6 .:E a ae@technewsiit.com TechNews | Tuesday, September 20th, 2016

Hawks Coffeehouse features student, professional performers for a two-hour Homecoming concert

Reno Waswil
DISTROBUTION MANAG ER

In the cacophony of events that lined
last week’s Illinois Tech calendar in celebration
of Homecoming 2016, Union Board’s second
fortnightly Hawks Coffeehouse performance
was among the many notable and enjoyable
festivities. On Wednesday, September 14,
at 7 p.m., students gathered in the MTCC
Welcome Center to sit back, relax, and enjoy
this week’s featured performers, accompanied
by a Sodexo—catered spread of hot and iced
coffee and brownies. This week was, however,
quite special, in that, opposed to the usual hour
duration of the event, this one went on for over
two hours due to the abundance of performers
resulting from a last minute booking error.

This night, student spoken—word
poet Sanjin Ibrahimovic, the musical stylings
of a collective of students Allen White, Jazz
Kalingasan, Jose (Rafita) Vera, and Myka
Chang, and professional guitarist/singer—
songwriter Abe Parker all provided enjoyable
showings of their talents—— all creating an
equally emotive and yet profoundly different
atmospheres.

Up first was the absolutely wonderful

s1:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

poetry of Ibrahimovic, backed by some low
music care of Musingineer’s album “Hiatus.”
His booking was the result of a cold calling by
Union Board’s music and dance chair, Citlali
Bueno, to the fraternity colloquially known
as “Skull House.” His set began with a short
summary about his poetry, which included a
description of some of the outlets and places of
available for other students who may wish to,
themselves, write poetry, but who want some
assistance. He also commented that he would
be reading his poetry in chronological order of
when he wrote it.

Ibrahimovic’s poetry spoke to
the beauties of love and loss, the concepts
of cultural identification and family, his
struggles with racism and immigration, and
the present local and national state of politics,
ignorance, and inequality. His performance
was inspirational, and his fearless messages
were touching and resonated with many in the
audience.

Next was a grouping which
was jokingly referred to as “Allen and the
Allenettes.” Their set was something of a
technical abnormality for such an event, with
7 microphones, a piano (lovingly provided by
IIT A Cappella), and other sound equipment,

but nothing Alien Sound and Lighting’s expert
team couldn’t provide. Only a few of their
songs featured the full collective; most of them
were subsets of two or three of the members.
One of their performers, Kalingasan, actually
was quite late to the show as he had to finish a
lab beforehand, and so it was asked by White
that, when he did arrive, a hullabaloo be made.
This was accomplished and was actually
initiated by Vera, who was in the middle of a
song with Chang at that time of Kalingasan’s
arrival.

Their set ended with an impromptu
performance of an elongated song they
called “Milkshake,” which involved White on
keyboard doing improvised speak—singing
while the rest of the collective were on
backup, joining in on a chorus of just the word
“milkshake” at the end. The song was a crowd
favorite.

After these shenanigans, Parker,
who is currently on a tour of primarily campus
shows, went on to do his impressive set. He
held a commanding stage presence, which
included him dancing around, jamming on
his guitar, and masterful use of a loop—pedal
to record and loop many of his guitar riffs,
allowing him to live play and sing on top of it.

‘ :

 

 

Despite a certain fatigue of the members of the
audience who chose to stay long after all of the
coffee and food had been exhausted, those that
did were pleasantly surprised by the his skill.

A few of the lines in his music
elicited some sympathetic response, including
one ab out buying all of his groceries from Aldi.
He even took time to commit a few communal
antics of his own; after noticing some of the
members of “Allen and the Allenettes” dancing
in the crowd, he even invited them up to the
front and asked the audience to mimic their
moves, which many of them did.

As a notable feature of the night,
Rahul Wadhwani, last year’s Student
Government Association (SGA) President,
made a surprise visit to watch the show and
wished to make a statement on the TechNews
record that “Illinois Tech Rocks.”

Those intrigued by this article are
invited attend the next performance, which
will be held on September 28 at 7 pm. in the
MTCC Welcome Center, and will feature
Nelly’s Echo, care of National Broadcasting
Company’s (NBC’s) hit television show “The
Voice,” along with coffee, apple cider, and yet
another sweet treat.

..'"'.5 ----- 92/.“
2%” "We
66‘ ’R‘ L" BKEWFD (1.. ‘

vita“

.—-(

Photos by Reno Waswz'l

A true beach getaway, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Steven Moreno
TECH N EWS WRITE R

A short trip down the South Shore
Line will take you to the neighboring state of
Indiana, the well—known Hoosier State. Hidden
along this rail is a little known park that is
seldom heard of or talked about, Indiana Dunes
National Lakeshore. This park is celebrating
its 50th anniversary this year with numerous
events and recreational opportunities. It is the
perfect place for those who have grown tired
of the city and wish to get away from it for a

while. Still, the mighty cityscape of Chicago
does not elude the park, as the outline of the
city’s most famous buildings can be seen in the
distance.

The park was created in 1966 by the
United States Congress with the support of
then President Lyndon B. Johnson. The park
protects the remains of the unique coast line
of sand dunes and the flora and fauna that
call it home. The entire coast was at risk of
being destroyed as the ports of Indiana and
Gary, located at the opposite end of the park,
threatened to develop the entire lakeshore.

With the effort of local conservationists and
their congressmen and women, over fifteen
hundred square acres of land were saved from
annihilation.

Today, the park is a popular spot for
locals and tourists alike to kick back, relax,
and enjoy majestic Lake Michigan and all it
has to offer. Beside the beach and lake, the
inland portion of the park has a lot to offer
as well. Numerous trails stretch across the
park’s famous dune hills to show the beautiful
scenery this coastline has to offer. Sunset at
the park is a sight to behold, as the orange sky

against the skyscrapers of Chicago make for a
spectacular sight.

To reach Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore, one must take the South Shore Line
from Millennium Station to Miller Station
outside of Portage, Indiana. A complimentary
shuttle bus called the ‘Dune Buggy” which runs
annually from May to October, will then take
passengers into the park. Shuttle stops include
the Paul H. Douglas Center for Environmental
Education, Marquette Park, Lake Street and
Miller Beaches.

 

Photos by Steven Moreno