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From Role As Provost

JANUARY 12, 2023

SECOND WEEK VOL. 135, ISSUE 7

Student Arrested in Relation to Woodlawn Dorm Fire

By MICHAEL McCLURE | News Editor

An undergraduate student in the University was arrested by the Chicago Police Department (CPD) on Tuesday, January 3, in connection with a fire on January 2 in Woodlawn Residential Commons.

Associate Vice President for Safety & Security Eric Heath and Dean of Students Michele Rasmussen shared the news, as well as more details about the fire, in an email during the afternoone of January 3 to residents of Woodlawn Residential Commons.

The Chicago Fire Department (CFD), which responded to the incident along with CPD and the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD), has declared the building safe for occupation, with no further risk of fire.

“Yesterday the residents and residential staff in Woodlawn Commons responded promptly to a small fire in a single occupancy room, which was extinguished by the Chicago Fire Department. Fortunately, no one was injured and dam-

age was limited to the affected room,” the email read.

The fire was on the sixth floor of the building in Yovovich House, located within Woodlawn’s east wing.

After entering Woodlawn, CFD asked all residents of the building to “stay in place” before determining that there was no building-wide threat a few minutes later. Residents of the sixth floor in Yovovich House were asked to evacuate their rooms and not return until several hours later.

Records from the UCPD Daily Incident Reports Archive show that the inci-

dent occurred at 4 p.m. and was reported six minutes later. The incident log describes a “small fire” in a residential room that “damaged walls, curtains, and door.”

The fire is still being investigated, primarily by CPD, under case code JG012069.

“Your safety is of paramount importance to us. The University is working closely with law enforcement to ensure a thorough investigation of the incident,” the email concluded.

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NEWS: Delta Upsilon Fraternity Charter Revoked PAGE 2

NEWS: Mike Pence Discusses Controversial Issues, Eyes 2024 Presidential Run at IOP

PAGE 3

NEWS: Three UChicago Student Veterans to Become the First Cohort in a Joint A.B./M.B.A. Program in the Booth School

PAGE 5

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Firetruck outside of Woodlawn Residential Commons. courtesy of nikita kurma

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Ka Yee C. Lee To Step Down From Role As Provost

By EMMA JANSSEN | Deputy News Editor

Ka Yee C. Lee will be stepping away from her role as provost and transitioning to the role of executive vice president for strategic initiatives, a newly created position, President Paul Alivisatos announced on December 9.

The University hopes to appoint Lee’s successor by the end of winter quarter, per the email. Lee will continue to serve as provost until her successor assumes the role.

Lee was appointed provost in January 2020 by then-president Robert Zimmer. She officially assumed the post on February 1, 2020.

Lee began her career at UChicago as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry in 1998. She was made a full

professor in 2008 and assumed the role of vice provost for research in 2018.

During her tenure, Lee launched the Data Science Institute; implemented a new graduate stipend model; and oversaw the creation of the new Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which began soon after she assumed the role, Lee communicated tuition assistance initiatives to the student body in response to organizing by the student group UChicago for Fair Tuition, who advocated a tuition strike.

Throughout her tenure, Lee and the activist group #CareNotCops have often been at odds, primarily over policing and the University of Chicago Police De-

partment (UCPD). In September 2020, #CareNotCops occupied the block of Lee’s home residence; several pieces of graffiti in both English and Cantonese were found on the pavement outside of Lee’s home, allegedly by demonstrators. Lee, who is from Hong Kong, criticized the spray-painting outside her home.

According to Alivisatos’s email, Lee’s new role as executive vice president for strategic initiatives will require “careful planning, the ability to identify and coalesce faculty scholarship with operational know how, and steady leadership.”

In response to a request for comment from The Maroon, Gerald McSwiggan, the University’s associate director for public affairs, passed on a statement from Lee. “Serving as provost of our great university has truly been an honor. I have

been and continue to be inspired every day by our talented faculty, staff, and students. It has been a privilege to work with two university presidents and share the mission to uphold the University of Chicago’s commitment to rigorous inquiry, free expression, and diversity and inclusion as core principles that guide our decision-making,” Lee’s statement read.

“It has been particularly moving to witness how a global crisis brought us together to find solutions to problems we have not faced before, with a singular objective of advancing the University’s academic mission and supporting the transformative work of our faculty, staff, and students across the University. I am proud of what we have accomplished together and look forward to continuing to work with you in my new role.”

Delta Upsilon Fraternity Charter Revoked

By AUSTIN ZEGLIS | Senior News Reporter

The University of Chicago’s chapter of the Delta Upsilon (DU) fraternity had its charter revoked by the Delta Upsilon International (DUI) Board of Directors, according to letters sent by the board to UChicago chapter members and alumni on December 13.

The DUI board’s email to chapter alumni said that the UChicago DU chapter participated in two separate hearings with the DUI Board of Directors regarding their failure to meet the DUI Men of Merit Chapter Standards, with “no measurable improvements of engagement from the undergraduate members.” Additionally, the letter revealed that the Chicago chapter had accumulated more than $60,000 in debt to DUI and had been the subject of multiple hazing complaints.

The Men of Merit Chapter Standards is a list of expectations set by DUI to ensure that members maintain “a safe, educational, and productive experience.” It includes goals pertaining to member conduct in a wide range of areas, including the number of expected service hours and cumulative chapter GPA.

“For more than five years, the chapter has not met the expectations set forth in the Fraternity’s Men of Merit Chapter

Standards Program,” the DUI board explained in its letter to chapter alumni. “The chapter has been assigned staff liaisons and volunteer Men of Merit coaches to assist in meeting the basic expectations set forth by the International Fraternity, yet little to no progress has been made in that time.”

According to DUI’s bylaws, any undergraduate chapter’s charter can be revoked for cause with a two-thirds vote by the board.

“All undergraduate members of the Chicago Chapter are hereby placed on alumni status with the International Fraternity,” DUI’s letter to chapter members reads. “All associate members of the chapter are released from their associate member status in Delta Upsilon and are free to join another fraternity if they wish.” The letter—dated December 13, 2022—backdates the charter revocation to November 19, the date of one of the former chapter’s hearings in front of DUI.

In a statement to The Maroon, the renamed Former Chicago Chapter of Delta Upsilon provided a different account of their charter revocation, writing, “We view this as the result of the stance our chapter has taken in favor of disaffiliation from DUI over the last few years.”

The former chapter’s statement said that

the fraternity suffered heavy financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected their ability to pay the aforementioned costs, and that DUI failed to provide the chapter with “any support whatsoever.” The former chapter, according to their statement, also believed that insurance costs levied by DUI were “heavily inflated,” citing external legal consultation.

The DUI board also cited complaints levied by neighbors of DU’s house on South Woodlawn Avenue as grounds for revoking the charter.

“[Complaints from neighbors] include issues with alcohol and trash being left in [DU’s] yard and in the yard of neighboring houses, members being loud and disruptive to their neighborhood, and hazing allegations. Furthermore, the chapter has failed to meet the sanctions from previous Loss Prevention Policy violations,” the board’s letter said.

The Loss Prevention Policy is DUI’s set of rules concerning “the wellness and safety of members and guests,” according to the Delta Upsilon website. “This includes policies regarding alcohol and drugs, hazing, sexual assault, fire and more.”

In addition to the condition of the house, DUI cited the behavior of and neglect by chapter members as another factor behind their decision.

“On several occasions it has been reported that individuals not only access the terrace on the roof, but use a rope to climb the highest peaks of the house,” the letter said. “The house is rundown [sic], there is little to no maintenance or upkeep occurring, and there is no schedule or financial ability to engage in any necessary capital improvement projects.”

The Former Chicago Chapter of Delta Upsilon also responded to DUI’s non-financial concerns in their statement. “We view our disengagement and many of the other points of contention cited by DUI as a product of our failure to see any benefit in being affiliated with them.”

Four undergraduate members and three alumni represented the chapter in their hearing with DUI regarding these issues. In their letter, the board said that despite “multiple communications regarding the hearing,” the undergraduate students present were not prepared and had to be reminded of the charges laid against the chapter.

“While closing a chapter is the hardest decision the Board of Directors makes, DU is committed to holding out members and chapters accountable to our standards, our purpose, and our Principles,” the board said at the end of their letter. “Unfortunately, the inaction of the undergraduate members has

led to this tough decision.”

In the letter to the members of the UChicago chapter, the board listed conditions that must be met if the group wishes to resume its affiliation with DUI: the paying in full of unpaid fees totaling $60,672.70, the creation of a DUI–approved alumni advisory board, the establishment of a chapter legacy plan to support members’ educational program attendance, and the improvement of the physical condition of the chapter house.

In regard to their future on campus, the former chapter pointed to reorganization in lieu of complete dissolution in their

statement.

“Our alumni board, who own our house, have stated their strong support for the undergraduates as we restructure our organization,” the statement said. “Given our longstanding desire to disaffiliate with Delta Upsilon International, we view this decision as mutually beneficial, and are excited about the new beginning ahead.”

In an email to The Maroon on Friday, December 16, DUI Director of Communications Ashley Martin Schowengerdt forwarded a statement from DUI Executive Director Justin Kirk in response to the former chapter’s comments.

“For several years, the Fraternity has provided ample staff and volunteer support to help the chapter achieve success and has worked with it to address its debt, including the use of payment plans, waiving fees during the pandemic, and significantly reducing insurance costs for all DU chapters. Fraternity staff also assisted Chicago Chapter members in their efforts to find a more affordable insurance option, but the chapter was unable to do so. As a result of the charter revocation, the chapter is no longer insured by the International Fraternity’s insurance program,” Kirk’s statement read.

“It is unfortunate that the chapter mem-

bers believed their apathy and disinterest could speak for them instead of taking mature steps to discuss improvements, reorganization or disaffiliation,” the statement continued. “Per terms of the closure, chapter members should cease chapter activities immediately. They must also refrain from operating with the name Delta Upsilon, as it is federally trademarked.”

Editor’s Note: According to social media accounts, the former Delta Upsilon Fraternity Chapter of Chicago has changed its name to the “Iron Key Society.”

Mike Pence Discusses Controversial Issues, Eyes 2024

Presidential Run at IOP

By ERIC FANG | Deputy News Editor

The talk was moderated by David Axelrod, the outgoing IOP director and former chief strategist for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

Pence represented Indiana’s Second Congressional District from 2001 to 2003 and Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District from 2003 to 2013. From 2009 to 2011, Pence chaired the House Republican Conference. In 2012, he was elected to a four-year term as governor of Indiana.

In July 2016, Pence withdrew from his campaign to be re-elected Indiana governor in order to become Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate. After Trump won the presidential election, Pence concluded his governorship of Indiana on January 9, 2017, and was inaugurated as Vice President on January 20, 2017.

Trump appointed Pence to head the country’s coronavirus response in February 2020. Following the 2020 presidential election and insurrection two months later, Pence garnered bipartisan praise for countering Trump’s demands to block certification of election results.

Pence frequently describes himself

in public appearances as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” As the governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, he championed the largest tax cut in the state’s history. Pence is an outspoken advocate for limiting the role of government, protecting gun rights, restricting abortion access, and supporting the coal industry over renewable energy.

Third-year Declan Hurley—the editor-in-chief of the Chicago Thinker, a student-run conservative publication— introduced Pence by outlining his fiscal accomplishments as governor of Indiana and by highlighting his opposition to Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Axelrod began the conversation by asking Pence about how to neutralize the rhetoric surrounding immigration, saying that there seemed to be “political currency in demonizing immigrants.” In response, Pence agreed with the need for civility in political discourse but emphasized that “a nation with no borders is no nation at all.”

Pence recalled what he considered the biggest accomplishment of the Trump

administration’s immigration policy: the Migrant Protection Protocols, colloquially known as the “Remain in Mexico” program. This program allowed the government to return asylum seekers to Mexico while their applications were reviewed by the court system.

Reflecting on the 2022 midterm elections, in which the Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives after losing it in 2018, Pence believed that the most successful Republican candidates focused on issues that affect the future, such as crime, immigration, and inflation. By contrast, Republican candidates that centered their campaign around the past, specifically on denying the results of the 2020 presidential election, lost their respective races.

“We need to be the party of the future,” Pence said.

While the controversy over the 2020 presidential election has cast a shadow over the Republican Party, so too has the 2016 election, when allegations surfaced that the Russian government had interfered to assist the Trump campaign. Pence denied the claims of collusion at the time even though he later condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering

with the electoral process during a 2018 cyber security summit. At the talk, Pence told Axelrod that “Russia did not collude with either campaign. Russia sowed discord.”

When discussing the current war between Russia and Ukraine, Pence alluded to his support of Ukrainian fighters. “The United States needs to send an unambiguous message about Ukraine,” Pence said.

On the topic of public safety and gun rights, Pence recalled the Greenwood Park Mall shooting on July 17, 2022, in which a mass shooter, who killed three and injured two, was shot and killed by an armed civilian. “The best response to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said, reiterating a phrase commonly used by Republicans as a solution to mass shootings in the United States.

Pence said he considers the Second Amendment, which enshrines the right to bear arms, to be “as important as the First Amendment,” but said he was willing to consider gun control measures that “meet the moment without compromising the rights of citizens.”

In terms of abortion rights, Axelrod raised what he views as a public rejection

“In their letter, the board said that despite ‘multiple communications regarding the hearing,’ the undergraduate students present were not prepared and had to be reminded of the charges laid against the chapter.”

CONTINUED FROM PG. 3

of abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court in June. In referenda across red and purple states like Michigan, Kentucky, and Kansas, voters rejected restrictions on abortions, and midterm exit polls also show that abortion rights were a strong motivator for Democratic turnout. In 2017, Trump signed legislation that allowed states to defund clinics that provide abortion services such as Planned Parenthood. The administration also eliminated $200

million worth of federal grants to teen pregnancy prevention programs.

“I am pro-life, I don’t apologize for it, and I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court because it returns the decision to the state,” Pence said about Roe v. Wade Pence brought up his signing of the first Pre-K funding bill in Indiana history as a measure to support women and children. He also brought up his support of the 2022 Hyde Amendment, which prevents Medicaid dollars from being allocated towards abortions with exceptions including cases

of rape, incest, or the endangerment of the life of the mother.

Pence then addressed his role in the January 6 insurrection. He emphasized that, on the day, he “shared the concerns of millions of Americans about irregularities, but there was never evidence of widespread fraud.” Nonetheless, Trump tried to pressure Pence into overturning the election results and refused to rein in his supporters when they breached the Capitol building, many with the desire to inflict physical harm on Pence.

Axelrod asked Pence of Trump, “How can you vote for the guy?” Pence replied that “at that moment, he decided to be a part of the problem,” even while he and Congress “did [their] duty that day.” Pence then hinted at a presidential run of his own in 2024, when Joe Biden’s present term ends: “I may not just be stepping in the voting booth, I may be stepping in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina, and we’re going to follow our calling wherever it leads.”

UCMed’s Monica Peek Elected to National Academy of Medicine

By NICOLE ROESLER | News Reporter

Dr. Monica Peek, the Ellen H. Block Professor for Health Justice in the Department of Medicine and Associate Director of the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translational Research, was elected on October 17 to the National Academy of Medicine for her work combating racial disparities in healthcare.

The National Academy is renowned for bringing together the sharpest minds globally and putting them on center stage for their advances in their respective fields. The private nonprofit institution provides advice to the nation and international community on measures to improve health and is highly selective, electing only 100 new individuals per year. Being elected is considered one of the highest honors in the medical field.

Peek describes her work in health equity as the pursuit of a better understanding of why the lives of the underprivileged community of Hyde Park are not as stable as those from affluent backgrounds. She actively tries to evaluate and create solutions to change the tide in order to discover “what we can do to change that, so that everyone, no matter what your social identity is, has the same access to the goods and resources that help promote health, and [everyone] is free [from] the obstacles [that] society has put in front of them [and that] are within their communities as they try and navigate their way to health.”

Peek’s interest in combating healthcare disparities comes from her experience in medicine, which started at a young

age. Peek shares that it was a hobby of her mother’s to collect small bells when she was growing up, and that this was one of her earliest memories tied to taking care of others when they fell ill. “I knew that I liked taking care of people. And so whenever someone in my family got sick, my mom used to collect little bells, and so I would spring into action. I would get the little bell for them to ring, you know, if they needed anything,” Peek said. “I was like their little nurse. So, I just loved that role of caring for people when they were sick, and that, to me, equaled being a doctor.”

Born just four years after Jim Crow laws had ended in the South, Peek recognized that her choices in pursuing a professional career were largely framed by the circumstances in which she was raised. With parents who were first generation college students, Peek realized her path was largely guided by her strong sense of self and the gut instinct that, above all, she wanted to serve those in need.

“Both of my parents were super dedicated to education [and] became professors because they saw education as one of the ways in which Black people could get freedom from oppression and from structural racism,” Peek said. “That framework of justice and freedom for people who looked like me was going to have to work its way into my life’s work. And so, once I decided I was going to be a doctor, I had to then try and figure out how I was going to try and put those two things together.”

Peek shared that despite being acutely

aware of all the history that was occurring around her, her father, an African American history professor, played a significant role in making sure that she never internalized the negative stereotypes that surrounded her.

“Teaching us not to fear the things that we otherwise might have feared had me not be exposed to those [stereotypes] at a young age, and so I didn’t know that women weren’t supposed to be interested in science and [that] Black women were considered inferior because my parents made sure that those weren’t things that I internalized,” Peek said.

She mentioned that her family dogs growing up were always German Shepherds and often named after African countries and tribes. In hindsight, Peek sees this as an effort by her father to mitigate any fear that his children could have of a breed associated with police dogs, which he had seen attack Black people during his own lifetime.

Thus, while navigating this unfamiliar career path, Peek set her sights on gaining a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins on a gap year from medical school. After having completed the course in three quarters instead of the usual four, she left with a greater sense of the landscape of the medical field as well as which direction to begin funneling her interests into when she resumed medical school.

“It just sort of ‘lightened the room’ a little bit. I could see what was in the room, and [when I went] back to med school I could just see more of what was around me and what was possible,” she said.

Peek was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in October. courtesy of uchicago medicine

This soon became the pattern of Peek’s journey to success: chipping away at the skillsets she found that she needed in order to further her research and continuing to seek opportunities to do so.

Additionally, Peek explains that she has made it a priority to continue being a maverick for social change in her field by upholding the truest version of herself when communicating with others, as well as being unafraid to hold other professionals accountable when necessary on topics about racism, no matter what her resume

“‘We need to be the party of the future,’ Pence said.”

entails.

“Now they finally all fit together to be the kind of person that I want to be. And yes, I do have heroes and ‘she’-roes. But I have also forged a path that is unique for me. It’s been really important for me to be an advocate and to not only write papers

and grants, but to also write op-eds and blogs, to use traditional media and social media as a venue for social change,” Peek said.

While Peek’s professional life may be what she is most recognized for, she never hesitates to showcase her pride in being a loving and devoted mother to her children.

“There is no way that I would want to have a life that did not include my work because that is what I have chosen as my description of who I am. This is me as I present myself to the world, but there is no way that I would want my life without my children. They add a dimension to your life that you wouldn’t have been able to de-

scribe before you had them,” Peek said.

For those in medicine or any professional career alike, Peek said, “Don’t let the beauty of life’s natural stages pass you by because you’re a physician. You can do all of the things that you are supposed to do as a human and it makes you a better physician for it.”

Three UChicago Student Veterans to Become the First Cohort in a Joint A.B./M.B.A. Program in the Booth School

By NAINA PURUSHOTHAMAN | News Reporter

The Booth School of Business announced the establishment of an Accelerated Booth Scholars Program for University student veterans on November 11. Coming from an anonymous $24 million grant gifted to the school for the expressed purpose of helping student veterans, the accelerated five-year program is designed to help UChicago veterans earn their joint A.B./M.B.A. degree. The first cohort to participate in this program are third-year student veterans Colin Augustson, Nicholas Golin, and Robert Zamora. These students spoke to The Maroon about what this opportunity means to them and their careers.

Colin Augustson: United States Ma-

rine

Corps, majoring in Economics

When Augustson was deciding on his next steps after his military career, UChicago provided the structure he was looking for in his higher education.

“I was really looking to transition to a different type of challenge than what I had in the military,” Augustson said. “It’s challenging in a lot of ways, but I knew I wanted to just put myself in a place where I was going to be surrounded by the best and the brightest.”

Getting an M.B.A. degree has always been a career goal for Augustson. Currently, he is studying abroad for a year at the London School of Economics. Though it was a hard decision for him to make, Augustson believes studying abroad has been a formative experience. “I really wanted

to get outside my support structures and push myself to be uncomfortable in that sense and gain the social skills that come with that,” he said.

Augustson is interested in pursuing roles in project management, specifically in environmental technology firms. He believes that getting his M.B.A. early on, which this accelerated program will allow him to do, will benefit his career trajectory.

“Having the kind of exposure and the more formal education that an M.B.A. provides sooner in my career rather than later will allow me to start applying those [skills] and build a very strong foundation at the beginning of my career,” Augustson said.

As Augustson looks forward to beginning the accelerated program, he is excited about the wide selection of electives that are offered and that will allow him to tailor his curriculum to his own interests.

Nicholas Golin: United States Marine Corps, majoring in Economics

For Golin, UChicago was his dream school growing up. “I always greatly respected the academic challenge that the institution represented and the quality of people that it placed into the workforce. When the chance to attend UChicago presented itself after my time in the Marines, it was a dream come true for me,” he said. Even though he hadn’t initially planned on getting an M.B.A., he found that pursuing one was the logical next step for him after his time in the military.

The establishment of the joint A.B./ M.B.A. program allowed Golin to broaden his career goals. Currently, he anticipates pursuing a career in investment banking, and said his time in the military has prepared him for the fast-paced career.

“My experience as a veteran really helped me navigate the different challenges that arose when working late into the night on various projects,” Golin said. “The infantry and investment banking lifestyles are very similar, and I thoroughly enjoy banking’s version of this highly dynamic, highly collaborative environment.”

There are several parts of the program that Golin is looking forward to. In addition to building up his academic and professional experiences, he hopes to build connections and a network. “I am also looking forward to connecting with my new peers; building long-term, professional and personal relationships are extremely important to me, and there is no better way to do this than becoming part of the social network that Booth cultivates,” he said.

Robert Zamora: United States Army, majoring in Economics

Zamora’s journey to UChicago began when he started looking for schools after his time in the military.

“After researching the different schools in Illinois, I knew in my heart of hearts I wouldn’t be happy or pleased with myself if I didn’t try a challenging institution,” Zamora said. “The University of Chicago, in my opinion, is one of, if not the most challenging universities in Illinois and

the country.”

Zamora said that while he hasn’t fully defined his career goals, his time in the military has shed some light on the type of work he wants to do.

“I want my teammates to feel like they are listened to, cared for, that they can grow and don’t have to choose between family, self, and the job,” he said.

Additionally, Zamora believes there are several ways in which his military career will benefit him in this accelerated program. “Something I noticed and appreciated in the military is that when a leader knew the job, and they could explain what and why we are doing something, that typically carried a lot of weight, and people respected them much more,” he said.

One of the most important aspects of a career to Zamora is the impact on society that job will have. “I want to impact people. I want people to grow not only in the job but with their families and themselves. I don’t want people to chase a dollar just to live. I want people to find hobbies, enjoy their lives, and love and laugh. I think doing that can positively impact a business,” he said.

Zamora enjoys commercial real estate, and though he hasn’t narrowed down his career path yet, he is excited about the resources this joint program will give him to do that. “I am looking forward to networking and potentially finding a career passion,” he said. “I am hoping [that] while taking some courses and meeting my peers and faculty, I can start to draw out these hardcore passions.”

“ That framework of justice and freedom for people who looked like me was going to have to work its way into my life’s work. ”

UChicago Second-Year Helps Pass Illinois Media Literacy Education Law

By CASEY KIM | Senior News Reporter

Second-year Braden Hajer helped pass a recently enacted law requiring every public high school in Illinois to include a unit of instruction on media literacy in its curriculum starting with the 2022–23 school year. Hajer worked with his high school Humanities Capstone teacher Seth Brady (A.M. ’11), PolitiFact founder Bill Adair, Senior Vice President of Education at the News Literacy Project Peter Adams, and State Representative Elizabeth Hernandez to draft House Bill 234 before it was signed in July 2021.

According to Representative Hernandez’s press release, the media literacy curriculum teaches students how to access

information, evaluate media messages, and consume media ethically.

During the fall semester of his senior year at Naperville Central High School in 2020–21, Hajer took Humanities Capstone, a research-based class following the Illinois Global Scholar model that encourages students to create actionable change. Hajer chose to study the history of fake news for his semester-long research project, which inspired him to draft the bill.

“Drafting a bill is hard, it turns out, but it can be done,” Hajer said. “If you’re willing enough, the time is right, you’re a little lucky, and you have the right structure, you defi-

nitely can make change.”

Hajer began by examining previous bills regarding media literacy across different states. After editing, strengthening, and expanding the texts of previous bills, Hajer consulted with field experts for feedback and gathered almost 220 witness slips, which are individual or group positions on a particular bill. Once it was time to push the bill through the legislative branches, he testified twice to the Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives over Zoom throughout the first half of 2021.

Hajer said it was “not impossible, but unlikely” that he would pursue a future in legislative advocacy. Instead, Hajer, a prospec-

tive media arts and design major, hopes to compose electronic music for video games.

Brady, who taught Hajer’s Capstone class, closely facilitated Hajer’s development throughout the entire process and shared his hopes for what young people could achieve.

“As amazing as Braden’s process was and the action he took, I think there’s a whole lot more. I think this form of education needs to be expanded,” Brady said. “What I really appreciate about Gen Z is that it’s not enough to just care and know about issues. You all are actors, you’re doers. And I think it’s the responsibility of teachers to provide the platforms and classes that really teach the skills for how to do that, that really matches the passion of Gen Z.”

Intimidating but Rewarding: How UChicago’s New International Students Are Adjusting to Campus

By FRANCISCA GIULIANI | News Reporter

UChicago welcomed international students from 68 countries to the Class of 2026. For these students, who make up 16% of the first-year class, the transition to college includes adapting to both a new school and a new country. The Maroon sat down with two first-year international students to hear their experiences with moving to UChicago and the United States.

Ana Elias is an international student from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and although she was born in Chicago, she has lived outside of the U.S. for the last 14 years.

Elias attended the French-Argentinean school Lycée Franco-Argentin Jean Mermoz, where classes are mostly taught in French and Spanish. “I chose to study in the U.S. because I thought it would open up more opportunities for me in the future within the field I am interested in rather than if I had stayed in Argentina,” Elias said. “However, I still really miss my friends, family, and homemade meals such as empanadas and milanesas.”

Elias, who plans to double major in physics and molecular engineering, said

that the academic system at UChicago differs from those found in Buenos Aires and that she is enjoying the opportunity to participate in the wide selection of RSOs offered at the University.

“There is more freedom in selecting your major, and you even have the choice of double majors, which is not the case for most universities in my hometown,” Elias said. “I also really enjoy being a part of RSOs here, which is not really a thing back in my hometown.”

Elias continues to maintain contact with her friends and family back in Buenos Aires and was planning to visit them during winter break. She said she mainly keeps in contact with her family through calls and messages.

“Luckily the time difference is only two hours, so when my family and I are both free we talk through video calls on WhatsApp,” Elias said. “Sometimes they’re really short calls, but they help me miss them a little less.”

Maddie Calvesbert-Sharp was born and raised in Blackpool, a city located on the northwest coast of England.

Calvesbert-Sharp said the transition to the U.S. has been difficult, albeit in ways that she did not expect. “In terms of education, the way that the American education system works is different to the way the U.K. system works,” she said.

In the U.K., the first year of university does not count towards one’s final grade, whereas at UChicago, first-year grades contribute to the cumulative GPA. Calvesbert-Sharp has not studied any sciences since she was 16; in the U.K., she chose four subjects to study for the rest of high school. “It has been a bigger cultural shock than I thought it was going to be, and living in the city is very different compared to my hometown.”

“Being with people who have studied a more diverse range of subjects for a longer period of time is certainly intimidating, especially when you’re going through the Core,” Calvesbert-Sharp said. “Navigating a different education system is challenging, but I think the reason I chose to come to the U.S., especially UChicago, was so that I could participate in science and languages again. Even though that’s a really hard part of the adjustment period, it’s the most rewarding.”

Calvesbert-Sharp said that keeping in contact with her friends and family is also quite difficult because of the time difference, though she has lunch with her mom while her mom eats dinner over FaceTime every day. With her friends, Calvesbert-Sharp has weekly FaceTime calls on Saturdays.

“Me and my mom like to speak multiple times a day, which is lovely,” Calvesbert-Sharp said. “I also like to WhatsApp my dad random pictures and videos of UChicago and use Facebook with the rest of my family.”

Calvesbert-Sharp said that when moving to the U.S. her most difficult experience was navigating health insurance procedures. She said this is because she was not sure of what her health insurance would allow her to do in terms of copay and deductibles.

“Even though we have Student Wellness, it’s very complicated and very different to the U.K.,” Calvesbert-Sharp said. “This is because [in the U.K.] we have a national healthcare service, so we have a primary healthcare physician who is in charge of all care, and then they refer us to all of our desired services.”

ARTS

Open Mike Eagle Takes Masterful Lyricism and Versatility to New Level at Beat Kitchen

By ADVAITA SOOD | Arts Contributor

The phrase “rap show,” for the average person, likely evokes images of a bunch of teens and twentysomethings ready to mosh and go crazy. The scene at Beat Kitchen’s performance space a few minutes before Open Mike Eagle’s set, however, looked like something out of a mixer for divorced parents: The crowd was made up of mostly middle-aged and older folks—all rap fiends in their own right—ready to bop to the old-school beats and rhymes of their younger days.

And why shouldn’t it be that way? In his 2022 album Component System with the Auto Reverse (CSAR), the 42-year-old hip-hop artist rediscovers his identity with a soundtrack that combines retro boom-bap rap beats (a ’90s production style that used prominent bass and snare drums) with more contemporary sounds. This reconciliation of new and old pervades CSAR as Eagle uses his humor and acerbic wit to contemplate both his past experiences and the absurdities of the present. What Eagle creates are not songs but rather two- to three-minute-long skits, montages of fragmented images and experiences, each of which captures a different aspect of Eagle’s life. In these skits, Eagle and his collaborators are the performers, the comics. And just as a comedy show relies not only on content but also on timing, delivery, and chemistry, so too are Eagle’s songs synergies of various aspects of perfomance. The difference, then, between streaming an Eagle track and watching it live becomes the difference between watching a comedy show on a screen and going to a club.

During his performance of the song “79th and Stony Island,” for instance, a massive screen behind Eagle ran product commercials from the 1990s as he, deadpan, discussed the bleakness of both his Chicago upbringing and his life today. And as the

song went on, I felt it all: the frustration of having the perennially out-of-reach American Dream dangled before you (“Dream American dream”), the desolation of having one’s childhood squandered by reality (“I made a wish on the dishwater”), and the aimlessness of life today (“A cold world with no beach break/… I stay woke, I don’t sleep great”). Fortunately, the set wasn’t all doom and gloom; it successfully distilled Eagle’s life journey as narrated in CSAR and moved from Eagle’s struggles (in “79th and Stony Island”) to their resolution (in “Circuit City”). Ever the versatile performer, Eagle assumed a more emotive, aggressive tone as he triumphantly explained his coming to terms with his present identity, rapping, “I’m a brand-new man doing the same dance.” The raw emotion in Eagle’s voice was particularly captivating, unadulterated by digital enhancement.

In this way, Eagle the artist used the various creative mediums at his disposal to convey his emotional experience. Meanwhile, Eagle the comic sprinkled the show with bits of humor, both in his songs and between them. For instance, Eagle’s references in “I’ll Fight You” ranged from an allusion to an altercation between a journalist and a semi-famous wrestler from 1984 (“Black out like John Stossel”) to wordplay involving modern-day memes (“Who among us is mega sus?”). These references, coupled with occasional dry bits of witticism between songs, lent a whimsical air to the whole experience.

Amid all of this talk about Eagle the comic and Eagle the artist, it is easy to forget about Eagle the rapper. More specifically, Eagle the rapper’s rapper. During the show, Eagle demonstrated his abilities as a wordsmith when he freestyled an entire

verse—complete with its own bits of humor, wordplay, and layered rhymes—at the end of his 2017 song “95 Radios.” Furthermore, when he paid tribute to his idol, the late MF Doom—an underground rapper widely regarded as one of the greats— he reminded the audience that he is still a student of rap even a decade into his career.

By the end, my sole gripe with the show was with its audience: the assortment of middle-aged rap fanatics who surprised me when I first set foot in Beat Kitchen. Now, while I sympathize with the struggle against ageism, and though the crowd seemed to appreciate the show, they were missing a certain energy present in most rap concerts. By “energy,” I mean that ostensible enthusiasm that propels everyone in attendance to a rhythmic frenzy, that concert-spirit

that drives audience members to lip-synch every word and jump to every beat. Perhaps this energy was missing because the show’s songs were from a new album, with which the crowd was less familiar. Or perhaps the frenzied crowd is one that, to quote “Circuit City,” listens to “stoner rap that don’t rhyme”—how Eagle describes the type of rap prevalent today. Eagle set out to rediscover his identity with his latest album and found it in the audience that night, an audience of old-school hip-hop heads with the savvy to keep up with modern times but an aversion to the hype-chasing stream bait that makes up the majority of modern rap. Both Eagle and his audience wanted only to continue doing what they loved and to revel in the experience of doing so.

Arts contributor Advaita Sood recounts the unforgettable experience of seeing Open Mike Eagle perform his newest album live in Chicago.

Component System with the Auto Reverse. courtesy of open mike eagle

Crossword by P ravan Chakravarthy

wife, and foster brother

CROSSWORD

54. The Long Hall

1.

5.

9.

13.

14.

15.

for a famous scythe wielder

Prominent MCU inits.

Put down

Put in jeopardy

Collection of bread...or collection of muscles

Self-proclaimed “Chief Twit” Musk

Stravinsky’s The ___ of Spring

Chicago’s Goose Island, e.g.

“___ the night before Christmas...”

Play the odds right

Practice clear and expressive speech

Giant Manning

Kung ___ chicken

Machine designed for a Japanese-inspired sport

Idioma oficial de Puerto Rico (además de español, por supuesto)

Droop to one side

16.

19.

20.

The Raptors, scoreboard-wise

Nee

26.

28.

33.

34.

35.

36.

38.

40.

47.

48.

49.

53.

56.

57.

author 60. Pour oil over, as in a religious ceremony

61.

62.

63.

letters

74.

75.

76.

77.

78.

79.