Argyle Street: A Remarkable Business Progression

by Alex Horowitz

CHICAGO - “Argyle Street looked like death,” recalls Tam Van Nguyen, who frequented the Chicago neighborhood nearly 30 years ago, but only in the daytime.

“Gangs, prostitution, drug trafficking, vacant lots. There were very few open stores, and by 5 p.m. every day, gangs hung around the area. It was very scary.”

Argyle Street, which is regarded as Chicago’s North Side hub of Asian commercial activity, has come a long way since the 1970s. Improved community safety has been the driving force behind Argyle’s vast business growth over the years. In fact, crime on Argyle Street has followed the trend of crime in Chicago, where annual murders have decreased by over 500 since 1975. Now, despite a recent slump, shops and restaurants flourish on the street that was once too dangerous to walk on.

“Crime was certainly detrimental to business before the 1980s,” says Joyce Dugan, the president and CEO of Uptown United, an organization that promotes economic growth in the community. “People were afraid to go [to Argyle], so the business scene was awful. Once crime cleaned up, though, Argyle really became a thriving commercial center.”

Argyle’s Unique History

Argyle Street and its surrounding Uptown community made little noise until the early 1970s, when Chicago entrepreneur Jimmy Wong picked that area as the site to develop his concept of “Chinatown North.” Wong bought 60 percent of the property that lined Argyle, and offered financial assistance to those who started a business on the street, according to Dugan and Uptown United’s Web site.

“What we were looking for was an area which we could develop not only commercially for our shops and restaurants, but also a place which could attract new Chinese, especially the young, as a place to live,” Wong said in a 1974 Chicago Sun-Times interview.

Although people of Chinese descent were the first to commercialize Argyle Street, the business district did not remain ethnically homogeneous for long. By 1975, soon after Wong’s purchases, wars in Southeast Asia brought an influx of Vietnamese, Cambodian, Thai and Laotian immigrants to the Uptown area, and many set up shop on Argyle Street. These steadfast immigrants gave Argyle Street’s commerce the lift it needed, and persevered through the neighborhood’s crime-laden years in the 1970s to see better days.

“The people who came here, whether it was the Vietnamese or the groups that followed, they came from places that were very, very rough,” says Dugan, who grew up near the Argyle neighborhood. “And that’s one of the reasons they managed to stick it out along here – because they were not intimidated. They toughed it out.”

Profitable businesses were first established in high numbers on the street in the early 1980s, according to Van Nguyen, an assistant at the Chinese Mutual Aid Association and former editor in chief of the Vietnamese Business Directory. Growth continued through the late 1980s and 1990s as vacant lots began filling up with shops and businesses started staying open later into the evening. Van Nguyen estimates that the number of stores in the neighborhood has doubled since the late 1970s.

Today, bustling shops string both sides of Argyle Street, as well as surrounding streets like Sheridan Road and Broadway Street. A diverse assortment of Asian tongues prevail over the loud rumblings of the El, and the fishy perfumes of ethnic restaurants and groceries drift into the street each day as customers rush in and out of the storefronts. The commercial strip is an attraction on the weekends, when visitors from nearby cities and states come to browse, sample and buy goods unique to Argyle Street.

“Things are extremely improved,” says Jolie Lau, the manager at an Argyle Street restaurant called Furama. “So many stores have opened, and the street is filled with people. Now that it’s gotten better, people know this area.”

Today’s Owners Face New Problems

Argyle Street’s remarkable business progress since the 1970s does not mean that the neighborhood exists without problems today. In fact, many owners on the street say they have felt a noticeable economic slump over the past six or seven years.

“Since 2000, things have slowed down a lot for some reason,” Lau says.

The street’s minor recession, which mirrors a slowdown in the overall United States economy this decade, is due to several problems that have only recently faced Argyle’s shop owners. One of them, ironically, is the result of the community’s hard work and great economic strides over the past 30 years.

“Immigrants opened up the businesses and aroused the community and made the area more valuable,” Van Nguyen says. “But when an area is developed that well, condominiums come in and payments on property taxes increase.”

Property tax rates in Chicago have increased drastically since the 1990s, culminating in a recently approved $83.4 million hike this year, the largest in the city’s history, according to the Cook County Clerk’s Office.

These high taxes on growing property values have driven some Argyle Street small business owners out in favor of corporate establishments. Dunkin’ Donuts and video game retailer GameStop are two of the latest corporate additions to the Argyle neighborhood, both opening on Broadway Street in the past month.

“The taxes have pushed out some of the smaller, original shops, and brought in new corporate ones,” Lau says. “It’s very sad and very expensive. It hurts the pockets of the ones that stay, too.”

Imported Food Prices Soar

Groceries and restaurants on Argyle Street have also fallen victim to increased prices on imported foods. Surat Vattanavanitkul, the owner of a Thai grocery located at the western end of Argyle Street, says that the prices began rising about three years ago. Rice, a staple of Thai cuisine, has undergone a price increase of over 20 percent, he says.

“The prices are a problem,” says Vattanavanitkul, who opened the grocery in 1978. “Business a few years ago was better than business now. I hope it picks up again, but it all depends on the world economy.”

Argyle’s Feeble Marketing Programs

Another major problem that confronts Argyle’s business district is its anemic marketing effort. Mark Zak, a self-employed marketing consultant who lives in nearby Edgewater, says that unlike owners on Argyle Street, owners in other commercial strips throughout Chicago construct small merchant associations. These groups pool together funds and use them on promotional programs that attract shoppers to the neighborhood.

“The reason you join a retail strip like [Argyle] is because you’re relying on foot traffic,” Zak says. “Retail always has to have foot traffic, but foot traffic does not always come in on its own. You have to bring it here.”

Joyce Dugan believes that marketing the street has been difficult because the shop owners lack a cohesive identity. Argyle Street, she says, is instead made up of many independently minded businesses.

“There isn’t one voice for the street,” Dugan says. “There aren’t even several consistent voices. That’s what is holding them back. They need to develop a homegrown leadership that looks out for the business district as a whole.”

The Argyle business community has been through worse times. Despite the recent problems, Jolie Lau, the Furama restaurant manager, is confident that the street’s small downturn over the past seven years will be overcome.

“Business is a little slower right now,” she says. “If a few things go our way, I think business will get better again.”

Unlikely Artists Connect at Second Annual Chicago Calling

CHICAGO - As a Chicago musician’s clarinet sang graciously to the solemn words of an Oakland poet, the unique paths of two artists briefly crossed.

“I felt like something happened there,” said Guillermo Gregorio, the Argentinean-born clarinetist now based in Illinois. “I was inspired in that moment.”

The poet, David Harrison Horton, shared the instrumentalist’s appreciation.

“Tonight was incredible with Guillermo,” said Horton, a California writer and performer. “I don’t live in Chicago. I may have never gotten to perform with him.”

These types of opportunities were precisely what the Second Annual Chicago Calling Arts Festival provided to nearly 80 artists last week. The four-day festival, which began on October 24^th, aimed to connect artists from various cities and countries.

“Chicago Calling’s central goal is to help foster collaborative projects between Chicago-based artists and artists who live elsewhere,” said Daniel Godston, one of the festival’s organizers.

Perhaps the most luminous example of this geographic connect occurred when Asimina Chremos, a dancer and choreographer from Chicago, improvised in movement while Chuck Stebelton, a Milwaukee-based poet, performed his poetry. Horton believes that these interactions made the Chicago Calling worth the trip.

“Chicago Calling is an opportunity to perform with someone and learn from someone you wouldn’t usually be able to,” Horton said. “That really was the impetus for me to come from California – just the fact that I’d be working with artists that I usually wouldn’t be able to team up with.”

Last year, Horton participated in Chicago Calling from Stanford University and performed with musicians at the University of California at San Diego, the University of Alaska, and Loyola University Chicago over the Internet. This year’s festival again took advantage of modern technology, and connected artists in Chicago with others in places like New York and South Korea.

This connectivity generates opportunities for artists that never before existed, but it also makes some performances very vulnerable to technical shortcomings. On Friday at Elastic, a multidisciplinary performance space in Logan Square, before an audience of about 30 people, Godston performed with New York bassist Tom Abbs via Google Talk. Several minutes into the performance, the artists’ web connection failed.

“Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. But an important part of any kind of discovery in artistic pursuit is the willingness to be experimental,” said Godston, who also teaches at Columbia College of Chicago. “Sometimes if it doesn’t work, it’s still good to try. You can go back later and try to figure out what worked and what didn’t, and improve upon it for next time.”

The unique collaborations that highlighted Chicago Calling did not break down only geographical barriers. For many artists, the festival also offered a refreshing sense of integration between different genres of art.

“I’m used to interacting with other kinds of visual artists, but not much with poets, for example, or dancers,” Gregorio said. “I think that interacting with those people was a very rich experience. Art forms should not just be linked together or have a relationship – they should be in absolute fusion.”

These interdisciplinary performances opened new doors for some of the festival’s younger artists. Adesuwa Obazee, a teacher in Chicago, performed with renowned musician Douglas Ewart during last year’s festival. Ewart was so impressed with Obazee’s improvisational dancing that he took down her information for future performances.

“Getting that kind of feedback from someone like Mr. Ewart made my year,” said Obazee, who also writes poetry. “One of the reasons I like this festival is that it lets new people get their foot in the door and be seen.”

Chicago Calling is sponsored by Poets & Writers, Inc., WNUR and Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs. Although Poets & Writers Inc. contributed some funding, much of the festival’s expenses still came out of Godston’s pocket. However, Godston thinks that the festival will continue to grow and become self-sustainable.

“Chicago Calling is definitely picking up steam, and it’s going to be really exciting next year,” Godston said. “I’ve always believed the Chicago area is an important hub of cultural activity, and hopefully the festival keeps supporting that.”

Oldie: Quick NU Gymnasium Feature

Oldie: Joe Girardi Recieves NU Engineering Award

Evanston, Ill. - Former pro baseball player Joe Girardi visited Northwestern University on Tuesday where he was presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Department of Industrial Engineering/Management Sciences. The award was created 4 years ago and recognizes the notable achievements and leadership roles of selected department graduates.

In his illustrious pro baseball career, Girardi caught for 4 major league teams over 15 seasons and collected 3 World Series rings. He retired as a player in 2003, but returned to baseball to manage the Florida Marlins last year. Despite being named the National League Manager of the Year for his ability to work with Florida’s young talent, he was fired by the Marlins last October.

Girardi, a three-time Academic All-American and two-time All-Big Ten selection in his four years at Northwestern, praised his alma mater in a brief speech before about 80 people.

“A Northwestern education is going to open doors for you,” said Girardi. “My favorite four years of life as a baseball player were right here. I absolutely loved it.”

“I didn’t understand the importance of what my parents did [to send me to NU] until I was about 25. A lot of you appreciate where you are now, and you’ll appreciate it more as you get older,” he said.

The Fort Lauderdale resident also spoke about how his Northwestern education and degree, which seems quite engineering-specific, helped him with his baseball career.

“You think about industrial engineers as being problem solvers, and in baseball, that's all you do," said Girardi. “There are situations that come up all the time that you use things that you learned in school on how to solve problems.

“You are going to use your industrial engineering degree in life, in ways you don’t even know yet.”

When Girardi managed an inexperienced Marlins team last year, fan and media expectations were incredibly low. However, after an abysmal start, Girardi led Florida to a respectable 78-84 record. He discussed how, as a leader, he motivated his young team.

“Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you can’t do your job,” said Girardi. “You have to show them. A lot of times people want to manage from a piece of paper. But that can’t account for the heart, which can get a lot of people through things.”

“I don’t think you should ever set limits on people,” he said. A manager’s job is to instill confidence. My goal was to win the World Series, not win 70 games.”

Andrew Pellegrini, a sophomore at Northwestern studying economics, was glad to hear Girardi speak.

“Being the Manager of the Year in baseball doesn’t happen by accident,” said Pellegrini. “He dealt with one of the most difficult and accountable positions in the business world, and last year, he dealt with it the best.”

Quick Look at Life in Edgewater Slideshow

Descriptive Piece: Pizzeria Aroma

CHICAGO - The mustard enamel and cheerful red tiles that garnish each wall offer immediate relief from the dreary storefront and overcast skies. From the backroom, bottles of oregano and garlic emit the gentle perfume of an Italian mother’s kitchen.

Visitors are greeted by a chalkboard easel on which an elegant hand has listed the day’s specials in a polished script. A bulky black jukebox sits idle near the door with a record rotating on its top, as if aching to be played. Past the jukebox, several small tables are draped with simple yet homey green-checkered cloths. Orange lights hang from the ceiling that radiate each table with a delicate European glow.

The soft, mechanical reverberations of ovens and dishwashers are briefly interrupted by the rude jingling of bells as a customer opens the door. Sporting a postal uniform, the man stops to wipe a few drops of drizzle off his forehead and drags his feet to the cut-in cashier counter. He sighs and stares at the menu without any expression, as if he sees it a bit too regularly.

“Chicken parm, right boss?” asks the employee leaning over the fake-marble counter, if only as a formality. Pans clash with aluminum behind him in the once tranquil kitchen as the cooks scuffle about and shout for ingredients.

The spirited walls of the restaurant are lined with legends and icons of Italian culture. Joe DiMaggio and Al Capone gaze over the tables through their glass frames, and Frank Sinatra sings from a paperback biography propped up above the counter. The Godfather’s unnerving grimace is eased by breathtaking views of Venice and the Coliseum.

Two balding men sit at a table near the Tower of Pisa. They lean back comfortably in their glossy wooden chairs and discuss political rumors with thick Italian accents. “And that’s exactly what he said it was – an attempted murder…”

One of the men – in his scuffed leather shoes, frayed jeans, and pit-stained white t-shirt – stares at the huge heart-shaped relief of a tomato that rests under the counter as the other man speaks. He seems frozen by the juicy red plaster, like a boy coming out of a ballpark tunnel for the first time.

Across the room, the postal worker sits and looks wearily out the street-side window. The plops of raindrops on the glass become bigger and more frequent, and the man turns to look at his watch. Without a change in expression, he shifts his eyes to the huge protruding tomato and sighs.

Gangs and Changeover Problems in Edgewater

CHICAGO - Gang-related crime and high community changeover are two of the biggest problems that face residents and officials of the 48^th Ward in Edgewater, according to Doug Fraser, Alderman Mary Ann Smith’s chief of staff.

Gang activity, Fraser said, has become increasingly sophisticated and increasingly harder to prevent. While the alderman’s office relies heavily on local police as a quick fix for most gang activities, Fraser said the long-run solution is in the hands of local residents. Consistently reporting gang activity to the police and lobbying landlords who rent to drug traffickers are essential to curbing these criminal organizations, he said.

The 48^th Ward has also undergone tremendous changes in terms of ethnicity, socioeconomic status and land ownership.

“It’s gotten whiter, richer, and [has] many more homeowners,” Fraser said.

Fraser explained that this change is disruptive to the efforts of the local government. As different people from different backgrounds move to the 48^th Ward, there is often a discrepancy between the way these newcomers think governance works and the way governance actually works.

“We all think we know how to play tennis, but we don’t necessarily know the new rules of the conversation,” Fraser said.

Edgewater Residents Worried About Gang Activity

CHICAGO - Edgewater residents butted heads with local police on Tuesday when demands for increased visibility were met with budget complaints and requests for community help.

The meeting, organized by the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program, was dominated by concerns over gang activity. Several residents who came to the Broadway Armory described groups of gang members loitering and dealing drugs on streets throughout the area.

“We know who all these people are,” said Sgt. Jim Morley, the head of the gang task force for local beat 2022. “We’ve been dealing with them for years. We’ve been putting them in jail for years. They get out – they come back.”

Morley’s explanation was unacceptable to most of the 40 or so residents in attendance. Many locals, including Louise Rohr, voiced their demand for additional footmen during the more dangerous hours of the day.

“These criminals know when the patrol cars come around, they know [the] schedule,” said Rohr, the beat facilitator for the police department. “All it will take is more police officers on foot to get them to move on.”

Running on an already anemic budget, police representatives fired back with ways for residents to involve themselves with police business. Jeffrey Sacks turned the tables and posed the residents’ question back to them.

“What can you do to increase our visibility?” Sgt. Sacks asked. “You’re our eyes and ears. When you see something that’s out of place on Thorndale or something that’s strange to you, you have to call 911. The squeaky wheel gets the grease…There’s a lot of stuff going on so we can’t be everywhere, but we can be directed by you.”

According to Sacks, the police were recently able to catch a man in possession of narcotics with help from a local resident. The unidentified man took pictures of a person selling drugs, and police used those photos to identify the criminal.

“This is the kind of stuff you can do for us,” Sacks explained. “We said, ‘Give us a description.’ He gave us pictures.”

Police representatives also encouraged the attendees to help the department by joining the Court Advocacy Program. Residents in this program attend the court dates of the community’s repeat offenders in order to keep local judges on their toes.

“You’re going to be a presence for us,” Sacks said. “You’re going to show the community is concerned…The judge knows he’s being watched and he’s not going to just dismiss the charge.”

Residents: Don't Continue the Transfer House

By Alex Horowitz

EVANSTON, IL – “My friend told me to avoid the Transfer House like I avoid the plague,” said Krissy Schanbacher in a voice that could not decide whether to crack with laughter or tremble with tears. From the porch of her dorm, she looked across the quad regretfully, as if she saw a greater Northwestern life on the other side.

Many other students living in the all-transfer dorm share similar sentiments. Nearly every day, complaints of isolation and drama suffocate the halls of what is now affectionately known as the Funhouse. The nickname alludes to the old-fashioned amusement buildings where visitors found the strange, the scary, and the unexpected.

“I think in theory [the Transfer House] is a great idea. Everyone’s in the same boat,” said Steve Cella, a Funhouse sophomore who transferred from Indiana University. “But in practice it’s a horrible idea. It’s isolating and it leads to a lot of the same type of people in the dorm, and those are the type of people who, by virtue of being transfers, have a low tolerance for irritation.”

Transfers, after all, are often students who identified a problem at their old schools and proactively sought a resolution. Many current Transfer House residents, like Schanbacher, believe that the concentration of these personalities into one dorm breeds the discontent that notoriously stifles the Transfer House.

“I’ve never experienced a dorm where every day some girl is crying,” said Schanbacher, who transferred from the University of Saint Thomas. “We’ve had every single person on my floor strongly consider moving out...Girls are constantly fighting and slamming doors. It all becomes this emotional rollercoaster. It’s ridiculous.”

Seven of the dorm’s 48 residents got off the rollercoaster after Fall Quarter and moved to other parts of campus. Nikki Love, a transfer from the University of Illinois, was one of them.

“There was just too much drama, too much crying,” said Love, a sophomore. “I have some good friends there, but I felt like anything that happened set off a psychological explosion.”

Even if transfers do not have a lower tolerance for conflict than other students, it is clear that their conflicts are more frequent. According to Northwestern Student Affairs, the Transfer House consistently logs a disproportionate number of disciplinary issues for its size.

Brian Apel, this year’s Community Assistant of the Transfer House, thinks that these problems could be attributed to the unique mix of excitement and experience inherent to transfer students.

“It’s very common for transfer students to have the energy of freshmen because they’re at a new school, but to not have a lot of what I call ‘freshman baggage,’” said Apel. “The whole college thing isn’t new to them [and] they are more adept to acquiring alcohol. In that respect I think that’s why there are more disciplinary issues.”

Emotional and disciplinary problems aside, many Transfer House residents claim to have a difficult time assimilating into Northwestern’s social structure. Transfers have neither freshmen numbers nor the existing networks that other upperclassmen maintain. Their closest friends will naturally be those they live with, and for that reason most Funhouse residents simply mingle amongst themselves.

“[The Transfer House] limits Northwestern students from getting to know who’s in the transfer dorm and it limits transfer students from getting to know Northwestern,” said Schanbacher, a sophomore. “It sounds like a great idea at first, but after that, you pretty much don’t get a Northwestern experience.”

Kaitlin Barancik, a Transfer House resident who attended Mount Holyoke College as a freshman, says she feels equally helpless.

“We become our own friends and our only friends,” said Barancik. “I’m pretty embarrassed to say I live in the Transfer House.”

Behind these cries of despair, a minority of students continue to embrace the dorm. Jad Carson, a transfer from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, says that the Transfer House was a key factor in his decision to transfer, and that the problems other residents have can be overcome.

“I like the general idea of [the Transfer House]. In fact, when I was applying to schools, that was one of the things that drew me here,” said Carson, an engineering major. “I have had no problem making friends with other people. All it takes is to go out and join a club, join a fraternity or sorority. There are tons of opportunities at Northwestern, and if you’re having trouble making other non-transfer friends, you’re not trying hard enough.”

Apel, although not a transfer himself, also supports the continuation of the Transfer House and thinks that at the very least it provides a cohesive sense of acceptance for many transfers.

“I think it gives a lot of students a very quick sense of identity,” said Apel. “Like, ‘I’ve got a lot of friends who are going through the same thing I am, and I’ve got a place that I can be.’”

The Transfer House may also help carve an identity for transfers that live in other dorms throughout campus. Max Clarke, a transfer that lives in nearby Lindgren Hall, says the Transfer House serves as a physical center for the entire transfer community.

“I think having a community for transfer students is better than not having a community for transfer students,” said Clarke, a sophomore. “Even if that is a flawed group, even if that community has issues, I think that any community is better than none.”

Before the Transfer House was created, the university had simply paired transfers together as roommates and sprinkled them into various campus dorms. The Transfer House was then formed four years ago after Northwestern’s Kappa Sigma fraternity vacated the building.

During its first year of existence, the Transfer House received glowing reviews from many residents. In each year since then, however, more and more problems have arisen, and the debate about whether to continue or terminate the Transfer House has escalated.

“We’re just not getting a Northwestern experience,” concluded Schanbacher. “We’re getting some awkward, weird, emotionally psychopathic transfer experience.”

While Northwestern Housing has already voted to continue the Transfer House for the 2007-2008 academic year, what lies beyond that remains a mystery.

“Nothing is ever set in stone on campus,” said Kristin Thomas, an Administrative Coordinator in Housing and former transfer student. “Things can always be changed. It’s a very new program, and the more input we get from students that go through it, the better off we’ll all be.”

BK: the only late night food in Evanston

60 Years Later: MLB Still Has Work to Do

By Alex Horowitz

EVANSTON, IL - Sixty years after breaking the color barrier, Jackie Robinson has clearly changed the outward face of Major League Baseball. Disturbing to some, though, is that the behind-the-scenes faces you do not see have changed far less dramatically.

“I think with the players being put on the field, Major League Baseball is doing a pretty good job,” said Sekou Bermiss, a Kellogg student who organized last month’s Northwestern Fireside Chat on African American athletes. “But the power structure remains pretty much the same.”

According to a University of Central Florida report, 40.5 percent of today’s Major Leaguers are people of color, a number not far off the league’s all-time high of 42 percent. Since the time of Robinson’s death in 1972, however, the ratio of African American players has plummeted from 20 percent to 8.4 percent.

This drop could be attributed to increased and broader opportunities for African Americans, and other sports leagues that desegregated much later than baseball.

“Among the African American community, baseball is no longer the only desegregated option,” said Justin Shin, a Northwestern student. “Now, African Americans have a broader range of options, either in education, choice of career, or even other sports like basketball or football.”

With player diversity close to record highs, the administrative side of baseball has lagged behind significantly. Last year, only 49 of Major League Baseball’s 468 central office employees were people of color. At the same time, 27 of the league’s 32 teams were guided by white managers, and only two teams had minority general managers.

“In business there is a concept called the glass ceiling, pertinent to women,” said Marlene Jia, a psychology student at Northwestern. “I believe that exists not just for women, but for minorities, too, and not just in corporate America, but also in sports like baseball.”

Hispanics, not African Americans, maintain the greatest statistical discrepancy between management representation and number of players. According to the report, 30 percent of all current Major Leaguers are Hispanic, a number unthinkable before the Robinson breakthrough.

“Anytime you have one person break a barrier, they do not only break that barrier for their coalition or group,” said Bermiss. “They break it for anyone else that wants to enter. Hispanic players also have their own pioneers like [Roberto] Clemente.”

Still, Hispanics make up only 13 percent of Major League Baseball’s central office and boast only one general manager. Bermiss believes that the lack of Hispanics on the executive level should be baseball’s biggest concern.

“I think the real travesty is the underwhelming representation of Latino managers and GMs and what have you,” said Bermiss. “They have all those players and they are the growing minority. With that kind of difference between players and management, they should be baseball’s priority right now.”

Last month, Major League Baseball celebrated and honored the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s breakthrough. These numbers, though, indicate that there is still work to be done.

Spotlight: IFC President Billy Carberry

In a world where fraternities are synonomous with superficiality and booze, Billy Carberry has seen Northwestern’s Greek community flourish. Since becoming the president of the Inter-Fraternity Council four months ago, Carberry has already supported the largest fraternity influx in over a decade. This success, however, has come only after much tension and stress.

“It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, with ups and downs,” said Carberry, 21. “One day things can just be going great. The next day things can take a turn dramatically for the worst.”

Carberry, the former president of Northwestern’s Chi Psi fraternity, had previously been active within the IFC forum, a group of all fraternity presidents on campus. As a member of the forum, Carberry attended meetings biweekly. Now, as an officer on the executive board, he is dedicating much more time.

“Things tend to come up all the time,” said Carberry. “We have to be ready to meet and talk things over and strategize depending on how things are going during the week. It’s a full time job.”

As the IFC president, Carberry supervises the tasks of the other executive board members. He oversees the handling of recruitment, risk management, academics, service, and public relations. Most importantly, though, he serves as the link between the fraternities and the administration.

“Probably the biggest responsibility I have is communicating with the administration of the school, such as Mary Dessler, the vice president of Student Affairs, and the director of Fraternity and Sorority Life,” said Carberry. “I am the primary liaison between the university and the Greek community.”

IFC’s role has changed over the past year. While it had traditionally served a judiciary function, IFC has now become more of an advisory board. It acts as a resource, assisting fraternities to better themselves and stay out of trouble.

“Rather than be the bad guys on campus, we’re becoming more of the advisors and supporters,” said Carberry, a Slavic and mathematics double-major.

One IFC-supported event, Dillo Day, is just a few weeks away. IFC makes financial contributions to the event’s bands, lunches, and tents, but also promotes safety and risk management.

“Probably 60 to 70 percent of what we do during [Dillo Day] is making sure everybody is safe during a weekend of a lot of fun [but] also historically a lot of drinking and a lot of hospital visits by a lot of Northwestern students,” said Carberry. “We don’t want the Greek community to be overrepresented in the emergency room.”

Baseball Walk-On Earning His Stay

By Alex Horowitz

EVANSTON, IL - Jim Grieco has everything working against him. He’s a walk-on player, he’s not on scholarship, and he’s far from 6 feet tall. But the Glenview native shows up to baseball practice for Division I Northwestern every single day and does every single little thing right.

“I know that I can play with these guys and I just try to do everything I can to keep it that way,” said Grieco, 19. “If it means being so small and what not, and not being a big-time starter, the way to get your name out there and get some playing time is to be ‘Mr. Hustle.’”

Growing up, Jim was swinging a bat ever since he could hold one. He played all year round, starting with tee-ball and Little League, until he got to high school. There, he quit football to keep playing baseball in the fall. After struggling through his first few high school seasons, he came into his own as a senior. He decided to attend Division III John Carroll upon graduation, but his stay there did not last long.

“I went to a DIII school, John Carroll, and there were some politics issues there about playing time,” said Grieco. “They had some seniors that were not performing, really, and I kind of rode the pine. It wasn’t really a good fit for me, and I put in a transfer app and decided to see if I could walk on here.”

Standing at just 5-foot-7, walking onto a DI team full of 6-foot-somethings was no small task. Neither is his quest for playing time now. Jim, though, has risen above the doubts and questions.

“If you look at a line, it’s like 6-foot-3, 6-foot-3 and then me, so it’s kind of funny,” said Grieco, a current sophomore. “I really don’t let it get to me. I swing the bat and I can hit the ball just like everyone else.

“Baseball, it’s not a game of brute, individual, one-on-one strength. It’s who can perform and who can’t,” he said.

Matt Havey, a Northwestern and former high school teammate of Jim’s, agrees that size in baseball is nearly insignificant. The 6-foot-4 relief pitcher says that Jim is mentally tough and can overcome any physical disadvantage.

“I personally don’t think it really matters all that much how tall you are or how much you weigh or anything,” said Havey, 20. “It’s what you put into the game. [Grieco] plays like he’s the biggest guy on the field sometimes.”

As of April 1^st, Grieco has been to the plate just 11 times despite reaching base safely on five occasions. With talented scholarship players hitting in front of him, Jim realizes that his climb to this level has already been a bit of a surprise, and that now every chance counts.

“I would say that people probably are looking at Northwestern’s roster saying, ‘Wow, I can’t believe Jim Grieco’s on that team,’” said Grieco. “I guess I just have to work that much harder in practice and see if I can compete at that level. And in terms of playing time, when I do get opportunities, I have to perform.”

As a walk-on, Jim admits that he could very easily be cut next year despite his hustle and performance. The hours of dedication that he gave for just 11 plate appearances so far this season could be disregarded without a second thought. But this North Shore native could not possibly imagine having it any other way.

“I could never see myself at this point in my life not playing baseball,” said Grieco. “It’s just something that every time spring rolls around, I’m always playing … I don’t know what summer is without baseball. I’ve never had it.”

(Written April 3, 2007)

2007 Marks Most Fraternity Pledges in Decade

This was an especially Greek year for one of the nation’s especially Greek campuses. With 320 men joining fraternities, 2007 marked the highest influx of Greek males at Northwestern since 1996.

“It shows that we’re pulling kids out of places that we normally didn’t before,” said Billy Carberry, the IFC president. “We’re recruiting in dorms and places on campus that typically haven’t generated many Greek members. Obviously we’re doing something right, because our numbers are up consistently.”

This year, eight fraternities dramatically increased the size of their pledge classes over those from 2006. While in previous years a handful of fraternities received a disproportionate number of pledges, 2007 saw a more even distribution throughout the Greek community.

“That’s significant because it shows that the chapters in the past that maybe struggled from year to year can turn it around in the course of twelve months and then have a very large pledge class,” said Carberry. “It’s a sign of a healthy system.”

Over the past decade, fraternities have averaged between 250 and 300 pledges each year. And in 1996, the last time 320 men had pledged, there were a higher number of fraternities on campus.

“I would say the drastic increase in numbers and dedication towards recruitment in the past year has been one of our biggest stories and one of our biggest successes going forward,” Carberry said.

Facebook the Leading Online Academic Distraction

EVANSTON, IL – Millions of college students across America are addicted to something. It’s not pornography, it’s not gambling, and it’s certainly not their textbooks – it’s their Facebook accounts. Last month, 30 billion pages were viewed at Facebook.com, an online social networking site popular among college students. Although many of its almost 18 million users agree that Facebook is an incredible social tool, a recent study indicates that it is the most prevalent online addiction on American campuses.

And maybe the most prevalent academic distraction, too.

“Facebook is a great social asset, but when you log on, one thing leads to another,” said Teddy McClain, a sophomore at Northwestern University studying human development. “You can easily be consumed by it when you shouldn’t be, like when you should be doing schoolwork.”

The study, conducted at Bridgewater State College, shows that 51.3% of college students rank Facebook as the number one online addiction on campus. 81.4% rank it either first or second. Other common distractions, such as instant messaging and video games, accounted for considerably smaller percentages.

“I use other computer programs and sites, but not anywhere near as much as I use my Facebook,” said Amy Foran, another Northwestern sophomore. “Facebook has allowed me to stay in contact with tons of people, but at the same time it’s a virtual black hole. It sucks away countless hours from my schoolwork.”

Daniela Karidi, a Northwestern teaching assistant for Statistics in Communication Sciences and Disorders, does not believe Facebook is particularly addicting compared to other potential distractions.

“I don’t think it’s different from any other distracter,” said Karidi, 31. “I don’t think that specifically, Facebook is a different distraction than AIM or checking email. There are a percentage of people who are easily distracted and will do it, no matter what the distraction.”

Sally Chung, a Northwestern freshman, feels that Facebook does, in fact, maintain certain attributes that make it more distracting and addictive than other online outlets.

“The problem with Facebook is that it’s not one of those sites that you can just check for one thing,” said Chung, 18. “Person to person, picture to picture, wall to wall, it’s a series of connections. It’s really ridiculous.”

Facebook.com’s formal features may not be the only reasons for its seemingly distractive nature throughout academia. Some students believe that at least part of the blame lies with the universities themselves, as they do not always create an incentive to avoid distraction.

“Five minute breaks turn into distraction,” said Chung. “[Facebook] is a lot more entertaining than reading texts. It doesn’t help that there’s no real check on reading. Nobody checks in big lecture classes.”

David Stehura, a Northwestern sophomore, feels that many colleges’ insistence on the use of technology may be another outside factor that facilitates Facebook and other online distractions.

“A lot of our work requires computer access and it’s hard to resist logging in [to Facebook] for the distraction,” said Stehura, 19. “It comes with the times, but if you’re schoolwork calls for a computer and the Internet, you are more likely to be tempted.”

While most students and educators agree that Facebook serves as a leading distraction from schoolwork, it is unclear just how much of an effect it has on academic performance.

“[Facebook] definitely has not helped me, but it hasn’t severely hindered my academic life,” said Sarah Kessler, a freshman at Northwestern.

McClain, 19, however, feels that Facebook has clearly hindered her academic efforts, and those of other students she knows.

“I constantly use Facebook as a mechanism to avoid doing my schoolwork or other things,” said McClain. “I’ve heard so many people say, ‘I’m going to stop going on Facebook tonight and do my work.’ But really they don’t.”

Sophomore Amy Foran says she knows of only one sure way to not be distracted by Facebook – not having one.

“[Facebook] is very distracting for many of my peers,” said Foran. “In fact, many people deactivate their accounts for finals week, just so that they are not in a position to deny the temptation to check their accounts. It’s really the only way.

“As a social networking site, [Facebook] is useful for its purpose,” she said. “It allows you to keep in touch with people that you would probably loose contact with otherwise. But it can be distracting and detrimental to your academic life.”

Plus: Laptops in the Classroom

Hand in hand with the recent Facebook epidemic is the issue of laptops in classrooms. According to the Bridgewater State College study, over 30% of college students either always or sometimes bring their laptops to class. Of those students who always bring their laptops, 24.2% of them reported that they “seldom” or “never” use their computers to take notes.

“In class, it’s very easy to find yourself distracted,” said Northwestern sophomore Amy Foran. “It’s easy to do other things instead of doing work or taking notes. I think that’s the reason most students bring their computers to class.”

It has become common practice across America for some professors to ban laptops from their classes, and the Bridgewater study suggests that such an approach may be beneficial. The study revealed that 47.8% of students found the presence of others’ laptops to be at least somewhat distracting.

Northwestern teaching assistant Daniela Karidi, though, feels that the benefits of using laptops in the classroom outweigh the cons.

“In spite of the potential distractions, laptops in classrooms are necessary,” said Karidi. “In an imaginary perfect world, you would disconnect to the Internet.”

AIDS Study Shows Increased Risk for Heterosexuals

EVANSTON, IL - A recent study conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation indicates that heterosexual men account for a growing proportion of new AIDS cases in America. Despite common misconceptions, the foundation’s analysis illustrates a clear decrease in cases involving homosexual men, and an increase in cases involving women.

According to the study, heterosexual transmission was responsible for 31% of newly diagnosed American cases in 2005. Heterosexual transmission accounted for only 3% of cases 20 years earlier.

This increase in heterosexual exchange is coupled with a 22% decrease in transmission between homosexual men over the same period. Between 1985 and 2005, cases attributed to sex between men fell from 65% to 43%.

“Those numbers don’t really surprise me at all,” said Rachel Hirsch, a sophomore at Northwestern University. “AIDS doesn’t discriminate and it doesn’t choose a community to infect. Everybody has to be cautious, not just homosexual men.”

The study also indicates a large increase of AIDS cases involving women. In 1985 women accounted for 8% of American cases. In 2005, 27% of new AIDS victims were women, and of those women two thirds were African American.

Jasmyn Jones, the president of Northwestern’s HIV/AIDS Literacy Organization, says she is aware of the inaccuracy of certain stereotypes surrounding the AIDS epidemic.

“Evolutionarily, HIV/AIDS is associated with white gay men,” said Jones, 20. “But it has become a disease that affects women – and even more – minority women.”

According to the Kaiser study, homosexuals did account for 58% of men diagnosed with AIDS in 2005. However, 42% of male transmission was heterosexual. Such a high proportion demonstrates the misleading nature of calling AIDS the “Gay Disease.”

Krissy Schanbacher, another Northwestern sophomore, says she has heard erroneous references to AIDS for years and hopes studies like those of the Kaiser Foundation will help to reduce faulty stereotypes.

“False precepts die hard,” said Schanbacher. “A lot of people who make sweeping generalizations about those affected by the AIDS virus are usually just uninformed. The truth is right there if you aren’t too ignorant to see it.”

Marcus Randle, the Program Coordinator for the Carepoint Adult, Child & Family Association, says he has numerous homosexual and heterosexual clients. Many are also women who are involved in high-risk sexual relations with men who have HIV or AIDS.

“The stereotype is incorrect at this point,” said Randle. “The gay community has spent 25 years fighting the disease and they are actually on the forefront of the battle against it. They have the most knowledge and have seen the most people die from AIDS.”

Fans: Confidence in the Cubbies?

EVANSTON, IL - Although the Chicago Cubs spent over $300 million this offseason, their league-worst 66-96 record has left some fans weary of high expectations for 2007. With preseason games set to begin, an informal poll of Evanston residents indicates that some fans are more confident in the new-look Cubs than others.

“I really don’t know what to expect,” said Alex Obal, 19. “I mean, they lost 96 games last year. That said, they added a lot of talent through free agency and they play in the least threatening division in baseball.”

In a 2006 season marred with injuries, the Cubs hobbled to their worst record in 7 years. Mark Prior and Kerry Wood, two of the most prominent pitchers on Chicago’s roster, combined for only 13 starts. Derrek Lee, who had won the batting title the year before, missed 112 games after fracturing his wrist in April.

The Cubs were very active this offseason in an effort to avoid another horrid season. Chicago’s winter shopping spree was highlighted by the signing of Alfonso Soriano, arguably the biggest bat on the market, to an 8-year, $136 million contract. The Cubs also added starting pitchers Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis for a total of $61 million, and signed Mark DeRosa to play second base.

“Personally, I’m psyched,” said Chenfei Lu, 21. “Last year a lot of things went wrong, but most of it was uncontrollable. If the pitching stays healthy, the addition of Soriano can really bring the Cubs to the next level.”

Pitching health seems to be a key issue among even the most optimistic of Cubs fans. Rhine Misso, a self-proclaimed Cubs enthusiast, says that if Prior and Wood can stay off the disabled list, he expects the Cubs to be playing in October.

“Realistically, with a healthy pitching staff, they should have a 20-game win increase,” said Misso, 20. “Saying that, they had 66 wins last season. 86 wins should be good enough to win the [National League] Central or put them in a wildcard spot.”

Healthy pitchers or not, many fans are only cautiously optimistic about the 2007 season, with last year’s 96 losses still lingering in their minds. The Cubs, after all, have not won a World Series since 1908.

“They had a great offseason, but it’s the Cubs, so I try not to get too excited,” said Ashley Lipinski, 19. “I like our odds, but odds have gotten the better of this team for almost 100 years.”

Scott Gannon, a lifelong Cubs fan, shares similar sentiments, and recalls other occasions when the Cubs seemed to have all the pieces together.

“They’re heartbreakers, man,” said Gannon, 23. “The Soriano pickup is huge, and [new manager Lou] Piniella is a great leader. Realistically, I think they can win 85 games. You want them to win, but it’s hard to put any money on it after all that has happened.”

Transfer Student: NU vs. UofC

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Name, year, hometown, major – the standard four-part introduction at college orientation. Efficient and continuous, the introduction’s predictability can only be broken by the likes of a transfer student. Suddenly, why and from where are two more vital issues. Transfers are just inherently interesting, and at Northwestern, a transfer from the University of Chicago is the most intriguing of them all. That student goes by the name of Katherine. Sort of.

Known legally as Carolin Louise Garcia Fine, the Evanston native had her name unofficially changed to Katherine as an infant.

“Six weeks after I came home from the hospital my parents decided that Carolin just didn’t fit,” said Fine, whose government documents still say Carolin.

Her name would not be the last major change of her life. After spending her freshman year at the University of Chicago, Fine decided to transfer into Northwestern.

“I met with the head of the [Northwestern classics] department when I was considering transferring,” said Fine. “The meeting with her got me really excited about the program and made me really want to go there.”

Katherine, 19, has already become an active sophomore at Northwestern. She is the Vice President of Member Education in the Delta Gamma sorority and she works part time as a research assistant. Fine considers herself extremely physically flexible and has mastered French, Spanish, and Latin.

A student of the classics and a sucker for anything antique, her dream is to one day work as an archaeologist.

“I've wanted to be an archaeologist since I saw Indiana Jones when I was eleven,” said Fine. “There's just something so exciting about trying to answer ancient questions and solve mysteries.”

To many Northwestern students, Katherine is a mystery herself. An eyebrow seems to rise every time she explains her shift from Chicago to Northwestern, two supposed rivals in an arms race for prestige. Is Chicago really as tough as they say? Do the students really think they are better? Nearly every day she is horded with questions.

“I think that a lot of [Chicago] students tried to act like there was a big rivalry between Chicago and Northwestern, but it seemed like it was one sided on Chicago’s part,” explained Fine. “It seemed more like Chicago students were trying really hard to act like they were a lot better academically and intellectually than Northwestern, but really Northwestern is just as tough.”

Very few students have spent extended time on both sides of the Chicago-area academic battlefield. Fine has come to terms that her introduction is just going to be that much longer for the next three years.

“If Katie’s not watching a Cubs game, reading a book, shopping, or knitting, she’s probably laughing with somebody about some Northwestern night,” said fellow transfer Ruben Navarro, who came from University of California, San Diego. “I wonder if she has less work here.”

National Student Debt Soars

EVANSTON, IL - Adam Arents mailed his first student loan payment this month. Like millions of other recent college graduates, he is beginning an uphill battle against debt.

“I always expected to be in debt,” Arents said. “Now I’m starting to feel the pinch.”

Arents, a 2006 graduate from Northwestern University, owes $15,000 in student loans over the next ten years. Others will not be as lucky.

Mathew Nusko, a current Northwestern sophomore, estimates that his debt will reach almost $180,000 by the time he graduates in 2009.

“I’m paying for everything entirely through loans,” Nusko said. “It’s just the way the system works. They overcharge you for your education. I come from middle-class America, but you can’t really do anything about it.”

With private school tuition rates on the rise, students and their parents are facing increasing pressure to borrow the money they cannot provide upfront. According to a 2004 study by the National Center for Educational Statistics, half of graduating seniors that attended private universities for four years have at least $19,500 in loans. One-fourth of the students have at least $28,000 in student loans.

Such findings have compelled organizations such as StudentPIRG, a grassroots movement founded in 1978, to focus on raising student awareness and confronting legislators about the rising price of education.

“The loan burden has just become overwhelming,” said Sasha Rosen, a campus organizer for StudentPIRG. “Students graduate and they have to push back marrying, having kids.”

Rosen also contributes to StudentDebtAlert.org, one of several new sites that offer a forum for the discussion on student debt. According to Rosen, anti-debt organizations like these recently achieved a tremendous legislative victory when Congress voted to cut federal interest rates on student loans in half on January 17^th.

Instead of relying solely on legislative action, some students choose to take matters into their own hands. All too often, however, this is not the case.

“There should be a mandatory class in college where students need to learn all the circumstances about student loans,” said Erin M., a team leader at EdAmerica. “It’s different case by case.”

According to Erin, who declined to release her last name due to company policy, students should consider options to alleviate debt such as consolidation, deferment, unsubsidized loans and forbearance.

“Students don’t take the two minutes it takes to learn about their loans,” Erin M. said. “Knowing about student loans is the difference between a $45,000 loan and a $30,000 loan.”

Northwestern, like most other private universities, maintains lists of preferred student lenders, such as EdAmerica or Sallie Mae. Students who have multiple loans often consult outside lenders that promise lower interest rates.

Charles Anderson, a student loan advisor with Student Lending and Consolidations, said the goal of the company is “to help people to consolidate college loans between lenders and students.” Anderson says that in general, federal loans are safer.

“I used to be very doubtful [of non-preferred lenders],” said Tatiana Rostovtseva, a sophomore at Northwestern University. “But if they can afford advertising, I don’t think they are a scam. If I were ever in a bunch of debt, I would use them.”

Other students are not as quick to trust these companies.

“I would never use one of those [get-out-of-debt-fast] sites,” said Akif Irfan, a Northwestern sophomore. “I feel like when it comes to issues with money, those are the times you want to stay away from less official resources.”

Regardless of how they choose to pay it off, debt is just a fact of life in the eyes of many students.

“I’ll be paying off my loans until I’m 46,” Rostovtseva said. “I’m used to being poor. It’s not really big deal.”

And as for Adam Arents, student debt has not detracted from his private school experience. He may not enjoy his first paycheck, but he has no regrets.

“I got a lot out of my education at Northwestern,” Arents said. “I worked with a lot of smart people and I had access to many resources. If I could go back and do it all over again, I would have done the same.”

*Medill students Paula Thornton and Libby Clarke co-wrote this story