Positive Promiscuity
Loyola Phoenix - LeeAnn Maton - April 18, 2007 - Original link to article
Trampy, titillating or taboo? The many faces of sexuality showed themselves at CARE's recent presentation and discussion entitled "Talk Sex," a presentation of Loyolans' views on sexual issues followed by a discussion as part of Sexual Assault Awareness week.
The evening began when presenters read aloud submissions about sex written by Loyola students for the event. Submitted confidentially through a Web site over the past weeks, the works ranged from prose and poetry to real-life experiences with sexual assault, feminism, sexual orientation, trust and even proper treatment of nipples.
"We all felt it was really important to have a comfortable environment to talk about sex," CARE president sophomore Christa Heilman said, explaining that CARE's own mission statement emphasizes educating the student body about sexual issues.
One presenter read from a humorous essay examining lying about sex, which said,"I lied to my boyfriend. He thinks he's my first. He also thinks he's good." The same writer also bemoaned a double-standard in the animal world, complaining that dolphins have sex all the time and aren't called sluts while some humans are helpless to escape such an onerous label. "[Expletive] dolphins," she complained.
The presentations were also laced with more weighty themes, calling for an awareness and societal dialogue about sexual violence. All the essays' authors were kept confidential to inspire a candid and open discussion. "Sexual assault is not a women's issue. It is a societal issue," one contributor wrote. "I find myself unable to trust men … I didn't think it could happen to me. I wish I had told someone," wrote another author who related a story about a person in a position of authority taking advantage of her. Still others wrote poems talking to God, praising chastity from a spiritual perspective.
One memorable author chose to write candidly about his/her own sexual experiences, sometimes taking very outspoken and unconventional perspectives on such a hot topic. Sick of the "romance and rainbows and flowers, and the dating, waiting, hesitating game," and arguing that sex can be a source of empowerment, one student shared.
In a moving and emotionally heavy moment, the same author shared, "If I hear one more person talk about 'cherishing my special flower,' I'm gonna flip [expletive]. If someone can come along and shove me into a car and take me out 20 miles and take my 'special flower' first with his penis and then with a knife, what does it matter? Once the deed is done, it's done."
Such an array of vibrant and personal stories from students walking this very campus on a daily basis proved that even at a Catholic university, sex does indeed exist and needs to be talked about in an open and respectful manner, which is one of the guiding opinions of the event organizers.
CARE then opened the floor to the students in attendance, encouraging people to share and discuss their own opinions. After some initial timidity, the audience, comprised of mostly females, soon seemed to really dig into the juicy topic at hand, expressing viewpoints and bouncing ideas off one another and taking interest in other's viewpoints.
The discourse wound its way through topics like respect in relationships, opinions about abstinence-only education, the biology of the reproductive system and even the wildly popular "Sex and the City" before turning to more personal experiences.
Pornography arose as a main topic, with some taking opposing sides. While some students cheered for pornography, others such as senior Mauri Guillén felt otherwise. "As a proud feminist, I find [porn] the most degrading thing," she said, which spurred another conversation about feminism and the portrayal of female sexuality in pop culture.
The CARE event coordinators felt that "Talk Sex" met all of their expectations, and they hope to make it into an annual event.
"I think it went really well," Heilman said. "The discussion went well and I think we successfully created a comfortable environment."
Though some may see such frank talk about sex as destructive to Catholic ideals about chastity, Heilman feels that the discussion supported many Jesuit values and quoted from the Loyola Jesuit Mission Statement which promotes "freedom of inquiry, even in the face of controversy or popularity, in the conviction that truth will emerge."
"People came, so obviously sex is an issue on campus,"
Heilman said.
Real News
Tim Bloomquist - 4/18/07 - Original link to article
This past Thursday, as I walked into CFSU on my way down to the Phoenix office, two tables of student volunteers of Invisible Conflicts, a student group at Loyola dedicated to raising awareness of unknown wars, greeted me with a display of the civil war in Uganda. Behind the two tables, cutout silhouettes of children stood with signs around their necks expressing the terror and lack of opportunity they face as a result of the war. A screen behind the silhouettes showed the documentary "Invisible Children," which portrays the heart-wrenching atrocities and hardships faced by children in Uganda.
Looking up from these amazing presentations, my eyes caught the television screen mounted on the wall. In an effort to keep Loyola students informed, the channel was set to CNN. They had missed that message as they broadcast the efforts to rescue a horse in Dawson, Texas, from a mud pit. I watched in shock and surprise for several minutes as a major, global news network - albeit one I have rarely respected - devoted its time, efforts and airwaves to cover an insignificant horse rescue.
"The horse [is] called Champ. So we hope the horse is certainly a champ and pulls through this one." Instead of covering a hard-pressing issue, one that affects the nation or world, CNN had presented itself as nothing more than a tabloid.
Despite this, I felt a sense of refreshment as the failure of a news network served as a juxtaposition of the successes of college students. The efforts of student groups, such as Invisible Conflicts, Loyola Anti-War Network (LAWN) and Food Not Bombs, to bring awareness and enlightenment to students on significant matters greatly overshadow those of the establishment.
Throughout modern history student groups have served at the forefront of social change. During the Vietnam War, college campuses became the focal points of activism. Since 1990, in response to the 1980 assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the 1989 killing of six Jesuit priests and their housekeeper, students from across the country have gathered together in Fort Benning, Ga., to protest the School of Americas (SOA).
Closer to home, last year more than one dozen student groups united together as the Loyola Student Coalition Against Bigotry (LSAC) in response to the selection of Ann Coulter as a speaker at Loyola.
The dedication displayed by LSAC, Invisible Conflicts, LAWN and Food Not Bombs, among countless others, shows our dedication to resolving the conflicts and problems of the world. Our willingness to work through the difficulties of the world in spite of the odds paints an image of respect beyond those normally attributed to college students and one that we should take great pride as we continue the efforts for peace.
By the way, Champ survived. Thank you, CNN.
CTA works to bring community and Loyola art to local el stations
Maria Randazzo - 2/21/07 - Original
link to article
They call themselves the CTA. No, it's not the Chicago Transit
Authority's train conductors or drivers of the 147 bus. This
CTA is a group of Loyola students seeking to create a strong
visual connection between the university and Rogers Park.
The acronym is no coincidence. Community Transforming Art (CTA) hopes to establish a bond by mounting artwork from the Loyola and Rogers Park communities onto the Loyola el stop.
CTA was formed during the Fall Semester when sophomores Anna Springer, Kelsey McManus, Emily Wilk, Cindy Cook, Lauren De Veau and Erin Stanley decided to spark a movement to personalize the el in order to foster an open relationship between Loyola and Rogers Park.
After a semester of brainstorming, McManus enrolled in a class called Artist as an Activist. New to the Loyola curriculum, it focuses on honing an artist's leadership skills to aid social problems and work within a community. Students received an assignment to collaborate with an activist group on a civic project. McManus saw the opportunity for CTA's vision to become a reality.
"It felt like the class was made for us," Springer, chair of CTA, said.
Five student teams chose which activist groups to collaborate with based on presentations from each organization. Before pitching their idea to the class, the girls ventured into Rogers Park to diffuse their ideas and receive feedback from community leaders, city officials and citizens. They attended Rogers Park art exhibits and aldermanic forums and are currently networking with local artists through the Rogers Park Web site.
For the presentation, they created a slideshow to the song "Art in Me" by Jars of Clay. It featured pictures of the barren Loyola station and images of what they hope it will look like.
The girls handed out puzzle pieces to their audience that read, "Forming Community Piece by Peace, Part by Part." On the back of each piece was the CTA's mission statement: "Increasing pride within Rogers Park and Loyola University by actively involving those within the community and the students of Loyola toward a goal of beautifying our neighborhood which we consider home."
"They put a great deal of effort into their presentation such as talking to LUC [students and officials] and the Chicago Transit Authority," senior Sarah Newsham, who is a member of the student team paired with CTA. "Community beautification is a project I will enjoy working toward."
Professor Tom Tresser, who teaches Artist as an Activist, believes CTA's project is entirely consistent with the goal of the Loyola mission statement: "dedicated to knowledge in the service of humanity."
"The el stop is a meeting place, a destination, a hub and a place of journey," Tresser said. "Thousands use it every day, and it could serve as a wonderful canvas for student and community art.
Although they are still in a developmental phase, CTA's project will reach its final stage when a proposal is approved by Adopt-A-Station, a program of the Chicago Transit Authority. Since October of 2005, 20 el stations have been "adopted" and aesthetically renovated, including the Sheridan, Morse and Davis stops.
"Our goal is to bring people together and integrate Loyola with the Rogers Park community," McManus said. "We have a lot of Loyola pride and many artistic students."
CTA plans to allot space on the train station to different organizations from Rogers Park and from Loyola. These groups would be asked to design their area as a reflection of themselves. Ideally, CTA would coordinate one day in the spring where residents and students could create their pieces together.
"Having the el stop as a testament to the diversity of Loyola and the diversity of the neighborhood would be amazing," McManus said.
CTA hopes this endeavor will spark dialogue between students and Rogers Park citizens, to share thoughts and eliminate polarization that may exist on campus.
"I think people will start to realize that we have similar ideas," Springer said. "By working together, we can accomplish more, learn more and be spiritually challenged."
Many students believe in the "Loyola bubble," the theory that the university is ignorant of the Rogers Park community and that it does not branch outside of campus life. CTA begs to differ.
"There is a small link that exists, but we can hopefully expand that," McManus said. "A lot of people are unaware of the theater, the art and the restaurants in Rogers Park - these things are not tapped into by students. There are tons of businesses that want Loyola patrons, it is not impossible to merge the two."
According to the 2000 census, Rogers Park is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the United States. CTA wishes to help Loyolans take advantage of such rich cultural surroundings.
McManus also emphasized the possibilities of college students acquiring mentors or serving as role models to residents of Rogers Park. She explained how students can learn from the experiences of older people as well as develop relationships with children in the community.
CTA recognizes an additional problem: The majority of Loyola's programs are facilitated by the same small population of "involved" students. To carry out their project, CTA needs students to advertise, fundraise, extend outreach, perform manual labor and create art. By incorporating a wide spectrum of talents, CTA hopes to increase student engagement and improve the Loyola community.
Tresser, the instructor of the course, described the role of the artist as an activist: "Imagination precedes implementation. The idea is that you can't get a community to move with purpose to some common goal unless they have a shared vision of what that better community looks like."
CTA asks students to share in their vision, volunteer their talents and contribute to the movement.
If interested, contact Anna Springer at asprin1@luc.edu.