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University of Chicago fraternity prank involving a series of offensive packages leaves mail carrier as victim.
A racist, homophobic prank involving a University of Chicago fraternity and an African-American mail-carrier incites a demand for repercussion. A series of 79 packages were delivered to the fraternity house addressed to “Reggin Tolaf”, an anagram for one racist and one homophobic slur. While the fraternity insists it is the victim of a prank, the groups involvement is being investigated. Although officials say no crime has been committed, the mail carrier is seeking punishment for the guilty party.
A suicide assignment sparks discussion on just how much we should be telling our kids.
A teacher at a Manhattan private school gave an assignment to her students that was viewed by some parents as inappropriate. The English class was reading “The Life of Bees” and the task was to write a letter on behalf one of the protagonists who commits suicide. While the assignment was intended to spark discussion on “seizing the day”, many parents are seeing the topic as taboo and unnecessary.
Luis and Shantell discuss the legitimacy of these claims, the intention of the assignment, and the way adults should begin sensitive discussions with youth.
Target: Police: Chicago Police issued an officer safety alert warning for cops patrolling the West Pullman neighborhood. When officers respond to calls, they are actually the ones being targeted. We discuss the “hit” on those meant to serve and protect us, the 41 incidents where people got shot across the city and the death of a 15-year-old who was shot by police.
WBEZ Bureau Check In: This week WBEZ’s North Side Bureau Reporter Odette Yousef joins us in studio. She’ll give us the lowdown on the rising number of undocumented unaccompanied children entering the country. Odette also tells us about undocumented youth being held in adult detention facilities.
Job from Around the Way: We present the latest job lead in hopes of making the search a bit easier in this tough economy.
This week, Terrence Chappell will hit the town masked. He’s gearing up for the Joffrey Auxillary Board’s first Blue Masquerade Ball. As a member of the JAB, Terrence is responsible for bringing fresh, diverse bodies to the Joffrey Ballet. He talks about tonight’s event which features a special performance by Cyon Flair.
Man About Town: We check in with Chicago Pride’s nightlife and society columnist and Huffington Post contributor Terrence Chappell on the latest weekend happenings.
Racist Prank: A University of Chicago fraternity may be in deep trouble after pulling a prank on an African American mailman. We discuss the details of the prank and why people are saying that it’s racist and homophobic.
Story from Around the Way: This week’s story is from Lily Be, local storyteller and founder of “Stoop Style Stories.” She recounts the time when she was diagnosed with cancer and how telling stories helped her get through the difficult time. The story was originally told at the “Grown Folks Stories” event hosted by Cara Brigandi.
Luis and Shantell speak with Benjamin O’Keefe from Proud2BMe.org and the NEDA about A&F’s ‘exclusionary’ business model of only catering their products to thin customers. This is part of an ongoing conversation that began in 2006 when Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries made a statement saying, “…we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
“It just seems like such a very strong infringement on one’s personal freedom, due to their financial circumstances, due to their dependency on the government.” -Shantell
A Wisconsin lawmaker wants to mandate that 2/3 of food stamp funds be used to buy healthy foods and the other 1/3 be used to buy junk food. Luis and Shantell debate whether or not the government is infringing on a person’s freedom to choose what foods to buy and what to eat. Callers also weigh in with their views on this legislation and they talk about what they think the new law is really about.
Suicide Assignment: Students in an Upper Manhattan English class were tasked with a strange assignment. To write a suicide note. The class was reading “The Secret Life of Bees” and students wrote from the perspective of a character that commits suicide in the book. We discuss.
A Win for the Interns: A judge ruled that Searchlight Pictures had violated federal and New York minimum wage laws by not paying their interns. Intern Guru George Lara joins us in studio to talk about the ruling and how it could shape how businesses compensate interns.
The Role of Sesame Street: Sesame Street has been known to tackle controversial topics. Divorce, sexual orientation, even AIDS. Now the program is taking on incarceration. We talk about the “Little Children, Big Challenges: Incarceration” episode and the role of children’s programs in society.
Alicia Sowisdral, from PopGoesAlicia.com and Phaydra Babinchok, Director of SlutWalk, have a discussion with Luis about “Rape Culture” and its relation to comedy. Is it appropriate for comics to have jokes about rape? How does that play into a culture of violence?
It looks like it’s time to toss out your iPods and delete the hundreds of songs you’ve purchased as MP3’s. Apple hits the streaming airwaves! Luis and Shantell discuss what this means for the consumer, the artists, Apple and their competitors.
In a recent move from Apple, the company will be releasing what media has unofficially dubbed iRadio - a music streaming service comparable to Spotify or Pandora. Their move into the “streaming scene” is rumored to include improvements to the competition’s model. While this may represent a slight move away from Apple’s MP3-based system, purchasing songs will be a button-click away through the set up.
