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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2013 VOLUME 49, ISSUE 11 Opinions: “Saturday Night Live” cast needs more diversity See PG. 35 AFTER 17 YEARS of waiting, Jeff Tir- itilli and his longtime partner Lind- sey Hooppaw are getting married next year. The couple’s plan to wed became legal when the Illinois House of Representatives passed the Re- ligious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act Nov. 5 by a narrow margin, 61–54. Gov. Pat Quinn will sign the law on Nov. 20, according to an announcement from his office. Tiritilli said he and Hooppaw had a civil union ceremony in 2011, but now that the state will recognize their marriage, they plan to have another ceremony. “[The act] means we are finally being recognized and we are get- ting the same rights everybody else already has,” Tiritilli said. “We al- ready had our wedding! We’re going to have an upgrade party.” Tiritilli was one of approxi- mately 50 people who attended the Gay Liberation Network’s celebra- tory rally Nov. 7 in the Boystown neighborhood, drawing supporters out into the cold to hold up rain- bow-striped flags and share their reactions to the Illinois govern- ment’s recognition of gay marriage. Andy Thayer, GLN co-founder, said the passage of the act, which takes effect June 1, is a signal that gay people are finally gaining the 3TAFF STRUGGLE WITH CLASS ASSIGNMENTS SINCE RATIlCATION OF 0&AC CONTRACT AS SPRING AND J-term registration begin, some full-time staff mem- bers are concerned about losing classes to part-time faculty mem- bers as a result of a provision in the new part-time faculty contract. The contract, which took 3 1/2 contentious years to negotiate, gives part-time faculty members priority over full-time staff mem- bers for class assignments, meaning that full-time staff members can no longer teach a course if a qualified part-time faculty member needs >8P D8II@8>< C<>8C@Q<; @E @CC@EF@J 5 Diwali: Multicultural Affairs brightened up campus Nov. 5 with Diwali, a traditional Hindu festival of lights celebration. For the full story and video, visit ColumbiaChronicle.com. There are jobs out there! Chronicle alumni share their post-grad successes Online exclusive video THE OFFICIAL NEWS SOURCE OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE CHICAGO ELIZABETH EARL Opinions Editor JACOB WITTICH Assistant Campus Editor » SEE PHOTO ESSAY, PG. 40 » SEE STAFF, PG. 9 Boystown star Sissy Spastik pushes art of drag toward a genderless future page 22 Pantries adjust to SNAP cuts page 37 Gwar’s Oderus Urungus unleashed page 26 an assignment and wants to teach it, even if a full-time staff member previously taught that class. The United Staff of Columbia College released a statement Aug. 26 expressing concerns over the is- sue. Its members are also circulat- ing a petition calling for a meeting with the college to discuss the best way to assign classes, according to Michael Bright, USofCC president and administrative assistant in the Cinema Art & Science Department. “Under the new contract, P-Fac union members would be given greater preference in class assign- ments and reassignments,” the statement said. “Columbia’s full- time staff have been excluded from becoming members of P-Fac since its organization in 1997, but staff have historically enjoyed the bene- fits of P-Fac contracts, particularly the pay rates.” Diana Vallera, president of P-Fac and part-time faculty member in the Photography Department, said she thinks the current process en- sures fairness for part-timers. “Full-time staff have a full-time job—that’s what they were hired to do,” Vallera said. same social acceptance as every- one else, but there is still significant ground to cover before they are ful- ly equal, like introducing LGBTQ sexual education and history in all Illinois public schools. The Chicago Coalition of Wel- coming Churches, which promotes LGBTQ acceptance in churches across Chicago, also spoke during the rally. Kim Beckmann, a rever- end at the Unity Evangelical Lu- theran Church, said the media has wrongly portrayed church leaders as being against the act when there are many who support it. “It still seems a little strange to me that we have to vote for this love,” Beckmann said. “There is a whole host of welcoming church leaders … who have been with you in this fight. So come get married.” Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE Noah Hall, a freshman art & design major at Columbia, looks on as approximately 50 people celebrate the Nov. 5 passage of the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act at a Nov. 7 rally organized by the Gay Liberation Network. The act, which Gov. Pat Quinn will sign into law on Nov. 20, will take effect June 1. 2013 ASSOCIATED COLLEGIATE PRESS P A C E M A K E R W I N N E R FILE PHOTO Michael Bright, president of United Staff of Columbia College, leads a Sept. 18, 2012 union meeting. Some USofCC members are concerned about losing class assignments to part-time faculty. No. 1 Non-Daily College Newspaper in the Nation 1. Bryan White of Wicker Park focuses on the stage as Andy Thayer, Gay Liberation Network co-founder, announces his engagement to Aldo Hernandez during a Nov. 8 support rally at 3407 N. Halsted St. The couple plans to marry next June when the Religious Freedom and Marriage Equality Act, passed by the Illinois legislature Nov. 5, will take effect. 2. Linda Richmond cheers as Thayer calls for further action to promote acceptance of the LGBTQ community, including the introduction of LGBTQ sexual education and history into all Illinois public schools. 3. Noel Spain (left) and Michael Oboza (right) speak at the event about increasing social acceptance of bisexuals. Oboza, who is also the founder of Bisexual-Queer Alliance Chicago, said the act should have passed sooner and he was “still a little angry because there are people who are meant to be here who are in the ground.” 4. Noah Hall (left) and boyfriend Camden Breeding (right) show their support and enthusiasm for the LGBTQ community at the rally. 5. Ismael Enriquez (right) of the Little Village Park Advisory Council waves a flag to support the legalization of gay marriage. Enriquez, who also called on the gay community to lobby for immigrants’ rights, said legalization was a great step for the state but there are more challenges to take on. 6. Hannah Chamorro of Little Village hoists a flag near the front of an approximately 50-person crowd as various Chicagoans took to the stage to speak. 7. Stephen Swanberg (left) and Vidal Cruz (right) applaud as Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches representatives speak about church acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Photos Anthony Soave THE CHRONICLE Boystown celebrates marriage equality » photo essay continued from Front Page 40 November 11, 2013 The Columbia Chronicle 40 November 11, 2013 1. 3. 5. 2. 4. 7. 6.
