Friday 1/9 – Thursday 1/15
10 SATURDAY College sports provide countless academically challenged youngsters an opportunity to coast through a few perk-laden years of celebrity and pretension before facing the cold reality that a degree in Rocks for Jocks won’t get them bupkis. The lawyers, media types, managers, and faculty featured as guest speakers for the Alumnae of Northwestern University’s seven-week course on the role of athletics in college life might argue otherwise, but then they’re the ones making money off the poor saps. The first class starts this morning at 10 and features Chicago Tribune sportswriter Bill Jauss, WGN radio sports director David Eanet, Fox Media sports producer Robert Vorwald, and Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management ethics chair David Messick holding forth on Sports, Ethics, and the Media. Each class costs $15, $5 for chaperoned teens, and tuition for all seven classes is $85. They’re held every Saturday until February 21; today’s is in the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, 1977 South Campus Drive in Evanston. Call 847-446-2936.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
14 WEDNESDAY One doesn’t normally associate the Soviet and Eastern-bloc film industry with Hollywood-style escapism and fantasy. But in the mid-30s Soviet filmmakers were setting elaborate musicals in factories and collectives, telling stories of little workers with big dreams. Dana Ranga’s documentary East Side Story traces the history of the socialist musical, which struggled with state disapproval and censorship up through the 60s. Incorporating film clips (including Stalin’s favorite, Volga-Volga), interviews with teen idols and technicians, and censorship files, it screens tonight and tomorrow at 7 and 9 at Facets Multimedia Center, 1517 W. Fullerton. Tickets are $7; call 773-281-4114 for more.
