People & Profiles
Northwestern University alumna Maura Sullivan reflects on her 2004 visit to Iwo Jima, site of one of World War II’s bloodiest battles, for a U.S. Marine Corps re-enlistment ceremony atop Mount Suribachi, a tour of the east side of the island and a ceremony with both U.S.
In the early morning of May 3, 1968, approximately 100 African American students entered Northwestern’s business office, chained the doors and posted a sign on the revolving door: “Closed for business ’til racism at NU is ended.” Prepared to occupy the building at 619 Clark St. until the University met their demands, the students wanted an African American studies course, a black student union and other measures meant “to counteract the physical, emotional and spiritual strains we have been subjugated to,” as they had written in a petition to University administrators nearly two weeks earlier. Against the backdrop of the civil rights movement, student activism was spreading on college campuses across the country.
Mark Vadik ’89, ’04 MA has proved you can balance creative talent with a practical, business-savvy approach to life. After graduating from Northwestern with a degree in performance studies, Vadik became a lawyer and started his own entertainment law firm in Chicago.
