A diverse cultural celebration - Northside College Prep High School

A diverse cultural celebration
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The Student Newspaper of Northside College Prep HS
November 2011, Volume 12, Number 3
Online at thehoofbeat.com
TEDx Youth at Midwest
Makes An Impact
by Brendali Rios
Five students from Northside College
Prep were chosen to attend the TEDx Youth
at Midwest Conference on October 15 at the
Oriental Theater, located at 24 West Randolph Street.
Invited by Northside’s very own Mr. Jeffrey Solin, computer science department,
Alice Glowacki, Adv. 400, Johnathan Kowler,
Adv. 304, Lawrence Riley, Adv. 401, Linnea
Scott, Adv. 406 and Alex Tran, Adv. 200, students were given the opportunity listen to
world class speakers at an event that would
later be webcasted to thousands. TEDx was
created on the basis of the motto “Ideas
Worth Spreading.” They dedicate their conferences to provide the students with bias free
programming, speeches, presentations and
pre-recorded videos to stimulate dialogue
and spark new ideas. They have been doing so
since 1984.
These conferences held by TED
Midwest are a way to give students
the tools and connections they need
in order topositively affect the world.
`
Only about half of the seats available at The Oriental Theater are open to the
student, which means that only 400 guests and
their teachers are allowed in.
“I hope that the convention grows in capacity of attendees,” Solin said. “I’m hoping
that we get to go again, and bring 50 instead
of five people.”
TEDx Midwest dedicates its time to letting their guests know that they can make
a difference. The speakers talk about their
struggles, where they are now, and how they
got there. Speakers included a former Supreme Court justice, a television anchorwoman, one of the world’s top futurists and hackers, a personal space traveler, and an award
winning National Geographic photographer.
Limited to short, carefully prepared talks,
demonstrations and performances, TEDx
presentations are about bringing new ideas
to the attendees.
“Coming into this event, I didn’t really
think of myself as a “science person,” Scott
said. “But after watching presentations by
people like Dean Kamen, I began thinking,
hey, maybe I could actually get into this.”
Anyone can access the presentations
from the commodity of their own home at
www.ted.com.
“I hope that attending this conference
changed their lives,” Solin said. “I wanted all
students to walk away from the event feeling
like they are ready to jump in and do something great. As one presenter put it, ‘live beyond fear.’”
The festival begins with a flag dance that represents Latin cultures. |
CALUM BLACKSHAW
Northside students
perform in Latino
Club’s annual festival
by Calum Blackshaw
The Northside community attended Latinofest on Friday, Oct. 14, to show enthusiasm
for Latin society and culture. The festival was
arranged by Latino Club, which prepared for
and organized the event for weeks with sponsorship from Mr. Michael Sliwicki, world language department and social science department. Northside has held Latinofest since its
opening, and Sliwicki has been the sponsor of
the event for the past five years. Each year,
students and their families come to support
friends and their Latin American heritage.
“Latinofest is about sharing culture,” Sliwicki said. “It is about sharing the warmth
and hospitality these countries have to offer
to natives or non-Latino people. The festival
is about sharing one country’s culture for
people to learn more about them.”
The festival was delayed for a few minutes due to an absence of the Master of Ceremony, but it soon began with the traditional
flag dance, with the names and banderas of
every Spanish speaking country in the world.
Countries on the list included most of South
America, as well as Cuba, Mexico, Puerto
Rico, and Spain.
The flag dance was followed by the traditional Ecuadorian folk dance. The dancers performed different dances to different
songs, and wore vibrant outfits with hats, red
and yellow skirts for the women and ponchos
for the men. In each dance, the performers
moved together, moving one way to another
in a single motion to hypnotize the audience.
Among the dancers was a young boy, dressed
in the same clothes as the other performers.
As the boy danced, the audience cheered him
on till the end of their performance.
After the traditional folk dance, Ms. Nythia Martinez, music department, made a
performance of her own. She played a song
entitled, “No me queda mas,” in remembrance of the Latin pop idol Selena who was
murdered in her 20s. It was Ms. Martinez’s
favorite song, and the audience was amazed
and dazzled by her performance. At the end,
the whole audience broke into applause and
cheers for Selena and Martinez.
Martinez’s performance was followed
by a performance by Veronica Schwartz,
Adv. 203, who performed a traditional dance
with mariachi musical accompaniment. Following Schwartz’s dance was a song sung
by outsider performer Liz Lam, entitled
“Buenaventurada.”Latino Club organized a
Ecuadorian dancers in traditional clothing perform their dance. | CALUM BLACKSHAW
buffet in the auditorium atrium. Guests enjoyed beans and rice, burritos, and other traditional foods assorted by restaurants and
families. People ate and talked about the first
half of the show over their dishes until they
were called back for the second half of the
festival.
The second half started with more performances from the Ecuadorian dancers,
dressed in new garbs and attire. The little boy
had put on a new costume with a mask, dancing around the others and leading the group
around the stage as they performed. The dancers began moving apart, then bounding back
and forth across the stage and sweeping their
arms and bodies in unison. The dancers then
formed a circle and paraded around, twirling
side to side. They finished in a smaller circle
surrounding the young boy, who performed
alone in the center, ending with an ecstatic
audience.
A solo performance from Devin Velez,
“Con Los Anos Que Me Quedan,” followed
Mesa’s. As he sang with the stage spotlights
beaming upon him, fans in the crowd cheered
and waved their cellphones with excitement
for his performance.
Following Velez’s performance came
the group Quebradores, a dance troop with
paired performers. As the men and women
danced, their moves met with the rhythm of
the music. The women were spun, thrown,
caught, and juggled in acrobatic acts that
stunned the audience. A near miss here and
there sent shock through the crowd, but each
successful performance was received with applause and shouts of excitement.
Veronica Schwartz, Adv. 203, dances in a ethnic
costume. | CALUM BLACKSHAW
The last performance of the festival was
by Sabor Latino, a Northside dance group
that performed a mix of bachata and salsa of
suave and serene partners’ dancing. Their hot
style and technique thrilled the audience for
a wave of rejoice. Latino Club were the last on
stage, with thanks to everyone there for coming to see the spectacular performances of
Latinofest 2011.
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NCP News • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
ONLINE
NCP NEWS
Visit www.thehoofbeat.com for a
review of a recent college fair.
Northside and democracy
Students learn civics
through participation
at Mikva Challenge
by Carly Jackson
Northside is one of 95 Chicago high
schools participating in the Mikva Challenge,
a program giving students opportunities to
campaign, judge elections and bring their
voices to politics. The club is sponsored by
Mr. Michael Good, social sciences department.
“I have a group [that is] working on a
local judge campaign,” Good said. “Students
find a campaign they want to work for and
most students are based locally, calling people
to campaign, sending pamphlets or knocking
on doors and handing out signs.”
“I got involved with Mikva Challenge
because I had heard that it provided the best
opportunities politically,” June Murphy, Adv.
204, president of Northside’s Mikva Club,
said. “I worked over 100 hours for the Rahm
Emanuel [for Mayor of Chicago] campaign
and I got to go in the section reserved for
staffers during the victory party.”
Until February 2012, Mikva Club will be
focusing on the presidential election. It will
mostly campaign for Republican candidates
because the Democratic Party has an incumbent or current holder of the position, in
President Barack Obama. Then students will
campaign in local congressman and alderman
elections until the Illinois general primary
elections on March 20.
About 40 Northside students will also
serve as election judges on March 20 through
Mikva’s Student Judge Project, organized
NCP in photos: club tryouts
with help from Chicago Public Schools and
the Chicago Board of Elections. Some of
these students are part of Mikva Club, and
some are not. The students will register voters, check identification, and answer questions about ballots.
Aside from working in elections and
campaigns, students can also make policy
recommendations by getting involved in one
of four Mikva Challenge Youth Policy Councils, which help officials to prepare policies
that affect youth in a positive way. The councils include Youth Safety, Teen Health, Out of
School Time and Education.
“I helped with the Teen Health Council,
which looked at using Chicago Public Schools
curriculum to help students eat more healthfully,” Mr. Good said. “The students that I
have seen are tremendously excited about
their efficacy to make real change... it is not
just something in a textbook.”
For example, the Youth Safety Council
writes recommendations directly to government agencies. Past recommendations have
led the Chicago Transit Authority to move
bus stops from areas disputed by rival gangs.
On Martin Luther King Jr. day in 2011, students from Youth Policy Councils questioned
Chicago mayoral candidates about education
reform, public safety and more issues in a
forum televised on WTTW’s Chicago Tonight.
Before the forum, Mikva students from high
schools all over the city were hosted at Northside by the Mikva Club.
Currently, no Northside students are involved in the Youth Councils, though juniors
and seniors from any Chicago high school can
apply to join. Students can contact Mr. Good
with questions about Northside’s Mikva Club
or the Mikva City Youth Councils.
Students prepare to try out for Isang Hakbang, a traditional Filipino dance. | MARIA FLORES
Local School Council Report
by Zobia Chunara
Meeting: October 11
Present: John Ceisel, Kathleen Andrade,
Vicki McMannon, Cathy Quigley, Crystal
Melto, Robert Albritton, Nicole Flores, Barry
Rodgers, Vicky Andrews, Zobia Chunara
Absent: Gail Myers Jaffe, Diane Monnich, Meredith O’Connor
Approval of agenda for October 11 meeting: unanimous
Approval of minutes from September 6
meeting: unanimous
Principal’s Report:
-Northside will upgrade security cameras
under a sealed bid process.
-In March 2012, students will go to the
Planetarium and work with scientists.
-Mr. Rodgers met with Student Council
to brainstorm ideas on how to proceed with
the extended school day. He said that some
students feel they are already working to
their limits, and suggested an extended colloquium or flex or study time.
-Gigi Santil replaced Eva Yates as child
welfare attendant in the special education
department.
-Representatives from Prague, Czech Republic, and 16 high school principals visited
Northside on October 12 to get a better understanding of American schools.
-Mr. Yanek received a $750,000 grant
from the National Science Foundation for developing a computer science curriculum.
Business:
-CPS provided $200 to defray educational or material costs related to LSC activities.
Approval of giving this money to the school
to use for photocopies for LSC meetings:
unanimous.
-Meredith O’Connor, former community
representative tendered her resignation. Approval to fill vacancy: unanimous.
-Crystal Melto will get the word out and
look for responses from potential candidates.
The goal is to select a new member at the LSC
meeting on November 8. Applications were
due to Ms. Kato by November 1, and candidates will have three minutes to present their
positions at the November 8 meeting.
2011-2012 LSC Finance Goals
SIPAAA
-To ensure balanced budget, support CPS
Selective Enrollment School funding formula, support Friends funding, and to support
grant foundation funding.
-Help fund 1:1 Computing Initiative
plan. Collaborate with Northside’s 21st Century Classroom Computing working group on
grant proposals and corporate funding sources to support the 21st Century Classroom
Computing initiative.
Dancers practice their routine for Poms tryouts. | MARIA FLORES
Student Council Report
Important points from
October meetings
by Carly Jackson
Discussions:
On October 4 Student Council welcomed
the Freshman Senators J.C. Strzalka-Steil,
Adv. 506, and Nicholas Zalewski, Adv. 503
Photos of the Back-to-School dance
have been posted on the NCP Student Council Facebook page, courtesy of dance photographer Emma Todd Coleman, Adv. 309, and
Student Council Webmaster Chad Massura,
Adv. 302.
The council will invite the DJ from the
Back-to-School Dance back for Homecoming
Grant proposal from Rocketry Club was
presented on September 27 and approved on
October 4. Rocketry Club will use the $250
grant to buy rocket motors for 10 rocket
flights and to purchase inside components,
parachutes, and nose cones. For additional
funding, members of Rocketry Club will pay
$20 each and contact private sponsors for
more grant funds, including an electrical
company which sponsored Northside’s former Rocket Design Engineering elective.
Members of Northside’s Invisible Children Chapter proposed a grant on October 4.
Advisory Representative Elections took
place the week of Oct. 11.
Student council’s Turkey Bowl benefited
Mr. Isenberg’s family through the Community Betterment Fund. The council also approved a $200 grant for gift prizes for participants in Kelsey Waxman’s “NCP Food
Revolution” senior project.
3
NCP News • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
Between Two Worlds: Roxana Saberi’s captivity in Iran
Journalist shares her
story at Northwestern
University
by Jamilah Alsharif
“White torture” was reportedly used by
the Iranian government, often in detention
centers outside the control of prison authorities, according to the 2009 Human Rights
Report. This so-called white torture does
not leave physical marks but devastates the
recipient’s mind and conscience. On January
31, 2009, American journalist Roxana Saberi,
34, was captured by Iranian officials, charged
with espionage, and placed in section 209,
one of the detention centers where white torture was used.
The charges against Saberi were false but
she was not released from Evin Prison until
May 2009. Following her release, she wrote
a book about her capture and experience in
prison. In May 2010, “Between Two Worlds:
My Life and Captivity in Iran” was released.
At Northwestern University on October
19, Saberi retold her experience and talked
about the journey to finding her identity.
The event was sponsored by Chicago’s branch
of Facing History and Ourselves, an organization with the goal of combating racism,
anti-Semitism and prejudice, and nurturing
democracy through worldwide education programs, according to its website.
Saberi was born in Fargo, North Dakota,
to an Iranian mother and Japanese father.
Growing up, Saberi felt a closer connection
to her American and Japanese culture than
to Iranian culture. In 1997, Saberi was chosen as Miss North Dakota and later earned a
scholarship to get her master’s degree in journalism at Northwestern University’s Medill
School of Journalism.
“I wanted to learn more about who I was
as a person,” Saberi said.
Her curiosity about her Iranian ancestry
prompted her to move to Iran in 2003. She
worked as a foreign correspondent for PBS,
NPR, Fox News, and Vatican Radio among
other stations.
In 2006, Iran’s Culture Ministry took
away her government-issued credentials. Saberi felt that she “had lost not only my press
pass but also a large part of my identity.” Instead of leaving the country to pursue jour-
Alsharif poses with Saberi after her appearance at Northwestern. | JAMILAH ALSHARIF
nalism elsewhere, Saberi started working on
a book on the Iranian culture. On the morning of January 30, 2009, four Iranian officials
entered her home, raided her personal items,
and accused her of espionage. In her book,
Saberi describes the interrogations that followed her arrest and provides dialogue that
she tried to match as closely as possible to the
actual scenes.
The white torture began the first day
she was held captive. Her main interrogator, known to her as Javan, warned that she
would not be set free unless she confessed to
all the charges pressed against her. Saberi had
no way of convincing her interrogators that
she was not a spy and gave in to their threats.
A false confession was recorded under duress. Javan pressured her to say that her book
was really a cover for espionage. Saberi was
deprived of the rights that Americans have
when they are arrested. She did not have the
rights to be presumed innocent until proven
guilty, to remain silent, or to have a lawyer.
In “Between Two Worlds” and during her
presentation at Northwestern, Saberi spoke
of the “expedient lie,” which she said some
Iranians felt was “justified in a country where
what you did or thought in private was often
considered illegal or unacceptable by the regime.” An expedient lie is used is when people
apply for government jobs and keep their per-
sonal beliefs to themselves in order to pass
the ideological exam or when mothers who
do not pray at home tell their children to say
they did if asked about it at school.
Saberi viewed her false confession as
an “expedient lie.” When Iranian authorities
asked about other people involved, she gave a
false account about the spy work she did for
someone in the U.S., known in her novel as
Mr. D. When Saberi was placed in Evin prison,
Javan warned her not to tell anyone the reason for her imprisonment. Believing that she
would be released soon, as promised, Saberi
told other prisoners that she was arrested for
alcohol, which is illegal in Iran. After weeks of
being in prison with no family contact, Saberi
confided in her cellmates and told them she
was in prison on charges of espionage.
During her time in captivity, passages
she read from the Koran kept her hopeful of
her freedom. When she felt that nothing was
being done to get her out, Saberi attempted
to go on hunger strikes. When Saberi finally
had the opportunity to go before a judge she
told the judge of her false confession, ignoring Javan’s threats, and asked to make a call
to her parents.
“I don’t think I could’ve ever really been
freed if I hadn’t tried to recant those lies
while I was still in prison,” Saberi said.
After Saberi spoke with her parents,
Saberi is featured on the cover of her book. | COURTESY
OF AMAZON.COM
they flew to Iran and used many sources to
spread the word about their daughter’s captivity. President Obama, Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, Swiss Ambassador Livia Leu
Agosti, and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone were among the many people that
expressed their concern for Saberi and urged
her release. Judge Hassan Haddad, deputy
prosecutor for security affairs, was unhappy
with all the media coverage on Saberi’s case.
Haddad did not understand how the “U.S.
has Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib, yet
when we imprison an American woman for
one month, the world cries out, ‘violation of
human rights.’”
Media coverage and support from people
all over the world helped her get the attention
she needed from Iranian judges. Saberi was finally released in May 2009. Her experience in
Evin prison helped her realize that there were
people there “whose only crime was to peacefully exercise their human rights.”
Among the organizations Saberi supports are Amnesty International, Committee
to Protect Journalists, Human Rights and
Democracy for Iran, and the International
Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
“Suffering in one part of the world can
spread to others,” Saberi said. “Free one person, and they can help ten more.”
The News Litery Projects visits Northside in hopes of fostering 21st century literacy
by Andriana Mitrakos
Northside students, staff, faculty and
community members entered the school’s auditorium on the evening of Tuesday, November 1 in preparation for a panel discussion
covering religion. This discussion was hosted
at Northside by the News Literacy Project
(NLP), an organization for the advancement
of student knowledge of and interest in journalism, to teach audience members “how
to balance facts and faith in the search for
truth,” as stated on the presentation’s promotional poster.
While the audience filled the lower seats
of the auditorium, a screen on the stage
played a video showing students working
with the NLP and school journalism.
Another video titled “meet the News Literacy Project,” began playing, featuring Mrs.
Catherine Irving, Social Science Department
Chair, Mrs. Dianne Malueg, English department and Zobia Chunara, Adv. 200, Northside senior and Hoof Beat Editor-in-Chief,
commenting on the work of the organization
and the possible positive effects the News
Literacy Project’s presentations could have
on Northside and the student body.
The night formally began with a greeting by Chicago Program Manager of the NLP,
Peter Adams, followed by Northside Principal
Barry Rodger’s welcoming speech and acknowledgements.
Next was a speech by Mrs. Irving about
the relationship between the NLP and Northside as well as Northside’s plans to work with
the NLP in the future. Alan C. Miller, President and CEO of the NLP, delivered an opening address discussing the formation of the
NLP and its plans for students.
“We look at News Literacy Project as
nothing less than literacy for the twenty-first
century,” Miller said. “We aim to give middle
school and high school students the critical
thinking skills to tell the credible from the incredible, opinion from propaganda and teach
them about the myriad of news sources and
information available to them in the digital
age. In the process we hope to help them and
you become better students today and better
informed citizens tomorrow.”
After the opening statements, the panel
moderator, Art Norman, and NBC 5 anchor
and reporter, introduced the three panelists.
Manya Brachear, a Chicago Tribune religion
reporter, Odette Yousef, a WBEZ Northside
reporter, and Kevin Eckstrom, the Religion
News Service Editor-in-Chief, who appeared
from Washington D.C. via webcam, were set
to discuss their experiences investigating
stories and reporting on religion. The panel
spoke about religious stereotypes and conflicts as well as the effect of social media on
religious issues around the world and the
mass of information available to the public
via internet.
The News Literacy Project will continue
to work with Northside students and faculty
while working to expand further across the
Chicagoland area, New York City, Washington
D.C. and Bethesda. The News Literacy Project,
in Brachear’s opinion, is the best way to help
students sort out the plethora of information
available to them via the internet.
“I thought that this was the most hopeful effort that I had heard of,” Brachear said,
“to actually go into schools and reach your
generation and teach you how to determine
and distinguish between quality information
and not quality information, because if you
learn those lessons early, you will naturally be
drawn to [credible] organizations.”
Even though some students may be discouraged to follow their interest in journalism, Yousef gave a closing piece of advice to
student journalist and every student pursuing an interest, urging them to continue to
pursue their dreams, even when they may
seem out of reach.
“Do not take a rejection letter as a door
closing,” Yousef said. “Take it as if it means
you need to find another way into that door.”
4
Editorials • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
EDITORIAL
EDITORIALS
The benefits do exceed the cost
Some Northsiders try new things
without worrying about the benefits
Spend your breaks wisely
Tackling November head-on
The benefits do, in fact, exceed the costs
Northsiders: do not
worry about pay-offs
From Microeconomics, we learn that
there is a marginal cost and marginal benefit
for each action we take. The benefits need to
outweigh the costs in order for the next decision to be a rational one. For Northsiders,
the benefit always seems to be a payoff, such
as doing something to add to college applications or outdoing one’s peers, rather than
happiness derived from the experience. Is
it possible for students to let go and pursue
something new just because they want to try
it? Can we allow the benefit to be personal
growth rather than grades? Try something
new to make yourself happy, not for a payoff.
Economics has a term called utility, otherwise known as happiness or satisfaction
derived from choosing one thing over another. Whatever you do, it does not matter
what it is, just do it for the sake of doing it
and because you enjoy it, not because there
are grades, paychecks, or service hours at the
end of your experience. Happiness derived
from finding a new activity that you love can
triumph over anything else that you could be
doing at that moment, and something that
you can do after high school.
At Northside, there are students who
began volunteering to fulfill the service hour
requirement for graduation, but who ended
up deriving happiness from community service. For example, Kelsey Waxman, Adv. 202,
is no longer looking for community service
hours but tutors at an elementary school
and volunteers with homeless kids because
she learns a lot from these encounters. After
working with others with a common goal,
she now has a greater appreciation for people
from all walks of life. For Waxman, the cost
of time and energy is trivial compared to the
benefits of enhancing her life and growing as
a person.
Grace Oczon, Adv. 205, teaches Sunday
school for the joy she gets out of being with
little kids. While her passion for little kids
makes her want to become a kindergarten
teacher, she cannot help but look at the benefit of pursuing what her mom wants her to be:
a doctor. She knows that she will not always
have the time and opportunity to teach and
help kids in college, so she devotes her time to
doing it now, with hopes that she can merge
her love for children and science together.
Even though Oczon could have used her time
for anything else, the happiness derived from
teaching kids was worth more to her than
anything else she could do with her time.
You do not have to try everything and
like it. So, if you visit that magazine museum
and decide that you are indifferent on the subject of magazines, at least now you may have
a better understanding about the importance
of them in society and how they capture the
essence of a generation. Not only does trying
new things like going to a magazine museum
lead to greater appreciation for the product,
but it also paves the way for appreciation of
the work that goes into designing pages, reporting, and investigating pieces that become
the main feature. Finding out that magazines
make no difference in your life probably came
at the expense of a little time, a little money
for public transportation, and a tiny bit of
brain power to think about what you saw; in
no way did it hurt you. Next time you decide
to go out, you will better be able to decide
whether or not you are in the mood for looking at old People Magazine editions.
The next time you visit a magazine museum, you may also decide that you never want
to see another celebrity gossip page or an article from Time. That is okay. The opportunity
cost of going to that museum was not being
able to enjoy an activity you already love.
Even if you think you have been inefficient
with your time and wasted the $4.50 to get
to the museum, keep in mind that you have
saved yourself from future trips to that museum. Now, when you decide to go out and do
something that makes you happy, you know
to cross this activity off your list and go with
another option.
Sometimes, it takes more than one shot
to find out if a new activity is right for you.
This activity can be like eating Greek olives:
at first they may taste weird, but after trying
them again and again, they are difficult to
avoid. Though an economist can argue that
trying things again and again is an inefficient
use of time, this is not true for acquired tastes,
which can lead to happiness. Only after trying
many activities a couple of times can you best
decide which is right for you, even if it does
not feel right at first.
Usually in new situations, you can feel
uncomfortable or excited. If something you
try is not uncomfortable or exciting, then
that means that the experience is not entirely
new for you. The hesitancy, fear, and anxiousness of a new situation indicate that you are
growing from the experience, and can take
something away. Oczon may not have been
very confident when she began teaching little kids, but as she did it more, she probably
learned a lot about how to effectively connect
with the kids. She gave to her students, and
she also gave to herself by taking that step.
Out of all the above results of trying
something new, in every case you learn more
about yourself. There is a benefit for all that
work: a once-in-a-life-time activity you swear
never to think about again; an extracurricular
you could go either way on; something you
would not mind returning to next time; or
you may find a hobby you love.
Spend your breaks wisely in November
There is so much to
do in so little time, so
avoid procrastination
As students have entered into November, there is an excited buzz among them, and
for good reason. If you haven’t checked the
school agenda or Moodle calendar yet, here’s
a newsflash. November has six (six!) days off.
That also means three three-day weeks, the
product of a month where Veterans’ Day, the
end of the first quarter, report card pick-up,
and Thanksgiving are lined up one after the
other. This news could mean different things
to different people. For some, it is going to be
a great time to relax, hang out with friends,
and enjoy the last days of good weather. For
others, it will be frantic times to catch up on
homework, prepare for last-minute exams,
and finalize college applications. However, for
most, it will be time spent sleeping-in, surfing
the web, and lollygagging uselessly around
your house. Thus, these days off can become a
hidden trap of sloth and ill-spent time.
Do not let these days slip by. With winter
break often used for family trips and holiday
festivities, these breaks are a great time to
start reviewing what you learned for semester finals in January. Spend at least an hour
looking through your notes, refreshing your
memory on trigonometric identities or literary terms. No need for intense cramming
now; the earlier you start, the less strain you
have to force all the information you have
learned in at once. For seniors, there is an
even more looming issue: college applications. With almost all regular decision applications due sometime in late December-early
January, this could truly be the last time to
get a bulk of the essays and papers out of the
way. Set a goal for yourself to finish a number
of college essays or supplements. Research
schools to get a feel for their environment or
prepare ahead for the dreaded interviews.
November also marks the last month
of autumn, which means the last month
of crisp, cool weather, colored leaves, and
crunchy leaf piles. It is perfect weather for
hanging out with friends, playing football, or
taking a brisk walk. Get some last-minute exercise outside before the bitter winter, apparently one of the harshest Chicago will experience, forces you to hibernate indoors. Enjoy
the bright and varied colors of autumn before
they fade away. Walk through a local forest
preserve with family, friends, or a pet. Even
when it is raining or windy out, when else is
there a perfect time to take a long nap or read
a book under a warm comforter? Take at least
one day to finish a novel you have wanted to
read. Sleep early; there is no excuse to stay up
until the late hours surfing the web. Wake up
early and maximize the amount of free time
you have while on break. Free time should not
be time for you to do nothing; it should be
time for you to explore new activities, spend
time with loved ones, or maybe visit the International Museum of Surgical Science.
Above all else, it is important to balance
the mix of work and comfort. Do not let all
of your breaks waste into hours of naps and
playing outside. Remember to spend half your
time dedicated to your role as a student. After
the winter holidays, days off become a rarity
so treasure them while you can. So, as you
mark off the 16 days of classes in November
and impatiently look ahead to days of rest,
keep in mind that six days of break should be
viewed as a blessing, not an obligation. It is
up to you whether later in the year you will
regret them as wasted time or look back and
be proud of how you spent these breaks.
MASTHEAD
Northside College Prep H.S.
5501 N. Kedzie, Chicago, IL 60625
Tel: (773) 534-3954
Principal
Mr. Barry Rodgers
Assistant Principal
Dr. Margaret Murphy
Advisor
Ms. Dianne Malueg
Print Editor-In-Chief
Zobia Chunara
Web Editor-in-Chief
Tmothy Suh
NCP News Editor
Regine Sarah Capungan
Special Features Editor
Andriana Mitrakos
Sports Editors
Andrew Hague
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Nelson Ogbuagu
Staff Reporters
Jamilah Alsharif
Calum Blackshaw
Regine Sarah Capungan
Chris Ceisel
Zobia Chunara
Maria Flores
Sharon Flores
Andrew Hague
Carly Jackson
Minna Khan
Andriana Mitrakos
Nelson Ogbuagu
Brendali Rios
Miranda Roberts
Timothy Suh
Diego Vela
Sylvia Wtorkowski
SUBMISSIONS
The Hoof Beat welcomes opinion editorials from its readers. Letters to the Editor
and Op-ed submissions may be sent to
[email protected]. Submissions should not exceed two pages.
CONTACT
The Hoof Beat is a monthly publication
produced by the Northside Prep Journalism Class. As a student-run newspaper,
your opinions are important to us. If
you have any comments, corrections,
or questions, please e-mail Ms. Dianne
Malueg at hoofbeat.malueg@gmail.
com or the Editor in Chief of the Hoof
Beat at [email protected].
5
Special Features • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Exploring Chicago
Museum of outsider art, it does not take much to get into it
Intuit Museum opens
two new galleries
by Nelson Ogbuagu
Though it is small in size, the INTUIT Museum, The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art,
located at 756 N. Milwaukee, encourages grand
ideas by various artists who are not well known
throughout the artistic community, by displaying pieces that are not widely distributed. The
museum, which hosts only three galleries at a
time, a permanent installation and two changing galleries, prides itself in its abundance of
artistic pieces created by individuals that make
art for the pure love of expression.
“We only show self-taught, outsider art.”
Heather Holbus, INTUIT Development Associate, said, “These kinds of artists typically create
for themselves; they create outside of the mainstream realm of art; not for the public.”
The first gallery that a visitor would see
after entering the museum is the Eugene Van
Bruenchenhein: From the Wand of the Genii.
Bruenchenhein was an abstract artist. He
wrote journals and various forms of literature
surrounding his fascination of the universe and
man’s connection to it. This exhibit displayed
abstract paintings of landscapes and celestial
figures, which took on a more spectral appearance though the bright coloring that barely created figures of architecture.
“The primary [feature] that jumps out to
me is the use of color here,” Vicky Molitov, an
INTUIT visitor said. “It is very inspirational to
see.”
Aside from the paintings, there were plenty
of unique sculptures of chairs with twisted legs,
vases with crooked holes and flowers created so
strangely that they too seemed to have hailed
Visitors flood an INTUIT gallery to view examples of “outsider art.” | COURTESY OF Heather J. Holbus
from places beyond the bounds of earth.
The permanent gallery of the museum,
titled “The Henry Darger Room Collection,” is
a small booth-like installation located in the
very back of the museum. Henry Darger is well
known for telling the story of the Vivian Girls
in a manuscript called “The Story of the Vivian
Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the
Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm,
Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion” His epic
saga, “In the Realms of the Unreal,” took twenty
years to complete and follows the story of seven
Vivian sisters fighting child slavery.
“What makes Darger’s gallery permanent is
that he really is the most famous artist that is
considered to have created outsider art,” Holbus
said. “He’s written the longest American book,
and made over 300 illustrations surrounding
the piece of literature.”
The gallery detailed the bedroom of the
late Henry Darger. It lacked a bed because it is
said he sacrificed it in order to store more of his
work. The walls were covered with framed paintings and drawings of the seven Vivian girls. A
coffee table, blanketed in books, board games
and trinkets stood near the center of the room.
The display emphasized Darger’s dedication to
his work, capturing the essence of his forms of
art through his focus on the Vivian Girls. The serenity of the display space separated it from the
rest of the museum even though the installation
led directly into another gallery. In the permanent installation, a single quote was written on
the wall, most likely words of this painter.
“All the gold in the gold mines, all the silver
in the world, all the money in the world, nay all
the world cannot buy these pictures from me.
Revenge; terrible vengeance on those who steal
or destroy them.”
The gallery connected to the Darger installment was the “Text in Self-Taught Art” gallery.
In this temporary installation, framed pieces by
artists that use text to paint pictures hung on
the walls. The paintings often presented words
of wisdom and knowledge, or created scenes and
visual landscapes explained in the words. Other
pieces were simply words painted on a slab of
wood or a framed sheet of notebook paper.
Albert “Kid” Hertz, one of the featured artists in the gallery created a painting that showed
a string of words not separated by spaces.
“Life is an art u draw without an eraser
money does not make u happy but it quiets the
nerves…,” the painting read.
Hertz then printed a string of letters that
did not spell out any particular set of words.
There were very few individuals present
at the museum, but of the visitors there, one
found Hertz’s piece mentally stimulating and
inspirational.
“It is really interesting when artists use
text and signs to create their pieces,” Wolfie, INTUIT visitor said, “because it’s interesting when
words become the picture. The way they write
the words becomes a painting in its own.”
This exhibit literally embodied the idea that
“a picture is worth one thousand words.”
The two non-permanent exhibits are scheduled to run through January at which point a new
gallery titled “Heaven and Hell” will debut. This
will be in partnership with the Loyola University
Museum of the Arts in a split installment between
both locations. The INTUIT Muesum, allows unknown artists to express themselves and show
their art the way mainstream artists do, without
having to cater to the desires of the public.
A walk through gravestones reveals more history than ghosts
Graceland Cemetery
also a history museum
by Miranda Roberts
Usually, cemeteries bring to mind the
negative ideas of death, decay, and possible
zombies, but on the other hand, they portray
a sense of peaceful eternity for the deceased.
Graceland Cemetery, located at 4001 N.
Clark St., is open daily from 8 a.m. until 4:30
p.m. Free parking is available on the corner of
Irving Park Road and Clark Street. Maps are
available at the office. The office is open from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. on Saturdays. New Graceland visitors
may find it difficult to navigate around the
sloping walkways of the 90-acre cemetery,
but they can always refer to a few miniature
“street” signs to help guide the way.
The wall around the perimeter places the
visitor in a different world by shutting out
any exterior noise. The grounds were illuminated by the afternoon sun while a gentle
breeze carried the scent of the luscious foliage. Walking through Graceland Cemetery,
one may notice the headstones, which vary in
size and design. Angels made out of limestone
were more weathered than granite or cement
obelisks, which had very crisp edges. The Celtic markers looked like they were woven out of
the cement rather than chiseled by a mason.
Venturing down the center of the cemetery toward the lake may help visitors find the
most famous monuments without getting
lost in the grandness of the cemetery. The sun
made the light shimmer on the surface of the
translucent lake when the sun was beginning
to set in the sky around 4 p.m. and a gentle
breeze blows through the ancient willows. Graceland is considered one of the oldest
cemeteries in Chicago as well as a great his-
tory museum because visitors can examine
the final resting places of famous people who
have shaped Chicago. There is an island dedicated to the famous architect Daniel Burnham
(1846-1912). He was known for the Chicago
Plan of 1909; there he redesigned the street
system and improved railway terminals.
There are at least 38 celebrity grave sites
in the cemetery, but there are a few names
that Northside students most likely have
heard. William Kimball and his wife are buried across the path from the lake. The marker
is a magnificent structure upheld by six Greek
columns, and at the base was a vigilant and
smiling angel. Kimball was famous for a piano
and organ business, but the name is also
known from the nearby street and school.
Charles Wacker (1856-1929) was the
first chair of the Chicago Plan Commission.
He is the namesake of Wacker Drive downtown. His grave marker was a smaller and
rectangular sarcophagus that rose above the
ground and curled at the edges. Some of the
tombstones were unique in design or curiously placed. Bruce Goff (1904-1982) was
a famous American architect. His cremated
remains are burried under a very unorthodox
tombstone, designed by his students, which
lies on the southern bank of the lake.
This cemetery has its share of urban
legends and mysteries; visitors could enter
Graceland Cemetery in hopes of spotting the
Ghost of Inez Clark, a 19th century, six year
old girl supposed to haunt the cemetery or
solving the riddle of the three women and
young child on the tomb marker of the Hoyt
family that relates to the members of the
Hoyt family that perished in the Iroquois fire.
If mysteries, tranquil landscapes, or history
of Chicago are interesting to you, this would
be a good museum-cemetery to frequent before the ghosts of the past come to visit.
6
Special Features • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
Month at the Museum 2
Cringe-worthy artifacts
Winner Kevin Byrne
begins his adventure
Exploring the Museum
of Surgical Science
by Sylvia Wtorkowski
In mid-August, the Museum of Science
and Industry (MSI) accepted applications
for participation in the second Month at the
Museum program. Once the application period closed, Museum judges worked to narrow
more than 1,000 entries down to 20 semifinalists or less. They successfully decreased
the number to six people. Once these quarter
– finalists went through phone interviews, an
in-person meeting, and an online vote held
between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, 2011, the ultimate winner was announced: Kevin Byrne, a
33-year-old digital marketing agency occupation analyst.
Byrne won judges over when he expressed
his passion for science and demonstrated the
desire to temporarily leave his daily routine
and enjoy the adventure of living in the museum 24 hours a day for 30 days.
"I hope to remind myself to have fun learning every single day. It's easy to get caught in
the daily grind and forget to be mindful of
the amazing world in which we live. Spending a month immersed in an environment of
engaged learning would remind me to live my
life in the same way: hands-on and wide-eyed,"
Byrnes wrote in his application essay, that
helped him secure first place.
Byrne is the second person to have had
the opportunity to call this South Side museum home for an entire month. He received his
keys to the MSI Wednesday, October 19, when
they were handed to him by the president and
CEO of the museum, David Mosena, on the
front steps of the Museum.
Byrne will be sharing all of his experiences with the public through Facebook, his
Twitter account and a blog, which can be
found at www.monthatthemuseum.org from
his transparent “cube” in the atrium on the
second floor. This “cube” acts as his temporary home, where he has office space, a couch,
by Brendali Rios
Amputation devices that resemble chainsaws, chloroform masks, surgery utensils that
look like corkscrews, and a preserved human
body sliced into pieces half an inch thick, are
all laid out in a case. These are just a few things
available on display at The International Museum of Surgical Science (IMSS), located at
1524 N. Lake Shore Drive, a five minute walk
from the Clark and Division Red Line train
stop.
A look at the architecture of the building allows IMSS to stand as an art piece on its
own. The exterior, a mansion-like structure,
leaves much to the imagination; with very few
signs outside, the museum can be easy to miss
if you are just on a stroll through the neighborhood. Waking through the museum doors,
a look around the room reveals walls covered
with art depicting medicine and medical practices of the Civil War Era. Paintings of battles,
and wounded soldiers, and statues of the pioneers of the medical field stood adorning the
museum floor. On the second floor of the four
story museum, a room dedicated as the “Hall
of Immortals,” established in 1954, is one of
the museum’s oldest exhibits.
The artifacts displayed inside the museum came from both private collectors who
chose to share with the public, such as a
unique collection of heart valves donated by
Dr. Juro Wada, and other scientific or medical institutions. Dr. Max Thorek founded IMSS
as a way to showcase the evolution of medicine, as well as to show how countries such as
France, Mexico, Spain and the Netherlands,
played a key role in the development of the
surgical science.
The museum features many artifacts such
as old nursing uniforms, dozens of glasses
cases showing how they have evolved over the
years, and an exhibit that displays the different
utensils used to stitch up someone’s wounds.
Kevin Byrne’s transparent workspace |SYLVIA
WTORKOWSKI
a laptop, and a few personal items. Although
Byrne works in his “cube,” he has a private
room above the accessible floors of the Museum of Science and Industry where he can
sleep and use the bathroom as well as shower
without any disruptions. However, Byrne has
mentioned that he does not necessarily want
to sleep in his room because of the availability
of museum exhibits during the course of the
night, when he is virtually alone in the building. Kevin has plenty of time to roam the museum during the day and “finds” many places
where he could potentially sleep, aside from
his bed. He can even sleep in the museum’s
submarine!
Byrne is not always going to be hiding in
his private room, or even working in his “cube.”
The majority of the time he will be using what
the Museum of Science and Industry calls “exploring time.” This is the time when museum
goers will have the chance to both see and potentially speak to Byrne.
Although the MSI is enormous in size and
hundreds of people may be present daily, there
is a very high chance of spotting Byrne. This is
because of the clothing he plans to wear. Each
day Byrne puts on a bright yellow T-shirt that
shows the number of days he has been part
of the museum’s program as well as his name
printed across his back. For those whovisit the
Museum of Science and Industry during his
month at the museum, Byrne and his experiences cannot be missed.
There is also a room dedicated to surgical tools
used to amputate human limbs, along with
occasional demonstrations on how to use the
tools. One of the displays shows how the first
uses of chloroform came to be with a mannequin, which is marked up to show where and
how the chloroform was applied.
The museum is popular with high school
students, and tourists, according to the receptionist at IMSS. Tourists from Poland and
Germany have visited the museum during the
summer to explore the specialized view IMSS
offers into the beginnings of human medicine
and medical evolution. The captions next to
the artifacts provide insights into how long
specific tools and practices were employed
before something better came along, what
worked, and what did not work and why. The
captions also explain what kept the pioneers
of medicine eager to find better ways to improve their practices. Anything from the advancements of the x-ray, the eye exam, blood
transfusions and a model of fetuses at different stages of pregnancy can be found within
the museum.
IMSS is open Tuesday through Saturday
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from
noon to 5pm. The admission price is $10 for
students and $15 for adults.
A model of conjoined twins at the museum | BRENDALI
RIOS
“Uncovering the triumphs of the past”
The Dusable Museum
strives to educate
Chicago students
by Maria Flores The Dusable Museum of African American
History, located at 740 E. 56th Place, strives to
educate the public about the successes of African American individuals in the United States.
The museum is named after Jean Baptiste Point
DuSable, a French Haitian trader of African
American descent who is known as the “Founder
of Chicago.” Dusable covers the entire spectrum
of the culture and life of a people, including its
earliest beginnings and present day struggles.
“The mission is to disseminate information
on the history of Africans and African
Americans, mainly on the African Americans,”
Theresa R. Christopher, museum registrar, said.
“In order to give history on the Africans, you
have got to talk about Africa.”
This purpose was decided by the founders of
the museum prior to establishment.
“The portraits that you see coming into the
museum are of some of the founders. Because in
the books there was nothing on us, at museums
there was nothing that had to do with what we
were and what we did. [the museum founders]
got together and said “Wait a minute we’ve got
to pull together information that will do good.
We will define ourselves,”” Christopher said. The museum leads visitors through a
journey of self-discovery and culture, finding
new wisdom in the old, starting with the “Africa Speaks” exhibit, which portrays the diverse
regions of Africa in the form of artwork. This
exhibit singles out the many different cultures
that played a part in shaping African American
culture.
One exhibit “Spread the Word! The Evolution of Gospel,” catapults visitors into African
American culture in Chicago. It allows visitors to
experience how gospel singing began in Chicago
and branched out to the world. Today, we see
gospel music as a reflection of African American
struggles with acceptance in society and as an
outlet for much stored up emotion.
The museum hosts exhibits on influential
African Americans including Roy Lewis, a photographer whose work documented individual
stories of everyday life and current world events.
The museum also includes Harold Washington,
the first African American mayor of Chicago,
after whom the Harold Washington Public Library was named.
While we cannot revive those who have
passed, the Dusable Museum comes close in its
exhibit “A Slow Walk to Greatness: The Harold
Washington Story.” The main attraction at the
Harold Washington exhibit is the man himself.
The purpose of the exhibit is to capture Washington’s life and essence. A robotic impersonation of Washington addresses the audience and
guides them through his life, his visions for Chicago, his competitors, and his accomplishments.
The machine seems to know where the audience
is located. It is complete with blinking eyes and
hand gestures, and it feels like it is speaking directly to the listener.
The robotic figure of Washington is seated
on Washington’s black leather chair, an artifact
from when he served as Illinois state representative from 1965 to 1976. A monogrammed briefcase, a Northwestern University Degree, and
replicas of his iconic hat and trench coat are also
parts of the exhibit. There are clips of Washington’s campaign trail, reactions from his opposition, and what happened upon his death. Visitors may feel that he is guiding them through his
life and “speaking” to them. This helps drive the
point that this man signified change and a step
forward for a lot of people. The exhibit shows
Washington as more than a figure in history, but
as an individual who had visions and dreams for
the city he grew up in.
“We see all this stuff that is invisible. And
I never knew anything about the history of any
of these black people until I came here,” Alison
Reiss, exhibit organizer, said.
One of the museum’s main goals is to help
educate the young students in Chicago about
the history of African Americans in the city.
The museum helps reach its goal by offering
internships to students who are 17 years old
or older, in programs dealing with financial
management or research grants. They also train
students to become docents or tutor guides for
the museum. All the offered museum programs
aim to make students more informed about
African American history as well as more
globally aware citizens.
The museum hopes to expand its horizons
in January with the introduction of a new
exhibit called “Journey of Hope in America:
Quilts Inspired by President Barack Obama,”
which will take the ordinary American custom of
quilt making and turn it into a work of art that
tells stories of hope in America.
The Dusable Museum is open Tuesdays
through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free
for all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students
on school days and on Sundays. Students pay
five dollars for admission on non-school days.
Visiting students have the oportunity to be
submerged into a different environment that
may reveal things about themselves they never
knew existed.
7
Special Features • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
Vintage versus the virtual, a well kept magazine collection
Katzman reveals story
behind print museum
by Andrew Hague
When someone walks into Bob’s Magazine Museum in Skokie, Illinois and looks at
the arrangement of magazines, movie posters and newspapers, they are given a bit of
background information from the museum’s
owner and only employee, 61 year old Bob
Katzman. Visitors might examine the “Wall
of Rock” – a five-foot high and thirty-foot
wide wall covered with famous Rolling Stone
issues from the 1960s up to 2011.
They may also see an article that appeared in the New York Mirror between 1823
and 1842, placed high on the wall, in a plastic covering. Now, every old magazine, movie
poster, and historic news article in the museum is for sale.
The story behind the museum originates
with Katzman. He began collecting magazines when he was 13 years old, after John
F. Kennedy was shot, an event he described
as devastating but vital to his drive to start
collecting. Katzman noted that the 100,000
issues of Vogue, Esquire, Time, Rolling Stone
and many more publications were being designed to “give people a sense of time.” Most
visitors come from all over the world to buy
magazines from the same year as their anniversary or birthdays. There used to be 20
places like Katzman’s museum in the world,
but there are only four now.
When Katzman was 14 years old, he
left home on the south side of Chicago and
opened a newsstand in Hyde Park a year later
to support himself and pay for his University
of Chicago Lab School tuition.
The newsstand allowed him access to different groups of people around Chicago. He
gained street smarts and learned that that
the key to survival is listening, not talking.
He credits these experiences as the reason for
his extensive knowledge about the city and its
people.
“Laws disappear once you know the
cops,” Katzman said. “I knew the cops and the
criminals.”
Before moving to Skokie, Katzman
opened a shop in Morton Grove. After 15
years he could not support the shop and
moved to Oakton Street in Skokie.
Currently, business has not been great
due to his location. There is not a market for
magazines anymore, so Katzman reluctantly
put a price on everything in the museum.
Katzman does not make any profits, as
his business breaks even. He blames the recession and the youth generation’s interest
in online activities and technology for the
lack of any profits. Teenagers are the group
of people, he knows, who have the potential
to preserve the museum and dying industry.
With the lack of a firm market in the antique
magazine industry, however, he fears that
there is a chance that this museum may not
be around forever.
“The problem is [that] your generation
thinks virtual is okay,” Katzman said. “My
generation wants to hold the actual newspaper in the Civil Rights period. If your generation doesn’t care about reality and an image is
good enough, I’m doomed.”
Katzman used a specific question to describe the key difference between the two
generations.
“Would you want a virtual kiss or a real
one?” Katzman said. “The answer is so clear,
but there is this alarming interest in the virtual world, I just don’t see the point in it.”
The priority in Katzman’s life right now
is his family.
His wife has multiple sclerosis, and 15
years ago he walked into his home to find a
baby girl sitting on his couch without any
word or notice. From then on, Sarah has
been his daughter. It has been a struggle for
Katzman to pursue his passions as a collector
while trying to support his wife and child.
There is nothing more that Katzman
wants other to be seen and heard. After his
time as a listener on the streets, he has begun
publishing his own stories, poems, and short
essays. He has written five non-fiction books
about Chicago from a street-level point of
view. He writes about violence, crime, love,
grit, corruption, his 32 surgeries and much
more and has sold over 5,000 books from all
over the United States and in Europe.
The museum has something for everyone. At the Magazine Museum, teenagers
may enjoy looking at the vintage movie posters or purchasing some for their rooms or college dorms, while adults and seniors can find
magazine issues they may have read when
they were younger or articles printed before
they were even born.
The museum is great for history buffs,
as well as teenagers who love vintage posters and antique magazines. Katzman’s stories and the printed articles are what make
the museum so special. The written works
are ways to examine the world’s history
through print, something that is not as
accessible to people as before. This small
museum in Skokie is worth visiting because, simply, there is not anything else
quite like it.
For more of “Explore
Chicago,” visit www.
thehoofbeat.com
Traditional sugar skulls, festive bread, and embroidery
Exploring Mexican fine
arts and tradition
By Diego Vela
Located in the Pilsen community of Chicago’s south side, the National Museum of
Mexican Art is an affordable and educational
way to experience a new culture. The museum
is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m.
to 5 p.m. and carries four exhibitions that annually change, the newest one being “Dia De
Los Muertos: XXV.” This exhibit is running
through mid-December and explores the different traditions that Mexican cultures have
in celebration of their "Day of the Dead" holiday. Walking into the museum, visitors are
greeted with the rich red and bright orange
colors of the main lobby. A receptionist at
the front desk collects admission. Visitor's
names, dates of entrance, addresses, and how
each heard of the museum are the only requested admission. After signing in, visitors
see several doors, all entrances to different
exhibits. Big golden doors mark the entrance
to the Day of the Dead exhibit. The exhibit
holds paintings, photographs, and models, all
displaying the culture and tradition that this
holiday brings.
The first displayed piece is an altar. It is
a very colorful piece and seems to represent
the exhibit as a whole with its bright colors
and endless amount of detail. The altar honors a random dead woman, which seems to
represent the Mexican culture as a whole.
The display contains pictures of her past and
decorative paper cut-outs, along with models of her favorite foods and brightly colored
candles. All of the displays have a lot of work
put into them and succeed on representing
the holiday.
“There are so many great pieces in here,
it’s really hard to choose just one," Federico
A “Dia De Los Muertos: XXV” exhibit at the National Museum of Mexican Art | DIEGO VELA
Morales, museum security guard, said, "but
I guess I can say that the print of the skull
lying next to a cactus is my favorite. Being a
printer myself, I can tell how much time and
work was put into that piece, and I just have
so much respect for that artist.”
Besides art that represents Mexican culture, the Dia De Los Muertos: XXV exhibit
also contains work that shows how other cultures explore the idea of death and how the
dead should be honored. One county's culture
is represented through clay figures. A piece
near the end of the exhibit illustrates the proceedings of a Japanese funeral through handmade figures. The piece can be very inspiring, showing the vast amount of culture our
world has by putting it in an exhibit focused
on Mexican culture. Aside from the Day of the
Dead exhibit at the museum, there are several other exhibits, such as “Claro y Obscuro,”
meaning Clear and Dark. This exhibit focuses
on work by the artist Elsa Munoz, an artist
who explores the idea of realistic paintings.
All her paintings are of dark night scenes, but
she uses white and other light colors to make
the paintings seem like photographs. This
exhibit runs through late November, and according to their website, it is a popular one at
the museum.
Modern art plays a big role in the museum as well. There is a section within the museum called Neptuno; it explores the idea of
immigration. This section features paintings,
sculptures and videos, displaying the struggle
of immigrants coming into the United States
from different personal perspectives. Views
of immigrating parents and children, and the
country immigrant enter, are represented
through the exhibit. At the exit of the museum, there is a gift shop which sells everything
from Mexican jewelry to clothing, traditional
candy and class CDs. The National Museum
of Mexican Art plays a big role for the Pilsen
community as it does for the art community.
A representation of a Mexican tradition as part of a a
museum exhibit | DIEGO VELA
The museum has brought a great deal of people from all over the state and neighboring
states to explore Pilsen.
“After exploring the museum, many families ask me where they should go eat or what
else there is to do around the community,"
Lisa Montoya, museum receptionist, said, "so
it helps improve our [community] economy
and brings business to other places around
here.”
The museum, located on 1852 W. 19th
St., is a block away from the Damen-Cermak
stop on CTA’s Pink line or can be accessed via
the #50 bus. The National Museum of Mexican Art is worth visiting at the cost of nothing but a train ride. It shares a culture many
people may not be too familiar with and gives
an opportunity for students to discover how
culture is expressed via different art forms.
8
Arts & Entertainment • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
LIVE EVENTS
MOVIE
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
“How to make
Speaking
to crowds,
it work”
without a word
Deaf jam poetry slam tells stories in
utter silence
LIVE PERFORMANCE
Spalding ensures that everyone at her concert has a ball
Artist performs an
eleven piece concert
from her album
by Carly Jackson
On Friday Oct. 7, stand-up bassist Esperanza Spalding and her band performed an
eleven piece concert that inspired the crowd
to call her back twice for additional songs
with encore applauses. Spalding, twentythree year old winner of the 2010 Best New
Artist Grammy Award, visited the Chicago
Symphony Center at 220 S. Michigan Ave. for
the first time since winning her Grammy to
promote her 2010 album Chamber Music Society. Tickets to the event, beginning at $25,
were nearly sold out, and more than 2,500
comfortable red seats were filled with people
of many cultures and ages, reflecting Spalding’s wide appeal.
The 8 p.m. performance began with
Spalding walking onto a stage and sitting in a
large armchair, turning on a lamp and falling
asleep. The lights dimmed and once they were
lit again Spalding was standing with her bass
in the middle of the stage on a patterned carpet that made the stage seem like her home.
Spalding began to hum into the microphone and the band launched into the passionate and funky music that Spalding composed to accompany the words of “The Fly,”
a poem by William Blake, while Spalding
sang the poem as though it were a song. Not
only did Spalding’s fingers fly across the bass
strings, but her voice soared with uninhibited
lyrics and jazz vocalizations as she danced
with her bass, a huge smile on her face.
“Little Fly,” Spalding sang. “Thy summer’s
play/My thoughtless hand/Has brushed away,
Am not I/A fly like thee?/Or art not thou/A
man like me?”
Spalding moved right into her next
original musical composition, “Knowledge of
Good and Evil,” pounding her palms against
her stand-up bass and mixing Spanish lyrics
with smooth jazz vocals. Barefoot, Spald-
Cover of Esperanza Spaldings upcoming new album, titled “Chamber Music Society.” | COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
ing jammed to the beat, singing “Wild is the
Wind” with a strong and clear voice. At the
climax of the song, the drums had reached a
soldier-like rhythm and the stage lights had
turned red.
Spalding and her band then played three
more original songs, “Short and Sweet,” which
began with Spalding whistling softly into the
microphone, “As a Sprout” and “Apple Blossom,” for which Spalding was accompanied by
piano, viola, cello and violin. During “Apple
Blossom,” a song about an elderly husband
visiting a tree his wife loved, the lighting on
the floor of the stage resembled sunlight filtering through the leaves of a tree to reach
the ground.
“He kisses her cold cheek goodbye/But he
couldn’t surrender the hope they had sired/
So in her fallen hands he placed a seed from
their favorite tree/And he laid her to rest beneath the blanket of white/’Til they’d meet
again in the springtime,” Spalding sang as the
crowd cheered and clapped in wild applause.
Spalding then sang the Portuguese lyrics
of the song “Inutil Paisagem,” accompanied
by the vocals and hand rhythms of jazz singer
Leala Cyr, while playing a bass solo. The four
layers of sound changed constantly as the
singers, switched between English and Portuguese, making it seem effortless.
After both singers bowed to each other
during cheers from the crowd, Spalding ar-
ranged a party of sound joining the strings
and her original vocals in the song “Winter
Sun.”
“Maybe I was looking up and out the
whole time/ but I have everything I need
down here,” Spalding said in a small interlude before beginning “Really Very Small.”
“It has been here all along here in my being/
the things that you think of me are really very
small....and that’s all.”
“Really Very Small” was a harmonious
ending song which incorporated violin, viola,
cello, piano, drums and vocals with Spalding’s
entrancing voice and unbroken low-pitch bass
jazz. At the end of the song, Spalding walked
back to the armchair, put on a coat, turned
off the lamp and walked quietly off the stage.
The dramatic touches of the introduction, spoken word interludes, and conclusion
made the concert seem like it was a composition in one of Spalding’s dreams.
However, she was not gone for very long,
because the crowd burst into applause with
the vast majority giving her a standing ovation. Spalding then came back for an encore,
to sing “Throw it Away,” a cover of the song by
folk band Fiction Family,” and “Fall in” from
her second album, “Esperanza”.
“It’s my baby,” Spalding said about Chamber Music Society, the 2010 album which exposed her to a larger audience. “The concept
of it is exploring the space where chamber
jazz and chamber classical music intersect
and you don’t have to be a jazz- or a classicalhead to get into it.”
Spalding has played music from her previous two albums, “Junjo” and “Esperanza”
with Stevie Wonder, Bobby McFerrin and
Prince. She has also performed at the Nobel
Peace Prize Award Ceremony and in two concerts at the White House.
Later this year, Spalding will record her
fourth album, Radio Music Society, which will
be produced by Q-Tip, a rapper from the HipHop group named “A Tribe Called Quest.”
She will return to the Chicago Symphony Center on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2011.
MUSIC
Ironically, this surely is one of Coldplay’s hottest albums to date
Review of group’s
newly released album
“Mylo Xyloto”
by Andrew Hague
Coldplay is a band known for its large performances, dreamy piano lines, and its widespread attention as one of the world’s most
popular rock bands. Many believe the group
has been a major influence on the alternative
rock genre during the past decade. Coldplay
has won seven Grammy awards and have sold
more than 50 million records worldwide. And
in its new album, “Mylo Xyloto,” delivers its
most ambitious record yet.
“Written in graffiti on a bridge in a park,
do you ever get the feeling that you’re missing the mark? It’s so cold, it’s so cold,” Chris
Martin sings after the soft intro track on
“Hurts Like Heaven.” His voice lends itself to
an atmospheric and colorful sound unlike any
other Coldplay album. It is apparent from the
beginning that they are definitely tackling
brand new conceptions in the album by adding a loud and fast sound to their music.
“Mylo” is a concept album. Music on
a concept album is connected by a central
theme or story. According to Martin, the
record tells the story of two characters who
meet in an oppressive, dystopian, urban environment and fall in love. The band’s music
depicts flashes of a love story but the consistent element in “Mylo” is the effect which
producer and co-writer Brian Eno, produces
throughout the album. Eno’s ambient strings
and bouncy synths can be heard throughout
every track, creating a brand new sound that
Coldplay used to mold their album. Tracks
like “Paradise” use this dreamy production as
well as Martin’s classic piano lines as a way
to blend together both of the artists’ roots.
One of the most surprising aspects of the
record is guitarist Jon Buckland’s aggres-
Cover of Coldplay’s newly released album| COURTESY
OF AMAZON.COM
sive style of play. There are more guitar solos
than ever on “Mylo,” and on the track “Major
Minus,” Buckland opens with a rough, acoustic riff reminiscent of groups like “The Rolling
Stones” or “The Who.”
“Mylo” is easily Coldplay’s most daring
record yet. “Princess of China,” Coldplay’s
closest attempt at a hip-hop song, features
Rihanna on an addicting chorus over choppy
electric keyboards and a pounding drum beat.
“Lord I don’t know which way I am going,
which way [the] river’s gonna’ flow. It just
seems that upstream, I keep rowing, still got
such a long way to go,” Martin sings on the
short track “U.F.O.” It is the softest track on
the album, and a surefire hit for all Coldplay
fans. Brockland strums softly on an acoustic
guitar while Eno’s strings carefully capture
Martin’s voice.
“Mylo” works because Coldplay still manages to sound like the same band without
sounding like any of their previous records.
The record is sure to be a new favorite among
the entire fan base, and it might even grab
new music lover’s attention.
9
Arts & Entertainment • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
DANCE
Dancing to your own rhythm and on your own time
Latin Street Dance
Academy provides
individuals of all ages
with fun forms of
expression
by Sylvia Wtorkowski
Children watched their instructors excitedly as they circled around him, awaiting
their turn to emerge into the center of the
circle and show off the dance moves they had
learned during the course of class. Though
they were young, the students exhibited
a keen mastery of the routines and dance
moves that they were taught. A seven year
old student named Tristen Hatter had only
gone to one previous dance class prior to this
workshop. Despite this, he was eager to demonstrate all of the moves that he knew. Another workshop attendee, Mateo Nacu, age
four, is one of the youngest students in his
age group (Hip-hop 4-7). Despite his young
age, he still had the ability to spin on the
ground and perform headstands.
The area surrounding 3515 N. Lake
Street in Chicago, Illinois is a mundane and
desolate one. There are not any visible playgrounds or other areas for people to participate in recreational activities that can be
found nearby. Inside, the Latin Street Dance
Academy, however, the atmosphere is fun,
light, and vibrant. This is a dance studio that
provides a fun form of exercise for people
Children watch a student perform at the Latin Street Dance Company. | SYLVIA WTORKOWSKI
aged four through adults, due to the wide
range of available classes.
“We offer over ninety classes per week,”
Andreas Meneses, co-owner of the Latin
Street Dance Academy, said. These include
Hip-hop, Salsa, Break Dancing, Zumba, Belly
Dancing and Ballet.
In addition to the various classes that
can be taken at this location, personnel at
the Dance Academy have made it possible for
schools to take fieldtrips to the studio and
learn the steps to any particular dance that
they choose. For services the academy offers,
the fee for students to participate in the program is between $10 and $20. The higher the
amount of students attending, the lower the
cost per student and vice versa.
Another way in which this dance studio
makes it easier for people to attend its classes
is by allowing students to choose the timings
of their dance classes that best fit their schedule. For a four week dance class session, high
school and college students can show their
current schedule of classes and receive their
first choice for $47.50.
Aside from the many classes offered, the
Latin Street Dance Academy also offers youth
dance workshops. Occasionally, the academy
hosts free hip-hop workshops, which was
their special feature this October. It was Latin
Street Dance Academy’s Edu-Tainment Day.
The Latin Street Dance Academy’s free
workshops are referred to as Edu-Tainment
days because they were created to educate
various individuals about Latin dance that
they may never have encountered before.
At the event, there were three separate free
hip-hop classes offered from 3:30 p.m to 6:00
p.m. They were for the age groups of 4-7,
8-10, and 11-teens.
Although the majority of the individuals
taking dance classes are young, it is never too
late to learn, nor is it difficult to register for
a class that one would enjoy because of the
variety of dances offered. Registrations for
dance classes at the Latin Dance Street Academy can be made at www.laboriqua.com.
FILM
Speaking a different language, conveying the same emotion
“The Mole,” directed by
Rafael Lewandowski,
captivates audience
by Sharon Flores
As soon as the cinema doors opened,
people began filing in, ballads in hand, eager
to see the main competition movie at the
47th annual Chicago Film Festival, titled “The
Mole,” directed by Rafael Lewandowski. For
47 years, the Chicago International Film
Festival has opened the eyes of Chicago film
viewers to their motto, “what the world is
watching,” a break from typical commercial
Hollywood movies. It is the longest running
competitive film festival in North America
and has brought understanding between different cultures through the art of film making.
Originally named Kret, this polish movie
is about Pawel, a man who works endlessly
with his father, Zymgut, importing second
hand clothing from France to Poland, to provide for his small family. Pawel’s father, who
was a leader against totalitarianism and an
active member of a labor movement in the
80s, is suddenly accused of being a traitor and
secret informer called “the mole.”
Zymgut’s past continues to revisit his
present life when newspapers and tabloids
target the crackdown of the fatal miners’
strikes that he led in December 1981. In a
state of panic, Zymgut cannot publicly deny
the accusations and instead flees to the North
of France to hide with his cousin while things
settle down. Although he wants to believe
his father’s enemies created the whole story,
Pawel is forced to question the innocence
of his father. The importance of family hits
Pawel as he is faced with defending the reputation of his father and family, who are being
rejected and harassed by the public. Pawel
will stop at nothing to clear his father’s name,
but uncovering the truth will turn his world
upside down.
The film had the deceiving feel of any
regular Hollywood movie, the familiar smell
of popcorn in the air, the big theater seats,
but once the suspenseful introduction began,
the experience became foreign. Without all
the special effects, the audience is left with
only the raw emotion the characters are able
to convey through their acting. Pawel and
his family captivate the audience’s emotions
through their strong genuine performances,
making them relatable and realistic.
“The Mole” developed the main characters extensively, giving the audience a sense
of familiarity with Pawel’s family and allowing them to sympathize with each character’s
struggles.
The movie is played in its original language, Polish, with English subtitles. While
the original language gave the movie a more
natural, cultural feel, an audience member
might find themselves reading the entire
movie, paying more attention to the subtitles
than the motion picture in fear of missing
any dialogue and important information,
which proved to be initially difficult.
This movie was not simply another fictional story; it incorporated factual events,
subtly forcing the audience to confront and
address a long avoided, controversial politi-
cal debate of the fatal miner strikes and labor
movement in Poland’s history. Overall, “The
Mole” nicely utilized a simple story plot and
intense character emotion to expose the
world to polish culture and to convey a serious message.
“It was a nice breather from all the action
in typical movies. The characters were more
developed and believable, and it did an incredible job getting a strong message across
through a simple plot. I really enjoyed it,” Eric
Jones, Chicago viewer, said.
The Chicago Film Festival provides the
audience with the rare opportunity to meet
the directors of some of the films after a
screening.
Fortunately, “The Mole’s” director was
just arriving from the airport when the movie
ended. The young director apologized in advance for not being energetic because he was
exhausted from his journey, his soft voice was
barely heard with the microphone. Although
his English was not very good, he was not shy
about answering the audience’s questions in
depth.
He stressed that his main goal was to
incorporate an important Polish political
issue into his movie, an issue that had been
brushed over for so long and to see American viewers’ reactions. Audience members
had the chance to ask any question about the
movie in general. Many took the opportunity
to express how much they loved the movie
and praise the director for a job well done.
“The Mole” was a great production, as
determined by the audience’s thunderous applause that broke out once credits began to
roll. All movie lovers are recommended to
watch this movie and experience the difference in culture and style of film from Poland.
The Chicago International Film Festival opens
up the eyes of viewers of all ages to different
cultures around the world through film.
Movie poster for the film “Kret” also known as “The
Mole.” |COURTESY OF AMAZON.COM
10
Arts & Entertainment • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
LIVE PERFORMANCE
Blue man group continues to paint the stage and the town red
The group performs at
Briar Street Theatre
by Minna Khan
A performance from the Blue Man Group
can be comprised of anything from intense
drum beats and instruments coupled with
strobe lights to interactive comedic skits, and
everything in between. This talented trio was
formed in 1987 and continues to perform
with precision while keeping the audience entertained for every minute of their one hour,
45 minute act. The performance took place
at Chicago's Briar Street Theatre at 3133 N.
Halsted St. on Oct. 15.
The audience laughed at comedic skits
and were filled with suspense by tricks that
left them wondering what would happen
next. For example, several small gumballs
filled with paint were thrown into a Blue
Man's mouth, and he proceeded to some-
how spit paint out from his mouth in order
to create art on a canvas that he was holding.
Before the show began, the first five rows of
seats had a transparent poncho placed on
them in order to shield them from the imminent shower of paint, water, and marshmallows that would be used by the Blue Men
throughout the show.
Another important element in the show
was the utilization of technology. A new
skit titled “GiPads,” mimicked the highly esteemed Apple “iPad,” and acknowledged people’s dependency on technology, and the way
it is used today. The skit included three large
GiPads and using several applications that
were available on it. The applications included 140 character versions of novels for books
like Twilight and Moby Dick and transformed
the men into mariachi band members when
they stood behind the GiPads.
The show proved to be not only a comedic form of entertainment but also a musical
masterpiece. If the Blue Man Group was not
making the audience laugh, they were found
performing with percussion, and they played
several of their original songs that consisted
of only strong drum beats. Towards the beginning of their production, they performed
a crowd favorite, the paint drum act, which
is when the group creates abstract paintings
by pouring different colored paint into the
drums, and proceeding to beat the drums,
causing paint to splatter on a canvas being
held up above.
They ended the performance with a
dance mix that blared through the speakers while strobe lights were pulsating, and
audience members were demanded to stand
up and dance. All the while, what seemed to
be an unlimited amount of toilet paper was
streaming down the aisles, and confetti flew
in every corner. The finale made the show
memorable, and the Blue Man Group managed to entertain in so many ways through
drumming and movement without ever saying a word.
MOVIE REVIEW
There is so much one can say, without even saying anything
Judy Lieff’s “Deaf
Jam” captures beauty
of art without using
words
by Timothy Suh
The first few minutes of Judy Lieff’s
documentary “Deaf Jam” are silent. Muffled
playground noises are heard as the scene
opens up onto a school playground with kids
chanting and hitting volleyballs. Instead focusing on the ruckus of sounds, the audience
instead sees each careful movement as kids
jump up to the hit the volleyball.
In this way, Lieff parallels her own cinematographic and directorial style with the
expression of deaf students through slam poetry: focusing on portrayal through motion
and facial expression, not just words and dialogue. “Deaf Jam” follows Aneta, a deaf Israeli
teenager in Queens, New York, who ventures
into the world of slam poetry.
She quickly learns that because she cannot use dialogue and vocal nuances to convey
her poetry, she must compensate with her
movement. Aneta competes alongside individuals that can hear at the New York Teen
Poetry Slam, where she performs her piece
without a translator.
Following her debut, Aneta was then invited to collaborate on a piece with a young,
hearing Palestinian poet, Tahani. The film
documents how she must learn to connect
Tahani’s words and voice with her own movements and body language.
The movie is presented with subtitles
for the majority of tits duration while the
deaf students followed in the film are using
sign language. The soundtrack becomes very
important in not only setting the emotional
context for scenes, but also in providing support for the otherwise silent poetry by the
deaf. Although the film begins by focusing on
the awareness of deaf education and a brief
history, the story quickly becomes less about
deaf rights or even equality and more about
how art is used to bridge the greatest of gaps.
Lieff does an excellent job at respectfully
portraying the deaf community and does not
offer any pity or criticism for her subjects;
rather, it is a straightforward and accurate
depiction. Those that are familiar with slam poetry will find the film, “Deaf Slam” initially
to be peculiar with its extended periods of
silence. However, one will quickly discover
how movements and expressions can convey
much more feeling and emotion than words
alone. Aneta, in particular, is skilled at balancing the humorous and the more emotional side through her craft of storytelling with
her motions. The audience members will find
“Deaf Jam” a very fun and engaging watch,
even those who do not particularly enjoy the
documentary genre. The film is able to give a
riveting glimpse into the world of the hearing-impaired that will challenge viewers to
see that communication goes beyond spoken
words.
MUSEUMS
Admiring the beautiful scene of the chaos of “Wirrwarr”
Art work of Jurgen
Mayer H. debuts
in galleries at Art
Institute of Chicago
by Regine Sarah Capungan
The work of German architect Jürgen
Mayer H. debuted at the Art Institute of Chicago on Oct. 15, 2011. The exhibition was
entitled, “Wirrwarr,” the German word for
“chaos,” after one of Mayer H.’s art books. The
exhibition will be at the Art Institute until
Jan. 22, 2012.
Jurgen Mayer H. studied architecture
at the University of Stuttgart, the Cooper
Union, and Princeton University, and had
taught the subject in universities around the
world, including Harvard and the University
of Toronto, according to businessweek.com.
He currently owns his own architecture firm,
J. Mayer H. Architects, and has rearranged
his name accordingly.
The exhibition is located in Gallery 24,
which is in the basement floor of the Art Institute. After the artist’s brief biography, the
first work of art that can be viewed is a wall
covered with framed envelopes. The envelopes are cut open so that viewers can see the
different patterns that are designed to keep
its contents private. Following the wall of envelopes is a wall covered in squares of metal
plates. These two works of art reflect the rest
of the exhibition, which involve patterns and
collections of prints from modern life.
The doors to the gallery reveal the rest of
“Wirrwarr,” which consists of an eye-catching
display of more than 100 pages from Mayer
H.’s “Wirrwarr” book. The main focus of both
the book and the exhibit are the encryption
patterns within envelopes, which have been
enlarged so that the viewers can focus on the
print.
Aside from influencing his artwork, the
encryption patterns in envelopes have also
influenced his architecture style. When creating a building, Mayer H. focuses on the pattern that is created by its façade. A photo of
one of Mayer H.’s buildings and a close up of
its exterior are featured at the front of the
gallery.
Mayer H.’s Berlin-based studio is known
throughout Germany for projects that manipulate digital prints for surface decoration,
according to his biography at the front of the
gallery. He has been working on the artwork
in the exhibition for decades, such as the envelope display.
People who are interested in modern art
and printmaking may find Mayer H.’s work
appealing. Through the enlarged encryption
prints in “Wirrwarr,” Mayer H. forces his
viewers to take a second look at the beauty
of everyday details, such as the encryption
prints within envelopes, which are overlooked by most people. MUSIC
Civic Orchestra delivered
an intense performance
The famous group
made a crisp sound
from their skill
by Miranda Roberts
The magnificent Chicago Orchestra put
on a professionally synchronized evening
show that was Oct. 17 at the Symphony Center downtown on 220 S. Michigan Ave.
The Symphony Center aesthetically resembles an oyster, simple on the outside and
lustrous and bright on the inside, equating
the pearl with the spotlight that illuminates
the stage. The audience silenced and focused
on the stage as the conductor, Susanna Malkki, strode onto the stage and halted at center
stage.
The night began with Lindenberg’s
“Feria.” The piece was named after the Spanish word for “festival,” and the piece embodied the sporadic nature of a festival. This piece
brought nature to mind, with its transitions
between intense string battles between the
violin and cello sections, coupled with slower
and smoother melodic introductions from
the rest of the ensemble later into the piece.
The hard work and perseverance of the
members could be seen in the faces of musicians and stature of the conductor. They
confidently wielded and played their instruments, standing with a pronounced posture
as their eyes quickly scanned the music in
front of them. At times when the speed of
the piece intensified, the conductor’s short
hair flailed wildly as she rhythmically swung
her arms, baton in hand.
Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat
major lasted about 30 minutes. The composer
was inspired to write this piece by a spiritual
epiphany in February 1854. This masterful
piece was performed with as much power as
the prior.
It was written to show great contrast between two ends of a spectrum such as good
and evil crashing together. Times when the
cello section could be heard dueling with the
violin and viola section. When the program
came to a grand finale, the orchestra was able
to take a second bow during the roaring applause.
To find tickets for upcoming performances, visit their site: www.ichicagosymphanycentertickets.com. The venue does not
change from the Chicago Symphony Center,
but pricing varies. They will continue to update their upcoming free events but those
willing to invest in this group of musicians
will not likely be dissatisfied.
To see a review on
Smith’s Stained Glass
Windows Museum at
Navy Pier, visit:
www.hoofbeat.com
11
Sports • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat Men’s softball
SPORTS
Men’s Golf
Bringing it all together
Paving the way
Everyone has contributed in a successful season
Men’s golf captains lead by example
on the course
Communtity Links lucks out as Northside prevails
Edgerton and Seibt
lead the way to victory
for Men’s soccer
by Calum Blackshaw
The Northside Men’s Varsity Soccer team
used a high-scoring offense to propel itself
to an 8-4 victory against Community Links
in a playoff game on Thursday, October 6 at
Northside.
Fans and families showed up before the
game started, ready to root for the players.
The Community Links team arrived to see
Varsity warming up on the main field. The
junior varsity and freshmen-sophomore soccer teams were practicing with athletic director Andrew Mayer. Varsity was working with
their coach, Anthony Cecchini.
Northside prepared for this game like it
was their last, but the other team sparked a
bit of worry in some of the players.
“There is a little to worry about because
they are a higher seed than us,” Justice Reed,
goalie, Adv. 206, said. “That means they could
be more of a challenge for us.”
Coach Cecchini explained more about the
other team’s seeding, and some of the strategies they had going into the game.
“They are seeded higher, but that is because they are in a different division than us.
Myles Mora, Adv. 303, prepares for the ball to land | CALUM BLACKSHAW
But this is not something we worry about too
much. We play extremely well, utilizing the
team and not playing what I call ‘kickball soccer.’ And we do not look for just goals to make
in these games, but good ones.”
The game began at 4:30 p.m. with Mustangs’ score displayed on the visitor’s side, as
this was supposed to be an away game. Community Links wore practice jerseys over their
regulars because both teams’ jerseys were
black.
The game’s first half was exciting on and
off the field. Northside’s Alex Seibt, Adv. 205
scored two goals in the first half. Northside
appeared to be pushing ahead until Community Links scored two goals of their own. Parents debated the legitimacy of the referee’s
calls and made their thoughts known. When
the first half ended, both teams were tied at
2-2.
As this season of men’s soccer was ending
soon, Coach Cecchini reflected on the team’s
accomplishments as well as the departure of
all the seniors after this season.
“It’s gonna be a big loss for us, but I’m
sure there are athletes in the junior varsity
team that can pick it up, especially with this
increase in popularity,” Cecchini said. “With
the incoming freshmen this year, we were
able to fill out four teams this year, all wanting to be a part of soccer.”
In the game’s second half, Northside
picked up the pace and scored another two
goals. Despite the great play of the team, parents were still upset with the referees. Their
complaints were loud enough that the referee
stopped the game for a moment, threatening
to end it if anyone else from the sideline argued about his call. Community Links quickly
tied the score at 4-4, but that was as far as
they got.
Northside’s defense held strong against
Community Links for the rest of the game. In
those last few minutes, Northside scored four
more goals: another two from Seibt and two
made by Ezra Edgerton, Adv. 208. The crowd
was overwhelmed by the goals, as the team
was still scoring with less than five minutes
left in the game.
The Mustangs powered on through their
opponents, leaving with an 8-4 victory over
Community Links.
Men’s softball quietly tears up the city’s competition
Mustangs end season
with a 12-7 record
by Chris Ceisel
Northside’s Men’s Varsity 16-inch Softball Team is striving to win city this year. Led
by seniors Niko Nodal, Adv. 201, and Clint
Tres, Adv. 202, Northside has already beaten
every team except for one that stands between them and becoming champions.
“We lost to Lane Tech in a close game towards the beginning of the year,” Tres, first
baseman, said. “But we have really grown together as a team, and don’t make the errors
that cost us that game anymore. We’re a different team than the team that played Lane at
the beginning of the season, and I can’t wait
for them to find that out.”
As Northside comes to the end of its
season, it has proved how efficient and well
it can play, beating its competitor, Highland
Park, 10-8.
When the Mustangs beat Highland Park
in a double header on Thursday, October 6,
at Legion Park, it showed that the Mustangs
knew how to finish a game and a team by
sweeping them with back to back victories.
“The reason we’re doing so well this season, is that we don’t go into every game expecting to win,” Cooper Tonachel, pitcher,
Adv. 300, said. “We know that any team can
win any game, so we don’t take any game or
practice off. We’re in this to win it all, and we
won’t let any team stop us.”
This season the team has always played
Zen Iwankiw, Adv. 400, slides
| Chris Ceisel
double headers on game days. Northside has
flourished, playing two games due to their
mental focus.
“We always do better in the second game
than in the first one because we keep our
heads in the game the whole time,” Wasif
Osmani, right fielder, Adv. 201, said. “While
other teams get distracted and stop wanting
to play in the second game, we keep our composure and finish teams by taking advantage
of their lack of focus.”
“We don’t let grounders through to the
outfield ever,” Christian Schmuck, second
basemen, Adv. 201, said. “Our defense is rock
solid, and with the veteran infield that we
have, we force teams to have to hit the ball
over our heads if they want to get on base.”
Clint Tres, Adv. 202, swings
| Chris Ceisel
That is not a problem for sophomore left
fielder Billy Hinard, Adv. 406, who has no
problem tracking down fly balls and showing
off his arm to make the long throws in from
the outfield.
Hinard’s teammates rely on his consistent play.
“Whenever the balls hit past me to left
field, I know that Billy will make the play,”
Zen Iwankiw, third baseman, Adv. 400, said.
“He knows how to track down fly balls well
and doesn’t make the mental errors that
other teams outfielders have. If he can make
the play, he will make the play.”
Trust is consistent throughout the entire
team.
It has helped them play even better together, since they all have such positive at-
titudes towards each other and towards the
game itself.
The team enjoys playing the game, which
was key to their success this year.
They also have utilized their short center Derek Lin, Adv. 207, in their success.
The thing that makes 16” softball different
than baseball or women’s softball is that in
16” softball, each team is allowed to have a
short center, who plays behind second base,
and adds a seventh man to the infield. This
allows the shortstop and second baseman to
effectively field better, as they have less of an
area that they need to cover. The addition of
the seventh man has made Northside’s infield
impenetrable.
“When it comes down to it, we don’t really care if we win or lose the game,” shortstop
Niko Nodal, said. “We go out there, have fun,
try our hardest, and that has been enough so
far for us to succeed in this league. I hope we
win the championship this year, but even if
we don’t, I know we will go out with a bang,
and have fun doing it.”
Northside has a lot of seniors on the
16” softball team this year, so they hope to
capitalize on the leadership and experience
they have on the team in order to show the
younger players how to set the tone for how
the team will do in future years to come.
Northside’s softball team hopes that
their success will spark a sense of winning
throughout all of Northside for the entire
year.
Northside ended their softball season
with a record of 12-7.
12
Sports • November 2011 • The Hoof Beat
Men’s golf co-captains pass on the torch
Running from the start
Seniors lead the way
for Mustangs
by Diego Vela
by Sharon Flores
The Northside Men’s Varsity Golf Team,
led by co-captains Fabian Lara, Adv. 206, and
Michael Fernandez, Adv. 205, ended its season by finishing fifth at regionals on Oct. 4 at
Carillion Golf Course in Plainfield. Even with
new players this past year, the team exceeded
its goals this season.
At times throughout the season, the golf
team struggled collectively and individual to
individual, apparent in several bad rounds
from each player throughout the year, but it
did not dwell on a bad round or match and
did not let it interfere on how itwould play in
upcoming matches.
Players recovered individually after a
bad shot or hole and played well when it was
needed most, which led them to placing at
regionals.
“Going into the season we were, overall,
a young and inexperienced team,” Lara said.
“As a team, we unofficially took third place
in CPS by one stroke, and for City Championships we qualified five of our six players as
individuals. We also then took 5th place as a
team in our Regional.”
Lara, who took second place overall at
Fabian Lara, Adv. 206, watches his putt
the City Championships, also finished first
with an 86 at the Class 2A regional. As the top
performer in the regional, he advanced to the
sectional tournament but fell short advancing to the state finals.
Lara never expected to do as well as he
did this year, but he set the bar high for the
rest of his teammates. As a captain, Lara always found ways of teaching his younger
teammates on how to improve from his experience playing golf.
“I try to lead by example,” Lara said. “I
usually give them advice before games either about their technique or about staying
relaxed and staying calm both mentally and
physically. Afterwards, I believe in giving positive constructive feedback.”
Fernandez supported the team after each
game by giving his teammates encouragement no matter how well a player played.
“I stayed positive on the golf course,”
Fernandez said. “I supported my teammates even if they weren’t playing well.”
Although the team had a successful season with many accomplishments, the two
captains recognize that there is much room
for improvement.
As a team, players need to work on focusing on every shot as well as recovering a lot
sooner after a bad shot during a round. Lara
also thought it would be beneficial to practice
real game situations to better prepare each
player for upcoming matches.
Lara and Fernandez passed down all the
important advice and knowledge about the
sport they have to their younger teammates
before the end of their final season, hoping
they have prepared them well enough for future seasons.
“We tried to pass on tradition to the next
generation of Northside Golfers,” Lara said.
“We taught them everything we know about
how to be composed and play confidently.”
iRun: Cross country takes on the city
Team competes in the
city championships
by Regine Sarah Capungan
Blue skies were overhead at Washington
Park on Saturday, October 15 for the cross
country Chicago Public League Championships, which is known by the runners as the
city meet. With 58 competing teams, it is the
largest high school conference in the world.
Northside’s freshman, sophomore, junior
varsity, and varsity teams competed in races
that day with mixed results.
The men and the women’s varsity teams
received eighth place and sixth place in their
divisions, respectively. The men’s junior varsity teams received fifth place and the men
and women’s freshman teams received fifth
and fourth place.
Although the varsity team as a whole did
not place as highly as they have in previous
years, both the men and women’s sophomore
teams placed high in their divisions. The men
received second place and the women received third place in the meet.
“A lot of our top runners are freshmen
and sophomores, who ran on the sophomore
team for city so the sophomore team could
do their best,” Lisa Wendt, Adv. 203, said. “I
think that is the reason why varsity was left a
little short.”
Team captain Patrick Duffy, Adv. 205,
was awarded a medal and varsity all-city honors, a title for the top 20 athletes, when he
ran three miles in 16:21 and dropped 34 seconds from his personal best time. He earned
17th best overall during the meet, and ran
the tenth fastest time in Northside’s history.
Other runners, such as Elizabeth
O’Conor, Adv. 505, Madison Weatherly, Adv.
501, and Caroline Owens, Adv. 508, also received all-city honors for their respective
Mac Melto (left), Adv. 209 and Nathaniel Agharese, Adv. 309, head for the finish
times of 13:12:59, 13:12:88, and 13:58. Lily
Sperry, Adv. 504, was awarded all-city honors
for the freshman team for her time of 15:26.
Some individual runners throughout all
of Northside’s divisions have increased their
times, even though they did not place at the
meet.
“I could not run for August and most of
September, so I guess I may be a little out of
shape,” Josh Williams, Adv. 209, said, “but I
dropped like 45 seconds from my last meet,
which is really good, so I was very happy.”
The head coach of cross country is Coach
Jon Gordon. He is assisted by Coach Chuck
Milbert, social sciences department, Coach
Sharon Hubbard, and Coach Jose Nebrida.
The team has been practicing together since
July, and the city meet marks the end of its
regular season.
After an impressive showing at regionals,
the varsity and sophomore team are moving
on to compete in state in the Illinois High
School Association (IHSA) state championships.
Karly Raber, Adv. 205, is a 17 year old
senior at Northside Prep. She has been running cross country since her freshman year
and has stuck with it through the good and
bad times. “The hardest moments for me have
been coming back after several serious injuries.” said Raber, “I have stuck with it because
I have come to love the sport and because I’ve
become good friends with the other people on
the team.” Between maintaining a high GPA, applying to colleges, and handling a social life along
with everyday teenage problems, Karly Raber
is an athlete. She is an athlete many can look
up to, having been on the cross country team
for the past four years and improving as each
season goes by.
Raber started running cross country as a
freshman, for the same reason many underclassmen do: to meet people.
“I originally joined just to meet new
people and to stay in shape for other sports,”
Raber said. “Over the years I have stuck with
it because I have come to love the sport and
because I’ve become good friends with the
other people on the team.”
Many of Raber’s teammates look up to
her. They go to her for help and advice and use
her as an inspiration to stay dedicated and
work hard, while balancing school and other
aspects.
“Even though I only joined for a season,
I admired Raber,” Lananh Ho, Adv. 204, said.
“She was always at practice, working hard and
motivating the other girls to try their best at
whatever we were doing.” Though Raber has
faced some difficult times in her cross country
career, ranging from sprained ankles to late
practices and early meets, she has never lost
motivation to strive to be the best.
“Running is a sport where you’re supposed to push yourself to the edge, so of
course I’ve thought about quitting a couple of
times” Raber said. “However, pushing yourself to the edge is what gives you that unique
feeling of accomplishment after a race or long
run, which is why I could never actually quit.”
Raber had plenty of fun and memories
throughout her whole running experience. “My best memories are from the two times
we have traveled to Peoria to race on the state
course,” Raber said. “We got to leave school
early, stayed in a nice hotel, go out to a fancy
dinner, and then race on a super-fast course.
However, I think some of my best memories
are yet to come because we have a good chance
of making state this year.” With a large team
and having some of the fastest times in her
career yet, Karly feels confident in this season
and her positive attitude spreads to all other
team mates.
Karly Raber is a strong and dedicated
athlete. She wakes up early on the weekends
to attend practices and meets, and stays long
hours after school doing repeats of different
runs. She works hard, never takes her eyes off
of the finish line and is a great role model.
“I would tell underclassman to join cross
country right away,” Raber said. “It’s a ton of
fun, you get to meet new people, and even if
you don’t start out as a good runner, with a
little dedication, you can easily become one.
One of the best parts of cross country comes
once you reach your senior year. You become
a family with all the team mates and have a
sense of pride as you take one of your last
runs.”