blog.shimer

ShimerBlog2011.SF2, or Let Me Show You Where I Work

Hello again.

It's almost been a month since I started my internship, and I realized that I haven't even shown you where I work yet!

As you might remember, I'm interning at the Women and Leadership Archives (WLA) at Loyola University Chicago.  Both the reading room and archives proper of the WLA are located in Piper Hall at the Southeast corner of campus.

I commute to work on the Red Line and usually get off at the Granville stop.

I really enjoy seeing the lake on my walk to and from work--although you can't always see very much of it.  I took this picture during my first week on a very foggy day.

Because rooms with large windows framing scenic views do not make good archives, I don't get to see the lake while I'm working, but sometimes when I want to be outside I eat my lunch at this park down the street!

But back to the tour.  Loyola's campus is so different from IIT's. It's closer to the lake, in a completely different part of the city, has a number of different architectural styles going on, and is very proudly Catholic.

 

This is a side view of the Skyscraper, formerly the main Mundelein College building and, when it reopens after rennovations in the fall (I believe), it will officially be rechristened as Loyola's Mundelein Center for Performing Arts.

 

And directly east of the Skyscraper is Piper Hall (on a much sunnier day in June).

 

I'll make something up if I say a lot, but I've learned that Piper Hall was formerly a mansion (expensively restored in the past decade), and that Mundelein College classes were held in it at some point after that.

 

 Views of two rooms on the first floor:

 

Admire the stained-glass window attributed to Tiffany on the landing between the first and second floors.

The Gannon Center for Women and Leadership, located on the second floor of Piper, is named after Sr. Ann Ida Gannon, BVM, a beloved former President of Mundeleien College.  

 

 

Even though I know very little about her, what I have already heard and read of her commitment to equal rights and women's education is inspiring.

 

 

Now, the reading room and bulk of the Mundelein College Archives are located on the third floor.  

 

I'm told an open space like this that includes staff workstations, archives, and research space is unusual, but it's appropriate for both the building and the mission of the WLA.

 

 

Cumulatively, I've spent the majority of my time working up here.  However, we're currently in the middle of a large-scale collections maintenance project that has had everybody, including me, working extensively in the archives on the lower level.

 

 

The rest of the collection, which I'm now at least superficially familiar with, resides in this environmently controlled basement.  

 

So, there you are!  I hope you enjoyed the tour.  In the next post, I'll let you know a little more information about what I've been up to these past few weeks...  

 

Committee Meetings:The Meat and Potatoes of The Legislative Process.

    Yesterday was a long and exciting day. There were six committee meetings happening. Housing, Public Safety, Finance, Traffic, License, and Transportation all met throughout the day, some overlapping one another. These committee meetings are the "meat and potatoes" of the legislative process in the City Council of Chicago. By the time any piece of legislation reaches a City Council meeting, it's already been debated in whatever committee it went through or discussed behind the scenes.

    Most of the meetings test your ability to pretend like you didn't just yawn, but you do get to learn about who the alderman are as people and you can pick up on the insider jargon. I take notes on items discussed that I may not know about. For example, in the Public Safety Committee's confirmation hearing of the new Chicago Police Department Superintendent there were terms like: "Broken window theory," which says that police need to strictly enforce the law against petty crimes like vandalism, public drinking, etc. because these crimes tend to lead into larger violent crimes.

The new superintendent stressed the fact that it's important that citizens feel safe and that they perceive their community as being a safe place to live. This notion makes sense. When it comes down to it there's about one cop for every two thousand citizens in this city.

Well, I have to get going. The Budget Committee is about to meet and I have to go practice my yawning with my mouth closed technique. I kid; it should be interesting to see where our tax dollars are going.

 

ta

Shimerian in Florida: Being Away

     I have written one of these posts before. About being back in Florida after time at Shimer. This one is different though. It feels different. After my second year as a Shimerian, it feels less like "being back in Florida," and more like "being away from Shimer."
     Chicago, and my college, has become my home. Although I still have a bedroom here, I feel like a visitor. Rather, I feel as though I am attempting to wear a dress that was made for me many years ago. It kind of fits, but it's obvious I should be wearing something else. I have two more years before I graduate and this seems both a long time and barely enough to get all I want to do done.
     My family and teachers from grade school will tell you that I was "involved," "well-adjusted," and "a social butterfly." I will tell you that I was a late bloomer. While my grades have always been good and I've never had trouble getting along with the locals, things don't click for me as soon as they do for other people. At the pool, as others are cannon-balling in, I stick a toe into the water to slowly adjust to the temperature. Such has been my experience so far at Shimer. I've tried a little bit of each thing out, warming myself to the atmosphere, and am finally submerging myself fully.
     There are ups and downs to this sort of behavior. I have gotten to see a lot of what is offered and been in a position to form an opinion on the happenings at Shimer, but I haven't had enough yet. I'm left constantly wanting more. To give an example, I acted in the last semester's play, The Importance of Being Earnest, but I didn't attend the cast party. I'm sampling all the flavors and haven't committed to a scoop of anything yet.
     This is part of the reason I'm so anxious for the school year to start again (something that is quite a ways away). I intend to take all of my taste tests and commit to a full bowl of Shimer activity. My only fear now is that I'll decide on far too many scoops.

Shimer SIM Internship: Landis in Haiti

 

I am a second year Shimer student who is involved in QLC, Student Life, the Br. David Darst Center, school history, and Promulgates (Shimer's paper).  I am interested in issues of oppression, social justice, and personal and corporate responsibility.  My favorite book at Shimer thus far has been The Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass-- great read.  

This summer I'll be interning with Fonkoze, a successful and growing microfinance organization in Haiti, and CLM, a program of Fonkoze that prepares women who live in extreme poverty for micro financing.  I'll be working with current Shimer Facilitator, Steven Werlin, who has spent significant time with Fonkoze and even more in Haiti.  To prepare for the internship I've read Banker to the Poor and studied some Creole.  

For my first two weeks I'll be staying with a Fonkoze manager named Lamartin.  This time is meant to help me learn the language and the basics of Fonkoze before beginning work at the CLM base.  

 

Interning for the Sergeant-at-Arms (No, I don't carry a firearm).

 

 

Hello there,

    Since some of you know nothing about me, please allow me to bore you with the important formalities. My name is Zack Fazio. I've just completed my first year at Shimer College. I love the smell of a fresh rainstorm, blah, blah, blah.

    I've technically been interning for the Sergeant-At-Arms office at City Hall in Chicago, but most of my time has been spent in the Legislative Reference Bureau. The LRB is an agency that operates under the committee on Committees, Rules, and Ethics. Yes, I know that it's hard to believe that such a committee exists in the bare knuckle political arena we call City Hall. As I've said in the title, no, I don't carry a firearm. But, what I do do is sit in an office above Lasalle and Washington with the most gorgeous view of Roger Brown's "Daedulus and Icarus," a tile mosaic(pictured above) that spans the sheltered entrance of 121 N. Lasalle 

    Lately I've been reading and summarizing legislation for Alderman Dick Mell's Legislative Director, writing resolutions, and other insignificant task that any intern in any office has to do. I was able to attend the Health & Environment committee hearing yesterday. They were discussing the cleanup of the Chicago river, which if you haven't heard has been designated one of the most polluted waterways in the country by the Environmental Protection Agency. After hearing testimony from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and various environmental groups. The problem is that the MWRD isn't properly treating the water that overflows from the sewer system into the Chicago river when a heavy rainfall occurs. By the way, if you ever hear the word "effluent" don't be fooled, because it's merely a fancy word for the feces that is caked on the bottom of the Chicago River.

    So far I've thoroughly enjoyed my time at City Hall and look forward to the coming weeks and the politicking that will surely ensue. Tomorrow is the Finance Committee meeting, which I'll be attending. This meeting will be interesting, because some of the most important pieces of legislation is funneled through this committee whose Chairman is the powerful and longest serving member of the council, Alderman Ed Burke.

Ta