I I |
By Dan Zweig
TECHNEWS WRITER

Everyone is so excited and happy that
spring came so early this year in Chicago. It was
only mid—March, and at a time of year when
people are usually bundled up whenever they
venture outside, and kids are kept indoors by
their parents due to the cold, Chicagoans were
enjoying June like weather! People were out
in their jogging clothes; kids were out playing
outdoors and enjoying the warmth. Even nature
decided it was time to decorate — leaves started
sprouting all over — six weeks early! Beautiful
cherry blossoms filled the air with a sweet scent
pleasing the olfactory senses, and filled the
visuals with intricate shades of white and pink.

Everyone is so excited and happy that
spring came so early this year in Chicago. It was
only mid—March, and at a time of year when
people are usually bundled up whenever they
venture outside, and kids are kept indoors by
their parents due to the cold, Chicagoans were
enjoying June like weather! People were out
in their jogging clothes; kids were out playing
outdoors and enjoying the warmth. Even nature
decided it was time to decorate — leaves started
sprouting all over — six weeks early! Beautiful
cherry blossoms filled the air with a sweet scent
pleasing the olfactory senses, and filled the
visuals with intricate shades of white and pink.

The little six year old girl was playing
in the front porch of her house enjoying the
weather in this pleasant Saturday afternoon,
while her mother and younger sister watched
nearby. Suddenly, loud thuds rang out that
disturbed the otherwise calm weekend
afternoon. What was it? Was it thunder
announcing the arrival of rain — common for
this time of year. Alas, it was not! Rather it
was the sound of gun shots that announced
the arrival of rain — a rain of tears. The little
girl was no more! This is not made up — as
heartbreaking as this reads, it is a true event
that happened on March 17th at Chicago’s
3100 block of South Springfield Avenue.

 

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UTSAVGANDHI campus@technewsiit.com

TechNews | Tuesday, April3, 2012

HT Rock Climbin

Red River Gorge

The truth is violent crime is more
common than anyone would like in this city
that we all love — Chicago. The truth is, and
as two oflicers verified to me last week, when
the temperature goes up, so do incidences of
violent crime, shootings and gang violence. In
some neighborhoods unfortunate incidences
like the one above are repeated again and again
with no end in sight. Is there a solution? Is
anyone doing anything trying to stop it other
than police oflicers who mostly come in after
the crime has happened? Is anyone doing
anything to prevent crime in the first place?

Ceasefire Chicago is an organization
that has been working in the past couple of
years to <‘lnterrupt” the cycle of violence in
the troubled parts of Chicago. The brave,
commendable social workers from Ceasefire
work with troubled young people caught
up in the vicious circle of violence, gang
activities, drugs and prostitution — and their
goal is to interrupt the path these people are on
before things turn deadly. A widely acclaimed
PBS documentary called <‘lnterrupters” was
recently released that showcases the very
important and essential work Ceasefire is
doing. The US Attorney General Eric Holder
Ir. called CeaseEire <‘a rational, data—driven,
evidence—based, smart approach to crime — the
kind of approach that this Administration
is dedicated to pursuing and supporting.”

HT’s oflice of Service learning and the
Muslim Students Association (MSA) is honored
to welcome Ceasefire Chicago’s Ameena
Matthews to deliver a lunch lecture at HT’s
Engineering—1 auditorium. Ameena Matthews
is the lead person featured in the <‘lnterrupters”
documentary and has won wide acclaim and
national media attention for her work. The
lecture will be held on Wednesday, April 4th
from 12.45—1.40pm. Please join us at the lecture
to learn what concerned citizens are doing to
turn the tide of violence, and be empowered
with knowledge to help impact positive change.

All details are in the flier, and you
may also visit http://msa.iit.edu for more info.

 

Photos courtesy ofIIT Rock Climbing