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Actress and comedian Leslie Jones took the stage on January 26 as the star act for the annual LOL @ UIC event. The show, hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and organized by the Student Activities Board (SAB), was held at the UIC Forum, where the 49-year-old performer had the audience roaring with laughter.
Image courtesy of ELLE.com
Over a sea of blue and white striped winter hats – specially gifted to the show’s early arrivals – Brooklynite Jon Laster warmed up the crowd with jokes on students’ majors, defining Chicago residency, and college parties before introducing the Saturday Night Live (SNL) star onto the stage.
“I didn’t expect to laugh as much as I did,” said David Pisanski, a senior in computer engineering, cited by UIC News in their coverage of the event. “I thought Jon Laster’s opening act was hilarious, especially his girls and their dads bit.” By the time Jon left the stage, the energy in the room was electric, and my roommate Liz and I were already on the edge of our seats, wheezing from laughing so much (and because of my asthma) – but Leslie would give us no mercy. 
Image courtesy of Troy Heinzeroth
She strode onto the stage giddy with contagious excitement, bouncing out on the balls of her feet and wearing a huge smile on her face. “I feel free!” Jones shared to the audience, expressing her joy to be doing stand-up again – her self-proclaimed first love in performing. “I love making people laugh!” she explained.
Leslie’s routine included a peek into her sex life, an awkward encounter with Prince, and a call for women to embrace their “crazy,” before ending in a playful interaction with the crowd, where she engaged with students for some hilarious improvisation.
Comments, which included comparisons of her to apes, pictures of her with semen on her face, and pornography, according to a New York Times article, ultimately drove Leslie to shut down her Twitter account, but not before the hashtag #LoveforLeslieJ began to circulate in support of her.
Two days later, however, Leslie returned to Twitter, determined not to give her haters the satisfaction of seeing her quit. Renewed with confidence, Leslie tweeted out:
Perhaps the paired love and support from her fans and getting back into stand-up has contributed to Leslie’s new unwavering confidence and positivity. On January 4, just a few weeks before her performance at UIC, she tweeted:
Rachel Knowles is a senior at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Originally published on Livin' the Chi-Life.
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 On April 19, the students of the first Writing for Digital and New Media course at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) had the pleasure of meeting the woman who made the course possible – Dr. Lisa A. Freeman.
Dr. Freeman herself is a history-maker, not only for being the visionary responsible for implementing the English department’s new Professional Writing major and minor concentrations (which include the ENGL 383 course), but also for becoming UIC’s first woman to be appointed Head of the university’s English department. Freeman succeeds Dr. Walter Benn Michaels in this role. “I think it’s a great honor… I think of myself as honoring some of my mentors,” Dr. Freeman shared about the opportunity. She also paid homage to the leaders of the women’s rights movement, appreciating the efforts that made her entry into a career as a woman possible: “Without those women that entered the profession in the 60s and 70s, I would not be here.” Dr. Freeman explained where the proposal for a Professional Writing program at UIC originated from: “The idea for [the concentration] came when I was talking to some of the instructors for the internship program; they wanted to create a class, but in the end we decided to create a whole program.” Sure enough, in the spring semester of 2016, the first Professional Writing courses were included on the registration bracket. There are four core courses that make up the concentration: Advanced Professional Writing (ENGL 381), Editing and Publishing (ENGL 382), Technical Writing (ENGL 384), and of course, Writing for Digital and New Media (ENGL 383). In order to minor, students have to also take Media and Professional Writing (ENGL202) and for the major, students must complete an additional capstone project consisting of a portfolio of their writing. Other requirements are detailed on an information sheet shared by the department discussing other curriculum requirements. “I just think that what English majors learn is the art of story making – Having these professional writing courses brings that knowledge together with some of the skills needed to produce this type of work after graduating from UIC.” In addition to her position as Head of the English department, Dr. Freeman is an Associate Professor at UIC specializing in eighteenth-century literature and culture as well as in drama and performance studies. She is currently working on a project concerning anti-theatricality and censorship from the Renaissance period to modern day America. Dr. Freeman is also busily putting together a book on the idea of progress both in the eighteenth-century novel and in the criticism of the novel. Some of her previous work includes a book called Character's Theater: Genre and Identity on the Eighteenth-Century English Stage, now available on Amazon. “We will probably develop more courses [for the Professional Writing concentration]. For example, we may need to create more specialized technical writing classes, for the sciences or social sciences… We want to see if we can take what we’re building with the Professional Writing program and build it into a graduate certificate; but, we’ll have to see how the major and minor develops first.” The four core courses will be offered again in the spring semester of 2017. The increasing demand for university Professional Writing programs will see these courses fill up fast. If you or someone you know may be interested in pursuing a degree concentration in Professional Writing, make an appointment at the LAS Advising office to learn more. Rachel Knowles is a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Stress and anxiety are becomingly increasingly prevalent issues for college students struggling to find balance in their lives.  Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/1qSa54b Highlights: - According to a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) survey of college freshman, more than 30 percent of all college freshman report feeling overwhelmed most of the time. - For every one credit hour of enrollment, students are supposed to spend at least two to three hours outside of class studying. -UIC offers several on campus resources for stressed students, including the Counseling and Wellness Centers. A freshman enters her college classroom on the first day of the semester, feeling confident and excited. College – a time of freedom and exploration, of independence and debauchery, and of course, a bit is learning too. Her parents had described higher learning as some of the best years of their lives, but things are not the same as they were 20 to 30 years ago. In 1984, only half of graduates had debt from college loans, averaging about $2,000. Today, two-thirds of recent bachelor’s degree recipients have outstanding student loans, with an average debt of about $27,000, according to a Pew Research Center report. Additionally, the unemployment rate among recent graduates continues to remain higher than it was before the Great Recession. As student debt and unemployment rates for grads rise, so does student anxiety and stress. Annual studies are finding that college students are feeling increasingly more overwhelmed and stressed than ever. According to a University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) survey of college freshman, more than 30 percent of all college freshman report feeling overwhelmed most of the time. Additionally, 38 percent of college women report feeling frequently overwhelmed as compared to 20 percent of men.  Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/1qIn2NC Katherine Knowles, a sophomore biology for pre-med major and chemistry and music minor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), shared that she never seems to have enough hours in the day to get things done. “The science classes at UIC are some of the hardest; there is a lot of information they throw at you and they expect you to know all the details. Your final grade becomes based on only two or three tests, so there is a lot of pressure.” In addition to her 13 credit hours of classes and commitments as an Honors College student, she also spends anywhere from 8 to 15 hours a week working two different research positions (unpaid), as well as three hours a week with leadership obligations as president of UIC’s Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) organization. Knowles’ story is like so many other college students in today’s competitive world, balancing multiple commitments while fighting to keep her grades up in demanding classes.
According to a survival guide put together by the University of Michigan, Flint (UMF), for every one credit hour of enrollment, students are supposed to spend at least two to three hours outside of class studying. So, let's to the math here: A full-time student (enrolled in a minimum of 12 credit hours) is meant to not only spend those 12 hours a week in class, but also an additional 24 to 36 hours a week outside of class studying. Now, add that to any other commitments you have (work, internships, extracurricular activities, friends, family, etc.) and then making time for everything starts to sound a whole lot less realistic. “I think that the problem is that most professors don’t realize that students have so many other obligations in their lives, including other classes,” Knowles said. “They don’t see the work stack up, but we do.” Students have had to find ways to deal with the stressors in their lives – yet another time commitment. “I usually will take a break from studying to practice playing piano – which also helps my minor – or I’ll play videogames,” Knowles shared, “It just helps me get my mind off of school for a while. It’s important to let yourself have at least an hour every day to just relax.” If you are a UIC student struggling with ways to deal with stress, visit the UIC Counseling Center to schedule a free appointment or for resources on coping with stress and anxiety. Additional resources can be found at the UIC Wellness Center. Rachel Knowles is a junior at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Photo Credit: http://bit.ly/1VmnLk8 |
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