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MARCH 9, 2022 NINTH WEEK VOL. 134, ISSUE 18

Russian and Ukrainian Students Stage Protest in Quad to Raise Awareness of Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine

By ZACHARY LEITER | News Reporter Note: In order to protect students’ privacy and safety, some names have been changed and faces have been removed from photos.

The rally was intended to raise awareness of the war in Ukraine and give students a forum for conversation. courtesy of eric fang

Around two dozen University of Chicago College students gathered on Harper Quad Thursday afternoon to stage a “Stop the War” protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The rally was organized that day and was intended to raise awareness of the war in Ukraine and give students a forum for conversation about Ukrainian-Russian relations.

In a speech late Wednesday night, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would be launching a “special military operation” against Ukraine. Beginning in October 2021, the Russian government amassed as many as 190,000 combat troops along the borders between Russia and

Ukraine and between Belarus and Ukraine.

As of Sunday, February 27, more than 200 Ukrainian civilians have been killed, and Ukrainian and American officials predicted that a full-scale invasion of Ukraine could displace as many as five million people.

“Stop the War” rally organizers firstyears D and P and second-year M passed out homemade signs and answered attendees’ questions for almost an hour. Signs included slogans like “Stop Putin” or “I Stand with Ukraine.” D explained that she and her friends were from Russia but that they were strongly opposed to the Russian government’s actions. “Many people think we support Putin,” she said, but “I feel it’s important to try to raise awareness and stand with the people of Ukraine.”

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University Announces Creation of September Term Program

By EMMA JANSSEN | News Reporter On Wednesday, February 23, the University announced that it will be offering September term, an extension of the College’s Summer Session, beginning in 2022. September term will allow second-, third-, and fourth-year students to take one course intensively for three weeks, receiving 100 units of credit. The term will run from August 29 to September 16, with no classes on Labor Day. In its announcement, the College listed eight courses that will be offered in this year’s September term, which range from tradition-

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al Core offerings such as Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast to electives like Riding About the South Side, in which students explore local neighborhoods on bikes and conduct interviews with residents.

The College noted that costs of September term are not included in the 2022–23 tuition schedule. Upon The Maroon’s request for more information, Kate Graham, an administrative specialist for the Summer Session program, said that the approximate cost per course for September term will be $4,380.

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Rates will be finalized in March. Qualifying students will be able to apply for need-based tuition scholarships, but the University has not released the amount of aid available for September term students and did not respond to an inquiry into these costs.

Students with autumn quarter housing and dining plans will have access to both during September term. It is unclear whether these services will be offered to students without autumn quarter assignments.

The College also offers study abroad programs during September. In 2022, three study abroad courses will be offered: a history

ARTS: Witness documents the histories of Jewish immigrants in virtual theater

course in Florence; a Law, Letters, and Society course in Paris; and a course titled Versailles: Art, Power, and Resistance, also in Paris. Each of these courses count toward a student’s autumn quarter course load.

In response to an inquiry from The Maroon, Director of Study Abroad Sarah Walter said that September term courses would not be replacing study abroad. “While September Term meaningfully enhances the College’s course offerings, the Study Abroad September courses are best provided as an extension of the Autumn Quarter to ensure their timing and structure remain effective for students.”

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“I see a huge Ukrainian spirit.” what’s happening and not being able to help or really do anything,” D said. A first-year student from Ukraine who identified himself as Maksym shared D’s fear. “It’s really tough to be away from home at these times,” he said. “My city has been bombed.…the Russians just blew up a bridge three miles away from my house last night.” Since the invasion, Russian military forces have targeted Ukrainian cities, energy infrastructure, and military fortifications with more than 160 ballistic missiles.

Maksym discussed his perspective on the war. “There’s a lot of talk in the news about how Russia has now invaded Ukraine,” he said. “Russia invaded Ukraine eight years ago. In 2014, I was 13 years old, and I remember seeing the Russian military on the streets of my city. It’s been in the background of my mind for eight years. We conducted drills in my school to learn what to do in case of an air raid or a chemical attack.”

In 2014, Russian troops annexed the

formerly Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and conducted a successful secession referendum there that most nations declared illegal. Earlier that year, large-scale protests across Ukraine led Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych to resign and flee the country.

Maksym, D, M, and others stressed the importance that the war in Ukraine should have to Americans. “I think any person who still has any human decency would say that what Russia is doing now is reversing the world order,” Maksym said. “If it is going to be acceptable worldwide for one country to conquer another country, then our political systems will never be the same because powerful nations would just do whatever they want to do.”

In his speech, Putin falsely claimed that Ukraine has always been a part of Russia, but D explained that “although [Russia and Ukraine] have similar cultures which enrich each other, that doesn’t mean we have the

same culture.” Maksym feared that “Russia has been trying to suppress Ukrainian identity and culture for many hundreds of years and if [Ukraine] doesn’t stop Russia right now this might be the last chance we get to do so.”

Though attendees were largely united in their belief that the United States should act to combat Russian aggression, they differed in what course of action they thought would be best. Many students called for sanctions from the United States and other Western nations, and a few thought the United States should send arms and supplies to Ukraine.

The Biden administration has repeatedly emphasized that American troops will not be sent to Ukraine under any circumstances. In recent days, however, the United States has imposed harsh sanctions on Russia, including export blocks on American technology and measures against Russian banks. The Biden administration also plans to impose sanctions on and freeze the assets of Putin.

M and other Russian students worried that the brunt of the sanctions’ would be felt by the Russian people.

Maksym proposed an alternative to sanctions, arguing that the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations should accept Ukraine’s bid to join. Ukraine’s bid to join NATO, the major western military alliance that promises mutual defense to its member nations, has been delayed since 2008 ostensibly because Ukraine has not reached NATO’s standards for governance and transparency. All students shared the belief that the United States must not stand idle.

Ukrainian student Maksym, however, made clear that many Ukrainians will fight for freedom no matter what. “The priority right now,” he said, “is to make sure Ukraine can continue to stand as a country.… I see a huge Ukrainian spirit: If the fight is going to be really bad, then at least it won’t be short.”

UCM Explores Options for Addressing COVID-Related Burnout in Health-Care Workers

By ANUSHREE VASHIST | Senior News Reporter As COVID-19 case numbers drop after the Omicron surge this winter, the healthcare professionals of UChicago Medicine face another problem: burnout.

Jayant Pinto, the dean of faculty affairs in the Biological Sciences Division (BSD), spoke about how UChicago Medicine has faced mounting stress since early in the pandemic because of challenges including initial supply shortages and a lack of data on treatments.

“We faced a lot of strain in the pandemic and just the sheer numbers of patients coming in with COVID, or not with COVID but trying to care for them in the environment of COVID, and that’s taken a lot of toll on our stress levels,” Pinto said in an interview with The Maroon.

According to the Dean for Medical Education of the BSD, Vineet Arora, with transmission mitigation measures like vaccines and masks’ being widely available, healthcare workers across the nation view the COVID-19 surge as a largely preventable

one, enabled by misinformation and distrust. “That’s incredibly demoralizing for many people in the health profession who have worked really hard and made a ton of sacrifices,” Arora said.

These challenges have only exacerbated the high levels of stress that health-care workers had already been experiencing before the pandemic. For instance, Pinto said that in pre-pandemic times, the logistical burdens of the electronic medical record (EMR) took away time that healthcare workers could have spent interacting with patients. Now, with COVID-19 risk-reduction policies, professionals often have even fewer opportunities to interact with patients and families.

“You can’t see their faces, you can’t see their emotions, you are restricted in how you can have them come into your office and who can come with them, [and] that is challenging,” Pinto said.

A multifaceted issue like burnout cannot be resolved easily, but UChicago Medi-

cine is taking steps to help its workers face this challenge. Even before the pandemic, UCM offered wellness and resilience programs, which have been reframed in light of COVID-19. Royce Lee, who is a psychiatrist and researches trauma and stress, leads the Traumatic Stress and Disaster Recovery Support program, which meets weekly and measures burnout and secondary traumatic stress using surveys. This data has allowed them to assess the scope of mental health strain among their hospital workers.

In response to the apparent mental strain, UCM has started a variety of programs available to all UCM hospital workers.

These programs include resilience training and sessions on mindfulness, meditation, group cognitive therapy, and compassion fatigue.

Additionally, a UCM collaboration with the Hyde Park Institute called Meaning and Purpose in Medicine provides physicians the opportunity to reflect on challenges they face in their career through speaker presentations and group discussions.

The last week of January also marked

Resilience Week, a series led by the Office of Graduate Medical Education that hosts speakers and organizes events to promote well-being. “Of course, you can’t just have well-being and resilience for a week, but [these programs] are really meant to help people connect with themselves and help people give the tools on how to engage in seeking health,” Arora said.

Lee explained that providing these tools is crucial in combating the stigma toward mental health resources that is pervasive in health-care. Over the course of the pandemic, Lee has seen an increased awareness of the importance of mental health, with therapy and counseling becoming more commonly offered benefits.

Lee acknowledged that programs like this have less of an impact than systemic, institutional policies. “We know from national research that things like resilience training generally have smaller effects than [institutional] changes, so whenever possible, we’ve tried to work with leadership to figure out ways to reduce stress,” he said.

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“UChicago Medicine has faced mounting stress since early in the pandemic…”

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In the context of a pandemic, the hospital’s ability to make these institutional changes is limited by staff shortages and demand. “This is a federal disaster , [and] by definition, in a disaster, the resources don’t match the demand,” Lee said.

Still, UCM has found possible solutions.

According to Pinto, it is critical to reduce the barriers that take health-care workers away from patient care. One such fix is allowing professionals to dictate notes through transcription software rather than writing them, which reduces the burden of the EMR.

The hospital is also working to streamline workloads so that employees are not finishing tasks at home. “There’s this thing called pajama, time where people are doing work at home at night, reading notes [and] making phone calls,” Pinto said. Additionally, UCM’s new efforts include hiring a chief

wellness and vitality officer, who will be responsible for expanding the hospital’s efforts in combating burnout.

“I know that our institution is committed to improving clinical well-being for all,” Arora said.

Class of 2026 Applicants Grapple With College Application Process Shaped by the COVID-19 Pandemic

By ANUSHREE VASHIST | Senior News Reporter For current high school seniors, the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped the majority of their high school experience since the initial shutdowns in March 2020. Many members of UChicago’s incoming Class of 2026 have missed out on the salient in-person opportunities of the college application process while simultaneously facing increased competitiveness in admissions.

This academic year, Early Decision I (EDI) and Early Action applicants to UChicago submitted their materials by November 1, 2021, and received their results on December 17, 2021, while Early Decision II (EDII) and Regular Decision (RD) applicants had until January 4 to submit their applications. EDII results were released on February 11, and RD results will be released in late March. Both rounds of Early Decision are binding commitments.

Victoria Dimock is a premier counselor for IvyWise, an educational consulting company specializing in college admissions. After graduating from the College in 2008, she served as an assistant director of admissions for the University before moving to Sarah Lawrence College and later becoming a college consultant.

In an interview with The Maroon, Dimock noted that the pandemic has impacted standardized testing. With testing centers closing during the pandemic, students faced canceled SAT and ACT exams, thus leading many universities to drop their previous requirements for standardized testing. Additionally, the College Board announced last January that it would phase out the SAT subject tests and the optional essay component during the 2020–21 school year.

Dimock said the changes in schools’ testing requirements “[have] caused a lot of confusion and angst for students.” The University of Chicago has been test-optional since 2018.

For Yasmin Ali of Rochester, Minnesota, who was admitted through EDI, UChicago’s long-standing test-optional policy was a source of reassurance. “I was really comforted by [the test-optional policy] because I knew that it wasn’t something that they adopted recently, and the admissions office was probably at a point where they’re really comfortable discerning students’ applications without the score,” she said.

Dariel Cruz Rodriguez of Orlando, Florida, matched to UChicago through Questbridge—a national nonprofit organization matching low-income high school seniors with leading colleges. For him, not having to take standardized tests alleviated the financial stress of the SAT or ACT. “I’m a low-income first-generation student, so I can’t really afford to take SATs or ACTs, and I was already almost maxed out on the amount my schools would let me take free,” he said.

Dimock explained that some test-optional schools still want students to submit scores. “Universities will always prefer a strong test score if they can get it because it helps keep their average admitted students’ score band high,” she said.

Some students see the removal of testing requirements as the erasure of a barrier to admission, but according to Dimock, gaining admission to college remains equally difficult. “It’s not necessarily any easier to get in, and so I think a lot of students [had] this idea…that maybe they

weren’t quantitatively going to be in as competitive [of a] pool,” Dimock said.

As a result, many students have sent out more applications, leading to greater competition in regular rounds. The Class of 2025 admissions cycle already marked an increase in selectivity and in the number of applications submitted compared to previous years across the Ivy League and other top universities.

“I have seen an uptick in the amount of applications that students are submitting because of everything being so uncertain,” Dimock said. “It’s probably too early to say for this year, but I do think it’s going to be just as selective if not more than last year.”

As an already stressful process brought new anxieties after the competitive Class of 2025 cycle and a continuing pandemic, applicants reflected on the stress of applying to college. “I feel like the beginning of senior year was very hectic and chaotic,” Ali recalled. “Our main topic of discussion was applications, and I think even talking about it with other people makes you more stressed about it because you’re in a constant state of comparison.”

Amid this universal uncertainty, universities are opting to admit more of their students during early decision rounds, Dimock said. Speaking about UChicago in particular, she noted the influence of two Early Decision pools and one round of early action on the admissions process.

“They enjoy a number of solid applicants in Early Decision I and Early Decision II and Early Action, so I’ve noticed that in recent years, it’s incredibly hard to get into the University of Chicago if you’re not applying early decision or early action because there are just so many strong students applying through those pools,” Di-

mock said. The Early Decision process contractually binds the applicant to attending and has therefore come under scrutiny for disadvantaging students in need of financial aid.

The pandemic shaped other aspects of applying, including athletic recruitment.

Matthew Perez, who attends St. John’s School in Houston, Texas, had to navigate the wrestling recruitment process during a truncated junior year. Between an injury earlier in his high school career and the limited number of meets before the widespread rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, Perez found himself with few opportunities to demonstrate his wrestling skills.

“I really had to step up my game,” Perez said. “Every time I wrestled junior year, I had to go out there with an emphasis on [getting] things done just because I [didn’t] have many opportunities left.”

Some extracurricular activities translated more easily to a virtual format. Ali said that while it was difficult to participate in her debate team once competitions were scrapped, her global affairs team and diversity committee could still meet online.

She was even able to find an online summer course at UChicago through the Woodson Summer Scholars program, which solidified her interest in the College.

Because of pandemic restrictions, many students were unable to visit college campuses, which Dimock saw as an impediment to students’ understanding of different universities. Virtual tours, Dimock said, cannot compensate for the in-person tour experience. “They don’t showcase the same degree of school culture, no matter how much they try,” she said.

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“Because of pandemic restrictions, many students were unable to visit college campuses...”

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With the resumption of in-person campus tours, some applicants were able to visit UChicago. Perez did a self-guided on-campus tour earlier in the pandemic before later returning for a guided one.

“The tour guide just makes it so much better,” he said. The opportunity to interact with students ultimately confirmed his interest in applying to the College.

Cruz Rodriguez, however, was not able to visit campus until after being admitted to UChicago. He learned about the school using a plethora of online resources, in-

cluding YouTube videos, Reddit posts, and Maroon articles. “I didn’t really like what the University admissions office had publicly [posted] because I didn’t feel like it was a very accurate representation of the University. I wanted to get the real deal, not just the polished information,” he said.

Ali used YouTube as well, but she also enjoyed some of the admissions office’s virtual opportunities. She attended multiple virtual information sessions, model classes, and student Q&As. “By the end of it, I felt like I could do a tour on campus!” she said.

Despite the unique challenges of the pandemic, many hallmark features of the UChicago application remained unchanged, including the extended essay.

Unlike traditional supplements, which ask students to explain their interest in their school, intended major, or extracurricular, the UChicago uncommon essay is distinctly quirky, asking students to misattribute quotes or mash up historical figures.

Victoria Harris, a prospective anthropology major from Tulsa, Oklahoma, responded to the “What can actually be divided by zero?” prompt. She used it as an

opportunity to display her knowledge of and passion for anthropology by exploring humans’ understanding of the concept of zero and tendency to multiply and create rather than divide. “I prepped my other college applications just in case I didn’t get in Early Decision, and the other [prompts] were boring, stale questions,” Harris said.

“Writing that essay was a lot of fun.… It really did solidify for me that [UChicago] is the one that I wanted to go to.”

Masking Requirements Lifted in Most Campus Settings Starting Friday

By BASIL EGLI | Deputy News and SOLANA ADEDOKUN | Senior News Reporter Starting Friday, March 4, masks have become optional on campus, including in residence halls, dining halls, libraries, and gyms, according to an email sent to the University community Wednesday, March 2, by Executive Vice President of the University Katie Callow-Wright.

Recognized Student Organization (RSO) leaders also received an email stating that they would not be allowed to require masking at any RSO meetings or events as of March 4, a policy that applies to “units, individuals and organizers of meetings or events.” Furthermore, RSOs wishing to verify vaccination or COVID-19 test results from non-University visitors will have to ask for permission to do so from their RSO

adviser.

The changes do not apply to classrooms or instructional laboratory spaces, which will require masking through the end of winter quarter on March 19.

The University stated that it will communicate any further changes to its classroom masking policy before spring quarter, which begins on March 28.

UChicago shuttles and buses will also require masking in adherence with local and federal guidelines for public transportation. COVID-19 testing sites, Student Wellness facilities, and live theater performances may also require masking depending on city, state, or union policies.

Those who have tested positive for

COVID-19 and been released from isolation housing will be required to wear a mask until the 10th day after their initial exposure. People exposed to COVID-19 will also have to mask themselves for 10 days after their last contact with anyone who tested positive for COVID-19.

UChicago Medicine is set to maintain its own masking policy, while the Lab Schools and UChicago Charter School have yet to announce changes to their masking policies.

Unvaccinated or unboosted individuals are still strongly encouraged by the University to continue masking while inside University facilities.

In addition to these changes, students living in residence halls will be allowed to use community kitchens.

The University also removed its campus-wide restrictions for non-instruc-

tional gatherings.

From February 25 to March 3, UChicago reported 36 new cases and 120 close contacts, according to a UChicago Forward email sent to the campus community March 4. Ten students are currently isolating on campus, and four are isolating off campus. Surveillance testing found 15 positive cases, for a 1.24 percent positivity rate. The City of Chicago’s seven-day positivity rate decreased to 1 percent from the 1.3 percent reported the prior week.

Additionally, with spring break beginning March 19, the update included information for students traveling abroad, including a recommendation that they get tested before and immediately after traveling. Tests can be scheduled through the my.WellnessPortal.

Apostolic Church of God’s Woodlawn Central Development Project Promises to Revitalize South Side Communities

By ERIC FANG | Senior News Reporter The Apostolic Church of God, located at 6320 South Dorchester Avenue, and its surrounding parking lots will be the site of the $300 million Woodlawn Central development project, according to an announcement made by church leaders on December 17. The development will

include housing, a new cultural center, retail and commercial space, and a new 154-room hotel. It will also be accessible to University of Chicago students via public transportation in the form of UChicago shuttles and Metra.

According to Woodlawn Central’s

project overview, the development, which will have the Apostolic Church of God at its center, will span across 8 acres and 10 blocks that currently serve as the church’s parking lots. It will provide Woodlawn with roughly 870 dwelling units—a mixture of workforce, market-rate, luxury, and senior housing. Additional space will be allocated toward office and ground-

floor retail buildings, a 154-room hotel, a black box theater, a vertical greenhouse, a parking structure, and a microgrid energy facility.

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and greater Chicago communities. The development is also within walking distance of the Obama Presidential Center, Jackson Park, Lake Michigan, and the University of Chicago. In addition to a planned vertical greenhouse, the development’s emphasis on public transport and walkability and its plans for a vertical greenhouse support its goal of sustainability.

Lead developer J. Byron Brazier, the son of codeveloper and Apostolic Church of God pastor Rev. Byron Brazier, underscored the goal of Woodlawn Central to foster Black culture in a manner similar to Chinatown or Little Italy. To that end, Brazier hopes the development’s black box theater will bolster South Side culture and arts. Further, a staircase containing a series of “legacy steps” will display the names of historical Black inventors and innovators on the risers.

“When you look at Black America as a whole, without having to relitigate our history, there are some things that we are devoid of, especially in the culture and the customs aspect,” Brazier said. “If you look at Chinatown, Ukrainian Village,

Little Italy, or Greektown, there’s an element of culture that helps with sustainability, both economically and socially.”

However, local activists see room for improvement in the development’s plans. Sharon Payne is a member of the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Coalition, which aims to prevent displacement resulting from the Obama Presidential Center, and a board member of Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), which aims to uplift South Side residents in the face of economic and racial oppression. She fears that if the development does not build enough affordable or working-class housing, it may exacerbate existing displacement issues within Woodlawn. According to Payne, these concerns are amplified by rising rents and property taxes in Woodlawn resulting from the construction of the Obama Presidential Center just three blocks away from the Apostolic Church of God. “I’m going to view [Woodlawn Central] with a critical eye because I saw the plans and markups, and they’re not thinking of the people in low-income brackets,” Payne said. “They’re thinking

of the people in the upper echelon.”

Brazier understands the apprehension Woodlawn residents may have toward Woodlawn Central given the historical precedent of new developments’ leading to displacement. However, Brazier emphasizes that the development is “inside out” in that the developers are from Woodlawn themselves. As such, Brazier promises that they will prioritize the interests of local residents and will strive for “development without displacement.”

“The fact we are developing from the inside out means we would definitely make sure that the right programs came to the community and its current residents,” Brazier said in an interview with The Maroon. “We will make sure that current residents are first in line for jobs and job training and make sure that they have a spot in whatever they want to participate in.”

In terms of the amount of affordable housing constructed, Brazier explained that the developers will follow the Woodlawn Housing Preservation Ordinance that the city government has set. This ordinance, which the CBA co-

alition helped pass in September 2020, requires 30 percent of new apartments to be made affordable to “very low-income households.”

Woodlawn Central is the first phase of a series of efforts led by the Network of Woodlawn, an organization dedicated to upholding a “four pillar” approach to addressing community needs. These pillars are economic and community development, safety, education, and health and human services. Brazier appreciates the role the University of Chicago has played in providing input on the Network of Woodlawn’s plans.

“The University is one of the most consistent partners for the Network of Woodlawn,” Brazier said. “They sit on several boards and have played a great role in strategizing on how to become better neighbors. We believe that the University will advocate for us especially since this particular development is a catalyst that is supposed to show what the community can do from the inside out.”

Currently, Woodlawn Central developers are working on acquiring land entitlements for their multi-story buildings from the City of Chicago.

Harper Lecture Series Returns with “Recovering Black Love on Screen” Webinar

By SABRINA CHANG | Senior News Reporter Associate professor of cinema and media studies Allyson Nadia Field spoke on the depiction of African-American affection in early American cinema through the investigation of a nitrate film print dating to around 1900 from William Selig’s “Something Good—Negro Kiss.” The event, “Recovering Black Love on Screen,” marked the return of the signature Harper Lecture series hosted by UChicago Alumni this quarter.

Field began her investigation of “Something Good—Negro Kiss” in January 2017 when Dino Everett, film ar-

chivist at the University of Southern California (USC), asked Field about a nitrate film print he had acquired depicting a well-dressed Black couple—a rare scene from the silent era of films.

“What struck me as so extraordinary was not just their dress but the fact that the man and woman embraced repeatedly in a non-caricature way,” Field said.

“I was taken by the apparent naturalism of their performance that seemed to go against the grain of racialized comedy of the era.”

The process of tracing the origin and history of the nitrate prints and films

was difficult. Field and her colleagues went through catalog evidence to trace the film back to filmmaker and Chicago native William Selig. This helped them in their next goal: uncovering the identities of the performers. “Figuring out who the performers were was like finding a needle in a haystack,” Field said.

Field and Everett immediately went to work investigating what Field calls an “archival mystery.” The scene seemed to be a version of “John C. Rice–May Irwin Kiss,” and many subsequent iterations of “The Kiss” short film were created in early cinema with different performers.

Collaborating with the curators at the Museum of Modern Art and their

analog facial recognition database, Field and Everett were able to put names to the faces; the couple turned out to be Saint Suttle and Gertie Brown, who were part of the vaudeville entertainment quartet Rag-Time Four. The group performed different types of acts, such as the famous cakewalk dance. “Part of this work, as I see it, is restoring humanity to people mistreated by the historical record,” Field said. “I want to approach these figures with a degree of care and understanding about them as people.”

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white clip showed Suttle and Brown embracing playfully and kissing casually against a plain backdrop. “I think watching the film puts into stark relief the incongruity between what appears in the frame and the presumption of racialized comedy based on the descriptions of the film as a burlesque on the Rice-Irwin kiss and the arguments that film historians have made about African Americans in early cinema,” Field said.

“What makes this film so important is the way I think it quickly leads into deeper waters, making me question what I understood to be the foundations of American cinema,” Field said.

“Something Good—Negro Kiss” was sold to exhibitors as a parody of the famous Rice-Irwin kiss. Field explained why this was problematic: Irwin, a famous white minstrel performer, popularized “coon songs,” a genre that presented a stereotype of Black Americans.

Irwin even adopted the persona of a threatening Black man as part of her act.

“Even though she did not perform in blackface makeup, she was a minstrel performer who traded on egregious representations of Black people,” Field said.

“Seen in relation to May Irwin’s racial masquerade, ‘Something Good—Negro Kiss’ can be understood as making visible what was only implicit in Edison’s

film, restoring racialized performativity to the screen and importantly refuting the racist caricature that May Irwin’s presence carried.”

Field questioned what it meant to do a racial burlesque of a film that was already racialized. “[It] places the humor not on the bodies of the African-American performers whose work was presumed to be that of comedy but redirects it in a gesture of irony back to May Irwin herself. It makes overt the implicit joke of the Rice-Irwin kiss,” Field said.

African-American kiss films were shown in a variety of locations, ranging from opera houses to fairgrounds. Since they were so short, the films featured

African-American kiss films were shown in a variety of locations, ranging from opera houses to fairgrounds. courtesy of usc school of cinematic arts

programs of different subjects such as the Spanish-American War, comedies, trick films, fight films, and a range of other early cinema attractions, which raises the question of how the meaning of kiss films may have shifted in the context of different exhibitions. “These are the kinds of uncertainties that make [“Something Good—Negro Kiss”] rich for revisiting questions of early film spectatorship,” Field said.

After verifying the identification and dating of the film, Field and her National Film Registry, made a list of historically and culturally significant films named by the Library of Congress each year.

After it was added to the registry in December 2018, it immediately gained international attention, especially through social media, and spurred additional film rediscoveries, including an alternative, longer version of the film as well as a cakewalk film made with the same performers.

“While surprising especially for those of us working in the relative bubble of archives in academia, these responses also make sense. The film resonates today with contemporary representation of Black love on screen,” Field said.

These lingering responses and questions have inspired Field to pursue this work. “It’s a reminder of the imperative that film scholarship can have to witness the incredible resilience of African-American performers fighting for self-representation and for a screen image rooted not in caricature but in humanity,” Field said. “In rethinking the emergence of American filmmaking in the late 19th century, I hope to restore legibility to these films by reassessing the interrelations of forms of minstrelsy, vaudeville, and cinema at a period of really complex functioning racial tropes and early significations.”

Field is currently working on her next book, tentatively titled Minstrelsy-Vaudeville-Cinema: American Popular Culture and Racialized Performance in Early Film, for which she was named a 2019 Academy Film Scholar by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

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A Planet in Crisis Amitav Ghosh explores the relationship between colonialist ideology and our global climate crisis in The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis.

By MATTHEW DOSS | Grey City Reporter Many works on climate change focus on the policy-making strategies necessary to prevent the crisis from worsening. In his new book, The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, Amitav Ghosh argues that addressing the planetary crisis requires an ideological shift away from the colonialist view that the Earth only exists to satisfy human needs.

Published last year by the University of Chicago Press, the book uses the history of nutmeg as a parable for the global climate crisis of today. The Nutmeg’s Curse delves into the history of the spice and its impact on the Banda Islands, a group of tiny, isolated islands that are now part of Indonesia. During the 17th century, the Dutch colonized the archipelago, which at the time was the only source of nutmeg in the world. In 1621, when inhabitants of the Banda Islands refused to grant exclusive trade rights to the Dutch, they assigned the Islands’ colonial governor the task of wiping out the native population and ensuring a stable supply of this lucrative commodity.

Far from being confined to a bygone era, Ghosh sees the extractive logic of Dutch colonial authorities as alive and well in the way many of today’s Westerners treat the earth. Ghosh writes in the book that the Banda Islands’ fate could be read as a “template for the present,” as humanity is increasingly reliant on Earth’s products. He writes that we are “completely dependent on energy” and that this energy comes from botanical matter such as coal, natural gas, and oil.

He believes that our modern extraction of the Earth’s resources can be traced

back to European colonists and philosophers who rendered the Earth and everything in it as inert.

“I think climate change is a problem very deeply rooted in the past,” Ghosh said in an interview with The Maroon, and so he searches through historical sources to retrace the root of the problem. Ghosh traces the ideological history of the way humans have viewed the Earth over the centuries, citing a vast array of sources from the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson to the mythology of ancient Greece to Native American legends. Over the past few centuries, Ghosh notes, a mechanistic view of Earth has emerged—one that treats its dynamic ecologies as a locus of extraction.

Ghosh cites the poem “High Flight,” written by the young Canadian-American pilot John Gillespie Magee, Jr. in 1941, shortly before his death. Magee romanticized the sensation of flight, writing, “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth / And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.” Ghosh fixates on this excerpt because “few poems have lodged themselves as securely at the heart of American culture as ‘High Flight.’”

To Ghosh, the poem’s language reveals as much about the poet’s attitude toward the Earth as it does about his attitude toward the experience of flight and demonstrates an “unconscious ideology.”

“Rarely does anyone stop to ask: What exactly is ‘surly’ about the Earth’s bonds?” he writes. “Or why should the planet be thought of as a home from which humans would be fortunate to escape? What can be said of such a view

except that it spills over from mere contempt for the Earth into an active hatred for it?”

Ghosh observes the same contempt for the soil on which we were born in a variety of Western historical and cultural contexts: “I think these mechanistic ideas about the world as a clock or the world as a machine grow out of this process of the subjugation of the Americas,” Ghosh told The Maroon. “European elite men persuaded themselves that they were the conquerors and masters of everything.…

The Earth was dead; most humans were half-animals.” He pointed to the English writer Rudyard Kipling, who described non-white humans as “half-devil, halfchild,” and grimly noted Kipling’s still-unchallenged status as the second most quoted author in English.

Ghosh is an acclaimed writer whose novels (including the Ibis Trilogy and Gun Island) and works of nonfiction (including The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable) won him the 54th Jnanpith Award in 2018, India’s most well-respected literary honor. He earned a doctorate in social anthropology from the University of Oxford.

His training as a social scientist is evident throughout the book, as Ghosh ultimately implores society to “let nonhuman voices be returned to our stories.”

In the midst of a global environmental crisis, Ghosh believes, we must recognize that the Earth has a voice of its own.

From the Greek myth of Gaia to “the oldest living story told by humans”—an Indigenous Australian creation story about the volcano Budj Bim—inhabitants of the Earth have for centuries given the Earth an agency and vitality in stories. Ghosh

laments the lack of this mode of storytelling in the present day, in both fiction and nonfiction works.

It’s not just ancient myths that give him cause to reflect on the “voice” of the natural world. Ghosh notes in the book that scientists have now shown that trees can communicate with one another. The Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose demonstrated that plants experience sensations analogous to pain and fear in the 1910s. Ghosh writes in the book that further experiments done in the modern age have proven that trees “can send help, in the form of carbon, to ailing members of their group” and can “warn each other about pestilence and disease.”

Western science, however, has historically been slow to embrace these findings—Bose was derided by many of his Western contemporaries as a charlatan. The unwillingness of the scientific community to take nonhuman lives seriously is a source of frustration for Ghosh, who writes, “Could it not be said that for a tree it is the human who is mute?” This shift in perspective, Ghosh believes, is a vital part of addressing climate change.

To gain back this respect and love for our planet, Ghosh told The Maroon, “universities should take the lead in introducing these issues to young people.…

The planetary crisis should be present in everything that people do…whether history or science.” The global crisis is something that needs to be addressed immediately, and Amitav Ghosh points out that an ideological shift that recognizes Earth’s agency is necessary to address the climate problem with the attention that it needs.

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VIEWPOINTS

UChicago Secrets Has a Secret The anonymity of online spaces like UChicago Secrets is as dangerous as it is liberating, fostering a dangerous lack of accountability.

By IRENE QI Here’s a secret: I’ve been called out on UChicago Secrets before.

Despite being a wide-eyed, naive first-year who wanted nothing more than to fly under the radar in order to figure out what the heck college life is all about, I committed a heinous crime only a couple of weeks into fall quarter: coughing on the second floor of the Reg, which—as it turns out— is a cardinal sin that warrants an

all-caps, expletive-littered post on the anonymous platform. “YOU NEED JESUS,” it said. Harsh.

As hostile as Secrets can be, it’s maddeningly addictive to read.

Only after discovering UChicago Secrets does Gossip Girl begin to make sense; from calling out coughers and talkers on the upper levels of the Reg (whoops!) to confessing relationship drama, submissions to UChicago Secrets are salacious and unabashedly unfiltered, largely because of the

Matthew Lee, Co-Editor-in-Chief Ruby Rorty, Co-Editor-in-Chief Adyant Kanakamedala, Managing Editor Suha Chang, Chief Production Officer Charlie Blampied, Chief Financial Officer Gage Gramlick, Editor-in-Chief-elect Yiwen Lu, Managing Editor-elect Matthew Chang, Chief Production Officer-elect Astrid Weinberg, Co-Chief Financial Officer-elect Dylan Zhang, Co-Chief Financial Officer-elect The Maroon Editorial Board consists of the editors-in-chief and editors of The Maroon.

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complete anonymity the page offers its posters. In recent weeks, however, the page’s focus has shifted, and campus safety issues have come to dominate it—discussions that have endured even after the page’s brief hiatus and subsequent reinstatement. The tragic shooting and death of recent UChicago graduate Shaoxiong “Dennis” Zheng—alongside a slew of other violent incidents affecting campus over the course of the past few months—ignited a campus-wide conversation regarding safety and security. Discourse regarding the role of UCPD and surveillance in the Hyde Park community took over UChicago Secrets for weeks. Nevertheless, the anonymity of online spaces like UChicago Secrets is as dangerous as it is liberating; the ability to disassociate identity from opinion fosters a concerning lack of accountability, creating an unproductive environment for civil debate.

As submissions roll in concerning campus safety and security, the anonymity of the platform fuels increasing amounts of toxicity. Some level of fervor is to be expected, especially with tensions running high across campus. What’s concerning, however, is the increasingly frequent use of what I can only describe as racism disguised as reasoned argumentation rooted in fact. When our names aren’t attached to the statements we put out, we’re free to disregard the social standards that typically hold us accountable and can speak without considering the implications of our submissions. The ability to remain

JINNA LEE anonymous creates a perception of immunity from sharing racist remarks and ideologies. A post asks, “Is it racist if I get scared when a black man walks near me at night?” while another responds, “People are gonna say you’re racist but it’s just statistics…” Posts like these—eased by the affordance of anonymity—aren’t just the insensitive ramblings of undergraduates hiding behind anonymity; they’re words that carry real weight and cause real harm.

They borrow rhetoric from vile, decades-old stereotypes that cast all Black men as “superpredators,” further marginalizing a community that’s already spent decades laboring under the burden of systemic injustice, and co-opt racism in the name of pragmatism. Malicious stereotypes can spiral rap-

idly into scapegoating, in which entrenched social and systemic issues are cast aside and Black people face unmerited blame rooted in decades-old racism. We see these harsh consequences play out in national statistics: Black people, despite making up 13.4 percent of the population, make up 47 percent of wrongful conviction exonerations and are five times as likely to be incarcerated in state prisons than white people.

To portray Secrets posts as whimsical, irreverent, and well-intentioned—if crass—fun is deeply reckless. Anonymous public forums with immense reach, no cap on submission frequency, and superficial content filters often become echo chambers for hate: one post referencing fear toCONTINUED ON PG. 9

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ward Black people slips through, and suddenly, more pour in—justifications, excuses, and validations veiled by plausible deniability and buried under dog whistles. These aren’t statements that you’d hear in a lecture hall of 4,000, but they exist online for an audience of 4,000 Facebook users. And with that many followers, UChicago Secrets’ readership surpasses, by some estimates, the weekly readership of The Maroon. The scope and reach of UChicago Secrets rival that of our campus’ longest-standing journalistic outlets, but include none of the standards

that govern reliable journalism.

It’s crowdsourced news—ordinarily relegated to our grandparents’ WhatsApp group chats and 4chan message boards—turned mainstream. When this type of behavior spirals, it parallels the tangible dangers of violent conspiracy theories and far-right extremism in hate-enabling anonymous forums like Reddit and Parler.

Secrets, with its unverifiable statistics and consistently uncorroborated citations, illustrates the dangers of taking anonymous posts as truth. The idea of anonymity lets anybody, truly any-

body, submit anything they want; what’s preventing students from typing out blatant lies and shitposting—which, according to the page, is “​​ allowed and encouraged” and could be funny until it crosses a line? And who’s to say where a line that arbitrary should be drawn? What about alumni who want to add fuel to the fire solely out of boredom? Granted, when the topics of the week on Secrets are GPA discourse and Reg silence levels, such hypothetical scenarios add little to no harm. Nevertheless, when conversations shift to race and police, the lack of authentication for evidence-based claims

on platforms like Secrets enables easy scapegoating.

Pages like UChicago Secrets are breeding grounds where personal jabs become the norm, undermining any productive discussion or debate. Those who disagree with the security measures being rolled out by the University become mere “stupid sociology majors who’ll deny reality”—though I can’t help but wonder how sociology, defined by the study of the literal society around us, can be out of touch with reality.

While Secrets does sometimes have its perks (the rare helpful answer to a posed question tends to

supply a nice, fuzzy feeling of community), it’s important to balance protecting anonymity to ensure free speech and enforcing consequences for harmful and abusive rhetoric. UChicago Secrets’ anonymous nature intends to encourage honest discussion about college life. The ultimate outcome, however, especially when centering sensitive and difficult subjects like policing, is a platform of toxic, impersonal, and sometimes racist remarks that make productive discourse impossible.

Irene Qi is a first-year in the College.

Encouraging Informality Casual student-instructor socialization outside the classroom is critical to a fulfilling college experience.

By HENRY CANTOR I’ve lost my plurality of identity while at UChicago. I feel like a monolith: strictly defined by my character as a student. Consequently, my social interactions are dictated by this identity, especially with adults. Our university is a knowledge economy in which students are consumers who solicit the production of goods and services from our faculty. While I may be superimposing Marx onto a seemingly innocuous structure, I think our position as students lends an imperial authority to our professors. I encourage students, faculty, and the University’s policies to prioritize student and faculty socialization.

I remember that feeling in high school when I saw my English teacher at Party City: “Can they leave the school?!”

This type of shock has followed me to college. Students and fac-

ulty exist in disparate realms, and there’s something fundamentally strange about being assigned to a realm where I engage with adults strictly in a mode of exchange. This mode of exchange creates an impersonal social orientation endemic to universities: Adults are seen as the incarnation of research and knowledge and exist to deposit their curriculum into students.

As such, we often engage with faculty in one-directional discourse: question and answer, which gives our relationships a transactional character.

Over the last few months, I’ve enjoyed trying to deconstruct the formality inherent in this intellectual exchange. I’m eager to escape the student vernacular, putting curse words on sabbatical for twenty minutes.

The University should adopt “Take a Faculty to Lunch,” a university-funded program practiced at Dartmouth, Yale,

Ohio State University, and University of Pennsylvania, among other recognizable institutions. These universities have a shared policy: sponsored vouchers, at least once per term, that cover the expenses of at least one student and one professor dining off-campus. Dartmouth describes their program as “designed to encourage undergraduate students and faculty to have substantive conversations outside of the classroom, engaging around topics of academic interests, future studies, and general life experiences.” Dartmouth offers a $30 voucher per person to be used Monday through Friday, allowing a maximum of three students and one professor per meal at either a fine-dining restaurant at the Hanover Inn or their campus food hall.

UChicago should facilitate a similar program to encourage student-faculty relationships unbridled by classroom evalu-

ation and regulation, especially since we are already plagued by a reputation as socially inept students, well-versed in everything but eye contact.

Though not administrative, I suggest professors also begin to reconfigure social norms.

By referring to faculty only by their earned degrees, we are encouraged to see them as strictly defined by their intellectual labor. Instead, I encourage faculty members to let students refer to them by first name. My Sosc professor prefers this address, and it certainly is not a demerit to his credentials. Rather, the lack of formality creates a more accessible and inviting learning environment.

As for students, I encourage you all to find ways to bridge these disparate realms. Distance yourself from the structural barriers between you and your professor: Propose office hours outside of a laboratory or office,

invite a professor to coffee and correspond via email with any lingering questions. Like many of you, I’m passionate about passion. I could listen to a lecture on Turkish weaving if the lecturer were emphatic and captivating enough to convince me to care about nomadic weaving motifs.

I think many of us view our professors as an auditory machine, and we aren’t afforded the conversational freedom to understand how or why they acquired their knowledge, specialty, and passion.

The modalities of student-professor interactions need to be expanded. I’m looking for mentors, not only teachers, and our school should do more to recognize the value of social interactions rather than just modes of knowledge exchange.

Henry Cantor is a first-year in the College.

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ARTS The Greeting Committee Lives Up to Their Name On Stage The Greeting Committee shook Subterranean with an energetic performance celebrating their second studio album, Dandelion.

By RACHEL ROBINSON | Arts Contributor The Greeting Committee is a band you’ll want to see live. The indie rock group has played Wicker Park venue Subterranean three times. The first was when they were fifteen and sixteen—a Kansas City band just starting to gain traction in Midwestern music circles.

The second was part of their first national tour after the release of their first album This Is It. And their third appearance, occurring on February 6 as part of their “Dandelion” tour, caused the place to sell out for the first time.

The Brazen Youth, composed of Nick Lussier, Charles Dahlke, and Micah Rubin, opened for the band, and they set the stage well for a fun, intimate show with full audience participation. After a couple of songs, Lussier and Dahlke introduced the band and made friends with the crowd— “We meant to give Micah a mic, but we forgot”—and someone yelled out, “How old are you guys?”

“How old are we?” Lussier joked.

“I’m fifteen, he’s thirteen”—pointing to Dahlke— “He’s seven, she’s only six and he’s sixty-seven,” to Rubin, guitarist Mei Semones, and bassist John Lisi. I hadn’t heard much of The Brazen Youth’s music before that night, but it ended up being pretty catchy. Their banter was fun to watch, and the stage was stocked with talented musicians. In particular, Rubin pulled no punches as a drummer, and Semones had a wildly impressive guitar solo at the end of “Cloud Parade” that blew everyone away. The woman standing next to me asked if I was there to see them since I seemed to know all their songs; this made me feel perceived in a way I was not prepared for and goes to show that I was having a good time.

The Brazen Youth closed out with an off-the-cuff cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli, a

crowd-pleasing performance that Lussier’s vocals were perfectly suited for.

A natural companion to The Greeting Committee, they showed up, cracked some jokes, impressed, and left.

Next, down the spiral staircase: The Greeting Committee, in single file, with lead singer Addie Sartino in a pale red suit jacket and trousers bringing up the back. A small but closely packed crowd cheered and leaned forward as they descended and launched right into an energetic performance of “Can I Leave Me Too?,” the lead single off their sophomore album, Dandelion.

Sartino formed The Greeting Committee when she was fifteen with her friends Brandon Yangmi, on guitar, Pierce Turcotte, on bass, and Austin Fraser, on drums. They blew up locally in Kansas City after their song “Hands Down” received radio play and have since become nationally adored.

The band’s performing style is defined by their unique relationship with their fans. As a Kansas City indie kid of the mid 2010s, I can tell you that the crux of what made them so popular initially—and why they keep on gaining momentum—is their ability to consistently play incredible live shows and generate excitement in a crowd by pure force of enthusiasm. A The Greeting Committee concert is reciprocal; you, as an audience member, get excited about the music and they deliver an upbeat performance that makes you want to start a rock band with your friends.

I was standing near the stage with a big cluster of photographers, and we were, in all fairness, taking up quite a bit of front row space. Two songs in, Sartino rearranged us, asking the photographers to move back and let the fans come to the front. “I really appreciate the

work you guys do, but we gotta switch up this energy,” she said. “If you’re going to dance, come up to the front! If you’re not…well, that’s fine too.” The photographers moved back (I stayed), and with a renewed vibe, they played “Float Away,” and “Bird Hall,” from Dandelion, and “Run For Your Money,” from This Is It. Sartino was as physically close to the crowd as she could get; in every moment she was singing without ever feeling disconnected from the rest of the band. The only moments when she didn’t engage with the audience were during instrumentals, when she would retreat into the stage and absorb her bandmates’ music with explosive dance breaks. Performing consumes her.

At least in my section of the crowd, the love and care were mutual. The demographic was fans who had been following the band for years, and a lot of the people I talked to were from Kansas City or had gone to college nearby when the band was becoming a local phenomenon.

Someone had flown in that day from St. Louis to see them and told me she had to be at work at 6 a.m. the next day. Another said he listened to their single “17” every day of his senior year on the way to school.

A murmur fell over the room as Sartino pulled out her acoustic guitar and the crowd anticipated “Elise,” a syrupy-sweet love song and a fan favorite off the band’s first EP. It was the only thing she played alone, but the gentle, crooning solo performance was a highlight of the show that demonstrated her range as a performer. Lesbians were already sobbing when, in lieu of the last line, she took a hard left turn into the bridge of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” and people lost their minds. Watching Sartino dip the mic to sing “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise” in a way that

felt like she was singing directly to me… it was a magical moment. Even the Subterranean staff were taking iPhone videos to send to the Swifties in their lives.

Toward the end of the show, the energy peaked with “Make Out,” a fast-paced strummer about rebounding with a girl who rollerblades and eats pickles from the jar. It’s one of the songs on Dandelion that sound most like their older stuff, and the absolutely killer performance showed their roots as a group of passionate kids who could put on a good show.

Noah Spencer (on rhythm guitar) came out of the woodwork to play upfront with Yangmi while Sartino bounced across the front row, holding hands with audience members and singing back-toback with bassist and saxophonist Piece Turcotte. She pointed to her girlfriend, Elise, in the crowd as she sang, “that girl I miss in Kansas City.” Watching them, I got the feeling the band had waited all night to play this together. Their new music reflects their growth as artists, but live, they’re still the same band that was founded by a very talented group of high school friends: a guitarist, a bassist, and a wild-card front woman with an endless amount of performance energy.

In a recent interview with Kansas City culture publication The Pitch, Sartino spoke about being a young band that “quite literally” grew up with their fans, and about Dandelion as an album of growth. “I want to be remembered for caring about everybody who listens to my music because I do,” Sartino said.

“I want there to be love and care when they think of how we feel about them.

I want them to be filled up inside—in a healthy way.”

For the encore, they played their most popular songs, “Hands Down” and “She’s a Gun,” rocking it as usual.

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ed pocket of journalists was collectively head bobbing. Sartino ended the set by

leaping into the crowd and letting the adoring wave carry her to one of Subterranean’s many staircases, where she

made her grand exit. As the crowd clamored after her, the band took the spiral staircase back up the stage and they re-

formed at the merch table to meet their fans—once again forming The Greeting Committee.

Witness: A Story of Refuge Denied A virtual experience documents the histories of Jewish refugees and immigrants.

By DAISY MASLAN | Arts Reporter Witness, a virtual theater experience, welcomes its audience aboard the MS St. Louis to hear the stories of Jewish immigrants of the 1920s through the modern day. Witness is written by Nana Grinstein with Blair Cadden and Igor Golyak. Golyak also serves as the director. Notably, all the actors playing Jewish immigrants are themselves Jews. The history of the ship and its doomed passengers is well known; in 1939, the MS St. Louis launched from Hamburg, Germany intending to dock in Havana, Cuba. The boat carried 937 Jews, many of whom were children, fleeing the Nazis. However, Cuba turned the boat away; subsequently, the United States and England denied the boat’s emergency request to dock, citing immigration quotas and bans against Jews.

Ultimately, after being refused asylum, about one-third of the MS St. Louis’s passengers were murdered in the war.

Witness tells their stories. At the outset of the play, as spectators, we believe ourselves to have temporarily entered the world of Jewish immigrants, but by the end, we find ourselves trapped on the boat and discover the play’s central argument: Jews of the past and present are still on the boat and continue to live in a state of uncertainty and precarity.

The play follows the stories of several would-be Jewish immigrants who tell their stories during a “talent show” held on the ship. All the actors are themselves Jewish immigrants. The narratives begin with the stories of Jews known to have been on the ship, many of whom recount their experience of Kristall-

nacht—the Night of Broken Glass. The talent show, ironically, is meant to be comical: Passengers juggle, dance with their fingers, cook words, and more. The stories, however, are dark. They move across time and bring spectators with them from the stories of Jews fleeing the Nazis to Jews fleeing regimes in Eastern Europe later in the 20th century. As the immigrants recount their stories, there is a bulletin of sorts that audience members can click to read more of their stories and the immigration stories of the actors who play them. Audience members are asked to keep their cameras on so that, at the end of every talent performance, they rate the performance, and their faces are projected. While my face did not make it to the screen, I felt more connected to my fellow viewers.

The virtual interaction between audience and actors both obscures and seeks to overcome the real separation between them. All the while, Witness’s guide, simply called Emcee, himself a Russian immigrant, assures us that all is well in America if we assimilate: “If we just assimilate…What if we just assimilate?”

Witness uses the digital form to its advantage. The sound design by Viktor Semenov allows viewers to interact directly with the performance. In one segment, audience members are instructed to turn their lights off and imagine that we are in our cabins just as the passengers are getting word that the ship has been refused permission to dock. We receive different audio in the left and right ear such that, when there is a knocking sound on our “cabin door,” it seems as

Images from the process of making Witness at Arlekin’s (zero-G) Lab courtesy of arlekin players theatre

though there is really someone right next to us. We hear voices praying, reading letters, and begging for permission to dock somewhere, to find safe ground.

At the very end of the performance, Emcee, who had appeared secure in his belief that his Jewishness was no longer relevant and that Jews could be secure in the world, finds himself trapped on the MS St. Louis. Again and again, he expresses his confusion: “I don’t belong here….I got a passport. I’m an American Jew. I’m from Russia, but I’m an American. I’m a Russian Jew, but I’m from America.” Emcee’s story highlights the show’s argument that Jews are always “othered”; his belief in his own integration and security was a delusion.

Moreover, at the very end of the play, Emcee learns that his wife and child

are also on the boat. Witness premiered just after the synagogue hostage crisis outside Dallas, Texas. That event had a clear impact on the performance; video footage from the scene of the Texas attack moved across the walls of the ship cabins. As Emcee found himself trapped with his fellow Jews, Witness’s characters began to discuss modern anti-Semitism and the role of Israel as videos and images flicker in the background.

Lastly, characters seem to note Americans’ perceived indifference toward anti-Semitism. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has consistently found that in the U.S., the greatest number of religious hate crimes are committed against Jews. In 2019, the ADL saw a 12 percent increase from the number of anCONTINUED ON PG. 12

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ti-Semitic incidents recorded in 2018— now six per day—the highest number since the ADL began its tracking in 1979.

This number is also suspected to have increased due to a wave of anti-Semitism during the pandemic.

Witness places the voices of Jews

from the 1930s through the present aboard a dramatized MS St. Louis as a way to ensure that the stories of real people who were sent to their death are

not erased and to raise questions about the status of Jews today.

Thrilling, Scarring, Pulitzer Prize–Winning Play Ruined Returns to Chicago

By ZACHARY LEITER | Arts Contributor Content Warning: This article contains descriptions of sexual and physical violence.

Just north of Chicago, Invictus Theatre Company brings Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play Ruined back to the Windy City with a powerful, scarring, and intimate production.

Ruined, which first premiered at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre in 2008, explores the plight of women in the civil war–torn Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In a small mining town caught in the middle of a nationwide struggle over resource control, Mama Nadi (capably played by Tekeisha Yelton-Hunter) runs a bar that caters to government soldiers and guerillas alike. Mama Nadi’s bar serves patrons beer and watered-down whiskey while female employees entertain and indulge the fighters. Among the women at the bar are Josephine, a strong-willed prostitute (played passionately by Jemima Charles), and Salima (with a forceful performance from Courtney Gardner), a woman kidnapped and abused by rebels for five months only to be rejected by her husband upon her return.

Jenise Sheppard is brilliant as Sophie, a young woman who arrives at Mama Nadi’s permanently scarred—“ruined”—from a rape by bayonet. The South Side native, in her Chicago theater debut, shines throughout the show. She shows her pain in every step she takes, and her motion and accent both feel authentic. One cannot separate Sheppard from Sophie, whose broken terror slowly gives way to youthful hope and occasional exuberance as she learns to navigate her way through difficult and often dangerous circumstances. All four

of Ruined’s women command the stage, but Sheppard in particular has a way of making her presence powerful even when curled up in a chair or hiding behind Mama Nadi.

Yelton-Hunter’s performance as Mama Nadi is also notable. Though her delivery was not always polished, Yelton-Hunter continuously conveyed the range of emotions Mama Nadi faces as she tries to protect herself and her girls in a world where nothing is certain. Mama Nadi must avoid making enemies—a high task when combatants from both factions are regulars at her bar. The soldiers take liberties when they desire, and Mama Nadi’s complicity stems from recognition of the inevitable rather than resignation to it. Yelton-Hunter is both sarcastic and serious; when she raises her voice, it is never without thought. Her singing is rather ethereal where Sheppard’s is broken and blunt. In the performance’s intimate setting, Yelton-Hunter’s myriad smiles and grimaces were fantastic.

Seating only a few dozen individuals, The Reginald Vaughn Theater is the perfect location for a play that emphasizes physicality and brutality. There are graphic scenes of sexual and physical assault as well as maternal mortality; at times, the actors are mere inches away from the audience. In the program, Ebby Offord (with a stellar directorial debut) writes, “I don’t want anyone to come see this play and feel comfortable distancing themselves from any of it.” Offord achieves her goal: Ruined is meant to provoke feelings of shame, fear, and unease, and Invictus’s production does just that. Beyond the overt sexual violence, though, physicality pervades Offord’s

Jenise Sheppard and Tekeisha Yelton-Hunter in Ruined. courtesy of brian mcconkey and invictus theatre company

Ruined: Mama Nadi and Sophie embrace after Sophie is caught stealing; soldiers grab each other and fight, sometimes falling to the ground in drunkenness.

Ruined is loud and intense. There are moments of quiet toward the play’s beginning, or during scene changes when moody music plays in the background.

But by the end of the show, the volume has been cranked to 10. Almost every character yells at some point during the 2.5–hour runtime. As an audience member, one must watch actively, monitoring multiple interactions occurring on stage concurrently.

At times, Mama Nadi, Salima, and traveling salesman Christian (played

by Stanley King, who moves his body to full effect) come across as preachy.

The play as a whole, however, delivers its message more subtly. For example, the use of the same ensemble actors to play both government and rebel soldiers seems to indicate that the Congo’s com-

batants blend together in their destructiveness. Christian’s lapse from jovial sobriety into indignant drunkenness conveniently mirrors a rise in military presence midway through the play.

The play’s set and costuming are evocative, the lighting is minimal, and the atmosphere is tense. Ruined’s creative design complements a play that feels sure of its identity.

Pulitzer Prize–winning for a reason, Ruined triumphs in that it never attempts to explain civil war or explain away characters’ faults. Everyone is human, heroes and villains alike. Ruined is uncomfortable to watch, difficult to look away from, and impossible to ignore.

Invictus Theatre Company’s production of Lynn Nottage’s Ruined is playing at the Reginald Vaughn Theater through March 20.

THE CHICAGO MAROON — FEBRUARY 23, 2022

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SPORTS

“Spare” Time to Visit Seven Ten Social

By KAYLA RUBENSTEIN | Sports Contributor While the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center offers a wide range of athletic opportunities for UChicago students, Seven Ten Social introduces a new sports facility close to campus: a bowling alley. Nestled next to the southern-style restaurant Roux on East 55th Street, Seven Ten Social offers both bowling lanes and American cuisine just a couple minutes’ walk from Campus North Residential Commons.

Having reopened late October 2021, Seven Ten Social combines bowling and good food in a vibrant atmosphere.

“I’m proud to unveil the evolution of the neighborhood bowling alley with Seven Ten Social,” Steve Soble, who owns both Seven Ten Social and Roux, said in an interview with Chicago Food Magazine.

“With a stunning modern industrial décor, state-of-the-art bowling machines with automatic scoring, and a great menu from award-winning chef Charlie McKenna, we want Seven Ten Social to be a Hyde Park institution for fun times for the next 20 years.”

I, along with 13 friends, visited at 6 p.m. on a Friday night. Seven Ten is fairly affordable if you bring a large group with you; the bowling alley charges $1 per minute per lane on Fridays and

Saturdays and $0.50 per minute per lane Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday. Up to six people may bowl per lane, with bowling shoes and bowling ball rentals included in the price. For our group of 14, this came to $14 per person. Though my group was worried that Friday night traffic in Hyde Park would spark long wait times, we were able to walk in—Seven Ten Social does not take reservations—and claim three lanes without a problem.

When we walked in, staff checked our vaccination cards and IDs per Illinois state guidelines. Once approved, one of my friends set up the lanes while the rest of us grabbed shoes from a large open shelf. I appreciated the overall cleanliness of the shoes. Unlike those from past places I have bowled, Seven Ten Social’s bowling shoes were not hanging on by a thread, although this could be attributed to the newness of the establishment.

Splitting up into two lanes of five and one lane of four, our group bowled for an hour. The layout of the lanes, with two lanes cozied together by U-shaped couches and a table, allowed for a seamless atmosphere without the hassle of too many bowlers in one lane. In the

hour we bowled, all three groups completed a game and a half. A neat aspect offered in the scoring system allowed us to see both current scores for the game and the cumulative scores between rounds.

One concern, though, lies with the bowling ball return system. The balls came in quickly on the same mechanism from which bowlers grabbed the ball for their turn. Often, my friends and I would have to yank our hands away to avoid smashed fingers and other unfortunate accidents. However, one could argue that this added an extra level of excitement to an already eventful scene.

In terms of food, Seven Ten Social’s menu serves up fun flavors. The menu highlights the Seven Ten Burger, fried chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders and wings, crinkle fries, and four different milkshake options, in addition to an alcohol section with cocktails and boozy milkshakes. Although the chicken tenders were spectacular if a bit spicy, the milkshakes are akin to Hutch’s $1 milkshakes except that they ring up for $5.55—make of that what you will.

As fun as the bowling is itself, the ambience of Seven Ten Social plays a significant role in contributing to the atmosphere. The décor emphasizes a modern industrial design, featuring

deep brown wooden tables, leather seats with metal accents, and metal panels in the sitting area outside the bowling area. Illuminating the alley, a neon sign reading “Hyde Park” lies behind the eight bowling lanes, as boxy letters containing light bulbs spell out “EAT,” “DRINK,” and “BOWL.” The bowling balls themselves add a pop of color, with shelves of yellow, blue, pink, and green spheres adding to the modern, upbeat feel.

Likely because of its proximity to campus, Seven Ten Social attracts many UChicago affiliates. People of all ages, but especially those in the undergraduate to graduate student age, populated the alley. As such, the energy contributed to a “traditional” college scene, buzzing with youthfulness and excitement.

Overall, I highly recommend checking out Seven Ten Social. My experience at the bowling alley brought together great company and vibrant vibes.

Throughout the evening, cheers of strikes and spares mingled with playful teasing accompanying gutter balls, and the excitement never wavered. If you’re looking for fun close to campus, don’t strike Seven Ten Social from your list.

Chess Club “P(a)wns” Opponents in Season of Success The team took home titles and trophies from both the Fall Collegiate Chess League and the U.S. Amateur Team event.

By EVA McCORD | Sports Contributor While the Chicago winter is merely a period of bitter cold for most, the University of Chicago Chess Club has been keeping warm in the heat of competition and blazing a trail of victory in its wake. From the frigid final weeks of autumn quarter to February’s surpris-

ingly sunny exit, the team fought its to top ranks at competitions ranging from the Fall Collegiate Chess League (CCL) to the Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championship to the U.S. Amateur Team-North event.

The winter also brought the return

of William Graif. The previous president of the Chess Club had spent the entirety of autumn quarter playing chess across the globe. He expressed a sheepish joy at exchanging 3:30 a.m. Chess Club Zoom calls—a necessary consequence of Budapest, Hungary, time—for the team’s familiar stomping grounds in Hutchinson Commons.

Plus, returning to campus with yet another accolade and new title is never a bad way to start the competition season.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Graif said.

“I achieved what I wanted to achieve abroad, specifically being named a FIDE [International Chess Federation] Master. Then, I traveled Europe for a while CONTINUED ON PG. 14

THE CHICAGO MAROON — MARCH 9, 2022

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“We were the underdogs going in, facing colleges around the world, with some of them known for recruiting grandmasters from around the world to play specifically for their college.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 13

with my girlfriend, visited New York for a little bit before heading to Virginia, and [went] straight from Virginia back to Chicago.”

Graif’s personal success on his chess journey mirrors that of his team’s; autumn saw UChicago Chess’s being named the champion of the Fall 2021 CCL, along with the top prize of $5,000.

The online tournament, which began as a small group of colleges competing against one another, has blossomed into an attention-garnering attraction for chess players and fans alike.

“Our biggest success of the year thus far was definitely the CCL,” grandmaster and current Chess Club p0resident Praveen Balakrishnan said. “We were the underdogs going in, facing colleges around the world, with some of them known for recruiting grandmasters from around the world to play specifically for their college. So it was a really special experience.”

Balakrishnan’s words highlighted the sheer magnitude of the club’s victory. The team opened the CCL playoffs with a 9.5–6.5 upset over the University of Missouri. Graif echoed Balakrishnan’s awe at the win.

“In the quarterfinals, honestly, I think we even surprised ourselves,” Graif said. “And the finals were extremely close. We were tied [with the University of Warsaw] 6–6 entering the

last round, and we literally all won our very last games to make that final score of 10–6.”

Graif went on to emphasize that the team’s success could not have been achieved without the support and guidance of third-year and Chess Club Vice President Stephen Eisenhauer, who served as both organizer and team captain at the CCL. Dividing his time between the team and the pursuit of the joint A.B./S.M. in computer science, Eisenhauer—much like many of the Chess Club’s members—looks back on his earliest days of chess as a source of connection with his loved ones, which has transformed into the driving force behind finding his community on the University’s campus.

“I started playing chess 10 years ago, as a lot of my older brother’s friends were chess players,” Eisenhauer said. “I basically just followed behind him to a chess club that he went to when he was a kid.

He didn’t stick with it, but I really enjoyed it.”

Following their victory at the CCL, the team took on the 2022 Pan-American Intercollegiate Chess Championships, where the club received praise and compliments from rival universities for their tenacity and dedication to the game.

“We had coaches at [chess] scholarship universities congratulating us on our program and for how hard we

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The Chess Club at the US Amateur Team North event. Left to right: Dylan Sunjic, Christoph Eichinger, Oliver Heggli-Nonay, William Graif, Awonder Liang, Praveen Balakrishnan, Kapil Chandran, and Brian Hu. courtesy of matthew zatkoff worked to even be there to compete alongside them,” Graif said. “It was incredibly flattering, and the whole experience was so much fun that I thought, ‘Even if this is the last collegiate chess game I ever play, I’m happy.’”

And while the UChicago A team was three points shy of the last spot in the Final Four, Balakrishnan emphasized the genuinely inspiring experience of being able to observe the team in their first in-person team event since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Before the rounds began, we would all come together in one of the member’s rooms, take out our laptops, and prepare as a team,” Balakrishnan said. “If we needed help in a certain opening, we could ask anyone in the room, but usually everyone would have some advice to share. It was a great shift from the virtual environment.”

Most recently, the Chess Club sent two teams to face off at the U.S. Amateur Team-North (USAT) event in Schaumburg, IL, from February 18 to 20.

UChicago swept the competition, with UChicago B—consisting of Balakrishnan, Graif, Brian Hu, and the newest grandmaster on campus, first-year

Awonder Liang—taking home first place, and UChicago A close behind in third place, led by Kapil Chandran, Christoph Eichinger, Dylan Sunjic, and Oliver Heggli-Nonay. The team also claimed the top college prize at the tournament, so UChicago B will be headed to the USAT Nationals at an as yet unspecified date.

With spring quarter fast approaching, Balakrishnan jokingly feigned nerves at the idea of taking on the second season of the CCL as the returning champions.

“There’s more pressure on us this year because we won last time!” he said.

As the club continues to prepare for its next match, Graif emphasized that the string of successes are indeed a testament to the growth of the club and the bond shared between its members.

“In my first year, three people were coming to the club. And so to now have 20 or so students registered for the CCL alone, with everyone very invested in each other’s play, all eager to help each other, it’s just excellent,” Graif said. “It’s truly been an honor and a privilege to compete with the teammates I have.”

THE CHICAGO MAROON — MARCH 9, 2022

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PHOTO ESSAY Winter Fashion at UChicago

By CHLOE ZHENG | Photographer and EMMA-VICTORIA “E-V” BANOS | Photography Editor

Clockwise from top left: Sam Shelffo-McGrath, Austin Fitzgerald, Stephanie Kim, Livia Miller. chloe

zheng and emma-victoria “e-v ” banos

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THE CHICAGO MAROON — MARCH 9, 2022

Left to right: Austin Fitzgerald, Liv Miller, and Sam Shelffo-McGrath model on the UChicago campus. emma-victoria “e-v” banos

These photos were taken to explore the variety of winter fashion senses that exist in the UChicago community. chloe zheng and emma-victoria “e-v” banos