After a long 8-hour day at Dominican yesterday, I was anxiously driving home. I was hurrying spend time with my mom (who was visiting my sister and I) and to walk my dog, Romeo. Plans changed, as they often do when a hungry journalist is ready for a story. I saw ABC 7's live truck at parked on Augusta right in front of Concordia University. I wondered, "Hmmmm......Why is 7 here?" So I turned around, parked and approached the photographer.
After I told him about my internship at NBC this summer, he was glad that a random person wasn't bothering him (as countless, nosey people do when out on a story). He was excited that a fellow journalist was there. Not just a bum. So we spoke, he told me John Garcia was in the truck and I asked him questions: Was there breaking news? Did something happen? What's going on?
He filled me on about Concordia's huge press conference that was held earlier that day.
Fifth Third Bank offers sixth graders in the the surrounding area possible opportunites to attend Concordia University for free if they can maintain their grades throught middle school and high school. Click here to watch ABC 7's John Garcia for more.
Yesterday he spoke to our Intercultural Communications class, and again, our discussion was not only fascinating, but very inspiring. My classmates and I had read Overthrow over the course of this semester, and he was coming to answer our questions on the 300-page book. While we talked about the facts of America's imperialism, he also interjected much of his funny quips and natural wisdom.
"I like everyone who's 'atypical.' Each of you is a unique, individual, separate part of creation."
"As Americans, WE think we have the key (to how other nations should live). This illusion comes from our narcissistic view, that thinks culture doesn't matter. It's been said, 'Better 40 years under a tyrant than one day under foreign rule.'"
"We should represent our true values! Look at past interventions and learn from them."
"It's also been said: 'The happiest countries, like the happiest women, have no history.'"
"I realized I didn't have any other abilities! If I didn't make something of writing, I'd be sleeping in the gutter."
It was that last quote that really got me. As a writer, I know that if I don't make a career of it, I won't be able to do anything else. His humor and wisdom was inspiring, and I suggest everyone utilize him before the end of the semester!
As the semester comes to a close Centennial Hall damages have not disappeared, as residents and their guests continue to take poor care of their home. Check out the video below for details on the situation.
As the weather cools and the leaves fall, an inevitable doom will pass through Dominincan: the cold.
Yes, those little bugs are everywhere, especially in the Res Halls. With late nights and close quarters, the passing of the vicious cold from student to student is like watching a row of dominoes fall. On my floor of Coughlin 2, it seemed to start slowly, working it's way down the rooms, one by one. Now, there seems to be an epidemic of sick freshman everywhere. Kleenex fills the garbage cans, sniffles echo in the hallway, and the NyQuil is passed around like a bottle of whiskey.
It's no wonder why everyone is getting sick. Students work hard and late on homework.....well at least late. Everyone lives close together and shares everything from pants to pillows to cups. Germs spread easily through the halls.
Help is in sight. There are some simple tips to avoid the cold from the The Parent Guide, besides hiding in your room until March.
1. Wash hands frequently
2. Drink plenty of water
3. Consume healthier foods and beverages.
4. Stay upbeat.
5. Get plenty of fresh air and gets some exercise.
6. Sleep
For now, follow these tips to avoid the cold or at the very least, make it less severe. See? Feeling better all ready!
Four Dominican students discuss diversity on campus, compare it to their experience in high school and talk about any improvements DU should make in connection with diversity.
Students interviewed: Christina Kim, Monica Prisco, Nadya Remy and Dulce Melo.
Former US Ambassador to Rwanda, Michael Arietti, spoke to students about careers in foreign diplomacy Thursday, Nov. 13. Anyone interested in foreign diplomacy and careers in foreign affairs was welcomed to attend his lecture, which was held in the Springer Suite at 2:20 p.m. But what some people don't know is that only a handful of students (four or five) were afforded the opportunity to spend the afternoon with him in a more intimate setting.
Arietti had lunch with students and faculty and then had an intimate discussion in one of the theology rooms. For political science students, this was a great opportunity to learn about what's it's like living as a foreign ambassador. Arietti spent 35 years in foreign affairs with the US Department of State. The Department of State is responsible for American government regulations with countries around the world. Six of Arietti's 35 years with the Department of State were spent living overseas. He lived in Switzerland, Sweden, Australia, Iran, Zambia and Rwanda. "It was something I've always wanted to do," he said. "Living overseas allows the opportunity to deal with interesting issues, interesting places, interesting policy questions. It comes with lots of responsibility."
Arietti worked at US embassies and similar parallel structures in these countries. From 2005 until July of this year, Arietti served as ambassador of Rwanda. "It was a time in history when Liberian peace talks were facilitated by the US to bring peace and a better government to Liberia," he said. "We were restoring sanity to a country that had been devastated."
Students were fortunate to meet with him before his informative, invigorating open discussion.
Cristian Alaimo, seated left of Arietti, was given the opportunity to speak directly with Arietti at the intimate discussion. "It was an awesome experience," he said. "It was interesting to hear about all the places he's been to, people he's met, and experiences he's gone through. I learned a lot about the Department of State, ranks of diplomats and foreign affair careers." The aspiring attorney is a history major and political science minor. Shahzeb Shaikha, seated left of Arietti, also attended the personable discussion. "I wanted to have a more personal interaction with him before the open lecture. I want to go into foreign office as an ambassador or foreign policy advisor," the international relations major said. But when asked whether he'd like to pursue this type of career for the US or his native country of Pakistan, Shaikha said, "I'd prefer to work back home. I'd like to help educate my people."
Maryann Dreas attended Arietti's lecture, but was unable to attend the invite-only discussion. "It was a good opportunity to learn about the Department of State. The session was very informative on careers in diplomacy and the state department." Dreas is a double major in journalism and political science, with a minor in women's studies. "I'd like a career in international affairs. I'm thinking globally with foreign service, even the Department of State- something along those lines."
Arietti influenced Dominican students interested in this career field. Maybe a DU alum will be a US foreign ambassador one day.
Photos courtesy of Ann Charney Colmo, professor of political science, international relations and diplomacy, pre-law advisor and honors director.
The issue of self-segregation was brought up by Dominican student Nadya Remy after we discussed diversity at Dominican. She mentioned that she saw a clip on YouTube where a student at Duke University interviews fellow students about self-segregation. There is a trend among college campuses, though high schools may have the same predicament as well, where students of the same race and ethnicity sit together at the same table in the cafeteria and hang out together.
I've seen this at Dominican and it has been discussed among my friends. It is an unavoidable subject as you look around the dining hall at lunch or dinner. I've definitely noticed how certain types of people sit together.
Now while ideally, college should be a time to mix and mingle with other people from different backgrounds; self-segregation may not exactly be an obstacle to that. Some students in the YouTube video say that it's easier to connect with others of the same background.
Even though self-segregation is prevalent on some college campuses like Dominican, the question is: is it negatively affecting the campus environment here? Or is it something that's just there, but it's not really detrimental to promoting campus diversity at DU?
Dominican currently has a new plan for sustainability in the works. This new program seeks to monitor the current and future ways in which Dominican can become more environmentally friendly and energy-conscious.
Goals for the program include assessments of the university's energy savings and expenditures, replacing windows in older buildings to keep warm or cold air in, management of water, and other various initiatives aimed at making Dominican a "green campus."
According to Amy McCormack, vice president of Administration, the program is currently seeking a dedicated intern to carry the project into the future.
"We're currently aiming the program at younger students," said director of Buildings and Grounds Dan Bulow, who is collaborating with others in the community on the project. "We're looking for someone who's going to be here for a while."
The program could have countless benefits for the university, chief among them reducing the student costs by reducing the amount spent paying energy bills, according to Bulow.
DominiNET will be reporting more on this program as it develops.
I interviewed four students who are or who have done something extra ordinary at Dominican. Sophomore Iliana Incandela, is a professional singer and is working with producers. She recently was an opening act for Italian sensation, Zucchero. Junior Annie Rohrbacher spent nine months in Ensenada, Mexico as a missionary! Joe Mcerlane is a foreign exchange student from Co.entrim, Ireland. He will spend two semesters in America before returning home to Ireland. Last but not least, Susan Barron is a first year runner on the girls cross country team and has already accomplished more than experienced runners. She was injured but still took second and beat her personal record by two minutes. In conference she placed 23rd and received an honorable mention award.
This week is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness and DU is doing it's best to help out.
Tonight was Resident Assistants Rosana Godinez and Megan Russell's Free Rice Program. Students were given a bowl of rice in exchange for $.50 or a non-perishable food item. Extras such as veggies, chicken, or sauce cost additional money or item.
Russell explained that the purpose of the event was "to raise awareness about the hungry and homeless population of the world. I think it's going awesome. Great turn out and people have an interest to help out."
The program had a fair amount of participants, considering this wasn't just a free hand out of food. Freshman Corrine Zimmerman said that she really enjoyed the event. "It was really good. Great idea!"
A one-and-a-half times lifesize bronze statue commemorating the life and educational works of Father Samuel Mazzuchelli will soon be constructed in Founder's Court, located in front of Parmer Hall, according to Amy McCormack, Vice President of Administration, and Sr. Diane Kennedy. Both women are members of a committee working to make the statue a reality sometime in the next year.
"It [the proposed statue] will be a three-figure sculpture with Father Mazzucchelli being the dominant figure, with a Dominican sister and a student being a part of the piece as well," said McCormack. "The one-and-a-half times lifesize is still in debate, as there is concern about it being big enough [in comparison to] the size of the building," she said.
The statue will be built in the middle of Founder's Court, a small, round, grassy plot situated in front of Parmer Hall's glass atrium, between the two major wings of the building.
Sr. Diane Kennedy, head of the committee on the statue, said that an artist has been selected to work on the piece.
"We have made a selection on the artist," said Kennedy, who was unable to reveal the name of the artist at publication of this story. Kennedy also stated that the committee is in the final stages of negotiation with the artist and the donor of the piece, to determine a way to accommodate the preferences of both parties before contruction begins.
According to Kennedy, the concept of the work has been determined, and the statue will focus on Father Samuel's work as a teacher of science.
"Father Samuel will be a seated figure, very intense, he will be in the act of teaching," said Kennedy. "He will be facing the atrium, while the student and sister will be facing outward."
"A telescope will also be a part of the sculpture, as a symbol of scientific education and interest," she said.
Kennedy also noted that the university is unsure how long it will be before dedication of the statue, but said the artist projected it would take 3 months for construction of the piece. This is well ahead of the previously projected 9 months to one year timeframe originally projected, according to McCormack.
"Dedication of the statue was originally planned for Founder's Day 2009 (Nov. 4), but now it could be sooner than that," said McCormack, who along with Kennedy stressed the University's desire to dedicate the statue on a day of importance.
Last week I had a posting titled "What is the Point of Officer Training?" . In this post I mentioned my problems and concerns with the officer training sessions required of student club officers each month.
I recently spoke with Rachel Costello, Coordinator of Student Involvement, to find out the goals and reasons behind officer training.
"These training sessions are meant to first educate new officers and then bring leadership to the next level for experienced officers," Costello said.
This is a legitimate reason for officer training, but student leaders have been through countless training sessions in the past. According to Costello, this is one of the main concerns when planning officer training.
Costello said she is trying to make the sessions more fun and interesting, so students will want to attend. She plans the sessions so they relate to problems she sees occurring with the clubs.
This month's training was about burnout and stress, which is a concern to all students right now, as the end of the semester creeps up on us. They talked about how to manage your own responsibilities, but also how to keep your members involved towards the end of the semester.
"Officer training is really meant to better yourself and your organization," Costello said.
It's Dominican's Commuter Appreciation Week! This morning I arrived on campus around 9:45, hoping to grab a cup of free coffee, which was offered from 8-10 a.m. Probably since it was nearly 10, there were no donuts or coffee to be found, which is what I was after. But there were cute "I <3 Student Involvement" pins!
However, it was nice to see a suggestion box for commuters to voice their opinions and share their concerns, and I also thought it was very helpful that there were CTA and PACE bus and rail schedules available, as well as other resources. I obviously have my gripes as a temporary public transportation commuter, but I think the Office of Student Involvement deserves kudos for planning these events this week.
I will probably be back for the free massages and graffiti name art later this week!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 will go down in the books as one of the most ground-breaking days in the history of the world.
Eager with anticipation of The Big Day, I could not sleep Monday night. After a couple hours of intermittent shut-eye, I rose early to go to my classes and do my duty as a citizen, supporting Senator Barack Obama.
*Flashback* February 11, 2007. Dominican students Mariya Kozlova, Tyson Schutz and I went to the UIC Pavillion to attend one of the first campaign stops in the days after Barack Obama announced his decision to run for the presidency.
The MC announced Obama as "the next President of the United States." The energy and excitement in that arena was unbelievable, and that man stirred up deep emotion within all. Little did we know about what was in store for the nation over the next 21 months...
Back to Election Day.
Pumped up from the nationwide energy at the polls, I waited at a CTA stop to head to Dominican for my Tuesday morning classes, rocking the "HOPE" shirt I made at 3 a.m.
On my train car, I found a flier for Senator Harmon from Oak Park.
I tried to finish my Dostoevsky reading on the train to no avail; my mind was on the election. On campus, you could sense the nervous energy; the collective panic attack feeling throughout--but in a good way.
On the way home, I saw many more "I voted!" stickers and election pride, exciting me further.
I bet this man with an Obama/Biden button was up early to vote...
I got home around 4:30, ran some quick errands, and hopped back on the El to head downtown for night two of Hanson at the House of Blues.
Excitedly waiting for my friend Natalie to meet me at State and Lake...
...my inner journalist started to itch and I ran across the street to capture the people hanging out in front of the ABC News studio, peering in the glass and watching the news ticker. They were talking about New Hampshire, but these headlines made my heart jump:
Natalie arrived and we walked across the bridge to the House of Blues just as doors were opening. Hanson's opening artists were an LA band called Everybody Else and an artist named Dave Barnes. The musicians were all excited for the elections, stating their Obama pride and applauding all the concert attendees who had voted in the past month, regardless of which candidate they supported.
Near the end of Dave Barnes' set, Zac and Taylor Hanson surprised us by taking the stage to serenade the crowd with an a capella rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.
The guys played a rockin', energetic set and everyone in the House had a fantastic time.
In addition to their originals, Hanson covered Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," as well as other classics--"Oh! Darling," by the Beatles, "Hole in My Life" by the Police, "(I Want to Take You) Higher" by Sly and the Family Stone...
And during their song "Running Man," Zac modified the lyrics to sing, "Life isn't what it seems/Dave Barnes is in my dreams/That's exactly what I mean!" while the other bands goofed off onstage.
It was definitely a party.
The show ended around 9:40, and Natalie, Sara and I made our way down to Michigan Avenue to be a part of the Grant Park festivities. The outpouring of people was overwhelming, and the excitement was unlike anything I've ever witnessed in my life. Cars honking, people cheering.
This was BEFORE it was "officially announced that Obama was the winner," but at this point it was pretty much a given.
The Obama gear being sold on the streets was in high demand!
And the police presence was so reassuring. It was all hands on deck; there were at least five on EVERY corner. But they didn't have to do anything because nothing ever got out of hand.
A sweet girl offered to take our photo in front of the Art Institute. "This is history in the making," she said, smiling. "You girls'll show this picture to your grandchildren and say, 'I was there!'"
This is me skipping down Michigan Avenue.
We finally found a JumboTron with CNN footage and the words: Barack Obama Elected President of the United States.
There are no words to comprehensively describe that feeling.
Only pictures. And I apparently couldn't keep my mouth closed all night!
Finally, after a number of commercials, we sang the national anthem (I felt like part of the biggest choir in the world [and I thought the Hanson boys did it better;)]), and Senator John McCain took the stage in Arizona to address the world.
And finally, our guy came out with his beautiful family.
CNN footage of the first 2 minutes of his speech:
The crowds walking toward the parking lots, trains, and buses were unbelievable. The sheer magnitude of people who had all come out for the same purpose, in solidarity, was astounding. For miles, all you could see were hoards of people...of all colors, all ethnicities, all ages.
People were standing on ledges, dancing, singing, hugging, chanting, LOVING.
And finally, over an hour later, the streets started to clear.
A few friends and I went to Sanjay's house to have a couple celebratory cocktails:
And finally, at 1:15 a.m., I decided to head home to hopefully catch one of the last pink line trains. As I approached the station, a lady was selling the first copies of the Chicago Tribune.
I asked a few officers who were on the State & Lake platform if the trains were still running, and had a wonderful conversation with a police officer. I was looking over the front page of the Trib, overwhelmed with emotion, and he came over to chat with me. "You look very sentimental," he said, smiling.
"Tonight was just...unlike anything I've ever experienced," I told him. "The solidarity, the turnout...tonight I am TRULY proud to live in Chicago, and proud to be an American. There is hope."
"Oh, yeah, this has been a remarkable night," he said. "America elected a person because of his character. What happened here tonight doesn't just affect you and me. The whole world was watching. Tonight will impact the entire world."
He said he had heard that gunshots were fired on the south side, but they were celebratory shots and no one had been injured--that he knew of. He also told me that Tuesday had been his day off, but since it was an all-hands-on-deck night, he was getting paid time and a half and was very happy about that! With some more words of encouragement and a handshake wishing me well, the 54/Cermak Pink Line train approached.
I cried as I read the front page on the train:
"Barack Obama, son of an African man and a white woman from Kansas, a figure virtually unknown outside his home state of Illinois just five years ago, emphatically captured the presidency Tuesday night, as crowds massed in Grant Park to cheer his victory...
...With his victory, America's tortured relationship with race has entereed a new phase. The Obama presidency may be a sign that a country that all too recently tolerated segregation has moved irrevocably forward, or it may mean only that the nation is so hungry for change that it set aside racial struggles.
Obama is a man of extraordinary political gifts. The challenges facing him are many, including wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a struggling economy. He will confront them soon enough.
But Tuesday night, at least, was a time to marvel at a once-inconceivable moment in American history."
Reading about the events that I had been in the midst of, a part of merely HOURS ago was mind-blowing.
At 1:50 a.m. I walked the two blocks from the California stop to my house on Marshall Boulevard. The streets were still and silent; I encountered not a soul.
Still riding the waves of euphoria from the evening, I reflected on all I had seen and experienced that night. As a person who fits into many "categories"--female, college student, first-generation African (like Obama), hopefully to have a family some day, the events of election night have definitely changed the face of my future, and that of the world. To see America stand behind an exceptional man, one that I have personally admired for over two years, and a man of color...there are no words to truly encompass that feeling.
And when I got home, I dumped the contents of my purse onto my bed.
Tagged in this photo: Nov. 5 issue of the Chicago Tribune, Barack Obama poster, Harajuku Lovers hoodie, wallet, handout from Revolution, my reporter's notebook, Starburst wrappers, assorted Sharpies and pens, lighters and matches, keys, Hanson HOB tickets, a comb, the Nov. 4 issue of the Red Eye, and my trusty Moleskine notebook.
It's time. It's been a long time coming, but well worth the wait. It's as though America had to go through hell the past eight years--it makes this victory for HUMANKIND so much more fulfilling. You catch more bees with honey, and Obama took the high road, never stooping to the level of his naysayers. In a manner not unlike MLK's philosophy of non-resistance and peace, Obama proved that with love and virtue, we can do anything.
Martin Luther King had a dream. As my friend Diana said, "Rosa Parks sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so our children can fly!"
Yesterday, that dream was actualized: America selected a man because of the content of his character.
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