Eating Cheap

As the group of 17 people are seated in the nicely furnished restaurant surrounded by plasma screens showing different kinds of sports games they await their waiter to take their order. One by one all of the 17 people order the same thing the famous $2 burger, and it had to be a Monday because the burger was only $2. As they wait for their order the young, hip, college age student's talk about what they're doing this week as one of them plays with their straw, the other is texting away on her cell phone, and the one kid in the baseball cap trying to make a snake out of his straw wrapper. Two waiters come twice bringing in the burgers with fries to all 17 people. One by one they start enjoying the burgers and when its time to pay the bill is not even half of what it was if they were to come on a day other than a Monday.
2100 W. Irving Park is a location where people can find something cheap to eat, it is called O'Donovan's or Od's as the regulars call it. On Monday's at Od's you can get a burger with fries for just two dollars. Extra toppings like tomato and onions are 25 cents. "I've been coming to Od's since my senior year in high school. My ex boyfriend would come here a lot with his buddies and I decided to come here one day and try it out for myself. Since then me and my friends have made it a tradition" says Martha De Luna a sophomore at North Eastern Illinois University. For some Od's is a place to hang out and relax with friends. "I like it and all but the burgers have a funny taste to them, but I don't know I just come because it's something nice to do with my friends" says Dulce Coronado a regular at O'Donovan's. Gladys Diaz is another O'Donovan's customer. She says she's never been there other than on a Monday. "The quality is great and it's cheap. It's not always easy to have money to spend on eating out" Diaz says.
Since many college students are strapped on cash there are some restaurants that offer special deals that are usually catered to college age people. They serve things like burgers, pizza, and wings.
First there is Take Five located in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. There specials are as simple as there name, everything on the menu is five dollars. They serve a variety of foods including soups, salads, chili, chicken wings and nachos. They are located at 3747 N. Southport Avenue. Second there is a place right on campus of Columbia College Chicago. It is called Bar Louie located on 47 W. Polk. This restaurant serves dollar burgers on Tuesdays after five o'clock. Toppings on the burgers are 25 cents extra. Next we travel to 223 W. Jackson Blvd. in downtown Chicago. Here at Giordano's Pizza during lunchtime only you can get a personal deep dish pizza for just over six dollars. "The pizzas are ready and available for customers to take. They come in cheese, sausage, and pepperoni," says Brenda Munoz a host at the Jackson location. "If a customer would want a personalized pizza there would be a wait of at least 30 minutes." Munoz says. The pizzas are intended to be a "to go" item. "We have customers that come in and order the pizzas and have a seat," says Martha Munoz, a waitress at Giordano's. The lunchtime special is only available at Giordano's locations in downtown Chicago.
Our next location is called Kelsey's at 2265 N. Lincoln in Chicago. On Monday's you can get a ½ pound char burger for just a dollar, if you want fries it will be an extra dollar. There are some restrictions to this deal. The dollar burgers start at 4p.m., it is dine in only, and there is a two drink minimum. Also at Kelsey's they have five dollar pizzas on Tuesdays. Another restaurant with the exact same deal on burgers on Monday's is called Kendall's, which is located on 2263 N. Lincoln. Here at Kendall's they also have a deal on jumbo wings. Here you can have a jumbo wing for just 25 cents on Tuesdays. There is a 10 wing minimum and the deal starts after 4p.m.
Traveling through different parts of the city, a person can find many deals on food. These food choices may not be the healthiest but they are some of the cheapest. One thing a cheap eater must remember is that restaurants have deals on special days at special times and some restrictions may apply.

Doctors Without Borders

Waiting for hours for food or medical services in the blazing sun in a desert is something a typical city person will not be able to handle, according to Karel Jansenns, a member of the Doctors Without Borders Organization. Who would wait hours for a gallon of water or some medicine to cure a cold?

There are 33 million people that do wait. They live in refugee camps due to political issues, war, or other issues affecting their country. In these camps, they are given shelter, medical services, and food. Doctors without Borders is an organization that has brought an exhibit to show the people of Chicago what it's like to be a refugee.

Karel Jansenns is a refugee volunteer that has worked in different parts of the world. "There are 33 million people on the run, one third of those people have crossed international borders and the rest have stayed in their home countries," he says.

People in this situation don't have a lot of time to pack when they leave, so they usually take the clothes on their backs and an extra change of clothes. Upon their arrival, they are medically screened for measles and meningitis. Children under the age of 15 are vaccinated. These people can be refugees for days, months or even years according to Jannsenns.

There are many issues affecting the refugees in the camp. Cholera is one of those issues. Cholera is a form of diarrhea. This disease causes the loss of large amounts of liquids, deadly, and is highly contagious. The refugees with this type of disease are put into a CTC, an aid center. There are some that can and cannot swallow liquids for those that can; they are given ORS, oral re-hydration salt, to treat the cholera. Those that cannot swallow are given medication through an IV. The camps provide counseling services to treat those refugees that have been raped or tortured. Each person receives four to five gallons of water per day. The average American uses 100 gallons of water a day, shower and laundry included.

"We want to go places where we can make an impact," said Kim Daley an administrative worker for Doctors without Borders. She added that the Midwest in general, is great place to inform people about refugee camps and recruit potential workers.

"This exhibition opened last year in the US, but there are other exhibits starting in Canada, Tokyo, and Australia," Daley said.

Caitlin Meredith also works for Doctors Without Borders and says that this is the first time this exhibit comes to Chicago. She says the group's main goal is to raise awareness of what's going on around the world. "Our plans are to move across the country. We started on the east coast last year and were making our way across the US. Next year we plan on moving on west," she said.

Pilsen Mural Help Fight Crime

Alejandro Medina is a local Chicago artist that specializes in murals around the ethnic communities of Chicago. His art work is a way to beautify many communities like the Pilsen neighborhood on the southwest side. Medina says that his artwork is way to decrease the vandalism in the neighborhood. He says that none of his artwork in the Pilsen neighborhood has been vandalized. "There needs to be positive changes in this community," Medina says. Vandalism is just one of the many issues the Pilsen neighborhood deals with on a day to day base.

Alejandro is local artist that has been painting murals and portraits for two years now. He is a resident of the Pilsen community and has been living there for 11 years. Medina says that his artwork is way to stop some of the violence in the community. All the gangs have agreed not to vandalize any of the artwork in the neighborhood. Long time resident Annette De La Torre, says "Well from what I have seen, as soon as the murals go up and they're like fresh no loitering or gangs hang around them. But as time passes they start to loiter around again," She goes on to say that she has never seen any graffiti on the murals and thinks that the gang members don't vandalize the murals because in a way it is disrespecting themselves and their culture. "I think the murals keep the community in tune with their culture. When I was little my sister and I would relate to a mural that's on Ashland of a family making tamales, I would look at the picture and say to myself, oh look they're just like us," De La Torre says. She says that when she was younger she would use the murals as a meeting place with her friends. She agrees with Medina and says that the murals can help stop the violence, but thinks that more religious murals would slow down the crime even more than the murals that are up now.

Maribel Martinez, whose family owns Carniceria Rancho Alegre, says there have been fights and shootings right outside her store by Harrison Park. Her family hired Alejandro Medina to paint a mural of Spanish artist and dancers along the wall that faces Harrison Park. Annette De La Torre says that this park is known for crime but doesn't believe that it will get vandalized or that it will stop crime from happening in or around the store. "Five years ago it was worse," says Martinez. The gangs and violence is going to be hard to overcome. As Maribel puts it, "No one's going to stop them."