Friday, March 1, 2013 Vol 46, No.10Truth Conquers All Since 1969

pg. 10pg. 12

pg. 7

Efforts for Illinois to be-come the tenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage have made their way to the House.

Less than two years ago the first civil union certifi-cates were issued in Illinois and now legalized gay mar-riage is a vote away from legalization.

With the Senate passing the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act 34-21 on Feb. 14, it made its way to the Illinois House Execu-tive Committee.

33 of the passing votes were Democratic and one supporting vote coming from the Republicans.

The Executive Committee

then passed the bill in a vote of 6-5 which will advance it to the Illinois House of Representatives. Members voted along party lines leav-ing forecasts for the outcome of the bill in the House as a grey area.

Votes in the House on the bill are indicated to possibly take place on March 6 or 7, though a definite date is yet to be announced.

The bill has seen its ups and downs with a House Committee vote postponed by extensive debate over gun control rights.

While it passed the Dem-ocratic-led Committee Feb. 14, the outcome quickly came under scrutiny by church organizations stating that legalized gay marriage violates both religious and

moral principles. Heavy fire on the bill has

recently been building up the closer it comes to being passed.

Supporters of it have ar-gued that it would allow for church officials to turn down the performing of same-sex marriage in parish halls or buildings as well as the abil-ity to deny doing so if it was against their beliefs.

The Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act needs only 60 votes in the House to make it to Gover-nor’s desk. Gov. Pat Quinn, a supporter of the bill, has said that he will sign it if it comes to him.

This leaves the final deci-sion of legalized gay mar-riage in Illinois firmly up to the House vote.

The final vote for the bill is a tossup with the House having had close votes on issues with same- sex mar-riage over the years.

While the Democrats have an increasing majority in the House and Senate, the House is still considered to be the more conservative of the two.

Gov. Quinn told the Quad City Times on Mon “there’s still persuasion to do in the House.” Gov. Quinn also said that he will be getting in touch with lawmakers to push for support of the bill. Though the Democrat’s have majority in the House, not all Democrats are expected to vote for the bill, along with some Republicans voting against their party.

Illinois Republican Chair-

man Pat Brady has person-ally lobbied for the passing of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act, against the beliefs of many suburban Republicans. Brady told the Saint Louis Today that his party is “on the wrong side of history” believing that there are more Republicans on board with the bill who did not vote for it because “people have to vote for their districts”.

Brady believes that Re-publicans in the House are still trying to figure out how they will vote, state Rep. Mike Bost, a Murphysboro Republican, told the Daily Herald, “I think everybody here knows where they’re at”.

Gay Marriage moves forward in State House

RIGHTS/ page 3

State lawmakers are scrambling to create a solu-tion as Illinois’ pension debt crisis continues to spiral out of control, landing the state with the nation’s lowest credit rating.

Sitting at an estimated $97 billion, the state’s pension debt is a result of financial mismanagement and politi-cal gridlock in the state over decades.

The bills began to pile up as lawmakers continually awarded benefits to retired public employee union members such as teachers, police officers, firefighters, and other government work-ers with no means of rev-enue to fulfill their pension commitments.

Tracey Hoy, a mathemat-ics professor here at CLC and a member of the teachers union has noticed the state’s empty promises.

“Teachers in all systems have met their parts of the contractual agreement be-tween teachers and the state in terms of funding retire-ments,” Hoy said. “It is the state that has not met its ob-ligations.”

Ignoring the deficit, law-makers used the pension system like a credit card, using its funds as a means to pay for numerous govern-ment services such as educa-tion and transportation. This became an issue when the state failed to replenish the system’s funds for nine of the last 10 years. There is now a $17 million increase in the pension debt accord-ing to a Feb. 6 article from Bloomberg.com.

The state’s credit rating also suffered a severe blow. According to Standard and Poor’s recent credit rating, Illinois has the lowest credit rating in the nation as of Jan. 25. Each year the S&P evaluates each state based

on creditworthiness with respect to the state’s cur-rently financial obligations and debt security. Receiving an A-, Illinois’ credit rating currently falls six levels be-low the highest credit rating awarded, which is AAA.

As the deficit continues to grow, Illinois’ credit rating will continue to plummet. This in turn will leave a bad mark on the state’s economy by not only pushing away new businesses but also causing many businesses to close or relocate. With a greater number of jobs leav-ing, Illinois is setting itself up for disaster.

Lawmakers are largely to blame for this crisis as they remain in political gridlock on the issue down in Spring-field.

Legislatures have stalled on the issue during numer-ous regular sessions and have ignored the Governor’s pleas for special sessions.

State failing to meet pension obligations

An Estimated

Billion Dollars in Debt

*All ratings updated on January 25, 2013.

CREDIT RATING IN THE NATION

Credit Ranking given by Standard and Poor

Jimmy Pierson • The Chronicle

Staff ReporterpHIL bRAHM

CREDIT / page 3

Features EditorcoURTNEY GILLEN

Chronicle Page 2| Friday, March 1, 2013 NEWS

CHRONICLE STAFF LISTEditors-in-Chief

Joshua May AND kELLEY bYRNE

Editorial PolicyThe Chronicle staff is responsible for all material printed within

its pages every issue. The views expressed in the Chronicle are not necessarily that of the Chronicle Staff or the administration at the

College of Lake County.

The Chronicle reserves the right to refuse publication of any ad that endorses bigotry or prejudice of any kind. For more information on

policy or placement, please contact the Chronicle at (847)-543-2057 or at Chronicle@clcillinois.edu.

News EditorNate Sousa

Managing EditorMaria Isabel Garcia

AdviserJohn Kupetz

Joe Copeland, Carlton Kindred, Alex Aranda, Kathleen Hunt, Alexandra Turcios, Diane Lively, Candace May, Anthony Skillen, Kayla Velasquez, Grace Choi, Kyle Risinger, Phil Brahm, Luis Gallo

Staff Reporters:

Layout EditorJimmy Pierson

Features EditorCourtney Gillen

The Chronicle is always accepting letters to the editor. Letters must contain the writer’s full name and a contact phone number. The

Chronicle reserves the right to edit any submissions. Send letters to: Chronicle@clcillinois.edu.

Letters to the editor

Like us on Facebook: The Chronicle website:

chronicleonline.tumblr.comView our issues online:

issuu.com/chronicleclc

Sports EditorSam Greenberg

Copy EditorBretT Starkopf

Layout EditorViolet Chang

PhotographerJustin Leyba

In wake of the Sandy Hook and Aurora tragedies, many have started to specu-late that the country’s view on gun control is not the issue, but rather our take on the mentally ill and their care.

Advocates on both sides of the issue worry about the myth this creates about the mentally ill and how they are potentially violent individu-als.

In light of these specula-tions, discussion arose from Republicans to push mental health care over national gun control while others claim that when it comes to trag-edies like these, guns are the real issue.

As the country weighs one against the other, many find that there is no clear cut an-swer or definite solution.

“While it’s true we have decreased our spending on mental illness, only a very small percentage of violent crimes are committed by people diagnosed as men-tally ill,” Dr. Scott P. Lauder, CLC Sociology Professor said. “The difficulty is iden-tifying those individuals who are mentally ill and may become violent. Predicting individual behavior is very difficult and could lead to limiting the rights of indi-viduals who have issues but are not and will not become

violent.” Though James Holmes,

the Aurora shooter, was deemed fit to stand trial and Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter, did not leave a note to explain his actions or was clinically diagnosed as mentally ill before the incident, it becomes prob-lematic when attempts to blame these shootings on mental health arise.

Debbie Plotnick, Senior director of state policy for Mental Health America, told the Huffington Post on Feb. 12 that only about 4 percent of violent crimes are com-mitted by people with men-tal illness.

This leaves the public to consider the possibility that guns are the only problem with these mass shootings, not the mental health of the perpetrator.

While Aurora and Sandy Hook only scrape the list of mass shootings that have be-gun to sprout in this country, the topic of gun control in the United States has been on the minds of many for some time and recent events have only brought the issue to the forefront of national debate.

Of the 250 to 300 million firearms the FBI estimates are in the hands of US citi-zen, only a small fraction are used in crimes.

The FBI also estimates there are 2.5 to 3 million AR-15 rifles, the weapon of

choice by both Holmes and Lanza, owned lawfully by US citizens and are used in less than 1 percent of homi-cides in the country accord-ing to Lauder.

“In cases like those of Lan-za and Holmes, where they have decided to commit mass murder, the weapon of choice is a firearm,” Lauder said. “They could have used explosives, as Holmes reportedly did at his apartment, or they could have used a large motor vehicle. I think if someone is intent on killing, they will use whatever weapon is convenient and avail-able.”

With defenses com-ing from both sides of the issue across the country, people are left wondering what measures need to be taken to ensure the safety of our citizens from such heinous crimes.

“We will never be able to prevent all of these tragedies,” Lauder said. “The is-sue is too complicated for simple solutions. Even if we removed all guns from the US, an act that is highly unlikely, those indi-viduals who intend to inflict pain and

suffering will find a way. We must identify and ad-dress the underlying causes of violence. Only then will occurrence of such tragedies be minimized.”

With the issues still be-

ing debated on national stages, many are left won-dering if gun control should take precedence over mental health or vice versa—a con-troversy that may have no end.

Debate over mental illness, gun rights continuesFeatures EditorCourtney Gillen

Among public supporters of the bill are Pres. Barack Obama and Otis Moss III, the current senior pastor of Trinity united Church of Christ, Pres. Obama’s for-mer Chicago church. Moss lends his support to the bill telling lawmakers it “would ensure all citizens are in-

CLC Police Officer Sgt. Ted Waters is taking steps to promote a crimeless commu-nity where citizens look after each other at CLC through the Campus Watch program.

“Our mission is to encour-

Automotive Dept. gives winter driving tips

News EditorNate Sousa

Staff ReporterKathleen Hunt

website: chronicleonline.tumblr.com

ing debated on national stages, many are left won-dering if gun control should take precedence over mental health or vice versa—a con-troversy that may have no end.

Debate over mental illness, gun rights continues

Chronicle Page 3 | Friday, March 1, 2013News

Among public supporters of the bill are Pres. Barack Obama and Otis Moss III, the current senior pastor of Trinity united Church of Christ, Pres. Obama’s for-mer Chicago church. Moss lends his support to the bill telling lawmakers it “would ensure all citizens are in-

cluded in the cathedral of democracy”.

With the House vote on the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act rounding the corner, law-makers on both sides of the issue are prospected to do some last minute lobbying before the House votes. The outcome of this vote will determine if Illinois is to become the tenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage.

RIGHTSContinued from 1

CLC Police Officer Sgt. Ted Waters is taking steps to promote a crimeless commu-nity where citizens look after each other at CLC through the Campus Watch program.

“Our mission is to encour-

age community involvement in the reduction of crime and criminal activity by providing a forum for the exchange and coordination of ideas and strategies to prevent or reduce crime. As well as educating mem-bers of the campus commu-nity in matters relating to crime prevention and per-

sonal safety and to encour-age maximum cooperation and communication between all community members and the CLC Police Depart-ment,” Waters said.

The program’s goal is to promote awareness of potential threats and en-couraging students to take responsibility in the event

of a crime for their safety as well as others.

“This program was in-spired by the successes of the block watch pro-grams and community as-sisted policing programs that have taken place across the country. Police Departments everywhere have realized they can-

not do the job of reducing and preventing criminal activity alone. We need the assistance of our communities to accomplish this goal,” Waters said.

Campus Watch meets on the third Tuesday and the third Wednesday of each month at 1:00 p.m. in room D209 on Mar. 19 and

Campus Watch works to create safer CLC

With winter weather still making its appearance, we must take the time to ensure our vehicles are operating at optimum mechanical ef-ficiency in order to avoid unforeseen safety hazards. CLC automotive instructor Dr. Lance David provided some great tips on how stu-dents can maintain their ve-hicles during the winter and

also how to make sure they travel safely. He suggests students should start by making sure that their tires are in good condition with plenty of tread left.

“During wet and snowy travel tires are very impor-tant. If you have to make a choice between a couple of tires that are better than the other two, the better ones should go in the rear because if you start to slide in the front you can still steer,” Da-

vid said.David also informed us

that we should ensure that our windshield wipers are in good condition and that we have an adequate amount of windshield wiper fluid in the reservoir. Dr. David also adds that students should keep some important emer-gency items in the car during snowy weather.

“You should have an emer-gency blanket just in case you’re stuck in the snow you

don’t want to leave your car running. Snow can bury the exhaust and cause the fumes it to leak into the car. If you have a blanket in the car you can turn the car off and keep warm,” David said

He also recommends that students keep a bag of kitty litter in the car in case they are stuck in the snow. It can be used to help gaintraction in order to maneuver the car. Dr. Lance suggests students keep up proper maintenance

on their cars during all sea-sons.

“Every car comes with an owner’s manual. They should look at the main-tenance schedule to check when oil and other flu-ids should be changed or checked,” David said

By following this advice simple tips we can make sure our vehicles are running at their best and to help avoid some costly emergency situ-ations and repairs.

Automotive Dept. gives winter driving tips

CLC’s Muslim Student Association (MSA) is host-ing a “Muhammad Messen-ger of Peace” program Mar. 7 from 7:30-9:30pm. The event will take place in the C-Auditorium (Room C005) at CLC’s Grayslake campus.

MSA is an organization made up of CLC students whose mission is to facilitate a forum of education on Is-lam.

The program will be chaired by McHenry County College’s Professor of World Religions, Meryl Schmit. The Missionary for the Ah-madiyya Muslim Commu-nity, Noman Rana will give the keynote address for the

symposium. The purpose of the sympo-

sium is to highlight the life of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as present his true character. The event will further express the humani-tarian qualities developed by the Prophet of Islam and ex-pressed through the religion of Islam.

Junayd Latif is the out-reach coordinator for the Zion chapter of the Ah-madiyya Muslim Commu-nity and helped organize the “Muhammad Messenger of Peace” symposium being held at the college.

“This event has been de-signed to show the humani-tarian of the Holy Prophet Muhammad,” Latif said. “The program is going to

express all the different his-torical facts of the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, as well as his teachings and how those teachings were expressed by his followers after him.”

There will also be a pre-sentation of recent service efforts that local Muslim organizations have initiated in accordance to the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings.

“We want to show how Muslims are trying to live according to these values and hope to counter the negative imagery that has come out,” Latif said. “We hope that more average Americans can see Islam and Muslims as a

little more relatable.”The event will also have

a Q&A session where com-munity members are encour-aged to ask questions about the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic faith. All questions that are asked in a respectable format will be answered respectively. The symposium hopes to have inquiring participants who wish to learn more about Is-lam and Muslims attend the event.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s Zion chapter holds interfaith symposiums as a way of promoting dis-cussions between members of different faiths. They

also have issued flyers and pamphlets in local commu-nities around their places of worship expressing Islam’s commitment to peace, lib-erty and sanctity of life.

MSA will be hosting sev-eral other events this semes-ter covering topics such as positive outlooks for women and informational meetings on the Islamic faith.

MSA meets every Thu at 12:30-1:30 p.m. in room C125. For more information on the event contact MSA through the Student Activi-ties office.

Muslim Student Association hosts symposium

Currently the Democratic Party has a veto proof ma-jority of the House and Sen-ate, giving them the power to pass laws to help manage the damages this debt has caused without the coopera-tion of the Republican Party.

While there is no quick so-lution to erase the debt many proposals have been made.

Cutting numerous govern-ment services and decreasing pension benefits are just a

few of the many initial ideas considered by lawmakers.

Another proposed solu-tion, which has caused quite a controversy, is the talk of shifting pension payment re-sponsibilities to local school districts.

“I personally worry about less wealthy K-12 districts that have no means or mechanisms to absorb these costs,” Hoy said.

An increase in property taxes is the only way many of these schools can afford to pay off these extremely steep deficits.

As the debt continues to grow at an astounding rate, the task overcoming this ma-jor financial setback seems to become less realistic. While there are ideas among lawmakers, every one of these debt reduction propos-als not only affects those who reside in the state but also their finances.

The sad reality is that most people are unwilling to be a part of the solution.

Over time these ideas can help decrease the debt if not erase it, but it will require a great deal fiscal sacrifice.

CREDITContinued from 1

News EditorNate Sousa

Staff ReporterCarlton Kindred

Staff ReporterKathleen Hunt

Chronicle Page 4 | Friday, March 1, 2013 features

During the course of his-tory, the interconnectedness between plant life and man-kind illuminate the progres-sive and profound symbiotic relationship in existence to-day.

As human beings increas-ingly evolved their knowl-edge of horticultural and agricultural techniques for sustenance, they inevitably became a more sedentary species.

Most regional cultures around the world managed to cultivate specific types of plants for nourishment and medicinal usage.

An increase of food supply thereby resulted in the in-crease of the human species.

Mankind preserved this crucial knowledge of plant growth in exercising the horticultural and agricultural approaches to sustain future generations.

Both approaches to sus-tenance are still practiced today.

However, both approaches are different regarding their means of production.

Agriculture is widely ac-cepted as the practice of large scale cultivation of a single crop species.

Horticulture is a more di-

verse and scientific practice of cultivating a variety of crops on smaller plots of land.

Both are reminiscent of mankind’s potential for sur-vival and ancestral gene pool of resilience.

Intertwined with the knowledge of cultivation is the responsibility of ecologi-cal stewardship.

It is from this mentality of sustainability that the hor-ticulture department at the CLC is progressively advo-cating their students and the community to be mindful of.

New developments in ag-ricultural and food science technology limit the rela-tionship people have with their food.

Rarely do people ques-tion where their food comes from, who produces it, how their food was produced, and what their food is made of.

Along with this increase of apathy, the developments of the latest technological gadgets, i.e. cellular device, video games, television shows…etc, increasingly distract future generations from, as quoted by Baloo (the Walt Disney character from the Jungle Book),“…the bare necessities and mother nature’s recipes.”

The department of horti-culture at CLC is striving

to keep the awareness in preserving this ancient old practice by rigorously edu-cating students enrolled in the program.

“Sustainability is at our core, no matter what pro-gram of study,” said Rory Klick, head chair of the Horticulture Department at CLC.

Klick and the department are also devoted to enlight-ening the community of Lake County with the re-sponsibilities of sustainable horticulture as it is a science entailing the intricate bond between the flora of nature and the educational absorp-tion of mankind.

“Nurturing new life is pretty inspiring, being able to grow your own food and teach others to grow their own food – that’s pretty powerful,” Klick said.

Since Klick took over the head chair for the depart-ment in 2008, ramifications towards reconstructing aspects of the horticulture curriculum shifted and em-phasized sustainability in all aspects of the department.

Leading the department, Klick elevated the approach to teaching the practice of horticulture, thereby aiding the student body in attain-ing stronger credit transfer credibility for schools in the

regional area. This progress would al-

low sufficient experience for aspiring students to continue their education at a univer-sity.

“Enrollments are good, completion rates are way up, and students are enthused about what they are learn-ing,” Klick said. “We are getting great reviews and approval for transfer of our updated courses.”

Increasingly the developed classes and curriculum within the horticulture department are more of an inspiring and culturally invigorating im-pact the school obtains and offers.

Reducing the usage of chemical fertilizers is a posi-tive step towards maintain-ing an ecological practice.

Chemicals poorly impact the overall vegetation of crop fields and the surround-ing ecology of an as run offs eventually lead to the water wells and rivers of local communities.

Eventually these chemi-cals have prolonged impacts on the environment.

“People need to realize that those old patterns need to change, and the next generations of green profes-sionals need to be trained in sustainable practices,” Klick said.

The usage of chemical fertilizers within the hor-ticulture department is scarce, rarely using it to treat unwanted and inva-sive weeds.

“People also like to think that high-tech is the answer, and that any problem should have a quick chemical fix,” Klick said. “We practice integrated pest management (using minimal impact op-tions first) and use our own homemade compost.”

Klick’s enthusiasm proves the persistence and progres-sion of a movement towards sustainability.

Currently, the department obtains several approaches in enlightening the student’s ability to understand the sci-ence of horticulture.

“The department utilizes an arboretum, a collection of over 300 species of trees and shrubs that aid in research and development, a perenni-al garden, a food production garden and a community garden,” Klick said.

With 49 plots of land, the community garden enables members of the community to partake in practicing hor-ticulture.

“As we develop our cam-pus farm, we hope to include perennial food crops like fruit and nut trees, berries, asparagus – even mush-

Food is a science for Horticulture Dept. Staff ReporterAlex Aranda

CLC’s Multicultural Stu-dent Center ended the cel-ebration of Black History Month revealing historic African-American inven-tors.

The Black Inventors Exhibit (BIE) filled the CLC atrium with over 100 authentic artifacts presented which included brief biog-raphies of various Black American inventors, patent designs, pictures, surprising facts and video documenta-ries.

The BIE goal is to give credit inventors, but also inspire others to believe any-thing is possible all the while achieving racial pride, racial understanding, and moti-vating students to continue learning.

“This event is important

because these inventors did not invent these things only for Black people but for all people to help make our daily lives easier and more productive,” James Ince, Curator for BIE said.

Inventions such as the automatic traffic light, the Super Soaker water gun, the mailbox, pencil sharpener, spoon designs, aspirin and many more were all created by African-Americans.

BIE travels to over 100 cities in the United States and even abroad to Canada, the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.

Ince said sharing this information could be a beneficial tool in changing the way people racially per-ceive or interact with each other, especially with those who aren’t exposed to the diversity of ethnic groups.

“Most college students

could not tell you more than two Black inventors,” Ince said, “because this infor-mation is not in our history books or science books. It is important that this informa-tion is shared in order to help break down the walls of rac-ism that still exist.”

Ince believes the lack of knowledge is what ultimate-ly limits people from becom-ing who they need to be.

“We’re destroyed because we have limited informa-tion,” Ince said. “There are other things that ethnic groups do, but the me-dia doesn’t present their achievements.”

Ince holds the media partially accountable for creating inaccurate represen-tations of people of color.

“The media doesn’t pres-ent the achievements made by those people,” he said. “Why don’t we have more

ethnic groups showing their contributions? Not just their food or their culture, but their technology, their intel-lect. Black people don’t just play basketball, they are intellectual as well.”

Most of the displayed Black inventors were in the fields of science, aerospace, healthcare, agriculture, transportation and engineer-ing.

BIE believes if students know more they will do better, in using Black inven-tors as examples could give students the boost they need in order to achieve what they wish.

“This exhibit is to inspire and motivate people who think they could never ever do things,” he said. “All these people came from humble beginnings and came from poor parts of neighborhoods.

They could barely speak

the English language, had little to no education or money, yet they still had the ability to make it happen. So what’s holding people back?”

The BIE was founded in 1995 in western Massachu-setts.

After three years of pre-senting in New England, they went national through-out North America.

BIE attends cultural expos, professional conventions, educational conferences, learning institutions and community organizations.

“Racism is a sick disease, it’s like a cancer and this information is here to stop that cancer, because if we expose as many people as we can to this information, this will break down the preconception of how we view the African-American people as,” Ince said.

Exhibit sheds light on Black inventorsManaging Editormaria Isabel Garcia

Chronicle Page 5 | Friday, March 1, 2013Features

CLC students have taken the frozen cold Polar Plunge

CLC students took a frosty dive during the Polar Plunge in Fox Lake, Feb 24. This is the first year the college has participated in the event.

“It is a different experience to get involved with the community outside of CLC,” said CLC student Valarie Mercurio. “The Polar Plunge makes you feel as if you are doing something out of the ordinary.”

The Polar Plunge is one of the organizations that helps support the Special Olympics. Since its inception

20 years ago, it has raised more than 7.5 million dollars and has had more than 33,000 plungers nationally. State wide, the organization raised more than $1.5 million with over 6,290 plungers in 2012.

The group of CLC students and one faculty member that participated raised $145. Al-though they would have liked to raise more money, it does not reflect the dedication that each person had.

This being the first year, not many students participated in the events, but Mercurio feels this is just the beginning.

“Instructions and how to register online will be more

available in the future,” Mercurio said. “Also, we are working on different methods to make it easier to get in-volved.”

The Alpha Alpha Pi chapters of Phi Theta Kappa and Student Government Association (SGA) have made efforts to make information about the polar plunge readily available. You can like CLC taking the polar plunge on Facebook. Or register as an individual plunger for next year on www.firstgiving.com.

Photo by Melissa JurikCLC students took the Polar Plunge in Fox Lake, IL. on Feburary 24.

“You say speech, we say fun,” said speech Coach Lynn Harper after hard work paid off over the weekend of Feb 2, where CLC’s speech team placed third at Prairie State along with Becca Townsend individually placing third in Poetry Interpretation.

Their last tournament takes place this weekend at Harper College, then off to regionals, state, and nationals. It is a week-long event that is free, with no out of pocket ex-penses to the students.

“Please attend our Night before Nationals event, scheduled for the week of Apr. 8, here at CLC,” said Harper. Everyone can watch the team’s per-formance, show support, and create awareness that this team is not only fun but also beneficial to ev-eryone. Coach Harper has over 6 years of dedication to the team and has had

nothing but consistent success.

Thanks are in order for assistant Coach Joel Ch-mara, who just recently left the team due to a new family member, along with the alumni that pop in to show support and help out. “There are too many people, and only one set of eyes,” said Coach Harper when asked about their success. “It is always easier with more than one person coach-ing.”

In hopes for a high turn-out at the “Night before Nationals,” Harper ex-pects to see not only CLC students, but staff mem-bers and faculty as well. Maybe even the President or Vice-President could pop in and give the team some motivation. “I am hoping for an ethnically diverse group for next season, and a funding increase. Unfortunately, as our success rate keeps climbing, that involves more traveling, and more money,” said Harper.

Speaking up towards Success

Looking for opportunities? Check out The Chronicle!

Room C-101847-543-2057

Staff ReporterCandace May

Staff ReporterKayla Velasquez

A&EChroniclePage 6 Friday, March 1, 2013

Mark your calendars for the return of the Empty Bowls Project. Originally proposed in 2007 by Profes-sor Ben Bates, this widely known event was brought to CLC. The Empty Bowls project is an event that many ceramics schools and organi-zations participate in around the country.

The Empty Bowls Project brings together the artistic talents of ceramics students and faculty while serving the community.

“The Ceramics Club at CLC was looking for an out-reach opportunity, a way to connect and give back to the community, and to me, this seemed to be the perfect way to do that,” Professor Bates said.

This event is truly a proj-ect. Showcasing over 1,000 unique, hand-made bowls made by both faculty and students and donating all proceeds to The Northern Food Bank of Lake County. For just $15 each and ac-companied with a serving of

chili and cornbread served by CLC culinary students. Larger serving bowls will also be available for $30.

“I wanted to make this an interdisciplinary event so I invited the CLC Culinary Arts program to join in and create the food for our event. They do a phenomenal job with the food and service,” Bates said.

This project not only serves the community pro-foundly, but also offers col-laboration from the diverse talent of CLC students. With the efforts of the hard work-ing participants and volun-teers, the Empty Bowls Proj-ect has raised over $25,000 since its debut in 2008. The donations continue to grow exponentially each year.

The success of this event is unparalleled but the “ul-timate goal is the chance to help our community the best way that we know how. We are able to use our unique skill with ceramics to raise the funds to contribute and make life a little easier for those of us that may be struggling,” Bates said. “The NIFB is the right organiza-

tion for us to donate to be-cause they are able to accu-rately assess and distribute to the areas that are in the greatest need.”

The Empty Bowls project is just one of a myriad of ways that the ceramics de-partment has expanded its influence across campus and into the community.

“It’s a great program and

has advanced a lot since I started going to school here,” ceramics student and former Empty Bowls partici-pant Justin Hay said. “Ce-ramics makes new additions and is always trying to make improvements-trying to get everyone involved.”

With the department con-tinuously evolving, students are able to make use of re-sources available at CLC while at the same time be-ing offered opportunities to apply their skill and drive focus into a large project reaching out farther than the CLC community.

“The greatest benefit I get from the project is the discipline to stay focused on a large project and follow-ing through with it,” Laura Tumminello said, an active participant in the project the past five years.

Not only do students ap-ply hard work into making this event successful with months of preparation, they are coming together for the utility of those in need.

“It is a tremendous experi-ence for students to practice their skill and to stay focused on the project at hand,” Tum-minello said.

This project serves as a vehicle to bring awareness to the persisting problem of hunger in Lake County as well as awareness to the ceramics department’s ex-pansion.

This event has had unend-ing support from the com-munity at CLC.

“Most of the students and faculty that are making and contributing bowls for the event are also at the sale

purchasing the bowls made by our fellow artists,” Bates said.

The involvement from participants enhances the overall success of the project and encourages others to ex-pose their art.

“I think it is very important to support fellow classmates - many of the students cri-tique and discuss with each other the work and glazing technique. I have always purchased other student work at this event and at our semi-annual student sales,” Tumminello said.

Receiving feedback from peers and buyers facilitates personal growth and further encourages the artists to continue participating in the project.

“It’s a good feeling, see-ing someone appreciate the work you make, but also doing something bigger than just yourself,” Hay said.

This event gives students and faculty the opportunity to expose their art, talents and satisfy over-active taste buds with the scrumptious chili that comes with each bowl.

This is truly an oppor-tunity to snag an original piece of art and help out the community. The fifth an-nual Empty Bowls Project will take place on March 12, 2013 from 11 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the Atrium.

Participation in this event is not exclusive to CLC ceramics students, help is always welcomed. If you are interested in donating bowls to the event, or interested in how you can participate, contact Professor Ben Bates.

‘Empty Bowls’ great art for a good cause

Phil Brahm • The ChronicleCeramics club and the culinary department are collaborating for the 5th year.

Phil Brahm • The Chronicle

Staff ReporterAlexandra turcios

A&EA&E ChroniclePage 7 Friday, March 1, 2013

‘A Good Day to Die Hard’ ruins franchise

To this day, “Die Hard” (1988) sets the standard for action films. Bruce Willis was brilliant in his break-out role as John McClane, the writing thoroughly de-veloped his character and the action was perfectly paced and well directed.

The film spawned three solid sequels and a sub-genre of copy cats. 25 years later, McClane has finally run out of lives.

“A Good Day to Die Hard” is a travesty. The film’s writers found a way to completely destroy a time tested formula. Mc-

Clane is on vacation or a day off, he is at an enclosed and/or crowded area, devious terrorists unleash a brilliant plan but despite the odds, McClane defeats them all while complaining about his bad luck. It’s not that hard

to follow. Four other sets of writers have gotten it right and Bruce Willis has the role down so there is no excuse.

There is absolutely no reason to explore a forced story line with his son (Jai Courtney), a character that wasn’t developed in any of the other films. There is no reason to make this un-necessary son a CIA agent working in Russia. There are many more inexcusable plot decisions but they don’t need to be mentioned. All you need to know is that the McClanes somehow end up in Chernobyl.

But no one was expecting a mind bending story.

The thing is the action scenes are almost just as bad.

Die Hard has never been recognized for being com-pletely physically plausible and no one expected that to change, but there is a line. In the “Yipee Kay Yay” mo-ment of the film, McClane

brings down an apache he-licopter by driving a truck out of the back while it’s still attached by a cable to the helicopter.

The Jeep is dangling out

of the back of the chopper for a good five minutes. He survives.

Destroying the Die Hard formula, wasting the skills of Bruce Willis and spend-

ing over a $100 million dollars on some of the most outlandish action sequences in movie history without a second thought is truly a cin-ematic achievement.

Editor-in-ChiefJoshua May

“When the sod-buster came, Built all their fences, A few ranchers saw, The handwriting on the wall, The beginning of the end, Of the open, Unfenced range,” begins the poem, “Vanishing Open Range” an excerpt taken from the book of poetry, “Open Range” by Ronald E. Daiss a member of CLC‘s Literary Arts Society.

A retired history teacher, Daiss, recalled being, “cowboy crazy since he was a kid” and used that portion of American history for the inspiration of his poems.

The love of the Old West also runs in his family.

His father was always looking for a ranch to pur-chase and his brother cur-rently owns one in southern Arizona where he raises cattle.

An avid reader of the western genre, Daiss used many famous and infamous

events spanning from 1865 to the 1890s as subjects of his poetry. You can read about the Gunfight at the O.K Corral in, “Arizona Ter-ritory, 1881,” and General Custer in, “The Golden Lad”.

Many of his other poems are composites of typical old west characters: “School Mar’m,” “Town Sheriff” “Storekeep” and “Barkeep” to name a few.

Production of barbed wire in 1874 marked the beginning of the end for the open range and an era in history. Before then, there was no effective way to keep cattle divided which allowed them to roam.

“Open Range” is a delight-ful, quick read that captures life in the Old West in a creative and unique way.

Daiss has been an active member of CLCs Literary Arts Society since 2001 and occasionally fills in as an emcee for one of its slam events.

The Literary Arts Society

is open to students as well as the local community.

While there are no sched-uled meetings, the Soci-ety holds several events a year: two poetry slams, one little story slam and a Shakespeare birthday cel-ebration.

In addition, Society Presi-dent Ann Buxbaum said small scholarships are given to students.

To qualify for a scholar-ship, students need to write a small essay explaining what their aim is for at-tending CLC and why they should be considered for the scholarship.

Little story slam is the next Literary Arts Society event on Mar. 19 from 1 to 4 p.m. in the Atrium. Snacks and beverages are provided during break.

Those wishing to par-ticipate should come with three original Little Stories or a small piece of each stories.

Everyone is welcome to compete, judge or just be part of the audience.

Staff ReporterDiane Lively

Daiss explores western themes in “Open Range”

Photo courtesy of • 20th Century FoxPoor writing and outlandish action scenes waste Bruce Willis’ talent.

Like us on Facebook: The Chronicle

website: chronicleonline.tumblr.com

View our issues online: issuu.com/chronicleclc

Chronicle Page 8| Friday,March 1, 2013 A&E

POPULAR PROGRAMS

Biology

Business

Communications

Education

Psychology

EARN YOUR BACHELOR’S DEGREE AT ROOSEVELT.You’re well on your way. Now make the move to achieve your goals. Roosevelt has transfer agreements with numerous Chicagoland community colleges, so it’s easy to join our community. Plus we offer generous scholarships and fi nancial aid.

Flexibility. Affordability. Simplicity.

Our Schaumburg Campus is a hub of scientifi c and environmental study—set on 30 rolling acres near entertainment, shopping and dining for your fun, and among businesses and organizations for your development.

MAKE A SMART MOVE. TRANSFER.

For more about transferring, visitROOSEVELT.EDU/TRANSFER

or text MOVE to 57711

Thrillers generally tend to have the same type of plot and almost predictable twists and turns. Side Effects is different: it begins slowly with an intentionally misleading plot line, but becomes more unexpect-edly sinister as it progress-es—never once stopping to explain to the audience what is happening.

Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara) is a woman who is struggling with depression after her husband, Martin (Channing Tatum), returns from jail after a four year sentence for insider trading.

Emily soon attempts suicide by driving her car straight into a concrete wall and ends up in the emergency room where Dr. Banks (Jude Law) sees her and promises he won’t hospitalize her if she comes to see him regularly for sessions.

He soon prescribes her a

drug, Ablixa, after Emily suggests it.

At this point, the movie takes a completely differ-ent turn, as a murder is committed—with Emily being the main suspect. The drug and her doctor are now under fire and the audience has to work through the mystery of what will happen next at the same time as Dr. Banks does.

Mara’s performance is practically flawless as she goes through the motions of her character; Cath-erine Zeta-Jones also per-forms well as a predictably evil side character.

Law’s character pulls the film together as his character is persistent to piece together his life after the murder and subsequent media attention.

The trailer is a little misleading, but for good reason; the film is extremely entertaining and sometimes shocking, but smart.

Crazy ‘Side Effects’ ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ propelled by great acting

“Silver Linings Playbook” is an interesting twist on the average romantic comedy.

Emotional depth combined with humor and a compelling plot set the film apart from the rest.

Pat Salatano (Bradley Cooper) suffers from bipolar disorder and recently returned from an eight month stay in a mental hospital after losing his wife, job and home.

When he is released from the hospital, he is determined to get his old life back—including his estranged wife.

Instead, he meets the dramatic and equally troubled Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence).

Through a trade-off, their relationship flourishes and they are able to help each other.

Pat’s character is an accurate portrayal of someone living with bipolar disorder.

Throughout the film, he suffers delusions and severe mood swings, but is never portrayed as a bad per-son—only someone who is a product of his circumstances.

For a general audience who may not know much about bipolar disorder, it can sometimes be frustrating to understand the main character’s perspective, but it definitely does not overpower the movie.

Lawrence’s performance complements Cooper’s as her character searches for a friend after the death of her husband.

Lawrence recently won the Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her performance in this film.

Another notable perfor-mance is by Pat’s father, played by Robert De Niro. De Niro plays a superstitious gambler who stakes his team’s ability to win on his son’s success. He is a side character, but

is extremely important to the film and adds an element of surprise and fun to the plot.

The film was released to 16 theaters on Nov. 16 and nationally on Dec. 25; it was written and directed by David O. Russell, who is best known for 2010’s “The Fighter.”

“Silver Linings Playbook” was nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, best actor and best supporting actor and actress.

Overall, “Silver Linings Playbook” is a great end-of-the-year romantic comedy and a definite must-see.

Editor-in-Chiefkelley byrne

Editor-in-Chiefkelley byrne

Have an eye for photos?

Call The Chronicle. 847-543-2057

POPULAR PROGRAMS

Biology

Business

Communications

Education

Psychology

EARN YOUR BACHELOR’S DEGREE AT ROOSEVELT.You’re well on your way. Now make the move to achieve your goals. Roosevelt has transfer agreements with numerous Chicagoland community colleges, so it’s easy to join our community. Plus we offer generous scholarships and fi nancial aid.

Flexibility. Affordability. Simplicity.

Our Schaumburg Campus is a hub of scientifi c and environmental study—set on 30 rolling acres near entertainment, shopping and dining for your fun, and among businesses and organizations for your development.

MAKE A SMART MOVE. TRANSFER.

For more about transferring, visitROOSEVELT.EDU/TRANSFER

or text MOVE to 57711

‘Silver Linings Playbook’ propelled by great acting

is extremely important to the film and adds an element of surprise and fun to the plot.

The film was released to 16 theaters on Nov. 16 and nationally on Dec. 25; it was written and directed by David O. Russell, who is best known for 2010’s “The Fighter.”

“Silver Linings Playbook” was nominated for eight Oscars including best picture, best actor and best supporting actor and actress.

Overall, “Silver Linings Playbook” is a great end-of-the-year romantic comedy and a definite must-see.

Chronicle Page 9 | Friday, March 1, 2013Opinion

While freedom of religion is one of the most important rights we have obtained as citizens of the United States, it only advo-cates us to respect each other’s right to religious freedom and not respect other’s religious beliefs. As a large populated academic community with a variety of religious beliefs, it is essential that we as individuals educate ourselves about the re-ligious faiths in our community to decrease the misconceptions of each follower’s faiths and to better understand their perspec-tive.

In order to rid ourselves of this discomfort and lessen the misconceptions that we can feel from a lack of understanding of a religious group’s beliefs, we must become knowledgeable of the emic dimensions of their re-ligion. The emic dimension of a religion is the native definition existing within a religion.

I had the opportunity to learn more about the Islamic faith firsthand from multiple Muslims during my efforts to research this piece. Their open-ness to discuss their religion inspired me to write about

decreasing prejudice against people of faith.

Junayd Latif is the outreach coordinator for the Zion chap-ter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and helped orga-nize the upcoming “Muham-mad Messenger of Peace” symposium that will be held at CLC on Mar. 7.

“I think that is why it is great that the college has allowed us to host this event,” Latif said. “In order to get real knowledge it has be done from a position of objectivity where someone has the freedom to observe a subject objectively.”

Generalizing anything, not just a religion, is an easy road to making assumptions about a subject. Society is content with basic definitions, refusing to acknowledge the complexity of many ideas.

For example, categorizing all Muslims into one sect is a com-mon mistake made by many people. We can entrust the mainstream media or Wikipe-dia to provide us with the bul-let points of a religious faith, but not reasons why someone believes in what they do. Community members should engage in discussion with the faithful practitioners of each re-

ligion about its personal impor-tance to them. This exchange in conversations will aid in under-standing the individuals of the faith, not letting a second hand source inform them of the faith as a whole.

“A misconception many people make is that Islam is this one thing, like all Muslims are the same,” Latif said. “A lot of people are okay with hearing just one viewpoint, usually in reference to a war or conflict, and they think that expression is the totality of what Islam is when they haven’t even talked to a Muslim themselves.”

Another misconception that the public makes with the Is-lamic faith specifically is the association of violent behavior and relentless defense of their beliefs.

Latif emphasizes that differ-ent sects respond differently to current events.

“We’re trying to do this type of event as a way of setting an example for Muslims to show how you can respond when your faith or someone you love within the faith is being at-tacked,” Latif said.

Providing religious groups with a platform to openly com-municate their beliefs and the

reasons behind those beliefs is important in our community’s understanding of their per-spective. Open inter-religion discussion about current events and value systems is crucially important in the process of find-ing common ground amongst religions.

“We want to clear the air a little bit and hopefully others can see why we feel so strongly about the Holy Prophet Mu-hammad,” Latif said. “So that our neighbors can see some of the things that we are support-ing in the Holy Prophet Mu-hammad are because we do not see him in the same way they do and they can understand why we revere him.”

While religious groups may not be able to agree on every-thing, it is important that each embraces the importance of ed-ucating non believers to evade ignorance of their values.

I heavily emphasize that this informative inititative is not based on the intent of convert-ing individuals.

This is why I am eagerly pro-posing that the college provides a world religions forum or conference of some kind where members of religious faiths and community members can

openly discuss their spirituality and perspectives on events in the community and around the world, in a peaceful manner.

A forum like this would ben-efit the college because it would promote its members to express their beliefs to the community respectfully. More importantly it promotes discussion between community members.

Members can voice opin-ions but if they do not discuss those perspectives with other members of the community then we cannot understand the perspectives of others in our community.

It’s important to educate ourselves to prevent indoctri-nation, leading to closed mind-edness and the inability to un-derstand others point of views.

“As long as education is al-lowed to have that space to tackle each particular problem where it is done objectively, and with the intent of solely seeking truth, then I think it has a huge role to play in fostering better relationships between people in communities and worldwide,” Latif said. “I don’t see any other way for us to have world peace if education is involved in it and is done properly.”

Religious understanding requires inquiring mindsNews EditorNate Sousa

Presentation topics include » Academic Highlights » Introduction to Student Services » Transfer Admission & Financial Aid Overview » Student Panel

You will also have the opportunity to meet our faculty and take a walking tour of our beautiful 62-acre campus in Naperville’s Historic District.

To learn more about North Central College’s Visit Day program and to register, visit northcentralcollege.edu/transfer or call 630-637-5800.

North Central College/10”x7”/College of Lake County

TO regISTer, CAll630-637-5800Or VISITnorthcentralcollege.edu/transfer

Here’s wHat we Have pLaNNed for you:

North CeNtral College Naperville, il

JOIN uS FOr Our

transfer visit daysaturday, april 20, 2013

10x7_college of lake county_refuel.indd 1 12/27/2012 10:11:09 AM

Chronicle Page 10| Friday, March 1, 2013 opinion

First, I want to thank the editors Kelley Byrne and Joshua May for inviting me to write a column for The Chronicle. I think it is a fantastic idea, and I look forward to this being a part of my overall dialogue with students and staff alike.

For my first column,I will focus on how we can all be part of the demo-cratic process to inform our state and federal legislators of the im-portant issues that af-fect community college students. In the future, I would like to write about subjects that come from student requests. So, please let Joshua and Kel-ley know some topics that you would like me to address.

We often hear news com-mentators complain that our elected representatives and government officials make decisions solely based on requests from those who have influence through money and power. With all

the news about campaign contributors, lobbyists and special interests that comes from Springfield or Wash-ington, it seems that way. However, every one of us can participate in the demo-cratic process and each of us has a voice as we try to educate our elected officials about topics that are impor-tant to us.

The most obvious and straightforward way to par-ticipate in the process is to register to vote, and then vote. Your vote counts! During the last election, there were local races that were as close as a few hun-dred votes. Just this week, there were Lake County primary elections decided by just a few hundred votes. Even state and national elec-tions can be quite close. You may remember the presiden-tial election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was so close that the results ended up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The first step is being reg-istered to vote. The State of Illinois Board of Elections website has information on registering to vote and where to vote (http://www.elections.il.gov/). For Lake County election informa-tion and where to vote, go to the website of County Clerk Willard Helander at http://

countyclerk.lakecountyil.gov/Pages/Default.aspx.

Click on Election Info, Voter Services, Voter Power option and enter your infor-mation. All the information on voting registration and where you vote is on this website. To help you decide who to vote for, you can find candidate information through many media sourc-es, local and national news-papers, online and television news sites, and blogs.

Besides voting, you also have a voice in laws and de-cisions by directly address-ing your legislative officials. You may not realize this but the CLC Board of Trust-ees and I advocate on your behalf and for the college needs, such as allocations for financial aid or funding to build facilities, including the new Science building that is being planned for the Gray-slake Campus. In fact, the trustees and I often contact elected officials about pend-ing legislation. In addition, at least once a year, we travel to Springfield and Washing-ton, D.C. as a group to meet directly with our legislators to seek their support on vari-ous issues. State of Illinois issues we have recently ad-vocated for include increase funding for the College of Lake County and the Illinois community college system,

increase funding for commu-nity college students through the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP grants), and release of capital funding for a new $48 million Lakeshore Campus building.

On the federal side, in early February, members of the Board and I attended a community college National Legislative Summit in Wash-ington, D.C. After learning recent background on pro-posed issues and changes, we met with Congressmen Randy Hultgren, Peter Ros-kam and Brad Schneider to advocate for national issues that affect community col-leges. We asked for their support in maintaining the Pell grants and other fund-ing sources vital to you and our college programs. Dur-ing our time in D.C., much of the talk was already fo-cused on the mandatory 5.1 percent spending cuts called sequestration.

We also advocated for maintaining funding for the large federal grants such as the Trade Adjustment As-sistance Community Col-lege and Career Training (TAACCCT) grant program. These Department of La-bor grants are the funding source for a statewide initia-tive led by CLC to expand adult transition services and develop comprehensive

training programs in the green economy. In ad-dition, these grants pro-vide resources for us to develop and expand our programs such as Computerized Nu-merical Control (CNC) offerings and Mechatronics (robotics) offerings.

At the College, we know it is important to let our legislators know our issues and that we care about them. We found from our experi-ence that there are a number of issues that our legisla-tors do not fully understand unless we explain the im-pact on our students and on CLC. You do not have to go to Springfield or Wash-ington to talk to your leg-islators. You can find them in local forums or even at their local offices. You can also email them or call their offices. Voting is one way you can clearly influ-ence your own future. You can also directly speak to your elected officials and help them understand your needs. I hope you will con-sider getting involved in the democratic process!

Jerry W. Weber, Ph.D.President

Dr. Weber: Get involved in democratic process

There has been a lot of talk about The Oscars this week as they took place on Sunday, mainly about Seth MacFarlane’s performance as the ceremony’s host.

Many have complained that his humor was juvenile and sexist, but honestly, his performance wasn’t very shocking because MacFar-lane, most famous for his animated show “Family Guy”, makes a living off of sexist humor and just gener-ally being offensive.

But the problem does not lie within the jokes, but in the way media like E! and other “entertainment” based shows and magazines make a living off of sexism every day.

Especially with red carpet pre-shows and programs like Fashion Police, dedicated

purely to making fun of women.

Female celebrities are expected to constantly put themselves on display and are judged by random hosts like animals at a county fair.

It seems that no matter how successful a female celebrity is, her clothing choices and her stature are for the most part, judged more than any-thing else.

A woman could have a great career and she would still be judged by how straight her teeth are, how thin she is, how fat she is, how short or long her hair is, or what she wore to go to breakfast with her grandma, over her achievements.

A great example of this was how Anne Hathaway’s award for best supporting actress and following heart-felt speech was overshad-owed by the tailoring of her dress. The chest darts made

it look like her nipples were showing, an observation that proved to be too distracting for many people. So much so that there had to be entire ar-ticles complete with pictures it.

We live in a world where people care more about Mi-chelle Obama’s bangs and who designed her outfit, than they do about her Let’s Move campaign to promote healthy eating and stop childhood obesity. This is in a country where obesity is almost at epidemic propor-tions.

It’s sad because much of this petty commentary is made by other women and is what contributes to many eating disorders and emo-tional problems, including binge eating disorder which often causes obesity.

Women make up more than half of the United States’ population and yet they are

constantly demeaned as if their only worth is in their image.

Being a girl, I have expe-rienced this first hand. I’ve struggled with my weight, I’ve had magazines promise to show me the right jeans for my body only to realize none of the images repre-sented me.

I’ve been told that I’m beautiful just the way I am, but then reminded that I need to get “bikini ready” and given suggestions of crash diets that’ll help me achieve the perfect flat stomach and small hips.

It’s a sick cycle of self-hate that for many women never stops. It’s drilled over and over again that no matter what you do with your life, or who you help, if you’re ugly, it doesn’t matter.

Open up Cosmo and there aren’t even faces most of the time, just heavily photo-

shopped bodies, reinforcing to women the fact their body is for display and the rest of them does not matter.

We need to create more positive influences for young women and encourage them to reach their goals so that they do not fall into a cycle of self-hate.

Media should focus more on the achievements of women, rather than their appearance and women in general need to support each other and not be so quick to judge because it only adds to the problem.

Until we are able to fix these persistent problems throughout our entire cul-ture, until young girls and women in general are not just seen as a body part, we can’t even begin to comment on MacFarlane’s jokes.

He is only a product of the system that constantly per-petuates these ideas.

Editor: Red carpet spectacle unfairly judges actressesEditor-in-Chiefkelley byrne

If you have questions for Dr. Weber, please send them to

Chronicle@clcillinois.edu

Chronicle Page 11 | Friday, March 1, 2013Sports

History. Perfection…well sort of.

The Blackhawks are 17-0-3 and continue to improve upon their record point streak to start a season.

Usually when a team is playing this well, it’s easy to identify an aspect where the team excels. For the Hawks, it’s all of them.

The offense is fourth in the NHL in goals per game (3.1), the defense is second in the league in penalty kill percentage (88.7) and leading the league in goals against (1.8).

“The word that comes to my mind is ‘complete.’ I think they’re a complete team,” NHL Network ana-lyst Craig Button told NHL.com.

Although it has been the major question mark for the Hawks in recent years, the goaltending has been stellar this season.

The mix of Corey Craw-ford and Ray Emery has become the backbone behind the best team in hockey. Crawford owns a 1.50 goals against average (GAA) and a .941 save percentage while Emery isn’t far behind with a 2.1 GAA and a .927 save per-centage.

The epit-ome of the g o a l t e n d -ing success came Feb. 28 in a 3-0 win over the Blues. Craw-ford started the game and notched a scoreless first period before leaving the game with an upper body injury. Emery came in and was spectacular.

He made 15 saves on the way to his first shutout of the season. The shutout of the Blues was the third of the

year for the Hawks after not holding an opponent score-

less since 2011.

But the goalies aren’t the ones putting the puck in the net.

Really, it has been ev-eryone else. Patrick Kane leads the team with 10 goals and 14 assists, followed by

Marian Hossa and Jonathan Toews with nine goals.

“It can be Hossa, Kane, Toews and (Patrick) Sharp coming at you with pressure

or Viktor Stalberg coming at you with speed, and he can check,” Button told NHL.com. “An-

drew Shaw comes at you with tenac-

ity and a physical presence. Danny Carcillo, he’s just back in the lineup, but he’s that type of player that adds to your

team. Same with Bran-don Saad.The play of Shaw and

Saad defines what the Hawks bring to the table. They fea-ture a ton of youth who play like veterans. Shaw (21) has four goals on the year and scored the lone goal in a Hawks win over Columbus Feb. 24, while Saad (20) has three goals and netted the shorthanded game winner

over San Jose Feb. 22.Filling the void of the

enforcer roll that Ben Eager and Dustin Byfuglien left are Carcillo and Brandon Bollig.

Bollig has only played nine games this season and has racked up 36 penalty minutes and four fights.

A nice change of pace for the team is Duncan Keith. The assistant captain fin-ished in the top two in total time-on-ice for the past three years. This year, he ranks 30th.

The Hawks have a point in their last 26 regular-season games dating back to last season and it if they take care of inferior teams, that streak should continue.

Their next nine games are against teams that sit seventh or lower in the Western Con-ference.

It has already been a his-toric season for the Hawks and if history holds true, Lord Stanley’s Cup will re-turn to Chicago.

Blackhawks continue historic point streak

BE TRANSFORMED.

TRANSFER TO

LOYOLA,ATTEND A TRANSFER INFORMATION SESSIONMarch 20 • Tour at 5 PM, presentation at 6 PM • Lake Shore Campus

Visit LUC.edu/transfer for more information.

Transfer scholarships available.

Sports Editorsam greenberg

Truth Conquers All Since 1969Friday, March 1, 2013 Vol 46, No. 10

The Men’s Basketball team is gearing up for the playoffs. They are riding a two game win streak, but finished their season with a record of 7-22

That’s a record that does not make the state playoffs, but with the way the Illinois Skyway Conference is set up, every team makes the playoffs.

As first year player, sophomore Fred Tompkins walked through the hallways of CLC, students said, “Are you all ready to lose?”

“A lot of people don’t have confidence in us,” said Tompkins.

This lack of confidence in the team is understandable with their play, but the blatant way they talk about it is wrong on all levels.

At the beginning of the year, the doubt in the team got in the heads of the players.

“[We were thinking] we’re go-ing to to lose by this much. We’re going to get beat by this team,” said Tompkins.

But now, harsh comments are motivation to him and his team-mates.

“The team has never wanted to win more,” said Tompkins.

The recent winning streak could

prove something for a playoff run and boost the confidence of the team even more.

Sophomore Will Meyer has been a big confidence boost, but was recently sidelined with an injury.

“Everyone wants to win, espe-cially since we lost Will.” Tomp-kins said.

The Lancers need to win three games to get out of the Illinois Skyway Conference playoff.

To win three games, they defi-nitely need to come together and forget about the non-believers.

The Lancers also need to forget about earlier in the season when they were guessing how many points they were going to lose by.

Tompkins recalled small mo-ments in the season when the team would come together.

“There’s been games where we would give each other high fives after lay-ups…and have actual good huddles,” he said, “I think we play so much better when we do stuff like that.”

Had the Lancers played this way all year, the team would be in a much better spot in their divi-sion.

“Over the past couple games, we’ve became a team,” Tomp-kins said.

Lancers hungry for postseason redemption

Justin Leyba • The ChronicleA recent rout of McHenry has helped the players believe in themselves.

Staff ReporterKyle Risinger

Staff ReporterAnthony Skillen

Justin Leyba • The Chronicle

First Team All-Conference forward, Donielle Taggert goes up for a shot during CLC’s 59-47 win versus McHenry, Feb. 19.

Women’s confidence high heading into playoffs

With the regular season in the books, the Women’s basketball team finished with a record of 16-13 and is headed into the national tournament with a five seed.

“The season has gone good so far concerning the injuries that we had,” said head coach Bill Braman. “We’ve had multiple play-ers out which definitely set us back.”

Injuries can be devastat-ing to any team and the Lancers are no exception.

“The injuries make you change the style of play and breaks down what you have done in the past,” Braman said. “You have to regroup and prepare for the next one.”

Scraping together wins has been difficult for the undermanned Lancers, but finishing over .500 can be chalked up as a team vic-tory.

“I have been very im-pressed with how they were able to respond with the injuries,” Braman said. “We are in a very tough conference and to place third is a plus for them and this is an indication of how well they have been playing.”

With the playoffs start-ing, the team is trying to keep a level head and get ahead of themselves.

“Going into the tour-nament, the goal is to advance,” Braman said. “We have been through many different de-fenses and offensively we are playing many

of the defenses really well.”

The Lancers will need to find a hot streak because one loss means the end of their season.

Sophomore forward, Donielle Taggert was named first team All-Con-ference averaging 12.5 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game, lead-ing the Lancers in both categories.

Freshman guard Aman-da Davis was also award-ed All-Conference honors. She represents CLC on the All-Second Team. Davis averaged 10.7 PPG on 43 percent shooting. She also led the Lancers in assists per game with 2.8

CLC has a whole fin-ished the season second in the nation in RPG, pulling down 67.9 a night.