Fall 2014 | November Edition

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The Uptown Exchange

By Steven Misho | Staff Writer

HaRRY S TRUMaN COllEGE

S i n c e 2 0 0 5 www.uptownexchange.com

Latinos United for Education (LUFE) built an altar commemorating the Day of the Dead in front of the Cafeteria

Foyer, which honored the deceased through November 10th. The altar was heavily deco-rated with papier-mache, figurines, symbolic imagery and sugar-sculpted skulls added to the design. Offerings (or “ofrendas”) such as food and trinkets were placed on the altar, many carrying significance for the deceased, usually favorite foods or personal effects, or “what they want in life,” explained LUFE Treasurer Andrea Garcia. Electronic candles placed on the altar were meant to guide the spirits of the dead to these offerings.

Encyclopedia Britannica describes the Day of the Dead as “making peace with the even-tuality of death by treating it with familiarity.”

Akin to welcoming an old friend, death is hon-ored through party and merriment, with fes-tivities and parties held in a day of celebration. This is because celebrators believe that during this time, the spirits of the deceased return to visit them.

The way Day of the Dead is celebrated dif-fers depending on the area. Garcia described a variation in Mexico’s state of Michoacán:

“(They would put) candles, flowers in a boat and send it off,” whereas others may simply place an ofrenda at the grave of the deceased or within their own home.

According to LUFE President Cynthia Sanchez, the Day of the Dead is derived from ancient Aztec traditions involving sacrifice to

the goddess of death Mictlantecuhtli. When the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs in the 1500s in an attempt to convert them to Ca-tholicism, the date was changed to coincide with All Saints Day and All Souls Day.

Sanchez explained that the ofrenda “represent(s) some parts of our culture,” and she hoped the display educated students about the nature of the holiday.

Through Nov. 1st, the altar was dedicated to significant writers within the Latino cultural community, whereas the 2nd was reserved for “angelitos” (deceased children), followed by suicide victims on the 3rd and general obser-vation thereafter until the 10th.

LUFE meets in Room 1637 of the Student Activities Center on Mondays at 2 p.m.

Day of the Dead alter Photo credit: Staff Photographer

Campus ‘ofrenda’ honors the dead

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News 2 Truman’s construction projects look to improve campus facilities, but also come with notable inconveniences.

Entertainment 4Staff artist Kenny Vang honors Truman President Romali through Caricature

Opinion 7 The Transitional Bilingual Learning Com-munity (TBLC) to create the CardioFitness Workout and Nutritional Tips Fundraiser.

Sports 8

Uplift wins Conference but loses in State Playoffs

A & E nEwS SECTIOn 2 FALL 2014

UPTOwn EXCHAnGE

STAFFManaging EditorGina Robinson

News EditorMarc Prince

Copy EditorJoanna Kadela

Staff Writers Claytiana Newman Nia Norris Todd ThomasSteven Misho

Artist/ CartoonistKenny Vang

Production and Design ManagerPeter Boateng

Faculty AdviserBenjamin Ortiz(Assistant Professor)

Professional AffiliationsCollege Media AdvisersIllinois Community CollegeJournalism AssociationStudent Press Law Center

The Uptown Exchange

Uptown_Exchange

To pee, or not to pee…how long should I hold it? That’s a question crossing the minds of many Truman stu-dents and staff over the first month of the fall 2014

term. The campus is undergoing construction, facility en-hancements and campus-wide visual improvements in key lo-cations throughout the college. With temporary closures of restroom facilities and the campus fitness center as well as the continuing construction at the Wilson Ave. east entrance, frus-tration and concerns began to rise amongst students. “It’s re-ally unprofessional that the powers that be decided to schedule fixes of this magnitude at such a crucial time of the year…” said Daniel Voz, a first year student at Truman. “It really makes it harder for new full-time students to settle in.”

The seemingly least popular aspect of the makeover is the temporary closure of more than half the main building’s stu-dent restroom facilities. Though the staff restrooms have been offered for students to use during construction, many feel the inconvenient sting of searching for the right one when they have to “go”.

A custodial staff member (who wishes to remain anony-mous) recalls, “I see young men about to pass out by the time they get to the open bathrooms.” Scott Brigham, Truman Col-lege Director of Public Relations and Marketing, revealed that we are to expect a much cleaner, better lit and eye appealing unit of facilities.

Each floor’s restrooms will be updated in pre-determined sections, rather than all at once. “They are working one quad-rant at a time to modernize and rehab each restroom.”

The most noticeable work site appears in the campus main entrance. A new plaza is near completion and will not only give Truman a fresher look from the street, but finally contain an area outside that is specifically for students. The idea is to allow the college community a space for meeting, relaxing and

Pardon our Dust… Truman’s construction projects look to improve campus facilities, but also come with notable inconveniences

by Marc PrinceStaff News Editor

studying that separate them from outside elements such as CTA traffic and loiterers.

When asked about the concern for safety among students, Brigham explained that “There have been a lot of complaints and concerns that anyone could sit and loiter on the campus…now, you would actually have to be within campus bounds to sit.”

The east side main entrance will also receive an upgrade. The lobby will see a complete redesign to include new furnish-ings and artwork. The new additions also answer student in-quires as to why they all were required new ID badges this year.

A proxy card has been embedded into the badges that will allow students to enter through brand new turnstiles (ala’ Har-old Washington College). The idea behind the change is to the possibility of non-enrolled intruders roaming the halls.

This will also be the future process for entering the parking garage, though no specifics have been given on that project at this time.

The temporary closure of the athletic complex is, as Brigham says, nearly complete. With renovation currently ex-ceeding its original date of completion, he promises that our patience will be rewarded. By spring the complex is expected to include HVAC air conditioning throughout.

This, according to PR Director Brigham, will be the first time the building has ever had central air conditioning. Cur-rently, there are new floors are being laid, topped with newly installed bleachers. The changes with the complex will also af-fect now near-defunct campus theater.

It will be restored to full functionality for the first time in several years. Though this will not be an extensive overhaul of the theater, new seating, carpets and a stage upgrade is a few of the amenities to should look forward to. All current renovations are scheduled to continue throughout the 2014-2015 term.

Construction work at Truman College East Entrance Photo credit: Marc Prince

A & E nEwS SECTIOn FALL 2014 3

John H. White signs a photography collection at his presentation and chat in Novar Hall.

Pulitzer-winning photojournalist talks to Truman students

by nia norrisStaff Writer

The Photography Department hosted photojournalist John H. White in No-var Hall on Wednesday for a lecture

about the challenges and risks in his field.With approximately 80 people in atten-

dance, Photography Director Danielle Paz opened the event with a little background his-tory about White as she introduced him.

Paz said, “John’s story impacted my life, and I hope his story does the same for you.”

Once White took the stage, he greeted the audience by asking three times, “How is ev-eryone doing today?” Once a big portion of the audience yelled “Good, and you?,” White stated, “My father always told me to make a friend a day.”

In 2009 White celebrated his 40th year as a local photographer. According to his own testimony, White began his career at the Chi-cago Daily Newspaper in 1969. He caught the attention of an editor for the newspaper when he entered the Southern Short Course in News Photography competition and won second place nationally in the General News group.

“See, you never know what God has in store for you if you don’t put action to your dream,” said White.

White gave an approximate 20 min. Pow-erPoint photo presentation of some of his

work. “The images here have a story to them,” he said. The room was filled with different sounds of emotion as he clicked from photo to photo. Some people laughed, some reacted vocally and some even gasped deeply at some of the more graphic images.

As the lecture came to an end, White said, “There are three words that I live by that helps me to stay grounded as a photographer.” He goes on to say, “Faith (stay faithful to your dreams), focus (precision focus) and flight (spread your wings).”

As people were leaving the auditorium, he shook hands and took pictures with audience members, while saying to them, “I love you and remember everybody is somebody.”Photo credit: Nia Norris

John H. White greeted his Truman audience personally and up close. Photo credit: Nia Norris

Staff Artist Kenny Vang honors Truman President Romali through caricature.

A & E nEwS SECTIOn 6 FALL 2014

Interfaith Youth Coreleads religion chat on campus

Members of various faiths responded to the question “Is religion the opium of the masses?” at a discussion hosted by Gon-

zalo Puerta of the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) on Oct. 12.

Seven students attended the event in room 1647 alongside a graduate from DePaul University, two ac-quaintances of Puerta’s from the country of Colom-bia and Truman profs RudraDundzila and Olga Ruiz, who sponsored the event.

by Steven MishoStaff Writer

After refreshments, Puerta asked the 12 attend-ees for personal introductions and to respond to the topic at hand, which they did with personal spiritual beliefs and life experiences to tell their stories. The discussion fostered camaraderie among the attend-ees, as they joked and sympathized with one another over the subject matter.

Psychology professor and IFYC adviser Olga Ruiz believes that religious and philosophical discus-sions can “enhance the concept of pluralism at Tru-man (and help us understand) our differences and our similarities.”

The IFYC aims to build awareness of religion and philosophy across college campuses through

“religious pluralism”, which their official web site defines as “respect for people’s diverse religious and non-religious identities,”“mutually inspiring relation-ships between people of different backgrounds” and “common action for the common good.”

Humanities professor and IFYC adviser Dundzila also says that we are still discovering the definition of pluralism in the U.S. He explained that the United States was founded by Christian groups that bickered and was then populated by various other faiths and backgrounds over time to make the diverse nation we live in today.

IFYC meets Tuesdays at 3:30 p.m in room 1947.

Since 2008, faculty and students of the Transitional Bilingual Learning Com-munity (TBLC), along with dedicated

and enthusiastic donors, have come together in the Fall semester to create the CardioFitness Workout and Nutrition Tips Fundraiser, which is not like any other kind of fundraiser. This is an event that simultaneously raises money for scholarships while raising awareness of the mind-body connection in what we do and what we eat. Led by trainer Dietrich Horsey, participants do circuit training for 30 minutes, followed by a student versus faculty/staff tug-of-war, concluding with a question-and-answer session about nutrition.

The latest fundraiser, on Oct. 29, raised $1,500. Every single dollar of the $10 ticket goes directly to scholarships for undocument-ed students in Truman’s Transitional Bilingual Learning Community. Those who have partici-pated in previous events to support the TBLC Scholarship Fund know that the personal im-pact exceeds its substantial monetary value. The CardioFitness and Nutrition Tips event is crucial for TBLC students because these stu-dents do not qualify for loans or financial aid;

Why it isimportant to sweat

by Jazmin MedranoGuest Opinion Writer and

Truman Alumna

they have to pay out of pocket for their tuition and books. Because of the generosity from scholarships, undocumented students are able to reduce their financial burdens and pursue higher education.

Being a TBLC scholarship recipient is more than just receiving a scholarship. Students are involved in Truman’s events and organizations; they build their leadership skills, increase their connections to the school and community and stay involved as alumni.

As a TBLC alumna, I express my sincere gratitude to all the donors who contribute to events such as the CardioFitness Workout and Nutrition Tips Fundraiser. As many students in the TBLC, going to college was a dream to me. My financial situation made it almost impossible, but the TBLC program made my dream a reality. I was accepted into the TBLC in 2006. By that time, I had finished Truman College’s ESL program, but I was aware that I did not have the necessary level of English proficiency to apply to a university. I learned about the TBLC program through my sister, another TBLC alumna. I was sure that the pro-gram was perfect for me. I saw it as the first step and the best path to take to pursue my dreams.

The TBLC program prepared me for college-level courses within a period of two semesters. I was able to improve my English

Trainer Dietrich Horsey leads a nutrition chat. Photo credit: Courtesy of Truman TBLC

writing and reading skills, I learned the U.S. system of higher education, I made friends that eventually became part of my family and I met a group of dedicated and talented fac-ulty members whom I admire and with whom I still maintain a close relationship. I obtained an Associate’s Degree from Truman College in 2008. In same year, I transferred to the Uni-versity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Lin-guistics in 2010. I’m currently studying for my Master’s Degree in Hispanic Linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and I plan to

pursue a second Master’s in Speech Language Pathology.

Thanks to the TBLC scholarship, my suc-cess and the success of many TBLC students have inspired younger generations, and even older family members, to pursue higher educa-tion after high school. That is why it is vital to sweat at the CardioFitness Fundraiser. Every jumping jack and every sit-up represent the ef-forts of the participants and donors who en-able the TBLC to continue changing the lives of its students with limited financial resources.

OPInIOn/SPORTS SECTIOn FALL 2014 7

Uptown lakefront track, field facility open for recreation

by Todd ThomasStaff Writer

Recreational and fitness options at the Uptown lakefront got a huge boost recently when the Chicago Park Dis-

trict’s Wilson Ave. track and field construction was completed and facilities were opened to the public about two months ago.

The new facility replaced the old field that was in bad shape, according to Park District spokesperson Jessica Maxey-Faulkner. “The previous field was among the first artificial turf fields ever built on Chicago Park District land,” she said. “It was approximately 14 years old and needed to be resurfaced.”

The facility features an eight-lane, 400-me-ter state-of-the art track, long-jump run and sandpit with a regulation-size football and soc-cer artificial-turf field. It cost $2 million and took nine months to build.

“We expect everyone to use the field — youth and adults alike,” Maxey-Faulkner said. “We envision usage from both Chicago Pub-lic Schools and private groups, universities, sports clubs, etc.”

Truman athletics has taken advantage of the facility, as the soccer teams and basketball squad have used it for practice and workouts. Anthony Gamboa, head men’s soccer coach, has led practice on the field, with plans of playing games there next season.

“The field on Wilson Ave. is much more convenient for us in terms of its location rela-tive to the college,” Gamboa said. “I am cur-rently using it for practice. We currently have not, however, used it for games because un-fortunately it is booked, according to the Park District.”

The Truman basketball team has also taken advantage of the field for preseason workouts.

“We used it for our preseason condition-ing,” said John Cooksey, head men’s basketball coach. “It is a fantastic facility (and) we used the track for competitive relays and distance training. We used the soccer field for measured sprints, form running, agility training and dy-namic stretching — it is a wonderful resource for the community.”

The track and field are now open year-round unless it is covered in snow.

Photo credit: Todd Thomas

8 FALL 2014 SPORTS SECTIOn

The Uplift High School foot-ball team went on an un-precedented run in school

history this year, and they attempted to cap off an undefeated season with their first state playoff victory against Hales Franciscan.

The Titans won all nine of its games this season, and did it in im-pressive fashion by outscoring their opponents 294-14 overall. Scoring nearly 300 points and averaging over 32 points per contest set a high bar, but it was the defensive effort that head coach Rick Alboyd was most proud of.

“Defense is always more criti-cal,” Alboyd said. “As long as a team doesn’t score all you have to do is kick a field goal to win. Having a shut-down defense is always best. You can score 50 points on offense, but your opponent can score 51.”

This is the second season that Uplift has won the Chicago Public League Second City conference. In 2013 they went 8-1, but were not se-lected for the state playoffs because of three-way tie rule. Narrowly missing the playoffs last season pro-vided the team with the motivation to play so well in 2014.

“We thought we were going to the playoffs last year and didn’t, said sophomore quarterback Antonio Walton. It really hurt our seniors and got us down too. But we worked hard over the summer and made a commitment that we were going to win every game and play our hardest against every team no matter what their record was.”

Uplift wins Conference but loses in State Playoffsby Todd Thomas

Staff Writer

Titan quarterback Antonio Walton. Photo credit: Todd Thomas

After winning the bulk of its game by such a wide margin, over-confidence and complacency could have affected their performance. But the mission to make the play-offs and earn respect for the school kept the fire alive for the Titans, said senior fullback and linebacker Maka-veli Roberts.

“We never underestimate any-body. Our record has given us some recognition but we’re still a small

school so people still do look down on us - we have a point to prove in the state playoffs,” he said.

“We’re a small school and people don’t want to see us win,” added ju-nior Devonta Jackson, who led the team in touchdowns, yards from scrimmage, and provided a reel of spectacular highlights over the sea-son. “Other schools don’t want us to shine so we have to work harder for respect …nothing is given to you,

you have to earn it.”Nine years into his tenure as Up-

lift’s head coach, Alboyd said inter-est in playing football for the Titans has grown, but he still has only 25 players on the roster because many potential players can’t meet the ex-pectations in the classroom.

“A lot of kids want to partici-pate, but our standards are kind of high. They fall by the wayside be-cause of the standards, and books are the number one standard. In order to be a pert of this you have to be very dedicated on and off the

field,” Alboyd said.When they finally hit the turf

at Lane Stadium the Titan’s pursuit came to an end with a 40-6 loss to Hales Franciscan. Hales is a Catho-lic League school, and they have en-joyed a huge advantage over Chica-go Public League schools in football for decades.

It was a tough loss after such successful season, but Uplift is a young team and many of the top players will be back on the field for the 2015 campaign.

Devonta Jackson. Photo credit: Todd Thomas

Uplift coaching staff. Photo credit: Todd Thomas