The Playground for People Who Think
Since January 6, 1951
Since January 6, 1951College of Complexes
Charles Paidock 3211 S. Union Ave Chicago IL 60616
3211 S. Union Ave Chicago IL 60616(312) 714-7790 cell
(312) 842-5036 office
For Immediate Release January 1, 2026
January 1, 2026Announcing Weekly Free Speech Forum Celebrates
Weekly Free Speech Forum Celebrates 75 Years of Meetings in Chicago
The College of Complexes, The Playground for People Who Think, will be celebrating its 75th anniversary of holding weekly meetings in Chicago to discuss social issues and current events. The first meeting took place on January 6, 1951. The name, by the way, is derived from a psychiatric term for people with repressed ideas that compel expression. It aptly describes the student body.
The anniversary meeting will take place on Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 5:00 PM, at the college’s current meeting location at Dapper’s Restaurant, 2901 W. Addison, in Chicago, and will be simulcast live on Zoom. A food or drink purchase by attendees is requested for use of the room. The program, Meeting #3,850, will feature an “Open Microphone” on “Memorable Moments” and the topic of “Has the college improved, or diminished, the general level of conversation?” Meetings are numbered sequentially for a reason no one can recollect, and serves no utilitarian purpose.
The college was started ostensibly to solve all of the world’s problems, and provide an opportunity for discussion of current events or social issues. Each program follows an established format which features a “special guest speaker” for a period not to exceed one hour. Anyone who interrupts the speaker is reminded of the college's long-standing academic policy of listening to only "One Fool at a Time." After the presentation, speakers are asked questions, and then anyone who attends can make their own “remarks or rebuttals” for five (5) minutes each at the podium. The atmosphere is informal, informative, and fun. The college is volunteer operated, maintains no membership, and all meetings are open to the public. Average attendance is usually around ten to twenty participants, or more.
In general speakers should advance a particular point of view, regardless of how controversial that might be. Presentations in the past have concerned such topics as “A New History of the World," “The Manifesto of Resistance!" “US Fake News Since 1776,” “The Conspiracy Against Reality,” “The Human Condition - Do We Really Want to Know?" “25 Mistakes Our Country has Made, and How to Correct Each One,” and "Why I Neither Confirm Nor Deny Anything." Virtually all local and many national, activist, nonprofit organization have made presentations on their origins and ongoing activities. Prior to elections many candidates have been invited to speak and discuss campaign issues at the time. Holidays during the year have featured special relevant speakers, such as someone on May Day to discuss organized labor issues, or an environmentalist on Earth Day. On occasion there were debates on such topics such as socialism vs. free-market capitalism, climate change, or candidates for President. Plays were written and read, such as one entitled “Cell 29” to commemorate the Haymarket affair.
On its website the college maintains a “Lecture Library” of video recordings of presentations dating back to 2010, and recently added a new page which features powerpoint slides speakers used to illustrate their talks.
Information on the college is available at its website at www.collegeofcomplexes.org, or by contacting the Program Coordinator Charles Paidock by email at cpaidock@hotmail.com, or by calling (312) 714-7790 cell, (312) 842-5036 landline.
