Cutting through the hype
Regardless of your political orientation, whether you have children or not, the state of the local school district is an exceedingly important part of any community. And for a city the size of Champaign, the school system's operations can be complex enough to befuddle most unschooled observers. That's where Charles Schultz comes in.
Schultz, author of the outstanding website A citizen's blog about Champaign Unit 4, wasn't always interested in the machinations of his local school district. "I was happy to live my life, and I didn't really care too much [about how Unit 4 worked]," Schultz said. "I didn't read the newspapers, I voted no on all the tax increases out of principle, out of hand, and I wasn't even aware that there was a bigger picture going on."
However, that apathy had an expiration date. His point of entry into local school issues was when he started looking into the Consent Decree. "That's when I learned about John Lee Johnson, and I learned about all the racial inequities that are happening in Champaign," Schultz explained. "Especially with bussing and how the schools are deteriorating physically but also [how] they're having a problem getting good teachers and good staff in the quote-unquote inner-city schools."
Schultz, who works in database management for the University of Illinois, started his Unit 4 blog in November 2008 in order to, as he put it, "get it down to share with other people in case they had the same kind of questions or were going down the same path."
| Week Seven: The mug cake and the damage done
I'm not going to pretend like this whole thing is easy. I don't want to fall into a trap here of trying to gloss things over or to make them pretty for public consumption. This is intended to be a true documentation of my journey during The Yoga Experiment. And this week I fell off the wagon. I didn't just fall off, I jumped off and went flying into oblivion.
It isn't the yoga, really. Yoga is awesome, and I have still kept to my at-least-one-hour-a-day-five-times-a-week edict. It's part of my life now; I get up and go to class without thinking about it too much. I'm still seeing improvements in my flexibility with each passing day, and I'm having a really good time.
You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that's the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are several events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have …
Since it began last fall, Innovators Improv has been going strong. In the group's own words, the mission of Innovators Improv is "Joining innovative thinkers at the intersection of the arts, sciences, business, and engineering to create unique and transformative ideas."
Plastic toys are like an infestation of bats. You don't even notice them biting you in your sleep. They hide in corners and when you finally stumble across one—a brown lump of fur on the wall or between the sheets—you wonder how it got there. I wish my collection of plastic was so unintentional. A case of mistaken indulgence, perhaps. For Christmas, my daughter received a Sleeping Beauty makeup desk from her grandparents. It is a three-foot tall, talking, singing, …
The towns of Champaign and Urbana can often feel a bit stifling to students, particularly as their world is contained to somewhere between the blocks of University and Kirby (oops, I mean Florida) and somewhere between the blocks of Lincoln and Neil. Given that this teeny tiny area is what most students view as Champaign-Urbana's boundaries, it's easy to just sit back in your cramped little (totally bitchin') apartment and count down the days until you get to leave "Southern …
A few weeks ago, I was talking with a friend who was dealing with some personal issues. She felt depressed and cynical, but she knew that she didn't really want to live that way. I recommended one of my favorite books to her, Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh. It is a book that I read often, and it talks about how to be more loving and therefore at peace in the world. When I mentioned it, she …
You live near a major university and a community college. There are smart people that come here every week to talk to the general public about interesting topics. Perhaps you were not aware of this fact, or were overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities for possible enlightenment. If that's the case, Smile Politely understands and is here to help. Here are several events going on in town this week. Check out one or more of them if you have …
After rounding out the fifth week of The Yoga Experiment, I feel like I am finally beginning to relax into my practice. I am getting to know the teachers and the other students, and I have proven my dedication to myself and others. Five weeks is huge for me, now I can say that this is the longest and most consistently I have ever "worked out" in my life (or at least since high school), and it has by far …
The C/U Stand Up Spectacular: A Night Of Stand Up Comedy takes place Friday at 9 p.m. at the Canopy Club. Cover is eight bucks. Eight stand-up comedians (Trey Mowder, Ryan Nallen, Sirifax, Lane Pieschel, Drew Michael, Ryan Walker, Sam Norton, and Collin A. Bullock) will do their best to make you laugh. In the interest of introductions, Pieschel, Bullock, and Nallen answered a few of our questions below.
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Dangit! Now I have to go home and try that cake. MMMmmMMMMmmmm looks goood. Cakey cakey cakey…
Amen. When I told people I’ve lost 18 pounds since early October the number one response I get from women is concern. 18 pounds in four months is not unhealthy, quite the opposite for me. But don’t give up on sugar, or become a vegan, or do…
The whole self-acceptance idea is tricky in itself too. Are we supposed to self-accept by sitting around like bumps on logs, doing nothing but just appreciating and accepting ourselves? Life doesn’t happen like that. I like your point about pushing ourselves to do something greater. Self-challenge and self-reflection…
lindsey - i certainly understand where you are coming from on that one. and i just wanted to state for the record that in no way did i mean to imply that i am not a feminist (or a liberal) just that i find that whole…
re: body image—i find it very hard to hear my own true voice in the midst of all the other ones - either the voices from the “beauty industry” demanding total perfection or the ones from the feminist community (which i am a part of, proudly) demanding…
Relevant article, this should be noticed/discussed more often. But I will say the more important issue is our exhaling and plants inhaling. That is much more important and deadly and dangerous. Oh and soda manufacturing and farting. As long as we have the wealthiest people/major polluters on…
This is wonderful Ryan, thanks for the comment: “I am the Supply and Donation Clerk for Cunningham Children’s Home and I would be happy to pick up any gently used toys (with the exception of stuffed animals) for kids of all ages. Just call 367-3728 Ext 201…
You mention the plastic trash floating in the ocean, and that’s actually the case right now. There are continent size plastic junk fields in gyres in the Pacific and Atlantic right now. Also, thank you all for not feeding the trolls.
I am the Supply and Donation Clerk for Cunningham Children’s Home and I would be happy to pick up any gently used toys (with the exception of stuffed animals) for kids of all ages. Just call 367-3728 Ext 201 to arrange a pick-up. I agree with the…
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“Evaporated.“ Never said that but cool…. Yes, I do know. But people have wanted to be Elvis for 60 years. And I think what is hipper these days is the switch around. Ya know, how every one in the band “kind of” plays “everything” and switches around…
Make a mental note now - This is for federal control of the internet. It will be phased in. There is a cybersecurity bill in congress right now. just watch…
i just found this article, and am so happy about it! mark is a wonderful person!!
*Shrugs*
Cheesy Computers with evaporated Beats and Samples may not be your taste and I can appreciate that…but in some cases they are born out of necessity. Do you know how hard it is to find a drummer these days? Do you know how hard it is to find…
Sometime between now and their first game in this year’s NIT, the Illini need to practice taking a shot before the game clock expires.
Can we please refrain from ever EVER comparing running a marathon to childbirth? Especially when the comparison is made by someone without a vagina? Kthx.
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I think we are in. But being blown out again by OSU might give the selection comittee doubts. I dunno anymore.
Mark: You raise some interesting points. I’m impressed by anyone who runs a marathon, no matter their finishing time. It’s the commitment people show to accomplishing a goal they set for themselves that impresses me most. A sign I saw at the Illinois Marathon last year along…
To get back to the show, if that’s allowed, we saw it last night. I know a lot about the films of the 30s and 40s and appreciated what Durang was trying to do, though some was pretty obvious and the ending was forced. A literal kitchen…
Every band in CU - I realize this is just a cheeky comment, but I wanted to respond anyway. I think this column is more about the scene and the support system than the bands themselves. The last thing I would ever want is for someone to…
Interesting article, John. I second your comments Doug. I’d really like to see the two of you do a Siskel & Ebert-style review of albums. Can SP make this happen? And if Noiseboy could reappear to DJ one day at Mike & Molly’s…
@Ty I think this article from last year is what you’re looking for: http://www.smilepolitely.com/food/talking_breakfast_at_the_market/ Enjoy!
Thank you SP editors for removing a not-so-nice word from Pope’s comment. I was just going to comment on it myself, wondering if we need an article titled “Down with the F-word”. John, very interesting read. Huzzah for well-written local music opinion.
Ok folks, now that its obvious the wonder bread, gas station eggs, and pasteurized processed cheese food can be marked up sufficiently enough to open two restaurants during a recession and in the same five year span, ya think we can be a little demanding? I’m all…
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I opine that to receive the personal loans from creditors you must present a good motivation. Nevertheless, once I’ve got a consolidation loan, just because I wanted to buy a house.