By JACQUELINE LEE
The UNITY News

The eyes of the world will soon be trained on Beijing for the Olympics, but Chicago residents are competing for a different prize: the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

City officials aim to bring the games here and say they believe that being green will bring some green to Chicago. So, they say, they would make use of what they have rather than spend money on new buildings that might end up as “white elephants.”

The vision for a Chicago Summer Olympics also includes a plan that would reflect the way residents live – by bringing the action to the city’s core.

“We have put the games in the heart of the city because this is how Chicago celebrates on a daily basis,” said Patrick Sandusky, vice president of communications for Chicago 2016, the privately funded nonprofit group bidding on the city’s behalf. “This reflects the Chicago that happens every day.”

The city plans to stand out by being the most “centrally located, compact Olympic Games” in the history of the Olympics, said Peter Scales, a city planner for Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development.
Scales and other city officials are working alongside Chicago 2016.

The bidding committee estimates the city would make about $2.5 billion in sponsorships and merchandise sales. Ticket sales alone would generate about $705 million.

Venue construction – the main expense of hosting the Olympics – is expected to cost about $2 billion, which includes the $1.1 billion Olympic Village to house athletes.

The city’s decision to build less is in response to the International Olympic Committee’s concerns and the greening trend in American cities.

“Green building is a trend not only in building, but the IOC is taking special note of bold development practices,” Scales said. “The greenest thing you can do is use a facility that exists. To build a new ‘green’ house is great, but if you can reuse a house and retrofit it, it’s even more of a positive impact on the environment.”

The city proposes 27 venues, stretching across the city from Navy Pier to the city’s South side, Scales said.
Of these buildings, 22 would be either existing facilities or temporary structures.

“Chicago already has a series of world-class sports facilities,” Sandusky said. “We looked at temporary venues because we don’t want to leave any white elephants behind for the city of Chicago.”

The bid is due Feb. 12. but construction would not begin until Oct. 2, 2009, after it is known if Chicago is chosen as the host city, Scales said.

The city would build the five venues in areas that need an economic boost.

“The Olympics is not a cure-all or anything, but it’s a way to jumpstart development in certain neighborhoods,” Scales said. “It may be cheaper to utilize facilities that are in existence, and it will minimize disruption to the existing community.”

For example, the Olympic Village – which would be built in the city’s near South side – would be converted to residential housing after the games.

“The Olympics Village would be a long-term benefit to that community,” Sandusky said. “It’s a part of the city that has needed an injection of energy for years.”

By WESLEY LOWERY
The UNITY News

Atop a modest stage not far from soapboxes once used by public speakers and flanked by listeners eager to cheer, jeer and debate her, Kelly Underman is to deliver a speech she rehearsed countless times. Yet in an era in which many speakers are granted a full security detail, she is to convey her message just a few feet from listeners.

The last of 11 speakers, Underman, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will address the failures of abstinence-only sexual education in the forum that once played host to such figures as anarchist Emma Goldman and author Studs Terkel.

The Bughouse Square Debates, held on the final Saturday in July, date to the 1880s. The event is hosted by Newberry Library and takes place at Washington Square Park. The nickname “Bughouse Square” was slang for mental health facilities.

Today the debates remain true to the original format, soapbox-style speeches and enraged hecklers.

“I’m a very comfortable public speaker, but I’ve never spoken in this format,” said Underman, who added she did not realize how heavily the audience participation would be until after agreeing to participate.
Other speakers include Erwin Lutzer of Chicago’s Moody Church and former radio host and social activist Rob Sherman.

Sherman said he is adequately prepared for the event’s one-on-one format: “I’m used to having to articulate an issue in a concise and intelligent manner … and deal with the hecklers.”

Another way in which the debates stick to the original format is in the awarding of the Dill Pickle Award, given annually to the speaker deemed the most compelling.

Ed Yohnka, communications director for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, won the award in 2007 for his speech “Why Defend the Offensive? The Importance of Free Speech,” which defended the Westboro Baptist Church’s protests of military funerals.

“It was really quite a great experience,” said Yohnka, who believes the soapbox format is what distinguishes the debates from other forums.

“It’s a wild free-for-all,” Yohnka said. “People will debate with the speakers, speakers will engage the audience, and people will have side conversations to keep the debate going.”

Event coordinators asked Yohnka to speak about Kansas-based Westboro, and he credits the audience reaction to the controversial topic for leading to his award.

“My speech generated a little bit of heat,” said Yohnka, who added that at one point an enraged audience member stepped onto the stage and took part in an animated one-on-one debate with him. “It got people incredibly engaged.”

By Andrea Cornelius
The UNITY News

Diners crowd the small green waiting room inside the century-old brick building in Chicago’s northside neighborhood. They line up in twos, threes and fives – and hungrily read the menu to place their orders in advance.

The outdoor seating area is full and servers are bustle through the doors with large pizzas in either hand.

The wait is up to thirty minutes, but no one seems to care. After all, this is the original Pizzeria Uno – a Chicago landmark and birthplace of the iconic Chicago deep dish pizza.

“This isn’t even busy. There are a few empty tables and everything,” said server Sabhia Zaghdoud, who wore the black uniform of the restaurant. “You should see a Friday night – there’s a two-hour wait and every table is filled.”

The restaurant’s walls are decorated with photos, news clippings and plaques outlining its rich history.
As customers move deeper into the restaurant, they can gaze at decorations that include the awards and accomplishments of Uno’s owner, Ike Sewell.

Sewell is credited with creating the deep dish pizza in 1943. Back then, pizza was commonly eaten as a snack but Sewell wanted to make it a meal – the main entrée, the star.

So, Sewell created a pizza with a thick golden-brown crust, lined with grated cheese, toppings of meat and vegetables, crushed tomatoes and finally another layer of cheese.

That’s when Chicago’s pizza war began. Others followed Sewell’s success, devising new ways to make pizza. In the 1970s, Giordano’s created the stuffed pizza.

Different from deep dish, stuffed pizza is distinguished by an additional layer of crust spread thinly atop the layer of cheese, said Chicago Tribune food critic Phil Vettel.

Word of Chicago-style pizza spread, and Pizzeria Uno and Giordano’s franchised and expanded their business across the country. However, success did not change the Pizzeria Uno. The restaurant continues to use the original recipe, reside in the same building and order from the same vendors.

Back in the original Pizzeria Uno’s crowded waiting room, tourists from all over the world wait to try the pizza that started it all.

Deep dish pizza is now served across the country. For the people standing in line, no other pizza matches the original at Pizzeria Uno.

By TRACIE MORALES
The UNITY News Online

The tradition of hosting presidential candidates at UNITY has been a major highlight at the convention, and this year’s history making presidential race has only added to the fervor.

That same fervor, however, has turned into disappointment for some, as Barack Obama, D-Ill., and John McCain, R-Ariz., juggle their schedules to appear at UNITY.

Obama is scheduled to speak Sunday morning, when many attendees will be gone or preparing to head home. McCain’s camp hasn’t yet accepted UNITY’s invitation to speak.

In previous election years, the UNITY Convention’s tradition of hosting presidential candidates has functioned like a forum to address critical issues of race and diversity, and has given White House hopefuls a chance to show their true colors.

Past political gaffs by presidential candidates only fueled the novelty of getting Obama and McCain together.

In 2004, a question posed by a Seattle Post Intelligencer journalist to President George Bush about tribal sovereignty in the 21st century prompted a much talked about response.

“Tribal sovereignty means just that; it’s sovereign. You’re a – you’ve been given sovereignty, and you’re viewed as a sovereign entity,” Bush said in 2004.

University of Missouri journalism junior Carolina Astrain is among conventiongoers eager to hear from the candidates.

“It’s a shift in history,” she said. “I think it would have been interesting to see McCain. He is pitted against the first possible black president.”

Obama’s nine-day international tour of war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and meetings with Middle Eastern and European leaders are meant to show voters that he can rebuild diplomacy abroad.

His appearance is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sunday at McCormick Place’s Skyline Ballroom and will likely be among the first after his trip.

The McCain campaign has not confirmed the convention’s invitation to appear, but the senator was scheduled for a town hall meeting today (July 23) in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and receptions later this week in Ohio and Nevada, according to the McCain campaign Web site.

“I understand they are very busy men,” said Cassandra Mickens, a graduate student at the University of Alabama. “They are campaigning and seizing the moment right now.”

The former news editor of the Selma Times-Journal said having the candidates appear together would have served as a reminder to journalists to practice the basic tenets of reporting: neutrality, fairness and accuracy.

More and more, Mickens said, she sees divisive cable news pundits back one candidate over another.
“These days it’s very hard to be objective and cover both candidates equally,” she said.
“It’s up to us to flesh out the issues.”

Reach Tracie Morales at tracie.morales@gmail.com.

By SIERRA JIMINEZ
The UNITY News

It all began in 1999 with a few e-mails and the determination to educate African-Americans on critical news issues.

As a Net-roots activist and social entrepreneur, Chris Rabb started his career by simply aggregating content online that dealt with African-Americans from mainstream and independent news sources. Within the first 18 months of e-mailing news to subscribers, his list of recipients soared to 10,000 people.

Today, Rabb expresses his voice through his Web site, Afro-Netizen, where he posts weekly blogs on issues that concern African-Americans and other people of color. He is a member of a small population of bloggers of color. Specifically, Rabb is a part of the Afrosphere, a blogosphere that pertains to the African-American community.

In 2006, Antoinette Pole, an assistant professor of political science at Montclair State University in New Jersey, conducted a study with colleague Laura McKenna. Their research reported “less than 12 percent of bloggers are black, Hispanic, and Asian –compared to 30 percent of the U.S. population.”

Not only do bloggers of color make up a small part of the blogosphere, they seem to play a less prominent role in the category of elite or “A-List” bloggers. Last year, The Washington Post reported that the blogosphere lacked diversity.

A panel workshop hosted by Time Inc. will address the importance for journalists of color to embrace blogging.

“Get Your Blog On,” 11 a.m. Friday in McCormick Place West, Room W192, will feature panelists including Sree Sreenivasan, co-founder of the South Asian Journalists Association, and Jim Kelly, managing editor for Time Inc. The panelists will also provide information on ways to determine your blogging style – opinion, news or both.

“Getting to that point where one is considered an elite blogger is very challenging to begin with, and we have very few minority bloggers,” Pole said.

Often, the number of hits a blog gets in a day plays a big role in its popularity.

“People are interested in talking with bloggers that have popular Web sites,” Rabb said. “If you choose to talk about issues of race, or disparity or inequality, that’s not going to appeal to a general market.”
Kelly McBride, ethics group leader for the Poynter Institute, said, “Even the Internet tilts towards a mass audience, and in America, mass audience defaults to white.”

Race, ethnicity, politics and campaigns are popular topics that bloggers focus on. In her study of minority bloggers, Pole found that although bloggers of color don’t always focus primarily on issues of race and ethnicity, it’s not uncommon for much of the commentary in their blogs to deal with how general issues affect minorities.

“A well-focused blog has a very particular niche,” said Kim Pearson, an associate professor of English at the College of New Jersey.

So what can minorities do to get a bigger chunk of the blogosphere? One option experts suggest is to appeal to the masses.

Although the number of daily hits a blog receives may be the way to determine an elite blogger, it does not necessarily determine whether a blog is successful or effective.

“For me, it’s not so much the number of people who read it – it’s who’s reading it,” Pearson said.