“The arts saved my life,” says Haki Madhubuti as he takes a visitor past original paintings on the walls of the Third World Press, located in a former rectory on Chicago’s South Side. He pauses before a painting of Malcolm X. “He was one of my mentors even though we never met. He freed me intellectually,” says Madhubuti, 65, who keeps in touch with Malcolm X’s family. “Real art transcends time.” Equally important to Madhubuti is the library that spans two rooms on the building’s main floor. Yes, the arts, including jazz music and paintings, saved his life, but books are where it all began. Madhubuti says a copy of Black Boy by Richard Wright, which he ...

If you attended this year’s Midsommarfest, you might have noticed something strange at play. Andersonville’s predominantly lesbian festival was brimming with gay men. While scanning the crowd for my friends, I was blinded by the sheer density of faux hawks and pectorals peeking through tank tops. They seemed to be trumping us 10 to one, thickening the streets with the smell of sweaty cologne. It felt a little overwhelming, the populous of this summer festival having shifted so wildly from the years before. What could have caused such a rapid turnover? When had Chicago’s only lesbian neighborhood been swallowed by Boystown? “There’s this utopian ideal that we’re all supposed to live together in peace and harmony,” says ...

When the rich and famous party too excessively, they make headlines. They also face real-life consequences. Celebrity “it girls” Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have been court ordered to seek substance abuse treatment after drug- or alcohol-related incidents. Lohan was also required to complete a drug-treatment program. Non-celebrity offenders often face stricter penalties. Students whose partying gets out of hand can suffer consequences ranging from loss of financial aid to jail time. Most colleges have stiff substance abuse policies, including zero tolerance for first offenders. The Columbia College Student Handbook states the school may “legally prosecute with criminal charges” students possessing, using or distributing illegal drugs on campus. DePaul University students are subject to school-ordered completion ...

South of the storefront Baptist churches, fish and chicken shacks, and the yellow and red signs of block-to-block currency exchanges, Southside Occupational Academy sits nestled on the 7000 block of Hoyne Avenue. Near Lindblom Park, where geese play in abandoned football fields, the yards are overgrown and homes with boarded-up windows have “Mallory for alderman” spray painted across the plywood. The blinking blue lights of police surveillance cameras and handwritten “We accept Link” notices in convenience store windows announce the neighborhood’s poverty with glaring clarity. But the blocks immediately surrounding Southside Occupational Academy are somehow different. The rundown streets morph into quiet residential strips with simply kept, unassuming homes where neighbors exchange pleasantries over front porch cups ...

Soft jazz music floats through the checkered hall of Little Village Lawndale High School Campus to signify the few minutes left before classes begin. On a cool Monday morning in October, students pass through the vast glass entranceway, take off their bags and walk through a metal detector. Police officers in navy blue uniforms stand by, cautiously watching the students fill the campus. The students branch off into the four separate high schools within the large building: Multicultural Arts; Infinity Math, Science & Technology; World Language; and Social Justice. As they walk through the halls, the students barely notice the officers; police patrols and metal detectors have become a common sight in Chicago Public Schools and schools ...

“Create and print your own book now!” “Book publishing in 4 to 6 weeks!” “Fast & affordable book publishing service. Download free guide now!” Ads aimed at amateur writers fill the Yellow Pages and Internet search engines, but how do publishing hopefuls navigate through an industry of rejected manuscripts, cutthroat competition, agents and editors? David Lazar and Michael Bartlett, two published Columbia professors, share their insights, experiences and accomplishments. Tip #1: Be prepared for a long process When Lazar’s manuscript was named first runner-up in the Association of Writers and Writing Programs award series, he was certain its publication was in the bag. Instead, it went through eight years of recrafting and reworking before The Body of Brooklyn, a collection of personal essays, was published. Lazar, ...