North
ParkPress
In This Issue
History-Making Weekend
Andrew Cohen
Feature Editor
2345678
Fireside Chat
So What do You Think?
History-Making Weekend (cont.)
I am not a Feminist, but...
Church is Welcoming
Mind Puzzles
CPS Now Offers Cash for Credit
Hurricanes Batter Haiti
Who wants to Meet the Apple
Queen?
A Whole New World of Music
Hot List
Our Best: Volleyball
Ode to an Old Rambler
The Most Polemical Danger
Resilient. When natu-ral
disasters strike, the re-siliency
of communities is
stretched to new limits as
to whether they will sink or
swim, literally. While the
Chicago-land area may be
soaked, the river banks rose to
unprecedented levels, and our
very own campus had enough
commotion to last until this
year’s ‘freshman streak,’ let
us not forget what President
Parkyn stated on Sunday at
Collegelife, what really made
this a “history-making week-end.”
It would be too conve-nient
to focus on what hap-pened
this weekend and forget
what happened in Texas, the
entire Gulf Coast, and Carib-bean
in the last month. Within
the last month alone, those
regions were hit constantly,
again and again, by hurricanes
Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike.
Bad things happen, no one
is going to dispute that fact.
It is important that we don’t
forget what we have learned,
felt, seen, or empathized.
For some of us students, this
summer was enough of a prob-lem
dealing with flooding in
the nation’s mid-section. For
other students, sand-bagging
might have been a new expe-rience;
especially at 1 o’clock
in the morning. However,
wherever you are from, I am
mostly certain that the word
“refugee” and “North Park”
would have never crossed
your mind. Well, it did for stu-dents
from Anderson, Burgh,
and Sohlberg dorms starting
this past Saturday through
Monday night. While students
were not panicked or upset,
the majority were just frustrat-ed
and curious. Starting Fri-day
ominous clouds brought
a downpour of rain, which
slowed down the soccer, vol-leyball,
and football athletic
teams during the weekend.
The decision to evacuate
students from Anderson and
Burgh halls (Sohlberg was
evacuated on Sunday for four
hours) came around 4pm on
Saturday because the level
of the North Branch had ris-en
past flood stage and sub-merged
the power transform-ers
in Magnuson Campus
Center. The power transform-ers
in Magnuson power both
Anderson and Burgh, and
while there was still power to
both dorms, President Parkyn
erred on the side of caution
and evacuated students to
Helwig Recreational Facility.
The reason being that if the
power did shut off, it would be
a far worse situation to evacu-ate
in the early hours of the
morning. Helwig became the
central command post for all
incoming on-campus security
calls, information given to the
public, and a temporary home
for at least ten students. At
Helwig, Director of Housing
Katie Lowitzki reassured stu-dents
that “every precautionary
measure was being taken for
their safety and security both
with personal affects left in
the dorms and currently in re-lation
to the flooding waters.”
Flooding hasn’t seen this
part of the Albany Park neigh-borhood
since 1988, when
the North Branch actually
flooded LHA. Albany Park
district was declared a “state
of emergency,” rushing resi-dents
out of homes that had
up to five feet of water inside.
The City of Chicago broke
the record of rainfall in a day
with 6.69 inches on Saturday,
leaving the three-day total of
rain at 12.61 inches recorded
at O’Hare International Air-port.
Luckily for North Park,
(continued on page 3)
North Park University Student Newspaper
Volume 89, Issue 3 Friday, 19 September 2008
Cover Artist
Rebecca Hurliman
So What Do You Think...
Amanda Dayton
Editor-in-Chief
Mission Statement:
Our mission, that we have chosen to accept, is to inform, in-spire,
entertain and provide a forum of discussion for all those
in the Nort Park community. It is our goal to present an outlet
for all forms of student expression and to create a paper that
you want to read.
2 North Park Press Friday, 19 September 2008
Cartoon by Dan Johnson
When my co-editor Mike and I applied for the positions of
Editors-in-Chief we did so because we both have a passion
for improving the paper. As our new publishing year is under-way,
we want to know what you think of the changes we have
made to the North Park Press. Our first change to the Press
2008 is to make it more accessible for students. Here’s how…
1. The “So What Do You Think” section presents both sides of an
issue on campus and asks YOU to respond with your thoughts. You
can either join the discussion at www.northparkpress.blogspot.
com or post on the wall of our facebook group “North Park Press”.
2. The opinion section, per usual, provides a place
for you to express yourself and your beliefs. Send us
an editorial and we’ll run it in the next week’s paper.
3. The freelance section is a new addition designed to give you
a place to showcase your talents. Submit your artwork, poems,
fiction writing, music and movie reviews, etc. and then look
for them to be printed on the back page of the next edition.
Aside from the added sections of the paper we are updating the
mission of the Press as a whole. We hope to bring you thought-ful
and challenging writing that will inspire you and make you
question what is happening on campus. The focus this year will
be to report what matters to North Park students specifically, as
we know this is the only location for exclusively NPU news. We
accept the responsibility and are proud to present our new paper
format. We hope you think the Press has stepped it up a notch
with a real newspaper look, so tell us, so what do you think?
Don’t forget to share your opinions of our new style
with us on our facebook group “North Park Press”
wall. While you’re at it, why not join the group too?
We apologize for and acknowledge our errors in the last edition of
the Press. Errors ocurred on pages 2, 4-8
A Word from SA President Hannah Flint
Last year’s Spring Fling, was the second North Park dance I have
ever attended. High point: seeing the usually bare-footed, gym-short
wearing peoples of North Park dressed to the nines. Low point: see-ing
the usually kind, happy, and courteous peoples of North Park
sloshed to the point of no return (or at least, no return on their own
two feet).
As student body president I have to ask, how should Student As-sociation
foster an environment at our events where having fun and
acting respectfully go hand in hand?
I think dances are a fantastic contribution the Student Association
makes to this campus and I want to make sure we can continue to
offer them.
For this year’s Homecoming dance I have been fervently working
with Social Events Directors Nykki Thompson and Tricia Pitts to
establish a proactive plan to host an event that is enjoyable for all at-tendees.
I ask that you help us by not coming drunk.
Most recent deductions from the senate general fund (a.k.a your
money): $2,000 to be split evenly between the Men’s and Women’s
retreat. Also, the African Student Club was officially recognized by
Student Association and will receive funding this year.
This week’s challenge: The first person from each class to e-mail me
the names of all four of their class senators will win $10 in cold hard
cash delivered to their CPO boxes, in person in the ARA, or straight
to the credit card company of choice.
At your service,
Hannah Flint
Editors-in-Chief
Amanda Dayton
Michael Zielinski
Feature Editor
Andrew Cohen
Campus New Editor
(now hiring)
Local News Editor
Kylee Reynolds
World News Editor
Eric Turner
Web Editor
Cat Mungcal
Pulse Editor
Liz Boyd
Sports Editor
Colby Anderson
Copy Editor
Jennie Merrill
Layout Editor
Julie Jane Capel
Cover Artists
Christine Wahlskog
Rebecca Hurliman
Julie Jane Capel
Cartoonist
Dan Johnson
Photographer
Jonathan Nehring
of our new paper format?
Friday, 19 September 2008 North Park Press 3
the Emergency Preparedness Team, consisting of security officers headed by Dan Gorris and several other off-site organizations, run scenarios of different emergencies every two weeks. Ironically the last scenario was for a flood. Sophomore Ryan Thompson stated, “just the fact that drills were done in the past for many situations like this makes me feel safe (being) here.”
Meanwhile, Texas and at least three other states that were affected by hurricane Ike began the long process of reconstruction and clean up. Ike was blamed for at least 13 deaths and thousands of homeless residents thus far within the United States, with more door-to-door searches of submerged vehicles and houses continuing throughout the week. In Haiti, the sequence of hurricanes left hundreds dead and tens of thousands of people hurt and displaced. The already extremely impoverished and war-torn nation had its crops destroyed, and water born diseases were reportedly affecting residents. In Cuba and many other island nations the same kind of circumstances were reported in higher numbers. Last week, Washington announced 10 million dollars in aid to Haiti, with the United Nations offering $100 million as well. The sum sounds like a lot until measured up against the promised $1 billion to Georgian aid in a Cold War that has currently intensified with military heat. The New York Times reported that Washington refused Cuba’s request to buy American construction materials to rebuild homes and repair the mangled electricity grid. Washington also won’t allow Cuba to buy American food on credit, and it has, so
far, refused to lift restrictions on the money that Cuban-Americans may send back to their relatives.
What students can take away from this natural disaster is that it could have been worse, much worse, and that it isn’t over yet. As President Parkyn spoke at Collegelife he called upon students to “be ready to volunteer in the community and do it with a smile.” It is easy to be cynical at this point with North Park mottos calling for living lives of significance and service, however with a community in need and nations in obvious destruction, the time is now to live beyond your normal everyday measures. You can donate money to local churches for aid to states affected, go on a global partnerships trip this upcoming winter, spring, or summer breaks, or you can give blood and financial donations to the American Red Cross or other such organizations. It is important for North Parkers to remember this weekend and not forget it; we came together sheltering fellow students, offering meals, and sand-bagging our streets together. It is, as Junior Hannah Tumblin said, “one of the more amazing moments of community-building ever seen before.” Let us not forget this solidarity so quickly, going back to our daily exclusive routines, but come as many of us sang together, “still standing, but by the grace of God.” CAMPUS
News
Laurel Wells
Student Writer
I am not a
Feminist, but...
Michael Zielinski
Editor-in-Chief
Upcoming Events
Sept 19: Prayer Vigil
5pm in the Prayer Room (Sohlberg Basement)
Sept 22 : The Kick-Off
9 pm in Hamming Hall
Sept23: Capture the Flag
9pm on the greenspace
Sept 23: Second City Comedy Night
9pm in LHA
Sept 23: Wizard of Oz
9 pm on the greenspace
11 pm in LHA
Sept 23: Rock Star Rally and BBQ
4:30 in front of Old Main
Sept 23: Game Night and PJ Party
9pm in Hamming Hall
Sept 23: Homecoming Dance
7pm at the Shedd Aquarium
4 North Park Press Friday, 19 September 2008
Since the second wave of
feminism last hit shores in the
1980s, smashing political dams
such as abortion rights and equal
pay for equal work, it seems as
if cultural interest in women’s
studies has practically become
obsolete. However, considering
gender oppression is still heav-ily
present, though much over-looked,
this should not be the case.
Founded in the 1980s, the Wom-en’s
Studies program (revised
to Women and Gender Studies
last year) at North Park Univer-sity
has had similar fluctuations
of student interest, this year be-ing
much less than previous. Dr.
Margaret Haefner, Director of
the Women and Gender Studies
Program since 2006, explained
possibilities on why on-campus
interest has weakened, espe-cially
concerning male students.
“Often, men perceive that class
material will attack them, which
is why we begin the program
with a focus on a patriarchal sys-tem.
By demonstrating that our
society generally values things
associated with being male, such
as competitiveness and aggres-sion,
we emphasize that it is a
societal issue rather than an indi-vidual
one. This helps to create
a less threatening environment.”
However, the program is hav-ing
trouble interesting female
students as well. With such a
lack of student interest, it is like-ly
that students might not even
know what this program entails.
Like many other campus pro-grams,
one needs twenty credits to
obtain a minor in Women and Gen-der
Studies. One of the few minors
without a major, the Women and
Gender Studies (WGS) program
focuses on four different levels of
thinking: personal, community, na-tional
and global. As stated on the
WGS webpage, “We seek to en-courage
students to actively pursue
justice for women and men in their
personal lives, in the communities,
the nation, and the world through
political and social activism, vol-unteer
opportunities, and their
chosen careers and avocations.”
In reference to there not being a
WGS major, Dr. Haefner explained
that a WGS minor easily compli-ments
any major, considering is-sues
with women and gender are
consistently important in fields such
as business, politics and religion.
Concerning gender, specifically
homosexuality, the program em-phasizes
the fact that unlike bio-logical
sex, gender can be thought
of as a continuum. According to
Dr. Haefner, “thinking of gen-der
in this way gives men and
women the ability to understand
their gender in broader terms.
For instance, you may be sexu-ally
a woman, but you have in-terests
or characteristics that
are more aligned with males.”
Even if you don’t plan on getting
a minor in Women and Gender
Studies, you do have the oppor-tunity
to participate and express
support for this program. March
is Women’s History Month,
meaning that every March, stu-dents
in the WGS program plan
events for other North Parkers
concerning WGS related issues.
For example, last year they orga-nized
a program on sex traffick-ing,
African-American nurses
and women in the military. This
March you should attend the
programs, discuss them with
other students and raise aware-ness
on women issues that don’t
normally get a lot of attention.
For more information on the
Women and Gender Studies
program, visit the program web-page
on the North Park Univer-sity
Academics page or contact
Dr. Margaret Haefner at her e-mail,
mhaefner@northpark.edu.
That is a frightening
thought, I know, particularly if
you are aware of how untrue it
can be. Yet, if you have never
attempted to talk to that person
sitting exactly one seat away
from you, don’t disregard me
yet. Two weeks ago Peter Cha
spoke specifically on the tyranny
of here and now. In his sermon,
he discussed the practice and
importance of remembrance and
anticipation in how the Church
functions. Last Wednesday we
welcomed in Hispanic Heritage
Month and heard Princess Zulu
speak on Esther. As we finish
out September and our month
on “time”, Rene Rochester will
join us as we pray for our ath-letes
this year. A former college
basketball player, she has also
been a long-time participant in
sports ministry. So, while we
can’t promise the same atmo-sphere
as one of the Viking bas-ketball
games (well worth it for
even the most sports illiterate
fan), come for an hour of wor-ship
through song and speech.
And at least ask the stranger a
seat over their name as you en-ter
into this place of gathering.
Church is
Welcoming
squiglysplayhouse.com
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o-rmasons.org
LOCAL
News
CPS Now Offers
Cash for Credits
Kylee Reynolds
Local News Editor
WORLD
News
Hurricanes
Batter Haiti
Eric Turner
World News Editor
Friday, 19 September 2008 North Park Press 5
What student hasn’t wished that their straight A report card would warrant more than just a pat on the back from the parents? Now, thanks to Chicago’s new program, “The Paper Project,” students don’t have to wish.
Created by Chicago Public Schools to offer students financial incentives, the Paper Project is a new “Green for Grade$” program that will allow 5,000 ninth grade students to earn up to $4,000 during their first 2 years of high school, just by receiving good grades. This will be the second “Green for Grade$” program within the Chicago Public Schools, and one of several starting around the country.
According to the CPS webpage, this program was created by the Education Innovation Laboratory at Harvard University and “aims to develop student interest in school and a commitment to reaching academic goals during the first two years of high school when students are most at risk for dropping out.” This is only part of the research being done at Harvard University that helps to create new programs for success in education.
In regards to implimentation, CPS CEO Arne Duncan stated on the CPS webpage, “There are a lot of reasons why students choose to... do well in school, but not every high school student is motivated by sports, or music, or other extra-curricular activities. Our job is to reach every student in every school at this very critical age. The Paper Project is another tool we can use to offer our students clear academic goals and incentives that will help keep them focused and push them to perform at their best.”
Similar programs have been launched at schools in New York City and Washington D.C., both of which have reported tremendous strides in their children’s education. An article from the Chicago Tribune reports that 75% of parents with children in a similar New York program called “The Million” say that their child has “spent more time doing homework, got excited about specific classes or received higher grades.”
In addition to motivating students, the Green for Grade$ program will also educate youth on how to handle money. “This program not only provides incentives...” says Chicago Board of Education President Rufus Williams, “it also teaches financial responsibility.” This new program can provide a two-fold benefit: one, to help students learn how to spend wisely, and two, to begin “trying to level the playing field” between the economic classes.
So how exactly will this program work? Students will be offered money for their performance in math, science, social studies, English, and PE. Earning an ‘A’ is worth $50, a ‘B’- $35, and a ‘C’-$20. But here’s the catch. If a student fails a class, they lose all money earned for that period. The only way to earn that money back is to do the proper make-up work through summer school or extra credit assignments.
Students who manage to make the grade will receive half of their earnings up front, while the rest is distributed at graduation. The purpose of this is to ensure that students make it to the diploma. If a student drops out of school then they forfeit all the money they earned.
So how can a student get in on this action? First, their school must have been one of 20 chosen from among 65 applicants. Then the student must receive parental concent. All that’s left is to earn the grades, graduate and be $4000 richer.
No taxpayers’ dollars will go to this program; the entirety of the $2 million is funded by donations from outside partners over the past two years.
In recent weeks we have seen more of the fear and destruction hurricanes can bring through mass evacuations, flooding, and destruction in major cities like New Orleans, Galveston, and Houston. In this country, we are fortunate to have the technology to determine when the hurricane will strike, the capacity to evacuate citizens to safety, and the ability to rebuild once the hurricane has passed. Some hurricanes are more destructive than others, but a storm the size of Katrina or Gustav actually hitting the United States is, fortunately, a rare event. Unfortunately, not all nations are as fortunate as ours.
Haiti is a small nation with around 8 ½ million people. Located west of the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean, it is also the poorest nation in the western hemisphere: the United Nation’s Human Development Programme estimates nearly 50% of Haiti’s residents live on less than $1 a day, while nearly 80% of it’s population lives on less than $2 a day. Many Haitians lack access to basic survival needs such as clean water, sanitary washrooms, or medical clinics. With everyday living being a tenuous existence for most Haitians, a hurricane making landfall in the nation could be devastating.
But Haiti hasn’t been hit by merely one hurricane this summer, or two, or even three. Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna, and Ike have hit Haiti in the past month, bringing ruinous destruction to the island nation. The BBC reports that over 1 million people are homeless, with another 500 dead. Much of the devastation appears to be centered in the city of Gonaives, which was nearly destroyed by Tropical Storm Jeanne in 2004. After Hurricane Hanna, Gonaives was severely flooded, devastating those who were just starting to recover from Jeanne. Following Hurricane Ike, which cut off most transportation and communication from the city, there are discussions of whether or not to rebuild the city once more. But the worst effects from these hurricanes may not have even been felt yet in Haiti.
One of the biggest problems facing the entire world is the rising price of food. In a nation such as ours, the price rise is an inconvenience. In third world nations, the price rise is a matter of life and death, and has been a cause of increasing unrest in several parts of the globe. In Haiti, with 80% of it’s population on a budget of less than $2 a day, the rising food prices were causing much suffering throughout the nation, even before the storms. In April,for instance, Haitians rioted and attacked the Presidential Palace following a price hike on essential food items. The one thing keeping most Haitians from going hungry is the nation’s own agricultural output.
After the storms, however, most of Haiti’s harvest has been ruined. This is especially devastating for Haiti’s many subsistence farmers, who rely on their harvests to survive. With the local crops devastated, Haitians will be forced to rely on buying their food from outside the country, meaning that many people who were struggling to buy food before the storms will have an even harder, if not impossible time buying food. Making things more difficult still is the storm’s destruction of the nation’s infrastructure: bridges are out, stranding many citizens in their flooded towns or cities, and preventing them from reaching safety. The destruction of the infrastructure also means Haitians not living in and around the major cities will have to wait until conditions improve before food and supplies can reach their town. At current conditions, much work must be done to avoid widespread starvation or even outright famine in Haiti.
So what can be done about this terrible crisis?
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the UN has requested more than $100 million in aid for the nation. This is in addition to the Red Cross and numerous other charities with volunteers and missionaries in Haiti who will need much more help in assisting Haitians during this dire time of need. Unfortunately, this story has been flying under the radar, and many people are not even aware of the crisis. Celebrities including Matt Damon and Haitian-born Wyclef John have visited Haiti hoping to bring awareness to the situation, but more must be done. The situation is dire, and may get even worse, but through aid, money, and volunteers, the nation can being to rebuild and hope for a better future.
rescuechildren.org6 North Park Press Friday, 19 September 2008
PULSE
Liz Boyd
Pulse Editor
Liz Boyd
Pulse Editor
If you’ve been dying to see this oh-so-famous personage, then you have to go to the 12th Annual Eli’s Cheesecake Festival. She’ll be there; hanging out in the Michigan Apple Culinary Tent where there’ll be live culinary demonstrations.
This two-day festival will benefit the New Horizon Center for the Developmentally Disabled and The Greater Chicago Food Depository. If you bring a non-perishable food item than you get a slice of Eli’s Cheesecake free!
The festival begins on Saturday, September 20th with a live performance from the Horner Park Jazz Band. Some other performers are The Teflons, Jesse White Tumblers, and Trinity Irish Dancers . . . and that’s just Saturday’s line up! Also, on Saturday, there are a number of chef’s being featured. Chef Tim Kuck will kick things off food-wise with the history of vanilla, how it grows, and the “savory and sweet application of America’s favorite ingredient.”
Later in the day, Diane Smith will talk about apples and their different applications, (I’m sensing a theme here?) and Chef Laurel Boger, who works for Eli’s, will make some lemon tuile ice cream.
Who wants to meet the Apple Queen?
5.) 24-hour Taco Place
It’s hot because it’s cheap and delicious. Located at the corner of Kedzie and Lawrence Ave.’s, it’s also close. Check it out.
4.) Aikido Lessons
Free beginners lessons of this non-violent martial art are happening every first Sunday of the month from 1-2 p.m. It’s at Chicago Akikai (3652 N. Lincoln Ave.) Best of all, it’s free. Now that’s hot.
3.) The Hideout Block Party
To celebrate the World Music Festival, The Hideout is having a block party. Located at West Wabastia, the block party is happening this weekend and should be a good time. Hideoutchicago.com will give you more info.
2.) San Fransico Ballet
The 75th Anniversary of the San Francisco Ballet is being celebrated at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. They don’t pick just any city and it’s been a few years since they’ve been here. Visit harristheaterchicago.org for details.
1.)The North Park Flood, ‘08
Although not necessarily hot, it has been a hot topic of conversation so it makes the list. Way to go North Parkers for helping sandbag and such! This is history, people. Rainy, wet history. For more information, see the North Branch River. Ew.
Are you tired of hearing the same three songs on the radio repeated 5 times in one hour?
If so, then this weekend’s 10th Annual World Music Festival is for you. Music from literally all over the world will be played all over the city. The city is hosting 60 events at 20 different venues. On average, over 45,000 people attend this festival each year.
One event takes place in familiar Millennium Park on the 19th at 6 p.m. The performance will take place in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and will feature The Ensemble Al-Kindi, which is a group that focuses on Syrian and Arabic music, have
A Whole New World of
Music
Hot List
Liz Boyd
Pulse Editor
Afrodisiac’s Aurelien PV and DJ TopDonn
Afrodisiac is a monthly club night dedicated to featuring the best in African dance rhythms including: Kwaito, Ndombolo, Makossa, Coupe-Decalle, Zouk and Kompa.
Alessandra Belloni
Born in Italy, Alessandra Belloni is the only female artist in the world who specializes in Southern Italian tambourines and percussion combined with ritual dances and singing.
Some Featured Artists
for 2008
Liz Boyd
Pulse Editor
On Sunday the momentum is still flowing with a Classic Car Show and some non-dessert culinary treats! For example, Chef Don Zajac will be featuring some penne pasta and Chef Robert Walter will show a warm salmon cheesecake. I know, it sounds a bit dicey to me, too.
On a more serious note, Eli Schulman, the founder of Eli’s Cheesecake, was a local man who did big things. He was born on the West Side of Chicago and Eli’s Cheesecake debuted at the first Taste of Chicago in 1980. When he died, the city built the Eli M. Schulman Playground in Seneca Park, and in 1992 Bill and Hillary Clinton visited Eli’s Corporate Headquarters to sample some of the now-famous cheesecake.
His story is an inspirational one, and his foundation still raises money for the local community through this festival and other community fundraisers. Last Christmas, Eli’s had a Giving Tree that gave two cases of cheesecakes to charitable organizations, both local and national, to give out to families. Although the festival will surely be fun-filled, it is also an opportunity to aid the Chicago community. To get a specific listing of events happening at the 12th Annual Cheesecake Festival visit elicheesecake.com.
Bobby Friction
Paramdeep Singh Sehdeva, better known as Bobby Friction, is a BBC DJ on Radio 1 and is also a television and radio presenter on the BBC Asian Network from West London.
Calexico
Calexico’s music blends faux-spaghetti western soundtracks with indie rock, folk and Mexican mariachi music. Their sun-drenched, Mariachi-kissed music should warm even the most chilled hearted.
Chicha Libre
“CHICHA” is the name of corn-based liquor favored by the Incas in pre-colombian days. Chicha is also the name of a South American music craze which started out in the late 70’s in the Peruvian Amazon.
Etugen Ensemble
The group’s repertory features a range of traditional Mongolian folk music and songs. When one hears Etugen perform, one better understands the lives of a people who live in close collaboration with the natural and spiritual worlds that surround them.
Fiamma Fumana & Mondine di Novi Choir
Fiamma Fumana began as a studio project in 1999 -- a tribute to the female vocal tradition of Northern Italy (like the choirs of mondine, the rice gatherers who were all young girls) revitalized by a new generation and electronic dance music culture.
Radiohiro
Radiohiro has been bringing the electronic sounds of the Indian subcontinent straight to Chicago for years under the monthly club night Bombay Beatbox.
Reelroad
Reelroad makes ancient Russian music come alive with modern arrangements, global rhythms and youthful energy.
Photo Credit: elicheesecake.com
been praised for their high quality work and for remaining true to the classical Arabic style.
Some instruments you can expect to hear and may not recognize are an Ud (oriental lute)(pictured), a nay (reed flute), and a riqq (small tambourine with little cymbals), among others.
Also performing that night is Richard Hagopian’s Kef Time Ensemble. Hagopian is an Oud virtuoso who plays both Armenian classical and folk style music. The Oud is an instrument used primarily in Armenian, Turkish, and Arab musical traditions and resembles a guitar or, more likely, something an 18th century bard would carry.
If you are looking for something a little closer to home, Desafinado is performing at Uncommon Ground, a coffeehouse located on Devon. Desafinado has been coming to the World Music Festival for a few years and were voted the “Best Jazz Artist” from 2006-2008. They play Samba music as well as popular Brazilian music.
These events are just a few for Friday, September 19th. However, the festival runs from the 19th to the 25th and there is a long list of musicians and styles; for that list, simply look to your right and for more specific information visit cityofchicago.org and search for World Music Festival 2008.
Pulse Summary
12th Annual Eli’s Cheesecake Festival 10th Annual World Music Festival
Date: Saturday, Sept. 20 and Sunday, Sept. 21 Date: Friday, Sept. 19 - Thursday, Sept. 25
6701 W. Forest Preserve Drive, Chicago Various LocationsSPORTS
North Park’s Best
Colby Anderson
Sports Editor
Friday, 19 September 2008 North Park Press 7
The North Park Women’s volleyball team is breaking new ground. Senior outside hitter Yaifeh Chafeh and sophomore setter Caitlin O’Connell earned CCIW offensive and defensive player week awards respectively, helping to push North Park to a dominating 13-2 record as of Tuesday the 16th. Coaching in her third year, Coley Pawlikowski (Johnsen) appears to be leading a team towards a place in North Park history.
There comes a time in our lives as students here at North Park, when we have a chance to see something special. Our North Park women’s volleyball is something special. I’ll admit that I haven’t made it to any matches yet, and for that, I am ashamed. I will no longer miss out on my chance to support the display of some of North Park’s finest athletes. And I hope that you will feel the same.
The next home match is tonight at 7pm. Be there, or miss out on the most successful North Park sports team of this new academic year.
This small portion of the paper is dedicated to the man of mystery, the man who made me want to write the sports section, Brian “Smush” Thompson. Along with his well written articles, Mr. Thompson would reserve a small portion of the sports page for his own rambling thoughts on sports in general, yes anything and everything. In tribute to this entertaining style of expression I will be emulating Mr. Thompson, hopefully robbing him blind of the panache and flair that he demonstrated on the back page in those bygone days. If any of you readers disagree with anything written in the weekly ramblings, just email me a responding article to whatever you disagreed with and what you think on the issue (keeping it all under 250 words) and I will put the first response on the sports page from time to time and I’ll reply to every email I get. My email address is canderson4@northpark.edu
And so it begins.
Michael Phelps was very impressive, winning those gold medals like they were giving them out on Halloween night instead of candy. But while you can definitely argue that Phelps was great for the Olympics, I would suggest perhaps that he was also bad for our perception of the Olympics as the people of the United States. From what I saw on TV the Olympics was a giant Phelps love fest, other equally worthy stories falling woefully by the wayside. Far be it from me to hate on Phelps, the man was otherworldly. But by the time Mark Spitz was ranting and raving like a stalker-fan over the 6 foot 4 inch phenomenon from just outside of Baltimore Maryland, I was ready to hear about the US Men’s Basketball Team, the 41-year old gold medal swimmer Dara Torres, the freakishly fast Usain Bolt and many other equally interesting tales. Yet all I heard about was Phelps, Phelps, Phelps. Don’t get me wrong, I love what he did, but we lost perspective and missed out on many other great stories.
With the first week of the NFL done and gone, NBA training camp about to begin, the MLB playoffs right around the corner and college football up and running the only thing missing is college basketball. When it comes to sports I’m addicted. I can’t wait for thrilling overtime classics, buzzer beaters, walk off home runs, big hits, big plays and heroes in the outfield, on the hardwood and of the gridiron. Be patient for just a little longer. And if anything you watch when it comes to sports, national, international or best of all, North Park, makes you want to write, just email me an article and I will do my darndest to get it in the paper. Peace.
An Ode to an Old Rambler
Colby Anderson
Sports Editor
northpark.edu
FREELANCE
What is more appealing to you all than politics? If I’m to be featured regularly in our prestigious inter-campus publication, I should talk about things somewhat relevant to student interest. With the elections coming up this November, it is important that the voting public make educated decisions. This is why it is important to watch as much CNN, NBC, FOX, and Youtube as possible. After all, us Americans aren’t stupid, and this is why nobody remembers Mike Gravel throwing a stone in the water.
People are skeptical of political opinions and become defensive whenever anyone says anything other than ‘moderate.’ In this sense we are all political scientists, and thus all conversations about civic policy begin with a classically modern apologetic: “I can only speak for myself...” I am glad we are so cautious, which makes living in a literate ‘democracy’ so enjoyable. Nobody commits to anything undemocratic; and thus, nothing ever happens (arousing the wits of some circles to question if America is indeed democratic...). Perhaps this is why the number of voters decreases in every election - we have grown tired of change.
However, I anticipate a greater turnout this November, if only because people have become interested in our political spectical. I do feel that U.S. Government Inc. would get the greatest number of voters with some form of corporate sponsorship. For example, if we could send a free text message (courtesy of Virgin Mobile) to 1-800-MY-VOTES with the name of our favorite candidate and Rihanna song, then we’d get a much greater voter turn-out. In fact, we wouldn’t even have to turn out! Voter keg party? Very likely (But not advised or endorsed).
I’m of the Kierkegaardian position that ‘whether you laugh at the world’s follies or weep over them, you will regret both.’ Though, this isn’t the most optimistic idea, I find to at least be appropriate. One of the great things about our country is our ‘freedom to choose.’ In this upcoming election, however, I am presented with no choice whatsoever. An American president is an American president, and worthy of the practice of our freedom. Yes, we can. Clearly we have for the past eight years. Twelve years, even.
Ben Van Loon
Student Writer
Instructions for Voting
CCIW Player of the Week Senior Yaifeh Chafeh
Think this giant red box is boring? So do we! Send us your own freelanced artwork, poems, reviews, etc. and we will 8 North Park Press Friday, 19 September 2008
OPINIONS
The Most Polemical Danger
Andrew Cohen begins his article “The Most Dangerous Religion” (North Park Press, Issue 2, Fall 2008) with the statement that “Christianity today in the United States has moved towards secularization.” He supports this thesis by explicating the moral practices of his peers, and we are to suppose that this indicates this ‘secularization of Christianity.’ This is nothing new. As such, I propose a thought to Mr. Cohen, that Christianity today IS secularization. Or, to put it in even more blatant terms (still saying nothing new) - Christianity today is not Christianity. When even those who I would imagine to be Christianity’s greatest proponents can only make the simple observation that the decline of ‘Christianity’ is most evidenced through cultural moral decline, I must laugh. If Christianity is nothing more than a particular moral practice, I would rather not be Christian, because I could then - at the least - be creative.However, Andrew doesn’t fall entirely into this pietistic trap, proposing a biting and timely critique of American Materialism. He differentiates between materialism and isolationism, which is innovative, because I have never seen these categories plotted against one another. Nonetheless, he supposes that modern Christians have a choice to succumb to the popular practice of materialism, or to separate themselves entirely from this and become, as he calls them, ‘isolationists.’ I can see the Amish falling into this category, and lets be honest: who REALLY wants to be Amish, anyway?
The danger of this ‘isolationism’, as I understand it, based on the varied coherence of Mr. Cohen’s argument, is that Christians would develop a ‘camp syndrome.’ This is a term I can’t help but feel was coined at the very ‘camps’ it at the same time so sharply criticizes. As he goes on, he speaks of the experience I’m sure is familiar to most of the North Park student body. That is, while you are away in a Christianly-inundated place, such as summer camp, church, or something of the like, “God feels so fully present” in our lives - as Cohen says. However, he goes on to say that when returning to “reality,” this feeling leaves. I see that on one level here, Cohen is being critical of how that immediate presence is lost when you leave your realm of safety. But at the same time, and this is what is most dangerous about Cohen’s argument, he draws a sharp distinction between ‘reality’ and the ‘Christian setting.’
Ignoring for the present the philosophical difficulties aroused, I venture to propose yet another thesis, based off of the sort of lifestyle that Cohen writes about. To simplify, it seems that Cohen is talking about two ways of life - a secular one and a Christian one. It seems upon close reading, however, that the only difference between the secular life and the Christian one is that the Christians should feel guilt about their moral behavior. After all, as Cohen says, “[Christ has set us] free from living lives filled with darkness and chaos; we are free people. However, with that freedom comes a very steep price.” While the grammatical difficulties here befuddle the meaning slightly, we can at least understand that “we need to believe in a costly grace.” Again, and I will say it differently, if the cost of this grace is simply to make different and more ‘conservative’ moral decisions, I would rather not accept this grace at all. Maybe freedom is something much different than what Cohen supposes it to be?
Another thing that Cohen does, which is not unique to him, but rather most modern, Protestant moralization, is that, instead of admitting the gross ambiguity and mixed terminology of his argumentation, to say things like “we are God’s workmanship” and “your life is now a living sacrifice.” By doing this, people hide behind the cryptic language and isolate themselves in an entirely different way. They begin to defend their arguments using words like ‘revelation’ and ‘mystery,’ but this is an entirely different issue. Eventually we will find that the words ‘grace,’ ‘freedom,’ and ‘salvation’ mean nothing (in this context) and are meant as just another form of empty encouragement all too familiar in the discourse of the Evangelical church. Again, then, if the language of Christianity is something spoken with an ill-advised pretense, I would never call myself a Christian, if only to avoid being misunderstood. Or more importantly, to avoid misunderstanding myself. I wish only for clarity, this sort of moral banter always looks suspiciously like ‘secularism’ wearing a different mask.
Kierkegaard, who should be the hero of the Protestant movement, says “the truth is that not only are we not Christians but we are not so much as pagans, to whom the Christian doctrine could be preached without embarassment; but by an illusion, a monstrous illusion (“Christendom”), we are even prevented from becoming as receptive as the pagans were.” I support Cohen’s project, but am very clearly critical of his implementation. This has nothing to do with him whatsoever, but the practice of ‘Christianity’ en masse. This morally bound and confused language to talk about the truth of Christianity reduces it, I feel, to just another secular (or ‘pagan’) interest. Kierkgaard says that the blasphemy of “Christendom” is that it has reduced “the God of Spirit into ludicrous twaddle.” The Christianity of America is not the Christianity of God, but of humans rather, and if humanity has ever produced anything other than ludicrous twaddle, I would be very much interested to hear about it.
Cohen encourages a dangerous faith, and makes the way to do this very simple: to live the popular way of life, or to be more radical and thus, set apart. Yet if we limit ourselves to morality and place a burden of unforgiveable debt upon ourselves, the only difference between ‘us’ and ‘them’ is that we are masochists. I end then, with more truth from Kierkgaard, that “when one preaches Christianity in such a way that the echo answers, “Away with that man from the earth, he does not deserve to live,” know then that this is the Christianity of the New Testament.” The question I feel Cohen could rather be asking is, how does one go about making him or herself hated in such a way that is also Christian? This first place to look is most definitely within yourself.
Ben Van Loon
Student Writer
Opinion Drawing by Kenneth Peoples
North Park Press (North Park University)
North Park Press (North Park University)
