Writer reflects on college through 'Funeral' by The Arcade Fire

Published on Monday, May 12, 2008
The Northern Star

Less than a month after I started my freshman year here at NIU, Arcade Fire released their debut album, “Funeral.”

It would go on to be a touchstone album for popular music of this decade and the very definition of a “breakout” album that was ecstatically well-liked by critics, and even more so by fans.

When people talk about “Funeral,” there is often a kind of majestic awe in their eyes, as if the 10 songs on the album could move mountains to tears. “Funeral” achieves this by taking an honest kind of angst and magnifying it to an operatic scope.

Because of its release date, I can’t help but associate “Funeral” with my four years at NIU. And as I await graduation – cap, gown and all – I can’t help but think of how it covers many of the emotions and experiences I think a lot of students have shared.

Take the album’s anthemic opener, “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” a song in which a character dreams of digging himself out of his snowed-in house and escaping to a place of juvenile independence: “And since there’s no one else around / we let our hair grow long / and forget all we used to know / then our skin gets thicker / from living out in the snow.”

But this starts to go wrong when the character has children and can no longer remember bits of his past as a reference point, climaxing with singer Win Butler’s desperate question about his parents; “Well, whatever happened to them?”

Now cut to an 18-year-old version of myself, who couldn’t wait to get out of that house he lived in his whole life. The version of me who literally did cartwheels the moment his parents drove out of sight on that warm, sun-drenched move-in day.

I was powered by that primal desire to get out on my own and make some kind of name for myself in something; anything. Only later did I realize that, like the characters in “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” just because I wanted some kind of maturity doesn’t mean I had any understanding of how to get it.

This internal conflict is given another angle on the album’s exquisite closer, “In the Backseat.” Butler’s wife, Régine Chassagne, dreams of being a child in the backseat of a car, watching the scenery while someone else drives. But her innocence is shattered by a death in her family.

And yet, like the mantra that came after Feb 14., she moves forward.

“I’ve been learning to drive,” she passionately sings, “my whole life.”

There’s something so honest about that line.

One might think that they leave NIU different than when they came in. That may be true, but only in the sense that everyone changes and will always be changing. Even after classes, exams, all-nighters, events within and beyond our control, we’re still learning to drive.

Now, after four years here – with this last one being by far the most eventful – I put on this record, feel my cynicism melt away and hope that I never stop learning.

Clifton Roy & The Folkstringer focuses on singing, songwriting

Published on Friday, May 9, 2008
The Northern Star

"Where the Rock Meets the Rail" - Clifton Roy & Folkstringer
Rating: 6 / 10

There are “retro” bands, and then there are bands like Clifton Roy & Folkstringer.

The group, centered on singer and guitarist Clifton Roy, doesn’t use any electronic instruments, opting out of any pop/rock formulas. Instead, with NIU alumnus Craig Hauge on upright bass and Gregory Morland on mandolin, Roy has honed a time-honored style.

After cutting its teeth at open mic nights and house parties, the band has picked up a few new members: NIU senior David Rothenberg on drums and backup vocalist Christie McClure, along with their debut album.

With such little emphasis on studio frills, “Where the Rock Meets the Rail,” focuses mainly on Roy’s singing and songwriting. Roy’s traditional sense of song structure and melody occasionally makes some of the songs blend together, but his band’s keen sense of musicianship helps differentiate the highlights.

Rothenberg’s tasteful drum fills on “The Well” really emphasize the folk-shuffle rhythms on the album’s key track. Elsewhere, on “Uncharted,” Hauge carries the song with an enchanting bass line.

Roy’s expressive singing and lyrics are often the focal point on the album. On the gothic-country tinges of the opening track, “Herod’s Blues,” Roy sings “Write these words on my tombstone / I never meant to die alone / but there’s only room for one in the grave.”

As an entire piece, the album lags with too many longer, mid-tempo folk songs in between the upbeat jams like “I Only Wanna Be Your Man,” and “Salty Dog.” The band is still a lot of fun to watch live – that much seems clear from listening to their efforts in the studio. But it feels like any strength on the album would be only enhanced with an audience present.

Theatre and Dance faculty to present Shaw's 'Don Juan in Hell'

Published on Friday, May 9, 2008

The Northern Star

Saturday night, the roles will be reversed when the NIU School of Theatre and Dance faculty members present a concert reading of George Bernard Shaw’s “Don Juan in Hell.”

“You can only teach theater so long before you succumb to the temptation to show the students what you can do,” said associate professor Robert Schneider. As the title role, Schneider will share the stage with assistant professor Stanton Davis as the Devil, associate professor Rick Poole as the Commander, and professor Deborah Robertson as Doña Ana.

The play originated as a scene in Shaw’s 1904 philosophic comedy, “Man and Superman,” but became a stand-alone hit after a memorable quartet of actors performed it in the ’50s.
In the scene, Shaw presents the idea that heaven and hell are as much dictated by personal tastes as mortal life. According to Schneider, Shaw imagines a heaven that has very few takers, populated mostly by workaholics and people who still believe they can make the earthly world a better place.

Don Juan, a famous scoundrel and seducer of women, is one of those takers, Schneider explains, because he has had his fill of the hedonistic lifestyle.

“He chooses to go to heaven,” Schneider said. “And of course, this is a public relations disaster for the Devil.”

The other characters, including two of his victims, try and talk Don Juan out of it, pointing out that nearly everyone feels much more comfortable in hell.

Schneider said the piece has been compared to a doubles tennis match. “It’s a meeting of four expertly-formed characters who never fault a serve – and it’s funny!”

”I’m tremendously excited,” he added. “I’ve wanted to do this ever since I saw Ricardo Montalban play Don Juan in the 1970s,” Schneider said.

Out of four cast members, only Davis has experience with the piece; he previously played the Commander.

Track of the Day: 'Chicago' by Sufjan Stevens

Published on Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Northern Star

When Stevens wrote a song about Detroit, he mentioned specific landmarks and places to comment on how the once-great city is crumbling from within.

“Chicago” doesn’t have those specifics, because it’s not about the Windy City itself. Stevens has said in interviews that Chicago represented something different from Michigan, his home state. It was a vibrant, living city with many paths of escape. It’s something that many of those who have rown up closer to the city can relate to.

The title city is not a destination for Stevens. It’s a personification of his desire to find that place we dream about when we’re young. He best expresses this desire with the line, “I was in love with a place in my mind,” as he spends his nights in a parking lot.

If the song’s message could be distilled to one line, it would be: “If I was crying ... it was for freedom / from myself and from the land.”

As graduation approaches, I take this song to heart because it speaks directly to what many of my fellow students feel. We want to break the shackles of our many years of school and go out and find our own freedom, be it in Chicago or anywhere else. But, to use a well-worn cliché, it’s not where we go — it’s how we get there.

“All things go,” Class of 2008.

Students get laughs from family, Facebook at comedy contest

Published on Monday, May 5, 2008
The Northern Star

Family and Facebook were among the topics student comedians joked about during the Third Annual Laugh Out Loud Comedy Contest on Friday night.

Hosted by Alpha Sigma Omega, seven students took the stage at the Holmes Student Center’s Diversions Lounge, poking fun at classmates and drunken friends.

Humor that directly referenced things in DeKalb got the most laughs, such as junior special education major Tim Pagani’s jokes about stupid questions he’s been asked while working at Founders Memorial Library.

NIU alumnus and 2006 winner Sid Johnson also drew upon his NIU experience during his opening performance with a story about ordering Pizza Pro’s in his residence halls while drunk. He also performed a rap song that used the phrase “Let me see that OneCard” as though it was a pick-up line.

This year’s first, second and third place winners all got big laughs with stories about their families.

Third-place contestant and journalism major Chris Pausch got mileage from an awkward conversation he had with his mom about sex before his senior prom.

“‘I just don’t want to be a grandmother yet,’ [she said], so I bought her a Grandmother’s Day card after prom just to mess with her,” he said.

Second-place winner Jay Sims scored high with bits about his church, as well as a spot-on impression of rapper 50 Cent.

But first place went to Marvin Maldonado, freshman industrial engineering major, who combined bits about his Mexican heritage and how Facebook makes him go places without his girlfriend. “Once people tag you [in a photo], you’re there.”

Between competitors, communicative disorders major Brent Abas and elementary education major Lloyd Dotdot combined hip-hop and humor for the intermission. Between songs, the duo performed short parodies of songs such as “Butterfly” by Crazy Town and “One Mic” by Nas.

While the judges tabulated the results, last year’s winner - alumna Annie Oelschlager - brought her acoustic guitar onstage and performed original songs about “butch” lesbians and being on a Subway diet.

Contestant Rick Rysso summed up the contest best at the end of his set, when he sincerely brought up how the contest almost didn’t happen this year.

“After this semester, I think we all just need a laugh,” he said.

Track of the Day: 'Dirty Knife' by Neko Case

Published on Friday, May 2, 2008
The Northern Star

One of country music’s most beloved qualities is actually one of my least favorite aspects of the genre: its direct, easy-to-understand lyrics and emotions. Sure, when it’s done well by distinct singers, it can’t be beat, but I’m getting a degree in English. I like a little poetry in my lyrics.

This is why I absolutely love singer/songwriter Neko Case. She has such a wonderfully distinct and powerful voice that could run circles around Carrie Underwood or Faith Hill, yet her lyrics are filled with strange – and at times violent – imagery that excites the imagination.

“Dirty Knife” is a slow-burner that starts chillingly with Case’s understated, “So suddenly the madness came / with it’s whiskered wolven ether pangs.” As the backing band softly plucks their guitars, it gives the madness a surreal sense of calm and order.

But as soon as the “blood runs crazy,” the instrumentation starts to unwind and Case describes an ambiguous scene of man cornered by wolves and insanity, “In the glow of the furniture / piled high for firewood,” while a cello rumbles an ominous melody.

All the while, Case keeps just enough sweetness in her voice to keep the song as beautiful on the surface as it is creepy underneath. Even the lyrics have a kind of nursery-rhyme quality to them, like the line “and the woodsman failed to reach those fangs in time ... ”

So while truer country fans can have their Taylor Swifts and Dolly Partons, this indie-geek will take Neko Case any day because of the mystery and weirdness she brings to the genre.

New Portishead album worth the wait

Published on Thursday, May 1, 2008
The Northern Star

“Third” - Portishead
Rating: 9 / 10

After 11 years, Portishead, the best band to have never written a James Bond theme song, returns with its third album, appropriately titled “Third.”

You’d think with the simple title and artwork that the band is trying to create as little fanfare as possible about their long-awaited return to recorded music.

Regardless, after crafting one of the ’90s most acclaimed albums, “Dummy,” many fans are paying close attention to “Third” and asking whether or not it was worth the wait.

And the answer: Yes.

Many have already pointed out that “Third” is a reinvention of sorts for Portishead, as trip-hop standards like record scratching and jazzy beats are gone.

However, these changes are merely surface-level aspects. The core of Portishead’s sound is still in tact with darkly sparse electronic arrangements underneath Beth Gibbons’ haunting vocals. Departure or not, “Third” is a Portishead record through and through.

As the album plays, one can pick up bits and pieces of other modern bands: a bit of PJ Harvey here, some Postal Service there. Yet the album’s greatest strength is that makes these elements all their own.

On the bleak “Nylon Smile,” Gibbons’ desperate singing invokes real pain as much as it invokes a romantic kind of dependence.

“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you,” she sings, “and I don’t know what I’ll do without you.” It’s a brilliantly delivered line that reminds listeners of their classic single, “Sour Times” (“Nobody loves me, it’s true / Not like you do”).

Elsewhere on the album is “Deep Water,” the album’s clearest departure from the band’s signature sound.

As a short, mournful song, performed nakedly with just a ukulele and Gibbons’ vocals, it’s sure to be divisive among fans – either being praised as the eye of the storm before single “Machine Gun” or as Portishead’s weakest moment yet.

Nonetheless, the fact that Portishead sounds as brave and unaffected by its long absence as it does on “Third” is astonishing.

The years in the studio have helped make it a cohesive statement of the band’s place in pop music’s history books. No longer a relic of the ’90s, “Third” welcomes Portishead back to the best kind of relevance – the kind that has produced classics and could produce more in years to come.

The Patience EP offers strong group of songs

Published on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The Northern Star

"Dans Nads" - The Patience
Rating: 8 / 10

When one first encounters The Patience, the all-female rock trio from DeKalb, there could be some low expectations. The three have rambunctious, sugar-high kind of personalities that, by all logic, should produce music of the same caliber.

Yet, on their demo last year, they showed a surprising amount of craftsmanship and maturity in their minimal rock arrangements. Now, The Patience have released a three-song EP tentatively titled “Dans Nads,” via their MySpace page.

“We’re still thinking of an official name,” said singer Angel Pfrommer.

According to Pfrommer, the sessions are the product of a single 14-hour session at Uptown Recording in Chicago.

Kicking things off with their live-favorite, “Shadow,” which nicely showcases the vocal chemistry between guitarist Taylor Ochoa and singer Pfrommer. While it was hard to tell who was singing what on their debut last year, Ochoa’s sultry alto now harmonizes almost perfectly with Pfrommer’s, for lack of a better words, sassy falsetto.

Following that song is “T,” which departs from the groups usual guitar-and-drums arrangements. Over a poppy organ and guitar lick, Pfrommer chides a friend’s bad choices with the group’s cleverest lyrics yet
.
“You used to be too cute for coke / but your friends don’t get the joke / and what your mother doesn’t know / I bet would break her heart,” sings Pfrommer with a confident, rock ‘n’ roll swagger.

Closing the EP is “Too Old for the Cold,” a more experimental sounding song with drummer Logan Ochoa (Taylor’s younger sister) keeping time by hitting the rims of her drums before launching into an instrumental coda that sounds like a completely different song tacked on for no reason at all.

Though it’s still a strong group of songs, there are a few wrinkles the band has yet to iron out. Their infectious energy helps keep things fun, making the tacked-on final chorus of “Shadow” enjoyable, even if a bit unnecessary. It’s as if they were having too much fun to simply do a three-minute pop song.

Still, for a free download on MySpace, there is much to be impressed with on “Dans Nads.” The trio is not even old enough to drink, and the drummer is still in high school, but one hopes that they break out of DeKalb and at least become a band that could headline venues here at home.

Track of the Day: 'SexyBack' by Rock Plaza Central

Published on Friday, April 25, 2008

The Northern Star

A good cover song can bring out all the original’s best qualities, or it can completely turn the original upside-down and backwards.

Rock Plaza Central does the latter on its cover of Justin Timberlake’s ubiquitous 2006 hit, “SexyBack.”

While the former NSYNCer brought sexy back with Timbaland’s futuristic production, the Toronto-based indie band takes the song out of the dance club and into a log cabin in the middle of the forest. It’s like going to a hoedown and dancing the robot.

Singer Chris Eaton channels bits of Hank Williams and Jeff Mangum as he warbles the song’s ridiculous lyrics. You can practically hear him smiling during the chorus, especially with the line, “Look at those hips,” as the rest of the band chimes underneath him with “Go ahead, be gone with it.”

With the horn accents in the second verse, along with the almost-creepy sounding fiddle solo at the end, there seems to be a great deal of artistic effort made in what appears to be a novelty. Lark or not, Rock Plaza Central’s rendition gives “SexyBack” a pleasant, easygoing melody without losing a shred of the original’s weirdness.

Track of the Day: 'For Today I am a Boy' by Antony and the Johnsons

Published on Wednesday, April 16, 2008
The Northern Star

The first time anyone listens to Antony and the Johnsons, it’s a jarring experience.
First, there’s that wavering, high-pitched singing that draws comparisons to Nina Simone. Then, there’s the fact that the torch-burning voice is coming from a six-foot-four-inch man.

Then, there are the lyrics: “One day I’ll grow up / and be a beautiful woman,” sings Antony over his expressive piano playing, “but for today / I am a boy.”

The way Antony embraces his androgynous image and plays with gender roles makes him interesting, but his classic take on songwriting and intimate performances are what make him endearing.

NIU New Music Ensemble to perform Steve Reich piece

Published on Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Northern Star

NIU’s New Music Ensemble will perform Steve Reich’s piece, “Music for 18 Musicians” at 8 p.m. today in the Boutell Memorial Concert Hall in the Music Building.

“If people already know the piece, then they know why they need to come,” said Greg Beyer, NIU assistant professor of percussion studies and director of the ensemble. “If they don’t know the piece ... well, the first time I heard it, my life was forever changed.”

Tonight’s performance is the result of a semester-long rehearsal of Reich’s piece.

“It is challenging and eye-opening to the students who haven’t had exposure to this type of music,” Beyer said. “Students need to be trained how to perform it, and instrumentalists need to reconsider their typical roles. I’ve asked the string and wind players to think as if they were percussionists.”

Also being performed is Reich’s “Electric Counterpoint,” a work for guitar choir featuring NIU student Nick Mizock.

Admission is free.

Track of the Day: 'Beautiful Life' by Gui Boratto

Published on Monday, April 7, 2008
The Northern Star

For many, the thought of electronic music brings up images of loud, sterile, robotic beats at a trendy, drugged-out dance party.

But Brazilian artist Gui Boratto shows a different side of the genre on the transcendent “Beautiful Life,” the centerpiece of his debut album. The song sounds less like a sweaty rave at midnight and more like a summer sunrise, as the keyboard melodies and programmed drums pulse with a palpable warmth.

At eight and a half minutes, it may be too long and repetitive for someone not accustomed to electronic music. But as guest vocalist Luciana Villanova’s sings the hook, “What a beautiful life / what a beautiful world,” Boratto’s piece feels like it has the power to melt the ice off anybody’s heart.

Free concert in Altgeld Hall tonight

Published on Thursday, April 3, 2008

The Northern Star

DeKALB | NIU will host a free evening of eclectic music in the Altgeld Hall auditorium at 5 p.m. tonight.

The Roby Lakatos Ensemble from Brussels, Belgium will perform. The show will also feature Myriam Fuks, a Klezmer and Yiddish folk singer.

Lakatos comes to NIU thanks in part to a friendship with NIU Board of Trustees member Myron E. Siegel and his wife, artist Deborah Levy.

“I have known Roby for over 10 years,” Siegel said. “Deborah and I were the only guests from the United States at his daughter’s wedding in Budapest last year.”

Lakatos is known as the “devil’s fiddler” and mixes classical and jazz with Hungarian gypsy music to produce a different sound. He has been performing for over 30 years. In 2007, Lakatos played for more than 10,000 people at Chicago’s Grant Park.

Track of the Day: “All the Wine” - The National [Click for Audio]

Published on Thursday, March 20, 2008
The Northern Star

When people think of a pick-me-up song, they usually imagine something like the theme for “Rocky,” or “I Will Survive,” by Gloria Gaynor. But part of what makes “All the Wine” so endearing is how subdued it sounds.

Matt Berninger’s low baritone croons on how he’s a “perfect piece of ass,” in the way that a sad drunk would, which is indicative of the song’s mantra-like chorus, “And all the wine is all for me...”

Yet, this almost pathetic sound ironically works in his favor. It makes Berninger sound more human, more relatable. As the band starts to swell around him, his declarations sound more determined and powerful.

“I’m so sorry / but the motorcade will have to go around me this time / ’cos God is on my side.”

“All the Wine,” is good enough to put anyone lonely in a state of mind where nothing can touch them.

Concert to honor victims of Feb. 14 shootings

Published on Tuesday, March 4, 2008
The Northern Star

The NIU Wind Ensemble and the All-University Band will present a joint concert tonight titled “Sanctuary, Through Courageous Eyes.” The concert is dedicated to the victims and families of the Feb. 14 shootings.

Just minutes prior to the shootings, the Wind Ensemble was rehearsing “Sanctuary,” a piece from composer Frank Ticheli.

According to a press release, Ticheli said the title of his piece “conjures up a rich array of images. It can imply a place of solitude, comfort, rest, prayer, protection.”

The All-University Band, under the direction of recent NIU graduate Peter Muller, will perform “Through Courageous Eyes” by Brian Balmages. According to the press release, the piece deals with loss and its aftermath.

Ronnie Wooten, associate music professor and conductor of the NIU Wind Ensemble, expressed his gratitude for the condolences he continues to receive from colleagues across the country.

“The conductors at Virginia Tech both immediately sent words of support and encouragement as well as a performance of Claude T. Smith’s classic band work ‘Eternal Father, Strong to Save’ which they dedicated to the members of the NIU Wind Ensemble as well as the entire campus community,” he said.

The Wind Ensemble will also perform “Hammersmith” by Gustav Holst, “Handel in the Strand” by Percy Grainger, and “Symphony No. 3, Slavyanskaya” by Russian composer Boris Kozhevnikov.

Additonally, the All-University Band will perform “Scenes from the Louvre” by Norman Dello Joio and “Variations on a Korean Folk Song” by John Barnes Chance.

Track of the Day: 'Cuckoo Cuckoo' by Animal Collective

Published on Friday, February 29, 2008
The Northern Star

Since Feb. 14, I’ve been trying to find a good song about death.

The penultimate song on Animal Collective’s latest (and arguably greatest) album, “Strawberry Jam,” speaks from the mind of a ghost. Over a serene, melodic piano line, singer Avey Tare describes the strange and sad feelings from the other side. “Life was good / now death’s all wrong / because you can’t feel a thing / no heart flutters in late spring / you just drift and pray / for sun-kissed golden days.”

Then the chorus explodes in a cacophony of noise, as Tare screams out his anguish before finally going “cuckoo,” while the band flails about wildly like a group of children having a tantrum.

What draws me to the song is the cartharsis it brings, because after I heard the news, I didn’t want to be cooled down or reminded of another time. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. I wanted to lose control.

In the chorus, Tare screams out, “All I want is one favorite song / and two or three minutes don’t seem too long / And where’s my mom? / I want to hold her tight.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Musicians play to raise money for Feb. 14 memorial funds

Published on Monday, February 25, 2008
The Northern Star

As the NIU and DeKalb communities begin the process of moving forward from the tragedy of Feb. 14, several benefit concerts have been organized to bring people together and to show support for victims.

On Monday, March 10, the first day of Spring Break, Durty Nellies West Irish Pub, 180 N. Smith St. in Palentine, will host a charity concert event with nine groups performing, including some local favorites.

Currently scheduled are Modern Day Romeos, Sixteen Candles, Mr. Myers, Mr. Blotto, Murley Shertz, Mer, Dave Tamkin, Hello Dave and Dot Dot Dot.

The music starts 3 p.m. and is expected to last until midnight. Durty Nellies asks for a minimum entrance donation of $10. All the proceeds will go toward two charities: The DeKalb County Community Foundation’s Memorial Fund and NIU’s February 14th Student Scholarship Fund.

Then, on Saturday, March 22 at 5 p.m. Otto’s will host another benefit.

While many of the shows at Otto’s since Feb. 14 have been, either financially or spiritually, benefits in response to the tragedy, the official event is less than a month away.

For “The Huskie Healing Benefit Show and Charity Auction,” Otto’s is teaming with Twisted Wish productions to fill both the Mainroom and the Underground venue with music.

As of now, the Biltmores, Agent Zero, Cold Water Mystic and Broken Vegas are booked for the Mainroom, while Demetra Dokos, Matt Hayes and Mer are set to play the Underground.

Like Durty Nellies’ benefit, the $10 cover will go entirely to the two charitable funds.

Looking for answers, public yet to find many

Published on Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Northern Star

University Police Chief Donald Grady offered an update Wednesday on the ongoing investigation regarding Steven Kazmierczak's motive for opening fire on a class in Cole Hall last Thursday.

In a news conference Wednesday afternoon at Altgeld Hall, Grady said the investigation had yet to turn up credible evidence of a motive, but assured that, "If there's a motive to be found ... I'm confident we'll find it."

Keys to this motive are believed to be found in a SIM card missing from Kazmierczak's cell phone and a hard drive missing from his computer.

Police believe Kazmierczak removed both himself before the attack.

Working with the FBI, Grady said investigators are looking through more than 100 pieces of information. They have also interviewed about 120 people, including Kazmierczak's girlfriend, whom Grady said was not currently being considered a suspect.

Grady's mood was perhaps best reflected when a reporter asked about the most frustrating part of his investigation.

"Dealing with the media," he said.

Injury details emerge from hospital press conference

Published on Friday, February 15, 2008
The Northern Star

By Ben Burr, Andy Mitchell and Dan Stone

Kishwaukee Community Hospital administrators held another press conference Friday morning to discuss the events of the previous night.

Kishwaukee Community Hospital treated eighteen victims of the Cole Hall shooting for gunshot wounds.

All the victims taken to KCH were brought there for gunshot-related injuries, said Dr. Michael Kulisz, Emergency Medicine Physician and Director of the KCH Emergency Room.

“As you can imagine, in this kind of scenario there can be individuals who are trampled, who can be pushed around, and we did not see any evidence of that in our facility, and I think that just speaks for how the students managed themselves at the site,” said Dr. Roger Maillefer, Chief of Staff and Surgeon on Call.

The hospital staff faced unfamiliar territory as they treated victims’ shotgun-wounds.

“The typical gunshot wound that most of us are trained for in surgery is ‘inner-city’,” Maillefer said. “Inner-city” gunshot wounds are characterized as rifle- or handgun-inflicted,

“It’s typically not what we saw yesterday. In a classroom full of students that were trying to leave as buckshot was being fired at them, there were a varierty of injuries from the front and from the back,” Maillefer added.

Maillefer went on to describe the damage inflicted by the unconventional weapon.

“These are little pellets; they look like little BBs, and although on the surface they look very small and insignificant, you cannot rely on that. They can travel to places where they’re not supposed to be,” Maillefer said.

However, the nature of the ammunition was in at least one respect less dangerous than large-caliber weapons: “We didn’t really sustain a whole lot of blood loss in these injuries; buckshot is relatively small bullets and so they tend not to cause a lot of blood vessel loss,” Maillefer said.

New hospital rises to occasion

Kishwaukee Community Hospital administrators held another press conference Friday morning to discuss the events of the previous night.

The technology available at Kishwaukee Community Hospital played an important role in patient care after the Cole Hall Shooting.

Dr. Roger Maillefer, Chief of Staff and Surgeon on Call, was very pleased with the state-of-the-art technology the hospital had to offer, he said.

KCH was operating with a new facility as of October 2, 2007.

Among the new equipment was a portable X-ray machine.

“That really facilitated me as a surgeon taking care of these patients, because I could look at the X-ray immediately upon its being done- I didn’t have to wait for it to go to another place to be processed, and that allowed the helicopter people to be told, ‘this patient is cleared, get them on the gurney, and get them outta here,’” Maillefer said.

The hospital staff’s training backed their precise performance as they faced the event.

“There was never a question at our facility of ‘where is the equipment?’ In responding to certain needs, our nurses knew exactly what I needed and where I needed it,” Maillefer said. “Perhaps the layperson thinks that we’re frantically running around: we’re not; we’re trained for this, we prepare for this, we’re calm, we know what we need to do, we do it.”

“Once the job is actually done is when we sit back and start thinking about what had occurred, and I think that everything, how new it still is in our minds, I don’t think we’ve had time to reflect on that yet,” said Kulisz.

Practice makes perfect

Kishwaukee Community Hospital administrators held another press conference Friday morning to discuss the events of the previous night.

Praise for the “teamwork and responsiveness” of the community was frequent during a press conference at Kishwaukee Community Hospital Friday morning.

Twice a year, KCH staff train for emergency situations similar to the Cole Hall shooting, said Dr. Michael Kulisz, director of KCH Emergency room. A Code Alert was issued upon hearing of the incoming victims, which summoned extra staff to assist with the wounded.

“At the time when the patients were presented to the emergency room, there were approximately five orthopedic surgeons, four general surgeons, [and] five emergency room physicians, not to mention physicians representing every specialty including radiology and anesthesiology,” Kulisz said.

“I was just amazed and very pleased with the response of the community,” said Roger Maillefer, Chief of Staff and Surgeon on Call, “We had surgeons coming from outside of our communities calling to see how they could help. We had all kinds of specialists available.”

Beyond medical employees, extra hospital staff from housekeeping, maintenance, security, chaplains and counsellors were on-site, said Kevin Poorten, President and CEO of KishHealth System.

Some staff members at KCH were parents of NIU students, which “added another element” to their response when staff members didn’t know if the next patient would be a relative, Poorten said. However, none of the victims were related to hospital staff, he said.

“At this point, we think everything went about as well as it could have under the circumstances,” Poorten said.

Hospital releases information on victims

Published on Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Northern Star

By Ben Burr and Andy Mitchell

Kishwaukee Community Hospital administrators spoke on shooting victims’ status at a news conference Thursday. The conference was held around 7 p.m. at Kishwaukee Health Care Building, 2727 Sycamore Road.

Kevin Poorten, president and CEO of Kishwaukee Health System; Brad Copple, administrator of Kishwaukee Community Hospital; and Joe Dant, vice president of business development of Kishwaukee Health Services answered questions.

VICTIMS ARRIVE AT KCH

Hearing of the incident, the hospital enacted a Code Alert, summoning more staff and physicians to the facility. The extra help would assist with the high number of expected patients.

“The first number I think we heard was about three [victims], and as information started to trickle in, we called the Code Alert,” Copple said.

The first victim arrived at 4:00 p.m., and a total of 18 patients had arrived as of press time.

Two surgeons were on site as of 5:00 p.m., with two more expected from KCH’s sister hospital, Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich. Eventually, seven general surgeons, as well as orthopedic and neural surgeons, had been amassed to treat the wounded.

An NIU Crisis Team was dispatched to the hospital, offering support as well as a link between KCH and the university.

“That really enhanced the communication,” Poorten said of the team.

Also present were local religious figures, who arrived to offer support to families of victims.

“HIGH-TRAUMA” OVERFLOW TRANSPORTED NEARBY

Of the 18 admitted, there was one fatality, caused by head trauma.

“The one deceased expired of a gunshot wound to the head,” Poorten said.

Seven victims in critical condition were transferred to other hospitals because
“they needed a high level of care,” Copple said. He said most were head injuries, though at the time he could not confirm any specific details.

Of those transferred, two went to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, Ill; three went to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downer’s Grove, Ill.; one went to Rockford Memorial Hospital; and one went to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. KCH is a Level 3 trauma center while Good Samaritan, Saint Anthony, Rockford Memorial and Northwestern Memorial hospitals are Level 1 trauma centers capable of offering higher levels of care.

PATIENTS, FAMILIES FIRST AT KCH

No names or personal details of patients were released Thursday night, nor were reporters allowed to enter the hospital itself. Staff wanted to ensure that the families of the injured were made aware of any developments in patients’ health before details would be announced.

“Our staff has been in contact with the families,” Poorten said of getting information to the concerned relatives. “It’s very somber and tragic; people are shaken - the hardest part is just not knowing.”


SHOTGUN WOUNDS PREVALENT

According to an anonymous hospital staff member, about six or seven of the patients admitted had gunshot wounds, most of them from a shotgun.

There were “multiple BB entry wounds around head and chest areas,” the employee said, and “most were superficial but numerous.”

Because of the nature of the incident, the hospital was put on lockdown and staff members were called back to help with the treatment of victims. Staff members were organized in helping victims in treatment and the family members and friends waiting to see the victims.

Despite of the dark nature of the event, however, many patients refused to be kept down: “Most people, for being shot, were in relatively good spirits,” reported the employee.

More information on the patients of Kishwaukee Community Hospital and further updates are available on KCH’s Web site, www.kishhospital.org.