The Wright Times: October 2011

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INDEX

NEWS

VARIETY

A & C

NEWS

A&C

VARIETY

OPINIONS

PAGE 2

PAGE 10

PAGE 16

PAGE 18

New Features!

Events Calendar on page 2

•Rated Staff Picks

•on page 14

Sudoku and Crossword

•puzzle on pages 16 & 17

Wright’s Angles

•on page 19

By Shane DunnEditor-in-Chief

Kennedy-King College student Ash-ley Turner holds the position of Dis-trict Student Government Association (DSGA) Student Trustee. She serves as a bridge between students attending the seven City Col-leges of Chicago (CCC) and the Dis-trict 508 administra-tion. Turner is cur-rently touring each CCC campus to learn about the issues af-fecting students the most. The Wright Times sat down with her on September 20 to discuss her role, thoughts on Rein-vention and the im-portance of commu-nication.

Wright Times(WT): Can you tell us about the role of DSGA?Ashley Turner (AT): They combine all of

the ideas and issues District faces as a wholetohelpthemoutandfigurewhatdirection they should take. They’re collaborating tofind the best solutionto create a set price across the board. They use ideas from their individual schools to combine to make the district

as a whole a better place. Everyone has input.

WT: What input do you have regarding District?

AT: Whenever there’s something that can impact stu-dents heavily, they always ask for my input or I give it to them. I would like to think my input weighs heavily on decisions made at District…It’s not a regular basis, but typically whenever I talk to people down at District that di-rectly work with us like the Vice Chan-

DSGA Trustee arrives at Wright

DSGA Student Trustee Ashley Turner visited Wright on September 20.

By Alex SanchezNews Editor

Students, faculty and staff assem-bled at the Chicago Temple on Septem-ber 15 to discuss the repercussions that the district-wide Reinvention initiative has caused the City Colleges of Chi-cago (CCC). This venue was chosen after the forum’s reservation for a room located at Harold Washington College (HWC) was cancelled. “The CCC ad-ministration claims that the parents and pastors of our students are not part of the HWC community,” according to a message posted on Wright College’s Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Facebook page. However, the location change did not stop the room from filling up with the people whowere concerned with what Reinvention means for schools. Led by a panel of seven Harold Washington employees, the roundtable focused on what negative impacts that Reinvention, now in its second year, was having within each of their respec-tive departments. One speaker was Delores Withers, who is President of Federation of Col-

Photo by: Oliw

ia Pac

Reinvention roundtable challenges District

Chief of security Jack Murphy can be found in his office (E108).

See Roundtable on Page 3 See DSGA student trustee on Page 2

See Campus theft on Page 2

Bike lanedebate Page 8

By Stephanie WhiteReporter

Students should not have to worry about belongings being stolen on cam-pus. This is not the case this semester. Since the start of the Fall 2011 semes-ter, students’ book bags have been sto-len, one of which contained over $300 worth of books and electronics. Bags and other items were also taken from the bag rack that sits outside of the campus bookstore. A majority of the thefts have taken place in the Science Building near the cafeteria. The most recent students to have been targeted were members of the Video Game Club (VGC). Due to the thefts, the VGC has since moved from their regular meeting area near the Faculty Dining Area to the Student Center (S100). Despite the move, stu-dents' items have still been stolen. As a result, the VGC has postponed their meetings until the problem with the thefts has been resolved. In light of the recent incidents that have occurred, Wright Security has

The Student News Organization of Wright College October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright Times

6

“Reap” the benefits, Page 10

Wright studentsvictimized by thefts on campus

NEWS The Wright Times2

cellor of Student Affairs. They work very close with DSGA and they always want to know what’s going on.

WT: On the CCC Reinvention results webpage, Kennedy-King was singled out as a target of “sweeping change” in the registration process. How did this work out?

AT: We didn’t have the hassle of people not knowing where to go like in previ-ous years. The only thing I got com-plaints about were the U-Passes, as it took a very long time for people to get their passes and there wasn’t enough space. Overall, it was okay and better than what it has been in previous years. We still have years to go to perfect it, but it’s a start.

WT: There has been significant delay regarding purchase orders getting the signatures required for approval, lead-ing to student and faculty problems in planning events and getting classroom supplies. What are your thoughts?

AT: We do realize it’s delaying students as far as what they need to do regard-ing orders and events. We are in the process of streamlining the process so they have a better turnaround time…I

can’t necessarily sign off on papers or say ‘You have to do this or that,’ but I am trying to push the issue and tell the associate vice chancellors. Students need those to run events and don’t re-ally know what’s going on. When a student says they haven’t gotten their orders back, I make sure I call District to make sure that it gets to them on time.

WT: There’s a lot of dissent in general regarding Reinvention. People have complained about last semester’s new graduation ceremony, new logos and the like. What do you think about this sense of dissatisfaction, and what do you think should be done about it?

AT: Well, I think there is a big commu-nication barrier between District and the students. If we can break that bar-rier and find common ground between District and students, then many of the problems we’re facing would be non-existent. We all need to pay attention to each other more and not necessar-ily think what we want on our own. We all have to work together. It can’t just be students trying to connect or vice-versa. It has to be both sides. Some people have assumptions on District, and District doesn’t sit in our chairs as students, so they may not know where students are coming from either. We just need to take the assumptions out and think what we would do in their shoes.

DSGA student trusteecontinued from cover

DSGA Student Trustee Ashley Turner speaks to the Wright Times.

Campus theftcontinued from cover

Photo by: Oliw

ia Pac

October 2011

26 27 28 29 30 1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 Columbus Day 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 1 2 3 4 5 6

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

WRIGHT COLLEGE OCTOBER EVENTS

Zumba Party10:30-11:30 a.m.

$5 donation

Open Mic6:30 p.m.

Student Lounge

Open Mic6:30 p.m.

Student Lounge

French FilmsS-213

French FilmsS-213

Telescopeviewing

6-10 p.m.Garage roof

------------------“The Beats” @ 16th St. Theater-----------------

------------------“The Beats” @ 16th St. Theater-----------------

Telescopeviewing

6-10 p.m.Garage roof

SDSAfghan Rally

12-3 p.m.

AvantiGuitar Trio

2 p.m.Events Building

Churros Day!

Architecture Club Fundraiser

12-2 p.m.Science Building

Future Teachers“All She Can”

2 p.m.Faculty Dining Room

Latin AmericanAwareness Ceremony

12:30-2 p.m.Atrium

Humboldt ParkScholarshipFundraiser

5-9 p.m.Humboldt Campus

Graduation Outreach---------------- 9 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. --------------

Arts Lobby

History ClubFundraiser12-3 p.m.

Science Building

Great BooksVisits Shimer

College9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Career Day10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Atrium

Stage Wright Rocky Horror Preview26th @ 2 p.m. 27th @ 7 p.m.

Stage Wright Rocky Horror Show (full)7-10 p.m.

Day at Wright9 a.m.-12 p.m.

Atrium

Women’s B-BallRams v.s Eagles

5 p.m. in the Gym

Paralegal ClubFundraiser

12 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.Science Building

Happy Halloween!

requested that students do not leave belongings out of sight. If possessions must be left behind for any reason, Wright Security advises that students take down the serial number of school books and electronics. In case the miss-ing objects are found, this information can be used to prove ownership to se-curity or whoever finds it. In response to these crimes, Direc-tor of Security Jack Murphy said, “My office is open and students can come in and get any information that is avail-able.” Murphy's office is located in the Events Building, but he can also be contacted via email at [email protected] or by phone at (773) 481-8124. Murphy urges students to “always come in and report anything that seems sus-picious.” It should also be known that Wright also has a lost and found office, located in S111. Eleven cell phones are currently unclaimed. Other advice on how to avoid theft can be found in the Student Safety Handbook, located the Director of Security's office, along with other information. Other information on student safety is available online, at the security of-fice and also at the student center. As Murphy said, “The absolute number one rule in my perspective is to ensure that everybody who enters this campus feels safe and secure, whether they be students, faculty or guest.”

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3

Editor-In-ChiefShane Dunn

Managing EditorErica Harlston

News EditorAlex Sanchez

A&C EditorRemy Spencer

Photo EditorSandra Avorywoskie

Comic EditorWillie Lee Ikerd

Layout ArtistsErica Harlston

Jackelyn Sigaran

ReportersAmy SaulnierJose Capetillo

Kristopher LongStephanie Maddela

Stephanie WhiteVeronica Ibarra

PhotographersDanielle De Vera

Juan PenaOliwia Pac

Makini HarrisonMarcella Hilton-De Vincent

Michele Ocana

CartoonistsAmanda Martinez

Christina BenavidesDominique Price

Juleesa Torres

WRIGHT TIMES STAFF

Faculty AdvisorTerrence Doherty

Business ManagerHector Camacho

Internal & Public RelationsShadia Massoud

The

Wright

T

imes

TW

EST. 1995

By Shadia MassoudInternal & Public Relations

The Humboldt Park Vocational Cen-ter is the south branch of Wright Col-lege that offers the same general cours-es as Wright. However, the branch is different because it offers short-term intensive training programs in health, business and industrial occupations. These courses allow students the op-portunity to pursue specific career goals, including nursing programs that accommodate the practical nursing program and the registered nurse (RN) completion program. Though it is true that both are nursing programs, the practical nursing program takes one year and 49 credit hour certificates. The RN completion program is a 32-week, 27 credit hour program. Also offered at the Humboldt Park branch is Business Works, which teaches students about starting businesses as well as market-ing the business. Along with programs that focus on health or business, Electric/Electronic

Industrial Maintenance (EEIM) pro-grams that train students on becom-ing electricians are also available. The EEIM programs educate students to prepare them for employment as an electrician. Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) programs, which in-structs students interested in industry machine maintenance and design, are popular offerings at the Humboldt Park center. The Humboldt Park Vocational Center has also been popular for CNA programs. General Educational Development (GED) and English as a Second Lan-guage (ESL) classes are also available to students who wish to complete an English second language course or for adults who have been out of school for a while. While the Humboldt Park campus does not include any sport programs or events for the students to participate in, it receives all other benefits that stu-dents from the Wright campus receive. These benefits include financial aid and the U-Pass.

The “other” Wright campus

Roundtable continued from cover

lege Clerical and Technical Employees Local 1708. She began saying that Re-invention had “some good parts,” but soon began to denounce aspects of it. “The outcome of Reinvention right now is there’s a total disconnect. It’s

more than communication, it’s more than perception. It’s actually a destruc-tion of what we know as an educational system.” Wright SDS President Viviana Moreno felt the roundtable was over-

all a success. Moreno said, “My only critique was the lack of a stu-dent voice in the panel,” she said. “Students aren't speaking because they're not being informed of all the changes going on and it hasn't affected us negatively yet.” During the event, she asked how students could get involved with or learn more about Reinvention. The re-sponse was to have students join task forces that help make the pro-gram what it is. HWC President Donald Laack-man was in the audience as well. He took a few minutes to respond to several points that were brought up, including the problem of employees being laid-off. “Since Reinvention, we’ve lost a lot of good people,”

Photo by: Shadia Massoud

Humboldt Park campus, located at 1645 N. California Ave.

said Eric Taylor, Harold Washington’s Data Processing Lab Manager when he listed co-workers in the IT depart-ment who had been let go. According to President Laackman, the administra-tion is “aggressively trying to hire new staff” in the IT department. He even offered an explanation as to the change in venue for the roundtable. He stated that he heard about the round-table in “an unfortunate way” and, do-ing what he thought was best for the learning environment at HWC, made sure the fo-rum would not take place at the campus. Af-ter attend-ing the fo-rum though, his mind changed and he went on to say that more fo-rums can be held and he “would like to fos-ter more of these [round-tables] at the college.”

HWC’s Teachers Union Vice-chair Hector Reyes speaks.

Speakers at the roundtable discuss Reinvention taskforces.

Roundtable photos by: M

ichele Ocana

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3NEWSThe Wright Times 3

The Wright TimesOctober 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 NEWS4


Right-wing leaning students looking for a outlet to express their views may wish to check out Wright Students for a Free Republic (WSFR), a new club on campus. According to an interview with WSFR President Timothy Tindle, the club is “a conservative-and libertar-ian based-group that gives students an atmosphere for debating district, met-ropolitan and governmental politics.” At its base, the group shares a common ground on the right to free trade, free speech, practice of any religion and re-stricting federal influence over social issues. Despite the club’s foundation, WSFR welcomes anyone interested in politics, even if they disagree with them. “We’re not strictly Republican,” said WSFR Treasurer Fabian Sansona. “If you’re moderate or just believe in the legitimacy of the Constitution, you are welcome.” This extends not only

to observers, but to the club itself as well, which Tindle noted as far from the same. “Well, there are people with-in this group who lean towards liberal social issues,” he said. “There’s room for debate about government policy and social class.” Already discussions are taking place. The club’s first meeting on August 28 focused on the Reinvention initiative at the City Colleges of Chicago. “We disagree with this,” Tindle said. “Each college has a right to practice its own policies and it creates more headaches than opportunities for students. When you focus power at one point [District], you create a tyrannical way of running things.” Currently, meetings take place at 2 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays at S134 (Activities), located in the Sci-ence Building. For more information, interested students can contact the club through Facebook or via email at [email protected].

Photo by: Sandra Avorywoskie

Photo by: Juan Pena

Right wings, assemble! New conservative club starts on campus


Bookworms who enjoy read-ing texts that stand the test of time should look into joining the newly-founded Great Books Student Soci-ety (GBSS). The organization holds weekly meetings where members are able to come together and discuss the literary works of renowned writers and thinkers. GBSS advisor Michael Peter-son explains them as “a list of authors who are considered some of the great-est thinkers and writers of history. “There are plenty of students at our campus that are interested not just in taking Great Books courses, but to get together with their fellow students, talk about these books and to organize school events to increase awareness and appreciation of Great Books,” Pe-terson said. “I envision the GBSS as sort of an offshoot of that curriculum so that we can take our enthusiasm and appreciation for Great Books,” Peter-son says. Despite the fact that the GBSS is relatively new, it has already made its presence known around the Wright campus. The last week of September has already seen the club co-sponsor Banned Book presentations, the club’s first event. The organization also has other events. Peterson states, “We’re going to be visiting Shimer College… which is a Great Books College here in Chicago on IIT’s campus.” The club also plans to have shared book read-ings with Great Books faculty and will even invite guest speakers to come to the campus. In order to draw attention to the Banned Books event, the GBSS orga-nized and participated in flash mobs on September 27 and 28. The members of the society stood and read banned books in the entrances to the Arts and Science buildings. When a curious stu-dent would question as to why they were causing a roadblock, the partici-pants simply handed out a pamphlet that had the information to the Banned Books presentations.

The main event, which was in “defense of challenged or banned books” ac-cording to the GBSS’ flier, took place on September 28 and 29 in the Events building theater. Each day brought in different presenters each speak-ing about a certain banned title. On Wednesday, books such as Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” and “Fahr-enheit 451” by Ray Bradbury were discussed, while Thursday’s present-ers talked about works like “Paradise Lost” by John Milton, Henry Ibsen’s “Ghosts” and “A Streetcar Named De-sire” written by Tennessee Williams. With the quick rise to being an on-campus presence, though, there has already been a minor setback for the club. The fliers that GBSS has posted around the school, used to advertise the Banned Books event, have already been defaced. On a flier that was locat-ed at the Arts building elevator, some-one had written “The Bible” across the image of the book. Another flier by the Montrose entrance to the school had been defaced with Arabic writing on it. Last year, Israel was scratched out from the several world maps found on campus by a student, resulting in cam-pus wide controversy. Peterson believes that this club will have positive lasting effects on the stu-dents who join. “Ultimately, I hope to enrich our students’ lives…so that they then can expand their thinking and sort of deepen the way they see themselves and how they define their worlds,” he said. For more information on the Great Books curriculum or the Great Books Student Society, students can attend a meeting, held every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in the Activities Office (S134), or head online to facebook.com/WrightG-BSS

Great BooksStudent Society starts at Wright,

encounterscontroversy

Literaturemakes a comeback

Members of the new GBSS at one of the club’s first meetings.

Photo by: Erica Harlston

By Shane DunnEditor-In-Chief

Ready to make a difference? Stu-dents will take the initiative in serving the community by joining the Wright chapter of Circle K International. “Our mission,” club secretary Mark Gudger said, “is to be the service organization at Wright, in the surrounding area and throughout Chicago.” New members are welcome to join at any time, so long as they have the will to work hard at the organization. Gudger said that fresh faces “can look forward to meet-ing energetic individuals strongly pas-sionate about community service. We try to bring new ideas to the table dur-ing our weekly meetings and encour-age all our members to do the same each week. Circle K members also get to qualify for a variety of scholarships as part of Kiwanis International. Circle K provides service by hold-ing a variety of fundraising events. So far this semester, these have included collecting donations for local charities with Peanut Day, which occurred from September 23 to September 25; the PAWS Chicago Run For Their Lives Marathon on September 25, to benefit and end the killing of homeless pets; and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Soci-ety Light The Night Walk, benefitting cancer patients. Gudger said members are expected to

engage with the club on a regular basis in order to obtain a rich, well-rounded college experience: “Our strongest de-sire is to have every member involved with all of the finer details of the or-ganization… this is an opportunity to give back to those less fortunate. You get what you put in.” Circle K may keep busy in October as well, Gudger said. “We are looking into potentially participating in Black-hawks 50/50 raffles during games, as well as Carson’s Community Days.” For more information, interested stu-dents can attend the club’s meetings, which take place Wednesdays between 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. in room S247 or contact the club through email at [email protected].

Circle K members pose with PAWS mascot.

Photo courtesy of Circle K

Circle K commences charity operations

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5October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3NEWSThe Wright Times

The Wright TimesOctober 2011 Vol/Issue 18/36

By Jose CapetilloReporter

Most students expect Wright Col-lege to host student basketball teams for both men and women. Students may not realize that the school is also home to the Wright Rams wrestling team. In 1993, Wright opened its new campus. It was not until years later that a retired Marine, by the name of Eric Wetzel, formed the Rams wrestling team. Under the guidance of Coach Wetzel, the Rams have been a consis-tent presence that often compete on the Wright campus and elsewhere. Having wrestled in high school and in the armed forces with the United States Marine Corps, Coach Wetzel en-joys giving back to the community by

leading the Rams year after year. For the upcoming season, Coach Wetzel has a roster of 15 men who he believes are not only in it to win it but to also help each other. “This semester we got guys that not only want to get better but understand the team concept and help-ing each other become better wrestles helps the team as a whole,” said Wet-zel. At least two years of prior wrestling experience is required in order to join the team. They meet Monday through Friday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. upstairs near the gym in the wrestling room. The season begins September 1 and runs until the national competition in February and their first event will take place at the Pointer Open November 5 in Stevens Point, WI.

Wright wrestling team grapples for glory

The Rams practicing takedowns.

By Remy SpencerArts & Culture Editor

Students celebrate their return to Wright College at this year's carnival-themed Wilburpalooza. The event wel-comed both new and returning pupils with a slew of activities on August 31 and September 1. Highlights included free hot dogs, an outdoor inflatable jousting arena and a photo booth primed for snapping pictures. Wright's Student Government Association (SGA) spon-sored the annual festivities, which took two months to plan. The outdoor events were located between the Science and Learning Re-source buildings near the Montrose exit of the campus center. Activities

Students enjoying the activities offered at Wilburpalooza 2011.

offered included inflatable jousting, a beanbag toss and a dunk tank managed by the Wright Times. Wright's honor society Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) tended a table next to Tip-a-Troll, a game in which contestants attempted to knock down Troll dolls with beanbags. A DJ provided popular music throughout most of the event. Live acts included a performance by Kid King, a Wright student. Members of The Wright Side host-ed the photo booth on both days. Ed-itor-in-Chief of the Wright Side Abra-him Harb said, “We chose as a team to host the photo

booth because we figured that students enjoy taking pictures to have as memo-ries.” Copies of the 2011 edition of the Wright Side were laid out on a table for students to peruse. Though a few clubs presented games or activities, many did not participate. “Most people did not seem to know what was going on,” said Gabriela Naveda, PTK Vice President of Scholarship. Fliers were posted around the school and SGA promoted the event through online media such as Facebook. Still,

a percentage of stu-dents knew nothing about Wilburpa-looza. Naveda said, “Perhaps getting

the administration to announce or in-form the students about Wilburpalooza would have been helpful.” Activities were spread throughout the campus at random, making it harder for students to navigate the event. PTK President William Myroniak had ideas on how to fix this issue. He said, “One thing I can think of for improvement is to have a map layout available for the students.” Many students felt that Wilburpaloo-za was a success. PTK Vice President of Leadership Natalija Tosanic said, “The vibe was positive throughout and it definitely contributed to new friend-ships and a lot of interests in clubs peo-ple might not have heard about.”

2011 edition of Wilburpalooza a success

Photo by: Danielle D

e Vera

Phot

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y: M

iche

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cana

Photo by: Rem

y Spencer

By Stephanie MaddelaReporter

The legacy of Dr. Marvin E. Good-win was honored at Wright College once again on September 29 with the rededication of the sundial. The origi-nal sundial was implemented in Febru-ary 2003 in honor of Dr. Goodwin. A native Chicagoan, Goodwin joined the City Colleges of Chicago in 1972. In 1992, he was invited to Wright to teach courses in U.S., African-American and African History. Goodwin was Presi-dent of the Association of Afro-Amer-ican Life and History (ASALH) and a

lecturer for Scholars of Wright. He was also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, Xi Lambda Chapter and held two master’s degrees. However, the sundial had been van-dalized twice, in addition to rusting due to its copper makeup. This year, the sundial was remade in steel and re-dedicated in Goodwin’s honor. “Your history is you,” said Chaltrese Bazile, chairperson of the African American Heritage Committee, emphasizing the importance of this event. The sundial can be found in the Wright College Prairie Garden on the Narragansett side of the school.

The sundial is located on the campus’ east lawn.

Campus sundial rededicatedNEWS

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 7The Wright Times

By Veronica IbarraReporter

Prospective transfer students have the opportunity to choose from the 100 undergraduate programs that the Uni-versity of Illinois at Chicago offers. UIC visited Wright College on Sep-tember 19 in order to inform students who want to transfer. Students looking to change schools must at least have 36 credit hours of General Studies. This includes English 101 and 102, one math course and one science course that includes lab. The minimum GPA required is 2.00. Students who want to transfer can attend a Transfer Preview Day held on October 1 or February 25. On these days UIC offers information about aca-

By Erica HarlstonManaging Editor

American Intercontinental Univer-sity (AIU) offers an alternative option for students with a busy lifestyle. AIU is an online university established in London, England that gives individu-als the opportunity to earn Associate, Bachelor and Master Degrees in career fields such as Business, Design, Crimi-nal Justice and more. Offering part-time and full-time pro-grams, AIU gives pupils the freedom to take classes on their own terms. The classes are focused and are construct-ed to be completed around a flexible schedule. Course material and work-shops can be accessed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making this an ideal

demic programs, financial aid and UIC life. Campus visits are also available on weekdays and Saturdays. The deadline for the Spring Semes-ter is October 15. Students can trans-fer to the Colleges of Applied Health Sciences, Architecture and Arts, Busi-ness Administration, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Education, Engineering, Nursing, Urban Planning and Public Affairs. UIC in-state tuition for this year is $14,500 and students can apply for FAFSA or the variety of scholarships that are available such as Phi Theta Kappa are available.Information about scholarships can be found at the UIC Office of Special Scholarship Programs webpage.

learning experience for parents or indi-viduals changing careers. Just because it is an online school doesn’t mean that a student is stuck on their own. AIU has staff available to help with financial aid, admissions, in-structors and advisors.Students are en-couraged to stop by the on-site Success Center in the Chicago area for on-site support. AIU doesn’t require any college en-trance exams such as the ACT or SAT. Students who have already earned college credits may qualify to trans-fer with up to 75 percent of a degree program’s credit requirements already completed.A visit of the online campus can be taken on aiuvirtualtour.com

American Intercontinental University

University of Illinois at Chicago

By Amy SaulnierReporter

How does a $12,000 scholarship sound? That grant (specifically for transfer students), and plenty more ex-citing opportunities could await at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Known for their science, technology, and engi-neering programs, IIT is located just south of downtown in Bronzeville. They also have high-quality architec-ture courses guaranteed to “build your skills.” A 10:1 student to faculty ratio ensures plenty of specialized attention for student success. IIT features man-

Illinois Institute of Chicago

datory undergrad research programs where students gain valuable expe-rience (and stipends, depending on the program). The school also offers $5,000 scholarships for Phi Theta Kap-pa members, and 97 percent of students receive merit and/or need-based finan-cial aid. IIT accepts most CCC credits with grades of C or higher. They will accept up to 68 transfer credit hours, and require an incoming GPA of at least 3.0. For more information, open houses are October 15 and November 12, or students can schedule visits by calling the Admissions Office at (312) 567–5189.


Wright College students interested in transferring with an Associate’s degrees in the Arts (A.A) or Sciences (A.S.) may wish to attend Western Illinois Univer-sity (WIU). WIU is a mid-sized univer-sity located in Macomb that offers 67 undergraduate degrees and has a aver-age class size of 22.2 students. Inter-ested students can transfer with at least 24 credit hours as long as they are in good academic standing. WIU offers pre-professional, dual and Bachelor’s/Master programs.

Transfer students in-terested in a variety of programs have the op-portunity to acquire a Bachelor’s/Master program in three years after transferring their two-year degrees. In-terested transfer stu-

dents can attend campus visits that take place October 17, October 29 and November 11. The catalog for the university says that the school guarantees the cost of tuition ($7,648.50), fees and room over the whole school period. Information about scholarships is available at WIU web’s page at wiu.edu/scholarships.

Western Illinois University

Photo by: Rem

y Spencer

Photo by: Rem

y SpencerThinking about college life after Wright? Consider the following destinations, each

which offer students unique programstargeted at different groups. Each of thefollowing colleges accepts credit hours

earned at Wright as well. Check four of thembelow and remember that more colleges will

be on campus in the future.


Internationally recognized, Kend-all College offers creative and collab-orative learning just minutes from the heart of Chicago. To transfer, students must have at least 12 credit hours with grades of C’s or higher. While the ad-missions office requires at least a 2.0 GPA, trans-ferring students receive a clean slate at Kendall. The college’s students participate in Integrative Senior Proj-ects, which improve teamwork skills and competency to create desirable

employees. These complex consult-ing projects are presented to a panel of reviewers including Kendall College faculty and local business heads, form-ing valuable connections. A $1,000

scholarship is offered for students with alumni referrals. Many students also receive merit and need-based aid as well. The school operates by the quarter system, so it is not too late to reg-ister for their January session. To schedule an

on-campus interview, students can call the admissions office at (888) 90 KEN-DALL.

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: Rem

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ence

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Kendall College

NEWS

The Wright Times8 NEWSOctober 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3

Bike lanes growing in the Environmental Club


The Wright College women’s bas-ketball team is ready for the new sea-son and invites students to be a part of the games. This season has Arlene Roach as Head Coach of the team, with Anne Riordan and Shante Glenn as As-sistant Coaches. Roach, who has been with the team for approximately seven years, says, “This has been a building process, you recruit and you lose your girls. It is hard, but it is a challenge as a coach.” Roach has big expectations for this season. She says, “we expect to have a winning season.” For this season, the team is com-posed of seven players that are current-ly conditioning on Mondays, Wednes-days and Fridays from 4:30 p.m. to 6

p.m. and beginning in October, they will start official practices. All female Wright students are welcome to join the team. Roach says, “If you love playing come and try out. We work with those of all kinds.” The players usually are part of the team for the whole year as long as a good academic standing is maintained. The games that draw the largest crowd are the doubleheaders, where both the women’s and men’s teams play right after one another. The first preseason game for this season will be against Robert Morris College’s wom-en’s team on October 29 at 1 p.m. and the first official match is on November 1 at 5 p.m. Both games will be held at Wright. The women’s basketball team is part

Women’s basketball team sprints for new season

The women’s basketball team practices in the gym. They face Robert Morris College’s Lady Eagles on Oct. 29.

By Kristopher LongReporter

The Environmental Club at Wright College has put a petition into effect that aims to extend bike lanes north-ward from Narragansett and Irving Park to the campus. “There are a lot of bicyclists [at Wright],” says Gradu-ation Coordinator Stephen Gulyas. “[Extending the lanes] would make the trip a lot safer.” For the petition’s proposal to suc-ceed, supporters need the approval of 38th Ward Alderman Tim Cullerton. This effort will receive assistance from Wright President Jim Palos if enough students sign the petition. Environmen-tal Club will soon accept signatures for the petition across campus. “The peti-tion for students to sign and show their support will circulate around the cam-pus by mid-October,” says Gulyas.

Cyclists who fear pedaling on the streets of Chicago actually put them-selves at additional safety risks. Gu-lyas says, “Without lanes, bikers get on the sidewalk to be safe, but then they get yelled at by pedestrians.” Former Wright English professor David Levy suggests how safety can lead to a great-er amount of bikes on the road. “If cy-clists learn to bike safely, they should feel safe and use the lanes. We hope [an extension] will potentially increase the number of cyclists,” he said. Other cycling-related goals are ad-vancing as well. Gulyas discusses a significant advantage of pedaling. “The number one benefit of getting on the bike is helping [improve] the car-diovascular system. When you have a healthy cardiovascular system, you have the foundation of a healthy life-style,” he says. Those who choose two wheels over four not only benefit their own well-being, but also help benefit the health of the environment. “Us-ing bikes rather than cars will reduce greenhouse emissions,” says Environ-mental Club advisor Mila Simeon-ovska. “Everyone is benefitted by [en-gaging in] more economically efficient transportation.” Other participants are also engaged in protecting active individuals’ health and safety. “The health insurance com-panies are mobilizing to require that in-dividuals take the initiative to exercise. This is a way for the city of Chicago

to help citizens de-crease the costs of health insurance,” Gulyas says. Alternate trans-portation modes not only promote lower health care rates, but they ap-peal to Chicagoan lifestyles. Accord-ing to Simeonovs-ka, “[Extending the bike lanes] is a way to promote active lifestyle by mak-ing it more acces-sible and attractive to everyone.” Levy elaborates, saying when bike lanes are extended, op-portunities for more efficient means of transportation are presented to the city. For an extension to be successful, cyclists and driv-ers must be aware that they share the same road. “This helps to build accep-tance that roads are built for all modes of transportation,” says Levy. “Accep-tance helps reduce accidents.” Understanding the purpose behind bike lanes is vital for road safety. “Both

cyclists and drivers need to educate themselves,” says Levy. “Bike lanes help keep cyclists safe. If cyclists and drivers execute safe operation of their bikes and cars and have respect [for each other], an extension can promote safety.”

Parallel lines provide a pathway for cyclists.

of the National Junior College Athlet-ic Association (NJCAA) Division II. Some of the opponents for the confer-ence games are Joliet College, College of DuPage and Milwaukee Area Tech. In regionals, the women’s basketball team plays against teams from Kanka-kee, Prairie State College and South Suburban. Students who would like to attend the games and cheer on the team can find the game schedule for the season on the Wright Athletic Depart-ment’s web page at www.wright.ccc.edu/department/athletics.

Photos by: Sandra Avorywoskie

Bike lane photos by: Sandra Avorywoskie

9October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3The Wright Times

Discover the next stage of your journey.

We know your time is precious. You need a top-notch univeristy that lets you earn your degree

as efficiently as possible. DePaul University’s Adult Enrollment Center counselors are here to

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at (312) 362-6338 or depaul.edu/aec.

NEWS

10 11October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright Times

By: Erica HarlstonManaging Editor

Rapper, producer and photographer Duwayne Padilla proves that after 17 years of dediction, dreams really do come true. No stranger to the Wright College area, Padilla goes by the aliases “Reap” and “R. Raven” in his many endeavors. Considered a man of many talents in the art world, Padila found his place in Chicago in more ways than one, leaving his impression on many different artistic ventures. Coming into a subjective industry with little experi-ence certainly hasn’t slowed him down any. In an interview with the Wright Times he shares his experience on the stage, his philosophy on photography and his unexpected rise to fame.

Wright Times (WT): What is the story behind your artist names?Duwayne Padilla (DP): “Reap” came about as a kid. I was a quiet kid, re-ally skinny with a skeletal face like the grim reaper. I didn’t want to be known as the grim reaper so they called me Lil’Reap. When I was about 17, the “lil” fell off and I became known as Reap. “R. Raven” came about because I needed a symbol for my inner dark-ness. I’m a really quiet guy, mysteri-ous, guy. The raven is another symbol of myself, a fierce bird that shows what I do in my artwork.

WT: How old were you when you first started showing an interest in music?DP: I was about 13-years-old when I started freestyling. My older brother would drive me around the block with his friends and I would rap with them about the random signs that I had seen and make them into songs. I started as a Christian rapper and traveled with the church performing in front of large audiences at 14-years-old. I’ve since drifted away from the church but remain positive with what I do now.

WT: When did you start creating and releasing music?DP: Around 1997. I started out with a group called "Born Invincible" in high school. We put together a CD got picked up by Chi Bang, which is well known for mixtapes. Everyone then knew me as the fast rapping Puerto Ri-can kid, Reap. I finally decided to work on my own because I really couldn’t do what I wanted to do as a member of a group.

WT: What experi-ences in your life have impacted your music?DP: Growing up and seeing my parents go through hard times really showed me a lot. Coming to Chi-cago we didn’t have anything. I would drive around with my dad looking for furniture in alleys, living in a one bed-room apartment, standing in line at the church waiting for powdered milk and government cheese. I appreciate that experience because I don’t take what I have for granted. I know that you can have it all right now, and the next day things can be totally different.

WT: How would you classify your music?DP: I guess it’s conscious hip-hop, like Common, Talib Kweli and Mos Def, but I do all sorts of music. Growing up, I had my younger brother looking up to me so I have always kept my music clean. I felt I had to be a role model to him.

WT: I noticed that you have a lot of R&B and dance elements in your mu-sic, which is “different” from the com-mon definition of hip-hop. What makes you want to incorporate such diversity in your work?DP: I want people to get a message but enjoy themselves at the same time. I write about life and how it affects me and my friends. I love creating upbeat hip-hop, electro hop and “feel good

music.” I like doing everything.

WT: Is R. Raven Photography completely launched or are you still trying to establish it as a company and get it off the ground?DP: I’m still establishing

myself. It took me a while because I’ve

never taken a class or anything like that. I just picked up a camera one day and started shooting. As an artist I didn’t have a photogra-pher so I would

set my tripod up, get my angles ready, set the timer and take pictures of my-self. It has come a long way and some people think that I’m doing big things. I’m going to London for a shoot I was hired for. I’ve pictured it, because if you don’t picture it then why are you doing it? But I didn’t think it would come so soon. My goal is to make it

into a company and ex-pand it.

WT: When did you start dabbling with pho-tography?DP: It’s been about 4 or 5 years that I’ve been doing photography but on a serious level it’s been about the last 2 years. I did a big shoot last year and it turned

out really good; one of my pictures was chosen for the cover of the “Hip-Hop Documentary.” From then on it was word-of-mouth. Till this day some people still don’t know that R. Raven and Reap is the same person.

WT: I know the R. Raven website says that your main focus is portraits, but are there any other things that catch your eye with photography? DP: I love capturing people’s faces and expressions. I think that every picture has a story. I have to be as creative as I can since it is really hard to do a por-trait and make it look different. You have to have an eye. I want to go out backpacking for a week or two and just go shooting [pho-tographs], but right now I specialize in portraits and I’m having fun with it.

WT: The website mentions that you “break the rules” as a photographer, that you “love to use natural lighting, work in dim conditions and have a dif-ferent interpretation on what the per-fect pose is.” What is the idea around this?DP: I break the rules because I don’t

way they are supposed to be, then I may end up being just like e v e r y b o d y else. I have to separate myself from the bunch. People should see a picture and say ‘Reap took that, that’s R. Ra-ven Photog-raphy.’

else behind the scenes that goes into it that’s the hard part. The things that people don’t see, or know that you have to go through, in order to make that one song.

WT: What does each artistic outlet bring to the table?DP: I do them all because I love them. It’s not about the money to me, it’s the passion. I am not rich by any means, I struggle just like anyone else. It’s stressful but I love doing it. At the end of the day that’s what keeps me going

and that’s what wakes me up everyday. For instance,

today I was with my nephew and

he asked me what I was doing today.

I told him about the interview I was

doing with you [the Wright Times]. He told

me ‘Uncle D, little by little you are getting big-

ger and bigger. I seen your videos on YouTube, you’re going to make it.’

For him to notice the things that I do, like hearing them singing

my songs, it all goes back to me keep-ing my art-work positive. That way my nephews can sing my songs. That’s why I do it. Everything is just considered one to me. It’s not just photography, just video or just music. It’s all just one passion and it all relates.

WT: Tell us about the Brass Monkey Crew (BMC).DP: The Brass Monkey Crew is me, Astonish and Goonie J. For those that don’t know what a brass monkey is, it’s a forty-ounce of Old English mixed with orange juice. I used to drink it back in the day, but we met with a pro-

ducer downtown who was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to drink a brass monkey.’ I was just like, I haven’t had one of those in a long time. We have been known as BMC ever since then. It came about by paying hom-age and us drinking to old school hip-hop. I don’t pro-mote drinking though, unless you’re over 21. Just orange juice, when you’re older you can add the Old E.

WT: Are you guys thinking

about releasing a BMC mixtape?DP: We actually talked about it and think it would be cool. We all have a different style of hip-hop. To be able to

bring two d i f f e r e n t styles to-gether on a track that s o u n d s good is very rare.

WT: Can you explain your role in

the new project you have coming up with BMX sponsorship?DP: It’s strange how everything ties into one another. I was shooting a mu-sic video for another artist in an old bread factory, which was being turned into a new indoor BMX park. We were breaking down equipment and listening to music when the BMX guy walked in. I have no idea who this guy is but he randomly walked up to me. He asked us what we were doing there and I had told him we were shoot-ing a music video. He thought it was cool, we started talking and I told him that I’m an artist. We exchanged info and arranged to meet with him and drop him off a CD. He has already used about six or seven of my songs, the last one being a song titled “Monster” for the Monster energy drink, one for a BMX event that was going on in Min-nesota… Right now I just submitted a contract for a Nike commercial. A stranger walked up to me and took a liking to my music and has been throwing nothing but opportu-nities my way and putting the word out there for me.WT: You are part of seeOURvision,

I picked a few people whom I felt were talented in differ-ent fields and put together the company to show people what it is that we got, and that’s tal-ent. It’s totally different work-ing with other people when you are used to working by yourself.

WT: With so many projects in the works, what keeps you motivated as a well-rounded

artist?DP: My family’s support is unbeliev-able, especially my parents pushing me as far as I need to go for the things that I want, and having my back when times are hard. That has been my main drive, them always reminding me who I am. One of my most touching moments was after a show at the Cubby Bear with Trainwreck Symphony. I had spoken at Juan Compos High School and talked to all the classes. A bunch of students had questions prepared for me and when I was about to go perform on stage someone came to me with a folder. The folder was full of notes that the kids left me telling me things like I in-spire them and that I’m cool. It touched me and I even got a little teary before going onstage. It’s things like that which motivate me to keep doing what I do. Even at the times when I feel like, ‘This is it, I can’t do it anymore,’ those things really push me to strive.

WT: How does it feel as an artist know-ing that you have been in the business for so long and you’re only just now blowing up?DP: It has to do with maturity. I’m older now and the things I know now I wish I could have known back then. The game is totally different now; back then it was more about street hustle and there was no Internet. I was forced to only focus on the Chicago scene. Who I am right now is not the kid that was making music way back when.

“I appreciate all those things

because I don’t take the things I have now, or the way I

live now, forgranted.”

“Till this day some people still don’t

know thatR. Raven and Reap is the same person.”

know the rules. When I first started I was intimidated because I had gotten hired for some big shoots and there were some big-time photographers shooting as well. I remember thinking ‘you’re not doing this right’ and ‘you’re doing that totally wrong.’ I had gotten so intimidated that I had thought maybe this wasn’t for me. But then I realized that I’m not a ‘by the book’ kind of guy anyway with any-thing I do. If I go by a book and do things the

“A stranger walked up to me and took a liking

to my music and has been throwing nothing but opportunities my

way…”

“Who I am right now is not the kid that was making music way back

when.”a channel on YouTube. Can you share a little more about the concept behind it?DP: It’s a bunch of creative people doing different things. We want ev-eryone else to see our vision, the vision that we have behind our art.

Local artist reaps the benefitsChicago rapper/photographer “Reap” finally gets his big break with BMX.

W T: W h a t sparked the video aspect of your artwork?DP: Video came about when I no-ticed that videos coming out of Chi-cago just weren’t...good. I write stories and things, so I want to capture a music artist’s story through the lens. I don’t just want to capture stills, I want to experiment with the experience of movement. With any-thing you do, you have to just figure it out with trial and error. I went through a lot of error. I’ve just worked to polish my craft up and it’s been going really good for me.

WT: Which would you say is more challenging, making music or shooting pic-tures/videos?DP: That’s tough. Mu-sic has its times when you get writer’s block or you’re just not in-spired. So I would say music just because there are times that you just aren’t inspired. I’m the type that has to go through things in life in order to gain that in-spiration. Music comes easy, but it’s everything Ph

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Photos courtesy of Reap

ARTIST SPREAD

12 October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright Times

By Remy SpencerOpinions Editor

Breathlessly spoken words ring out across a well-lit stage, enunciated by actors in beanies and sneakers. Milk crates function as seats on stage and books are strewn about. “Holy, holy, holy,” reverberates throughout the au-dience. “The Beats” is an homage to a generation of Americans who spoke out against tradition and spurned the status quo. The play consists of sev-eral skits with actors portraying vari-ous beat poets and contains readings from poems such as Allen Ginsberg's “Howl.” At the conclusion of each skit, director Ann Filmer involves the audience by asking about thoughts or opinions evoked by the act. “It's social commentary,” she says regarding the play's focus. One skit details the 1956 trial of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, co-founder of the firm that published Ginsberg's “Howl,” with actors playing the roles of both prosecutor and defendant. An-other features one actor as a homeless poet, rattling off lines while wrapped in a shawl. The actors' delivery com-

pliments the poetry and remains true to the style in which it was written. En-ergy radiates from the stage with each exclamation of “Holy!” The minimal set emphasizes the theme of the performance. Filmer ex-plains, “Because the beats were reject-ing things, it made sense. It was just stuff that we could find.” Every piece of the set has a purpose: actors pick up the books and read aloud from them or sit casually on the crates in a semi-cir-cle. “We didn't want to buy anything. That's not beat,” Filmer says. The high level of energy maintained by the actors keeps the performance fresh and exciting. The proliferation of curse words (favored by beat poets) also helps to lighten up the mood. Au-dience members interact with both the play and the performers alike, making “The Beats” a fun alternative to tradi-tional theater. “The Beats” runs at 16th Street Theater from September 15 through October 15. For more information, visit www.16thstreet-theater.org.

“The Beats” captures rhythm of 50’s writers

“The Beats” actors exhibit their talents on stage.

I had a great time at East-West University. Class size is small, so students getattention from the talented and creative professors.East-West University is diverse,international and multicultural,which allowed me to learn andlove other cultures.

I always search for intellectualchallenge and stimulation, and East-West succeeded indelivering the intellectualchallenge I needed. My student experiences at East-West University are some of my fondest memories.

Amra Bukalo-MehmedovicClass of 2007

816 S Michigan AvenueChicago | IL 60605312.939.0111 ext 1826 or [email protected]@eastwest.edu

www.eastwest.edu

By Stephanie MaddelaReporter

“We have a lot of talent that’s un-tapped here at Wright College,” said Stephen Gulyas, the head of the Wright Open Mic. Open Mic takes place every Wednesday at about noon in the caf-eteria. At the event on September 21, students covered some of their favorite artists such as Maroon 5, Ray Charles, Mario, and Johnny Cash. There were also many original pieces, including compositions featuring Arabic-style guitar, inspiring spoken word and pow-erful poems. “We want to make this a format for folks who didn’t think they had it in them. This is a good way to find out if performing is for you. And it’s free of charge,” said Gulyas.

Open Mic is a great opportunity for Wright students to share their talent with their peers and gain experience with performing in front of a crowd. Maria Solis is a student performer who feels that Open Mic is a great format for both debuting and professional performers. She said, “Not only does it give you the right to exercise your first amendment rights, but also because you’re not tak-ing a class, there’s no professor giving you a grade, so students are really free to express themselves…I’ve always encouraged, anybody that likes music, to find your passion and go after it if you really love it.” If you would like to share your talent with your fellow Wright students, contact Steve Gullius in the Records Office (A129) and come on down to Open Mic.

Students perform at Open Mic.

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Mic check: Wright students flock to open performance

Vendors have currently set up shop in the ArtsBuilding lobby. They sell goods to customers at Wright such as incense, knitted goods, coffee and jewelry. The vendors will remain at their places Monday through

Thusdays until October 13.

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ARTS & CULTURE

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3The Wright Times ARTS & CULTURE 13


Surrounded by wall-to-wall com-ics, humans and dogs alike donned costumes in order to usher in a new era of storytelling. DC Comics shocked masses when they announced the com-pany-wide revamp of classic, beloved superheroes such as Superman and Batman. Manager of G-Mart Comics Paul Czarnowski explained, “DC Comics decided that they were going to start over everything at number one start-ing this month as a way to bring in new readers.” From 5-9 p.m. on August 31, regular customers and potential new readers were invited to stop in, chat with comic lovers and pick up a copy of the all-new “Justice League” #1. Czarnowski saw it as a chance to bring new people into the world of comics. “There are a lot of people who are like, ‘Hey, comics. I don’t read them and I’m scared because this issue is number 5000 and I don’t want to read

5000 back issues,” Czarnowski said. “We’re trying to bring those people in who fear the high number or who have been away for a while and so far it’s working. There have been people com-ing in all day who have been checking out this new number one.” Judging by the amount of people in the store, there was no doubt the party had accomplished its job. G-Mart Com-ics was filled with veteran collectors, as well as comic virgins who had been enticed by DC’s announcement. “I’m pretty pumped,” said Robert Amaya, a new reader. “It’s nice to be able to start from the beginning and catch ev-erything anew. I’m excited because it’s hard to jump into some comics if you’re not a big reader, so this is nice to start from issue one of everything.” Czarnowski admitted that he had qualms at first, but he clearly got over it. “When they announced it we were all scratching our heads, but now this seems like it’s an awesome thing to do and we’re having this party for it.”

G-Mart holds party for DC rebootBy Jose CapetilloReporter

24 Hour Comic Day is right around the corner and nobody hosts this event better than C h a l l e n g -ers Comics + Conver-sation. “24 Hour Comic Day is an international

day where creators have only 24 hours to write and draw their own 24 page comic,” said Patrick Brower, co-own-er of Challengers. “You can’t come in with sketches or plot ideas written down. Everything has to be in your head, but when the clock strikes, the pencils hit the paper and it is all origi-nal from there. You either finish in 24 hours or you don’t,” he said. Challengers is no stranger to 24 Hour Comic Day. The shop will host the event for a fourth straight year. 25 artists have signed up for the task.

Spectators are welcome at any point and talk to the artists, ask questions and speak with them about their comic that is in the works. If the artists choose to eat, sleep or run to the restroom, the clock doesn’t stop for them. They must have their comic done by the next morning. “It’s difficult to be fully concentrating on writing and drawing for 24 straight hours. It’s a huge mental strain and a lot of people don’t make it,” said Brower. “But a lot of people that do have these amazing breakthroughs in their art style and its great seeing people evolve just from doing that.” This year’s event will have a twist that will make things interesting. DC artist Chris Burnham and “God Hates Astro-nauts” creator Ryan Browne are doing something amazing this time around. When each of their first pages of their book is complete, they will switch and continue one another’s book. They will repeat the process throughout the 24 hours. “So Chris will start his story and Ryan will start his story and then switch it and the goal is to screw the other one over as much as possible,” Brower said with a smile. Challengers Comic + Conversation

will host the event from 11 a.m. Sat-urday Octo-ber 1 until 11 a.m. the next day. For more i n f o r m a -tion, visit the shop’s website at Cha l leng-erscomics.com.

BEYoND THE PANEL

Artists rush to complete their comics.

G-Mart Comics is located at 2641 N. Kedzie Ave.

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Photo courtesy of Paul Czarnow

ski

By Shane DunnEditor-In-Chief

“In 3-D!” “Presented in Scent-O-Rama!” and “Now in T-E-R-R-O-RVI-SION!” On the poster advertising “Scott Janus: Monster Hunter,” deliberately chosen clichés are splattered in a bold, capitalized neon red font. Spit in the face of annoying sparkling vampires by watching this new play written by Paul Czarnowski and directed by Sean Harklerode. The play pays tribute to 60’s horror filmmakers Roger Corman and William Castle, both of which are known for gimmick-ridden, low bud-get B-movies. Indeed, “Scott Janus” is full of cheese and they know it, though their sprawling advertising campaign proves both ambitious and creative. The plot itself hijacks the trope train and rides it to the grave. Accord-ing to the New Millenium Theater Company’s website, it starts in the am-biguously labeled Sleepy Small-Town

USA, where Eddie Edderson suspects that his next-door neighbor Mr. Nos-feratsenberger (which references an al-ternative name for vampires) “might be more than a simple man raking leaves – at night – in a cape.” Dying of the frightening horror, Ed-die flips through his comic books where he sees an ad for Scott Janus, Monster Hunter. The two join forces and with Eddie’s friends, form a fantastic five

perfect for a role-playing game, com-plete with sufficiently powerful forces of evil to wage war against. And of course, the website closes off the summary with “even if they die trying!” The website also hosts several “tes-timonials,“ presumably also fictional. Each video features a paranormal prob-lem and a Scott Janus solution. Ghosts ask a man to give messages to their sur-viving families, who proceed to have

him arrested (solution: do the opposite of what the ghosts say). A little girl has a monster under her bed (solution: hammer the monster to death); a portal to another world lies in a dryer (solu-tion: jump into the portal with a gun and wrestle with the monster, without shooting it); a rocker encounters a de-mon (solution: quote the Bible). A “Scott Janus Investigations” pam-phlet was also created to spread the word. The three-fold paper gives read-ers the impression that Scott Janus re-ally, really likes killing monsters (es-pecially vampires). Still, it emphasizes that not all monsters are bad - they’re just like people, in fact, except they are monsters. “Scott Janus: Monster Hunter” takes place at Theater Wit, located at 1229 West Belmont on September 23 at 11 p.m. and then on every Friday and Sat-urday until October 29. Tickets are $17 in advance, $20 at the door and anyone dressed in costume gets a $5 discount.

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright TimesARTS & CULTURE14

Heritage


Opeth’s new album “Heritage” signi-fies a dramatic change for the Swedish progressive death metal group. Band-leader Mikael Akerfeldt has long expressed his desire to create a 70s pro-gressive rock tribute complete with bright neon album cov-ers, epic length songs and ridic-ulous concepts that make no sense. While Ak-erfeldt has succeeded in that regard, “Heritage” ultimately fails at being another high-quality Opeth album. Previously, Opeth was known for Akerfeldt’s deep, nigh-abyssal vocals and a heavy, mid-tempo guitar assault. Those elements

are replaced with sparse songs focusing on borderline-jazzy drums and nice yet standard guitar arpeggios with a weird, ghostly ambiance quietly drifting in negative space. Sounds great, except that “Heritage” almost never deviates

from this formula. Most of the songs are at least 6 minutes long, and it takes those fine ideas and drags them through mud. “I Feel The Dark” stands tall as the strongest song on the album. With tempo changes three times with proper transitions to weave a pow-erful soundscape.

Unfortunately, every other song remains the same and believers in the idea that progressive rock actually means pro-gressive will find themselves sorely disappointed by this flashback into rock music’s past. This gets a 2 out of 5.

By Willie Lee IkerdComic Editor

Would you “back door” your clos-est friend for a half mil-lion dollars? This is the big question that producers ask on the real-ity TV show “Big Broth-er,” which airs three days a week. The show consists of 12 strangers who are put in a vacation house cut off from TVs, the Internet and phones. With cameras 24-7, contestants compete for food, luxury and total control of the house. The goal is to get everyone evicted from the house. and the last one stand-

Big Brother

By Remy SpencerOpinions Editor

Feral hamsters and the Great Ohio Desert are among the concepts David Foster Wallace uses to pique readers' interests and tweak perceptions of the not-so-distant future. In “The Broom of the System,” the plot follows main character Lenore Stoneci-pher Beadsman through her in-creasingly odd daily life. One morning Lenore visits Shaker Heights Nursing Home in order to see her great-grand-mother and namesake. After much vague dialogue, she finds that her Gramma Lenore is missing. Obstacles arise as Lenore endeav-ors to locate the senior citizen. For ex-

The Broom of the System

By Makini HarrisonReporter

“Colombiana” is a movie about a girl who, witnesses the murder of her par-ents and searches for the man responsible for her tragic loss. The movie begins in Colombia but for the most part was filmed in Chicago. Zoe Saldana plays the role as the older, assassin-trained Cat-aleya. After experi-encing the death of her only family she becomes a killer. She spends her whole life preparing for the perfect moment to kill the mobsters that murdered her parents. She trains herself with the help of her uncle.

Colombiana

Staff Picks

Ratings Scale:

= Outstanding

= Excellent

= Average

= Disappointing

= Terrible

When Cataleya gets older she works for her uncle as a hit man. She spends the rest of her time searching for Mar-co, the man responsible for her parent’s

death. On a scale from 1-5, with 5 being the highest I would rate this movie a 4. It is not at a 5 because some scenes could have been better. The acting was great, but the formatting and writing had errors. It seemed a little cliché when Cataleya wit-nessed her parents’ death and suddenly she had powers of be-

ing a ‘warrior.’ Everyone has his or her own opinions of the movie, so see it this weekend and give it your rating.

ing wins $500,000. Competitions are held such as Head of Household, which determines who will run the house for the week. The

main objective is to nominate two people for eviction. The Veto competition rewards the Power of Veto, which allows the con-testant to grant im-munity from eviction. Nominees typically want to win the Pow-er of Veto in order to save themselves from the chopping block.

I would give this show a rating of 3 out of 5. After 13 seasons it’s not really up to the hype. What it lacks in physical confrontation it makes up for in drama. It’s an interesting show but is reminis-cent of an uppity version of The Real World/Road Rules.

ample, the telephone lines at Frequent and Vigorous redirect every call made in the area and no technician can seem to determine the source of the disruption. The owner of the building that houses F&V Publishing declares he is going to become so fat as to occupy all the space in the universe. Lenore's neurosis

compounds the strange events further, adding to already ridic-ulous antics. More char-acters manifest sporting colorful names and even more vivid per-sonalities, keep-ing the reader delightfully con-fused. Realistic details embel-lish the story ap-

propriately. While reading, one may forget that “The Broom of the System” is a work of fiction. I rate this book 4.5 out of 5.

Not sure what new media to check out in this postmodern society? Never fear, the Wright Times staff is here! Every month, staff

members write reviews on the newest albums, movies, books and many more.

Find something appealing to you without buying it first!

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3The Wright Times ARTS & CULTURE 15

By Jose CapetilloReporter

“FlashPoint” is DC Comics’ event story centering around The Flash. Our hero finds himself waking up in an alternate reality where things aren’t what they used to be and in a race against his arch nemesis, Reverse Flash, to restore the world he once knew. The story is writ-ten by Geoff Johns with Andy Kubert covering the art du-ties. Johns knows these characters well. He alters them in creative ways that still fit each charac-ter as well as their new purpose in this universe.

Throughout the five issues, Kubert maintains a consistent and clear art style featuring custom costumes for each of the new alternate versions of DC characters. He maintains a resemblance to each of the character’s original costume designs yet still fits in new characteristics reflecting

their alternate selves. “FlashPoint” leads into the birth of a brand new universe. New takes on popular character and a new starting point for each of their stories. It is rare in the comic indus-try to find a story with such an epic effect on a whole universe of char-acters. “FlashPoint” has lived up to it’s top bill-ing. Final Verdict: 4.5 out of 5.

FLASHPOINT

By Stephanie MaddelaReporter Delectable chocolates and glittery jewelry attracted gifted artists and de-voted local shoppers alike to the 44th Annual Wright College Craft Fair. The fair took place in the Events building, and featured a wide variety of hand-made products ranging from glittery jewelry to delectable chocolates. The event lasted from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 11, giving shoppers plenty of time to browse six-

ty-three stalls. The products consisted of hair accessories, handmade luxury soap, woodworking, and even afford-able health consultations. The consul-tations included the administering of a stress test, a personal weighing as well as a free homemade banana pro-tein loaf. This fair had something for ev-eryone. Some stalls advertised home-made items, such as Teresa Mangana’s ‘Dia de los Muertos’ themed décor, which included intricately decorated skulls both for house decoration and

wedding memorabilia. Many stalls fea-tured fall-themed items, such as spooky ghost sweaters in expectance for the upcoming Halloween holiday and Ms. Clara Mitchell’s autumn-themed home décor. Representatives from Costco and Mary Kay were also present. However, homemade items were the major attracting feature of the day. Richard Ghilarducci’s birdhouses and Victoria Nowlin’s “Scented Seasons” soy candles and soaps as well as Barba-ra Hoffman’s “Covered in Chocolate” candy products were highlights.

44th annual craft fair welcomes creativity


Grisly exploding heads grace the scenes of the French film “Rubber.” The film opens up by breaking the fourth wall, asking viewers not to ques-tion the events that are about to take place. An audience in the film it-self watches the film’s events transpire. The protagonist is a socio-pathic rubber tire who blow humans’ heads up telepathically. At first glance, this movie may seem like a cre-ative stroke of genius. However, this film presents artsy commentary fails to keep an audience enthralled. Most of the film sees the murderous tire rolling through a desert wasteland to indie mu-

Rubber

By Stephanie WhiteReporter

Lesley Livingston’s fantasy novel “Wonderous Strange” introduces us to Kelley Winslow, a high school graduate who finds herself in a strange place with a man that makes her feel so wondrously in love. Kelley has moved to New York to start off her act-ing career. There she meets Sonny Flannery, who is putting on the Shakespear-ean play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He brings her into a world that she thought only existed in sto-rybooks. “Wonderous Strange” brings the reader into the Faerie realms, inhabited by fierce and warrior-like fa-eries. Gates serve as portals into these


Mystery, time travel, a haunted island – yet the only thing pecu-liar about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is exceptionally juvenile writing. Sixteen-year-old Jacob was enchanted by his grandfather’s extrava-gant tales of the children’s home inhabited by superhu-man orphans that took him in during WWII, and hor-rifying monsters of which he lived in paranoia. Upon his grandfather’s gruesome death, the awkward teen sets out to unravel the mys-tery – was the senile old man telling the truth? The storyline, is childishly black-and-white. Jacob, of course, goes to the

Miss Peregrineís Home for Peculiar Children

Wonderous Strange

sic. When it finally does confront and kill a human, it falls flat since it took so long to reach that point anyway. Many shots include the in-movie

audience watching this tire fulfill its evil plans. They are meant to help fur-ther the commen-tary along, but in-stead only manage to detract from the film. For example, the tire prepares to kill someone and at the last second the scene switches to the audience who proceed to comment about what is go-

ing on. Most scenes that include these characters last for a lengthy amount of time and ruin the flow of the film. Verdict: 1.5 out of 5

The fair attracted mostly locals, most vendors heard about it via word of mouth. No matter who the crowd was, the crafters all agreed that they were happy to share their work with the community. “I do this to show the types of things I can do with my hands, and my experience,” said Ghilarducci, a woodworking vendor. This annual fair is a great opportunity to shop for home décor, buy one-of-a-kind cloth-ing, or just admire the talent that is hid-den right here in our neighborhood.

lands, but the flow of time leaves hu-mans somewhere in the future, even if you were only there for a few sec-onds. This gives the reader a larger aspect on the world in the novel and

will draw the reader in more. Livingston incorporates the play into the storyline and ensures that read-ers have a hard time guessing what happens next, which makes it a great read. I would give this book a 4 out of 5. I found it very well written and the plot was strong. This book is the first in a trilogy.

The second book is called “Darklight” and the final one is called “Tempestuous.”

seemingly abandoned orphanage and finds that his grandfather’s extraordi-nary friends are still children, indefi-nitely reliving the day they all should

have died. Blah blah blah, insert charming moments here. Predict-able bonds are formed and Jacob falls for his grandfather’s former sweetheart (incestuous twist, anyone?). The “bad guys” plan to destroy the world, antics ensue, and read-ers are lead to an in-effective attempt at a cliffhanger, obviously anticipating an unwel-come sequel.

For a story of such fantasy, the charac-ters are obnoxiously cliché and the plot predictable. Very disappointing, Mr. Riggs. One of five planes.

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright TimesVARIETY

Brattitude ClownzBy:Willie Lee Ikerd

MigiBy: Juleesa Torres

16

Answer to September’s Sudoku

Notice MeBy: Dominique Price

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3The Wright Times VARIETY

Gangsta Squirrel By: Dominique Price

17

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright TimesOPINIONS18

By Stephanie WhiteReporter Before the founding of Wright Stu-dents for a Free Republic (WSFR), the only club with a focus on politics on campus was Students for a Democrat-ic Society (SDS). Now students with alternate perspectives have a club that focuses on their views. Many stu-dents, including myself, think that it is a good idea that the school has this club. Some students are conservatives and libertarians and it is finally time that there is a club that is focused on their political views. Wright student Prado Cuervo states, “I think it's a good idea. There should be a complete selection of clubs for students. There-fore, it leaves no one out. It also helps facilitate discussion between liberals and conservatives.” WSFR intends to encourage thought into opinions and ideas and does not judge students for what they said. This is a good thing because if you have a strong opinion about some-thing that some may not agree with, the club will still listen to you. However, some students do not like the idea of WSFR. Wright student Ashley King said, “Well I think it's kind of unnec-essary. Instead of having two clubs [WSFR and SDS] teaching students to separate themselves, we should have a current events clubs that shows people how to come together. That would teach them to discuss their opinions openly without somebody mocking or ramming their ideas down someones throat.”

New clubs are always looking for new members. WSFR offers an open forum for discussion to all students. Wright student Ben Jaffe said, “I feel that ev-erybody should be allowed to have clubs

Illustration by:Willie Lee Ikerd

New political club’s time is nowrepresenting their interests. It shows diversity for the school and our genera-tion. I'm fine with it as long as nobody bashes other clubs or people.” Joining campus political clubs such

as WSFR or SDS will encourage students to connect with real world politics and will get you to think about the world and everything around it.

The Wright Times surveys the student population on relevant issues. This month,

we asked students to talk to us about the annual event Wilburpalooza, how safe they feel on campus after several recent thefts

and what their feelings are on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We then compile the

results to present the Voices of Wright.

Voices of Wright Earlier this month, Mayor Rahm Emanuel ordered a citywide audit of travel reimbursement funds. Reim-bursements have therefore been sus-pended pending the conclusion of the audit, which will last 30 days, accord-ing to an article in the Chicago Tribune entitled “Emanuel orders audit of city travel, mileage reimbursements.” The process looks at the way city funds are being spent. “Emanuel said City Comptroller Amer Ahmad will compare city reimbursement policies with others in the public and private sectors as well as review past expendi-tures,” the Tribune article states. This audit is an example of Mayor Emanuel’s efforts to cap unnecessary city spending. “The mayor is trying to figure out where all this money is,” said Cynthia Cordes, Vice President of Wright College. “It’s not going to break anybody. [The city] is trying to get this huge, global look at where this money is going.” Since the new pro-cedures regarding purchase orders (P/Os) and financial handling were imple-mentedw, Cordes said the process has been simplified. Student Government Association (SGA) Vice President Sara Bustaman-te said, “With the increase of the travel

budget, we can take more people from clubs to our conferences.” SGA reported a hike in their budget, specifically for travel expenses, which is about 10 percent of their allotted funds annually. The raise en-courages more students to join clubs that offer trips to conferences or events. With the release of Reinvention results last month, all eyes are on the City Col-leges of Chicago (CCC)’s District office. Assistant Director of Activities Services Katie Ordinario said, “I haven’t had any problems with any clubs.” Because most Wright clubs or organizations require ex-tra funding for events or supplies, P/Os and reimbursements are a familiar topic of conversation. “SGA just went on a trip to Springfield and it was probably the easi-est trip they’ve ever have. Instead of re-imbursing people, we hire an agency and we put it all there. They’re responsible for booking anything,” said Ordinario. Though clubs and organizations may fret, the audit appears to be correcting long-standing financial issues the city has faced for years. English teacher Tim Doherty said, “The audit does not imply that I will not get paid back.” While most Wright staff and students are unfamil-iar with auditing, the process may help put public spending in Chicago back on track.

EditorialCitywide audit no cause for concern

Illustration by: Rem

y Spencer

The Bears won their first game of the season. Will they keep it up?

How often do you visit Wright in Your

Corner?

Trick. Only because I'm currently having issues with a tooth. Come Hal-

loween...candies ALL mine!

The only thing moresympathizing than a

Chicago sports fan is the fact that they actually think

the teams are good.

The only thing right on my corner is a stop sign.

Then it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you

insane.

It would seem their suc-cess is… *puts on sun-glasses* up in the air.

Yeahhhh...

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3The Wright Times OPINIONS

By Kristopher LongReporter

When we ask another person to watch over our belongings, more of-ten than not, they are rightfully secured in their hands. However, students fre-quently leave their items unattended, which increases the risk of property being stolen. Recent acts of theft on campus are significantly impacting stu-dents’ safety. The increasing rates of theft at Wright College are stirring issues between both students and Security alike. “I really wish [Campus] Secu-rity would… be more active, specifi-cally in high traffic areas,” says Joel Nunez, a Wright student who recently became a victim of campus theft. “My PSP (gaming console) was stolen this semester. I put my things on the ta-ble, turned around, and my case and the games were all gone.” Incidents like these are raising many concerns. “Overall, our main concern is to keep students safe personally,” reminds Di-rector of Security Jack Murphy. Oth-ers at Wright feel theft is an inevitable issue. “People are going to find new and inventive ways to steal,” proclaims student Cecilia O. This increase in theft is potentially leading students to unnecessary ex-tremes when taking precautions. “It’s disturbing to sit with your friends, al-ways looking behind you and hugging your backpack,” Nunez admits. “I don’t like that feeling.”

Students should not have to glance over their shoulders in paranoia. With the sudden rise of campus theft, what can students do to protect their prop-erty? First, students should realize that they are responsible for guarding their belongings. “We should be aware that at any given time, somebody is look-ing to steal what you consider to be valuable,” Murphy advises. “Most of the in-cidents reported are crimes of oppor tun i ty.” Students that be-come aware of their resources will react to theft quicker, which can increase the chance of resolving an is-sue. The sooner a victim/witness of theft takes ac-tion in notifying Campus Safety, the sooner the matter can be re-sponded to, be-fore it’s too late.Ultimately, vic-tims of theft on campus careless-ly secure their belongings. “It just makes sense

to not leave valuable things around,” Cecilia declares. Such carelessness encourages theft, jeopardizing the col-lective safety of the school. Students must feel safe and comfortable in a college setting. Through awareness, theft may disappear, enabling students to better face a new academic year.

19Illustration by: C

hristina Benavides

Awareness is the best protection against theftWe apologize for the

inconvienience.Due to the increase of

campus thefts the last paragraph of this article was stolen. If found

please contact us atwrighttimesnews.wordpress.com.

Wright’s AnglesThe Wright Times staff answer the questions

everyone is asking about popular culture, sports, entertainment and cur-

rent events. Find out what’s on our mind with

Wright’s Angles.

Stage Wright will present the Rocky Horror Show this

month. Will you do the Time Warp again?

Trick or treat?

They did? I didn’t see the usual barrage of Face-

book updates! Congrats to them…??

The old candystore? Never. No, I lied—just to

visit a friend.

It’s just a jump to your left and a step to the right.

Both! I wear my Halloween costume all year around.

Only if the offensive line can protect Jay Cut-

ler from getting sacked throughout the season. In

other words, no.

As often as I sit it one, which is quite often.

What am I, 12? Absolutely.

Put your hands on your hips then bring your

knees in tight.

I’ll never be too old to harangue strangers for

sweet treats.

Only when I’m feeling backed into one.

Let’s do the Time Warp again!...

Get With The Times Lefties suffering from discrimination

October 2011 Vol/Issue 18/3 The Wright TimesOPINIONS20

By Erica HarlstonManaging Editor

As a left-handed individual in a right-handed world, knowing that I am “different” is a recurring night-mare in the classroom. Everyday life for left-handed students proves dif-ficult at times; the revolving doors move counterclockwise, the elevator buttons are located on the right hand side and when writing in pencil the lead constantly smudges on the paper. All of these things may extend beyond ethical control, but there is something that Wright College can do to better accommodate this specific group of people. It has been noticed that there is a lack of left-handed desks in many of the classrooms on Wright’s campus. Being a member of this small cluster, it is easily understandable how they can feel like castaways. This makes taking notes in class uncomfortable and uncomfortable students are easily distracted. Even worse, the physical strain from sitting awkwardly can ruin

a student’s entire enthusiasm to learn. Is this the message that our institution is trying to send? This seems to be a problem be-cause lefties aren’t making themselves known. No one wants to go and petition for a left-handed desk in each of his or her classes because they feel like they are the victim of discrimination. Wright student Alexis Cruz said, “I know that if I specifically request a left-handed desk it will be put in the first row of the class, on the left side of the room [facing the whiteboard]. I don’t want it to be ‘all eyes on me’ because I need a different seating arrangement.” The United States claims diversity fuels its melting pot, yet left-handers are forced to conform to a right-handed world. According to an infographic in Scientific American’s June 2011 issue, only 15 percent of the U.S.’s population is left hand dominant, a far cry from the majority. Even with the nation’s presi-dent being left-handed we will continue to be labeled the odd men out. Still, Wright can do more to make us feel welcomed on campus. It’s time to get with the times guys…


Like most human beings, cyclists should feel safe when commuting to school. Unfortunately, that basic rule of human nature disappears when-ever a car slams the brakes to prevent themselves from running over a slow rider. Likewise, pedestrians often are forced to dodge cyclists and their two- wheeled engines of death whenever a cyclist shoots directly towards their casual pace. Recently, a solution to the bicycle dilemma has been proposed: simply extend the bike lanes from Nar-ragansett and Irving Park up north to the campus itself. Though by no means a universal solution, the plan should help alleviate the pain. According to a 2010 report pub-lished by Fox News Chicago, “In 2008, a total of 27 bicycle riders were killed and 3,385 seriously injured in Illinois bicycle accidents.” These sta-tistics clearly indicate that cyclists are at-risk for accidents. The existence of bike lanes around Wright would help to reduce the amount of collisions. If cycling enthusiasts are in a section of the road reserved for them, they can ride relatively worry-free. Bike lanes can also free up space for cars. “Yes,

they would free up traffic,” Wright stu-dent Xiomara Quintana said. “So long as they stay in their own lanes, it’s safer for them.” Bike lanes are another means to giv-ing Wright students the service they deserve. In this case, it will encourage students who otherwise wouldn’t bike to take up the activity. Wright student Khyyan Tolliver said, “Bikes take up less space on the road and gives [stu-dents] more exercise. With an easier route to the campus, more people can bike and thus more will get the exercise they need.” Cycling has health ben-efits such as improved heart rate and a stronger pulmonary system. Walking up and down stairs does not always cut it, especially when in a rush to get to class on time. Students that cannot afford the luxury of a car would also benefit. Bikes are a cheap alternative mode of transporta-tion. Wright student Ruby Rojas said, “I think they should have more [bike lanes], especially for those who don’t have a car.” Altogether, there are few viable ar-guments against this issue. It may cost some cash or get delayed in red tape, but the benefits of creating bike lanes far exceed any monetary costs.

Looking for a hot topic? Don’t go to your local shopping mall! Instead, flip to the Opinions section of the wright Times where every month, Managing editor Erica Harlston dishes out her opinion on topics piping hot and ob-

scure alike.

Illustration by: Juan Pena

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