The Columbia Chronicle

Brewing creativity in Chicago

By Emily Ornberg

January 28, 2013

In an apartment gallery in Pilsen, owner Paul Hopkin, artist Benjamin Bellas, assistant director Jeffrey Grauel and friends Ann Chen and Brent Garbowski converged in October 2012 to work on a project Hopkin said would enhance the ambience in his contemporary art exhibition space, Slow Gallery.The project became what is now known as Small Ass Brewing, Slow Gallery’s own brewery that plans to prepare a custom batch of beer,...

Wildcats claw back, but Hoosiers prevail

By Nader Ihmoud

January 20, 2013

The Northwestern University Wildcats were knocked in the mouth early by the No. 2 ranked Indiana University Hoosiers on Jan. 20. Although the Wildcats did not lose their spirit, the team ultimately lost 67–57 at Welsh Ryan Arena.The Hoosiers built a 14-point lead, restricted the Wildcats to a dismal 30 percent shooting and only allowed them to make 1 of 9 three-point field goal attempts during the first half. Although Nort...

Blood donations needed as holidays near

By Contributing Writer

December 10, 2012

As the holiday season approaches, blood banks nationwide are encouraging people to donate in an effort to combat a possible blood shortage.“Generally during the holiday season, people are more preoccupied with shopping and decorations than giving blood,” said Karen Schwarz, senior marketing representative for Heartland Blood Centers, adding that blood shortages are very common during winter months.There are 9.5 million...

What will I do with a writing degree? A lot

By AmberMeade

December 10, 2012

I’ll never forget the first story I wrote as an 18-year-old freshman in the Fiction Writing Department. I had watched “My Own Private Idaho” for the first time, so naturally my piece was about male prostitutes. Despite not knowing what the hell I was doing and being one of the few students in the department who hadn’t grown up consuming literature religiously, it was an exciting time because no topic was untouchabl...

Coalition forms to oppose concealed carry

By Dannis Valera

December 3, 2012

A coalition launched Monday, Nov. 26, in opposition to the possibility of Illinois lifting the ban on carrying concealed weapons, in light of the Illinois legislative veto session.They are dubbed the Stop Concealed Carry Coalition and are made up of several community leaders, religious leaders, political leaders, and victims of mass shootings.“We need to make sure Illinois leads this nation by saying conceal carry is not...

Liberian journalist speaks about genital mutilation

By Hallie Zolkower-Kutz

December 3, 2012

Approximately two out of every three women in Liberia are subjected to genital mutilation, according to Mae Azango, a Liberian journalist who has written extensively about the issue.Azango spoke at a Nov. 29 event hosted by DePaul University Law School, where she discussed female genital mutilation, or cutting, as both a cultural rite of passage and a violation of human rights laws, especially in light of the United Nations�...

Climate action tour calls for fossil fuel divestment

By Brandon Smith

December 3, 2012

Fossil fuel corporations have made a powerful enemy—and he can “Do the Math.”Bill McKibben, author and co-founder of 350.org, a climate activism website, spoke Nov. 28 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., as part of his nationwide “Do the Math” tour that serves as a call to action to stop environmental degradation caused by oil, gas and coal companies.Chicago was the 15th stop on the 21-city tour t...

Editor’s Note: Students’ careers start here

By Heather Scroering

November 26, 2012

More than two years ago, college adviser Bob Blinn visited my class to caution us young artists in a truthful yet slightly berating manner. He said that if we hadn’t already started working to jump-start our careers by reading industry journals and networking with other artists, we’d be done for. Before leaving, he asked us to fill out a checklist of specific steps he’d covered, and the survey proved to be very fright...

Food truck drivers sue city over ordinance

By Kaley Fowler

November 26, 2012

Although a City Council ordinance, approved Oct. 31, has designated 21 new parking spaces for food trucks, several owners are claiming the city’s food truck map unfairly favors established eateries.In conjunction with the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, three truck owners filed a lawsuit Nov. 14 against the city seeking to overturn several provisions of the ordinance. Disputed passages incl...

If you want to secede, we won’t stop you

By Tyler Davis

November 19, 2012

Perhaps the timing of President Barack Obama’s re-election and the release of Steven Spielberg’s Abraham Lincoln biopic “Lincoln” isn’t a coincidence. Residents in all 50 states have recently filed petitions to secede from the Union.The petitions were filed on the We The People petition page on WhiteHouse.gov. Any petition on the webpage with more than 25,000 digital signatures will prompt an official response from th...

Four more years

By James Foster

November 12, 2012

President Barack Obama was re-elected Nov. 6 to a second term, and although the crowd of approximately 10,000 at McCormick Place was smaller than the Grant park gathering four years ago, the air was electric with enthusiasm.[kml_flashembed publishmethod="dynamic" fversion="10.1.8276" useexpressinstall="true" movie="https://columbiachronicle.com/soundslide/election_night_2012%20/soundslider.swf" width="500" height="440" targetclass="flashmovie"][/kml_flashembed]...

Personal becomes political at Creative Nonfiction Week

By Senah Yeboah-Sampong

November 12, 2012

Columbia’s annual Creative Nonfiction Week, which had a political theme inspired by the Nov. 6 presidential election, took place Nov. 5–8 in the 33 E. Congress Parkway Building.According to Garnett Kilberg-Cohen, a professor in the English Department and director of the Creative Nonfiction program, the week of events began in 2001 as a way to draw interest to the concentration and encourage collaboration between the E...