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Beans Wit Attitude: Term Limits

Governors in 40 states are limited to two terms or less and 15 states have outright term limits for all state legislators. It is time Illinois did the same.

Establishing term limits for state legislators would create more competition, prevent corruption and get more citizens interested in politics. But the main goal of term limits is to limit power in state government because long-time office holders have too much.

Illinois governmental leaders have a lot of power. They appoint members to committee, decide which bills to vote on and have major influence on the state budget. Politicians who hold these leadership positions only gain power over time. For example, Mike Madigan has been House Speaker since 1983, except for a two-year period. With term limits, there would be new leaders every few years, which would mean fresh committee members and a change in issues discussed.

One problem with long terms is conflict of interest. This is an issue for all politicians, but especially for politicians that have been in office longer and have created more political ties. Pleasing constituents is important for reelection, which causes politicians to put their campaign contributions before voters’ interests. Term limits would make these conflicts of interest less relevant because politicians would be on the move and unable to establish control in an area.

Another benefit of term limits is the competition it will create. One of political science’s favorite discoveries is incumbency advantage. According to a study by Boston College and Yale University, 75 percent of incumbents in Senate elections have won reelection since 1946. In House elections, 92 percent of incumbents have won. Politicians build up too much power over long tenures, which gives them this advantage.

One major perk of incumbency advantage is campaign contributions. According to a report by OpenSecrets.org on the latest Illinois election, incumbents in the Senate earned about $5.8 million more than challengers in average campaign earnings. In the House, incumbents earned about $375,000 more. How can challengers compete with this?

Another statistic from this study shows politicians’ average earnings in open seat elections were $962,000 in the Senate and $211,000 in the House. These contributions surpass challengers to incumbents, showing how the incumbency advantage discourages formidable opponents from running for office.

Challengers do not enjoy the opportunities incumbents receive. Because incumbents receive free television time and stronger funding, voters know one candidate when they get to the voting booth. Politicians know of incumbency advantage, so minority parties do not put their best challengers in hopeless elections. The only way change will occur is if politicians are forced out of office. With an open seat, two fresh politicians will start on a level playing field and create more interest among voters.

Eliminating incumbency advantage and establishing term limits will create competition. Not only will there be more open seat elections, but politicians will have to do well in their position to move to a higher one. This also coincides in preventing corruption in government. In order to move up the political ladder, politicians must not ruin their chances by getting involved in unethical practices.

We believe enacting a term limit would be the best way to address these issues. This requires an amendment to the state constitution. The next time Illinois voters could vote on such a proposition would be November of 2010.

We favor term limits for all elected state officials, which would limit their tenure in one office to eight consecutive years. Executive officials, such as the governor, the attorney general and the secretary of state, and members of the Illinois Senate would be limited to two four-year terms. Members of the House would be limited to four two-year terms. After his or her term is exhausted, the politician may seek another office at another level. We also support a provision that would allow politicians to run for an office they have exhausted after a grace period of one election cycle.

Term limits will shake up Illinois government and allow for more change, which is what our state needs.

Information Beans: Musician Rides Amtrak for Charity

From Chicago to Memphis, one man is raising money for charity with his guitar and a train ticket.

David Kav, a musician from Chicago, said he boarded the Amtrak in Chicago on Tuesday and began his Writing The Rails tour. He will be performing in various cities in Illinois en route to his final destination in Memphis, Tenn., he said.

Kav said he is raising money through his shows and all money would go towards the St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital. He said he hopes the tour will be the first of many and he will be able to raise money for other charities.

“Every town we are looking into helping out a charity,” Kav said. “What appealed to us about St. Jude’s was its pediatric care. Anything about children has always tugged on my heartstrings.”

Leah Jones, owner of Natiiv Arts and Media, said Kav is one of her clients. She said when she first met with Kav, she had a one-on-one brainstorming session with him and suggested the tour.

“We were sitting there, and I said, ‘you know I see you and your guitar on a train,” Jones said.

Jones said Kav thought about it and decided to start planning the tour over the summer. She said Amtrak chose not to sponsor the event, but the tour may convince Amtrak to sponsor future tours. New artists would be used for other tours in order to reach out to more charities, she said.

Theresa Carter, a Chicago native who runs thelocaltourist.com, is documenting the event with photos and video for the event’s Web site.

“A trip like this, it needs to be documented,” Carter said.

Carter said Amtrak has been very cooperative with the event. She said she feels pressure to do her job well so the event can be repeated for a different charity.

“If I do a good job at recording this, documenting it and creating excitement then (Amtrak) is more likely to sponsor future tours,” Carter said.

Kav said his journey kicked off at Maui Wowi, a coffee shop in Chicago. He said he performed on Tuesday at the Aroma Café in Champaign and performed yesterday at Mac’s Uptowner Cellar in Charleston. He will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Longbranch Coffeehouse.

Kav said he would end his tour on Saturday in Memphis at the St. Jude’s Memphis Marathon, where he will be playing along the route of the race. He said he would hold a private concert on Sunday for patients of St. Judes’s and their parents. Kav said he has had to adapt to different environments during his tour. While the vibe was more upbeat in Chicago, he said it was much more subdued in Champaign because students were studying for finals. Also, he had hoped to perform on the train rides, but he did not feel the mood was right.

“I just go with the flow,” Kav said. “And so far the flow has not called me to play on the train just yet. But that may change.”

Apart from receiving recognition, Kav said he would use the Writing the Rails experience to inspire songs for his next album. In addition, he said he hopes the experience will allow him to make some human connections.

“I’m looking to get something I didn’t expect,” Kav said. “And so far that’s what I’m getting.”

Beans Wit Attitude: Foreign Films and the Oscars

On Oct. 17, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced 61 movies will be in contention for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Academy Awards. And once again, there was controversy.

Year after year, the academy ignores proposals to change the nomination process for Best Foreign Language Film. The academy is focused tradition and keeping a system that has been used since 1956.

Although awards for the category have been handed out since 1947, the traditional five nominees were not used until 1956. Since then, the eligibility standards for the category have become more vigorous and ridiculous. Not only is it difficult to become eligible, it is equally difficult to become nominated.

According to the rules, each country gets one submission for the category. This has not only created controversy with the academy, but within foreign countries as well. While some have praised the rule because it includes smaller countries, it also excludes bigger markets from submitting quality films.

In 2007, France was presented with this dilemma. With two great films to choose from, it opted to submit “Persepolis” instead of “La Vie en Rose.” “Persepolis” went on to get snubbed in both the foreign and animated film categories, while “La Vie en Rose” won an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Similarly, Spain excluded “Talk to Her” in 2002 but it went on to win the Best Original Screenplay award.

The process of choosing one film has sparked accusations of favoritism and political ties as well. Since winning the Best Foreign Language Film award in 1990 for “Cinema Paradiso,” director Giuseppe Tornatore has represented Italy three times. His film “Baaria” was chosen this year and accusations of political ties with the Italian Film Commission broke out, especially since Marco Bellocchio’s “Vincere” has been met with critical acclaim and several awards.

Another eligibility requirement is the movie must be released in its respective country in a commercial theater for seven consecutive days. Second, the film must be released before Sept. 30, while the deadline for American films is December 31. Both of these rules are problems for low-budget films that cannot make it into commercial theaters. Also, it creates an unnecessary deadline for foreign directors to meet.

In 2008, a Swedish film called “Let the Right One” In was released on Sept. 24 in order to meet the deadline. This bothered the Swedish Film Institute and it chose Jan Troell’s “Everlasting Moments” instead. The producers immediately pulled “Let the Right One In” from theaters. Afterwards, the film went onto become an international success and was one of the most critically acclaimed foreign films of the year. The producers of the movie rode its success and decided to release it again in 2009. While the film was eligible again, Sweden opted to ignore the movie because it had already been nominated once.

The academy presents the award to the winning movie’s country, not the film itself. This is contradicting because the movie’s eligibility depends on its language, not what country it represents. Movies set in other countries but use English as its primary language are ineligible for nomination, which was seen in 2007 with the Israeli film “The Band’s Visit.” In fact, some films have been disqualified because they did not represent a country at all. In 2002, “Divine Intervention” went unconsidered because the movie represented Palenstine, which is not a state the academy recognizes.

The problems for this category need to be addressed and the rules need to be revamped. First, the academy must allow countries to submit more than one film. This will alleviate countries’ decisions on which films to choose and make the category more competitive. Second, the academy needs to discontinue its current deadline. This will give smaller movies more time to find commercial venues and become eligible for nomination. Also, filmmakers will not be rushed to meet a deadline and release a film before it is ready. Finally, a film should be eligible for nomination even if its primary language is English, which will suit the director and help represent the country as well.

Information Beans: Festival Unites Southern Illinois Artists

When asked what he could do to help the university, Nick Yeck-Stauffer said he wanted to throw a party.

Not that kind of party though.

Yeck-Stauffer, an alumnus with a filmmaking degree, was asked this question while working for SIUC University Communications and decided to create an event that would unite community artists. “All Together Now,” which has been running since Wednesday, will continue at 6 p.m. on today in Ballroom D of the SIUC Student Center.

Yeck-Stauffer said his goal was to bring different art forms together to help people realize they can create something new.

“You have your photography students and your film students who both do a lot of the same things, but very rarely do they collaborate,” Yeck-Stauffer said. “I knew a lot of these people, so I figured I could just have an excuse to get my friends together.”

Of the numerous projects going on, Yeck-Stauffer said there would be open gallery time for anyone to show off their art, projection time for student films, an open microphone for performances and various art workshops.

Meagan Oestry, a senior from Carbondale studying speech communication, helped Yeck-Stauffer plan the event. She said the event welcomes every kind of art, from painting a picture to playing the violin.

“There are no boundaries. You can do whatever you want to do,” Oestry said. “We basically said come do it. Come see other people and maybe see if you can collaborate with someone to create something big and awesome.”

The event kicked off Wednesday with a performance by Dave Armstrong, also known as DaveX on the radio station WDBX. Armstrong said his performance is a re-creation 1971 composition by John Cage and Lejaren Hiller called “KNOBS.” Armstrong said the original performance consisted of 208 computer-generate tapes, a circular screen 340 feet tall and over 100 projectors displaying various movies and slides. The performance lasted over five hours.

“I was surprised to find out nobody had presented it since the original John Cage performance,” Armstrong said. “I jumped at the opportunity.”

In addition to the epic performance, Oestry said other musical and theatrical presentations will take place in the Student Center Auditorium, including a performance by the local band The Cloud Cuckoo Band. She said there will also be art workshops, including stencil and circuit bending workshops.

Yeck-Stauffer said people were hesitant to get involved because of the project’s ambitious goals and layout. However, he said the projects have come together really nicely and people have gotten excited and jumped on board.

Oestry said she and Yeck-Stauffer have been planning the event since the summer. She said they sent out e-mails to various RSO’s and relied on the student network and local artists to stimulate support for the event. She said the lack of communication among various art groups in the community makes the event important.

“We had all of these art groups on campus that were all doing really wonderful things, but they were all doing them within their own disciplines and in their own areas,” Oestry said. “They weren’t really reaching out and making art together.”

Yeck-Stauffer said one of the most pleasant things about planning the event was the simplicity of booking the Student Center.

“You just have to have an idea, communicate with RSO’s about what it is you want to do, get some people on board and the president of the student organization can reserve the ballroom or the auditorium for free,” Yeck Stauffer said. “It is free and easy to do. It just requires some motivation.”

Information Beans: Famous Cinematographer Returns to SIUC

Cinema and photography students will have an opportunity to meet the former president of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Steven Poster, a former SIUC student, has served as the cinematographer in several movies, including “Rocky V,” “Donnie Darko,” “Stuart Little 2” and “The Box,” which opened in theaters last week.

Poster is visiting SIUC this weekend, starting with a photo exhibition from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at the University Museum in Faner Hall. From 2 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, he will give a presentation on lighting in movies and from 5:30 to 9 p.m., he will be in Morris Library screening his movie, “Donnie Darko.”

Poster said he attended SIUC for two years before moving to the Los Angeles Arts Center. He said he discovered his love for cinematography while participating in an experimental freshman program at SIUC.

“It was one of the most exciting things educationally I have ever done,” Poster said. “I gained a love for education that, all through high school, I hadn’t had.”

After college, he said two of his earliest experiences were working on the sets of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “Blade Runner.”

“Talk about an education, that was like doing a masters degree,” Poster said.

Walter Metz, chairman of the cinema and photography department, said Poster can talk to students about being an artist and what type of professional careers are available to cinematographers.

“What universities do well is talk about ideas. What they don’t do well is give students practical and hands-on professional experience,” Metz said. “So having him come is really great for the students because they can learn about career paths.”

Poster said he hopes he can offer students the advice they need to make it in the entertainment business.

“You have to be willing to really persevere. That’s the big deal,” Poster said. “It’s a tough business and right now, with the economy the way it is, it’s really tough.”

Dona Bachman, director of the University Museum, said Poster is excited to not only visit campus again, but to connect with students as well.

“He could have been a teacher because he clearly loves to talk about cinematography and photography, and he’s just really excited about talking to the students,” Bachman said.

Lilly Boruszkowski, a professor in the cinema and photography department, said having a prestigious cinematographer visit SIUC shows the university in a good light.

“It’s something to be incredibly proud of, that we have alumni who have had such amazing success and achievements in their careers,” Boruszkowski said. “It’s incredibly impressive.”

Bachman said she was the first to be contacted by Poster. She said she became interested in Poster’s photography exhibit when she found out he had attended SIUC.

Poster has made a living off cinematography, but he said he still has a passion for photography.

“I am constantly carrying a camera, whether I’m on a movie or not,” Poster said. “My life is photography.”

Bachman said the exhibit consists of about 24 large-scale black and white photographs that focus on solitude and the quiet moments in life.

“You can tell he has the mind of a photographer. He observes things that most of us don’t observe,” Bachman said.

Apart from the photo exhibit and the discussion with students, Poster said he is excited to revisit his former campus.

“I’m really excited to see the campus. I haven’t been there in so many years and I want to see how it’s grown,” Poster said. “It was a golden time in my life.”

Information Beans: Giant City Still Closed from May Storm

Anybody looking to enjoy a few trails at Giant City State Park before winter will have to wait a little longer.

Trails are still closed off from the storm on May 8, according to Bob Martin, site superintendent for the park. He said such trails as Red Cedar Hiking Trail, Trillium Trail and Stone Fort Trail are still closed due to wreckage from the storm.

Other parts of Makanda have not been cleaned up, according to Janelle Weber, innkeeper for Makanda Inn. She said the most damage was done around Giant City. Initially the storm cut power in Makanda for ten days, which hurt business during graduation weekend, she said.

Martin said a tree uprooted during the storm and destroyed a bridge on Stone Fort Road, which is still closed off. Martin said the park does not have the resources to clean up the wreckage left from the storm.

“We probably got trees 30 to 40 inches around that are leaning against the bluff,” Martin said. “We just don’t have the equipment to take them down.”

Martin said the park has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency all summer on contracts. FEMA, a government agency that offers aid for natural disasters, started cleaning three months after the storm at the end of August, Martin said.

An audit of FEMA released by the Department of Homeland Security in June of 2009 reviewed 32 disaster contracts from 2007, noting the agency was “not in compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation or Acquisition Management Division’s contracting policies and procedures for emergency acquisitions for most of the contracts reviewed.”

Dolph Diemont, federal coordinating officer for the FEMA, did not return a phone call.

Jim Ewers, of Blue Sky Vineyard, said the vineyard was not affected by the storm and their power was only out for 20 minutes. He said he thought the community did a great job in getting everything back together.

“I was surprised with how quickly the mess was cleaned up,” Ewers said.

Despite the wreckage, Makanda businesses are not currently feeling the effects of the storm, Weber said. With Makanda Fest and various wine festivals, she said business is very good for Makanda at the moment.

“There are lots of festivals going on, so we actually just got done with the busiest time of the year,” Weber said.

Martin said business is not hurting at the park either, but visitors are limited in what they can do.

“The folks are still coming in, they’re just not able to go up in those areas to hike or rock climb,” Martin said.

Martin said the closed bridge entrance has not hurt the park either, as guests have still shown up consistently since the storm.

“I don’t think any place is really hurting. I mean there’s four different ways into this park,” Martin said. “It’s not completely closed. There’s still three other ways to find your way in here.”

Information Beans: Celebrate Halloween With the Dinosaurs

Amidst the dinosaurs and inflatable slides, Halloween will come a night early for kids at the Vine Community Church.

The church’s lead pastor, Sándor Paull, said the church will use all 36,000 square feet to host a Jurassic-themed Halloween for kids, which will take place from 6 to 9 pm on Friday.

“The plan that we have is to create the dinosaur exhibit—the Smithsonian,” Jennifer Quinn said, the church’s children’s director. “So hopefully to make this place look like a dinosaur has definitely been here.”

Paull said the church is holding the event the night before Halloween so parents can take their kids out for the normal trick-or-treating.

Mike Berardi, an associate pastor overseeing the event, said the event’s controlled environment will be comforting for parents.

“Me being a parent of two kids, I know there seems to be a lot of high school kids that go out and go trick-or-treating,” Berardi said. “So it’s more of a safe alternative for kids.”

Paull said this is the ninth year for the event. Berardi said there were about 500 kids in attendance last year, which he expects to double this year. He said the church sent about 4,000 invitations, including invitations to all local grade schools.

Berardi said as the event gains popularity, the need for volunteers grows. Quinn said there are about 500 volunteers setting up throughout the week and around 150 volunteers for the event itself.

“The church has grown but the event has also grown along with it,” Berardi said. “This is by far the most people that have helped out.”

Paull said the various activities featured at the event include inflatable slides, games, a scavenger hunt, a dunk tank, a bonfire and hay rides.

Quinn said the church started working on ideas in July and has spent a month building sets. Quinn said she was especially excited for a Jurassic-themed inflatable playpen that is 30 feet long, 30 feet wide and 16 feet high.

Berardi said he went to Universal Studios in Florida to research and gather ideas for the event.

“Every kid I’ve ever met loves dinosaurs,” Berardi said. “Because it is a kid’s event and kids like dinosaurs, then we’re just going to have fun with that.”

Quinn said one of the church’s ideas was to build its own dinosaur, which will be about 20 feet long and 12 feet high. To create it, she said they put together a three-dimensional dinosaur jigsaw puzzle, blew up all the individual pieces, cut them out of foam board and put them back together.

Paull said the church even tried to make their own dry ice because smoke machines set off the fire alarms.

“When I heard we’re creating our own machines to make dry ice…I mean, these guys get crazy,” Paull said.

“We love it,” Quinn said. “We love getting different senses and sounds and just making it really memorable for the kids.”

Quinn said the budget for the event was between $3,000 and $4,000. She said about $1,400 was spent on candy and volunteers will bring more.

“We’ve given so much candy away historically that we’ve had to provide discreet ways for parents to give candy back,” Paull said. “So we have redeposit zones for them to dump half of it on their way out.”

Berardi said the event is a great chance for parents to meet new people while their kids play.

“It’s probably assumed that because we’re a church we don’t support the underlying spiritual origination of Halloween,” Berardi said. “So rather than ignore the holiday, I think it’s more important for us to be able use it to develop relationships and friendships.”

Information Beans: Halloween Revived on The Strip

Although the strip is shut down on Halloween, Booby’s will be alive and full of music.

Booby’s will host a Halloween concert this Saturday comprised of popular local bands, including The Black Fortys, Himalayas and Nighty Night. Bat Rider, a band from the United Kingdom, will also be in attendance.

Josh Doyle of Himalayas said the Halloween show at Booby’s last year was such a success that they had to do it again.

“It’s a special show,” he said. “Booby’s is probably going to be the place to be on Halloween.”

Lacy Morris, Booby’s manager, said the venue is not shut down on Halloween because it is both a restaurant and a bar.

Doyle said last year’s show consisted of The Black Fortys and Himalayas, but this year features Nighty Night because of their recent splash onto the Carbondale music scene. David Allen of Nighty Night said the band’s first show was around Thanksgiving in 2008.

The fourth band, Bat Rider, presents a unique addition to the show as a foreign band. Allen said Bat Rider was booked for The Swamp, a local basement venue, but decided to join the Halloween show at Booby’s.

“Somebody talked to Josh (of The Black Fortys) about maybe getting them in on this show because they’re from, you know, a ways away,” Allen said.

David Brown of The Black Fortys said the band should be received well because Carbondale is open to new music.

“People are way less pretentious here than in other places. I think that in a lot of places people…pretend to not be interested,” he said. “They hide their emotions a lot and that doesn’t happen at all in Carbondale. It’s very down to Earth and people are excited to see music and excited to see bands from out of town that they’ve never seen before.”

Allen also said Carbondale music lovers are very receptive of outside bands.

“In Carbondale, a lot of the time, word of mouth just travels that there’s a band from out of town playing,” Allen said. “So people line up at the show to check it out.”

Doyle said members of the three local bands are friends with each other and find common ground through playing music.

“Everybody’s friendly in this area and we hang out a lot. Most of it revolved around music,” he said. “We all love music, talk about music all the time and write our own music and I think that’s really important.”

Brown said the three bands are made up of people who grew up in Southern Illinois, which is why they are such a tight-knit group.

“It doesn’t seem like we’re transient people. You know, when we say, ‘Oh I’m going home this weekend,’ it means, ‘I’m going over to that street,’” he said. “There’s no danger in any of these bands being in town for four years and then taking off.”

Mary Stamper of Nighty Night said her band has been on tour in the past year, but nothing beats playing for the local crowd

“I love playing in Carbondale. Our tour was great, but the show before we left and the show when we got back. It was so exciting to be back in Carbondale because it is very familiar and personal,” she said. “Even though everyone there has seen you 15 or 16 times, they’re still really excited and proud of you.”

Information Beans: Any Student Can Build a Hovercraft

Do not worry if there is a strange machine floating across Thompson Lake, it is probably a hovercraft.

David Allabastro said Hoverclub has made hovercrafts at SIU for 14 years. Allabastro, staff advisor for the club, oversees the construction of hovercrafts.

Allabastro started the club with Gary Butson, a professor in Civil Engineering, as a recruiting tool for high school students. Since they have competed in national competitions and turned the club into a registered student organization.

Butson said the beginning stages were difficult and the club had to learn from its mistakes. He said he taught the basics to newcomers and challenged the experienced eningeering students.

“We wanted them to build a hovercraft that met certain requirements and would qualify us for entry-level racing in the Hoverclub of America,” he said.

According to Allabastro, competitions feature various categories, such as piloting, design and technical innovation. He said SIU has won technical innovation two years in a row and took third place last year at nationals.

“A hovercraft competition is pretty much like an auto competition in the 1920s,” he said. “We will compete with anybody that has a machine. We will see people from pretty much all over the country and in some cases all over the globe.”

SIU participates in the entry-level category of competitions, Allabastro said, which limits them to a 15 horsepower motor. He said their machines can get up to 35 miles an hour on water and 25 miles an hour on land, but some machines at competitions can reach up to 110 miles an hour.

Because the machines are hard to operate, Allabastro said it is difficult keeping pilots.

“A hovercraft flies like a motorcycle on ice. Just because you point it in any given direction doesn’t mean it’s going to go there,” he said. “It takes skill and seat time, just like an airplane, to be able to pilot it properly.”

Allabastro said Hoverclub has been a great recruiting tool. He said they visit high schools, grade schools and community colleges.

“In some cases we’ll go into a grade school,” he said. “We’ll just go in and say, ‘we’re from SIU, isn’t that neat?’ And everyone goes out and watches the hovercrafts.”

David Williams, another staff advisor for Hoverclub, said the hovercraft draws a lot of interest from high school students.

“What’s common to everybody is it goes fast and it makes a lot of noise, and kids like that,” he said. “I’m not sure what the hovercraft’s mystery is, but everybody loves it.”

Allabastro said he believes the club has recruited between 2,000 and 3,000 students to SIU over its tenure.

“The idea of the hovercraft is just getting people interested, in not necessarily the college of engineering but to get people interested in engineering period,” he said.

Mandara Savage, chairman of the SIU Department of Technology, said the club is important for engineering students to get hands-on experience.

“Students actually get down and they cut the metal, they cut the wood, they glue the wood, you know they do all of those things related to building a hovercraft,” he said. “For them it’s a very worthwhile effort because they can see the actual vehicles from beginning to end.”

Williams said the club gives hands-on experience that will help students in the job market.

“If you come to a university and just get a four-year degree, you’ve cut yourself short of the experiences you could’ve had,” he said. “The type of experience you get when you work with something like this, you can’t put a dollar value on it.”

A’capella and Hip-Hop Mix for College Musical

Brandon Williams is ready to premiere a play he has been working on since his sophomore year at SIU.

“The Yard” will run at 8 p.m. on Oct. 18 and 19 at the McLeod Theatre, according to Williams, an SIU graduate from Peoria who studied journalism.

Williams said he had one act done when he graduated and finished the other two over the summer.

“I was sitting around at home and I’m like, ‘well, you know, I’m not doing anything else so why not finish the play and put it on at SIU,’” he said.

Williams said he held auditions during the first week of school. He said around 60 students showed up and he chose around 15 performers.

One of the performers he chose was Cortez Johnson, a junior from Chicago studying theater. Johnson said he has known Williams for years and helped him write the ending.

“With the cast there’s a lot of energy and a lot of potential,” Johnson said. “They came ready to work.”

Williams said the inspiration for mixing a’capella into the play stemmed from his experience with spoken word, where poetry is spoken rather than sung.

“Instead of being confined to a beat like rap is, spoken word is more…like performance poetry,” Williams said. “I called it an a’capella hip-hop musical because we’re rapping but there are no beats to it. It’s more spoken word. It’s interactive.”

Another performer in the play, Lester Hill, a senior from Chicago studying journalism, said Williams made tapes of how he wanted the dialogue to be spoken.

“It was kind of easy to hear yourself while you do it,” Hill said.

Johnson said Williams has his own genre because the play’s dialogue is not rap or singing.

“I call it poetic form because the literature is very rhythmic,” Johnson said.

Williams said the play goes from dialogue to a’capella, which is similar to musicals in how they transition from dialogue to singing. Williams said the performers trade off rhymes when they converse, which will be new to audience members but easy to follow.

“I haven’t seen any spoken word type plays or productions, so I really wanted this to be in its own rank.”

Williams said the play’s tagline, “College: mixing teenage adolescence with adult responsibility,” stemmed from a conversation with a friend.

“He was like, ‘Why does so much crazy things happen at college, like kids doing this stuff or drugs or whatever,’” Williams said.

Williams said the core of the play shows things not promoted through the university but all students’ experience, such as financial trouble, discrepancies with professors, parties, relationships and drug education.

Johnson said it was easy to connect to the play because he is living the college experience. He said he plays Steve Williams in the play, who gives the backdrops of school.

“I show what goes on with finances, what goes on behind the chair of the professor in the classroom and also things students deal with, such issues as boyfriends and girlfriends and social orientation,” Johnson said.

Williams said he wants the play to relate to students and their experience at college.

“I want them to take everything as exactly what they see…because what’s in there is educational information,” he said. “It’s ‘edutainment’ at its finest, education and entertainment.”

Tickets can be purchased at Campus Cuts Barbershop, located at 825 S Illinois Ave.

Information Beans: Kickball Charity Event Helps Fight Disease

Kicking balls and taking names is on the agenda this weekend for participants in Kickballapalooza.

The tournament will take place Saturday at Attucks Park, according to co-director Annie Karayiannis, an SIUC alumnus with a bachelors in industrial design.

Co-director Ron Perry, a West Frankfort native, played in kickball leagues with Annie, which is where they came up with the idea for the event.

“We just had so much fun playing in St. Louis that we had to bring it to the Carbondale area,” he said.

Karayiannis said all proceeds will go to the Cure Tay-Sachs Foundation.

“We decided to put out a tournament to see if people are interested,” she said. “We want to give back to the community and do something for a charity.”

Tim Rochman, a board member of the foundation, said he knows Perry through kickball leagues in St. Louis and was approached about participating in the charity event.

“It’s was nice that everybody came together to help out with it,” Rochman said.

Rochman said his four-year-old daughter Elise has the Tay-sachs disease. He said the disease is a rare and fatal neurological disorder and his daughter has it because she is missing an important enzyme.

James Rochman, Tim’s brother, is part of Blue Sky Vineyards’ team in the event. He said he is always happy to help the fight against Tay-sachs.

“Anytime there’s a fundraiser for (the foundation) we try to show up and support it,” he said. “That’s one of the main reasons I got a team together.”

Karayiannis said other charities have contacted her about hosting benefits. She said she plans to make the event annual and host a different charity each year. She said she also hopes to start a kickball league in the spring.

Perry said the event has drawn many sponsors and support, most notably from Pinch Penny Pub and the Heartland Pediatric Clinic.

Jimmy Karayiannis, manager of Pinch Penny Pub and Copper Dragon Brewing Company, said both bars will have teams in the tournament.

“It just sounds fun and different and out-of-the-normal of regular everyday co-ed softball,” he said. “We’re glad to be part of it.”

Perry said the tournament will start at 9 a.m. and end around 6 p.m. He said there are twelve teams and are split into three pools. He said the top teams from each pool will advance to a single-elimination round. The winning team will receive a trophy, he said.

James Rochman said he has 18 members on his team with ages ranging from 17 to 43. He expects the event to be competitive but fun as well.

“I know there’s going to be two or three teams taking it a little more seriously than probably the rest of the teams,” he said.

Annie Karayiannis said she has been to many kickball tournaments in St. Louis and it is very competitive. She said the atmosphere in Carbondale should be less aggressive.

“I think it will be a good time overall, just playing kickball, having fun and hanging out with friends,” she said.

For more information about the spring kickball league, visit www.sikickball.com.

Infomation Beans: Brad Cole and Carbondale

Mayor Brad Cole said a shortfall in a special city sales tax forr Saluki Way could ultimately cost Southern Illinois University money.

Saluki Way has a budget of $83 million. Students will make up $41.5 million, while $20 million will come from a sales tax increase placed on the citizens of Carbondale.

The sales tax money will be funneled into Saluki Way over the next 20 years. At the end of each fiscal year, SIU is given the first $1 million of the sales tax collection.

But what if the sales tax fails to bring in $1 million dollars in a given year?

“If it comes in at $900,000, that’s all they get. They have to make up the difference,” Cole said.

When the sales tax increase was implemented, it was projected to bring in $1.2 million per year. A bad economy has changed that projection to under $1million..

Cole pushed for the sales tax increase and it was enacted in January of 2008. At the time, Cole claimed public safety was the drive behind the increase, but he also saw the potential for the university to benefit.

“It’s a total package in our opinion,” Cole said. Although there are no estimations on how Saluki Way will help Carbondale’s economy, he expects the renovations to SIU Arena and construction of a new football stadium to attract tourism and pump money into the city. He believes that if SIU suffers, Carbondale would too, and he is willing to help.

The bad economic situation in Illinois has also affected the city’s budget and the number of jobs available in Carbondale.

Carbondale’s fiscal year lasts from May 1 to April 30, and the city is currently deciding on the annual budget. The current fiscal year’s budget is $42 million, and Cole is predicting a zero-growth budget for the next one.

Because the city does not plan to spend any more money than last year, many projects and renovations people are expecting may not happen. But Cole said he has made preparations for the upcoming fiscal year, hoping to avert a bad economic situation for the city of Carbondale.

Cole said that unknown factors may affect the economy and cost-saving efforts must be made beforehand. To do this, he said the city plans to trim back on some projects, which would mean eliminating the staffing needs for those projects.

Normally Carbondale would receive funding through the state for these projects, but the current economic situation presents a problem. Illinois has made many cutbacks and is delaying payments to Carbondale, forcing Cole to adjust and find ways to provide funds.

“We have to make budget decisions because we have to pay for it somehow,” Cole said.

Cole has made it his policy to operate without a property tax, so most funding comes from the above-average sales tax. But, by eliminating the property tax, Cole’s intention is to save the citizens money, hoping that they will spend more on businesses and stimulate the economy.

Another pressing situation is job cutbacks. Although Carbondale faces a 1.6 percent lower unemployment rate than the average in Illinois, jobs are still being lost.

There will be positions available through the city, such as neighborhood inspectors. But only half a dozen positions are currently available and will not significantly affect the unemployment rate.

“The average citizen will not receive an impact from this,” Cole said.

But Cole hopes that his preparations and cutbacks will ultimately lead Carbondale down the right path. He has

confidence that Carbondale will remain financially soundl and keep the city’s strengths intact.

Information Beans: "Glory Box" Focuses on Gay Rights

An internationally renowned performance artist will make his way to SIUC tonight to present his solo performance “Glory Box.”

Tim Miller will perform in the Marion Kleinau Theatre at 8 p.m. According to Miller, “Glory Box” is the most emotionally intense and funniest piece he has ever made.

“’Glory Box’ is a funny, sexy, and charged exploration of my journeys through the challenge of love, gay marriage, and the struggle for immigration rights for gay people and their partners,” Miller said in an e-mail.

Miller said the play reflects his real-life struggles with his Australian partner Alistair McCartney. Craig Gingrich-Philbrook, a professor in the Department of Speech Communication, said McCartney cannot become a United States citizen because of same-sex marriage laws.

“Their relationship has this sort of extra burden of dealing with these questions of immigration that a heterosexual couple wouldn’t face,” Gingrich-Philbrook said.

In addition to performing, Miller said he is also conducting a workshop with 16 students to prepare for their performance “Body Maps: Stories From Our Lives”, which will be performed on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. Gingrich-Philbrook said the performance is a collection of autobiographical stories about the students.

Shauna MacDonald, a student in the performance, said there are five workshops this week. She said the workshops last three hours and are very intense.

“It’s the type of experience where you know you’re there for three hours, but while you’re in it, it doesn’t feel like three hours,” MacDonald said.

MacDonald said the students are excited to work with Miller because he has been doing it for years and makes a life of it.

“It’s the chance of a lifetime in some ways,” MacDonald said.

Meagan Oestry, a senior majoring in speech communications, said Miller is fun to work with because he brings out the best in his students.

“It’s been an amazing experience,” Oestry said. “He’s brilliant and deeply caring.”

Gingrich-Philbrook said Miller conducts workshops across the country to share the value of solo performance to students. Miller said he was invited to the university by Gingrich-Philbrook and is having an amazing time.

“I ask the group to look under their big rocks and find the hot and wet places of their stories,” Miller said in an e-mail. “I ask them to own their fierce living and bring that forward into performance.”

MacDonald said Miller’s appearance reflects well on the speech communication department’s connections with outside artists.

Gingrich-Philbrook said the department is able to attract artists because of the Fine Arts Activity Fee, which funds these kinds of events.

“It provides the students the opportunity to see people of all kinds in the arts,” Gingrich-Philbrook said.

Gingrich-Philbrook said the workshops represent a great opportunity for the students to grow as performers.

“It provides confidence and a sense that they really can do it, that our experience matters, and the art we make out of our experience matters,” Gingrich-Philbrook said.

Both performances will take place in the Marion Kleinau Theatre, located on the second floor of the Communications Building. Tickets are free, but must be reserved in advance in by calling 618-453-5618.

Information Beans: Steven Brown and Michael Madigan

Before being hired as press secretary for the Speaker of the Illinois House, he worked in a Southern Illinois University cafeteria.

“I learned a lot about gourmet food and fine dining,” Steve Brown said with a smile as he talked to a small classroom of SIU journalism students in the communications building. Brown discussed his various relationships with important Illinois political figures, including House Speaker Michael Madigan.

While working at the Illinois Capitol has been good to Brown, it has also made his home life a bit more strenuous. He travels from Washington, near Peoria, to Springfield several times a week. But being away from home makes him appreciate the time with his family even more.

Brown has an interesting family to say the least: he has been married twice and is in the 15^th year of his second marriage, has a son who is majoring in social justice and is in a hip-hop band, and has two more sons who play baseball and the drums.

“(Drums) are not a good thing to have when you have a home office,” Brown said jokingly.

But before ever having a family or engaging in politics, Brown developed an interest in journalism as a high school student in northern St. Louis. While he bragged that he was within shouting distance of Busch Stadium, Brown also hinted that there was very little future for him as a journalist if he stuck around.

So Brown got a modest scholarship and attended Southern Illinois University, at a time when the Daily Egyptians was being recognized for many awards. This meant Brown would have to start at the bottom and work his way up.

“Is there something I can help with?” Brown would ask whenever he sneaked away from dealing with the layout of the newspaper and into the newsroom. Eventually, Brown got his way and became a full-time reporter.

Brown loved the opportunities that journalism offered him and had a passion for the business. “I thought it was a profession where you could make a difference,” Brown said.

After getting his major in journalism and spending six months serving in the National Guard, Brown claimed there weren’t many opportunities available at any major newspapers. He began to form relationships with various political writers and started many important friendships that would help jump-start his career.

Brown got his big break when he was asked to join the administration of newly elected Chicago Mayor Byrne, the first female to head the city. It was Brown’s first look inside the operations of politics, and it gave him some notoriety in Illinois politics. It also allowed him to strike a friendship with Mike Madigan, who was working his way through the leadership of the House.

Brown needed a job after working for Byrne, and eventually Madigan hired Brown. It was originally supposed to be a three-month arrangement.

“We are now celebrating the 23^rd anniversary of that arrangement,” Brown said as he expressed his admiration for his boss. “I think Madigan is one of the best things to come into Illinois politics in a long, long time.

It is apparent that Brown enjoys working at the Capitol, and he says he will always have a passion for journalism, which he feels is the best source of news.

Brown provided further encouragement for the students on hand when he said, “I didn’t have any

math skills, which is part of the reason I got into journalism.”