IMC-Initiated Panel Discussion on Second Life

My Favorite Spot for Celebrations: Koi

Lemon chicken, seafood combination, sweet and sour shrimp, Chen’s sesame plates with pork, Szechwan plates with beef, and combo fried rice…

Sounds yummy, huh? They really tasted great! Whenever we have something to celebrate, we always go to Koi. Thanksgiving was no exception.

Koi is one of the finest Chinese and Japanese restaurants in Evanston. It is better to have a large party when you go there because you can order various kinds of plates and share the food with your friends. Dim light with flickering candles, modern wooden floor and Asian artworks on the wall create an enjoyable ambiance that also gives relish to gourmet food. If you have never been to Koi, which has fabulous Chinese dishes and a sushi bar, this is the place you should definitely go and try. Sushi with fresh air-shipped fish from Japan can be an excellent choice, too. Delivery, take-out and private dining are also available.

Koi is located at: 624 Davis Street, Evanston IL 60201

……….Joan Kim

Where Should You Live?

So you’ve finally gotten your acceptance letter, you can’t wait to burn the bridge (at last!) and tell your boss what you really think about him — you’re thrilled about starting school and really digging in… You can’t wait be a student again! But wait… now you need to figure out where to live!

The majority of IMCers live in Evanston in one of two settings: either on or off campus.

Living On Campus

Many of the international students choose to live in the on-campus graduate housing. Engelhart (the graduate dorm), has several advantages. Most single students live in what they call “twin studios,” which is basically a small bedroom and a tiny kitchen and bathroom you share with one other person. Advantages include:

• All-included – All utilities are included: heat, hot water, wifi, etc.
• Fully furnished — Moving furniture is expensive, buying furniture (new or used—more on this later) can also be expensive
• Convenient – You don’t have to worry about finding a roommate, its a 12 min. walk to campus (click here to see it on a map)
• Community — Instant community! Everyone you live with is also a student, everyone understands the pressure, the hours, the noise level requirements, etc… plus, a whole new circle of friends, exposure to what people are doing at the other graduate schools…

There’s two sides to everything though, and you should know that if you choose to live in Engelhart there are some less positive factors to consider.

Engelhart is a dorm and as such:

• The furniture is “institutional”— abandon all glamour ye who enter here!
• Rooms are small
• The rent is definitely “fair” but not a “steal” or a great deal at roughly $750 per month (with all utilities included) — you should be able to find an unfurnished, share situation for less money. Click here to see the most up-to-date rates
• Community feel goes both ways — you could end up with a new best friend, or with someone really inconsiderate…

Here’s the floor plan of the “twin studio” I was talking about earlier:

Off-Campus Living

About 60% of our class lives off campus in private housing, usually with other roommates. Rents and locations vary greatly. Evanston is by far the most popular option, though some students live in northern Chicago and beyond. Rents for a shared living situation can range anywhere between $450 and $900 dollars- depending on location, proximity to public transportation and amenities.

In general, if you’re accustomed to urban living and have the opportunity to come scope out apartments before moving to Evanston, finding an apartment on your own is preferable.

Students who live on the north side of Chicago on the Red “L” line can count on a daily commute of 30-45 minutes each direction. Popular neighborhoods in Chicago along the Red “L” line include: Rogers Park, Andersonville, Edgewater, Uptown and Wrigleyville.

Of course, if you have a car and are willing to drive, your search radius can be widely expanded.

There are a lot of great options to find apartments. A few recommendations for postings include:

• Craigslist
• Chicago Reader
• PioneerLocal
• Facebook
• Roommates.com

If you’re looking to rent an apartment instead of just roommates, you might also try:

• Apartment People: A brokerage agency that specializes in the Evanston market. Their agents are really nice, and there’s no fee!
• Apartments.com is a site that will link you to the management companies in the area

Most importantly, ask people where they live, what they’ve found… networking is a great way to find your future home.

……….Kenneth Harley

Peers, Projects, Papers, Professionals

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the 4Ps! To refresh your memory, the 4Ps of marketing are: product, price, place and promotion. But in my opinion, the 4Ps of the IMC program are: peers, projects, papers and professionals. Let me explain.

Peers

The IMC program represents strong cultural diversity: among the 80 students in IMC, more than 30 are international students. They come from China, Taiwan, Korea, India, Germany, Turkey, Morocco, Brazil and Singapore. Besides nationalities, the different backgrounds are interesting: public relations, branding, marketing, entertainment, media, journalism, etc. We are really INTEGRATED in this program.

Projects

Although we only have 4 hours of class everyday, you cannot ignore the time we spend on different types of projects and assignments after class. The class assignments sometimes require collaboration and teamwork. Our Consumer Insight professor, Gerri, divided the class into several groups composed of 5 students and each group has to give a presentation on a marketing case study. Students must collaborate with each other in order to give a “pretty” and “energetic” presentation to the whole class.

Other interesting projects include:

• A 2-hour observation assignment
• A depth interview assignment
• Computer (SPSS) homework in groups
• A new media project (e.g. blog, podcast, Second Life, YouTube, etc.)

Papers

Here’s a list of some of the material we have used in our courses so far…

Practical Business Statistics, Andrew Siegel

Market Based Management: Strategies for Growing Customer Value and Profitability, Roger Best, 4th Edition, Prentice Hall

Marketing Research: Methodological Foundations, Gilbert A. Churchill, Jr. & Dawn Iacobucci, 9th Edition, Thompson Publishing

Associated Press Stylebook

Watch Your Words: The Rowman & Littlefield Language-Skills Handbook for Journalists, Marda Dunsky

Hitting the Sweet Spot: How Consumer Insights Can Inspire Better Marketing and Advertising, Lisa Fortini-Campbell, The Copy Workshop

Qualitative Marketing Research: A Cultural Approach, Johanna Katarina Moisander & Anu Valtonen, Sage Publications, Ltd.

Professionals

Some of the faculty we have come into contact with so far are:

• Jakki Thomas
• Gerri Henderson
• Ed Malthouse
• George Harmon
• Clarke Caywood

Besides the excellent faculty, we also have a series of guest speakers who are invited to give speeches almost every week. These speakers come from companies such as Fleischman-Hillard, Google, MARC USA, Lowe Worldwide, Edelman, etc.

……….Kefu Huang

IMChic Movie Review: Resident Evil: Extinction

***Warning: Spoilers ahead!***

She says: “Boring, ugly… and full of rubbish.”

Now I’m so disappointed in the movie, though I waited a long time for it to come out and was so excited for its release. I don’t understand why the director set the story in the daytime when it’s not horrible at all. I was so bored when I watched the actress fight with corpses. I’m curious about who thought of the idea that corpses may have intelligence and can play with cameras and cell phones? The idea sucks! The director likes to play the same old game. The last scene that the actress cloned herself is such a cliché in science fiction films. I guess the director’s most favorite game is wasting film. Lessons for myself: before walking into the cinema, be aware of what I want to watch and never put high expectations on films.

……….Julia Chen