BY TREVOR PAGLEN

    Have you ever gone without food, shelter, or materials for the first two months of school while Financial Aid told you that your loan check would be there "next week?" Ever been told that your paperwork has disappeared and you'd have to go through the whole process again? Has your registration ever been blocked by a $5 fine from the Media Center? Are you an international student with no access at all to any financial help or guidance at all? Have you ever received a wildly inaccurate bill, only to be told to go to Student Accounts, who told you to go to Financial Aid, who told you to go to the Bursar's office, who sent you back to Student Accounts?
    Welcome to the Bermuda Triangle. On March 15, about 12 students began a marathon around and through the Triangle, with the hope that by spectacularizing our relationship to the Triangle, the Triangle could become less of a no-man's land. So far, there have been four marathons and three meetings between Marathoners and the Administration (Vice President of Finance and Administration Jonathan Lindsay with representatives from Financial Aid and Student Accounts).
    We are still running.
    At meetings between the Marathoners and the Administration, the Marathoners have presented and defended a series of challenges to the Administration. These challenges revolve around several major themes including:
    1) The need for better communication between Student Accounts, Financial Aid, and the Bursar's Office.
    2) The need for students beginning the semester to have access to money with which to buy books, food, and pay the rent before their loan checks emerge from the murky swamp of the bureaucracy.
    3) A "truce" during registration, which would prevent small random Media Center fines, Library late-fees, or inaccurate billing from affecting a student's ability to register for classes.
    4) The appointment of someone to specifically deal with the financial questions and problems of international students.
    When you see your fellow students dressed to kill in the jogging fashions of yore, give them some water, a cheer, or a high-five. We're running for a better student future, and for a glimmer of sunlight in the thick fog of SAIC's own Bermuda Triangle.

(Open Letter) A Challenge to the Administration of the Art Institute of Chicago

With the rapid growth of the Art Institute, the administration of the school/museum now faces important challenges to define the future priorities of the institution.     As students concerned with the trajectory of the institution, we challenge the administration to re-evaluate the school�s priorities, and chart a new course embracing diversity, community, social responsibility, and a revised pedagogic model.     To begin this process, we propose a number of specific actions including:     1) Active recruiting from a spectrum of people currently under- and un-represented at SAIC, including people of color and lower income people, coupled with an overhaul of the financial aid system to facilitate the creation of a diverse student body.     2) The abolition of for-profit businesses on the SAIC campus. Utrecht and the Plum Cafes are replaced with cooperatives offering goods at cost.     3) The sale of artwork from the collection of the Art Institute in order to create scholarships and grants for students.     4) A revised relationship between the school and the museum, with financial priority given to students.     5) Socially responsible investment practices, and an end to the promotion of Citibank, the World Bank and global capital.     6) The immediate implementation of a recycling program.     7) A drastic reduction in the cost of tuition. 8) Additional support for International students.     9) A sane financial-aid administration that serves to empower students, features of which include $1,000 emergency loans and "truces" during registration (do not prevent us from registering because of fines).     10) The revision of art pedagogy, making questions about racism, imperialism, patriarchy, globalization, and economics central to an understanding of art and art history.     11) A "sunshine" policy with regards to the financial profile of the institution: periodically published reports outlining the financial and property holdings of the school/museum in addition to an addendum in the financial aid guide outlining "where our tuition dollars go."     12) The organization of a Teacher/Staff/Student labor union for the Art Institute Corporation. The Art Institute has an important opportunity to be an example of a socially conscious, forward-thinking institution, we hope that this list of challenges can serve as a starting point for a bright future.         Sincerely,         The Marathoners