By: Sarah Miller, Second-Year Student and Civic Journalist for Chicago Studies

The Field Museum and Chicago Working-Class Studies co-sponsored a rough-cut screening of the documentary Exit Zero on Saturday, April 13. The documentary, which narrates the history of deindustrialization in southeast Chicago, is based on a book with the same title written by MIT Professor, Christine Walley. Exit Zero was produced by her filmmaker husband, Chris Boebel.

"The [Field Museum] has been very interested in the region since its founding. As a museum of natural history, it is very interested in environmental issues as well," said Mark Bouman, the Chicago Region Program Director at the Field Museum.

In addition to the documentary screening, the all-day event included a tour of the Field Museum's "Restoring Earth" exhibition and two panel discussions titled "Preserving the Heritage" and "Conserving, Restoring, and Renewing: A Panel of Local Environmental, Community, and Labor Activists."

"This is a story that since I was a teenager I really felt I needed to write. There is not a lot of language about the things I want to talk about," Walley explained during her introduction to the film.

"The [Exit Zero Project] works against more conventional narratives and histories," said Boebel. "It's about the expansion of class inequality in the U.S., and it is meant to be a multi-generational project as a way of thinking about the past and the future."

For more information about the Exit Zero Project, the Field Museum, and Chicago Working- Class Studies, check out the links below:

• Exit Zero Project
• Chicago Studies Feature on Exit Zero Project
• Restoring Earth Exhibition at the Field Museum
• Journey Through Calumet: Communities in Motion in Southeast Chicago and Indiana, past exhibition at the Field Museum
• Chicago Working-Class Studies

By: Jane Bartman, Third-Year Student and Civic Journalist for Chicago Studies

On Saturday, April 13, EnvisionDo will host the Chicago GastroConference from 11am to 5 in Ida Noyes Hall. Journalists, restauranteurs, entrepreneurs, and academics will offer their take on topics ranging from ingredient sourcing and farming practices to issues of food access and sustainability in the city of Chicago. The day will consist of a series of panels, and attendees are welcome to attend some or all of the events.

The schedule for the GastroConference is as follows:

11:30am - 12:20pm | Panel Session 1
All About Ingredients
Running the Restaurant: Challenges of Restaurant Ownership

12:30pm - 12:50pm | Keynote
Barry Nalebuff, Co-Founder of Honest Tea

2:00pm - 2:50pm | Panel Session 2
Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry I
Crafting the Culinary Experience

3:00pm - 3:20pm | Keynote
Justin Massa, Founder of Food Genius

3:30pm - 4:50pm | Panel Session 3
Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry II
Food and the Social Good: Health, Access and Sustainability

GastroConference tickets are free for University of Chicago students, $10 for University of Chicago affiliates and non-University of Chicago students, and $20 for the general public, and can be purchased here. Registration sign-up for University of Chicago students is now full, but students can join the waitlist for the event.

The event will take place at Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th St. Chicago, IL, 60637.

All attendees must present ID at the entrance.