Evanston coach keeps his eyes on the real prize
Q&A: Wildkits basketball coach Mike Ellis By Julia Cardi Twice in the past decade, Mike Ellis coached teams at Richwoods High School in Peoria to within three points of winning state championships. Now he’s four games away from the title with the Evanston Wildkits. But he’s not asking his players to bring home the trophy for his sake. […]
How sweet the sound: The spirit of legendary Evanston venue Amazingrace lives on
By Josef Siebert Arguably the most famous counterculture venue in 1970s Chicago, Amazingrace was founded as neither a venue nor in Chicago. It started with Northwestern University students occupying part of a kitchen on the university’s Evanston campus to provide food to Vietnam War protesters. Eventually it morphed into a coffeehouse, a collective and finally […]
Icy debate over alternative therapies for athletes
By Erin Barney Justina Di Stasio put on a surgical mask, cotton gloves, thick socks and rubber shoes. A tank top and shorts left her arms and legs exposed to -120 degree temperatures, and after only 30 seconds, she lost feeling in her muscles. She went completely numb in the remaining two minutes of her […]
Women take biking into their own hands
By Elyse Samuels In 2012, four women bicyclists banded together out of frustration over the lack of women in the biking community in Chicago. Through their initiative and passion they created Women Bike Chicago, an organization that supports women in their biking endeavors. “We want female cyclists to feel like they have a voice,” said […]
Comedy spotlights the battle of the sexes
By Elizabeth Bacharach Three women donning animal ears dance to music as the character Waldo from “Where’s Waldo?” slinks between them, attempting to keep rhythm as he approaches each woman from behind. Once in position, Waldo extends his hands to grope his target and is deterred by each startled actress who jumps away. This scene […]
The Blackhawks and Wild faceoff in outdoor alumni game
By Caley Chelios and Nicole Sedivy One of the greatest rivalries in hockey came together to faceoff in an outdoor alumni game at TCF Bank Stadium. The 2016 NHL Stadium Series welcomed the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild and North Stars in Minneapolis on Saturday. The reporters covering the alumni game included Medill Reports’ […]
A tale of two cities: how education trumps war in Chicago and Reyhanli
By Aryn Braun “There are lots of Syrians in Chicago like me, second-generation Syrians,” says Samia Akhras, 24, of Chicago’s growing Syrian Community. But Chicago isn’t home. Chicago isn’t Syria. Syrian-Americans, like Akhras and her family, are constantly reminded of the violence and upheaval that is everyday life in the Syrian Arab Republic. Akhras’ voice, […]
Sports History 101: How Roosevelt University transformed a parking lot into an athletic program
Q&A with Athletic Director Mike Cassidy By Abbas Haleem Seven years ago, Mike Cassidy walked the perimeter of a parking lot on the southeast corner of Congress and Wabash, wondering how an athletics center could fit there. Roosevelt University had just hired him to bring varsity athletics back after a 20-year hiatus. His charge: to […]
Chicago promotes safe-sex, HIV prevention program
By Ruojing Liu A coalition of Chicago-based organizations recently rolled out a new city-wide campaign to raise awareness of an HIV prevention program of taking a prescription-only pill once every day. The program, called pre-exposure prophylaxis or PrEP, aims at people who are at high risk of contracting HIV as a way to significantly reduce […]
Bookends & Beginnings is a bookstore that’s both local and online
By Lucia Maffei Nina Barrett and Jeff Garrett decided to take a calculated risk. “It was actually a low investment,” said Jeff, 66. The two Evanston residents, married for five years, had always dreamed of opening a bookstore. She’s a published author herself, and he was a librarian for more than 35 years. So when they […]
