The 14th Annual Chicago Polar Plunge took place on March 2 at North Avenue Beach, 1600 N. Lake Shore Dr., and raised more than $1 million for the Chicago Special Olympics. With special guests such as Mayor ...

American celebrities have influence over popular opinion: They endorse products, support political candidates and even run for political office. Sometimes they have enough clout to win, as in the case of Ronald Reagan, who won the 1980 presidential election against incumbent Jimmy Carter. So with the recent announcement of “American Idol” Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken’s bid for Congress, the ridicule should be temper...

The post-treatment stories of cancer survivors are often left untold, but one Columbia student and his crew are trying to change that with a documentary about survivors and how the positivity they feel is often overshadowed by negative media.Evan Bartlett, a junior film & video major and cancer survivor, is working on “Discovering the Beating Path,” a documentary that took the crew across the country this summer and is now ...

Contributing Writer: Doug PitorekNew legislation taking effect January 2013 will ban California mental health providers from counseling minors to change their sexual orientation.California Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1172, the first of its kind in the country, Sept. 30, after research found that sexual orientation change efforts are potentially harmful.“The problem with reparative therapy,” said Sen. Ted Lieu (D...