Hey readers, this is worth checking out:
 
This rally is to begin to address the issue of gun-related violence, esp. against our youth-This past week-end there were two more homicides at or near schools. I believe that now the number is at 20 homicides of students from the Chicago Public schools and several more who were not students/older etc.
 
The rally planned for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1st at 11:00am at the State of Illinois Building (Corner of Clark & Randolph).
 
One of the main speakers will be Father Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina’s Church.
 
Rafael Anglada
Area 5 CAPS
(312) 742-0990

So, there’s apparently a movie called Watching the Detectives. Starring big-eyed wonder Cillian Murphy no less. Here’s what the IMDB synopsis had to say:
 
“Neil, a self proclaimed film geek and owner of Gumshoe video, has always been content to live vicariously through his favorite film noirs. But when he meets Violet, a real-life femme fatale, his mundane world gets turned upside down and the line between reality and the movies quickly begins to blur. Will Neil step up and embrace a life full of adventure or retreat back to his comfortable couch?” PeaceArch Entertainment 2007
 
That sounds amazing! Where can I see this movie? Apparently at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January… Meanwhile, I guess I’ll have to tide myself over with gems like Semi Pro. Sigh.

So, today I was taking a look at Second City Cop’s blog when I saw their post about Ruben Ivy and Devonte Smith. The headline read, “Angels, One and All,” the dek, “Honor students and future heart surgeons, each and every one.”
 
Then, SCC goes on to quote a Chicago Sun-Times article that describes how Ivy and Smith’s mothers defended them in court, saying that they were good boys despite their lengthy criminal histories.
 
It’s always interesting to see the cop’s side of the coin. When I was working the highly truncated grad school crime beat last quarter, I went down to one of the stations to try to talk to the officers. The first officer I met started off our conversation with a lengthy denouncement of the media. (This was around the same time as the whole Michael Mette fiasco, so it was warrented). Then, he told me that whenever a kid is shot, the paper always runs an angelic high school graduation photo and quotes his parents as saying that he was a “good boy.”
 
Are these good boys? I don’t know. Are they bad boys? Probably in some respects. Is the media at liberty to decide? Probably not. So how do we handle situations like this? Do we keep our mouths shut? Put the kibosh on the glamour shots? What do you think?

Today, DeVonte Smyth was charged with first degree murder of Ruben Ivy. Ivy, 18, who died Friday, was the eighteenth student to die this year in Chicago.
 
Police are saying that the shooting of Ivy and the beating of another student arose from gang activity.
 
Gangs. It seems like they’ve always had a handle on Chi-town, sucking kids in with a terrifying force that they seemingly can’t resist. I’ve had one gang member tell me, “It’s hard to get out of the hood. So I might as well be the hood.”
 
Well, if this is the mindset we’re dealing with, what can we possibly do? I know I’ve boosted CeaseFire in the past, but seriously, it seems like a pretty good solution to me.
 
Charlie Ransford, one of CeaseFire’s crime analysts, says that shootings in Chicago have increased dramatically since August, when the program lost funding. In September 2007, there were around 225 shootings, up from nearly 170 last year, he said. In October, there were approximately 200 shootings, up from roughly 150 in 2006.
 
People keep dying, adults and children alike. So, as the Senate deliberates whether or not to reinstate CeaseFire I’d like to turn their attention to stories like this. Could we have prevented Ivy’s death?
 
Some factions of the state are not too pysched about giving CeaseFire the money that it needs to survive. A few months ago, I talked to Gov. Blagojevich’s press secretary, Gerardo Cardenas. He said that the state government has made it “very clear” that CeaseFire must find other funding.
 
Well, I hope the Senate feels differently. Because this is our priority in Chicago, to make sure that kids don’t kill each other anymore.
 
So, before Emil Jones axes the funding proposal that the House unanimously passed, I’d like to turn his attention to Ruben Ivy. Eighteen deaths in less than three months is unacceptable. Let’s fix that.

Hey! Posting this again. Please take my survey and help me pass my class!

Click Here to take survey

One of my favorite (said sarcastically) features of NU homepage is the robbery alert. Every time I log on and see some warning about theft and assault in blazing red I feel something flutter in my heart. That would be fear.
 
This is what I found this morning:
 
A robbery occurred Friday night at the 7-Eleven store near campus in Evanston. At approximately 9:35 p.m. March 7, 2008, a man entered the store at 817 Emerson St. and implied he had a weapon. He then took money from the cash register and fled.
 
No members of the Northwestern community were injured or involved in the incident.
 
The man was described as black, approximately 30 years old, stocky build, 6 feet tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds and wearing a gray sweatshirt, blue jeans and black gym shoes.
 
The Northwestern University Police Department advises all community members to be alert when traveling on or off campus, especially at night. The Northwestern shuttle bus service provides transportation to areas both on and off campus every night until 3 a.m. In addition, the campus escort service provides free rides at night.
 
Report suspicious activity immediately to University Police at 847-491-3254 or the Evanston Police at 847-866-5000. In emergencies, dial 911.
 
This is why I need a plastic bubble in which to roll around– gerbilstyle. Barring that solution, what else can we do to protect ourselves? Granted, the event described above is not the worst crime to happen on a college campus (just read and the news and you’ll see), but it’s another reminder that no place is sacred, and no place is safe.
 
That’s a weird thought for me, the girl who grew up in a small town in CT where the wannabe anarchist kids are the biggest problem. Still, they don’t even do much of anything, except stand around the idyllic downtown, marring the scenery with their mohawks and oddly tight pants. (Everything comes late to Mystic, even love for the Sex Pistols).
 
When I came to Chicago, I had to develop my zombie face. You know the one– no expression, dead eyes, slightly furrowed brow. You stop trusting people. You start ignoring things. Is this the best solution? Do we have to be dead to the world in order to survive it? What do you think?

I appreciate all the comments that I received on yesterday’s post, which is why I think the discussion should continue. Yesterday, Alice Lloyd commented:
 
WELL MY THING IS I THINK WE LOST TWO PEOPLE IN THIS TRAGEDY TENNILLE WASN’T THE TYPE OF PERSON TO JUST SHOOT SOMEONE THERE WAS BAD BLOOD FROM MAYBE A YEAR AGO WE ALWAYS LISTEN TO A ONE SIDED STORY SHE HAS ONE TO TELL ALSO AND IT SHOULD BE HEARD. IT WASN’ T RIGHT SHE SHOULD HAVE REALLY TOOK TWO SECONDS TO THINK .BUT WE ALSO LOST HER TO THE SYSTEM.
 
I agree with Lloyd, especially after the update in the Tribune today. Apparently, Tennille Tyson was refused bail today, after which she started to cry. The Trib also fleshed out the story a bit more. According to the paper, Tyson’s boyfriend used to date one of the Marsh sisters (Tyson shot Kadeidrah Marsh on March 15). Tyson was mad because her boyfriend stayed friends with his ex, and one of the Marsh sisters told the boy to dump Tyson because she was “bad news.” Right before the shooting, Tyson supposedly told her beau, “I had to shoot her.”
 
Really? She had to shoot her? Why? Was it self defense? What’s going on here? I have yet to hear Tyson’s voice in this matter, and frankly I’d like to. This is a case filled with contradictions. Here is a girl who shot another girl because she “had to,” yet sought the help of a religious man and cried in the courtroom. Who is Tennille Tyson, and why did she do what she did?

Photo by ac4lt

Hey all! Since this Web site is actually for a class, I have to do some audience research. Will you all be so kind as to take my survey, so I know who I’m talking to and how to improve this site? Thank ya!
Click Here to take survey

Today, my classmate pointed out that the alleged killer of one of the kids murdered last weekend has turned herself in. Apparently, Tennille Tyson, 20, was persuaded by her pastor to come clean to police about killing 15-year-old Kadeidrah Marsh.
 
This story brings up a lot of very interesting issues. Tyson is seemingly a religious person; she went to her church seeking sanctuary and advice. However, she is also allegedly the kind of person who could approach another girl in the street and shoot her over some (most likely) petty argument. This situation begs the question: Why couldn’t she have talked to her pastor before taking someone’s life rather than after?

Photo by Brenna Ehrlich
 
This week, on the Crime Beat, we’re featuring DJ Logic, the mastermind behind my video’s soundtrack. Here’s a little more info on the DJ– courtesy of MySpace.
 
DJ Logic began his career spining records in 1989. Hailing from Freeport, New York on Long Island, Logic has been exposed to all kinds of music and was raised on hip-hop from the beginings of it.
 
Check out his music on his MySpace page!