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JANUARY 22, 2020 THIRD WEEK VOL. 132, ISSUE 12

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Zimmer Touts Rankings Rise at Davos

Students, UC Med Nurses Among Crowd at Women’s March PAGE 3

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ZOE KAISER

University Retroactively Adds Teaching Coursework to Transcripts

GREY CITY: A Face to the Name: The Many Grants of Ken Griffin

ARTS: The Names to Know at Your Oscars Party This Year

SPORTS: Swimming and Diving Make a Splash on Senior Day

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THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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Fair Budget UChicago Demands Reduced Counseling Wait Times, Improved Accessibility, and More at Wellness Center Forum

By LAURA GERSONY Senior Reporter Students called on University administrators to improve mental health services at the Wellness Center Forum organized by Fair Budget UChicago (FBU) last Thursday.

The group had four main demands: reduced wait times at Student Counseling Service (SCS), improved SCS accessibility through online scheduling, more identity-based support groups, and increased student oversight of the new Wellness Center.

In a closed-door meeting with Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS), FBU requested to co-host a public town hall regarding the new Wellness Center, according to FBU members present at the meeting. After SHCS declined the proposition of a public town hall, FBU decided to host their own forum on the Wellness Center and discuss areas they wish to see improvement in mental health resources at the University.

In response to the administration’s decision to not co-host or attend the forum, organizers encouraged all attendees to email administrators using templates that they had prepared.

At the forum, an assembly of approximately 60 students sent emails to five administrators: Mario Polizzi (assistant vice president for student services), Meeta Kumar (director of SCS), Deborah Pratt (administrative director of SCS), Michele Rasmussen (dean of students in the University), and Robert Zimmer (University president). The group sent around 300 emails in total, according to FBU leadership.

The email to President Zimmer called for the University to drop the charges against Charles Thomas, a student shot by a UCPD officer in 2018during a mental health episode. FBU activist Shira Silver criticized the administration for not providing sufficient mental health resources given UChicago has the highest estimated cost of attendance of any college in the United States. “Despite that, students here do not have access to the basic mental health services that they require to succeed,” Silver said.

“We tried to have a conversation with admin about our hopes for the new center.

Students attend the Wellness Center Forum hosted by Fair Budget UChicago. courtesy of eric yang We invited them and repeatedly requested that they attend this forum, and they refused,” Silver said.

Anna Attie, organizer of UChicago Student Action (UCSA), expressed her frustration at the University’s claim to have insufficient funding for their demands.

“These administrators operate under the myth of scarcity,” she said. “They’re building a new Wellness Center, they’re continuing to gentrify Woodlawn by building a new Megadorm.... The money is there,” Attie said.

UCSA members also said that international students face unique challenges around mental health and advocated for greater cultural competency in SCS regarding the cultural stigma of mental health that many students from other countries face.

“It’s essential that student counseling makes scheduling easier and more accessible so that students who come from a background of stigma around mental health feel more comfortable reaching out to these resources in the first place,” third-year in the College Asha Varma said.

Jonathan Mandel, a fourth-year in the College, called for increased student over-

sight of the new Wellness Center. Mandel asked the University to release a “detailed budgetary breakdown” of funds going toward the Center and proposed the creation of a student oversight committee to ensure the quality of new counseling services. In an interview with The Maroon, Attie stressed the group’s message that students’ negative experiences are due to a dysfunctional system, rather than to personal failure. “At this University, mental health is a huge, systemic problem. It’s a crisis, it’s not just an individualized thing.”

Attie said that the resistance to the group’s demands reflects misplaced priorities on the part of the University. “This language of tradeoffs is really just a language of priorities, and they don’t prioritize mental health.”

In response to the argument that the University is already taking steps to improve mental health in campus, Livia Miller, co-coordinator of FBU, told The Maroon that, “if they were really doing all they could, they wouldn’t be afraid to come to a meeting and hear questions, because they could answer them honestly.”The Wellness Center, which is projected to open in 2021, will jointly house Student Health Service

(SHS), SCS, and Health Promotion and Wellness. The University has announced that they will be hiring new psychologists and an SCS case manager.

University spokesperson Gerald McSwiggan wrote in a statement to The Maroon saying, “Students have been integral to the planning of the Wellness Center, and their input helped shape many features that will be included.” The statement emphasized SHCS’s continued collaboration with students through the development of the Wellness Center, citing the Student Health Advisory Board’s involvement, which includes undergraduate, graduate, and professional school students, and prior meetings with Student Government and FBU. In the statement, McSwiggan also said that while SHCS “respects the autonomy of Fair Budget organizers to choose their approach for advancing priorities, SHCS leadership believes that collaborative engagement with students will lead to the most meaningful and substantive progress toward enhancing student wellness at UChicago.”

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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Chicago’s Fourth Annual Women’s March Draws Thousands, Including Students

By AVI WALDMAN & CAROLINE KUBZANSKY Grey City Editors Students from the University of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and DePaul University were among the estimated 10,000 attendees for Saturday morning’s Women’s March. The marchers attended in support of a range of different causes, including climate change, indigenous rights, and reproductive justice.

Some marchers did not arrive in support of a particular issue, but out of a desire to “do something” and participate in an annual mass demonstration against the Trump administration.

UChicago undergraduates Anya Edelstein, Zoe Benjamin, and Megan Bonnise said that they were in the Loop for the march to contribute and increase public recognition of the diverse issues marchers supported at the event.

“For me, going to the Women’s March is the one thing I make sure I do every year because it’s something that’s really important to me, and even though it’s not super involved, it’s one thing that I can do to continually show my support,” Edelstein said.

Benjamin said that she had been interested in taking action through RSOs that addressed issues like climate change, but was frustrated that climate action student organizations often did not extend far beyond campus.

“A lot of the clubs I checked out around it were very interested in talking about the theoretical parts of it—having the conversations—but they didn’t seem to do a lot. I like doing things. So that’s why I’m here,” Benjamin said.

Bonnise said that for her, joining the march was consistent with her efforts to be more politically engaged this school year.

“We’re just here to show our support. For me, at least, this school year I needed to kind of ramp up, but it’s definitely not the first or the last thing I’m going to be doing,” Bonnise said.

Edelstein added that coming to the march was a way to act on her values,

Zoe Benjamin, Anya Edelstein and Megan Bonnise at the 2020 Chicago Women’s March. caroline kubzansky even on a limited budget.

“Women’s rights, and especially concerning health care and planned parenthood is something that affects everyone, and doing what we can—we’re college students, we’re not going to donate a ton of money—but doing what we can to go out there and show what matters to us is important,” she said.

For many of the college-aged and younger marchers, climate change was the foremost issue motivating them to act. A high school chapter of the Sunrise Movement, an environmental advocacy organization focused on youth action, brought banners and megaphones to demand the government declare a climate emergency.

Cassidy Redding, a second-year majoring in environmental science at Loyola University Chicago, explained that her work in the classroom had energized her to get politically involved

to push for action on the climate crisis.

“I am not happy with the government right now. I don’t think they are standing up for me and my voice and I don’t think they are really standing up for any American’s voice,” Redding said.

“What I want is a complete reformation of our economy, of our social programs, and of the way we treat scientists, and so I’m here supporting women in STEM.” Amanda Stocchetti and Sarah Sciaraffa, fourth-years at DePaul and Northeastern Illinois University, respectively, came to the march wearing beanies printed with Juno4Me, a nonprofit that disperses contraception to students around Chicago. Stocchetti, who interns at Juno4Me, said she came to the march to support the necessity of access to birth control.

“Reproductive health care is a basic human right, and it needs to be protected,” Stocchetti said.

Representatives of National Nurses United, the national nurses union, also attended the March, including a contingent of nurses from the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC).

UCMC nurse John Hieronymus explained how the Women’s March ties into the union’s activism following a successful strike last fall.

“The Women’s March is a response to the broader issues of misogyny and sexism within the country and as a union that is primarily made up of women we understand that union rights are women’s rights and that oftentimes unions are the only way women can effectively fight back against discrimination, against harassment, against wage disparities,” Hieronymus said.

“We want to emphasize how important unions are to making the world a better place for women.”

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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Teaching Grades Retroactively Added to Ph.D. Transcripts Will Be Removed, Says Shea Wolfe

By ADYANT KANAKAMEDALA Senior Reporter Several graduate students in the Division of Humanities found last week that teaching requirements were coded as courses and retroactively added to their transcripts. After they pointed out the additions to their transcripts on social media, Shea Wolfe, dean of students in the Division, announced through email last Friday that the courses and their corresponding grades would be removed.

The University said in a statement to The Maroon that the courses had been removed from transcripts by Friday afternoon.

Despite the Division announcing that the courses would be removed, some students say they remain disturbed that their teaching was classified as coursework and that the changes were made without prior notice.

Emily Smith, a sixth-year Ph.D. can-

didate in Near Eastern languages and civilizations, taught three courses in elementary Hittite between 2016 and 2018. Last Wednesday evening, she noticed her transcript recorded that she had been enrolled in PTPT 69001: Graduate Student Lectureship for each quarter she taught, despite never enrolling in that class at the time.

The courses do not appear on an earlier unofficial transcript from October 2018 that Smith showed to The Maroon.

On Twitter, Smith said that the change to her transcript was “obviously a sneaky way the university is trying to redefine our teaching as purely for our own training rather than as work.”

Smith also tweeted that her classes had never been observed, and no one ever reviewed her lesson plans.

The University said in their statement that “the removed courses were marked with an ‘S’, which signified that the requirement had been satisfied; it

was not an evaluative course grade assigned by an instructor.” However, the transcripts themselves did not indicate that the courses were graded for completion anywhere.

Graduate Students United (GSU) urged other graduate students to check their transcripts for similar additions.

Laura Colaneri, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian studies and a member of GSU, was also retroactively enrolled in PTPT 69001 after teaching a Spanish course.

She also was enrolled in PTPT 65001: Teaching/Course Assistantship after working as a teaching assistant for a different class last quarter.

After seeing she was graded for Teaching Assistantship, Colaneri, also confused about the grade assigned to the course, immediately emailed the professor asking if he had evaluated her teaching or provided input that may have factored into her grade, she said.

He responded that he had not.

Colaneri said that she was “disappointed with [the Division’s] response” because it contained “no apology for their error.”

“It affects those on the job market,” she said. “The changes go as far back as November 1—maybe earlier—and people submitted applications during that time.” Because the course appears among courses students actually enrolled in at the time, Colaneri explained, it may give the impression that their teaching was a part of their Ph.D. coursework.

She also said that the grades are redundant: When applying for jobs, students already include the teaching they have done in other materials. “We have the classes we teach on our C.V. and put together teaching portfolios,” she said.

“There’s no reason for it to also appear on our transcripts. No one asked for this.”

Ahead of Early-Voting States, UChicago for Bernie Hits the Phones With Weekly Phonebanks

By ALEXIS FLORENCE Senior Reporter At UChicago for Bernie’s weekly phone bank, first-year Emily Pelliccia began another conversation. “Hi, is Mary available?,” she asked through clattering laptop keyboards and a flurry of conversations. For the student volunteers on the phones, each call is a chance to propel Sanders to victory in the 2020 Democratic Iowa caucuses and other early primary states.

UChicago for Bernie has been organizing weekly phone banks since October. First-year graduate student Chris Wilson (A.B. ’19) said the phone calls help to bring voters on board with Sanders’scampaign through recruiting voters and volunteers while raising political awareness among those who are

disengaged from the electoral process.

“There are lots of conversations where you’re able to persuade undecided voters or those who already support other candidates,” Wilson said. “But also a lot of the time you talk to people who are not political, not paying attention, and you can tell them, ‘Hey there is this candidate with a platform that will help you in real life,’ and that gets them to start paying attention and start being interested. We want to reach people who have given up on politics.”

Wilson and first-year undergraduate Ronan O’Callaghan praised Sanders’scampaign for making grassroots efforts like the phone banks easily accessible for campaign volunteers by making online training and scripts available. UChicago for Bernie volunCONTINUED ON PG. 5

The most recent phone bank was on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. alexis florence

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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“I think it’s the best way to win.... People having earnest, genuine, sympathetic, and empathetic conversations with each other” CONTINUED FROM PG. 4

teers connect to the larger campaign through an online dialer and receive a list of voters in an early primary state to contact. For the phone conversation itself, volunteers read a script provided by the campaign and are encouraged to share their personal reasons for supporting Sanders.

O’Callaghan shared why he believes

this campaign strategy is effective:“I think it’s the best way to win.... People having earnest, genuine, sympathetic,and empathetic conversations with each other on a one-to-one basis—I think that’s just a more viable path to victory in the long run. And it’s not just about winning the campaign—it’s about transforming this country.” Pelliccia, who was talking to potential Colorado

voters at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day phone bank, has been involved with the group since she arrived on campus.

She’s participated in other phone banks and has also traveled to Iowa to help canvas for the Sanders campaign ahead of the February 3 caucuses.

In her conversations with potential voters, Pelliccia focused on her concerns about climate change, health-

care,andeducation funding as reasons why she support Sanders. Pelliccia believes the phone banks and other efforts will have a significant effect on the campaign. “We can have an impact at this point in the campaign just getting people to turn out for Bernie in the caucuses,” Pelliccia said.

For Iowa Transplants Unable to Travel, UChicago Graduate Students Plan Satellite Caucus at University Church

By ALEXIS FLORENCE Senior Reporter As excitement builds among Democratic primary voters for the 2020 Iowa Caucuses next month, two UChicago graduate students decided to bring a piece of the first-in-the-nation event to Hyde Park. The satellite caucus will take place at University Church on February 3 at 7 p.m.; registered Iowa Democratic voters who would like to participate must pre-register for the event by Friday, January 17.

The Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) approved a total of 110 satellite caucus locations this election cycle. The UChicago site is one of 21 locations on college campuses, according to a press release from December. The IDP said that the total number of attendees at each satellite site on caucus night determines the number of delegate equivalents from that site.

The IDP decided to begin hosting satellite caucus sites after a 2017 DNC report required caucuses to provide a way to include voters who could not attend the weeknight events, which are often hours-long and at a fixed location. While the IDP initially wanted to host digital or call-in caucuses, the DNC disapproved of the plan because of security concerns.

James Skretta, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Music Department, and

Hannah Gregor, a first-year graduate student at the School of Social Service Administration, both grew up and attended college in Iowa; while in school, they participated in the caucuses for the first time during the 2016 presidential election.

Gregor will be a caucus leader at the UChicago location. In 2016, she ran a student location at the University of Northern Iowa.

The satellite location will run just like the caucus locations in Iowa: voters in attendance will divide into groups to show support for candidates. The viability of each candidate is determined by receiving support from 15 percent of voters in the room. Any voters whose candidate is deemed inviable will then have the opportunity to realign themselves with a viable candidate. The caucus leaders will then tally the final support for each candidate.

Gregor is excited to have Iowans in Chicago come together for the event.

“I think it’s one of the few moments where you really feel like you’re really participating in democracy… it’s a very intimate experience in a way that sometimes voting isn’t,” she said.

Skretta, though he helped arrange the location of the remote site, will be driving back to Iowa for the caucuses.

He noted that out-of-state college students or other Iowans are often unable to attend the event due to other con-

Sattelite caucus organizer Hannah Gregor and friends. courtesy of hannah gregor flicts, which makes satellite caucuses an important way to include more voters.

“It’s really important that they have the opportunity to cast their vote,” he said. “In the same way that in a presidential election you can get an absentee ballot; in the same way that for so many states that have primaries you can get absentee ballots. It only makes sense that people who are not able to be at that site… can make their voice heard in this voting process.”

He went on to explain that he believes the addition of satellite caucuses will provide a more representative election result in the state, emphasizing

the potential impacts of these locations.

“One of the reasons that I am especially excited is that it could be the deciding factor in who actually wins the caucus overall,” he said.

Both Skretta and Gregor have publicly endorsed candidates on social media; however, Skretta wanted to highlight that there will be no candidate bias in running the University Church site.

Skretta also wanted to stress that the location is not exclusively for UChicago students, as he hopes more Iowans throughout Chicago will register to caucus at University Church.

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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University Executive Vice President Named President of Clark University

By TONY BROOKS News Editor UChicago’s Executive Vice President David Fithian was unanimously elected to be the next president of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts

by Clark’s board of trustees. He will assume the role on July 1.

Fithian joined the University staff as secretary in 2007 and became the University vice president in 2009, according to UChicago’s staff directory.

According to the directory, the office of executive vice president oversees major

University initiatives, such as architectural design for major projects, Facilities Services, and the University public art programs.

Since 2009, the University has instituted multiple major building initiatives, both in Hyde Park and abroad, including Campus North Residential Commons, Woodlawn Residential Commons, and the Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong. He also oversaw the creation of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.

Some recent changes overseen by Fithian have proved controversial, such

as the decision last fall requiring students to live in housing for two years.

Fithian graduated from Clark University in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in English and sociology. He earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Yale and began working as an administrator at Harvard in 1995.

Fithian is the second top administrator moving on from the University this academic year, with Provost Daniel Diermeier leaving to become chancellor of Vanderbilt University.

David Fithian. courtesy of uchicago

Astronomy Club Requests $102 Million from Student Government During the 2019-2020 Annual Allocations Cycle

By JUSTIN SMITH News Editor In their 2019–20 Annual Allocations funding request, the Ryerson Astronomical Society (RAS) requested $102 million from Student Government (SG) to support the creation of a “Space Force ROTC.” ROTC, or Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, is any university-based officer training program for training commissioned officers of the U.S. Armed Forces.

The RAS is UChicago’s astronomy RSO and aims to “observe the celestial luminaries in hushed awe” according to their website. The organization hosts weekly student and faculty presentations, weekly star viewings in the Ryerson

rooftop observatory, “dark sky trips” to vantage points outside of Chicago, and occasional imaging workshops. Yearly funding is used to provide pizza for presentations and to maintain the observatory’s 100+-year-old rooftop telescope.

According to Dylan Sukay, president of the RAS, the organization “submits funny requests to SG every year as a long-running tradition.” In the 2018–19 academic year, the RAS requested $250,000,000 to buy the Yerkes Observatory, which was funded $2.25 “with the comment ‘CTA Bus Fare,’” Sukay said.

“We have documents in our office with funny requests from the ’90s,” Sukay said.

Other past requests have included funding to build and launch a full-scale

replica of Sputnik, relocate the Astronomy Department, build a hyperloop to Yerkes, build an 80-inch telescope mirror, and develop a space elevator, some of which were funded with nominal awards ranging from $1.00 to $2.25 despite the often multimillion dollar request.

This year’s request, while in line with past years, also made a more serious point. “We are very against the weaponization of space and think it’s a shame that we (as a country) have chosen to make moves that lead to futures where we are more likely to jeopardize legal precedents like the Outer Space Treaty. Currently, a lot of exploration and research is very cooperative, and we think that leads to the best science,” Sukay said.

In December 2019, President Donald Trump signed legislation creating a Space Force branch of the U.S. Armed Forces as part of a new defense-spending bill.

The Space Force was first mentioned by President Trump in 2018, a year prior to Annual Allocations funding the project.

UChicago currently has Army and Air Force ROTC programs, organized in conjunction with the University of Illinois–Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology, respectively. It does not, however, have a Space Force ROTC. Student Government Annual Allocations funded $1.00 of the requested $102,000,000.

Zimmer Talks Finance, Rankings, Fundraising on Davos Panel

By TONY BROOKS News Editor University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer spoke about national and global trends in higher education on an annual panel in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday.

Zimmer was joined by Minouche Shafik, director of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

UChicago Trustee David M. Rubenstein, J.D. ’73, co-executive chairman of the Carlyle Group, moderated the discussion.

UChicago hosts the annual UChicago in Davos panel to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. The World Economic Forum is an NGO, and its meetings in Davos brings together academics, businesspeople, and public figures to discuss contemporary economic research and concerns. UChi-

cago in Davos is not affiliated with events from the Forum.

Microsoft CEO and University Trustee Satya Nadella, M.B.A. ’97, introduced the panel by laying out several themes of the discussion, ranging from the relevance of universities and improving access to “high-quality education.”

“How can we ensure universities are always at the frontier of groundbreaking research that impacts our planet, our

businesses, and our society?” Nadella asked.

Rubenstein kicked off the discussion by referencing the University’s rise in the U.S. News & World Report rankings during Zimmer’s tenure, asking Zimmer what he thought was the biggest single change he had made during his presidency.

Zimmer answered with his thoughts CONTINUED ON PG. 7

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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“There was a degree of resignation that needed to be overcome”: Zimmer Discusses “Complacency” He Encountered When Starting His Presidency CONTINUED FROM PG. 6

upon returning to the University to become president. “What I believed was that the University of Chicago had a set of stories it was telling itself that were not true,” he said. “That there was a degree of complacency that needed to be overcome, that there was a degree of resignation that needed to be overcome.”

Turning to the recent rise in the University’s ranking, Rubenstein asked, “Why should alums care if the University is 13 or three or 35 or one? Why should they care?”

“Well, I have my own view…that a lifelong community that you’re a part of, and like any community you’re a part of, you want it to be great,” Zimmer said. “While rankings are peculiar in that there’s an arbitrary formula in them that somebody

sitting in some office creates, the things that are being measured are often of interest, so they’re of some value, but one can’t take them that seriously.”

The discussion shifted to finances, with Shafik pointing out that the endowment of the LSE is “less than one half of one percent of Harvard’s.” UChicago’s endowment is about one-fifth of Harvard’s $40.1 billion endowment, according to reports from both institutions.

Zimmer acknowledged that he spends “quite a bit” of his time involved in fundraising efforts.

“The way I think about fundraising is really not just ‘we need money,’ but there are really set concrete things that we want to accomplish, concrete things that are expensive and sometimes difficult,” he said.

DOES ANYONE HAVE A MAP?

By GABI FRIEDMAN AND CHRIS JONES Across 1. Aquaman’s weapon 8. Trashy paper 15. Women’s soccer star Megan 16. Five minutes away 17. 2024, e.g.

19. So, so crusty 20. Like England vis-à- vis France 21. Suffix with form 22. Bites like a puppy 24. Things that typically come one per pack 25. Real-world pirate captain 26. Sharp-___ 28. Grass grazer 29. 2003 Outkast hit 30. What a suffocating person would say if they could 32. Patients’ rights inits.

33. “Does anybody have a map?”

34. “Does anybody have a map?”

35. Beefy unit 38. Departs

41. Solidifies 42. Lip balm brand with a lowercase aesthetic 44. Present times?

46. Old mystery writer ___ Stanley Gardner 47. Hybrid fruit developed in the 1900s 49. So, so sour!

50. Chinese philosopher Lao-___ 51. Greek buddies?

53. Mex. Mrs. 54. “Damn” 57. Like a square jaw 58. “Count me in!”

59. “I could see it” 60. Packs Down 1. Offerer’s words 2. One who believes humanity was created by aliens 3. Siri-equipped device 4. Board member (Abbr.)

5. eno a toN

6. Won’t take ___ an answer 7. Group of four 8. Little titter 9. Machu Picchu area 10. What many people say when they hear you’re at UChicago 11. Mauna ___ 12. Currency of Mauritania 13. Smug response 14. “No problemo” 18. “Does anybody have a map?”

23. Where Ken Jennings is from 25. Circled around, say 27. AU and ly 29. Not in a mood for socialization 31. Name for five Felipes 32. Cutesy greeting 35. Character 36. Cats, to some 37. “Does anybody have a map?”

39. Lightning bolts 40. Legendary motorist

Zimmer discussed the University’s recent capital campaign, which ended on December 31. The original campaign goal was $4.5 billion, but the University increased the goal to $5 billion as the campaign continued, Zimmer said.

“We’re likely to close out when the accounting is done at around $5.4 billion, almost a billion dollars more than we originally hoped,” Zimmer said. The campaign raised more than any previous campaign at the University “by a long shot,” he said.

The forum then discussed Zimmer’s public stance on free speech. “My experience in life,” Rubenstein said to Zimmer, “is that many times you have people who are known for many things, but there’s one thing that they’re most famous for, but they don’t actually want to be known by that thing…. In your case, you’re going Enzo 41. Nautical debris 42. Matador’s opponent 43. Cirque de ___ 45. ___ island, NYC 1

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47. Naans, Mediterraneanstyle 48. Expensive, trendy U of C shop 51. Country music 6

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classic Lovett 52. Mex. Ms. 55. Massage 56. Div. Sch. deg 10

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to be known forever as the man who cares about free speech.”

Zimmer replied that his statements on free speech are rooted in continuing the University’s culture: “I keep telling people who congratulate me on defending the First Amendment that it’s not about the First Amendment…. As a private University we are not subject to the First Amendment, and what it’s about is, how do you deliver a great education? How do you create a great research environment for faculty? That’s our business.”

When Rubenstein asked Shafik about free speech at universities in the United Kingdom, she referenced the University of Chicago. “I think the work that has been done in Chicago in terms of free speech principles has had a global impact,” Shafik said.

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the chicago maroon — January 22, 2020

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VIEWPOINTS

Against the Traditional Study Break Time Away From Academics Should Be More Than Just a Brief Hiatus From Our Work; We Should Promote Relaxation, Fun, and Even Boredom By noah tesfaye Toward the end of last quarter, I was walking out of a solid meal at Cathey with my friend Ashley, and we began discussing our houses’ study breaks.

What was initially an innocent conversation between friends soon became a more thorough investigation.

Study breaks at UChicago are either house-organized or club-organized meetings, intended as nonacademic environments for students to

step away from classwork and share food with peers. They’re supposed to be a reprieve from course loads and academic jargon, and a space to talk with your RAs and RHs if needed.

But the very concept of study breaks, and the ways in which we define and organize them, is problematic. Treating every single get-together, every single relaxed moment away from work as a break from studying is unrealistic, but more importantly, it’s an unhealthy way for us to go about

Lee Harris, Editor-in-Chief Elaine Chen, Deputy Editor-in-Chief Deepti Sailappan, Managing Editor Peng-Peng Liu, Chief Production Officer

The Maroon Editorial Board consists of the editors-in-chief and editors of The Maroon.

NEWS

Tony Brooks, editor Miles Burton, editor Emma Dyer, editor Caroline Kubzansky, editor Matthew Lee, editor Oren Oppenheim, editor Justin Smith, editor GREY CITY

Alex Dalton, editor Caroline Kubzansky, editor Avi Waldman editor VIEWPOINTS

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being students and young adults. We need to reform the way we think about taking time away from our schoolwork; we should not think of it as a pause, but as rest for the sake of resting.

The study brea ks that I’ve experienced have actually been quite enjoyable. My house, Hoover, hosts some of the most renowned study breaks on campus. Our RHs, Sam and Chris, are always available to chat and genuinely want to catch up on everyone’s lives. My RAs, James (maybe UChicago’s true MasterChef ) and Ellie, bring or make some of the best food I’ve had anywhere on campus. I get to see housemates I otherwise rarely run into and check in on how they’re doing. On the club side, I’ve enjoyed going to a few African and Caribbean Student Association study breaks and chatting with friends I don’t see frequently while chowing down on great snacks.

Yet, one can both enjoy study breaks and simultaneously see the downsides of calling every single period we’re not working a study break. When we characterize every hour of our lives as “study time” or “study break,” it not only makes it more difficult to take the necessary time off that our brains need, but it compels us to have an unhealthy relationship with classwork. I know that even during my first quarter, I often neglected rest, only taking substantial, necessary breaks

if there was a Facebook notification telling me to come away from work to get food.

I developed detrimental study habits during my first few weeks here. I wouldn’t take breaks, even when I knew I was burning out, and it hurt my ability to be the student I knew I could be. I slowly began to think of my time as solely studying and not studying.

And yes, I know we’re at UChicago and came here to work harder than almost anywhere else, but we’re also human beings. More specifically, we are young adults, living almost exclusively among people of our age, in one of the greatest cities in the world. Living life on our own terms should be the norm.

A simple step can go a long way. Why not stray away

from framing every single get-together and nonacademic activity as a “study break”?

Houses should, of course, continue their weekly or biweekly traditions, and the community space that is intrinsic to the house system helps make UChicago the place it is. But we should encourage people to take time and dedicate it to boredom, to enjoyment, to doing anything for the sake of just doing it, not just to recharge to do more work. What good is it to be a student at UChicago if we can’t be healthy enough and well-rested enough to be able to take on this challenge?

Noah Tesfaye is a first-year in the College.

SIENA FITE

the chicago maroon — JANURARY 22, 2020

9

A Face to the Name: The Many Grants of Ken Griffin NOT Alum, Griffin Has Bestowed $135 Million on UChicago; More on the City Overall

By EMMA KONRAD Grey City Reporter

You might know the name Kenneth “Ken” Griffin from Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago’s Griffin Galleries of Contemporary Art; the Kenneth and Anne Griffin Court, the central hall in the Art Institute of Chicago; or the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago. Griffin, a billionaire philanthropist with a reported net worth of $11.7 billion, made one of his largest donations to date in early October of this year, to the Museum of Science and Industry. In Hyde Park, he has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the city as well

as in the University of Chicago, despite not being an alumnus.

Griffin came into his money through the asset management firm Citadel, which manages approximately $32 billion. But it’s not his hedge fund that made his name known to the public—it’s his private philanthropy that’s generated the names on so many buildings. As of this writing, Griffin’s financial gifts reportedly total to approximately $700 million. In a December 2018 interview with Crain’s Chicago Business, Griffin explained his philosophy of philanthropy.

“It is a distinctly American trait,” he told the outlet. “I’m certain [our ancestors] were grateful to be here because most everyone who has immigrated

to the United States stayed here.

When you are grateful to be part of a culture and a country, what can you do to make it better?

That’s just a part of the ethos of our society.”

Griffin also credited his family instilling in him the spirit of philanthropy, citing the multitude of times he witnessed his grandfather help those in his community. His grandparents owned a successful fuel-oil business in Illinois.

“Not one customer of theirs was ever cut off from access to heating oil in the wintertime.

Really watching his customer’s best interests over the course of the year was very much the ethos of my family,” he said.

Griffin, a Harvard alumnus,

Griffin donated $125 million to the University’s Department of Economics in 2017. university of chicago

donated $150 million to his alma mater in 2014. The donation to Harvard was allotted to Griffin scholarship recipients and a new Griffin Leadership Challenge Fund for financial aid. Griffin ascribed his support of higher education to his own appreciation for his privileged Harvard education, stating in the Crain’s interview, “My grandmother paid for my college education. Not everyone has that.”

Griffin has donated about the same amount to the University of Chicago, despite his lack of traditional ties to the University. In 2009, Griffin donated $10 million to the University’s research aimed at improving pre-K and K–12 education, and he has been a trustee of the University since 2014. More recently, in 2017, Griffin donated $125 million to the University’s economics department, which was renamed the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics.

In his Crain’s interview, Griffin gave two main reasons for his gifts to UChicago: “[The University of Chicago] is at the forefront of trying to think of how people make economic decisions. The second part is Bob Zimmer’s passionate fighting for free speech.” Griffin elaborated that he believes that the economy works best when the populace understands economics, which at least partially explains his admiration of the work of the economics department at the University of Chi-

cago. His $125 million donation supporting the department was the second-largest donation gift in the University’s history.

John List, former chairman of the economics department and Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, was responsible for allocating the money. In a phone interview with The Maroon, he said that Griffin had given a substantial amount of leeway with how the department spent the gift.

“In the gift agreement, we wrote a strategy or plan that Ken understood,” List said. “I would talk to various faculty members to make sure that it was a good use of the funds. I would give Ken some ideas about what we were up to and he would also be supportive of these ideas. Ken is the sort of person who gives to give and says, ‘Make the best use of it.’ It was entirely directed by people here at the University in my department.”

Much of the donation went toward the Kenneth C. Griffin Applied Economics Research Incubator, which will focus on new strategies to strengthen the understanding and impact of economics. The incubator, List said, will increase opportunities and exposure to research.

“That incubator every year will fund research done by undergrad, grad, and faculty on a topic that the incubator committee chooses every year,” List said. “Ken has no input on continued on pg. 10

the chicago maroon — JANURARY 22, 2020

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“I think [the ultra-wealthy] actually have an insufficient influence.” continued from pg. 9

[the contents of the list]. That committee was chaired by me who made the choice with Michael Greenstone, Rob Shimer, and Amanda [Woodward], the dean of the [social sciences division].”

List went on to mention that the incubator would assist research projects that might not otherwise be able to get off the ground.

“The other part of the incubator is what we call seed funds or innovation funds. These are research money up to 25 or 50 thousand dollars that are given to both faculty around campus and undergraduate and graduate students who want to research in these areas but don’t have the resources to do this research so we are funding them,” List said.

The money also funds an annual autumn conference. The first conference happened on November 18 and 19 of last year and concerned “The Scale-up Effect in Early Childhood and Public Policy: Why Interventions Lose Impact at Scale and What We Can Do About It.” When asked what he and the department hope attendees gained from the conference, List replied, “First of all, understanding the importance of the science of using science. After we find that a program works in a research study, what is the science behind scaling that program to a broader level so you can really change the world instead of changing it at a small scale?”

The conference brought together scholars from an eclectic mix of disciplines, including psychologists, sociologists, biologists, and a cancer researcher from the National Institute of Health.

Griffin’s donations also aim to shape Chicago’s future. A former Citadel analyst of six years, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “There’s definitely a lot of pride in being based in Chicago and being competitive with all of the other firms based out of the east coast. [Griffin’s] hometown pride was evident in the firm.”

Griffin’s foundation, the Kenneth C. Griffin Charitable Fund, has also been an active donor to numerous Chicago museums, having donated a total of $11 million to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) between 2010 and 2017.

MCA’s press release for the latest $1 mil-

lion donation stated that the gift would fund new programs to broaden access to the museum and would assist the MCA’s outreach program by supporting two 21 Minus events, which are the MCA’s days of teen creativity.

Anne Kaplan, MCA Board chair, noted, “Ken’s support of the MCA goes far beyond this recent gift. He has quietly supported the MCA’s efforts to renovate our building and our many exhibition programs for many years. We have always valued his active participation as a board member.”

The money also provided mentorship and internship opportunities to members of the Teen Creative Agency in the MCA, as well as free bus transportation to visit the MCA for school groups planning to visit the MCA during the year of its 50th anniversary.

The Fund also donated $16.5 million to the Field Museum in August of 2017, which went toward an update of the famous SUE the T-Rex exhibit.

According to the Field Museum’s press release, “SUE the T-Rex will be revamped with scientific updates and will move on up from Stanley Field Hall to the Museum’s most popular permanent exhibition, the Griffin Halls of Evolving Planet.”

“The Field Museum’s never-ending goal is to offer the best possible dinosaur experiences. Ken Griffin’s long-time support is a major step forward in achieving that goal,” said Field Museum president Richard Lariviere in the press release.

In October 2019, the Fund gifted $125 million, the largest donation in the museum’s history, to the Museum of Science and Industry. The donation will support the museum’s plans to create the Pixel Studio, a digital gallery and performance space, as well as secure the Museum’s future as one of the premier science museums in the country, according to the gift announcement.

The Art Institute of Chicago received $19 million from the Fund in 2006 for the construction of the Modern Wing, which opened in 2009. Griffin is a trustee at the Institute. The Art Institute declined to comment on the projects for which it used the money.

Griffin has also made headlines in his personal art-world involvement. In

Griffin accumulated much of his fortune as the head of asset management firm Citadel. uchicago news

2016, Griffin spent $500 million on two paintings, which was reportedly the largest-ever private art sale. He spent $300 million for Willem de Kooning’s 1955 oil painting “Interchange” and $200 million for Jackson Pollock’s “Number 17A.” Before this transaction, his art collection was valued at $2.3 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Additionally, Griffin is a benefactor of other Chicago institutions and state politics. He gave $15 million to the Chicago Park District to create bike and running paths and mini soccer fields, $10 million to the Chicago Police Department, and an approximate total of $55.7 million to local and state political campaigns.

As for the party affiliations of those campaigns, Griffin has donated to five Republican and two centrist Democrat campaigns for office within the Illinois state government. Since 2011, Griffin has donated more than $6.5 million in soft money to political action committees.

And on the national level, Griffin has donated more than $1 million to individual campaigns and political action committees. In a 2012 interview with the Chicago Tribune, Griffin said that much of his political giving was aimed at reducing the government’s role in the economy and giving further influence to the rich.

“Government is way too involved in financial markets these days. I think [the

ultra-wealthy] actually have an insufficient influence,” he said.

The former Citadel analyst recalled that Griffin’s personal values permeated the company’s culture.

“His philosophy was to always be trying to get better. [Griffin] pushed [the firm] to be a leader of the hedge funds in tech. It was very competitive but meritocratic,” the analyst said, noting Griffin’s advocacy for self-improvement and the emphasis be placed on education. This credo, he said, would manifest in the free books sitting out on office tables and the free or often reimbursed higher education workshops and classes.

Griffin is a major donor to a number of educational institutions, having donated about $150 million to UChicago, and given support to the University of Chicago Charter School in Woodlawn.

In 2009, Griffin donated $10 million to the University to further research on K-12 education, with a focus on pre-K and the advancement of underprivileged children, according to the statement from UChicago News announcing two new members elected to the University of Chicago Board of Trustees.

Griffin’s philanthropic history, as well as his personal spending record, can provide insight into his values and vision for Chicago’s future.

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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SPORTS

Senior Spotlight: Jordan Baum

By MIRANDA BURT Sports Reporter

Jordan Baum was always going to play basketball. The fourth-year was an Illinois Mr. Basketball Finalist when he chose to join the Maroons four years ago, and he has never looked back.

“My dad played basketball his whole life, so I think it started before I was born. There are pictures of me in a Michael Jordan jersey holding a ball when I was like a month old, and my first word was ‘ball’ so it’s pretty much always been a part of my life.”

Baum has played in 88 games throughout his career at UChicago, starting 64 of those games. The senior has made over 150

threes in his career, and he is also 36 assists from breaking the career record of 484. This year, he leads a team composed of fresh faces who have not yet seen many minutes in their UChicago careers.

As his proximity to the career assists record suggests, Baum relishes his role as a point guard. “I’ve been a point guard my whole life, and I think my favorite part of playing point is being in control. I’m the middleman between the coaches and the rest of the team, and my coaches for most of my life have given me the freedom to take the lead and make calls when I see something on the court. I like being able to see the whole court at the same time and being able to make plays for my teammates.”

UChicago is a difficult place to pursue a major in economics and put in over 25 hours a week on the basketball court to lead a successful program. The opportunity to pursue both is something Baum will miss most about his experience at UChicago.

“Basketball has always been a way for me to forget everything else going on in my life. It’s a way for me to clear my head and just let loose, which is really nice given how stressful school can get at UChicago. Playing at UChicago has been really special in a lot of ways. Some of my closest friends are my teammates, and we spend almost all of our time together on and off the court. The program prides itself on being a family, and Coach McGrath does a great job of that, es-

pecially through keeping the alumni so involved in the program.”

In typical Baum fashion, the goals for the remainder of the season are all about his teammates. “I want to finish the season strong and compete for a UAA championship. None of our seniors have been to the tournament before, so I think that’s something we’d all like to experience before we leave.”

After completing his decorated career at UChicago, Baum plans to work at Stout as an investment banking analyst in Chicago.

While he will no longer wear the #24 jersey for the Maroons, Baum’s leadership and influence will leave a lasting impression on the program for years to come.

Swimming and Diving Make a Splash on Senior Day

By ALI SHEEHY Sports Reporter

The UChicago men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams were dominant this past weekend, each adding three wins to their record as their regular season begins to come to an end.

On Friday, UChicago faced both Lewis University and Olivet Nazarene University in a dual meet. The women were triumphant with a 228–64 win over Lewis and a 238–61 win over Olivet Nazarene, while the men were equally successful with a 189–98 win and a 218–65 win over Lewis and Olivet Nazarene, respectively.

Despite the great results on Friday, the win on Saturday vs. Wisconsin–Milwaukee proved to be even more memorable. The meet marked the first time that the women defeated the NCAA Division I Panthers, signifying the first time that both the UChicago men and women beat the DI team from Wisconsin–Milwaukee in the same meet.

The Maroons’ success against Wisconsin–Milwaukee included outstanding performances on both the men’s side and women’s side. For the women, first-year Chanell Kann (100 and 200 breaststroke, 100 IM), second-year Chloe Fong (100 and 200 freestyle), and third-year Hadley Ackerman

(100 and 200 butterfly) had key victories. On the men’s side, fourth-years Byrne Litschgi (100 and 200 backstroke), Taye Baldinazzo (200 and 500 freestyle), and Reona Yamaguchi (100 and 200 breaststroke, 100 IM) had impressive results in their events. The 200 medley relay team consisting of fourthyears Litschgi, Yamaguchi, George Reuter, and Aidan Meara also recorded the fastest time for their event, clocking in at 1:34.18.

In addition to first-place finishes, Andrew Chen, Yamaguchi, and Kann each broke school records on the day as well.

Chen set a school record for the men’s one-meter dive, while Yamaguchi broke his own school record in the men’s 100 IM, and Kann posted a new record for the women’s 100 IM. According to Baldinazzo, “Even though we are in the middle of some of the hardest training of the season, it was exciting to see people putting up quick times. This shows how good we are, and how good we will be when we have some rest before our bigger meets.”

The victory on Saturday not only marked the teams’ last regular-season home meet or the first time that they both defeated a DI program: It also acted as a celebration for the 16 men and women who dedicated their past four years to the program.

A memorable Senior Day for swimming & diving teams concluded with a historic dual meet victory over University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon. uchicago athletics For Baldinazzo, reflecting on his time as a member of the team, the dedication not only from himself but his teammates, as well as the relationships he has made, will stay with him for the rest of his life. This Saturday was the culmination of all their hard work and will be remembered by each of them. “It meant everything to me and my fellow teammates to make it to this point and celebrate four years of hard work. To

see most of us make it through four tough years, and still be contributing to the team in the manner we are was amazing. I look forward to seeing the other classes do the same.”

The Maroons hope to further their success as they compete away from home next weekend in a dual meet against Illinois– Chicago and DePauw.

THE CHICAGO MAROON — JANUARY 22, 2020

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ARTS We Tell: Fifty Years of Community Media – States of Violence

By ADRIAN RUCKER Arts Reporter

Film has a unique strength for depicting reality. Documentary as a genre capitalizes on this in a way that grants it a tripartite power as artistic medium, ethnographic method, and channel for political activism. We Tell: Fifty Years of Participatory Community Media makes use of that last strength in particular, providing a platform for an extensive curation of community video projects preserved by the XFR Collective (pronounced “transfer”), a group of archivist-activists who work to preserve atrisk media. The curation is presented by the Film Studies Center and Arts + Public Life.

The first event in the series, States of Violence, was hosted by Jacqueline Stewart, professor of cinema and media studies at UChicago and director of Arts + Public Life; Louis Massiah of the Scribe Video Center and co-curator of We Tell: Fifty Years of Participatory Arts and Media; and Maira Khwaja, journalist at the Invisible Institute. The seven short documentaries focus on systems of violence and the forms of expression that communities produce in reaction to them.

The program began with Ain’t Nobody’s Business (1978), produced by the New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC) workshop. The film features the New Orleans YWCA Battered Women’s Program in its struggle for resources and tells the stories of several women who fled from domestic violence. Each story is poignant and emotional, creating individual portraits of resilience and solidarity between women. Domestic violence itself is explored through interviews of the feminist activists who run the program, dispelling common myths about the causes of violence and affirming the strength of the women who their program is meant to help.

The film is shot in an editing style that jumps between face-to-face interviews and performance art, setting a powerful but unsettling tone for the evening.

Inside Women Inside (1978) explores the lives of incarcerated women in the Rikers Island Correctional Institute for Women and the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.

The trauma and repeated abuse they face at the hands of power-tripping guards, ambivalent psychiatrists, and an apathetic general public is depicted through a series of stark, high-contrast visuals. Artwork made by the incarcerated women is interspersed with the women describing their experiences with beatings, miscarriages, inadequate nutrition, unsanitary living conditions, and general institutionalized mistreatment. Even in the face of such prolonged violence, the women remain in good spirits, with the general air bearing a quality of resistance and perseverance instead of defeat. Inside Women Inside takes on an especially bitter dimension when one considers that it was made before the harsh criminal sentencing reforms, endemic since the 1980s, which have led to mass imprisonment. There are now approximately seven times as many women in prison or jail as there were when the film was shot.

Just Say No: The Gulf Crisis TV Project #55 (1990) documents the resistance to the Gulf War both inside and outside the military. It follows several organizers in the United States and Germany as they support military members being court-martialed for applying for conscientious objector status and speaking out against the war. A project of Paper Tiger Television, the film highlights the power of more widely available cameras and recording equipment in creating organized activist media.

Books Through Bars (1997) tells the story of the titular alternative education nonprofit, founded after New Society Publishers in Philadelphia received letters from prisoners lamenting the lack of reading materials available to them.

The capacity of literature to not only provide a means for prisoners to pass the time and stave off the mentally crushing powers of prison, but also to provide an outlet for personal growth even while

Still from Inside Women Inside. courtesy uchicago arts incarcerated, is stressed throughout.

The interviewees, both those currently incarcerated as well as volunteers at Books Through Bars, eloquently express how important such work is for all those involved.

Military Option (2005) follows two young men of color in New York City as they wire themselves with a mic and enter a military recruitment office. The recruiter attempts to lure them into the military with promises of money, women, and global adventure, taking advantage of the anxieties and fantasies of the young, racialized, working class.

Each of them describes how tempting the offers are, but ultimately expresses a consciousness of the reality of military service and narrowly dodges “the poverty draft.”

M4BL: Ceremony (2016) is a beautifully shot meditation on the Black Lives Matter movement, documenting a memorial in Cleveland for those shot by the police. Family and friends share touching details of the departed—their favorite foods, sports, music, and hobbies—and what their loss means to the

communities they lived in. The film ends with the triumphant auditorium dancing and singing along to Kendrick Lamar’s 2015 anthem “Alright.”

A Cop Watcher’s Story: El Grito de Sunset Park Attempts to Deter Police Brutality (2017) raises many important questions about cop-watching and problematizes the assumption that police body cameras provide an objective account of situations that can hold police accountable for abuses of power.

El Grito de Sunset Park is a community group in Brooklyn that formed in response to the assault and subsequent arrest of its cofounder, Dennis Flores, for filming the police as they arrested a young person in a New York subway terminal. It has grown into a neighborhood check on overreaching police power by documenting their interactions with the community, including the brutal arrest of a pregnant woman that left her and her child’s lives in danger.

The showing was followed by a conversation between Stewart, Massiah, Khwaja, and the audience. Khwaja reCONTINUED ON PG. 13

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“Another audience member’s question led to a conversation about the role of intimacy in violence...”

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flected on the potential for community media films to be a form of journalistic practice that allows the subjects of a news story to have authorship over it, removing the editorial power imbalance typically inherent to this kind of storytelling. Although Massiah initially described the documentaries as “films of utility,” a comment from an audience member created productive

conversation about how the aesthetic form of these kinds of works might give them influence that goes beyond simply granting exposure to the subject matter.

Another audience member’s question led to a conversation about the role of intimacy in violence, referencing the stories of the women in Ain’t Nobody’s Business. At the point of administration, violence is a deeply intimate act. Examining these points of impact through art

yields a great deal of insight into how such violent structures, typically viewed as abstract webs of relationships, act concretely in the world and what can be done to resist them.

The topic of preservation came up as well, with the panel emphasizing the complicated form of tension present in an exhibition such as this one. Being able to clearly see, through the change in technology used in media produc-

tion and the trends in aesthetic practice common to each time period, how little these systems have changed over time, can make them seem impenetrable. But, as Stewart stressed, they also remind us that these struggles have been fought before; people have long organized for justice and will continue to do so. And, they remind us that we can create meaningful art while doing so.

The Names to Know at Your Oscars Party This Year

By VERONICA CHANG Arts Reporter

It’s that time of year again: deep in the heart of January, when we’re all too cold to go out to the movies, we instead stay home and watch awards shows about movies. The 2020 Oscar nominations have just been announced—which films are up for Best Picture?

Joker Remember when Black Panther’s Best Picture nomination signalled a watershed moment for comic book adaptations? Fast forward a year to Joker, an origin story for the quintessential Batman villain and antithesis to Black Panther’s #wokeness. Controversy hasn’t hindered its acclaim or momentum since winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and it leads the pack with 11 nominations at the Oscars this year.

Joaquin Phoenix’s masterful performance as clown-for-hire-turned-deranged-killer seems to be one point both Joker’s critics and supporters agree on, earning Phoenix a nomination for Best Actor. Joker was also nominated for Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Film Editing, among other awards.

1917 One of three films this year to receive 10 nominations, Sam Mendes’s World War I epic 191* has been receiving praise for its harrowing direction, cinematography, and realism. Released late last year, 191* has been picking up awards left and right, Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director at the Golden Globes.

1917 is an action drama about war

that looks really, really cool. A tribute to Mendes’s grandfather, who fought in WWI, the film is edited to appear as if it was shot in one continuous take. Its cast includes stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth among more up-andcoming talent such as George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman. 1917 is nominated for Best Director, Original Screenplay and pretty much all the design and sound Oscars.

The Irishman Mafia! Martin Scorsese! More than three hours long! Starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci (Pacino and Pesci both have nominations for Best Supporting Actor), The Irishman is solid Scorsese fare. It features crime, Catholic guilt and redemption; it makes people cry, is critically acclaimed, and has a bloated runtime that’s justifiable because it’s Scorsese (at three and a half hours, it’s just shorter than Frozen and Frozen 2 combined).

The Irishman is also nominated for Best Director, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and more. Its 10 nominations are part of Netflix’s whopping 24, the most of any studio this year. The real test will be whether the streaming giant can convert their nominations into statuettes.

The Irishman will be playing at Doc Films on February 1 and 2.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Rounding off the films with double-digit nominations is Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt (nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor respectively) play an aging actor

and his stunt double as they attempt to navigate a changing film industry. Its other nominations include Best Director, Cinematography, and Production Design.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a Hollywood executive’s wet dream. A movie capturing the supposed golden ages of late 1960s Hollywood, featuring a star-studded cast including the aforementioned DiCaprio and Pitt, Margot Robbie (also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Bombshell), and Al Pacino, and directed by the ever-creative and foot-obsessed Tarantino. It’s a movie made by Hollywood, about Hollywood, for Hollywood. And it’s pretty dang good.

Parasite Parasite begins with a poor family trying to scam their way into employment.

Then it morphs beyond anything you might anticipate. Its journey through the awards circuit and public eye has been equally extraordinary; after being awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, it’s now South Korea’s first nomination for Best International Feature, Best Director (Bong Joon-ho) and Best Picture.

Last year’s Roma broke new ground for foreign language films at the Oscars.

Parasite looks to do the same, receiving additional nods for Editing, Production Design, and Original Screenplay for a total of six nominations. Bong’s nomination for Best Director also prevents the category from being an all-white dick fest, although the film’s amazing ensemble cast has yet to receive similar accolades. A tightly directed and insight-

ful look at social inequality, Parasite is a wild ride from start to finish.

Parasite will be playing at Doc Films on February 22 and 23.

Little Women Every generation has their definitive Little Women. For some it’s the 1933 film starring Katharine Hepburn, others the 1994 version starring Winona Ryder. Now, director Greta Gerwig (@ TheAcademy, female directors do exist) tries her hand at adapting Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel, using a nonlinear narrative to put the familiar tale under a new lens. The result is a movie which feels innovative yet no less beloved: a story about growing up, ambition, and the compromises you make when you’re not the youngest child.

This iteration of Little Women features a new generation of up-and-coming stars, with Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh nominated for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for portraying sisters Jo and Amy. Little Women is also nominated for Costume Design, Original Score, and Adapted Screenplay.

Marriage Story The second of Netflix’s two nominations for Best Picture, Marriage Story is an intimate unraveling of divorce and its effects on family. It has achieved critical acclaim, especially for director Noah Baumbach’s screenplay, based on his own divorce, and has been nominated for Original Screenplay.

The story’s devastating impact is also driven by strong performances from its two leads, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson (Kylo Ren shows more chemCONTINUED ON PG. 14

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“Weirder things have happened in cinema, but rarely have they worked this well.”

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istry with Black Widow than he ever did with Rey). Their portrayal of a couple in the midst of divorce has earned them nominations for Best Actor and Best Actress respectively. Laura Dern’s role as a divorce lawyer unafraid to play dirty has earned her similar praise and a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Marriage Story also earned a nomination for Original Score.

Marriage Story will be playing at Doc Films on February 8 and 9.

Jojo Rabbit A Hitler Youth member finds a Jew-

ish girl in his attic and argues with his imaginary friend Hitler. Weirder things have happened in cinema, but rarely have they worked this well. Taika Waititi, fresh off the mainstream success of Thor: Ragnarok, returns to the big screen with Jojo Rabbit, a wacky and brilliant satire set in Nazi Germany. As director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, Waititi keeps Jojo Rabbit hilarious while still questioning the nature of prejudice and hatred.

Onscreen, Waititi is joined by Roman Griffin Davis, playing the titular Jojo with childish naïveté; Scarlett Johans-

son, whose portrayal of Jojo’s mother earns her another nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress; Thomasin McKenzie; Rebel Wilson; and more. Jojo Rabbit is also nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, Film Editing, and Costume Design.

Ford v Ferrari Or Cars Go Fast: The Biopic, is an action drama film directed by James Mangold. Starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale as two speed freaks channelling testosterone and angst, Ford v Ferrari tells the real story of Carroll Shelby (Damon) and Henry Ford II going head-to-head

with Enzo Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans race. Conflict arises when corporate interests and human drama attempt to interfere with the adult equivalent of Hot Wheels: Beat That!

Ford v Ferrari has earned praise for Bale and Damon’s performances and for its racing sequences. Its other three nominations are in Film Editing, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing.

The Oscars, hostless for the second year running, will take place on February 9.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Falls Flat

By WLAD SARMIENTO Associate Arts Editor

(Full spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker) Usually, I try to go easy on movies. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m very susceptible to the magic of the movies; I love suspending my disbelief, cynicism, and critical eye, and

allowing myself to be swept up in the movie’s characters and universe. I also have no problem with huge blockbusters that cash in on the popularity of existing franchises to tell their own stories, because I believe that the success of franchises like Marvel have empowered major studios to take new risks with old properties that people enjoy. With all that said, one thought filled my mind while watching the latest Star Wars, and

Rey and Kylo Ren fight on the ruins of the Death Star. courtesy of disney

has haunted me ever since: How did Disney fuck this up so, so badly?

With The Force Awakens, Disney created an entertaining reintroduction to the Star Wars universe. The plot was a little predictable and some of the characters were too loosely defined, but it had promise as the first in a trilogy that would build on the ideas it set up. Then The Last Jedi came out, and everything we thought we knew about

Disney’s vision of Star Wars went out the window. They had given writer-director Rian Johnson an inordinate amount of control over the story’s direction—a fact that Johnson all but confirmed when we spoke last year. He said that making The Last Jedi had felt much more like making another indie film than a huge studio blockbuster.

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an exciting new direction for Star Wars, less focused on rehashing the same themes and ideas the franchise had been pursuing since the ’70s. Luke was fed up with the Jedi, Rey did not come from an illustrious lineage like every other protagonist in the so-called “Skywalker Saga,” and Snoke was a big loser after all. It set the stage for a bombastic finale that promised to redefine the way we see the franchise, and I walked out of the theater optimistic that Disney’s success with Marvel’s riskier properties had emboldened them to make Star Wars really interesting for the first time since The Empire Strikes Back. Oh, to be young and naive again.

As happens so often these days, the Internet swiftly proceeded to ruin everything.

Star Wars diehards absolutely despised the direction that Johnson had taken the story. To them, Luke was a whiny hermit, the mystery of Rey’s parentage was unsatisfyingly and abruptly brought to an end by the revelation that her parents were “nobodies,” and Johnson eliminated the only big baddie the new trilogy had to offer by unceremoniously killing Snoke. Johnson’s gamble paid off with critics, but it was a complete disaster to those most dedicated to, and reactionary about, the series. What should have been a month’s worth of conversation around the film turned into a yearlong slog in which people online endlessly argued over the film. It could even be argued that fan sentiment directly hurt Solo’s box office performance, since it came out in the mid-

dle of the Last Jedi debate and drastically underperformed in the box office. On top of that, Colin Trevorrow was fired from directing Episode IX after his latest movie was panned by reviews, so the sequel trilogy had no one to bring it to the finish line.

Enter J. J. Abrams and Chris Terrio, whom Disney brought in to write the travesty that would become The Rise of Skywalker. Abrams, who had done a great job at directing (but not writing) a formulaic but enjoyable reintroduction to the franchise, would now write the conclusion to the sequel trilogy with the man who wrote such celebrated classics as Batman v. Superman and Justice League. In hindsight, this was an obvious case of course-correction by Disney, who clearly instructed the writers to replace the auteur-driven novelty of The Last Jedi with The Force Awaken’s money-making nostalgia.

And that is exactly what they did. It turns out, Luke was actually wrong to be cynical about the Jedi! And Rey isn’t a nobody who is strong in the force and wins by sheer force of will, but a direct descendant of Palpatine, who happens to be one of the only other named Star Wars characters whose history hadn’t yet been explored. And, of course, the new big baddie is Emperor Palpatine himself, because we couldn’t go more than one Star Wars movie without having a creepy white guy with a messed-up face try to convert the hero to the Dark Side™ in the climax. Rey being a Palpatine is an incomprehensibly stupid decision for obvious

reasons, and Kylo Ren, once the most interesting character in the series, was reduced to a boring character that they clearly had no idea what to do with after The Last Jedi.

Besides insulting the work Rian Johnson did to make Star Wars interesting again, this sudden change in the direction the sequel trilogy went indicates a few things.

For one, it has become extremely clear that Lucasfilm needs to learn from Marvel, their better-in-every-way younger brother in the mouse’s house, how to plan a story that will stretch through more than one movie. It is baffling to me that Marvel was able to pull off a satisfying conclusion to 21 films made by different directors with different creative visions, while Disney was not able to do the same with only three. Why even give Johnson so much control over the middle entry in a three-film story, only to undo his whole movie in the finale? Disney’s aboutface also indicates to me that Lucasfilm has much to learn from Marvel with regards to courage in filmmaking. Where is the Disney who was willing to put hundreds of millions into a movie about a talking tree, raccoon, and green lady in space, and stick with it?

Where is the Disney that allowed the Russo brothers to build upon the auteur vision of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok and turn Thor into a fat, alcoholic, depressed slob in Avengers: Endgame?

If all it took for Disney to change course so dramatically was fan outrage at a critically acclaimed movie, they honestly should never have hired Rian Johnson. Maybe with

more time and more movies, J. J. Abrams would have been able to make the trilogy that he wanted to make and it all would have worked a little better.

We will never know what would have happened if Lucasfilm had managed Star Wars correctly. As it stands, The Rise of Skywalker is a perfect case study for studio mismanagement of a beloved franchise. Either Lucasfilm and Disney never had a plan for how the sequel trilogy would play out, or they just lost faith in their plan somewhere along the way. Either way, their latest film is a creatively bankrupt mess. The directing is clean, as would be expected from the man who is essentially the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of directors, and the characters are appropriately quippy for a modern Disney film. John Williams knocked it out of the park as always with his score. But without a compelling narrative, or even a narrative that isn’t actively ridiculous, none of it holds up.

The saddest part of this whole sequel trilogy, and the discussions surrounding it, is that it has completely killed any goodwill I—and many others—had toward the franchise. Star Wars is a tiring and continuously disappointing relic of nostalgia at this point, and I think it needs a long break before I will be interested in a theatrical release again.

The 2010s, then, started with Star Wars being bad coming off the prequels, and ended with Star Wars being bad again coming off the sequels. It’s like poetry; it rhymes.

Mick Jenkins Continues to Impress with The Circus

By TOMAS MIRITI PACHECO Arts Reporter

I met Mick Jenkins through my older brother’s iPod, his flows coasting over my head in a way I didn’t understand but knew I liked. Not wanting to admit I had been put on, I would sneak glances at the screen and later search the song titles in private, looping them until I could recite the lyrics in full. I hear his latest album, The Circus, with the same ears. Mick Jenkins’s wordplay is as effortless and bold on the EP as The Water[s] six years earlier, but stands

taller (even for the 6’5” MC) on the heels of Pieces of a Man, his critically acclaimed sophomore album. “Same Ol,” the HitBoy–produced opener, seems to acknowledge this, with a hard-edged look at Jenkins’s current state closing with the chorus “Game don’t switch/ shit don’t stop.”

On “Carefree,” the project’s single, Jenkins paints a picture of a late-night kickback at the beach, wrinkled at the edges by people acting out and the cops pulling up. The Chicago rapper floats over Detroit icon Black Milk’s production, singing the chorus in an airy voice that com-

plements the smooth instrumental, then cutting through it with a driving flow in each of his verses. This chemistry is nothing new—consistency and cohesiveness are signature to Jenkins’s style, allowing for the layered narratives often found in his tracks. His stories draw me in because they have their own logic; scenes flow into each other without becoming too hectic or inflated, exempting him from my habit of restarting songs halfway through to catch a flow switch or an out-of-pocket punchline. Not because he’s incapable of such gestures, but because even the gems of his

discography (“Remember when you getting all this green that there’s gotta be sand traps”) are rarely independent of some extended metaphor or deeper conclusion.

However, replay value is still high on the EP. The majority of the seven tracks clock in at less than two and a half minutes, so Jenkins stretches the album’s length using the chorus on “Flaunt” and “The Fit,” or takes extra time to ruminate on “Different Scales.” The instrumentals hang on just long enough after the last word is uttered for the dust to settle, but the looser producCONTINUED ON PG. 16

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tion and absence of guest vocalists mean that the tracks don’t feature the extended, echoing outros found on previous projects.

I think this change in style reveals the purpose of the release. Jenkins’s performance on the EP seems both a reflection upon past accomplishments and a foundation for whatever may define his next drop. More than something to hold fans over, The Circus is a performance that promises another to follow, the outward aftermath of lengthy introspection. Given the almost 15 months separating it from Jenkins’s prior release, there will likely be several opportunities to revisit the project and wonder which of its many concepts will be highlighted on the rapper’s third album.

The song I will return to during that wait is “The Light.” EarthGang’s Johnny Venus opens by talking to a gnat, falling into a spoken word, André 3000–type

As the snow flurries in, sip on your coffee and join some conversations around campus.

Wednesday, January 22 Lisa Wedeen: Authoritarian Apprehensions The Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–7 p.m., free Political science professor Lisa Wedeen joins the Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory in discussion about her latest book, Authoritarian Apprehension: Ideology, Judgment, and Mourning in Syria. She analyzes the failures of Arab uprisings to overthrow authoritarian governments, and the exploitation of new media as a warning of political uncertainty and polarization.

Trader Joe’s Taste Testing with Hillel Reynolds Club, 10:30 a.m.–12:20 p.m., free Joe-Joe’s vs. Oreos? Find out if Trader Joe’s is superior to quite literally everything else in a taste test feast with UChicago Hillel. Do let us know if the cookie butter is as heavenly as rumored.

flow and finally into the chorus, the bright sound playing against the sense of loss in the lyrics: “Lately I been sober, chasin’ new highs./ Cut the cord to my bungee.” Jenkins then takes the cliché “more Malcolm than Martin” and flips it, with the line “more Baldwin than both.” The spaciousness of the drums and melody pushes each lyric to the forefront, eliminating any barriers presented by the verse’s winding train of thought, embodying the same aimless journey that brought me to his music.

For diehard fans, The Circus is continued proof of Mick Jenkins’s reliability, but—almost more importantly—I hope it can be a point of entry for those unfamiliar with his music. The project’s title implies fairgrounds, a space normally empty, but for the off chance of discovering something fascinating and new.

Mick Jenkins. courtesy of djbooth

Thursday, January 23 Jukebox Ballot Release Party The Revival, 1160 East 55th Street, 5:15 –6:30 p.m., free Last quarter, selected Chicagoans wrote about the intersectionality of music and politics. Join the Institute of Politics in celebration of its first-ever Jukebox Ballot collection. Dinner (and music) provided.

Berthold Hoeckner: Film, Music, and Memory The Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6–7 p.m., free Join Professor Berthold Hoeckner in discussion about his new book Film, Music, and Memory. Music has the capability to recall certain films, specific scenes, and captivating characters. With music and the cinematic experience so tightly interwoven, Hoeckner adds to that link with an analysis of the power of the human memory.

Rafiki Screening with Erin Moore Logan Center for the Arts, Room 201, 7 p.m., free UChicago Department of Cinema and Media Studies will screen Rafiki, a queer

romance by Wanuri Kahiu, which follows two women in their fight for love against a conservative Kenyan society. Afterward, join Erin Moore in a discussion about gender, sexuality, and global feminism.

Friday, January 24 Sliced Bread Launch Party Hallowed Grounds, 7–9 p.m., free Open mic, free West Town Bakery goods, and the latest Sliced Bread issue?

Savor the creativity, bite into literature, and indulge in the poetry.

Occam’s Razor: With Pulp FXK Theater, 8 –11 p.m., free Words cannot fully explicate the abstraction that is Occam’s Razor. Hop on over to FXK for a night of improv—pulpfree juice not guaranteed upon admission.

Opening reception for Harold Mendez: The years now Logan Center for the Arts, Gallery, 6–8 p.m., free Explore the sculptural, audio, and photographic artworks of artist Harold Mendez, as he conceives unconventional notions of the self. Mendez will lead a tour of his show at 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 25 UChi-Con 2020 Ida Noyes Hall, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., free.

The UChicago Japanese Animation Society holds a free anime convention once a year. This year, stop by Ida Noyes for a café, artist alley, screenings, and more!

Ghost in the Shell Doc Films at the University of Chicago, 4 p.m., $7 Save yourself the pain of watching the 2017 box office disaster and feast your eyes upon one of the great Japanese animated classics, revolving around an evil Puppet Master and a cyborg-human hybrid in a technological science-fiction world. Tickets are $7, and a quarterly pass is $40.

Knives Out Doc Films at the University of Chicago, 7 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.,$7 Missed the Rian Johnson hit? Slide by Doc Films to watch a star-studded cast investigate a surprisingly funny, twisted mystery within a dysfunctional, strange family—all stereotypical tropes reversed one way or another.