. They nailed down my description fairly well—even if I’m not really White or Hispanic. Yeah, of course I was wearing my favorite grey hooded sweatshirt with the stripe down each arm—it looks good on me.
But more to the point, why are people like me being persecuted like this? Moscow was about to dial the launch sequence for my nuclear missile when police sirens inter-rupted. UIC police described my clothes perfectly because they were all left behind in haste. I’ll have you know Officer Sockblock, those are my possessions and they should be returned immediately. This kind of injustice ought to be investigated by someone. I would, but my nightly plans are too rigid to change.
People like me are your average Toms. We are family men, sensi-tive men, exemplary citizens in ev-ery sense of the term, and mail our up-skirt shoe/camera payments on time. Don’t tell me that you’ve nev-er huffed industrial glue and went on a violent shopping spree in For-ever 21. Sure, I sneak in a few extra
braziers after spending thousands of dollars there and nobody says anything. But the one time that I want to admire the lovely women of UIC from afar, the university goes apeshit.
I challenge you to find a more peaceful “Peeping Tom” for your community. If everyone just took the time to get to know me, they would find out that I’m perfectly willing to compromise. If you want me to pay for it baby, I’ll throw you a few Washingtons. I mean damn girl, don’t hog all that eye-candy—give Daddy T some sugar.
You secretly like being watched from the window. Yeah right, I’m sure you regularly chew on pencil erasers while studying. I’ll bet that sweatshirt is itchy. Isn’t it obvious to by now that I am saying what every-one else is thinking?
So please, women of UIC, before you get hot and bothered by Crime Alerts of this type, remember that I’m always here to help. Well, out here. And if scary e-mails and the stresses of college life are bringing you down, remember, I’m always watching. Always.
Authorities this morning re-ported that three victims were killed Sunday afternoon at Sheridan Park in the Little Italy neighborhood. Police sources believe the slaying was due yet again to the terrifying effects of the autumn season.
“They didn’t have a chance,” re-sponded UIC police officer Freddy Hamm, who was the first to arrive at the tragic scene. “They were sitting right under trees, what the hell did they expect to happen. We aren’t ruling out suicide.”
Suspiciously located under sev-eral tree canopies, drowned in a bloody pile of leaves were the shred-ded bodies of three unnamed UIC students. The recent tragedy is just one of many cases rapidly occur-ring during the chilly and merciless season of Fall. While trees prepare themselves for the cold months ahead, they shed their deadly leaves downwards onto an unpredictable
fate. The spontaneity and abun-dance of the falling leaves has been causing numerous scratches, injuries and deaths across the Chicagoland area.
Commissioner Hamm reminds civilians, “People have to remember that during the next three months, trees are our enemies. During the summertime they provide fresh air and shelter, but Fall is their last stand.”
Police officials encourage civil-ians to not be fooled by the vivid, beautiful colors of the trees and their graceful descending leaves. The body count continues to climb, as there was a reported 58 tree ho-micides this past September alone.
“I was just sitting in the park, ca-noodling with my boyfriend when all of a sudden they (leaves) started attacking me from the sky. I escaped with only a few scratches, but it was a traumatizing!” UIC sophomore Tera Chepeska said.
Chepeska is one of the lucky
few that were able to escape the colorful clutches of Fall. The reck-less tree blades are supplying the Medical District with a multitude of incoming E.R. victims. Rush Hospital employee Dick Schaffer explains the grave situation, “I’ve seen leaves in eyes, we have numer-ous leaf amputees, third-degree leaf rashes. I would suggest hiding your kids indoors and don’t engage in any outdoor activity whatsoever. These bastard trees are heartless.”
While many believe that these trees abstract revenge by spitting their leaf blades at unsuspected humans; others find comfort and accommodation in such troubling times.
Taylor Street, bucket drummer and friendly hobo ‘Juicy’, shares his opinion on fall, “I got nuttin’ wrong with dem leaves. Its a free bed and toilet paper for tree months.”
Accordingly, recent studies show that Fall may actually have positive effects due to increased serotonin levels in the brain. The findings suggest that during the Autumn season many people tend to be-come contemplative, melancholy, and relaxed, “But that might just be because we were all stoned,” reports field researcher Dwight Wheeler.
Many fall lovers and devil wor-shippers gathered on campus by the thousands during the first fall equi-nox. Allegedly, these fall fanatics raked and collected numerous leaf piles, also known as ‘leaf land mines,’ to celebrate the cooling of the weather, the shortening of daytime and the bitterness of their hearts.
Read off a crumpled piece of pa-per, UIC drama and emo student Fauly Shore explains his heinous actions, “Just like my soul, Fall is darker, cooler and more painful. The once green and vibrant leaves, now harden and shrivel up. Finally released from nature’s slavery, their dark, tortured corpses decompose into the soil to rest forever.”
As murder rates increase, the clever trees continue to lure onlook-ers with their variety of color and beauty. In combination with colder weather and shorter daytime hours, Autumn has become the most dan-gerous of the seasons.
Police insist that civilians gather and dispose of their leaves immedi-ately before further injury can occur. Recent reports state, that just the
past month a total of 20-30 people were lost to these leaf land mines. Some contributing causes of death include itchiness, wetness and the giggles. Though the assorted pile of colored epidermis might seem ap-pealing and playful to the eye, it is an evident death trap.
Despite the ‘Humongous Hippie Homicide of 93’, many hippies and naturalists are learning the hard way. Commissioner Hamm forewarns the public, “Be aware tree huggers, you may lose your limbs.”
Some enjoy the “Peeping Tom” of MRHTh e Ar g u s
The ExtinguisherMonday, October 4, 2010
5
DISCLAIMER: All articles published in the Extinguisher are satirical in nature and written to entertain and amuse. They are not intend-ed to be mistaken for real news.
Autumn’s assassination:The body count continues to rise
Todd Huggles
MIKE MORIARTY/the ARGUSA LIVE REINACTMENT OF THE PEEPING TOM
JOE DELISI
PEARL PATEL/the ARGUSA DARING STUDENT PICKS UP LEAVES TO DEMONSTRATE
THOUSANDS FLEE IN PANIC MIKE MORIARTY/the ARGUS
The UIC Theatre takes to the stage as their first main production for the 2010-2011 year Andrew Up-ton’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler.
This 20th century play, directed by Luigi Salerni, tells of a women trapped in circumstance and her fa-tal fight to escape social constraints. Ibsen disregards the Victorian val-ues of the time and can continue to shock audiences with Upton’s con-
temporary translation.Hedda Tesman (Gabler is her
maiden name), returns from a six-month honeymoon with Jürgen Tes-man, her new husband. Throughout the play, Hedda’s personality reveals itself to the audience as snobby, cold, brutally honest, and hard to please.
Dramatic conflict arises when Tesman’s old rival from academia and previous love of Hedda, Ejlert Lövborg, is in town. Once an al-coholic and failure, Lövborg has
reformed and become quite intel-lectually successful with the support of his loving partner, Mrs. Elvsted. What ensues is a struggle with un-spoken thoughts between charac-ters and the raw emotions Hedda indulges in within all the confronta-tion.
Tyler Meredith, the thespian taking on the role of Hedda Gabler, challenges herself with playing such an intense character, but Hedda is a character identifiable to many au-diences. “Hedda feels such a wide spectrum of emotion and lets herself feel those things a lot like jealousy and anger, Meredith says. “She’s so human.”
As for Meredith’s expectations
of spectators’ reactions, she can only guess. “Hopefully, the audience will have no idea what’s going on most of the time with her,” she says. “That’s kind of my goal: to have them not know where she’s going to go next.”
Salerni took time finding the right adaptation of Hedda Gabler to perform on the UIC Theatre stage, but Andrew Upton’s was worth the wait. “What I think is so remarkable about the adaptation is that it has the same cutting edge confronta-tional aspects that the original must have had in the Victorian sensibility and that’s was sold me on it.”
Salerni saw the modern traits in Hedda’s character as well. “Hedda is a very contemporary 21st century
woman who happened to live in the 19th century which is part of the problem which she faces.” Audienc-es will appreciate the pickiness of Salerni when showtime arrives and when they are naturally emphasiz-ing with Hedda’s plait.
Performance dates for Hedda Gabler are on October 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 at 7:30 and on October 3, 6, and 10 at 2:15. Tickets are $16.00 for general admission and $11.00 for students. For additional informa-tion, call the box office at 312-996-2939.
REBECCA FRANEK
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COWARDLY SCARECROW THEATRE COMPANY
It’s the dawn of the zombie apocalypse; a few of the only living people on Earth are trapped in a barn, trying desperately to ward off their imminent death…by singing and tap-dancing.
Coming to the Charnel House this October from the minds of Brad Younts and Marc Lewallen, Musical of the Living Dead is what the pair like to call “a cross between classic zombie films and famous Broadway musicals.”
Over the span of nine months, the two have written, casted, and directed an entire musical, as well as started their own production company specifically for Musical of the Living Dead.
What Lewallen and Younts like to call a “mash up” of various zombie films, Musical of the Living Dead is about ten people trapped in a farmhouse during the start of a zombie apocalypse.
The musical goes through their trials of trying to survive through various song and dance numbers, and of course, a little blood. For those fans that don’t mind getting a little blood splatter on their shirt,
the first two to three rows have been designated as a “splatter zone,” and for those who wish to sit up close but prefer to keep their shirts clean, ponchos will be sold.
But why a zombie musical?
“Why not a zombie musical?” Younts says.
“We both love zombie movies,” Lewallen adds, “and we both have a history of doing musical theatre together. When they’re combined it’s like chocolate and peanut but-ter—you really can’t get any better than that.”
Friends since high school, the pair had no problem writing a musical together. “The process was actually remarkably easy,” Younts says, “Basically, Marc would do a pass at it and send it to me, and then I’d work on it for a week or so and send it back to him. We’d just trade back and forth, adding more jokes and more characters.”
“The George Romero movies are our biggest inspiration for our show,” Lewallen says, “like Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, and Day of the Dead.”
“But as for the tone of the actual show would be something more
like Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive or Shawn of the Dead, so it has sort of a comedy-wise tone,” Younts adds, “But it’s all sorts of Broadway inspi-rations musically. Everything from Gershwin to Green Day.”
“I think because Brad and I’s vision was so strong and we knew our capabilities and the people who we had available were so willing to help us, we really didn’t feel like we were biting off more than we could chew,” Lewallen says, “I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.”
“The Chicago Theatre Com-munity is who we’ve been working with and around, and they’ve been
very helpful and very supportive,” Younts says, “And I would be remised if we didn’t give a huge thank-you to Stage 773 for giving us a place to rehearse and being incredibly helpful and accommo-dating and supportive of [Musical of the Living Dead].”
“Marc and I sat down and he told me he had a two-page outline for a zombie musical that he thought would be a lot of fun to do,” Younts says, “So here we are, nine months later and two weeks away from opening night…It feels like it’s been a very fast process, but it’s been a very fun process.”
The duo does not plan to stop their careers as playwrights here, “I think this sort of opened the floodgates for us,” Younts says. The pair has two ideas in the works for future plays that they hope to produce in the upcoming year.
Musical of the Living Dead is being performed at the Charnel House, located at 3421 West Ful-lerton Avenue. The musical will be running every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 PM from October 7th through October 30th, with a special showing on Halloween that is to be followed by a reception.
For more information on the musical and on how to purchase tickets, please visit www.musi-calofthelivingdead.com.
Singing and tap-dancing through the zombie apocalypseCowardly Scarecrow Productions bring a mashup of old zombie films and Broadway musicals to the Charnel House.
ABBEY HOSEY
FeATuresTh e Ar g u s
Monday, October 4, 2010
6 Features Editor: Lisa MoyE-mail: [email protected]
UIC Theatre this week: Hedda Gabler shines
Monday, October 4, 2010 FeATures 7
Aspiring portrait photogra-pher, future counselor and strong feminist. Yara Mekawi is a mix of many things; in her own words she is “fascinated with human behav-ior, has a strong yearning not to be hypocritical and will be a fabulous wife and mother one day.”
Having lived abroad most of her life and attended school in Oman, she grew up among di-versity. Laughing, Yara said that when she moved to Naperville, Il-linois to complete her high school career, she felt like she had walked onto a set of “Bring it On.”
Yara describes her first experi-ences with discrimination, and recalls how strongly she disliked being stereotyped because she was Arab. Yet she says that there was positivity in this change because she was offered so many more courses in Naperville. The day she walked into Psychology class, it was fate.
“I completely emphasized with the types of things that I read, and decided that this was what I want-
ed to do with my life.”Now a senior majoring in Psy-
chology, Yara wants to be a coun-selor and has recently applied to fourteen graduate schools. Yet Yara admits she was disillusioned in the beginning.
“I thought it was about man-aging people’s lives and struggled with realizing that counseling was simply not just giving advice - I guess my initial attraction was rooted in selfishness.”
At UIC, Yara has participated with the Crisis Hotline. She also does research focused on racial identity, collective guilt, and spe-cifically among people of Arab descent. Yara believes that being a psychologist is being a certain type of person, you have to unlearn so much of what society has taught you.”
Not just fascinated by human behavior in the psychological as-pect, Yara sincerely enjoys portrait photography. She partakes in peo-ple watching frequently and finds joy in showcasing personality and human emotion.
Apart from her desire to pur-sue counseling and her passion for photography, Yara loves to cook and while being a feminist, she sincerely enjoys housework. Bluntly, she says that she contra-dicts herself in this way. “I will most likely have dinner done at 7 p.m. every night, along with hav-ing a career and family.”
Yet the catch is that he, her fu-ture husband, should never expect it. Yara explains that society con-ditions women to feed into gen-der roles just as much as men do. Society makes the goal of women to be desired- instead of to be the one doing the desiring. And yet, she says, she is guilty of playing the role.
Yara MekawiSenior Psychology Major
EYES AMONG US
EYES AMONG US fea-tures a new intersting student from the UIC campus every week. You can suggest some-one at uicargus.com.
hard and challenging, but fun at the same time.” With taking the classes you are allowed to climb as often as you like. “I’ll probably come two to three times a week.” says Kripa-karan.
The wall is open Sunday’s through Thursday’s from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday’s 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday’s 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students can purchase a day pass to climb for only $3 and a ten day pass for only $20.
One of the events UIC offers is coming up next month. On Octo-ber 8th, from 7 p.m. to midnight, Friday Night Live (FNL) will have yet another great night to remem-ber. This event, which only takes place once a month, is great to gather friends and attend, or make new ones while there.
FNL is full of great activities sure to have something for every-one. Besides being entered into a raffle to win a Nintendo Wii, some of the activities include playing Rockband and dodgeball, eating pizza and fudge puppies (chocolate covered Belgian waffles shaped like corndogs), rock climbing and mas-sages, and best of all, FNL is free for all UIC students.
For students who want to show off their music skills, Rockband is set up every Wednesday in the In-
ner Circle in Student Center East from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.. After grabbing a quick bite in between classes, students can have their turn on any instrument or on vocals on a mega-screen in the Inner Circle.
For a more calming and intimate activity, students can play pool in Campus Recreation, located in Student Center East. For students who do not play pool, there is a full arcade along with a bowling alley conveniently located in the same
place. UIC offers students all the tools
needed to relax and take a break from the pressures of school. Gath-er a group of friends together and take part in one of the many activi-ties available on campus. So, when fun calls, throw on some sweats and hit the gym or chat up some new friend at FNL.
LEO FLIMAN/the ARGUSBILLARDS IN STUDENT CENTER EAST
ACTIVITIES from page 1
Almost every UIC student vis-its the UIC Bookstore at the start of the semester to get their books for classes. Some students may have finished off back-to-school shopping by purchasing pens, note-books, folders and planners, while other students might have even dropped by in between classes and purchased the occasional sweat-shirt or coffee mug.
However, the UIC Bookstore employees are surprised by what students are not taking advantage of. From iPads to ink refills, listed below are five great buys that UIC students might not have realized are available at the Bookstore.
1. Software: Not only does the bookstore offer computer software like Adobe Acrobat 9, and Apple’s Final Cut Studio, but also at dis-counted prices. What may cost thousands of dollars if purchased directly from the supplier; one can get for much less if bought at the bookstore. Anything from video, and photo editing for Macs to Of-fice software for PC’s. Whether students are a PC or a Mac, both will benefit from shopping at the bookstore for cheaper computer products.
2. Pogoplug: This multimedia sharing device enables the user to have all their files in one place by connecting all owned external hard drives to the internet, and provid-ing access to them whether at home or on campus. Also, it backs up files in case a student’s computer crash-es…which happens all too frequent-ly and at the worst times. You can even stream videos to select phones and share files without uploading a thing.
3. Pogo Sketch: This pen like device is designed for use on a MacBook, iPad, or iPhone, when precision and accuracy are a must. The Pogo Sketch makes it easy when sketching or taking notes in lectures on an iPad. It also can be used for drawing on the trackpad (for those unfamiliar with tech lingo, basically a flat surface instead of a mouse in order to navigate on a computer). Chicago winters are chilly and while walking around campus, taking your hands out of your pockets or gloves could mean frostbite. Instead of losing a finger to text a friend, the Pogo Sketch can keep hands warm without hav-ing phone calls go unanswered.
4. The iPad: What is consid-ered to be one of Apple’s most significant products is available at the bookstore. This mix between the iPhone and MacBook gives the user the workings of a computer in a more sleeker and portable device. The iPad can be used as a music and book library, for telecommunica-tions, gaming, Web, and numerous other tasks.
5. Ink Refills: Ink cartridges
can get ridiculously expensive se-mester after semester, but the UIC Bookstore can provide refills. Save money on ink by bringing empty cartridges to the bookstore for a refill. If cartridges are not damaged, you can get color ink refills for only $15, and black refills for only $10. Why take a bus to an office sup-ply store when you can easily walk from class to the UIC Bookstore?
These are just a few examples of the numerous buys conveniently located at the UIC Bookstore in Student Center East.
Five things you didn’t know you could buy at the UIC Bookstore
SKARLET WALLS
BILLARDS IN STUDENT CENTER EAST BRIANNA MILKA/the ARGUS
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Aries: March 20 - April 20What comes around goes around. Be careful of what you say behind your friends’ backs, they are probably doing the same exact thing. Don’t be surprised when nobody seems to be answering your texts.
Taurus: April 21 - May 21They say that money doesn’t grow on trees – but lots of people drop change on the sidewalk. Start being more alert of your surroundings this week instead of keeping your head in the clouds, you might find a stroke of luck-for a change of pace.
Gemini: May 22 - June 21Did you break a mirror? Maybe you walked under a ladder. Well, Gemini, things do not seem to be looking good for you. You might want to stay indoors and away from sharp objects. Make sure to lock yourself in because someone you pissed off may decide to barge into your life again … with vengeance.
Cancer: Jun 22 - Jul 22Keep your chin up dear Cancer. Even though someone very close to you may have hurt you in the past, someone new will be there to fix the broken pieces of your unre-markable life.
Leo: July 23 - August 23Leotards and off-the-shoulder sweatshirts need to stay in the 80’s. This is not a good look for you. It’s time to update your wardrobe. Your “friends” might not be tell-ing you the truth about how ridiculous you look because you’re the butt of all their jokes. Not to mention your butt does not look good in leotards.
Virgo: August 24 - September 23If you’re going out again, try a virgin vodka on the rocks. You may think you can handle yourself, but the friend that you vomited on for the past three nights say oth-erwise.
Libra: September 24 - Octiber 23Try something new this week; a new hairdo, a new res-taurant – anything. Your friends are getting tired of how boringly safe you are, Wet Blanket. Either do yourself a favor and live a little, or do your friends a favor and stay at home.
Scorpio: October 24 - November 22Start exercising and going to the gym some time soon. Helping yourself to three servings of dessert is not help-ing your love life. Don’t you find it strange that your significant other has been busy lately? It could be heavily influenced by how many extra pounds you’re packing.
Sagittarius: November 23 - December 21Think before you speak. It might save you from seri-ous trouble if you try not to express your thoughts so bluntly. Even though your boss might have breath that smells like sardines and wood chips, it probably isn’t a good idea to tell them that – they just might give you the boot.
Capricorn: December 22 - January 19Lose the ego, Capricorn. Stop looking in the mirror (and every other reflective surface for that matter) and start paying attention to other people for a change. You prob-ably haven’t noticed, but the world really doesn’t revolve around you. Seriously.
Aquarius: January 20 - February 18Acquire a skill. Find your passion. If you don’t, you may end up homeless.
Pisces: February 19 - March 19Picture this: you’re lounging on a white sand beach, a fruity drink with an umbrella at hand, lots of sun, a slight breeze, and plenty of eye candy in every direction. This will never happen, not with the way your life is going. Your reality is more like sewer water and dump-ster diving.
Dear Dr.Love,During a rough love making session with my sugar momma, my back was shredded by her french manicure. When asked about it by my serious love interest, I said it was a mountain biking accident. My main squeeze and I aren’t officially together but I still feel like I should have come clean. My serious interest and I have been having problems recently because we have a long distance relationship that is putting a strain on her trust for me. Obviously, she has reason to be concerned given what I have just told you, yet I’m trying to clean up my act. Should I fess up or enjoy my moral flexibility?
Do I get rid of my sugar momma or make her my serious girlfriend instead? I’m loving the VIP treatment but I’m serious about my main girl.
Yours Truly,Molly Flexble
Dear Flexible,It seems like your moral compass tends to point due south and you’re making some risky
choices. And although Dr. Love tends to argue that honestly is the best policy – like when telling your girl she doesn’t look fat in those jeans or your best friend that those shoes really do go with that outfit – this is one thing your honey bun shouldn’t find out about. Why tell your main squeeze about what will only cause problems and hurt all around? However, that little white lie seems to be the least of your problems. You’ve gotten yourself into quite a love tangle here and only you can decide where your true feelings lie. If you’re set on living the good life until she finds someone younger, stay with your sugar momma – it sounds like she knows how to party, a shared interest. But if you decide you’re in love with your serious interest, ditch the sugar momma, confess your initial insecurities (without going into detail) and don’t look back. r maiden.
Thank you for writing the love doctor. I hope this helps.
Dr. Love
The crisp start of the school year has rectified its glory as students around campus are settling down into their fall schedules. A trend among the daily grind for UIC students is the usage of portable music players. Random students in the Quad and around campus this past week were asked what was playing in their iPod or MP3 player at the time. The data gathered compiles a UIC-specific playlist that can be referred to as what UIC students are currently listening to. Enjoy!
1. Prince Onyeise:“Monster” by Kanye West
2. Franco Fernandez:“Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar
3. Alex Kanchurin:“Drop a Jewel” by Freddie Foxxx
4. Davis Bhagati:“Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi
5. David Mednikov:“If My Heart was a House” by Owl City
6. Nick O’Keiffe:“Voices” by Disturbed
7. Michael Vandenbosch:“Just Fine” by Mary J. Blige
8. Joel Ruvalcaba:“American Pie” by Don McLean
9. Nicole Vassell:“Judith” by A Perfect Circle
10. Nathan Green:“Shake It” by Metro Station
11. Cassie Richardson:“Like a G6” by FEM
12. Nick Sqantore:“Trani” by Kings of Leon
13. Kayleigh Tovar:“When I Get Home” by Mayday Parade
14. Omar Barraza:“Electric Relaxation” by A Tribe Called Quest
15. Lynn Hurtado:“Secrets” by One Republic
16. Ryan Blackmon:“Unforgettable” by Drake
17. Sarah Reich:“Jesus Etc.” by Wilco
18. LaPerish Barnes:“Beyond Belief ” 116 Clique
19. Patsy Heisler:“Desperate Angel” by X Japan
20. Whitney Difoggio:“Never Again” by Kelly Clarkson
21. Billy Ngouh:“There Goes My Baby” by Usher
22. Linnett Richards:“Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry
23. Leonel Garcia:“Embrace the Martian” by Kid Cudi
24. Sydney Dawsey:“In the Cut” by Wiz Khalifa
25. Dhruvy Shah:“Carry Out” by Timbaland ft. Justin Timberlake
DisTrAcTioNsTh e Ar g u s
Monday, October 4, 2010
10 Disctractions Editor: Editorial BoardE-mail: [email protected]
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DisTrAcTioNsMonday, October 4, 2010 11
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solution: www.sudoku-puzzles.net
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Lisa Moy: ArtistFeatures EditorMaggie Fortson
Maggie Fortson is a Chicago resident and photographer. She has an online portfolio and photoblog that capture beautiful com-positions of weddings, families, or just portraits – anything she’s hired for. If you appreciate beauty, you’ll fall in love with her photography; pure and genuine artistry forces you to see Chi-cago through a different lens. You don’t need to be getting mar-ried to appreciate the work she does. See more of her work at: Maggiefortson.com.
Brianna Milka: WebsiteEditor in ChiefTumblr.com
If you are a visually creative person, or just need that boost of cre-ative inspiration, then Tumblr.com should be your go-to website. This is no ordinary blogging website; I would consider this site to be a “visu-alblog.” Users are able to post anything from videos, music, and photos, to text’s, website links, and quotes. Tumblr.com allows their users to customize their own page and start blogging within minutes of signing up. If you don’t find yourself to be particularly creative, or don’t know what to post, grab a little inspiration from the millions of users already on Tumblr.com.
Melissa Caldena: MovieAssistant Features EditorWall Street: Money Nev-er Sleeps
Greed Is Good. Any-one who has not seen the original Wall Street (1987) missed out on familiarizing themselves with the movie villain rated #24 out of the top 50 of all time (AFI, 2008). The latest install-ment gives new meaning to the phrase. In Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Mi-chael Douglas returns, reprising his role as Gor-don Gecco, this time with revenge on his mind and a stock portfolio to refill.
John Goes: BookOpinions EditorThe Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson
Learn to eat, work out and play like our primitive ances-tors did, maximizing your gene expression. How well do our bodies process wheat, processed sugars and other relatively new additions to the human diet? Not very well, argues Mark Sis-son, supplying good arguments and evidence. Check it out and find out how the conventional wisdom has it all wrong.
As students, having enough money in your bank accounts is pretty hard to maintain since there are often “unaccounted for” ex-penses. It’s especially disheartening when the number in your banking accounts slowly and painfully lower toward zero.
With our country currently fac-ing one of the worst economic pe-riods, and job openings becoming scarcer, utilizing your money effi-ciently must become a strong habit to incorporate in nearly every facet of your life.
So what can students do to pre-vent an early financial doomsday scenario?
Save and learn how to live on a budget. Take into account whether you have to pay rent or tuition – big items such as those should be listed first. If you have a job, and still have money left over after that, try put-ting fifty percent of what you make in the bank. The rest of it is yours to spend until your next paycheck.
Saving money is fairly easy to do. It’s keeping up with money-saving habits that become the greatest challenge.
Textbooks are like vampires, ex-cept instead of blood, they suck the money right out of your wallets. Every new semester, students are expected to purchase new textbooks that are costly and overpriced.
There are options to avoid having to pay full price. Borrow a textbook from a friend/classmate who previ-ously took the course. If that doesn’t quite work out, then check out a few
sites such as Amazon.com or Chegg.com where books are available to buy or at cheap prices.
Other sites allow students to rent textbooks with free shipping and re-turns. Check out places like www.campusbookrentals.com, www.text-bookstop.com or www.rent-a-text.com. Renting textbooks is a cost ef-ficient way to save.
No matter where you are living, whether it’s in a dorm or an apart-ment, you’ll have some grocery shopping to take care of. Always be on the lookout for bargains. Take a look at the ads and see what’s on sale for the week.
Buy generic. Not only are generic products similar, if not the same to big named brands, but saving a few bucks here and there by buying cheaper products can make all the
difference. Take Dominick’s for in-stance, which provides the Safeway brand – it is just as good as other name brands but for a fraction of the cost.
Write a list of groceries you ab-solutely need, and only buy those that are listed. By doing this, it will be easier to resist those impulse buy items. Also consider going gro-cery shopping when in a hurry, this makes it more difficult to spend money on items that aren’t absolute essentials.
Personal entertainment tempts many people to splurge on impul-sive urges. Items such as DVD’s and books are enjoyable to own, howev-er, stocking up on the latest release will cause depletion in your funds.
There is a simple alternative: the school library. Students fail to
realize the vast opportunities the li-brary has to offer. Libraries are full of books, obviously, but movies and CDs? Yes. And not just films from the 80s and 90s or educational “en-tertainment”, but they hold a mas-sive collection of up to date/mod-ern/hip (whatever you want to call it) films.
The best part? It’s free. With your handy dandy student id, the world is at your fingertips.
If going to the movies is still a must, go before 6:00 p.m. to miss that $2 charge added for night showings.
Probably the biggest luxuries students spend money on are restau-rants. Restaurants are everywhere on college campuses. The aromas wafting in from Greek Town or Lit-tle Italy are undeniably tempting,
but here’s how you can save some money from these traps: if you still have food in the refrigerator, use it.
The worst thing you can do is spend money on groceries and not use it because you’re spending more money on eating out and leav-ing tips. Instead of diving into the temptation of restaurant hopping, try going once every other week. Plan ahead and keep your budget in mind.
Another alternative to going out is inviting friends over and having a potluck. Potlucks keep the cost of food per person cheaper than going out to eat.
If you are going out on a date, go dutch. One person doesn’t have to pay for the entire date, split the cost.
Lastly, remember the “30 day rule.” When debating about that unnecessary purchase, wait 30 days, then ask if the purchase is necessary.
College is supposed to be one of the best and exciting years of any-one’s life. People always advise the younger crowd to live it up, to create memories that’ll last a lifetime.
Sometimes people will say that you need to spend money in order to have the full college experience. While at times spending money will be part of the equation of the col-lege experience, saving money can also prevent the fun from even hap-pening.
There are still ways you can enjoy college to its full extent without ful-ly going bankrupt. As Picasso said, “I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money.”
DeAl wATchersTh e Ar g u s
Monday, October 4, 2010
12 Community Editor: Lisa MoyE-mail: [email protected]
Saving money: Tips to help pad your walletMIDM YI
BRIANNA MILKA
[email protected] [email protected]
All offers are subject to change.
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BRIAN LOUIE/the ARGUS
Current i-card discounts
As the number of people attending college continues to skyrocket, so do the costs associated with it; UIC isn’t any different.
However, there are ways aroundthose jaw-dropping sticker prices, many of which students aren’t even aware of.
Scholarship and grant opportunities are becoming increasingly available for students totake advantage of.
Not only are they straightforward and easy to finish, but scholarships and grants are also being awarded for a variety of interests and needs.
For example, each academic college at UIC offers their own form of scholarship aid, catered towards students’ individual academic interests.
Along with these scholarships, UIC is constantly receiving scholarship opportunities from external businesses and organizations, all eager to help students succeed.
New scholarship opportunities are always emerging.
A good example is the Critical Languages Scholarship. Students that receive this aid have the opportunity to pursue languages that the United States Department of Cultural Affairs has deemed ‘critically needed’ in society.
Languages offered include Hindi, Japanese, and Arabic among many others.
One great aspect of this scholarship program is how it allows students to study languages abroad, as a part of a language intensive program.
In this sense, students are able to study a language while receiving the
cultural benefits of another country. The deadline for this particular
scholarship is on November 15th, 2010.
So how can someone go about looking for scholarship opportunities? Elizabeth Powers, Director of the Office of Special Scholarship Programs (OSSP) at UIC, claims the best way to get started with scholarship research is to visit and join the listserv at the OSSP website.
The website contains a thorough list of all scholarships offered by UICand other organizations, as well as the deadline and requirements needed for completing that particular scholarship.
Most deadlines are also in the spring, giving students enough time to fill out needed applications. Not enough? OSSP also has a scholarship library, allowing students more targeting research regarding the types of aid they are interested in.
There are also workshops and information sessions being held for students interested in applying for scholarships aid, many of which are listed on the OSSP’s main website. Grant writing workshops are also taking place around campus; the next grant essentials workshop will be held on October 26th from 10 a.m. -12 p.m.
“My advice to students is to be persistent,” Power stated. “There are so many facets to who [you] are, that can apply to many different types of scholarship aid.”
Students here can easily find scholarships that both interest and benefit them, hopefully giving more for them to apply.
For many college graduates, a daunting challenge looms ahead: landing that first job. Yet, despite these troubling economic time, there are practical skills, knowledge, or wisdoms that to give you an edge in the highly competitive job field. Here are a few brief tips that might want to consider.
One of the most important components to begin the search with is your resume. Putting together a professional resume is not rocket science, however, many people do not take the time to learn the proper steps to create a flawless resume.
First things first: Know what you need to put in a resume. Putting everything and anything you did in your life can actually clutter your resume. You want your interviewer to catch the main points of your background with a quick scan; otherwise you can kiss your opportunity goodbye. It’s extremely important to know what you want the company to learn about you and then include it in the resume
beginning with the most important. Quadruple check your resume
before submitting it. People forget this step and it costs them their job. Reviewing your resume to make sure it is as perfect as it can be does not take much time. Especially during the current economic circumstances, you don’t want a misspelled word to be the deal breaker for a potential career. Doing the little things gives enormous rewards.
Now begins the hard part of the job search. It is the actual searching of jobs that might drive many of you to insanity. From the mental standpoint, you must have the perseverance, motivation, and ambition to drive you long ways. There has to be the visible passion for that job. Confidence needs overflow.
Start with the Internet. There are various websites such as Monster.com or CareerBuilders.com that can assist you during your job search. Do research on each company you want to apply for. The Internet is a deep, vast resource. Use it until you can use it no longer.
Talk to your professors, academic
advisors, or fellow students. Chances are they each have connections that helped them. Academic counselors are like hidden treasures. They have many connections with companies or individuals and can help open a gateway of opportunities. Develop relationships with your professors and counselors, and then you might get the chance to slip in your desire to receive help in your job search.
After enduring a period of agonizing anticipation, the hard work and effort might result with an interview. Companies all have different processes of holding interviews, but that doesn’t mean preparation won’t help. Research sample questions commonly used during interviews and practice your answers. It is easy to think you can pull an answer out without looking like an idiot, but once you are sitting in the office facing the interviewer it’s a whole new ballgame.
These small steps should not be taken for granted. In these times, it is small efforts that can seal the deal.
SCHOLARSHIP BOOKS LINE THE SHELVES OF THE SCHOLARSHIP OFFICE
Get ahead in your job search:Beefing up your resume and finding that elusive job
DeAl wATchersMonday, October 4, 2010 13
this column is sponsored by betterresumes.com
SHANI CHIBBER
EVAN SITT/the [email protected]
Unclaimed scholarships still available
MIDM YI
We live in uncertain times. Those of us growing up in the 90s were living in a time in which a world of constantly accelerating progress seemed our certain inheritance. We were told our generation would be unimaginably better off than even the fantastic explosion of wealth in the Internet Age had thus far al-lowed. Then there was a crash. And then another. And another. The downward trend hardly seems to be letting up. Our economy has been creating bubble after bubble: the dot com bubble, the housing bubble, the commodity bubble. It looks like among other uncertainties we may now be sitting atop a higher educa-tion bubble that may pop.
The costs of education have been rising meteorically. Since 1978 cost-of-living has risen 2.5-fold and medical expenses have risen 6-fold, while higher education has risen a whopping 10-fold. That is a breath-taking statistic, especially given that the value of a college degree is not apparently increasing at anything approaching that pace. If anything, the value of a college degree is rather stagnant.
Many professors report that they are pressured to dumb down mate-rial to ensure adequate pass rates, a perception borne out by many stud-ies that measure the reading com-prehension and ability to process information of college graduates. Even the long-treasured liberal arts core is crumbling as the Classics and other requirements fall by the way-side to novel, less substantial content like multicultural or women’s studies courses.
This is no doubt driven in part by the obsessive crusade to push everyone go to college, which is in turn partly a response to the federal prohibition of psychometric tests for prospective employees. It used to be the case that maybe the smartest 15% would enroll in college, while now it is close to 40%.
The college-educated make more
money, but college-educated people also tend to have higher IQs, which better predict future income than mere enrollment in college. In the sixties college graduates had an av-erage IQ of 115, today that figure is about 104.
Since employers are not allowed to test for IQ, they must use a degree as a proxy (a college degree does also serve as an indication of a student’s perseverance and ability to work in a structured environment) Now that almost all sectors of the economy are scaling back we are rooting out the inefficiency of the system as unpro-ductive workers and over-expanded industries are collapsing. Many stu-dents on the margin today are be-ing encouraged to go to college and leave saddled with enormous debt and little to show for their degree.
The problem is so large there is a growing cry that much of the higher education industry is a glori-fied Ponzi scheme. Critics point out that student loan debt in America totals well over $800 billion and big student loan companies like Sallie Mae own many of debt collection agencies that go after those unable to pay. These debt collection agencies have been given mafia-like power to collect debts. Student loan debts cannot be discharged by bankruptcy and sometimes even death cannot stop their collection.
Higher education has all the characteristics of an industry riding a bubble. Consumers believe they are buying a product worth much more than its cost and to acquire it are willing to go into increasing debt - debt that may eventually sink them, along with the massive credit card debt and national debt in which we are all collectively drowning in. Parents and students are starting to catch on as they are less willing to borrow and are increasingly choos-ing cheaper state schools like UIC rather than fancier alternatives.
America has dug itself into a hole and there is no easy way out. The deep structural problem is that col-lege degrees and high school diplo-mas are no longer efficient ways of signaling true knowledge and apti-tude. The future is a system whereby college or a college-substitute pre-pares you for a series of exams test-ing your aptitude in your chosen field, followed perhaps by some sort
of apprenticeship.The path to become an actuary
perfectly models this possibility. It matters little what degree you come out of school with, only whether you can demonstrate your talent, knowl-edge and perseverence in a rigorous, objective manner.
There is a value to a traditional liberal arts education, but it is for the few and much of it should ide-ally be taught in high school, which is incidentally even more dumbed down on average than college. This will mean radical change in our educational structure. Change it is coming, the only question is how quickly.
Online education has an increas-ingly relevant role in American edu-cation and as we open up to testable certification programs and create well-defined gauntlets aimed toward certain career paths, the decentral-ization of education will effect most of the necessary changes. After all, in an age when information is vir-tually free, why pay exorbitant rates for educational programs of dubious value? The real problem to be solved here is finding a way to supply the networking and community-based opportunites of a college in a more decentralized structure.
In the meanwhile, students and parents face serious choices. Go-ing to UIC instead of paying tens of thousands of dollars for a private school education is a good start. Go-ing the extra mile to avoid taking out students loans is another. In this era more than ever we have to take a cue from our Great-Depression era rela-tives: save.
More daringly, it is as good of ad-vice as ever to avoid majors that yield little future income. English majors, philosophy majors and so on need to have a very clear idea of their future path before embarking on an expen-sive four years of “finding yourself ”.
We are not children anymore, we are adults. Society has clearly failed us, brainwashing us with myopic vi-sions of college life. Only the fittest survive and thrive: make sure you’re one of them.
Th e Ar g u s
Monday, October 4, 2010
Opinions Editor: John GoesE-mail: [email protected]
14
want to respond to these opinions?
visit us at opinions.uicargus.com and have your say.
the opinions expressed on this page are solely the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the opin-ions of hermes media, inc. the argus editorial board, or any of our partners, sponsors, or advertisers.
JOHN GOES
The burst of the education bubble
IN YOUR
EYESHow do you th ink
our generat ion should respond
to increas ing educat ion costs?
“The state of our economy makes it dif-ficult to find jobs (for the purposes of paying tuition) and if you’re a full-time student, it’s a challenge to balance hav-ing a job and going to classes at the same time. The best thing I can recommend is to apply for financial aid and receive loans. Also, plan ahead: don’t over commit your-self to things. If you know you have to work, don’t take 4 classes. It’s better to take 2 or 3 classes that you can be fully commit to and work part time rather than paying for full year’s worth of tuition and not doing well in your classes. Be reason-able and realistic about what you can do.”
Joy Tepleyjunior, biology
“I think we should work harder. Some people sit back and solely rely on their parents for financial support. We should get better grades, work, or get good grades to earn scholarships. We, as students who need the money, should be active about this problem of increasing costs.”
Jennifer Esparzajunior, engineering
“It relates to the aspect of how the univer-sity spends money. Sure, it’s nice to make the campus pretty but what’s aesthetic val-ue when your education, the purpose of being in school, is so expansive? Cutting costs: how serious are we, the students, about it? How serious is the university about it? Also, the textbook prices are crazy and it’s ridiculous how much money is spent on books alone.”
Andria Castillojunior, anthropology
“Honestly, with the increasing cost of education, I would at least like to know where the money is going. If the money is used for something reasonable, I have no complaints. It would help to be able to physically see the effects of increased funds such as updated computers or text-books instead of constructing new build-ings as the old ones are deteriorating.”
Samuel Obazeejunior, biochemistry
“We should do something about it now so that the cost for school doesn’t continu-ously increase even into the future when our kids have to go to school. I received loans in order to pay for school because I couldn’t pay up front. The university should provide jobs for students on cam-pus and provide other ways to make edu-cation affordable so that all students can receive quality education without the financial stressor that almost everyone is affected by.”
Mike Adamcyzksophomore, mechanical
engineering
“Hopefully, there will be a cap on how much schools charge students. In some countries in Europe, students pay only couple hundreds of dollars and the cost of living is also better but the price of educa-tion hasn’t gotten outrageous like it has in the United States. We should analyze and compare what contributing factors exist in that difference because what are they spending their money on is allowing them to keep education affordable. Unfortu-nately, our country runs as a capitalistic market and that’s what sucks.”
Azziza Ahmedjunior, finance
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, people are staunchly against [funding schools] so the schools have to keep cut-ting programs. I think overall, the in-crease in education costs has to do with priorities and what people feel is impor-tant and necessary and likewise, what they believe to be insignificant and not worth putting money towards.”
Anna Hatton5th year, english
Once taken for granted, the cost of higher education is rising at unprecedented rates, calling into question the value of a college degree.
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Th e Ar g u s
UPCOMING EVENTS
October 5th Women’s Volleyball vs. Milwaukee 7:00 PM at the Flames Athletic Center
October 6th Women’s Volleyball vs. Green Bay 7:00-9:00 at the Flames Athletic Center
October 9th Men’s Soccer @ Butler Indianapolis IN, 3:00pm
October 8-10th Women’s Tennis, All day Northwestern Invitational Evanston IL
October 6th Study abroad first step informational session 10-11 am @ 502 University Hall
October 7th Free movie- Hot Tub Time Machine 5-7 pm @ SCW room 40
October 4th Resume workshop, 3:30-5:00 in the Cardinal Room
October 10th High on Fire & Torch at Metro at 6:30 pm, $21
October 9th Chicago Country Music Fest Millennium Park, 9 pm, free
October 5th Midwest Independent Film Fest $10, midwestfilm.org