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Volume 33,Number 15 Columbia College Chicago Monday, February 14, 2000 e»~ ... Black History ... Vitality ... Sports The first in a special three- Trendy Thai Review Blue Demons playing it Pat's -=$ Wa y part series profiling famous ·-~U),!!! African-Americans C:S - Page 8 Page 12 Back Page Making and keeping contacts the key, say alumni at Pioneer Press and says that she loves her work. comments he made after publisher Jann S. Wenner yanked By Billy O'Keefe " It was basically about touching base with the right his negative review of Hootie and the Blowfi sh's second Editor-in-Chief people," she added. "It didn't matter that I didn't have a a lbum and replaced it with a positive one. DeRogatis told ton of experience covering high school football games. the press that "that son of a bitch would give any band that A Saturday morning, in the heart of the semester They knew me and my work, and liked me enough to sells 13 million records a positi ve review." break. By all accounts, the Hokin Center should have been teach me the ropes." Naturally, DeRogatis doesn't recommend Columbia completely deserted. DeRogatis, who is in his second stint at the Sun-Times students necessarily follow his behavior in that respect. "So many eager faces, on a Saturday morning too," after an abbreviated stay at Rolling Stone, says you can But he does urge students to occasionally follow their remarked Executive Vice President Bert Gall. "Obviously, plan all you want for the future, but getting the right job heart in addition to their conscience. the students get the message." "Make good relationships with That message? Two simple words: people, hut don't let someone waste You're next. your tale nt and ti me. If your boss· Presented by Columbia's Career competitor is offering you an Planning and Placement Department, opportunity that your boss won't the ninth annual Student/Alumni give you. don't just dismiss it Career Conference gave nearly I 00 because you'll lose a contact in the current students a chance to rub . business. Take a risk." elbows with and pick the brains of ' DeRogatis. who is not a some of Columbia's working alumni. Columbia graduate. said that he Nine separate departJ:nents, rang­ enjoys speaking at Columbia ing from radio· to' management to per­ nonetheless. and notes the students' forming arts, hosted intimate panels in enthusiasm as a major reason. which students and alumni could · "I go to speak at DePaul and debunk myths, share tips and quell­ Northwestern, and they just sit or amplify-common fears about get­ there. writi ng everything I say into ting a job and holding on to it. their notebooks." he told the crowd The panels were followed by a during his ke) note. "I'd tell them keynote address in the Hokin that they shouldn't JU> t "rite e' er0- by author and Chicago Sun-Times thing down as I say it. and they'd Music Critic Jim DeRogatis. · th ~ n write that down ar.t! , ;iii not Desp!te the different demands of ... a, an' thing. each field of study, a universal lesson ~ ··cO!urnflla ::,tudenb. howe' er. emerged: Getting the job of your ask questions. You guys look a live dreams is about making an effort to out there." create ties with the right people- and Jeryl Levin. director o f alumni making an even bigger effort to keep relations and a 1985 !!faduate of those ties strong. Columbia's fiction "-;:iting pro­ Sarah Willingham, a former jour­ gram, encouraged students to join nalism student who graduated from The Alumni Network, "hich gi,es Columbia in 1998, said that while Photo courtesy of Career Planning and Placement students additional opportunities to looking for a good job can indeed be a "Make good relationships with people, but don't let someone waste your talent and time," meet and learn from former process, the ideal opportunity might said Jim DeRogatls (far left, In front of room) during the journalism and writing panel. Columbia students in the ''ork inu. be right under your nose, as her tryout world. AdditionallY. students can assignment at Pioneer Press, a large chain of suburban requires some improvisation and a lot of risk. attend career workshops and conferences-and recei'e dis­ newspapers, illustrated. " I basically stumbled into almost eve ry job I' ve ever counts on continuing education opportunities and at par­ " I basically had my clips from the school paper and had," said DeRogati s, who has made a home on two sep­ ticipating museums. reta ilers and restaurants the story of how I got a quote from Michael Jordan in the arate occasions in New York, Minnesota, and Chicago. Students can receive more information on tht! A lumni Bulls' locker room once to go on," Willingham said. "The only time I actually moved with a job in tow was Network by contacting the Office of Alumni Relations at "Suddenly, I was being asked to cover high school foot­ when I went to Rolling Stone, and look how that turned (311) 344-7472. or b0 e-mailing Levin at jle, in@' pop­ ball games. I had to learn as I was going a long." out. " mail .colum .t:du. Today, Willingham covers high school sports full ti me DeRogati s was fired fro m Rolling Stone in 1996 for Class and campus life at Columbia: All good? Almost which do not include te lephone or Web registration, arc unorganized, unfriendly and completely stupid." By Billy O'Keefe needlessly complicated and move too slow. Despite students' issues with the f-in ancial Aid Editor-in-Chief Columbia veterans and upperclassmen kept their crit­ Department, nearly two-thirds of those polled said that icism of registration to the bare minimum, often agreeing getting he lp at and getting around Columbia is generally Don't let the good news get to your heads, Columbia that the process "seemed to take an eternity," as senior easy. Another third found it to be tricky at times. but no staffers; you're not off the hook just yet. You' rejust on a advertising major Kwasi Wi lson put it. one felt that it was especially ditlicult. bit of a roll. But in the case of freshmen and some new students, " I took the time to walk around the school. and no" I A survey of 144 students conducted by the Chronicle the qualms often ran much deeper. have no trouble," says Web design major l.eonce Bowie. shows that, while life at 600 South may not be all straw­ "In the film department, after I signed up for an a junior. "It's very easy to get help." berries and sundaes, students are generally pleased with appo intment, the teacher blew me off and went to lunch, Johnson concurs- somewhat. their experience at Columbia. because he didn't notice that I was in the otlicc waiting," "I ended up going to fo ur diffe rent places to get and Leading the praise parade: an overwhelming support said freshman film/video major Heather Johnson. answer to a question I had," she says. "But I did lind "hat of the classroom experience. Still , students' assessment of the registration process I wanted." A commanding 94 percent of those polled said that pales in comparison to their views on Columbia's finan­ Perhaps surprisingly, students said that they were gen­ they found their instructors to be generally helpfu l, while cial aid services, which more than one student dubbed "a erally satislied with the community atmosphere around the rest found the faculty to be helpful when pushed. complete nightmare." Columbia. Asked if their experiences in class had yielded at least Students were asked to grade several of Columbia's " I guess it all depends," says sophomore Leslie some reward, all but one student said yes. services, including academic advising, quality of materi­ Michaels, a liction writing major. " I' m not really looking " It's kind of hard to catch my instructors because a lot als and financial aid. Among the I 02 students who voiced for that whole community sort of thing, so I don' t mind if of them are part-timers," says freshman Todd Fuksa, a their opinions on Columbia's financ ia l aid process, the there aren't student centers and stuff available to us." film/video major. "But they usually give students an average grade was a D+, compared to an A- for classes Many students agreed- but don't cancel those expan­ office number or something, and they are helpful when­ and an even B for academic advising. sion plans just yet, folks. ever I call." "It was complete hell ," says one junior, who asked to " I don't mind the quiet environment too much As in the past, questions about the registration process remain name less.