Early Years in Chicago, 1974 - 2004:
Writings on Education and Public Safety
by Steve Sewall

 

2003-2004 Yale and the Modern World Project

• 2004 Oct 3 Toronto Globe and Mail "Yale's Sorry Contribution to U.S. Politics"

• 2004 Apr Washington Post Quoted by WaPo staff writer Don Oldenburg in his column "Bush/Kerry Share Tippy-Top Secret"

• 2003 Sep 19 Yale Herald: Alumni Authors: "Big Money hurting Yale's future"

• 2003 Jul Yale Alumni Magazine, Letter to editor, "Bush and Kerry should resign from Skull and Bones"

• 2003 Feb 23 Yale Herald: "Yale Succession More than coincidence"

• 2003 "Yale and the Modern World" privately circulated 30-page memoir describing my father Richard B. Sewall's 42-year teaching career at Yale University, my own coming age in the Yale community and my last days with him.

1999 Jun 2 Chicago Sun-Times

• Quoted by columnist Dennis Byrne in a piece about Columbine school shootings, "A Basic Failure to Communicate" (download).

1998 Jan. 9.  Chicago Reader

• Grant Pick’s cover story on Austin Voice editor Brad Cummings, Keepin’ It Real: Voices of Marshall High School, co-produced with Chicago Civic Media, describes the paper as having “delighted both the Marshall administration and its student writers and editors.”

1997 Dec. 14.  Chicago Sun-Times

• Supplied columnist Dennis Byrne with idea for his column, “Taking back streets in Austin,” describing the Austin Drug Area Shutdown program 

1997 Dec. 12.  Chicago Reader

• Media writer Michael Miner's “Hot Type” column, “Who Killed Marshall High’s Newspaper,” describes this newspaper, co-produced by THE VOICE NEWSPAPERS and Chicago Civic Media, as “a blessing to a troubled school.”

1997 Nov. 25. THE AUSTIN VOICE

• Wrote front page story, “Thanksgiving Deadline Met for Closing Down Top 10 Austin Dope Sites,”  

1997 Nov. 11. THE AUSTIN VOICE

• Wrote cover story “Austin’s Top 10 Dope Dealing Shutdown Targets” featuring photos and a large graphic with beat locations and street addresses of 71 Austin drug areas.

1996 Nov. Midwest Radical Scholars Conference.

• Conducted three taped workshops that were later broadcast on Chicago Access Network (CAN TV)

  • Flyer for Conference (download)

  • AUSTIN VOICE article promoting conference

  • Review of workshop by Ron Baiman

1996 Chicago Reader

• Letter to the Editor written in defense of WVON talk radio radio as a response to a column by media critic Michael Miner

• This tetter quoted by Catherine Squires in her article, "Black Audiences, Past and Present: Commonsense Media Critics and Activists"

1996 Jul 25 Chicago Sun-Times

• Columnist Dennis Byrne discusses CCM-produced student TV show "Hear Me Now" in his column, "Bill helps teens learn vital lesson: don't". 

1996 Jul 24. Chicago Sun-Times

•  Op Ed piece, "Media must campaign for true reform," 

1996 Jul Chicago Access TV (CAN TV)

• Hosted and produced two “Hear Me Now” Cable TV talk shows, 60 minutes and 30 minutes, featuring youth/adult dialogues that aired multiple times on CAN-TV.

1996 Multiple Chicago News Outlets

• During the Democratic National Convention, secured extensive publicity for CCMP, Student Alliance, and other groups in Chicago Defender, Chicago Sun‑Times, WVON and WGCI radio, and Chicago Access Cable TV.

1995 Oct. 14. Report

• After nine days in Guatemala City as member a special election monitoring task force, wrote a 15‑page Guatemala Support Network (GSN) Report on the Nov. 12 Guatemala Presidential Elections.  Disseminated worldwide via internet, the report election observers to Guatemala to monitor the corrupt Guatemala election process. 

1995 Oct. 28. Reuters Information Service

• Supplied background and contacts for globally distributed wire story featuring interview with Jennifer Harbury, "Activist Says More Observers Needed for Guatemala Vote." PDF in GOOGLE DRIVE

1995 May StreetWise

• “Chicago Education Network to air conference on technology” 

1994 Sep. 29 Chicago Sun-Times

• "Media Must Bring Positive Picture of Students into Focus," Chicago Sun‑Times.  Available in Google Drive as pdf: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4aUG8y6A8SyMUMtbVFjdE9zaVE/edit?resourcekey=0-yDrckW78hxYhmk7znPjhtA

1994 Sep 7 Chicago Sun-Times

• “Hard Lessons from School Reform, by Dennis Byrne, discusses Chicago Education Network’s (CENter) plans to create an education-centered network of media. Available only as PDF.

1993 Jan-Jun. Monograph

• 50- page Thorp Elementary School Journal based on my classroom experience in a class of nine 9th-grade students diagnosed as behavior disordered (BD) at this South Side Chicago Public School.

1993 Mar. 23 Chicago Sun-Times

• Quoted by Dennis Byrne in "Involve Kids in Their Education," Chicago Sun‑Times. Available only as pdf: file:///C:/Users/Owner/AppData/Local/Temp/1993%20Dennis%20Byrne%20Involve%20Kids%20in%20their%20Education%20.pdf

1992   Oct. 21 Academic Presentation 

• "Modern Criticism and Fielding's Irony," paper presented at annual conference of the Midwestern American Society for Eighteenth‑Century Studies, Toledo, Ohio.

1992 Sep. 19.  Chicago Sun‑Times

• Op Ed: "City Students Can Have an Impact" 

1991 Dec. Proposal

• Primary author of "Chicago Town Meeting," proposal for weekly televised public forums integrating features of the traditional New England Town Meeting and the modern TV talk show.

1991-1992 Nov. Southwest News‑Herald 

• Initiated weekly column, "Let's Talk Education," that ran for a year in the

1990 Dec.  Chicago Urban League LSC Advocate. 

• Wrote "Can We Solve the School Reform Information Crisis?"

1990 Nov.  Catalyst: Voices of Chicago School Reform

• Wrote "Media Problem, Media Solution,"  

1989 Sep. 14 Chicago Sun-Times,

• "Here's a scheme to win drug war" - a response to the War on Drugs launched by President George H. W. Bush

1989 Apr. 25 Chicago Sun-Times

• Wrote "Daley on schools: Hope or empty words?" Chicago Sun‑Times. 

1989 Sep. 22  Chicago Sun-Times

• Proposed and secured publication of 400,000‑copy, 20-page special supplement, "Your Guide to Local School Council Vote."

1988 Nov. Monograph 

• Wrote "Education and Economy in the Information Age," 50‑page, privately distributed

1984 Nov. 6  Chicago Tribune

• Co-author with Kenan Heise, "A Mary Herrick Sampler," Chicago Tribune.

1980 Dec Hopkins School Alumni Magazine

• “A New School in Chicago: A Personal Report”

1980 Jul. 25 Chicago Tribune

• Front-page Sunday column by Jack Mabley, "It's Back to Basics for private school” describing opening of Thomas Jefferson Academy.

1975 Jun 13 Chicago Daily News,

• Insight feature, “How crime rides the night L: Bold Jackrollers known to trainmen”  

1972 Aug 4, Chicago Reader

• “Inside the Challenge,” on the Singer delegation challenge to Daley delegation at the 1972 Democratic Convenion in Miama, Florida

1972 Jul 21 Chicago Reader

• GUTS “Strained Backs, Jammed Fingers and Hard Drinking in Copper Harbor,” about the 1972 Guts Frisbee Champtionships

1974 Oct 10, Chicago Daily News

• Insight" Feature Op Ed "Bold Jackrollers ride CTA" based on two months of late-night rides interviewing conductors, motormen and passengers on the Howard-Jackson/Englewood Red Line.