NEWS 1-4 LIFESTYLE 6-10 OPINION 11

IN THIS ISSUE

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 7 “KEEPING YOU IN THE LOOP” MARCH 2011THIS NEWSPAPER IS ORGANIZED, DESIGNED AND PRODUCED BY HAROLD WASHINGTON COLLEGE STUDENTS

THEHERALDOne in, six out: CCC redefinesthe role of college presidentsBy Brian AlexanderEditor-in-Chief

Redefining the role of aCCC president, on Feb. 23 theBoard of Trustees hired a newHWC president andannounced a search fill thenow-open position at the sixother colleges.

The presidents at the otherCCC colleges are encouragedto reapply for their jobs underthe new job description whichwas changed to reflect the goalsthat Chancellor Cheryl Hymanhopes to achieve with the current reinvention project.

"By re-defining the role ofour college presidents, we aremaking it clear that our institu-tion, including the Board andsenior leadership, has clearlydefined goals that increaseaccountability and ensure CCC

is providing value to our students," said Martin CabereaJr. chairman of the Board ofTrustees.

Part of the new job description makes the presidents responsible for theacademic outcome of the stu-dents at their college.

According to the resolutionadopted by the board, theseinclude increasing the numberof students who transfer otheruniversities to obtain bachelor’sdegrees, increasing the numberof students earning degrees atthe college and getting betterresults from the remediationprograms at the college.

Theodore Fabriek, amember of the Kennedy-KingCollege SGA, was upset aboutthe board decision.

"City Colleges has been

needing reinvention for a longtime, at this point anything isbetter than what we have beengoing through … our actualissue is the fact that there is verylittle student input, if at allsolicited, when it comes tomaking very, very big decisionsthat affect us in very adverseways. For example, our collegepresidents getting this ultimatum to reapply [for theirjobs]," Fabriek said.

The new presidents may behired as early as May.

The new HWC PresidentDonald Laackman will not beincluded in the new hiringprocess as he was hired underthe revised job description. Hewill begin on March 21.

The search for a new HWCpresident had been using a version of the changed job

description since the early fallof 2010. The final version ofthe job description was notapproved until Feb. 15 after anew vice chancellor of humanresources was hired

Laackman, formerly a principal at the CivicConsulting Alliance and amanaging director at the international consulting firmAccenture, advised the districtoffice and helped set up theadvisory councils that are assisting with the reinvention.

Interim President JohnMetoyer will become the interim vice president of acedemic and student affairs.Interim Vice President JohnHader will become the interimdean of career programs.

CONSTRUCTION

IN LABS P. 2

ORATORICAL

FESTIVAL P. 6

CAFE

CONCERNS P. 10

By Jason AstorgaStaff Writer

Winnetka’s police chief JoeDe Lopez has resigned andaccepted a job as the new vicechancellor of safety and securi-ty at CCC

Previously De Lopez hasspent 30 years with theChicago Police Department,retiring as the deputy superin-tendent of the Bureau ofTechnical Services, and nineyears with Winnetka respec-tively. Working with thesedepartments has helped DeLopez with his new position asvice chancellor.

“In Winnetka, I had a smallstaff and everybody had to be ageneralist, including me. I hadto do a lot more hands on workmyself.” De Lopez said.“It keptme directly involved and intouch with what was going on,”“It gave me a good perspectiveon dealing with problems, secu-rity problems, personnel prob-lems, and budgetary issues.”

De Lopez’s primary goal isto improve overall safetey ndhave security focus their efforts

and activities on making surepeople feel safe and are safe atthe facilities. It can be chal-lenging as a commuter collegewhere there are hundreds ofstudents on and off campusevery day and less control overmovement and activity, accord-ing to De Lopez.

Some facilities may not besecured as best they can.Properly placed cameras andefficient emergency plans aretaken into account. “It’s some-times very difficult because youwant to do it in a way that isnot restrictive,”he said.

According to De Lopez,both students and security per-sonell will be expected tocreate a better learning envi-ronment. He said that everyoneshould share their thoughts,ideas and concerns about secu-rity. If anyone sees somethingsuspicious, they should saysomething about it and notwait until later.

“The quicker we get infor-mation, the quicker we can actwe would like to get that infor-mation quickly so we can inves-

tigate and mitigate any prob-lems.”

A simple thing such as leav-ing book bags or computersunattended at the library orcafeteria is what many studentsaccidently do. “People tend toignore these simple things andthat contributes to a lot of vic-timization and criminal activi-ty,” De Lopez said.

To help decrease any vic-timization and criminal activi-ty, CCC will be installing sur-veillance cameras. These cam-eras will be an enhancement tothe physical presence of a secu-rity officer; and will accom-modate more security on abroader basis.

Eager to work with CCC,De Lopez has the chance tohelp improve the overall secu-rity and safety.

“I think it’s a great opportu-nity to be part of somethingpositive that’s going to con-tribute a lot to the future of ourcity ... and people who arelooking to enhance their edu-cational opportunities orbecome more employable.”

Police chief aims tobring security to HWC

Reinventionupdatesthe focusat state ofthe collegeaddressBy Courtney O'DonnellStaff Writer

On Feb. 18, the State of theCollege address was held atHWC. There were an updateson reinvention presented byvarious members of the taskforces. Interim President JohnMetoyer introduced a videooutlining the plan. The videoopened with Vice-ChancellorAlvin Bisarya asking the view-ers to put their faith in the newplan.

What followed was an out-line and description of the ini-tiatives and task forces beinglaunched with the goal ofimproving the entire city col-lege system as a whole.

“This is just outlining thefour goals that all lead to ulti-mately ensuring student suc-cess. We want to increase thenumber of students earningcollege credentials of econom-ic value, increase the rate oftransfer to four year institu-tions, drastically improve out-comes for students requiringremediation, and increase thenumber and share of GEDand ESL students whoadvance to a credit program,”Metoyer said.

The monetary value of astudent’s education became thehighlight of this presentation.

“We hear a lot about thenumber of students who earn'credentials of economic value'– those are the big buzzwords,'economic value' and 'sustain-able'. And what’s the rate oftransfer to other institutionsafter they graduate? A bigthing we’re looking at is thatwe want to reduce credit loss alot of times students take class-es and the credits don’t trans-fer,” said Anita Kelly of thebusiness department.

However, not everyone onthe HWC faculty is pleasedwith this reinvention initiative.

See President, p. 2

Gregory Fairbanks contributed reporting to this article

2 - MARCH 2011 NEWS THEHERALD

Editorial StaffEditor-in-Chief: Brian AlexanderManaging Editor: Leanna BurtonNews Editor:Gregory FairbanksLifestyle Editor:Victoria Ross

Staff WritersJason Astorga, Keith Dow,Courtney O’Donnell, DanielCollins, Ronnie Nelson,G’Jordan Williams, JoeRottman, David Mallard,Carnell Dobbs, AlejandraCerda, James Tilton, NatalieHogan, Lora Allbritton,Anthony Kromwell

Advertising StaffSylvia McGhee

Faculty AdviserMolly Turner

ICCJACMAACP

THE HERALD is a student run newsorganization offering an

open forum for student news and opinion.

THEHERALD

hwc_heraldnews@ccc.edu30 E Lake St., 60601

Room 635

Phil Stucky, a professor in the Englishdepartment who graduated with anMBA from the University of Chicagobelieves much of his own 'economicvalue' came from the lessons in criticalthinking that he learned in his lower-level classes.

“I guess when I thought of what wasbeing said, and 'economic value', I start-ed thinking about where my 'economicvalue' really came from. Are they put-ting an 'economic value' on thinkingcritically? And that’s what bothered meabout this approach is that I think, interms of people’s long-term careers,we’ve got to get people thinking criti-cally,” Stucky said.

Linell Kylie, formerly a professor inthe social science department who nowworks on a reinvention task force,described the goings-on at the task forceheadquarters at 226 W. Jackson Blvd.

“It’s a very comfortable environment,it allows for a lot of collaboration, thetech support supplied us with a lot ofwonderful computers, the environmentis really nice,” Kylie said.

She then explained how the taskforces were assigned and what “workstreams” were amassed.

“During my first week that we wereon the reinvention team, obviously wehad our task forces assigned to us, that’swhat we had applied for, and withineach task force there was assembledwhat they call work streams. The workstreams are basically different approach-es that need to be taken to accomplishthe goals of the task force. And so, wehad the luxury to choose which workstream we wanted to work on,” Kyliesaid

Task force member Roberta Boleexplained the task force’s methods ofdata collection.

“We survey students, we’ve donesome focus groups, we’ve looked at whatbest practices are going on all over theUnited States. We’ve looked at litera-ture reviews, we’ve done face-to-faceinterviews, home interviews, internaland external unions. We’ve got a lot ofpeople from academia and other insti-tutions, you name it, consultations withbusiness advisory councils,” Bole said.

We have some newly piloted pro-grams that we’re trying out, trying tosee if it works and how well it works.We’re trying to find the best thing that’sgoing to help our students.”

Metoyer then went on to explain thatthe main concern of reinvention is cre-ating economically viable students.

“Because obviously if you have somedegree, you have a better chance ofmaking a better income, and a betterliving for yourself,” Metoyer said.

Then, the changes to academic ori-entation were explained by Bole. “Howcan we improve orientation and providestudents with adequate help in their ini-tial semesters? We want to make surethat it is a good experience, [and makesure] that they do get the support thatthey need to succeed.

“How can we free up adviser time tospend more with students, and whatshould advising become? Some of theduties that advisors do take up a lot oftheir time, and it’s time that is not spentwith students, and it may not be the bestif we want to see more success,” Bolesaid.

During the presentation, Metoyerintroduced some of the newly tenuredfaculty, including Allan Wilson, OscarOrtega, Jeffery Swigart, FaraMovahedzadeh, Caroline Schoenbergerand Jacob Wilkenfeld.

Metoyer also touched on a relation-ship change between UIC and HWC.He explained that currently “[a CCCstudent] will be accepted into UICbefore someone in Springfield will beaccepted into UIC,” he said.

So the priority is the local communi-ty college student at the local university.And I think that might change a little,just because there are some communitycolleges out in rural areas where thereare no universities,” said Metoyer.

Metoyer also explained that theIBHB will be assembling a committeeto review how education is funded atHWC.

“Right now we are funded based onenrollment. So, we’re reimbursed by thestate by the number of students we actu-ally have enrolled in classes. This com-mission is suggesting that this change,and it be performance-based,” he said.

President blueprints reinvention plan

By Joe RottmanStaff Writer

The biology department is undergo-ing major renovations to improve thecurrent lab rooms while also addingnew equipment to enrich the lab expe-rience for students.

“HWC has always been interested inbeing a science center for the city ofChicago because of our loop location,”said John Hader, interim vice presidentof academic affairs.

The construction will include theinstallation of state-of-the-art equip-ment to enhance the lab proficiency atHWC. The intention is to add newequipment and modernizing the labsmore students will enroll in biologycourses and also allow current biologystudents to further their research andbetter prepare them for their academiccareers after leaving HWC.

“New microscopes, updated safetyequipment, and an overall upgrade ofout of date materials would reallyenhance the lab experience,” saidKirsten Corley, a first-year biology stu-dent. The renovations will create newopportunities to study in ways not pos-sible with the old lab rooms.

The renovations will also include theaddition of a cadaver theater. HWC hasnot possessed a cadaver in over 20 years.

“A modern cadaver theater will allowstudents to see the real tissue betterpreparing them for medical school,”said Uthman Erogbogbo, the head ofthe biology department.

The cadaver theatre will create newopportunities for students, not only theviewing of a human corpse but alsoallowing professors to teach studentsthrough live tutorials of a human skele-ton rather than a plastic one. The con-struction will also include a molecularbiology and plant research lab allowingeveryone in the department of biologyto research.

“The new facilities support what weare trying to do, create a professional,university environment for students atHWC,” Hader said.

The new research labs along with thenew microscopes and tools will enhancethe educational opportunities for stu-dents, creating a transition from the citycollege biology program to a universityprogram. The plan is for a heightenedamount of research to take place in thenew labs and preparing students for fur-ther biology studies.

The project is being paid for by cap-ital funds; construction began inDecember 2010 and students canexpect the renovations to be complete inMay or June 2011.

Bio lab transformsBy Ronnie NelsonStaff Writer

The microbiology 233 class at HWChas set out to identify the everydaygerms that students come in contactwith at HWC by swabbing surfaces thathouse bacteria around the school.

The students tested elevator buttons,water fountains, door knobs, stair rail-ings, paper towel handles and a host ofother things around the school. It wasleft to the student’s discretion to chooseand swab the places that they felt hadthe most potential to obtain a bacterialsample.

“After the object is swabbed it isplaced in a test tube that contains aliquid broth, and then later placed in aJell-O like solid called an agar plate,which are both bacterial growthmedia,” said student YsamarVillapando.

The surfaces are swabbed in orderfor tiny organisms to grow for the exper-iment. The tubes are then sealed andincubated so that the bacteria can feedon the agar plate and grow into coloniesfor 24 to 48 hours, while some bacteri-um doubles very quickly, as fast as 10or 20 minutes. After the incubationperiod, the bacteria are stained so thatthey can be seen easily with a micro-scope. The class was given two differ-

ent plates that contained different nutri-ents to allow growth of certain microor-ganisms.

“Skin bacteria was the most likely tobe seen,” said Cheryl Dias, the biologyprofessor who teaches the class.

"We cannot live in a completely ster-ile environment because everyone needsgood bacteria to live.”

When the students viewed the bac-terial colonies for the first time, the classwas buzzing. Everyone gathered aroundtheir plates to view what had grown.Some bacteria were white and dry;others were dark, or consisted of mold.The students tested a wide variety ofsurfaces around the school.

Student Jordan Bravo obtained hissample from the custodians closet doorhandle, where there was not much bac-teria found.

“The experiment made learning funand interesting,” Bravo said. The excite-ment and appreciation was easily iden-tified, I’ve never done anything like thisbefore at any other school.”

Student Mark Romond used thebathroom paper towel handle for hissample. “I find this stuff interesting, butdo you even want to know it’s therebecause there is really nothing you cando about it,” Romond said.

Swabbing the school

Continuted from p. 1

CorrectionsIn the February 2011 issue, the article ‘Feminism takes center stage in latest HWC play’ had the wrong dates for the play performances. The correct times and

dates are Wednesday March 23 at 7:15 p.m., Thursday March 24 at 2:00 p.m., Friday March 25 at 7:15 p.m., Saturday March 26 2:00 p.m., Wednesday March 307:15 p.m. Thursday March 31 at 2:00 p.m. Friday April 1 at 7:15 and Saturday April 2 at 2:00 p.m.”College Nights” will be March 21 and 22 at 7:15 p.m.

THEHERALD NEWS MARCH 2011 - 3

By David MallardStaff Writer

The American Association forWomen in Community Colleges(AAWCC) sponsored the UJAMAAMarketplace which showcased localbusinesses in the African and AfricanAmerican Community in honor ofBlack History Month. The event tookplace in the Conference Room in 102.

The UJAMAA Marketplace featuredmerchandise from many different ven-dors selling various products: VincentBanks Uniquely Devine had productsranging from authentic African artworkto ties and handkerchiefs. Also, vendorVeronica Evans Designs specialized injewelry and accessories. Body Beautifulsold men's and women's body fra-grances.

A vendor selling various types ofbeauty bars and soaps also had a sheabutter tree filled with actual shea butter.shea butter comes from the nuts on sheabutter trees.

“I came for black soap and Sheabutter,” said Onyx, student at HWC

“I came here to see what's going on.It's Black History Month. I wanted tosee what activities the African Americanculture has to offer,” said Kisha, studentand lab aide at Harold WashingtonCollege.

The same vendor also had a largedisplay of body and massage oils withmany types of fragrances: orange, teatree, raspberry, pine, name brand fra-grances, etc.

Vendors also sold authentic Africanclothes. DVDs and CDs highlightingAfrican and African American historywere also available.

“My primary reason to come to theevent was to support African vendors,”said Maceo Leon Thomas, staff of theRegistrar's office.

“This is our second year doing theUJAMAA Marketplace,” said DonnaWilliams, president of the AAWCC,and also a college adviser at HaroldWashington College.

The AAWCC's goal is to championwomen and maximizes their potential.

“We help women with education,scholarship, emotional support, andcareer development,” said DianeRichardson, president-elect of theAAWCC, and also a college adviser.

“We not only encourage others, weencourage students and staff,” saidDiane Richardson.

Ujamaa is the fourth day ofKwanzaa, a holiday honoring Africanand African American culture and his-tory invented by Maulana RonKarenga, Ph.D. in 1966. Ujamaa standsfor collective economics. On this day,celebrators are encouraged to support

their own businesses and establishments.The theme of Ujamaa was displayed

by all vendors and supporters of theUJAMAA Marketplace. Students, fac-ulty, and staff were able to experience ataste of African American and Africanculture. UJAMAA Marketplace wasone of the many events honoring BlackHistory Month.

“We wanted something that symbol-ized African American History,”Williams said.

UJAMMA celebrates culutre and diversity at HWC

Photo by GʼJordan Williams

The UJAMAA marketplace, held Feb. 23 to Feb. 25, featured merchandise from both African and African-American business.

4 - MARCH 2011 NEWS THEHERALD

By Carnell DobbsStaff Writer

The Organization of LatinAmerican Students (OLAS) has begunfundraising for scholarships that theyplan for students to start applying forthis summer.

The two scholarships, at $1250 each,will be available for students who are oflow income, do not qualify to fill out aFAFSA and are Chicago residents. Thescholarship is planned to be awardedfor the fall 2011 semester. OLAS is final-izing the details this spring.

“We are trying to do as many

fundraisers as we can, we started to havea fundraiser on Feb. 2 but because ofthe snowstorm we had to postpone untilFeb. 8,” said Lissette Arellano, treasur-er of OLAS.

The fundraiser took place on thesecond floor and was called "El dia deCandeleria", which marks the midwaypoint between winter solstice and thespring equinox. OLAS sold homemadetamales for two dollars a piece.

“The tamale sale was a big eyeopener, a lot of club members didn'tthink we could do 500 tamales and wesold out in less than three hours. We’re

going to keep having sales and bringingup creative ways to raise money,"Arellano said.

OLAS held another fundraiser onthe 11th floor during "Love-Palooza"on Valentine’s Day. Students signed upto be auctioned off on a "date" andwere bid on by fellow students. Theywere auctioned off for between $5 and$100. The "date" is actually an SGAsponsored dinner that will be held some-time in March.

OLAS has raised nearly 1,000 so farand have aspirations to significantlyincrease that amount with a heavy cam-

paign of fundraising and promoting stu-dent awareness about their mission onHWC campus.

“We plan to one day have a scholar-ship worth $20,000,” said MariaGonzalez, OLAS president.

There will additional events hostedby OLAS this semester. More tamalesales Mar. 8 and tentatively May 5,along with a drag show in April that willhost a speaker who will discuss the topicof homophobia.

Students are encouraged to go toOLAS meetings or stop by the Room204B.

OLAS begins fundraising for grants

By Alejandra CerdaStaff Writer

Women's History Month (WHM) ishere and at HWC women are sharingtheir thoughts and opinions during thismonth dedicated to them.

Women have given various differentopinions from different points of viewon how important and relevant women’smonth is. Some believe the month iscompletely relevant and should berevered, others believe otherwise.

“I believe it is vital to illuminate onthe success and impact of womenthroughout the world,” said studentStephanie Christopher. “I feel like our

society takes for granted what manywomen have fought for throughout theirlives. Sometimes I believe that ournation has grown to overlook theseactions rather than admire them andhonor them."

Some women feel that women todayhave forgotten the many contributionsand efforts made in order for women tomove up in the ranks of society. Somewomen even think that other womenare starting to believe they are com-pletely equal when in fact they are not.

“It is important that the message betold about the contributions that womenhave made to this world. But at the same

time it is purely societal, we still don’tget paid the same for the same jobs, sowhy expect equal contributions.” saidAnita Elion, a social science professor.

Just as there are women who find itunsettling that women’s month isn’tgiven the needed attention, others don’tfeel fazed by it.

“Women’s month isn’t significant forme in my life. I feel this way becausesociety doesn’t make a big deal out of itlike they do with other national holidayslike St. Patrick’s Day or Black HistoryMonth,” said student Kristina Ramirez.“No one truly embraces it so why shouldI feel empowered by it?”

“I really feel no sense of pride whenthinking about other women’s achieve-ments. I feel more sense of pride whenit’s something that I myself achieved oraccomplished,” said student LisetteZaragoza.

Despite the differences in opinionthese women all share a commoninflunce from the women that inspirethem to do great things with their lives.

“Oprah, because she is a self-madewoman she rose up from nothing eventhough all the odds were against her.”said student Priscilla Reveles.

Women’s history stirs differing views

6 - MARCH 2011 LIFESTYLE THEHERALD

By James TiltonStaff Writer

HWC students competed for schol-arships by composing a commemora-tive speech about influential figures inthe African-American community at theThe 24th annual Sydney R. DanielsOratorical Festival Feb. 17.

The presentation subject could havebeen about anyone living or dead, buthad to meet the requirements as an indi-vidual who contributed to civil justiceand had a positive effect on humanity.

Previous first place finalist AmandaHoff gave a poignant opening for thisyears ceremony. She set the tone andstage for the guest of honor, SportyKing.

King, no stranger to the OratoricalFest, has been the Master ofCeremonies for 12 years. Returning toHWC each year gives King the oppor-tunity to feel he’s coming home, accord-ing to King.

“When we open our minds to absorbideas in their entirety, we put ourselves

in a better position to communicate andto be communicated with,” King saidin his introduction to the festival.

Turning to the contestants andgazing at the audience he asked “Canyou deliver?”

The St. Ailbe’s Childrens Choir, whohad performed at the festival previous-ly, were up next. The children weredressed to impress and quietly sittingalbeit waiting for the right cue to sing.

The anthem “Lift Every Voice andSing” was the opening song sung by thechoir as audience members sang along.

“We are blessed with many kingsthrough history, but only one king ofpop” resonated from Sadalia Brown asshe brought Michael Jackson back tolife. Brown had a sparkling glove, cuffsaround her ankles, and a sleek blackoutfit on to emphasize the history, lifeand style of Michael Jackson.

Brown danced, sang, and spoke herway through her presentation, andearned earned the first place scholar-ship in this year’s festival.

After Brown accepted her first placeaward she visibly shocked and excited.Brown reveld in the opportunity to payhomage to one of her inspirators.

“[I wanted to] have an outlet and theopportunity to speak about my hero.”

Earning the second place scholarship wasfinalist Asim Allakim.

Allakim delivered a fiery speech inhonor of Thurgood Marshall, sound-ing like a preacher saving a parishioner

with tenderness and faith, and also attimes having the righteous howl of aattorney fighting with a judge and jury.

When speaking of the importance ofThurgood Marshall serving in theSupreme Court, Allakim affirmed that“those qualities were the concern andthe solicitude for the plight of minoritiesand individuals who were ignored bythe high court.

He was keen aware of how they wereunder represented in the legal tapestryof a nation and he chose to give avoice.”

Third place finalist Michael Hicksspoke of the impact and memories cre-ated by his relationship with Miles Davisand his father.

“I remember my father sat me downand made me listen to 'Kind of Blue.'The music changed my life. It touchedmy heart, lifted my spirit, and movedmy soul. I grew up that day, andbecame a fan of Miles Davis,” saidHicks.

He moved through his speech with abreezy calm and cool approach as if toecho the opening song “So What” onthe fabled “Kind of Blue” written byMiles Davis.

“I feel an emotional connection withall of the participants today. They mayhave been afraid or self-conscious butthey stood up and did it anyway. Thisfestival has a sort of life of its own. Allthe presenters shared a supportive com-petitive sense throughout the whole

event that was beautiful to see," saidSydney R. Daniels, the HWC professorafter whom the fesitival has beenrenamed.

Stephanie Christopher was a fourthplace finalist for her oration on RosaParks. Gregory Fairbanks, who earnedthe fifth place scholarship, presented aspeech on Oscar Micheaux.

Micheaux was a director in the early20th century, originally from Illinois andstarted his film business in Chicago.

Honoring Dr. Mae Jemison, SandyTsao went on to be awarded the sixthplace scholarship. Tsao suggested aturning point in Dr. Jemisons’ life andcareer.

"You can dance if you’re a doctorbut you can’t doctor if you just dance,”Tsao said.

A humorous yet poignant explana-tion of Dr. Jemison as she was the firstAfrican-American astronaut, doctor,and or course, a professional dancer.

There was no shortage of emotion-ally charged narratives delivered by stu-dents to inspire and move the audienceas well as uplift all participants and thecrowd.

“I hope to have taken you for a walkdown memory lane, celebrating love,"Brown said.

Reverence notable at Oratorical FestParticipants atannual festivalspeak about inspi-rational figures inblack history

THEHERALD LIFESTYLE MARCH 2011 - 7

Former HWC studentcontinues involvementBy Victoria RossLifestyle Editor

Tonya Hill is the coordinator of stu-dent activities and she has gone throughmany trials to get to that point.

Growing up in the Cabrini–Greenhousing development, she had theadvantage of being raised by two hardworking parents. They taught her tostay focused and persevere so she couldachieve a stable life.

"[There] is so much out there youcan just grab and hold on to as long asyou’re focused," Hill said.

In her childhood, her father showedher an example of this perseverance ashe worked to move up in rank at his jobso he could move his family to a betterneighborhood.

He achieved this goal even thoughhe went through the struggle of beinglaid off. Despite his trials, he never gaveup and he continued to work hard forhis family.

Before Hill's father retired, he wasforced to take three to four months offof work because he never used the sickand personal days that were allotted tohim.

Having positive influences at homehelped motivate Hill to obtain her goalsof being involved in social work.

Hill has an associate in art and she

also has a bachelor’s degree in socialwork. She wants to be someone the stu-dents can look up to.

She wants to be the person that stu-dents can count on to encourage them.

"Tanya Hill is the greatest thing thathas happened to the SGA because shehas been an SGA president before andknows the rules and regulations insideand out," said Mickey Grayer, presidentof Black Student Union.

“I’m passionate about social work,I’m passionate about helping people,Hill said.

"My real focus in this position is tobring out the best in the students."

Hill is determined to keep HWC stu-dents motivated. Her influence has ledto the success of the SGA at HWC.

According to SGA President AngieShum, HWC's student governmentholds the most executive officerships,the largest number of clubs and hoststhe most events among city colleges.

She hopes to continue the traditionof mentoring and rapport-buildingthrough advising.

"I was fortunate to have a lot of olderpeople in my life that took me undertheir wing and kind of mentor me alongthe way."

8 - MARCH 2011 LIFESTYLE THEHERALD

By David MallardStaff Writer

Professor Adriana Tapanes-Inojosais a professor at Harold WashingtonCollege, playing many roles in the class-room and also out of it. As a professor,coordinator and developer of the LatinAmerican & Latin Studies program,and as a vocalist, mother, and wife. Shefinds it manageable to wear so manyhats.

“It is a lot of energy. If we can dothings to improve things, why can wenot do it?” said Tapanes-Inojosa, who isfrom Venezuela.

“The educational system inVenezuela is somewhat different than inthe United States,”

Between 1982 and 1990, she per-formed as a pianist for an ensemble forthe Venezuela Youth Symphony

Orchestra. She studied piano, contin-ued her involvement in vocal ensemblesin popular music, and academic music.

Professor Tapanes-Inojosa thenmoved to the United States to study forher higher education.

“I earned a Master of Music inOpera at The University of the Arts,and also in Piano Accompaniment andChamber Music," she said.

She obtained both a Master of Artsand Ph.D. in Latin American Literaturefrom Indiana University-Bloomington.

“I did my dissertation on social rela-tionships between Afro-CaribbeanPoetry and Music.”

Adriana continued her love of inter-disciplinary studies and teaching othersat Chicago State University as anAssistant Professor of Spanish andAmerican Literature, and also as an

informal advisor. She taught at anIndiana University as an AssistantInstructor. She also taught atWashington State University.

“You know. It is more rewarding theprocess of teaching and learning withmy students. I always learn,” saidTapanes-Inojosa.

Tapanes-Inojosa continued her background in teaching, being a professor of humanities, music, andlatin american studies at HWC.

Tapanes-Inojosa at a younger agelooked-up to her paternal grandmother.She considered her grandmother to bea phenomenal person.

“I will talk about my paternal grandmother. She only had a thirdgrade education. “A phenomenal personis not a person that will concentrate onthe negative parts of life. She was a very

happy person. She was so realistic interms of life. That to me is a phenomenal person by nature.”

Tapanes-Inojosa had great respectfor her colleague, professor IsabelleBelance, who passed away in 2009 aftera battle with cancer.

She began to explain her relation-ship with her colleague and why sheconsidered Belance to be such outstanding person.

“We argued. But it always ended in abetter result,” said Tapanes-Inojosa.

“Women’s History Month? Everydayshould be Women’s History Month. Wewant to think about recognition andwhat women have contributed to society. We need to educate others inorder to understand each other.”

Professor brings versatility to HWC

By Natalie HoganStaff Writer

Everyday students travel great dis-tances to attend HWC. Those studentsnot only attend HWC for the locationbut they also attend for the diverse stu-dent body, along with the intimatelearning environment and teacher'sinterest in student success.

“I was immediately attracted to thelocation of the school. Being in themiddle of the Loop every day is a con-stant motivator,” said Brian O’Connell

of Rogers Park.Students who travel from outside the

Chicago city limits have per-credit hourtuition of $208.63, which is $121.63more than students who are inside citylimits. Even with the extra fee, studentsstill choose to attend HWC.

“More students at HaroldWashington understand what it takes toget to their goals than students who goto a four-year college”, said Rose MaryCanfield of Edgebrook. “I transferredfrom a four-year university and I have

noticed students here at HWC are morehard working and achieve their goals.”

Some students who are in the citylimits have to transfer on public trans-portation coming to and going fromHWC. Others may elect to not go to aschool that is closer to their home.

“I looked at going to Wright Collegeat first because a lot of my friends weregoing to be going there, when I came toHarold Washington to meet the teach-ers it closed the deal,” said Joe Martinezof Humboldt Park. “CTA has made it

pretty easy for transportation.”Other students who attend HWC

have grown accustomed to a morediverse student body than a four-yearcollege.

“I am getting to go to school with avery diverse student body, which I feel isan invaluable experience,” O’Connellsaid.

“This is not only an experience of awell diverse school, students also get tomeet new people,” said Maribel Barajasof Oak Lawn.

HWC community a ‘constant motivator’ for students

10 - MARCH 2011 OPINION THEHERALD

By Victoria RossLifestyle Editor

The Black Student Union hosted aPoetry Cafe Feb. 28, an event wherestudents could come and read theirpoems to an audience of their peers.

“I that it’s about time that the blackculture of Harold Washington collegegot together and empowered its ownself ” said student Nehemiah Frank.

Poetry Cafe was described as anevent that expressed cultural diversitythrough spoken word, open, and anyother form of creative expression.

According to the audience membersthey achieved their goal.

“I enjoyed all the artist I’m having awonderful time” said audience memberDeandre Florence.

“It was very inspirational” said SGAVice President Micheko Allen.

Participant Leah Lewis has beenwriting poetry since grade school andtakes pride in her poems.

“I want to inspire change and hopethrough my poetry I want to givepeople a sort of zest when they hearsomething I wrote I want to evoke apassion for something in my audiencewhen someone listens to my poetry,”said Lewis.

Poetry takesover studentunion

Cafe offers slim pickingsBy Daniel CollinsStaff Writer

Students at HWC can be dismayedby the school’s food and beverage selec-tion, along with the difficulties purchas-ing items at the vending machines canprovide.

The Plum Cafe is the school’s solecafeteria, and at times students canbecome agitated by their policies.

“I think it’s ridiculous that you haveto buy spoons, I actually buy my ownpack because it’s cheaper than payingten cents to eat a yogurt … consideringthis is community college, you wouldthink that the food wouldn’t be asexpensive, because students are alreadyhaving a hard time paying tuition,” saidstudent Andrea Gonzalez.

In company with the small variety offood options, the vending machineslocated throughout the school, also tendto give students trouble from time totime.

“The machines never work; yester-day I spent two dollars trying [twice] tobuy a coffee and both times the machinedidn’t vend anything… I never knowwho to [contact] to get my moneyback,” said student Tizoc Zizumbo,referring to his experience with thevending machines located on the tenthfloor.

Technical difficulties with the vend-ing machines at times can become anongoing problem for students. Thosewho choose to pay with their credit ordebit cards instead of cash, can find

themselves denied of service.“On more than one occasion, I can

remember trying to use my debit card topurchase a snack from the machine, andthe machine ended up denying mycard,” said student Rachel Montes.

Any student who needs to be refund-ed for their loss of money at the vend-ing machines can report to student serv-ices located on the second floor.

The same measure of discontent canbe found with the prices of food pro-

vided by the Plum Cafe. Many feel dis-satisfied with the prices and feel theycan get a better deal elsewhere.

“I have a hard time paying for a soupor sandwich here, considering the pricesare higher than Potbellys,” Gonzalezsaid.

“I feel the prices are a little ridicu-lous, the only reason I choose to buyfood here sometimes is because it’s themost convenient choice,” Montes said.

Photo by GʼJordan Williams

The Plum Cafe, located next to the student union in the basement of HWC, is in aconvienent location but many students complain about itʼs prices and policies.

Going from Black Heritage Monthto Women’s History Month at HaroldWashington College brought up a ques-tion for me that I’ve been curious aboutfor a long time: is sexism found by ourstudents to be more acceptable thanracism, and if so, should it be?

When cornered, students wouldprobably say that the issue of sexismisn’t more palatable than racism.However, I conducted a study whichproved to me that it is- and quantifiablyso. The first part of the two-part studyasked 20 students to rate nine ethicalwrongs on a scale from one to 10, rang-ing from an ethical runt (digital piracy)to the titan (murder), and then second-ly asked which was ethically worse:sexism or racism?

When I added up the results of thesecond part of the study, which askedstudents directly which of the two wasethically worse, I found that 25% saidthat racism was worse, 25% said sexism,and 50% said that they are equallywrong. I was kind of impressed by thosenumbers, to be honest, even consideringthe fact that people were more likely toanswer “sexism” because the personwho asked was a woman. Then real-ization of my initial cynical assumptionsabout what the study would show set in.

See, the first part was designed (andable, as far as I’m concerned) to isolatethe knee-jerk reactions of studentstowards racism and sexism, yieldinginteresting results. It found that 45%rated racism higher on the 1-10 scale,20% rated sexism higher, and only 35%rated them equally.

Then, just to hammer home the bla-tant difference in students’ perceptionsbetween the two, I went ahead and dida final study asking a completely sepa-rate 25 students whether they wouldrather be publically called a sexist or aracist, for the sake of their person-al/professional reputations. 12% wereunderstandably unable to choose, 24%said they’d rather be called a racist, anda brow-furrowing 64% saw the title“sexist” as more excusable than thealternative of “racist.”

The final study is by far the mostunderstandable even I would rather becalled a sexist than a racist. The answersshowed which word has sharper teethwith the public and which one has moreof an affect (whether positive or nega-tive). It wasn’t about which one is eth-ically right or wrong, which is why Ican’t blame the people who said they’d

prefer to be called a sexist. It’s likeasking, “Would you rather be bitten bya toothless tiger or a dentally-endowedbear?” Of course the toothless (thoughupset) tiger is the one chosen. The ques-tion is not to point the finger of bigotryat the person answering; it is to askwhere the hell the tiger’s teeth are.

In my kind of world, students wouldhave had an impossible decision tomake regarding which form of bigotryto be caught in. Students would haverated both sexism and racism equally,regardless of the the actual number theyrated them. Ideally, it would be as obvi-ous to them as it is to me that one is justas unethical or “wrong” as the other,and having spoken to a couple of aca-demic authorities on the matter, I standby it being obvious.

Robert Allen, for one, who is anadjunct philosophy professor at HWCagreed that they are both equally wrong“because at the root of both is oppres-sion.” He explained that though theyhave a lot in common- for one, they’reboth institutionalized- sexism has morerecently been confronted as a socialissue.

I’ll concede that the recent acknowl-edgement (to however small a degree)of sexism as a valid concern in itselfallows for some glitches in its progress,but wait a minute- why is it more recent,anyway? And how long is this allowed totake? Shouldn’t we at least be damnclose by now to recognizing sexism asthe wrongful disenfranchisement of agroup that it is, like racism?

Let’s do an exercise: listen for astereotype about women, or somethingthat sounds vaguely sexist, and try toswitch around what you heard (or said)into being about an ethnic minority.Or, maybe even better yet, you couldlisten for what you absolutely deem tobe a racist thing to say and then switchthat around to being about women,thinking seriously afterward about whatsocial consequences (like being firedfrom your job or being ostracized bysociety) would come if you were over-heard by, say, your boss.

I am not contending which issueshould beat out the other in importanceor prevalence. I am arguing that sexismis a form of institutionalized oppressionjust like racism is, and should be givensocial consideration as such. Neither ofthem is cute. Neither is okay. And ifyou’re still having some problems decid-ing what to think, go ahead and asksomeone who has much more educa-tion in the subject than I do, like one ofour ethics or sociology professors-they’re wonderful anyway.

THEHERALD OPINION MARCH 2011 - 11

Staff editorials reflect the majorityopinion of THE HERALDʼs student editorial board and not the opinions of Harold WashingtonCollege, the City Colleges ofChicago, or THE HERALD.

Send Letters to the Editor to:via mail: THE HERALD

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Anonymity may be requested.Letters may be edited for length,clarity, style and grammar. Letters,columns, and cartoons contain the opinions of their authors, notTHE HERALD.

By Lora AllbrittonStaff Writer

Take a trip through the hallways ofHarold Washington College and youwill see various sights indicative of col-lege life. You will see students going toand from classes, standing in line at thefinancial aid office, or lounging in thesecond floor atrium. On any given day,at any given time, you will also witnessa female student walking down the hallwho is immediately subjected to theoverzealous advances of a pack of malestudents. You notice that phrases such as“come here baby” and “where yougoin', sexy?” are dominant in theirvocabularies. You will also notice theusually negative and sometimes violentresponse in reaction to their rejection;such as the arm-grabbing, jacket-pullingand bodily touching that all too oftenensues.

You go out of HWC and on to thesidewalk outside. A gauntlet of malestudents are waiting to “catch” a femalestudent in a fishnet-like manner. Theyoung men ambush almost every femaleentering or exiting the school, relent-lessly bombarding them with explicitlysexual references to their figures. Ofcourse, upon rejection, derogatory syn-onyms for the word “female” immedi-ately become a part of the young men'svernacular. Ideally, one would witnessthese phenomena (which have becomeuncomfortably frequent on HWC'scampus), and be at least appalled if notinclined to alert security. However,unfortunately whether for fear of retal-iation or sheer apathy, most students donot intervene. One may believe that thisverbal and sometimes physical assaultis normal, that it is only an outlet; aphysical manifestation of hormones andstress among young students. However,these occurrences are embarrassing andoffensive to women everywhere, andfurther justify the notion of sexism inour society.

How many times has the term "shewas asking for it" been used as an excusefor harassment? Does anyone ever askto be verbally assaulted, or is it just

assumed that if a woman is visible indaylight then she is fair game? Game.As in an animal. Women are beingreduced to unintelligent mammalsthrough misogynistic attacks on char-acter hidden under the guise of freespeech. The biggest problem here isthat this harassment is propagated bystudents themselves. Deafeningly quietare the women who witness this degra-dation of their sex. They do not feel thatthey have a right or an obligation tospeak up for their female peers.Similarly, most of their male counter-parts do not deem it necessary to edu-cate their friends on the morality of put-ting their hands on a woman in retalia-tion to rejection.

This apathy among our students isundoubtedly a reflection of our media,which tells young women that it is okayto be objectified, and that it is in fact,encouraging and fun. After all, it iseasier to demean a woman who is will-ing to be demeaned. In turn, our malestudents feel that, in spite what themajority of us learned as children, it isokay to touch a complete stranger in aprivate way, since women are no longerindividuals in our society. They arepublic property. Because of this indoc-trination of sexist ideals, this unwar-ranted hunt and harassment of thefemale student body is not generallyseen as unacceptable.

As we delve into Women's HistoryMonth at HWC, we ask that all of usopen our eyes to the goings-on in andaround our school. As students, it is ourobligation to ourselves to thoroughlyexamine our reality. There are manyresources at HWC this month throughwhich to do exactly this. Women's stud-ies courses, Women's History Monthpresentations and movie screenings area few of the things provided for the spe-cific purpose of examining the femaleperspective. These various tools ofenlightenment will shed light on thecondition of women in our society, notas walking entertainment or videovixens, but as intelligent, creative andtalented human beings.

The Herald Editors

Sexism intolerablein student body

Why is it more preferrableto be considered sexist?

CorrectionsThe editorial “What does black history mean to HWC” erroneously identified the event Open Mic Music, Movement and Songs as a part of the Black Heritage

Month celebration at HWC. The event was not a part of the Black Heritage Month activities and was an unrelated event.