The city of Chicago has long been known for its extensive crime rates and violence. The city’s average crime rate has even soared above the US average rate in past years. It has been a constant controversial issue with little being done to help or improve. Each year there seems to be new numbers and…
SAMO: Alex Kotlowitz
On April 27th my friends, Emily Kats, Abby Lambert and I went to go hear an author speak at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The author, Alex Kotlowitz wrote the book An American Summer; Life or Death in Chicago which my friends and I have all read so we were interested in hearing the…
Violence in Chicago
Gun violence has been an extremely relevant and controversial topic in American news, but this topic has mainly only been discussed recently in terms of school shootings, etc. What isn’t being discussed is the smaller scale gun violence that is affecting people’s lives every day like those living in the inner-city of Chicago. This violence…
Micro Comments with Macro Effects
Microaggressions are the base of judgmental words, actions, and statements. They shape who we are as people and how we perceive others. Some may get it worse than others, but we’re all to blame. We are to blame for potentially and sometimes unconsciously saying offensive things to people, and we are to blame for taking…
SAMO: “African Americans and Jews: Parallels and Divergences”
On March 12th, my fellow CST friend, Maggie Myers and I took a quick trip to Evanston, IL. We had heard from some fellow CST students about this presentation going on in Evanston, so we decided to look it up. Once I looked it up on my phone, I quickly noticed the topic of the…
The Media; Altering Mindsets
Many tend to see the media as a very modern and controversial topic. Over the years, it has developed faster than we might be able to keep up with and has been shaping societal norms whether we like it or not. This is specifically true in terms of media and body image. Before the internet,…
SAMO: Chicago Cultural Center
On January 4th, my friend Alexis (a humanities student) and I made the decision to go to the Chicago Cultural Center. We were originally planning on going to the Museum of Contemporary Photography, but we soon found out it was closed until the next exhibition is finished. I decided to drive down to the city…
Views, Listening, Changes, and Trust: Defining Conscience
Conscience includes the process of four parts. Four parts interconnected yet at the same time independent of each other. Like a four-way stop, each road takes you in a new direction. In the means of conscience, each road at that four-way stop includes views, listening, changes, and trust. Views. A word with a variety of…
Reflection on the Abortion Ban in the Dominican Republic
While browsing through the Human Rights Watch website, I was particularly drawn to the topic of the abortion ban in the Dominican Republic. I was drawn to this mainly because I traveled to the Dominican Republic about 2 years ago, but I had no idea there was ever a ban on abortion. The topic also reminded…
SAMOS: Museum of Contemporary Art
On October 14th, 2018 my friend Emily and I decided to venture our way down to the city for a visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art. The drive to the museum, which is located at 220 E Chicago Ave right near Water Tower Place, took about 40 minutes to get there. Considering Emily was…
my world through my words 