Mehves Konuk

Last year, we published a feature story about the lack of a trauma center on the South Side. Here’s an update on that issue.

Today (October 31) at 3:30pm, members of Fearless Leading by the Youth and Students for Health Equity will lead a march from 61st Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, the site of youth activist Damian Turner’s August 14, 2010 fatal shooting, to the Quad, as part of an ongoing effort to establish a South Side trauma center at the U of C Medical Center.

The event closely follows a teach-in hosted on October 20 by the two groups (along with South Side Solidarity Network), intended to educate the public about the “feasibility and necessity” of a UCMC trauma center. Turner’s memory was close at hand through the discussion, where several panel members spoke to his case directly, and his sister sat on the panel as a community representative. Much of the information was geared towards those less acquainted with the bureaucratic situation, as it has stood more-or-less unchanged for many months.

But one panelist, Dr. Marie Crandall of Northwestern, had some new information to share which has changed the timbre of the trauma center debate. Crandall shared with the audience the results of a forthcoming study she conducted which focused specifically on trauma facilities which receive a ‘high’ volume (> 40% of total cases) of gun- and knife-wound victims–a similar proportion of total trauma to what the South Side generates. Statistical analysis of this suggests that the link between geographic distance from trauma care and survival is not only intuitive in these cases but is likely actual; in her opinion, the sooner a facility is reached, the better. The state of Illinois currently requires trauma patients to be less than 30 minutes from a level 1 (i.e. 24-hour, surgery-ready) trauma center, but this law fails to take clinical differences within the designation of “traumatic injury” into account. Dr. Crandall concluded that a trauma center at UCMC, although it would incur about 15 million dollars in annual net losses, would save, on average, 7 lives a year.

With such a stark articulation, how UCMC chooses to proceed will be a judgement between the lives of seven South Side residents and a fifteen million dollar annual institutional loss. What is really at stake has now been made clear, but Dr. Crandall knows this information won’t bring any solutions on its own: “Is it worth it? I don’t know. I think that’s a philosophical question more than anything.”

Courtesy of MAB

Do you enjoy crowds full of sweaty and overly-excited hipsters dancing to outrageously catchy beats? Do you love charismatic performers with a wholehearted appreciation for sweaty and overly-excited hipsters dancing to their outrageously catchy beats? Do you like being one of these perspiring kids at concerts? Do you like live music? Well, if you answered “yes” to any/all of these questions and attending a Matt & Kim concert tickles your fancy, then you, my friend, are in luck. The UofC’s own Major Activities Board (MAB) is proud to welcome the pop-punk duo to campus on Saturday, November 5 for its annual Fall Quarter Show. Opening for Matt & Kim will be Squat the Condos, a band comprised entirely of UofC undergrads.

Hailing from Brooklyn, NY, Matt & Kim are known not only for their organic music videos that accompany their equally organic sound, but also for their insanely energetic and “physical” live shows. The video (below) for one of my favorite songs, “Yea Yeah,” demonstrates how much fun and enthusiasm they have when they play. In regards to live shows, let’s just say that at last year’s Bamboozle in New Jersey, Matt climbed one of the metal towers on the side of the stage to the song “Lean Back (Westwood Mix).” Although Mandel Hall might not be the Meadowlands, Matt & Kim will certainly bring their “huge venue” craziness and turn Mandel into what the MAB would call a “pop-punk party.”

Video from mattandkim on YouTube

To help them in this festive mission is Squat the Condos. I can’t write about them as I have written about Matt & Kim since, frankly….I just discovered them. But thanks to the songs on their MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/squatthecondos) and YouTube videos of their performances, I have already become a fan. The song “Pretending” (below) is currently stuck in my head. This past March, Squat the Condos released their first EP, We Should Be Together. For an unsigned band to open for none other than Matt & Kim is pretty impressive.

Squat_the_Condos_-_Pretending

Ok so now that you’re excited. Here’s what you have to do:

• STEP 1: Buy a ticket. Advanced tickets go on sale on weekdays starting tomorrow, October 24, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the Reynolds Club. They are $5 for students with UCID, $10 for faculty members. Tickets bought the day of the event will be $5 more for students and faculty. Customers are only allowed two tickets per student ID.
• STEP 2: Check out both artists. You don’t want to be that person at the show who clearly doesn’t know anything about either band. Check out Matt & Kim (http://mattandkimmusic.com/) and Squat the Condos (http://squatthecondos.bandcamp.com/) at their respective websites.
• STEP 3: Show up. The concert is on Saturday, November 5 at Mandel Hall. Starts at 8:00 p.m., ends around 11:00 p.m., and doors open at 7:00 p.m. The earlier you are, the better.