Sometimes it seems like there are two different versions of this side of Chicago. Media portrayal of the “mean streets” of the South Side can sometimes look like a whirlwind of shootings and low-income housing controversy, but this sensationalized portrait is not the South Side that residents know—as many can attest, life south of the Loop doesn’t always read like a police blotter. And perhaps no one is more aware of this than journalist Natalie Moore: she, like many of its residents, sees in it an area that definitely has its problems, but one that is burgeoning with change and home to a kaleidoscope of people living a wide spectrum of lifestyles. Read the rest of this entry »

Chicagoland commuters know what it means to be “on the go.” With help from a little melody and a pair of headphones, the traditional stopping and starting of the daily commute on the CTA becomes a mobile stage onto which passengers saunter on and off to the beat, a sort of mechanical ballet. Of course, the transit system was never intended to appeal to the performance enthusiast, but it was enough to inspire one of Chicago Cable Access television’s “Chic-A-Go-Go”’s many dances, “The El Train,” in which “on the go” becomes “on the go-go” with a little help from some guest performers, a stage, and, most importantly, a group of youthful backup dancers. Read the rest of this entry »

Most University of Chicago graduates dream of academic fame. A tenured professorship at a major university or recognition in a national publication signifies a certain celebrity that, at one time or another, most UofC students aspire to. Victorya Hong, a recent contestant on the past season of Bravo TV’s “Project Runway,” has reveled in a different kind of fame. Hong, who graduated in 1995 with a major in Fundamentals: Issues and Texts, brought an intellectual dimension to the Project Runway competition, theorizing and conceptualizing her design work; her impractically-dense-yet-innovative thinking process would be familiar to any UofC grad. To a certain extent, it appears that the Life of the Mind played a significant role for Hong during the show, and it’s possible that it may have even brought on Hong’s celebrity. Here, Hong shares her experiences at the UofC, perhaps revealing where some of her inspiration for her work came from. Read the rest of this entry »