Sports section cover, inside sports page, newspaper weekend tab cover, magazine cover, and magazine index
Layout and Editing, CMUN 263, Loyola University Chicago
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Layout and Editing Portfolio
Sports section cover, inside sports page, newspaper weekend tab cover, magazine cover, and magazine index
Layout and Editing, CMUN 263, Loyola University Chicago
The Waterfront Volume 2 Issue 2
My article:
Convergence Studio Set to Open in Spring
The School of Communication’s new convergence studio is expected to be up-and-running for the spring semester by January 14.
Dean Heider said the studio is on an “incredibly tight” construction schedule but will be open by then. The opening event, however, will not be until March or April since winter events aren’t the best idea, Heider said.
Access to the studio will be more limited than the rest of the School of Communication since it will serve so many different functions within the school. Both students and student organizations can ask to schedule use of the studio. The school’s radio station, WLUW, will have an area within the studio. Also, The City News Bureau course taught by Professors Jack Smith and Paul Zimbrakos and, TV News Casting, a new course taught by Professor Leona Hood, will both utilize the studio for classes.
Part of the studio will include a bullpen similar to an actual newsroom, which will be the classroom for the City News Bureau course. Students will have individual desks within the bullpen and TV screens will line one of the walls, broadcasting news stations such as CNN.
The TV News Casting course will use the studio to produce a newscast online. The web cast won’t be a normal half hour news segment featuring weather and sports, Heider said. The students will decide what content to include in the web cast. The course is designed to address the question of what the future of TV news will be, Heider said.
“We’re trying to push the envelope a bit,” he said.
Heider said the school wants to grow and expand both courses over the semester.
Students will be able to hear and see WLUW radio shows in production from the street. The radio station will also feature band performances during the week.
The news desk and backdrop will be on rollers for “maximum flexibility.” The backdrop will be made up of colorful panels, not a typical city view of Chicago or a giant Loyola logo. The backdrop can be changed four or five different ways, Heider said, or can be moved to show a view of the street. “We didn’t want what everyone else is doing,” Heider said.
Some other features of the studio include a news ticker on the outside of the building, green screen, control room with a large flat screen with multiple inputs, lobby separate from the rest of the studio so people walking in and out do not disturb the classes and two offices. One of the offices will be for the school’s new director of technology, Jamason Chen, but the other hasn’t been filled yet.
The new studio isn’t the only new and exciting addition to the School of Communication, however.
The school launched the Center for Ethics and Digital Policy this fall. The center will aim to be a national voice for ethics in digital policy, Heider said. The dean said the center wants to convene a lot of discussion about ethics, both nationally and internationally, as well as to develop codes for bloggers and other facets of digital journalism.
“Loyola is the perfect place for that,” Heider said.
Adrienne Massanari is the director for the center and Professor Bastiaan Vanacker is teaching a course on digital ethics in the spring. Heider said that about half of the school’s faculty is interested in working with the center.
The School of Communication also has a new blog that is being updated with new content every day. Twelve faculty/staff contributors write for the blog so far. The dean said that the blog was created to help make the SOC website more interactive. The website is also updated with new stories every week written by a student web reporter each semester; it will soon feature profiles of all of the school’s faculty members as well. The school will also incorporate the use of flash on the website since the University Marketing and Communication department recently obtained new infrastructure software for all university web pages.
“We’re trying to make the website interesting, fun, and dynamic without violating the university’s brand image,” Heider said.
Faculty spent the past year completely reexamining the school’s curriculum. The school just passed a new program for the AD/PR major and new core requirements for the entire school. The school is currently working to update courses, keep classes that are great, and add new ones, the dean said. The school is working on a new masters program that they hope to have up and running in two years. The school is also discussing with the Fine Arts department about cross-listing visual communication classes.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Fenger High School Violence Reaction Article
A video of a Fenger High School student beaten to death by four other teens brought national attention to the violence surrounding Chicago public schools on the city’s Southside.
Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old Fenger High School honor student, was fatally beaten after school let out on September 24, 2009. A feud between students from two rival neighborhoods led up to the melee that resulted in Albert’s death. The entire scene was caught on video by an onlooker’s cell phone.
Fox News bought the rights to the footage and it wasn’t long before the video was posted all over the internet, including social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The shocking video garnered the attention of President Obama, who sent U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to speak with public school officials as well as some of the students of Fenger High School and their parents.
The video and the overall subject of violence in Chicago public schools remain very controversial even a month later. Many Chicagoans are unhappy that it took this much publicity over the death of a student for the city and Chicago Police Department to finally step in.
“While I acknowledge that it was a brutal way to take someone's life, it has become constant on the Southside, and just now Obama is paying attention?” said Alberto Velazquez, a graduate of Loyola University Chicago that grew up in the Southside neighborhood of Pilsen.
Although many believe that the situation was blown out of proportion due to the viral spread of the video, some are glad that the violence on Chicago’s Southside has finally received national media attention.
“This has been escalating the last ten years and little is being done to stop it. I hope more and more national media coverage will bring the city to do something,” said Lisa Scharnak, a senior at Loyola.
Clara Cinta, a former Loyola student and resident of the Southside, credits social media sites like Facebook as a tool that has helped to shed light on the problem through members posting the video and sharing their reactions to Albert’s death.
“I rarely have time for the news on TV because I’m always on the run, but I heard of this incident through Facebook,” said Cinta. “I actually took time to look up and read the details... So in a way Facebook became more of a resource tool of communication not just between friends but between communities.”
Whether most people agree that the spread of the video has helped the situation or not, mostly all acknowledge that at least something is finally being done to better protect students of Chicago public schools.
“If it weren't for the video we might not have even heard about it,” said Don Ducheny, a resident of Spalding, MI, that saw the video of Albert’s death online.
-30-
This article was written as an assignment that required us to write a reaction piece about the murder of Derrion Albert.
Interviewing, CMUN 332, Loyola University Chicago
Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old Fenger High School honor student, was fatally beaten after school let out on September 24, 2009. A feud between students from two rival neighborhoods led up to the melee that resulted in Albert’s death. The entire scene was caught on video by an onlooker’s cell phone.
Fox News bought the rights to the footage and it wasn’t long before the video was posted all over the internet, including social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The shocking video garnered the attention of President Obama, who sent U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to speak with public school officials as well as some of the students of Fenger High School and their parents.
The video and the overall subject of violence in Chicago public schools remain very controversial even a month later. Many Chicagoans are unhappy that it took this much publicity over the death of a student for the city and Chicago Police Department to finally step in.
“While I acknowledge that it was a brutal way to take someone's life, it has become constant on the Southside, and just now Obama is paying attention?” said Alberto Velazquez, a graduate of Loyola University Chicago that grew up in the Southside neighborhood of Pilsen.
Although many believe that the situation was blown out of proportion due to the viral spread of the video, some are glad that the violence on Chicago’s Southside has finally received national media attention.
“This has been escalating the last ten years and little is being done to stop it. I hope more and more national media coverage will bring the city to do something,” said Lisa Scharnak, a senior at Loyola.
Clara Cinta, a former Loyola student and resident of the Southside, credits social media sites like Facebook as a tool that has helped to shed light on the problem through members posting the video and sharing their reactions to Albert’s death.
“I rarely have time for the news on TV because I’m always on the run, but I heard of this incident through Facebook,” said Cinta. “I actually took time to look up and read the details... So in a way Facebook became more of a resource tool of communication not just between friends but between communities.”
Whether most people agree that the spread of the video has helped the situation or not, mostly all acknowledge that at least something is finally being done to better protect students of Chicago public schools.
“If it weren't for the video we might not have even heard about it,” said Don Ducheny, a resident of Spalding, MI, that saw the video of Albert’s death online.
-30-
This article was written as an assignment that required us to write a reaction piece about the murder of Derrion Albert.
Interviewing, CMUN 332, Loyola University Chicago
The Waterfront, Volume 2 Issue 1
The Waterfront is the online magazine for the Society of Professional Journalists Loyola Chapter. I am the Co-layout Editor for the magazine.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Olympic Reaction article
Many Chicagoans were shocked Friday morning when the city was eliminated during the first round of the International Olympic Committee’s vote to choose the host city of 2016 games.
Hopes had been high before the vote and many could not believe that Chicago had lost, much less that they had only received 18 votes, which kept them from moving on to the second round of the vote.
“It would have been so good for this city,” said Ellen Stewart, a 37-year-old mother of two, shaking her head in disappointment. “I just can’t believe it’s over that quick after all the buildup.”
Not everyone shared Stewart’s reaction, however, and were even glad that Chicago was not chosen. Some felt that Chicago faces more pressing problems, including the current swell of violence threatening its public schools.
Tamekia Johnson, 27, of Garfield Park, shares this sentiment. “We just had a boy get beat to death on the south side outside a school, kids are getting beat up and robbed every day, gangbangers are shooting up the streets and the city don’t care,” Johnson said.
Johnson, like many others who opposed the bid, sees it as a lack of priority management on the part of the city’s leadership.
“They spent $40 million just on the bid but they say they ain’t got no money to hire no more police. If you ask me, those people were right not to pick us; we can’t even take pay to keep people safe. How can we afford to host the Olympics?” she said.
*This was an in-class assignment based on quotes from man-on-the street interviews done on the day of vote
Interviewing, CMUN 332, Loyola University Chicago
Hopes had been high before the vote and many could not believe that Chicago had lost, much less that they had only received 18 votes, which kept them from moving on to the second round of the vote.
“It would have been so good for this city,” said Ellen Stewart, a 37-year-old mother of two, shaking her head in disappointment. “I just can’t believe it’s over that quick after all the buildup.”
Not everyone shared Stewart’s reaction, however, and were even glad that Chicago was not chosen. Some felt that Chicago faces more pressing problems, including the current swell of violence threatening its public schools.
Tamekia Johnson, 27, of Garfield Park, shares this sentiment. “We just had a boy get beat to death on the south side outside a school, kids are getting beat up and robbed every day, gangbangers are shooting up the streets and the city don’t care,” Johnson said.
Johnson, like many others who opposed the bid, sees it as a lack of priority management on the part of the city’s leadership.
“They spent $40 million just on the bid but they say they ain’t got no money to hire no more police. If you ask me, those people were right not to pick us; we can’t even take pay to keep people safe. How can we afford to host the Olympics?” she said.
*This was an in-class assignment based on quotes from man-on-the street interviews done on the day of vote
Interviewing, CMUN 332, Loyola University Chicago
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Loyola’s men’s soccer team draws a crowd of over 2,000 to Toyota Park
Ashley Slovinski
CMUN 332, Interviewing, Loyola University Chicago
Although Loyola didn’t shatter the NCAA Division I attendance record for a single game played in Illinois, the game held at Toyota Park on September 12, 2009, against the St. Louis Billikens was still a “huge success” according to Loyola’s ticket sales manager Brian Sisson.
The record of 4,700 fans in attendance is currently held by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Sisson said the athletic department determined this number by calling all of the Illinois Division I teams to find out what their highest attendance number was in previous seasons. Loyola hoped to surpass SIUE's record by 300, with a total crowd of 5,000 fans or more. The estimated average attendance for most Division I games in Illinois is 2,500 according to Sisson.
Although Saturday’s game against SLU only drew a crowd of 2,211 fans, it is still a giant leap from the average attendance of 300 for Loyola men’s soccer games. The largest crowd the men’s soccer team had received before this game was a little over 1,000 fans in August 2008 when Loyola played Santa Clara, a team that was ranked fifth in the nation at the time.
Out of the 2,000 fans that attended the game, roughly 1,000 were students.
“That was great,” Sisson said. He said the athletic department’s goal was to attract at least 500 students, which they were able to double.
The rest of the crowd was made up of Loyola soccer alum, faculty and staff, family and friends of both teams, and outside community members. Sisson said that 150-200 of those who attended were Chicago youth, who were sponsored by members of the Loyola community and outside fans to attend the game. The youth were from Misericordia, an organization working with children suffering from developmental disabilities, and a couple youth soccer teams from the Chicago area. The youth were able to play a short game on the field during half time.
The athletic department had been promoting the event since spring of 2009, using e-mail blasts to different soccer organizations in the Chicago and northwest Indiana areas, posters surrounding both campuses, advertisements on Loyola’s Plasma screens at both campuses, and postcards sent to soccer facilities and stores throughout Chicago. The department has already decided to make this an annual event and plans to begin promoting next year’s game at Toyota Park even sooner. Sisson said the department wants to make the game “the fall event of the season” for the men’s soccer program.
“The idea was to encourage the whole group of students who had a good time [at the game] to carry over to the rest of the season and build a core group of fans to continue through other seasons,” he said.
Sisson said that the department wanted to make this game a great experience and “more than just a soccer game, but an event.” He said the game was “positive as a whole” and hoped to grow this success throughout the future games they plan to hold at Toyota Park.
CMUN 332, Interviewing, Loyola University Chicago
Although Loyola didn’t shatter the NCAA Division I attendance record for a single game played in Illinois, the game held at Toyota Park on September 12, 2009, against the St. Louis Billikens was still a “huge success” according to Loyola’s ticket sales manager Brian Sisson.
The record of 4,700 fans in attendance is currently held by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Sisson said the athletic department determined this number by calling all of the Illinois Division I teams to find out what their highest attendance number was in previous seasons. Loyola hoped to surpass SIUE's record by 300, with a total crowd of 5,000 fans or more. The estimated average attendance for most Division I games in Illinois is 2,500 according to Sisson.
Although Saturday’s game against SLU only drew a crowd of 2,211 fans, it is still a giant leap from the average attendance of 300 for Loyola men’s soccer games. The largest crowd the men’s soccer team had received before this game was a little over 1,000 fans in August 2008 when Loyola played Santa Clara, a team that was ranked fifth in the nation at the time.
Out of the 2,000 fans that attended the game, roughly 1,000 were students.
“That was great,” Sisson said. He said the athletic department’s goal was to attract at least 500 students, which they were able to double.
The rest of the crowd was made up of Loyola soccer alum, faculty and staff, family and friends of both teams, and outside community members. Sisson said that 150-200 of those who attended were Chicago youth, who were sponsored by members of the Loyola community and outside fans to attend the game. The youth were from Misericordia, an organization working with children suffering from developmental disabilities, and a couple youth soccer teams from the Chicago area. The youth were able to play a short game on the field during half time.
The athletic department had been promoting the event since spring of 2009, using e-mail blasts to different soccer organizations in the Chicago and northwest Indiana areas, posters surrounding both campuses, advertisements on Loyola’s Plasma screens at both campuses, and postcards sent to soccer facilities and stores throughout Chicago. The department has already decided to make this an annual event and plans to begin promoting next year’s game at Toyota Park even sooner. Sisson said the department wants to make the game “the fall event of the season” for the men’s soccer program.
“The idea was to encourage the whole group of students who had a good time [at the game] to carry over to the rest of the season and build a core group of fans to continue through other seasons,” he said.
Sisson said that the department wanted to make this game a great experience and “more than just a soccer game, but an event.” He said the game was “positive as a whole” and hoped to grow this success throughout the future games they plan to hold at Toyota Park.
City council takes a unified stance on the Olympic bid
Ashley Slovinski and Matt Alonzo
City News Bureau at Loyola University Chicago
The Chicago city council unanimously voted on Wednesday to pass an ordinance authorizing Mayor Daley to sign the Final Host City Contract for the 2016 Olympic games. The contract holds the city’s taxpayers responsible for any deficit caused by the games.
Political unity took center stage as the ordinance, which provides for extensive oversight and transparency, passed with a 49-0 vote and a standing ovation in the council chamber.
According to a recent Tribune poll, public opinion for the Olympic bid has dwindled due to the Host City Contract that has taxpayers footing a potentially unlimited bill for construction and operational overrun. Despite this, most of the aldermen’s comments on the ordinance took the form of congratulatory pats on the back.
“We should honor [Mayor Daley’s] courage and fortitude in moving the city forward to this great moment in our history,” Ald. Edward Burke (14th) said. “But of course what else would we expect from a Chicago Mayor Daley.”
After the vote on the ordinance and show of overwhelming support for the bid, Mayor Daley concluded the discussion by asking the aldermen to “think of the future” and not let political concerns weigh on their decisions.
“It’s not about politics,” the mayor said. “This is not about Richard M. Daley’s legacy, this is about the city of Chicago. The Olympic movement is bigger than me.”
Some aldermen did express previous concerns about the contract but talked at length about how the compromise ordinance addressed all of the issues and ultimately provided the required protection taxpayers were looking for.
“I had some reservations,” Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) said. “But…every concern that the [Civic] Federation touched on the committee had already made sure that the safeguards were in place.”
Most of the aldermen spoke of the economic boost that they believed the games were sure to bring. Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said as many as 72,000 jobs may come to the city as a result, while other aldermen spoke of the increased revenue from tourism dollars and the possibility of raising the city’s currently deteriorating property values.
“I believe that the ordinance we have from [Alderman] Flores today includes every provision that was specified by the Civic Federation in their report in order to be a successful bid,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd).
The International Olympics Committee will select the host city for the 2016 games on October 2, 2009. The three other cities in the running are Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro.
City News Bureau at Loyola University Chicago
The Chicago city council unanimously voted on Wednesday to pass an ordinance authorizing Mayor Daley to sign the Final Host City Contract for the 2016 Olympic games. The contract holds the city’s taxpayers responsible for any deficit caused by the games.
Political unity took center stage as the ordinance, which provides for extensive oversight and transparency, passed with a 49-0 vote and a standing ovation in the council chamber.
According to a recent Tribune poll, public opinion for the Olympic bid has dwindled due to the Host City Contract that has taxpayers footing a potentially unlimited bill for construction and operational overrun. Despite this, most of the aldermen’s comments on the ordinance took the form of congratulatory pats on the back.
“We should honor [Mayor Daley’s] courage and fortitude in moving the city forward to this great moment in our history,” Ald. Edward Burke (14th) said. “But of course what else would we expect from a Chicago Mayor Daley.”
After the vote on the ordinance and show of overwhelming support for the bid, Mayor Daley concluded the discussion by asking the aldermen to “think of the future” and not let political concerns weigh on their decisions.
“It’s not about politics,” the mayor said. “This is not about Richard M. Daley’s legacy, this is about the city of Chicago. The Olympic movement is bigger than me.”
Some aldermen did express previous concerns about the contract but talked at length about how the compromise ordinance addressed all of the issues and ultimately provided the required protection taxpayers were looking for.
“I had some reservations,” Ald. Ray Suarez (31st) said. “But…every concern that the [Civic] Federation touched on the committee had already made sure that the safeguards were in place.”
Most of the aldermen spoke of the economic boost that they believed the games were sure to bring. Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said as many as 72,000 jobs may come to the city as a result, while other aldermen spoke of the increased revenue from tourism dollars and the possibility of raising the city’s currently deteriorating property values.
“I believe that the ordinance we have from [Alderman] Flores today includes every provision that was specified by the Civic Federation in their report in order to be a successful bid,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd).
The International Olympics Committee will select the host city for the 2016 games on October 2, 2009. The three other cities in the running are Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
B-ball tournament raises relief funds
Ashley Slovinski
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News
"I came for the exercise, and to donate, of course," said sophomore Elham Shekari at the girl's 3-on-3 basketball tournament for Hoops for Humanity Thursday.
"This was our first time doing a basketball tournament as a part of Islam Awareness Week," the girls' tournament coordinator and Loyola University Chicago Muslim Students' Association member Enisa Selimbegovic said. "We always try to include something fun and entertaining, and we haven't seen any other Muslim Student Associations around the area do something like this. We thought it would be fun and hoped it would help to include more non-MSA members."
The event was held as a part of Islam Awareness Week sponsored by LUCMSA to raise money for the Islamic Relief USA's effort to help those still affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
"We chose to donate to the Islamic Relief USA because it is a very well known, big charity and trustworthy. We wanted to give money to a charity we know will go to the intended place. And [the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina] is not in the media any more, and a lot of people don't know that people are still recovering from it," Selimbegovic said.
The event was divided into two tournaments: one for girls and one for boys. Six teams competed in the girls' tournament and eight teams in the boys'. Each team was allowed up to five members, which allowed the teams to each have two members to sub in and out of games. Teams registered for $15 and spectators could attend the event by paying $3 at the door or $1 if they reserved tickets in advance. Players and teams from all faiths and nationalities were welcome.
At the girls' tournament, a team from Hillel - which included three Hillel members and one Catholic non-member - played in the competition to help support Islam Awareness Week. The team's name was Kusiot, which means "hot girls" in Hebrew.
"We think [Islam Awareness Week is] really important, and the event sounded fun," Hillel member sophomore Amy Galanter said.
"We wanted to help raise money and student awareness and get to know each other better," non-Hillel member junior Joan Smith said.
There was also a team from the Muslim Student Association at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a player from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the tournament. The team, FisabiAllah, which means "for the sake of Allah" in Arabic, took first place in the girls' competition, followed by the team Supernaturals from LUCMSA. The first and second place teams for the boys' tournament were Short and Spicy and Basketball Friends.
The event also served to increase the audience's perspective on particular aspects of Islamic life.
"Not a lot of people are aware that we do have fun when guys are not around," said Selimbegovic of outsiders' perceptions of Muslim girls who wear the hijab in public as a sign of modesty.
The event raised around $210 total for Islamic Relief USA but mostly allowed students from different faiths to come together and have fun while raising Islamic awareness.
"I hoped there would be more [diversity]. But there was a team from Hillel, and that was awesome. We do a lot of events with them so it was good we could do more," Selimbegovic said.
Selimbegovic hopes that the tournament will become an annual event during future Islamic Awareness Weeks. She hopes that if continued next year, Hoops for Humanity will attract more people from different faiths as well as the strong turnout from LUCMSA it had this year.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News
"I came for the exercise, and to donate, of course," said sophomore Elham Shekari at the girl's 3-on-3 basketball tournament for Hoops for Humanity Thursday.
"This was our first time doing a basketball tournament as a part of Islam Awareness Week," the girls' tournament coordinator and Loyola University Chicago Muslim Students' Association member Enisa Selimbegovic said. "We always try to include something fun and entertaining, and we haven't seen any other Muslim Student Associations around the area do something like this. We thought it would be fun and hoped it would help to include more non-MSA members."
The event was held as a part of Islam Awareness Week sponsored by LUCMSA to raise money for the Islamic Relief USA's effort to help those still affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
"We chose to donate to the Islamic Relief USA because it is a very well known, big charity and trustworthy. We wanted to give money to a charity we know will go to the intended place. And [the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina] is not in the media any more, and a lot of people don't know that people are still recovering from it," Selimbegovic said.
The event was divided into two tournaments: one for girls and one for boys. Six teams competed in the girls' tournament and eight teams in the boys'. Each team was allowed up to five members, which allowed the teams to each have two members to sub in and out of games. Teams registered for $15 and spectators could attend the event by paying $3 at the door or $1 if they reserved tickets in advance. Players and teams from all faiths and nationalities were welcome.
At the girls' tournament, a team from Hillel - which included three Hillel members and one Catholic non-member - played in the competition to help support Islam Awareness Week. The team's name was Kusiot, which means "hot girls" in Hebrew.
"We think [Islam Awareness Week is] really important, and the event sounded fun," Hillel member sophomore Amy Galanter said.
"We wanted to help raise money and student awareness and get to know each other better," non-Hillel member junior Joan Smith said.
There was also a team from the Muslim Student Association at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a player from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the tournament. The team, FisabiAllah, which means "for the sake of Allah" in Arabic, took first place in the girls' competition, followed by the team Supernaturals from LUCMSA. The first and second place teams for the boys' tournament were Short and Spicy and Basketball Friends.
The event also served to increase the audience's perspective on particular aspects of Islamic life.
"Not a lot of people are aware that we do have fun when guys are not around," said Selimbegovic of outsiders' perceptions of Muslim girls who wear the hijab in public as a sign of modesty.
The event raised around $210 total for Islamic Relief USA but mostly allowed students from different faiths to come together and have fun while raising Islamic awareness.
"I hoped there would be more [diversity]. But there was a team from Hillel, and that was awesome. We do a lot of events with them so it was good we could do more," Selimbegovic said.
Selimbegovic hopes that the tournament will become an annual event during future Islamic Awareness Weeks. She hopes that if continued next year, Hoops for Humanity will attract more people from different faiths as well as the strong turnout from LUCMSA it had this year.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
African women work to change way of life
Ashley Slovinski
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News
"If we can save the women of Africa, we can save Africa," former Johannesburg CNN bureau chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault proclaimed.
An eager crowd listened to this "new news" in the Quinlan Life Science Auditorium on Feb. 27.
Hunter-Gault spoke about "African Women on the Move." Although a large number of refugees have migrated in recent years from genocide-ridden nations such as Uganda, the movement Hunter-Gault talked about is the social and political changes brought about by women in Africa to improve the way of life on their continent.
Betsy Ehemenway, director of Loyola's Women's Studies Program, introduced Hunter-Gault, giving the audience a brief history of her journalistic career. "I grew up in a time when seeing women on the nightly news was unusual, but I saw this calm, poised African American woman who got there by a lot of determination," Ehemenway said.
Hunter-Gault was one of the first two black students to attend the University of Georgia and has written for many publications, including The New Yorker and The New York Times, earning multiple awards including Journalist of the Year from the National Association of Black Journalists.
She has also written two books: a memoir, In My Place, and New News out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance.
After thanking those who sponsored the event, she dove right into the main reason for being there that evening.
She talked of "a second wind of change blowing over Africa" - the first being the end of colonialism - and that this change was because of women. South African women are on the move both politically and economically, according to Hunter-Gault, and this change influences other African nations. In 1994, Uganda elected Africa's first female vice president and in 2005 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia, making her the first female president of an African nation.
"The power of women [in Africa] is accelerating," Hunter-Gault said. The women are trying to reach a 50-50 gender representation within African governments to fight issues such as femicide and rape as weapons of war. While many countries are behind in developing this goal, countries such as Rwanda and South Africa are coming close. Despite the progress, however, she said African women "still have miles to go before they can reach parity with the men."
African women are also finding it hard to move forward due to "a relentless spiral of poverty and disease and because they become victims of war," Hunter-Gault said. Women who are victims of war are raped, and their sexual organs are either mutilated or destroyed. Between 2006 and 2007, there were 13,000 survivors recorded, 4,200 of whom were children.
"These are the only known ones, however," she said.
The U.N. has deemed the genocide in the Sudan "the worst humanitarian crisis in the world."
However, "no amount of criticism has done enough to stop the carnage or to convince the government of Sudan to step in," Hunter-Gault said. "There is no way to know how many millions of women are being victimized. Too many are silenced or too traumatized to speak."
Women are not just victims of war; many are falling victim to HIV/AIDS as well. Of all adults in Sub-Saharan Africa, 59 percent are women, and one male to every three females is infected with AIDS in South Africa. One out of every three pregnant women is HIV positive. "This is the worst epidemic in current history, and South Africa is the worst disaster area," Hunter-Gault said.
There are two bright lights, she said. Research has shown that male circumcision can reduce a man's risk of infection by 50 to 60 percent. And although there are few vaccines to protect women, there is one that consists of triple therapy early on in pregnancy, which "may change the prediction of 10 million AIDS orphans in South Africa alone," according to Hunter-Gault.
"African women are in the forefront of the fight against AIDS," Hunter-Gault said. Women are starting orphanages that have never been a part of the African way of life but are now becoming a necessity. Women are also in the forefront of the medical field to find what is needed to fight the disease.
"I am convinced that solutions will come out of Africa from projects such as these, led by caring, determined women," she said.
She stressed that Africa cannot do it alone.
"Villages are rural centers connected only by roads, which are impossible to travel during the rainy season and are not much better during the dry seasons," Hunter-Gault said. She said that the African governments need international help to rebuild roads, bridges and infrastructures "destroyed by man and his war."
Africa is also in desperate need of a better educational system, she said. "If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation."
She also called for more than just humanitarian approaches from the international community. "It is important and necessary in uniting to confront new kinds of enemies: terrorism of human rights abuse, terrorism of disease, terrorism of a lack of education and terrorism of poverty and hopelessness," Hunter-Gault said.
She said that the women of Africa are "determined to crush the conditions that keep them from their full freedom." She also called all women to action, including those in America, to join with the women of Africa to pave the way.
She encourages students to get involved by writing about the crisis and providing others with the necessary information to join organizations dedicated to similar causes. She suggested that students could also start letter-writing campaigns, call local TV stations and organize groups such as Invisible Conflicts to raise awareness throughout their campus and communities.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News
"If we can save the women of Africa, we can save Africa," former Johannesburg CNN bureau chief Charlayne Hunter-Gault proclaimed.
An eager crowd listened to this "new news" in the Quinlan Life Science Auditorium on Feb. 27.
Hunter-Gault spoke about "African Women on the Move." Although a large number of refugees have migrated in recent years from genocide-ridden nations such as Uganda, the movement Hunter-Gault talked about is the social and political changes brought about by women in Africa to improve the way of life on their continent.
Betsy Ehemenway, director of Loyola's Women's Studies Program, introduced Hunter-Gault, giving the audience a brief history of her journalistic career. "I grew up in a time when seeing women on the nightly news was unusual, but I saw this calm, poised African American woman who got there by a lot of determination," Ehemenway said.
Hunter-Gault was one of the first two black students to attend the University of Georgia and has written for many publications, including The New Yorker and The New York Times, earning multiple awards including Journalist of the Year from the National Association of Black Journalists.
She has also written two books: a memoir, In My Place, and New News out of Africa: Uncovering Africa's Renaissance.
After thanking those who sponsored the event, she dove right into the main reason for being there that evening.
She talked of "a second wind of change blowing over Africa" - the first being the end of colonialism - and that this change was because of women. South African women are on the move both politically and economically, according to Hunter-Gault, and this change influences other African nations. In 1994, Uganda elected Africa's first female vice president and in 2005 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected president of Liberia, making her the first female president of an African nation.
"The power of women [in Africa] is accelerating," Hunter-Gault said. The women are trying to reach a 50-50 gender representation within African governments to fight issues such as femicide and rape as weapons of war. While many countries are behind in developing this goal, countries such as Rwanda and South Africa are coming close. Despite the progress, however, she said African women "still have miles to go before they can reach parity with the men."
African women are also finding it hard to move forward due to "a relentless spiral of poverty and disease and because they become victims of war," Hunter-Gault said. Women who are victims of war are raped, and their sexual organs are either mutilated or destroyed. Between 2006 and 2007, there were 13,000 survivors recorded, 4,200 of whom were children.
"These are the only known ones, however," she said.
The U.N. has deemed the genocide in the Sudan "the worst humanitarian crisis in the world."
However, "no amount of criticism has done enough to stop the carnage or to convince the government of Sudan to step in," Hunter-Gault said. "There is no way to know how many millions of women are being victimized. Too many are silenced or too traumatized to speak."
Women are not just victims of war; many are falling victim to HIV/AIDS as well. Of all adults in Sub-Saharan Africa, 59 percent are women, and one male to every three females is infected with AIDS in South Africa. One out of every three pregnant women is HIV positive. "This is the worst epidemic in current history, and South Africa is the worst disaster area," Hunter-Gault said.
There are two bright lights, she said. Research has shown that male circumcision can reduce a man's risk of infection by 50 to 60 percent. And although there are few vaccines to protect women, there is one that consists of triple therapy early on in pregnancy, which "may change the prediction of 10 million AIDS orphans in South Africa alone," according to Hunter-Gault.
"African women are in the forefront of the fight against AIDS," Hunter-Gault said. Women are starting orphanages that have never been a part of the African way of life but are now becoming a necessity. Women are also in the forefront of the medical field to find what is needed to fight the disease.
"I am convinced that solutions will come out of Africa from projects such as these, led by caring, determined women," she said.
She stressed that Africa cannot do it alone.
"Villages are rural centers connected only by roads, which are impossible to travel during the rainy season and are not much better during the dry seasons," Hunter-Gault said. She said that the African governments need international help to rebuild roads, bridges and infrastructures "destroyed by man and his war."
Africa is also in desperate need of a better educational system, she said. "If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation."
She also called for more than just humanitarian approaches from the international community. "It is important and necessary in uniting to confront new kinds of enemies: terrorism of human rights abuse, terrorism of disease, terrorism of a lack of education and terrorism of poverty and hopelessness," Hunter-Gault said.
She said that the women of Africa are "determined to crush the conditions that keep them from their full freedom." She also called all women to action, including those in America, to join with the women of Africa to pave the way.
She encourages students to get involved by writing about the crisis and providing others with the necessary information to join organizations dedicated to similar causes. She suggested that students could also start letter-writing campaigns, call local TV stations and organize groups such as Invisible Conflicts to raise awareness throughout their campus and communities.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Role of new media in Islamic identities
Ashley Slovinski
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News
Web sites displaying Islamic fundamentalists' content were unveiled to 60 audience members by Dale F. Eickelman, Ph.D. He focused on how new media affects Muslim identity and how it is perceived. Speaking March 13 in the Crown Center Auditorium, Eickelman discussed the importance Islamic fundamentalists place on having a friend film a suicide bomber's hajj - the mandatory pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam - as well as showed a Web site depicting a falsified photograph of radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr in front of the Grand Canyon.
Eickelman, a professor of Anthropology and Human Relations at Dartmouth College, is the author of publications on Islam and the relationship Islamic countries, especially Morocco, have with new media, Eickelman lectures on both topics in universities and institutes throughout the U.S., the Middle East and the Netherlands.
"An understanding of new media changes our meaning of community," Eickelman said.
He also spoke about real virtuality, which means that what goes on in the virtual world of cyberspace very much affects the real world. In real virtuality, a person can use a simple camera phone to take a snapshot of an event and post it on the Internet, leading to international exposure such as the scandal of torture and prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq that made worldwide headlines from a single picture taken with a cell phone.
"I think it's pretty incredible how the common person can contribute to the media and the spread of it," freshman Lily Cox said, about the idea of real virtuality. "With technology today, current events travel and reach the public faster and easier than ever before."
Eickelman talked about how the rise of cheap, public access to the Internet through Internet cafés gives more and more people, especially in the Middle East, access to the Internet. Also, blogs and online communities such as LiveJournal and MySpace give even the least technically savvy person an outlet to publish anything he or she wants online. Anyone can be a movie producer now by posting something on YouTube or publish an online news journal through a blog. Eickelman used the example of a Dutch-made, anti-Islamic movie that has its own Web site to advertise it coming soon to YouTube.
"[The movie advertisement] was really interesting to me since they were using negative publicity to their advantage, although it is still drawing attention to the Islamic religion, whether negative or not," Giannaras said.
According to Eickelman, however, this also causes blurred communication. Propaganda becomes harder to distinguish because anyone has the ability to publish information on the Internet. Anti-Islamic movements can gain momentum through the Internet. Mediums such as anti-Islamic movies can be shared via the Internet, posted on public sites for anyone to see. New Web sites are created every day, and the Web is becoming increasingly harder to censor, even by the government.
Eickelman describes the Internet as "a marketplace of ideas and identities." He says this is more than just a metaphor, as real virtuality allows people to use different types of media to communicate their message.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: News
Web sites displaying Islamic fundamentalists' content were unveiled to 60 audience members by Dale F. Eickelman, Ph.D. He focused on how new media affects Muslim identity and how it is perceived. Speaking March 13 in the Crown Center Auditorium, Eickelman discussed the importance Islamic fundamentalists place on having a friend film a suicide bomber's hajj - the mandatory pilgrimage to Mecca in Islam - as well as showed a Web site depicting a falsified photograph of radical Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr in front of the Grand Canyon.
Eickelman, a professor of Anthropology and Human Relations at Dartmouth College, is the author of publications on Islam and the relationship Islamic countries, especially Morocco, have with new media, Eickelman lectures on both topics in universities and institutes throughout the U.S., the Middle East and the Netherlands.
"An understanding of new media changes our meaning of community," Eickelman said.
He also spoke about real virtuality, which means that what goes on in the virtual world of cyberspace very much affects the real world. In real virtuality, a person can use a simple camera phone to take a snapshot of an event and post it on the Internet, leading to international exposure such as the scandal of torture and prisoner abuse in the Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq that made worldwide headlines from a single picture taken with a cell phone.
"I think it's pretty incredible how the common person can contribute to the media and the spread of it," freshman Lily Cox said, about the idea of real virtuality. "With technology today, current events travel and reach the public faster and easier than ever before."
Eickelman talked about how the rise of cheap, public access to the Internet through Internet cafés gives more and more people, especially in the Middle East, access to the Internet. Also, blogs and online communities such as LiveJournal and MySpace give even the least technically savvy person an outlet to publish anything he or she wants online. Anyone can be a movie producer now by posting something on YouTube or publish an online news journal through a blog. Eickelman used the example of a Dutch-made, anti-Islamic movie that has its own Web site to advertise it coming soon to YouTube.
"[The movie advertisement] was really interesting to me since they were using negative publicity to their advantage, although it is still drawing attention to the Islamic religion, whether negative or not," Giannaras said.
According to Eickelman, however, this also causes blurred communication. Propaganda becomes harder to distinguish because anyone has the ability to publish information on the Internet. Anti-Islamic movements can gain momentum through the Internet. Mediums such as anti-Islamic movies can be shared via the Internet, posted on public sites for anyone to see. New Web sites are created every day, and the Web is becoming increasingly harder to censor, even by the government.
Eickelman describes the Internet as "a marketplace of ideas and identities." He says this is more than just a metaphor, as real virtuality allows people to use different types of media to communicate their message.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Smoking awareness groups host 'Great American Smoke Out'
Ashley Slovinski
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: News
The Great American Smoke Out, sponsored annually by the American Cancer Society, was held on Nov. 15. The Wellness Center set up a table in Damen Hall on Wednesday and another table in CFSU on Thursday to encourage smokers to pledge to quit for the day. Colleges Against Cancer also set up its own table for the event on Thursday in CFSU.
According to the American Cancer Society Web site, the first Great American Smoke Out was held in California on Nov. 18, 1976, when the California Division of the American Cancer Society "successfully prompted nearly 1 million smokers to quit for the day." The event went national in 1977 and is now held every year on the third Thursday in November.
November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
"The Great American Smoke Out is meant for the whole country to come together to think about quitting smoking," said Alissa Eischens, health educator for the Wellness Center and adviser to the Wellness Advocates, which ran the tables in Damen and CFSU.
The Wellness Advocates have been organizing The Great American Smoke Out for three years and Colleges Against Cancer has been around four years. Both groups encourage students to pledge to quit smoking for the day, hoping that it will ultimately cause them to think about quitting entirely.
"We're being realistic," Wellness Advocate Liz Tuminello said. "We would like to make a large impact ideally, but we don't expect to make a huge impact in people's lives. Quitting is a series of steps, and we want to get people to move to that next step.
"If they're not thinking about quitting already we want to at least get them to think about it," she said. "The main goal is to raise awareness."
The Wellness Advocates tried to educate students this year by offering an array of literature on ways to quit smoking, reasons to think about quitting, information for nonsmokers about Smoke Free Illinois and information on the effects of secondhand smoke. Members also handed out "quit kits" with spearmint gum, bendies (rubber ropes smokers can use to occupy their hands), "I Quit" wristbands and a reflection sheet on the decision to quit.
Those pledging to quit for the day and nonsmokers pledging to support someone to quit signed a banner that will be hung in CFSU the week after Thanksgiving break.
Pledges were also able to sign up for a raffle to win $50 from Beck's Books and the members gave away a free Chipotle burrito to the first 20 smokers who pledged. The Colleges Against Cancer table handed out similar pamphlets as well as "Smoke Free Illinois" buttons and cupcakes to those pledging to quit.
"I don't think people really think about the direct effects of smoking this young," said Lauren Harriet, a member of Colleges Against Cancer. "So it's good to educate people early on. While lung cancer is one of the bigger cancers, you don't really think about it as much."
Although there are smokers at Loyola, one of the biggest misperceptions is the number of students that actually smoke on a daily basis.
"People think a lot more students smoke than really do," Eischens said. "Many smokers clump together so it looks like a lot more do. The reality is that a lot of students do not smoke here."
According to the National College Health Assessment taken last spring, 60 percent of Loyola students had never smoked in their life and only 25 percent had smoked in the last month.
According to Eischens, this shows only a small percent of actual daily smokers on campus.
Even a small percent of smokers, however, is of concern to health educators such as Eischens. "I don't think there is any safe level of smoking. Anybody who does should consider quitting because of health risks. One smoker is too many."
Freshman Heather Lanning said, "It's my body and my decision so others shouldn't be concerned." But health educators like Eischens are also concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke on those who do not choose to smoke.
"You have the right to do what you want as long as it only affects you," Eischens said. "But when it affects others you now have a responsibility."
Colleges Against Cancer president Megan Cikara agreed, saying, "If you choose to smoke, that's fine, you're not a bad person. You just need to be respectful of those who don't smoke. Move away from the doors. Be courteous with other people and your surroundings. Make it a choice to smoke, but do not abuse the right to smoke."
The smokers interviewed agreed that they should be respectful of those choosing not to smoke but that nonsmokers should respect their choice as well. "I'll respect other people. I'll go outside, but don't complain [if] I'm outside then," Lanning said.
"When I walk with a cigarette [on campus] I feel self-conscious," sophomore Jessica Levin said. "People look at you like 'oh, she's a smoker.' But that's not really who I am. Yeah, I'm a smoker, but there's this negative aspect to it."
Levin is a student who began smoking in college.
"I started smoking the end of freshman year because one of my best friends and my boyfriend smoked so I was always around it," Levin said. "It started as a social thing, and I would even quit when I would go home for breaks. But now I smoke more and don't rely on friends to go outside and have a cigarette."
A "sad trend" Eischens says is that the number of students who start smoking in college is increasing.
Some smokers claim that they smoke more at school because "it's a social thing and also a big thing when you drink." Others said that they smoke mostly due to stress.
"I've always thought about quitting," Lanning said, "but it's [a] big struggle to quit, especially in college when stress is at its peak."
"Smoking is so powerful - not only is nicotine addictive, but smoking becomes part of a person's life," Eischens said. "It's an activity people enjoy. It's a social activity and becomes part of their daily routine. It's an activity [that is] very hard to give up."
Eischens looks forward to the Illinois ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other public workplaces on Jan. 1, 2008. The Smoke Free Illinois Act was passed by both Illinois state houses in May 2007 and signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in July.
"Smoke Free Illinois has two benefits," she said. "It will reduce secondhand smoke for both patrons and employers of these places. But ultimately [smokers] have to decide if there are more reasons not to smoke than to smoke. The ban gives one more reason. So I think that's a positive thing."
Ultimately the decision to quit smoking is the individual's. Eischens wants smokers to know, however, that there is always smoking cessation on campus for those wanting to quit.
"The important thing to remember is that there is not just one special day to quit smoking," she said. "You can quit any day of the year."
For more information on smoking and smoking related health risks, students can visit the Wellness Center Web site at: www.luc.edu/wellness.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Issue date: 11/20/07 Section: News
The Great American Smoke Out, sponsored annually by the American Cancer Society, was held on Nov. 15. The Wellness Center set up a table in Damen Hall on Wednesday and another table in CFSU on Thursday to encourage smokers to pledge to quit for the day. Colleges Against Cancer also set up its own table for the event on Thursday in CFSU.
According to the American Cancer Society Web site, the first Great American Smoke Out was held in California on Nov. 18, 1976, when the California Division of the American Cancer Society "successfully prompted nearly 1 million smokers to quit for the day." The event went national in 1977 and is now held every year on the third Thursday in November.
November is National Lung Cancer Awareness Month.
"The Great American Smoke Out is meant for the whole country to come together to think about quitting smoking," said Alissa Eischens, health educator for the Wellness Center and adviser to the Wellness Advocates, which ran the tables in Damen and CFSU.
The Wellness Advocates have been organizing The Great American Smoke Out for three years and Colleges Against Cancer has been around four years. Both groups encourage students to pledge to quit smoking for the day, hoping that it will ultimately cause them to think about quitting entirely.
"We're being realistic," Wellness Advocate Liz Tuminello said. "We would like to make a large impact ideally, but we don't expect to make a huge impact in people's lives. Quitting is a series of steps, and we want to get people to move to that next step.
"If they're not thinking about quitting already we want to at least get them to think about it," she said. "The main goal is to raise awareness."
The Wellness Advocates tried to educate students this year by offering an array of literature on ways to quit smoking, reasons to think about quitting, information for nonsmokers about Smoke Free Illinois and information on the effects of secondhand smoke. Members also handed out "quit kits" with spearmint gum, bendies (rubber ropes smokers can use to occupy their hands), "I Quit" wristbands and a reflection sheet on the decision to quit.
Those pledging to quit for the day and nonsmokers pledging to support someone to quit signed a banner that will be hung in CFSU the week after Thanksgiving break.
Pledges were also able to sign up for a raffle to win $50 from Beck's Books and the members gave away a free Chipotle burrito to the first 20 smokers who pledged. The Colleges Against Cancer table handed out similar pamphlets as well as "Smoke Free Illinois" buttons and cupcakes to those pledging to quit.
"I don't think people really think about the direct effects of smoking this young," said Lauren Harriet, a member of Colleges Against Cancer. "So it's good to educate people early on. While lung cancer is one of the bigger cancers, you don't really think about it as much."
Although there are smokers at Loyola, one of the biggest misperceptions is the number of students that actually smoke on a daily basis.
"People think a lot more students smoke than really do," Eischens said. "Many smokers clump together so it looks like a lot more do. The reality is that a lot of students do not smoke here."
According to the National College Health Assessment taken last spring, 60 percent of Loyola students had never smoked in their life and only 25 percent had smoked in the last month.
According to Eischens, this shows only a small percent of actual daily smokers on campus.
Even a small percent of smokers, however, is of concern to health educators such as Eischens. "I don't think there is any safe level of smoking. Anybody who does should consider quitting because of health risks. One smoker is too many."
Freshman Heather Lanning said, "It's my body and my decision so others shouldn't be concerned." But health educators like Eischens are also concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke on those who do not choose to smoke.
"You have the right to do what you want as long as it only affects you," Eischens said. "But when it affects others you now have a responsibility."
Colleges Against Cancer president Megan Cikara agreed, saying, "If you choose to smoke, that's fine, you're not a bad person. You just need to be respectful of those who don't smoke. Move away from the doors. Be courteous with other people and your surroundings. Make it a choice to smoke, but do not abuse the right to smoke."
The smokers interviewed agreed that they should be respectful of those choosing not to smoke but that nonsmokers should respect their choice as well. "I'll respect other people. I'll go outside, but don't complain [if] I'm outside then," Lanning said.
"When I walk with a cigarette [on campus] I feel self-conscious," sophomore Jessica Levin said. "People look at you like 'oh, she's a smoker.' But that's not really who I am. Yeah, I'm a smoker, but there's this negative aspect to it."
Levin is a student who began smoking in college.
"I started smoking the end of freshman year because one of my best friends and my boyfriend smoked so I was always around it," Levin said. "It started as a social thing, and I would even quit when I would go home for breaks. But now I smoke more and don't rely on friends to go outside and have a cigarette."
A "sad trend" Eischens says is that the number of students who start smoking in college is increasing.
Some smokers claim that they smoke more at school because "it's a social thing and also a big thing when you drink." Others said that they smoke mostly due to stress.
"I've always thought about quitting," Lanning said, "but it's [a] big struggle to quit, especially in college when stress is at its peak."
"Smoking is so powerful - not only is nicotine addictive, but smoking becomes part of a person's life," Eischens said. "It's an activity people enjoy. It's a social activity and becomes part of their daily routine. It's an activity [that is] very hard to give up."
Eischens looks forward to the Illinois ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other public workplaces on Jan. 1, 2008. The Smoke Free Illinois Act was passed by both Illinois state houses in May 2007 and signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in July.
"Smoke Free Illinois has two benefits," she said. "It will reduce secondhand smoke for both patrons and employers of these places. But ultimately [smokers] have to decide if there are more reasons not to smoke than to smoke. The ban gives one more reason. So I think that's a positive thing."
Ultimately the decision to quit smoking is the individual's. Eischens wants smokers to know, however, that there is always smoking cessation on campus for those wanting to quit.
"The important thing to remember is that there is not just one special day to quit smoking," she said. "You can quit any day of the year."
For more information on smoking and smoking related health risks, students can visit the Wellness Center Web site at: www.luc.edu/wellness.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
Article Link
Loyola's own biodiesel
Ashley Slovinski
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Closer Look
In a small lab on the ninth floor of Damen Hall, cardboard lines the floor and grease coats every surface. Students use wood and recycled pieces of scrap to build large apparatuses that hold a reactor comprised of two large white tanks connected to a smaller one and a fourth blue tank. The reactor has its own plumbing as pipes and hoses feed through each of the tanks. This isn't your typical lab, but then again, this isn't your typical class.
The class is known as STEP (Solutions To Environmental Problems) Biodiesel, and it takes a very unique approach to teaching students about the importance of environmental sustainability.
"Whenever I tell people about the program, everyone brightens just a little bit because Loyola is doing something hands-on to get involved," senior Zachary Waickman said. "People get excited and encourage us."Twenty-one students from many departments work side -by-side and take turns in groups of five or six to create two batches of fuel throughout the semester. The class also includes a lecture series featuring 13 faculty and staff members from many different departments. This interdisciplinary approach is used to give students various perspectives on working with an alternative fuel source from every angle involved in the process. They learn about everything from the actual chemistry and physical production of biodiesel to legislation involving alternative fuel sources. They also learn what is needed to make the project not only environmentally efficient but also economically feasible.
"My favorite aspect of the class is the hands-on aspect of working directly with higher ups within the university to get the program off the ground," Waickman said. "We also get to be in the lab and get down and dirty with the biodiesel; we're building and doing everything ourselves. There's an amount of satisfaction because of everything the 21 of us are accomplishing together and on our own with the 'gentle guidance' from our mentors [the lecturers]. We don't have actual professors but mentors providing information to make us experts to better accomplish our own goals within the class."
Biodiesel is a fuel made from used vegetable oil that is normally thrown out by the campus dining halls. The class is producing biodiesel to use in campus vehicles. So far they have tested the fuel in the lab director Shane Lishawa's diesel Mercedes and are using it in different lightweight vehicles throughout campus. They hope to eventually use it in the shuttles since biodiesel can be added to regular fuel without any necessary changes to the engine. This is pending approval, however.
On Nov. 1 the class held a "mini-parade," as Lishawa described it, testing the fuel publicly in the parking lot behind Mundelein. Students from two classes as well as members of the public gathered to watch as the biodiesel was pumped into communication chair Elizabeth Coffman's car. Coffman took a victory lap around the parking lot as the students cheered.
The miles to gallons a vehicle can obtain while running on biodiesel varies between engines, but there is a slight decrease in mileage (usually about 5 percent). Using 100 percent biodiesel, however, significantly reduces emissions. Particulate pollutants are reduced by 55 percent; biodiesel made from non-recycled vegetable oil reduces carbon dioxide by 78 percent. Using waste products only further reduces emissions such as carbon dioxide.
"Biodiesel is really easy to make," Waickman said. "It is a very simple reaction […] Loyola usually pays to haul the vegetable oil away, but taking it to make fuel for the university will make it more sustainable. Not only will it be cutting costs for dining services, but it will also cut fuel costs and emissions."
"Our goal is to be sustainable, not necessarily to make as much biodiesel as possible," classroom coordinator Alison Varty said. "If we're recycling all waste at Loyola then we're closing the loop."
STEP is a subset of Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy, created by Nancy Tuchman, the associate provost for research at Loyola, as an interdisciplinary approach to looking at environmental problems and finding solutions on campus. According to Gina Lettiere, the coordinator of CUERP, the World Wildlife Federation had recently released a national report card on the "environmental literacy" of undergraduate students attending universities throughout the country, concluding that most students were environmentally illiterate. To members of CUERP such as Tuchman and Lettiere, this was a problem.
"Students are leaving with a degree and are not even aware of common environmental problems in the 21st century," Lettiere said.
The STEP Biodiesel class was created in response. According to Lettiere, STEP chose to work with Biodiesel because it is a "hot topic," and other universities are doing similar research, although in a very different manner. Many universities may not offer such courses within the curriculum or may not necessarily have the full support of their administrations.
"The primary focus here is education," Lettiere said. "As an educational institution we have a responsibility for students to get this interdisciplinary experience and critical thinking."
The STEP curriculum also aims to help the university in its effort to reduce its "carbon footprint" and to look at its energy consumption and waste to come up with a strategic plan for reduction. The class' objective during the first part of the semester was to create the biodiesel and now it is testing the product in various ways to determine if biodiesel really is an efficient alternative on campus. The class is divided into five groups based on the different departments involved, each with separate goals specific to that field. The five groups are communication, business, public policy, comparative emissions analysis and working with algae.
The communication group focuses on generating PR for the project on and off campus. The comparative emissions analysis group is working to figure out how to measure emissions from vehicles using the produced biodiesel. They attach a contraption at the end of the vehicle's tailpipe to collect gases in order to analyze the different pollutants in the fuel. They measure the particular matter found (the soot and grime that comes out of automobiles) with a filter to compare it to the matter contained in regular petroleum diesel emissions.
The public policy group focuses on governmental relations between Loyola and the various levels of government (from local to state and federal). Their primary project is to create a guide to help other universities and small labs by explaining their role in the tax structure and how to expect to be regulated accordingly.
"Any success here we would love to spread," senior Blake Anderson, a group member, said. "Our larger goal is to get people on a large scale, widespread basis to start thinking about alternative fuel sources."
The group will also be working with policy analysis to judge how beneficial the current legal mindset will be to environmental progress and what hurdles, if any, they will have to overcome.
"We want to evaluate how effective the small fuel production market is," Anderson said. "Our intention is to draft a bill proposal trying to make the Chicago and Illinois legal environment more conducive and friendly to alternative fuel sources. We may find that biodiesel is not the answer and would much rather see Illinois give more funding to academic projects like this or call to use more renewable resources in general."
The business group is working to pool together a comprehensive business plan to look at the production as a small business and how to sustain it. The algae group is working on growing and cultivating algae to extract specific oils they can use to make biofuel.
The class is also partnering with Highland Park High School. Some of the students within the class are creating a lesson plan that will condense the course to fit into a high school level curriculum. Their goal is to help Highland Park create their own production facility to conduct similar research.
The course will be offered again next semester but the direction it takes, as before, will be entirely up to the students. Some projects may be continued while new ones are a possibility. An advanced biodiesel class will also be offered to students wishing to continue with the course. The biodiesel class, however, will not be a permanent part of the university curriculum. Biodiesel is the main focus now, but every couple of years there will be something new to allow STEP to evolve with the interests and the needs of the university.
"The use of fossil fuels is a complex issue with a lot of information," Lishawa said. "The best thing about this class is making students think about their choices and the use of fossil fuels. Even though this isn't a silver bullet for our woes, getting conversation started is a very important part of the course."
The biodiesel class will be holding a public forum on Dec. 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the Crown Center auditorium. The students will be presenting their projects to showcase the progress they've made throughout the semester. One of the groups will also be showing a documentary they filmed during the duration of the class. Anyone interested in applying for the class next semester is encouraged to e-mail Alison Varty at avarty@luc.edu.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
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Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: Closer Look
In a small lab on the ninth floor of Damen Hall, cardboard lines the floor and grease coats every surface. Students use wood and recycled pieces of scrap to build large apparatuses that hold a reactor comprised of two large white tanks connected to a smaller one and a fourth blue tank. The reactor has its own plumbing as pipes and hoses feed through each of the tanks. This isn't your typical lab, but then again, this isn't your typical class.
The class is known as STEP (Solutions To Environmental Problems) Biodiesel, and it takes a very unique approach to teaching students about the importance of environmental sustainability.
"Whenever I tell people about the program, everyone brightens just a little bit because Loyola is doing something hands-on to get involved," senior Zachary Waickman said. "People get excited and encourage us."Twenty-one students from many departments work side -by-side and take turns in groups of five or six to create two batches of fuel throughout the semester. The class also includes a lecture series featuring 13 faculty and staff members from many different departments. This interdisciplinary approach is used to give students various perspectives on working with an alternative fuel source from every angle involved in the process. They learn about everything from the actual chemistry and physical production of biodiesel to legislation involving alternative fuel sources. They also learn what is needed to make the project not only environmentally efficient but also economically feasible.
"My favorite aspect of the class is the hands-on aspect of working directly with higher ups within the university to get the program off the ground," Waickman said. "We also get to be in the lab and get down and dirty with the biodiesel; we're building and doing everything ourselves. There's an amount of satisfaction because of everything the 21 of us are accomplishing together and on our own with the 'gentle guidance' from our mentors [the lecturers]. We don't have actual professors but mentors providing information to make us experts to better accomplish our own goals within the class."
Biodiesel is a fuel made from used vegetable oil that is normally thrown out by the campus dining halls. The class is producing biodiesel to use in campus vehicles. So far they have tested the fuel in the lab director Shane Lishawa's diesel Mercedes and are using it in different lightweight vehicles throughout campus. They hope to eventually use it in the shuttles since biodiesel can be added to regular fuel without any necessary changes to the engine. This is pending approval, however.
On Nov. 1 the class held a "mini-parade," as Lishawa described it, testing the fuel publicly in the parking lot behind Mundelein. Students from two classes as well as members of the public gathered to watch as the biodiesel was pumped into communication chair Elizabeth Coffman's car. Coffman took a victory lap around the parking lot as the students cheered.
The miles to gallons a vehicle can obtain while running on biodiesel varies between engines, but there is a slight decrease in mileage (usually about 5 percent). Using 100 percent biodiesel, however, significantly reduces emissions. Particulate pollutants are reduced by 55 percent; biodiesel made from non-recycled vegetable oil reduces carbon dioxide by 78 percent. Using waste products only further reduces emissions such as carbon dioxide.
"Biodiesel is really easy to make," Waickman said. "It is a very simple reaction […] Loyola usually pays to haul the vegetable oil away, but taking it to make fuel for the university will make it more sustainable. Not only will it be cutting costs for dining services, but it will also cut fuel costs and emissions."
"Our goal is to be sustainable, not necessarily to make as much biodiesel as possible," classroom coordinator Alison Varty said. "If we're recycling all waste at Loyola then we're closing the loop."
STEP is a subset of Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy, created by Nancy Tuchman, the associate provost for research at Loyola, as an interdisciplinary approach to looking at environmental problems and finding solutions on campus. According to Gina Lettiere, the coordinator of CUERP, the World Wildlife Federation had recently released a national report card on the "environmental literacy" of undergraduate students attending universities throughout the country, concluding that most students were environmentally illiterate. To members of CUERP such as Tuchman and Lettiere, this was a problem.
"Students are leaving with a degree and are not even aware of common environmental problems in the 21st century," Lettiere said.
The STEP Biodiesel class was created in response. According to Lettiere, STEP chose to work with Biodiesel because it is a "hot topic," and other universities are doing similar research, although in a very different manner. Many universities may not offer such courses within the curriculum or may not necessarily have the full support of their administrations.
"The primary focus here is education," Lettiere said. "As an educational institution we have a responsibility for students to get this interdisciplinary experience and critical thinking."
The STEP curriculum also aims to help the university in its effort to reduce its "carbon footprint" and to look at its energy consumption and waste to come up with a strategic plan for reduction. The class' objective during the first part of the semester was to create the biodiesel and now it is testing the product in various ways to determine if biodiesel really is an efficient alternative on campus. The class is divided into five groups based on the different departments involved, each with separate goals specific to that field. The five groups are communication, business, public policy, comparative emissions analysis and working with algae.
The communication group focuses on generating PR for the project on and off campus. The comparative emissions analysis group is working to figure out how to measure emissions from vehicles using the produced biodiesel. They attach a contraption at the end of the vehicle's tailpipe to collect gases in order to analyze the different pollutants in the fuel. They measure the particular matter found (the soot and grime that comes out of automobiles) with a filter to compare it to the matter contained in regular petroleum diesel emissions.
The public policy group focuses on governmental relations between Loyola and the various levels of government (from local to state and federal). Their primary project is to create a guide to help other universities and small labs by explaining their role in the tax structure and how to expect to be regulated accordingly.
"Any success here we would love to spread," senior Blake Anderson, a group member, said. "Our larger goal is to get people on a large scale, widespread basis to start thinking about alternative fuel sources."
The group will also be working with policy analysis to judge how beneficial the current legal mindset will be to environmental progress and what hurdles, if any, they will have to overcome.
"We want to evaluate how effective the small fuel production market is," Anderson said. "Our intention is to draft a bill proposal trying to make the Chicago and Illinois legal environment more conducive and friendly to alternative fuel sources. We may find that biodiesel is not the answer and would much rather see Illinois give more funding to academic projects like this or call to use more renewable resources in general."
The business group is working to pool together a comprehensive business plan to look at the production as a small business and how to sustain it. The algae group is working on growing and cultivating algae to extract specific oils they can use to make biofuel.
The class is also partnering with Highland Park High School. Some of the students within the class are creating a lesson plan that will condense the course to fit into a high school level curriculum. Their goal is to help Highland Park create their own production facility to conduct similar research.
The course will be offered again next semester but the direction it takes, as before, will be entirely up to the students. Some projects may be continued while new ones are a possibility. An advanced biodiesel class will also be offered to students wishing to continue with the course. The biodiesel class, however, will not be a permanent part of the university curriculum. Biodiesel is the main focus now, but every couple of years there will be something new to allow STEP to evolve with the interests and the needs of the university.
"The use of fossil fuels is a complex issue with a lot of information," Lishawa said. "The best thing about this class is making students think about their choices and the use of fossil fuels. Even though this isn't a silver bullet for our woes, getting conversation started is a very important part of the course."
The biodiesel class will be holding a public forum on Dec. 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the Crown Center auditorium. The students will be presenting their projects to showcase the progress they've made throughout the semester. One of the groups will also be showing a documentary they filmed during the duration of the class. Anyone interested in applying for the class next semester is encouraged to e-mail Alison Varty at avarty@luc.edu.
© Copyright 2009 The Phoenix
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