TUESDAY • JANUARY 13, 2015
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
ISSUE 19 • VOLUME 126
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
Community wants answers before Obama library Natalie Friedberg Deputy News Editor Tensions ran high at the Jackson Park Advisory Council (JPAC) meeting yesterday, where community members addressed the University’s bid for the Barack Obama presidential library on the South Side. The meeting included a short presentation by Vice President of Civic Engagement Derek Douglas and Senior Associate Vice President of Community Engagement Sonya Malunda, followed by a heated Q&A session. Malunda explained the three main components of the proposed presidential library, which are an archival library, a museum, and a location in which the Obama Foundation can continue its work in various fields. She also reviewed some of the benefits that the University claims the library would bring to the community, including the addition of almost 3,300 local construction jobs, 800,000 visitors per year, improved public transportation, and additional educational
opportunities. Afterwards, Douglas emphasized that the library “should go where it can be an economic catalyst,” which precludes Hyde Park as an option in favor of other South Side neighborhoods. He stressed that it should aim to avoid the displacement of large numbers of people, and that lost park land would be compensated for by the city of Chicago. The biggest concern of JPAC members and other participants was the use of park land as sites for the construction of the library. JPAC Vice Presidency Fran Vandevoort of the Washington Park Conservancy said that both Washington Park and Jackson Park are landmarks and that the site proposed in Jackson Park overlaps with one of the largest arboretums in Chicago. “We don’t need 25 acres…. Where is the University’s responsibility as a good neighbor?” Cassandra Francis, President of Friends of the Parks, said. She also pointed out that the KenJPAC continued on page 2
UCMC withdraws ER plan, anticipates more demand Cairo Lewis News Staff The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) withdrew its application to build a new $36 million adult emergency department last week, citing a greater demand for health services than their former application anticipated. In a letter to the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board on January 6, Director of Capital Budget and Control John R. Beberman wrote that the UCMC needs more time to discuss the project of inpatient help “[b] ecause of strong and growing demand for [their] emergency services that coincides with sustained, high levels of inpatient occupancy.” They plan on analyzing their plans to improve healthcare by conducting a comprehensive study. Although unsure of the exact methodology of the study, UCMC spokesperson Lorna Wong said the study will enable UCMC leaders to look more closely at current services, capacity levels, communal needs, finances, and the UCMC’s ability to sustain future clinical treatments. Wong cited the growing demand in health services since the project was announced late December as an indicator that the University Medical Center
needs more time to revise its goals. “The impact of this positive growth has led us to conduct a thorough study of services, capacity, and community need related to present and future clinical capacity. We already have many significant initiatives underway in response to our growing services, including the build-out of the Center for Care and Discovery third and fourth floors, move of labor and delivery unit, and the new Center for Advanced Care at Orland Park,” Wong wrote in an e-mail. Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), part of the Trauma Center Coalition lobbying for a Level I adult trauma center at the UCMC, submitted a letter requesting a public hearing on the proposed new ER prior to the project’s halt. Fourth-year Joe Kaplan said the organization hopes that plans for a Level I adult trauma center are a part of the UCMC’s intentions. “Any proposal to expand the ER without [a Level I adult trauma center] is completely inadequate,” he said. “It is our sincere hope that the UCMC is withdrawing its proposal in order to meet our demand to provide trauma care to South Siders.” According to Wong, the UCMC plans on completing its study by the end of the summer.
Rise and Shine Students practice their sun salutations during the first day of Kuvia, an annual winter quarter event organized by the Council on University Planning, which sees hundreds of participants gather at Henry Crown for 6 a.m. workouts each day this week. YEO BI CHOI | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Students recount impact of Hebdo attacks in Paris Tamar Honig News Staff For some UChicago students studying in Paris, the January 7 terrorist attack at the office of the satirical publication Charlie Hebdo has spurred a new level of cultural understanding. According to third-year Idalia Gonzalez, a student at the University’s Center in Paris, classes were not dramatically affected by the weekend of protests, which officials are calling some of the largest in French history. “For Parisians, even despite grief like this, life goes on as it usually does,” she said. More than 200 undergraduates
study at the University’s Center in Paris each year, taking advantage of course offerings in subjects ranging from the social sciences and humanities to math and the natural and physical sciences. Paris has been the offical sister city of Chicago since 1996. Gonzalez is enrolled in the academic year study abroad program, in which she takes one class at the UChicago center and the rest at Université Paris Diderot (Paris VII). “Not much has changed besides the increased presence of security. The day the Charlie Hebdo shootings occurred, I was surprised at the presence of policemen at the university entrance, but proceeded to take a
four-hour long exam for my Enlightenment literature class,” she said. Third-year Andy Dutu, studying in the European Civilization program this quarter, also noted the limited impact of the incident on classes. However, she added, professors at the Center in Paris made themselves available to address any concerns. According to Sarah Walter, Director of Study Abroad at UChicago, the program in Paris is continuing normally, though faculty and staff are maintaining close contact with students, parents, and fellow American universities in Paris. “We have outstanding and expePARIS continued on page 2
Purdue Univ. president discusses how to make college more affordable Will Cabaniss Maroon Contributor “I reject the notion that we are reinventing anything,” Purdue University President and former governor of Indiana Mitch Daniels said to a crowded room at the Quadrangle Club on Monday, laying out his ideas about the future of higher education and his vision for Indiana’s second-largest public research university. Daniels made it clear that the reforms currently taking place at Purdue should be the norm. Since taking the helm of the school in 2013, Daniels has implemented one of the most ambitious agendas in higher education, most notably freezing tuition raises for two years. Upon leaving office after two terms
as governor of Indiana, Daniels was thrust into the world of higher education without much preparation. He recounted taking an educational “field trip” to the University of Chicago while still in office to meet with President Zimmer: “[Zimmer] spent more than an hour answering a lot of my very naïve questions.” Under Daniels’s two-and-a-halfyear tenure, Purdue’s administration has frozen tuition, lowered the costs of meal plans, and cut fees for the university’s cooperative education program. Previously the director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush, Daniels has earned a reputation as a numbersoriented pragmatist. The projects he mentioned fittingly emphasized an
approach to higher education reform based on data analysis. He explained Purdue’s new partnership with the research-based consulting firm Gallup to design a system that will measure students’ “critical learning abilities” each year. The survey will also track the personal success of students after they graduate in an attempt to gauge the effectiveness of a Purdue education. Looking at the problem of rising tuition from the standpoint of the student, Daniels said, was the first step in differentiating Purdue from other schools. “Let’s see if we can adapt our spending to the students’ budgets,” he explained of the university’s approach, “as opposed to requiring them to adapt their family budget to our PURDUE continued on page 2
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
“So...what are you?” » Page 3
Selma more relevant than ever today » Page 5
Maroons topple No. 1 Bears in decisive fashion » Back page
Golden Globes go rogue » Page 5
Wrestling: Weekend matches end in squad victories » Page 7
Letter: Incivility doesn’t warrant censorship » Page 4
2
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 13, 2015
Mayoral candidate Garcia talks plans for diversity, public safety
Jesús “Chuy” García speaks about his candidacy for mayor of Chicago at the Institute of Politics Monday night. LIANA SONONCLAR | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Sam Koenig Maroon Contributor The Institute of Politics hosted its latest speaker in the Chicago Style series, Cook County Commissioner and Chicago mayoral candidate Jesús “Chuy” García, yesterday. As an underdog in the race against incumbent Rahm Emanuel, García
discussed the importance of bringing diversity into the administration and ways to strengthen public safety. García talked about his roots in the neighborhoods of Chicago and his beginnings in politics. “[I] challenged the entrenched Chicago machine and the bosses who have dominated [Chicago] politics for a long time,” he said. As committeeman under Mayor Harold Washington, the first African American mayor of Chicago, García said he was a part of the “most representative government in the history of the city, [which] empowered women, African Americans, and [embraced] some of the minority communities such as the gay and lesbian community for the first time.” García also talked about his motivations for running for mayor, including his idea of establishing a “multiracial, multiethnic coalition for the 21st century” in the government of Chicago, and stated that he wanted to “take back Chicago for the benefit of ordinary people,” mentioning education and public safety as two important areas.
When asked about education reform, García talked primarily about his belief in the ineffectiveness of charter schools. While saying he is not explicitly “anti-charter” and that there are some successful charter schools in his district, he expressed concern that some charter schools are “mediocre,” yet take resources from neighborhood schools. “I believe that the only way the city will move forward and truly become a world-class city and a great city is if we have great and neighborhood schools in every part of the city,” García said. Several audience members raised questions related to the budget and pension reform. García stated that, while not yet fully decided on tax hikes or cuts, he favors increasing real estate taxes. He believes that people in the city have already been “taxed sufficiently” in recent years. García said public safety was another of his top priorities. He espoused the practice of restorative justice, which he described as “a tremendous tool that offers tremendous potential for resolving conflicts among young people in school settings
[and] in neighborhood settings.” He added, “[It] essentially brings perpetrator and victim together as the community stands witness to what goes on: apology, restoration, and then support for both of them in order to ensure that they move forward together.” He referred to employment as a means to achieve community safety, citing a UChicago study that found that levels of violent crime decreased when young people held jobs. Additionally, García discussed his plans to hire 1,000 additional policemen and women, specifying that they would be trained to engage with and build relationships in communities with the goal of reducing violence and building trust between residents and the police force. To differentiate himself from Emanuel, García emphasized his reputation and history of working for the benefit of people of all backgrounds, referencing his relationships with many different Chicago minority communities, and calling himself a “consensus builder.”
Prof. Palmie: “Race is a figment of the classificatory imagination” Raymond Fang Associate News Editor In light of recent racially charged events around the country, Stephan Palmie, chair of anthropology and professor of social sciences in the College, gave a lecture Thursday evening on the complex origins and meanings of “race.” The talk, entitled “Paradoxes of Race,” was sponsored by the Chicago Society, an RSO dedicated to encouraging campus discussion and debate on a wide variety of social and political issues. Palmie opened his talk by highlighting the difficulty of explaining what exactly “race” means. “Like pornography, we seem to know race when we see it, but like the Supreme Court judge who…coined that famous phrase about pornography, most of us would find it to be very hard to explicate what exactly it is that we are seeing or think we are seeing,” he said. “In fact, from a
certain point of view, it is not clear at all what the ontological status of that object that we call race, really is. In other words, while we certainly think that race exists in some fashion, we don’t exactly know how it does so.” The “paradox of race,” Palmie argued, arises when one locates the reality of race in the appearance of the human body. The paradox is that by locating race in the body, one is actually, counterintuitively, locating race in language. Racism, Palmie said, is a sort of “default program,” which acts “like a fog that rolls in and takes over people’s minds.” Palmie cited the 2013 arrest of a University of Chicago graduate student as an example of this “default program” at work. “Think of the trauma center protest two years ago,” he said. “What an embarrassment it was to the University of Chicago police to discover that one of the arrested protestors was not a ‘member of the community’—of course, you know what that euphemism stands for—but a Ph.D. student
in good standing in the history department, who simply could not be charged with trespass on University grounds—but was so charged.” Palmie used this example, among others drawing from his experiences in Cuba and Latin America, to stress the contingency and arbitrariness of our ideas of race, and to argue that there is no universal human nature driving us toward racist violence. “Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Darrien Hunt, John Crawford III, and Dontre Hamilton,were not fated to die because of some transhistorical or transculturally valid reason. Racists killed them. But racists, too, don’t have to be racist because of who or what they are…This is…called ‘racecraft,’ so as to expose its artificial, and contingent nature rather than its alleged grounding in some primordial human proclivity towards ethnocentrism.” Palmie argued for a distinction between “race” and “racism,” the former being merely a classifi-
cation, and the latter being the cause of real violence. “Race is a figment of the classificatory imagination, and it motivates nothing. Racism is not a figment. It’s real, and it kills. Race is not ‘out there in the world,’ but racism is. Race may be a social construction…but racism is not a social construction,” he said. “It is out there, and it is the truck that runs you over at the intersection, even though you have a green light.” Palmie concluded his talk by calling on the audience to investigate the way they helped to maintain the idea of “race” in their own thoughts, actions, and advocacies. “The way in which ‘racecraft’ stabilizes specific orders of privilege and inequality is by giving everyone involved a stake in upholding the fiction of race… Until and unless we all recognize our investment in ideas, and their histories, that wreck some—and in that sense, all—of our lives, we just simply won’t be able to move on one single bit.”
“Nothing can compare to the feeling when the Bastille came into view” PARIS continued from front
rienced staff at our Center in Paris, many of whom have worked with our programs and students for more than 10 years, and together we continue to closely monitor the local situation and advise students and parents accordingly,” Walter said. “We are similarly in touch with peer institution colleagues through the Association of American University Programs in France.” Gonzalez showed her solidarity with the Parisians rallying around Charlie Hebdo by participating in the Marche Républicaine this past
Sunday . She noted the sense of unity and resilience among the diverse crowd at the march. “As we walked down Rue du Temple, people laughed as they saw a cartoon Charlie, stripes and all, affixed to an apartment’s balcony, an answer to ‘Où est Charlie?’ [Where is Charlie?] Further above, as we passed another apartment whose dwellers had hung a banner proclaiming ‘Liberté, Liberté Chérie,’ an allusion to the French national anthem, a deafening roar went up…and nothing can compare to the feeling when the Bastille came into view.” Third-years Daniel Glass and Evaline Bai—
enrolled in the Social Sciences and European Civilizations programs, respectively—also attended the demonstration. Glass described the sight of people marching together peacefully as “inspiring.” Bai felt similarly. “I was shocked to see people from all walks of life chanting and singing together…. It could have been a lot more hateful and politically charged, but it felt like all of Paris had come out to support one another in a time of shock and confusion,” she said. Hannah Flynn, a third-year in the Civilizations program, also commentedo n the poten-
tial to learn from the recent events. “I think it’s an incredibly interesting time to be in Paris and a unique opportunity to gain insight into the national character very, very quickly,” she said. All students expressed support for and solidarity with Parisians as they continue their studies abroad. “I think that an event like this can unfortunately happen anywhere at any time,” Dutu said. “We remain lucky to have such a fantastic opportunity to study in what I believe continues to be one of the most alluring and exciting cities.”
Community members share doubts about proposed location of Obama presidential library JPAC continued from front
nedy Presidential Library only takes up a 10acre plot, whereas the University is looking for between 20 and 30 acres. Other questions posed by community members concerned the possibility of proposing other sites around the South Side, such as land already owned by the University around Garfield Boulevard, or previously proposed sites around 79th Street and 22nd Street. Doug-
las replied that these areas were either already slated for previously planned development, not large enough, or had already been rejected by the Obama Foundation in other library bids. He added throughout the meeting that the University wanted to give the Foundation options for the specific location of the library within the sites proposed. Not everyone felt that placing the library in a park would be an injustice to the community,
however. “It would be a travesty if that presidential library were not here in the South Side of Chicago…. [For building on park land] the bar should be high, standards should be high and this meets that bar,” one attendee said. Other community members brought up issues ranging from community representation in the bidding process to the gentrification of African American neighborhoods in the area
surrounding Jackson Park and the relevance of the University’s 89 official letters of support in light of the new information regarding the use of park land. “The Obamas are getting the information that they’re being given and I don’t know if that represents the community,” said another participant in a heated exchange with Douglas. The Obama Foundation will decide on a winning bid in the next couple of months.
Mitch Daniels has helped Purdue implement reforms for tuition, college costs PURDUE continued from front
spending.” Daniels lamented the inefficiency and waste that he sees as having permeated even the top tiers of American schools. “Schools have vastly expanded spending on things that aren’t directly
related to a better education,” he said, citing unnecessary amenities as a primary culprit. This attitude also seems to extend to his views on executive pay–Daniels’s salary of $420,000, with performance-based incentives of up to $126,000, consistently ranks among the lowest in the Big
Ten, according to the Indianapolis Star. A former politician himself, Daniels also touched on a hot political topic during the conversation, arguing that massive federal entitlement programs siphon funds from investment in STEM education and research. “Entitlement
spending is not just a tomorrow problem, it’s a today problem,” he said. “Autopilot spending… [is] crowding out the ability of government to do the necessary things, the so-called discretionary things, as circumstances change and new problems emerge.”
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed JANUARY 13, 2015
BLACKLIGHTxMAROON
“So... what are you?” When it comes to identity, more really is more Natalie Richardson Maroon Contributor I am a multiracial woman. I am almond-skinned, paler in the winter months. My hair is black with thick curls. I am dark-eyed with a straight, freckled nose. I am slightly taller than average. Frequently, I am asked the question, “What are you?” by classmates, House members I barely know, and once by a well-dressed stranger at a bus stop on 53rd. The absurd broadness of such a question could leave me confused, but I know from experience that the asker always wants to know my ethnicity. I enjoy asking for guesses, taking mental tallies of the most outlandish: Lebanese, Samoan, Filipino— countries and cultures I know little about. My dialect is about as all-American as they come; I was born and raised in Oak Park, a suburb just outside of Chicago. My Indiana-born father says “pop” instead of soda. My Queens-born mother pronounces “orange” like “ah-range.” I say “swag” and pronounce “Chicago” like a Chicagoan. I think this usually throws askers off. As frequently as I am asked the question, and as many guesses as I’ve received since my childhood, it is rare that anyone ever assumes that I am mixed. Rather than believe that my ambiguous looks could be the product of two mul-
tiracial parents, most people instead search for exotic places and far-off cultures to place me into: two weeks ago I was an Egyptian, my first day of school I was Brazilian, once in a restaurant in Ft. Wayne I was Samoan—are-yousure-you’re-not?-Samoan. People’s urge to singularly categorize me is an important reflection of how greater society sees race: as something absolute. I am Black or I am White. I am Latino or I am Asian-American…in my experience, there is little room in the minds of most to grant me the complex and multi-faceted identity of being Black, American Indian, White, and Latino. The concept of someone sharing all of these heritages, of taking part in all of these identities, is something that we, societally, have yet to fully comprehend and accept. Recent events on campus and nationally have sparked an impassioned and controversial discussion about the treatment of minority students at the University of Chicago and minority people in the United States. As a multiracial student and citizen, I have always been unsure of my place in such discussions, as my racial identity is one that is constantly being questioned and diminished. I am not “black enough” to claim the injustices of Black Americans, though I am not “white enough” to be the oppressor…so I am ei-
ther placed somewhere outside of the primary conversation, in some far-off place where my unique experiences are better served, or I am carelessly shoved into just one racial category by a desperate student body and population striving to simplify an incredibly complex discussion. I do not blame the student body. I do not blame the population. The issue is that our society is so reliant on dichotomies, extremes and separation, black OR white, that we see cats and dogs as opposites, apples and oranges as opposites, though these are far from such. This way of thinking about identity starts early in life, and transcends just race: it is a philosophical, linguistic equation that is entwined so deeply in our everyday thinking and speaking that we do not notice it. If I’m not inside, I am outside. If something is not a lie, then it must be the truth. If I am attracted to boys, then I must not be attracted to girls. If I am female, then I must not be male. If I am Black, then I must not be White. It is this absolute (some may call Cartesian) model of thinking that denies—among many things—the multiracial identity; it is this model of thinking that plagues both a campus and America, shutting down the possibility for a more complex and diverse discussion about race and identity.
I don’t know what it’s like to have dark brown skin, or kinky hair, or an accent. I have not experienced navigating a space with pale skin, an ethnic last name, or parents who do not speak English. But to take ownership of an ethnicity is not to share every privilege and disadvantage with others who share the same ethnicity; this is a giant fault in thought, an over-simplification and Cartesian categorization of race and ethnicity. The Latino, Black, White, and American Indian populations on campus and nationally are immensely diverse communities with people who vary in physical appearance, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and education, to name just a few. I have concluded that I am often held at arm’s length from claiming a race or ethnicity only because I additionally claim another. But my participation in one heritage does not diminish my participation in another. I am a modern, multiracial woman with blood from peoples who waged war on each other and continue to do so, but that does not mean there is a war within me. I do not claim to be White or Latina. I claim to be both. I do not claim to be Black or American Indian. I claim to be both. I do so not only because it is my right as a multiracial person to claim my every ethnicity, but also because I have lived experiences
of each: I have found my mother’s family crest on a stone building in Ireland. I have eaten arroz con frijoles the way it is done in the Caribbean, with a spoon. I have seen the unmarked grave of my great-grandfather in a segregated cemetery. I have experienced the sense of loss for a culture that today barely exists. As we continue the discussion of race on campus and abroad, let us not fall into the trap of defining race as something absolute. Let us broaden our understanding of racial identity to include the multiracial one: an identity that, blended, is rich in culture and experience. Our perspective is unique, and though our journey to self-identity is often difficult, we are here. Our voices matter. Natalie Richardson is a second-year in the College majoring in comparative race & ethnic studies and cinema & media studies. BLACKLIGHTxMAROON is a column curated by the Viewpoints editors and the editors of Blacklight, UChicago’s premier literary publication for students of color and minorities. If you would like to contribute, email blacklightxmaroon@ chicagomaroon.com.
Je suis human By ignoring unprovoked hate crimes against Jews, we are overlooking attacks on all humans’ most fundamental freedoms The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 Emma Broder, Editor-in-Chief Joy Crane, Editor-in-Chief Jonah Rabb, Managing Editor The Maroon Editorial Board consists of Harini Jaganathan, Ankit Jain, Nina Katemauswa, Liam Leddy, Kristin Lin, Kiran Misra, Jake Walerius, and Sarah Zimmerman. Sindhu Gnanasambandan, Grey City Editor Kristin Lin, Grey City Editor Sarah Manhardt, News Editor Christine Schmidt, News Editor Kiran Misra, Viewpoints Editor James Mackenzie, Arts Editor Tatiana Fields, Sports Editor Marina Fang, Senior News Editor Liam Leddy, Senior Viewpoints Editor Sarah Langs, Senior Sports Editor Jake Walerius, Senior Sports Editor Natalie Friedberg, Deputy News Editor Alec Goodwin, Deputy News Editor Marta Bakula, Associate News Editor Raymond Fang, Associate News Editor Nina Katemauswa, Associate Viewpoints Editor Sarah Zimmerman, Associate Viewpoints Editor Andrew McVea, Associate Arts Editor Evangeline Reid, Associate Arts Editor Ellen Rodnianski, Associate Arts Editor Helen Petersen, Associate Sports Editor Zachary Themer, Associate Sports Editor Peter Tang, Photo Editor Sydney Combs, Senior Photo Editor Frank Yan, Senior Photo Editor Frank Wang, Associate Photo Editor
Megan Daknis, Copy Editor Katie Day, Copy Editor Jacqueline Feng, Copy Editor Kyra Martin, Copy Editor Katarina Mentzelopoulos, Copy Editor Rebecca Naimon, Copy Editor Morganne Ramsey, Copy Editor Erica Sun, Copy Editor Amy Wang, Copy Editor Michelle Zhao, Copy Editor Katie Bart, Designer Kelsey Dunn, Designer Emily Harwell, Designer Stephanie Liu, Designer Wei Yi Ow, Designer Morganne Ramsey, Designer Elle Rathbun, Designer Kaitlyn Shen, Designer Julia Xu, Designer Jen Xue, Designer Andrew Koski, Illustrator Alice Xiao, Illustrator Lenise Lee, Business Manager Nathan Peereboom, Chief Financial Officer Kay Li, Director of Data Analysis Harry Backlund, Distributor Editor-in-Chief E-mail: editor@ChicagoMaroon.com Newsroom Phone: 773.702.1403 Business Phone: 773.702.9555 Fax: 773.702.3032 Public Editor: PublicEditor@ChicagoMaroon.com
Annie Cantara, Head Designer
For advertising inquiries, please contact Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com
Sophie Downes, Head Copy Editor Alan Hassler, Head Copy Editor Sherry He, Head Copy Editor Hannah Rausch, Head Copy Editor
The Chicago Maroon is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters.
Mara McCollom, Social Media and Multimedia Editor
© 2014 The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637
Circulation: 6,800.
Eliora Katz
Katzenjammer On Friday morning, nausea overtook me; class was not an option with the pangs in my stomach and the sorrow in my heart. Though I am a college student, this wasn’t a hangover from wayward revelries, or a case of bad break up blues, but a result of reading the news. Two days after heavily armed self-proclaimed jihadists killed 12 people at the Paris offices of the satirical paper Charlie Hebdo to “avenge the prophet”, one of the same gunmen took hostages at a kosher supermarket in a Paris, killing at least four people. I spent that morning glued to my computer, reading articles on the events as they unfolded, sharing the most disturbing stories on Facebook. I read of conspiracy theories that Israel was behind the Hebdo attack; I noticed that many articles never mentioned that the attack was also anti-Semitic in nature, claiming it was “unclear,” even after the terrorist clearly stated anti-Jewish motives,
that in response to the supermarket siege, some Algerians were shouting “strike France and the Jews,” that this was most likely a foiled assault on a Jewish school and the eerie story of customers saved by hiding in the store’s freezer. The more I read, the sharper the pangs became. But I continued, almost addicted; I felt it was my duty to become informed on the tragedy. While my Facebook world was full of posts on the issue, the real world around me in the Regenstein Library at the time was full of students working away. There I was with tears down my face, but for everyone working on problem sets and essays, it was business as usual. The tragedy had struck home for me. I knew that it could have been me or my family; the victims were just grocery shopping for Shabbat. Images of the terrified freed hostages, some fleeing in their long skirts and modest outfits, illustrated that some were observant
Jews in the uniform of my own community. I was angered that this was nothing new, that Jews in France are attacked while walking home from school and synagogue, or while in their homes; that there seemed to be nothing we could do to stop them from being burned, raped, and slaughtered like animals. I could not help but think of the French Jews I met at a synagogue over winter break in Shanghai. The young students who I prayed and partied with, who gave me a place to stay and treated me like family. Was this pain extreme? Unfounded? Should I have cared less? I felt I had to be preoccupied with it, if I wasn’t-- who would be? I wasn’t sure what I could do to help the situation, but remembering the victims was in my capacity, and I concluded that thinking of them would do something for their memories, that at least their lives would not be taken unnoticed. The next day, I was surprised that though many of my friends had heard of the atrocity of Hebdo, many had not heard of what followed. One friend had expressed how he was sorATTACK continued on page 4
4
THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | January 13, 2015
Letter to the Editor: Incivility doesn’t warrant censorship Hate speech is far too nebulous a category to effectively police, and doing so is an attack on our right to free speech It was perversely ironic to read the Viewpoint “Land of the Free?” (1/9/15) in the Maroon two days after the Charlie Hebdo attacks. As far as random coincidences go, it’s a rather heavy one. How striking it was to spend a day listening to people vocally defend free speech and then see an editorial arguing that exactly the sort of content Charlie Hebdo was publishing should be banned on campus. “Speech that offends, threatens, or insults groups based on race?” Check. “Color?” Check. “Religion?” Check, goddammit. Et cetera. I do not support much of what Charlie Hebdo published. Most of it was crass and only some of it meaningful. They really were racist at times. But sometimes the very nature of their offensiveness made a point that couldn’t be made in any other way. When they published cartoons of Muhammad, they weren’t so much making a point about Islam as they were saying, “To all the extremists in the world who would have us too cowering with fear to criticize your holy figure: Fuck off.” Is that not a meaningful opinion in a free society?
The Editorial Board would have the University “clearly differentiate hate speech and offensive speech,” but it is plainly impossible to do so. They themselves seem to admit this: the definition of hate speech they use includes “speech that offends, threatens, or insults” certain groups. This is a terrifyingly vast category. An article arguing that modern-day Islam has an extremist bent might well offend and insult Muslims. A pro-abortion piece might cause women to feel threatened; an anti-abortion piece might offend evangelical Christians. The Editorial Board argues, “While it’s important for students to challenge each other’s opinions, this should not come at the expense of students’ mental well-being or safety.” But anyone can make a case that a provocative opinion they disagree with threatens their mental well-being. It should! Speech and argumentation should make us uncomfortable—that’s what happens when you challenge a deep-seated opinion. Under the criteria the Editorial Board proposes, nearly any divisive issue might be branded off-
limits for making students feel uncomfortable. Whatever speech under these terms is, it certainly is not free. In my experience, most people who subscribe to an enforceable division between hate speech and offensive speech are noble-minded liberals who feel strongly about the welfare of marginalized groups. But by promoting a limited definition of free speech, these liberals would be undermining their own leverage to talk freely about the issues that are important to them. If a broad variety of speech can be reasonably construed as forbidden hate speech, authority figures would have a huge amount of power to determine the purview of tolerated speech on campus. And these authority figures might not necessarily share the same values as campus liberals. In a well-publicized incident, the University of Illinois recently retracted a decision to hire American Indian studies professor Steven Salaita after Salaita published several tweets criticizing Israel. Their rationale? The tweets were “uncivil.” Many of the people (perhaps most,
though certainly not all) who argue for the division between hate speech and offensive speech are passionately pro-Palestinian. I imagine they would be horrified if events they organized, or speakers they hosted, were forbidden under hate-speech grounds. But the same justification University of Illinois gave for retracting Salaita’s hiring could be given for denying a pro-Palestinian group protest space or the right to hand out flyers. Similarly, it’s not hard to imagine nervous campus officials shutting down a demonstration against police brutality under the pretext that protesters promote “threatening” discourse. With a broad definition of free speech, we are secure in our belief that we will not be persecuted for expressing our own convictions. The trade-off is that everyone else is able to express their own convictions, even when these seem odious or repugnant to us. It’s not an easy tradeoff, but it’s a necessary one. —Max Bloom Class of 2018
“Friday’s attack is actually an attack on freedom of thought” ATTACK continued from page 3 ry for the events, but stated that I had a visceral reaction only because I had a personal connection. He wasn’t that affected by what he called the “regular fussy business of ethics.” I wondered where the massive outpouring of support for the Jewish community was, especially from the same people who hurried to identify with Charlie Hebdo. I wondered why Obama himself had not mentioned the clear motives behind the supermarket slaughter, in his official response to the attacks. I wondered where all the articles were discussing anti- semitism
in France like those rightly discussing the issue of free speech. The New York Times published articles on satire, free speech, Islamaphobia, but not one dedicated to the issues involved in deliberate violence against French Jewry. On Wednesday evening, all of France professed “Je suis Charlie” in what became the emblem of the global fight against savagery. On Friday evening, there was no comparable rush of people declaring “I am a Jew,” though the citizens who happened to be in the supermarket were murdered because they were in a publicly Jewish establishment. While there were a few
If it happens in Hyde Park, it’s news to us.
Send us a tip! editor@chicagomaroon.com
CLASSIFIEDS Classified advertising in The Chicago Maroon is $4 for each line. Lines are 45 characters long including spaces and punctuation. Special headings are 20-character lines at $5 per line. Submit all ads in person, by e-mail, or by mail to The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, Lower Level Rm 026, 1212 E. 59th St., Chicago, IL 60637. The Chicago Maroon accepts Mastercard & Visa. Call (773) 702-9555.
Lovely vintage 2Bd Rm. Garden Apt. with new appls., in Safe/Friendly HP Condo Bldg. $900/mo. Interested call: (773)955-0875 80+ yo woman, sharp and wise, lives close to Hyde Park, with intermediate Hebrew is looking for volunteer to advance her Hebrew. Exchange for lessons in Russian possible. 312-225-1704. Lydia_usha@rush.edu YOUR AD HERE advertise in the MAROON ADS@CHICAGOMAROON.COM
who tweeted #JeSuis Juif, “I am Jewish,” it was an incredibly small number in comparison. Celebrities sported “Je Suis Charlie” like the seasons hottest accessory at the Golden Globes this past Sunday, yet a “Je Suis Juif ” was nowhere in sight and was not mentioned in any interview. Twelve innocent people were murdered at the Hebdo massacre in Paris, when four people were shot in the Parisian Kosher supermarket, should it not receive at least one third of the attention in tweets, hashtags, and conversation? Those young people in the Kosher supermarket weren’t killed for provocative satire or seemingly offensive actions. These Jews were slaughtered for simply existing, for just being Jews. These Jews were guilty of nothing but the sin of existence. Perhaps the world cared more about the free speech issue, and perhaps rightly so. Freedom of speech, after all, is supposed to be a pillar of Western civilization, an issue with universal repercussions. What happens to the Jews, however, happens to just one small drop in the bucket of humanity. This logic is in fact terribly mistaken. More than just a Jewish issue, Friday’s attack on the Jews is actually an attack on western civilization; it undermines a value arguably even more fundamental than freedom of speech— the freedom of thought and belief. The Kosher supermarket and the families inside were held hostage because they believed in the Jewish faith— they were just peacefully living their lives. People should be able to hold their desired beliefs sans fear of being murdered on a supermarket run, and that is a universally applicable issue. Extremism of this form may start with the targeting of Jews, but if not stopped it certainly won’t end with them. While reading about France, I could not help but think of Germany. I heard the echoes the famous words of Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), a pastor
who spent seven years in a Nazi concentration camp: “First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” Terrorists aim to tear peoples apart, to create an us-vs.-them dichotomy; thus, enhancing political solidarity against terror, and real friendship with those of different faiths are the weapons that will lead to the defeat of the extremists. The weapon in this war against terrorism and polarizing ideology is being aware of and caring for the loss of life, whether it is 17 at the hands of extremists in France and certainly if it is 145 in Pakistan or 2,000 at the hands of similar extremists in Nigeria. After all, long before Martin Niemöller, around the first century BCE, Hillel the elder said, “If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I?”(Ethics of the Fathers 1:14). This quote illustrates an even more poignant, ethical imperative. Though we must first focus on our personal issues as exhibited by the first half, if we only focus on what we think are our own groups and not others, we become a “what”— we lose our very humanity when not realizing that we Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc are all in fact part of the same group: the human race. Eliora Katz is a second-year in the College.
SUBMISSIONS The Chicago Maroon welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to: The Chicago Maroon attn: Viewpoints 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 E-mail: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com The editors reserve the right to edit materials for clarity and space. Letters to the editor should be limited to 400 words. Op-ed submissions, 800 words
ARTS
What is art? JANUARY 13, 2015
Logan's Lands End exhibition expands the horizons of representation Andrew McVea Associate Arts Editor
When the weather is plunging below zero, it can sometimes be difficult to appreciate the outdoors during the winter in Chicago. With heads bent down, braced against the cold, it can be hard to notice anything except the gray slush accumulating on the concrete sidewalks. The Logan Center Gallery brings some of the stunning beauty of nature inside to a more tolerable environment in the new exhibition Lands End. The pieces in Lands End are loosely grouped together under the themes of: landscapes, how we define a landscape, where and what kinds of landscapes can be found, and how these landscapes impact people and art. The exhibition, which features work from 13 artists from around the world ranging from watercolor paintings to videography, references in its title the outdoor clothing store, Lands End, which originated in Chicago. The title also brings to mind the borders, both physical and political, that divide a space. The division of landscapes is an idea reflected in the piece, “For the body without organs to sense” by
Claire Pentecost, in which dozens of bird cages are hung from the ceiling of the gallery. The cages come in a wide variety of colors and styles, ranging from grand wooden cages to small wire cages with no ornamentation. Each cage works as its own landscape, and although each individual cage is separated from the others, they are all connected by the hanging strings that hold them up. One of the cages included a bright, yellow canary that sung shrilly and beautifully as people passed by the piece. Another work that incorporated sound was Eric Watts’s video, “Map Ref. 51.1236° N 115.5556° W,” which featured an above view of a seemingly endless winter forest. As the video loops, a high pitched screeching—which was described by a tour guide as the “language of the trees”—is played over the visuals. The nature of the noise was left ambiguous, though. What are the trees saying? Are they screaming? The sound of the trees was present everywhere in the exhibit, yet despite the initial grating nature of the sound their noise quickly faded into the background and became unnoticeable. Whether this was the artist's intention or not is unclear, but
it seemed like an appropriate commentary on humanity’s relationship with nature. Perhaps the most impressive work in the exhibition, though, was Oliver Lutz’s two-part untitled piece. Sitting on opposite sides of one of the rooms in the gallery is a giant black canvas seemingly devoid of any detail or coloration. On the side sits a security camera pointed at the canvas and a television attached to the camera. Using infrared paint and a specialized camera, Lutz created an image of a young girl on a swing that is only visible on the screen. Ignoring the actual content of the piece, which was interesting in and of itself, the implementation and choice of medium was absolutely fascinating, and the piece produced the most discussion among the visitors present both for its technical aspects and the presentation of the image. To complement the art on display, on the first day of the exhibition, performance artist Gillian Dykeman led tours of the exhibit and the surrounding area, acting as a mountaineering guide within the landscape of the gallery as opposed to the traditional docent. As she walked through the gallery she told stories about herself, touching on her affin-
Photographs, paintings and videos challenge our ideas of landscapes in the Lands End exhibit. CARRIE SCHNEIDER
ity for yoga, her trips to the mountains with her boyfriend, and how each individual piece made her feel. As the tour moved outside and onto the Midway she tried to extend the themes of landscape to the surrounding buildings and park. Overall, Lands End, despite the slight limitation of the small amount
of space available, managed to bring a large diversity of thematic and thought provoking art together under one roof. Lands End will be running through March 15 and is in the Logan Center Gallery located on the first floor of the Logan Arts Center.
Selma more relevant today than ever Paul Dillon Maroon Contributor
Not everyone is as excited for Kuvia as this polar bear. WEI YI OW
| THE CHICAGO MAROON
Golden Globes go rogue James MacKenzie Arts Editor I would be remiss to describe the Golden Globe awards as some kind of anti-institutional, rebellious force. This is still, after all, a fancy dinner party for millionaires with the expressed purpose of hyping up their own work and stroking their own egos. But it would be accurate to say that the Globes have, traditionally, had a bit of a rebellious streak to them, at least when compared to
the gilded heathenism that is the Academy Awards. This probably has something to do with the fact that the Globes are run by the Hollywood Foreign Press: critics, in other words. The Globes exist at a strange intersection between the self-promotion of the film industry itself and the cynical appraisal of the critics’ circles. Of course, this is not very far from normal for critics, who are often more than happy to mock the credibility of awards shows with one
hand and lend them importance by means of obsessive coverage with the other. Hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler set the tone early, going after a number of targets ranging from George Clooney to North Korea. But of all the roasts, the duo’s deliberately in-poor-taste Bill Cosby bit ("I put the pills in the people that the people did not want put into them") was by far the most memorable, despite coming only minutes into the proceedings. HollyGLOBES continued on 6
Selma opens with a black screen and the rounded tones of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., (David Oyelowo). But Dr. King isn’t giving a speech— he’s rehearsing, struggling with doubt before receiving the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. His wife, Coretta Scott King, (Carmen Ejogo), tries to comfort him. Ejogo and Oyelowo portray the relationship with quick, subtle strokes; tension edges their mutual flirtation and support. It’s a smart, precise, and powerful scene. This becomes a pattern. I (and, I bet, many others) learned too much about MLK and nonviolence from motivational posters and elementary school, happily swallowing a pre-chewed dream. Too much of this stuff and you might start to think that, alive today, King would walk on water and vote Republican. All too often, we saint the man, flatten the movement, and pat ourselves on the back. In this sense Selma is extraordinary, an exceptionally intelligent and passionate interrogation of nonviolence as well as the role of leadership figures. In a country of persistent racial injustice this movie will always be relevant—but no one can argue that it is particularly powerful now, with events such as the recent tragedy in Ferguson. Director Ava DuVernay and writer Paul Webb
respect their topic and their audience, and thanks to them we have an urgent and necessary movie. Part of the achievement of Selma is made possible by its disciplined scope. Avoiding the pitfalls of the greatest-hits biopic, the movie limits itself, with one or two exceptions, to the months between King’s acceptance of the Nobel Prize in October of 1964 and the end of the Selma to Montgomery marches of March of 1965. King and the core of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCSC) chose Selma, Alabama as their stage to protest the effective disenfranchisement of black people in the South—and the Selma campaign ultimately led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. From its first scene Selma focuses on the stakes and the personal, logistical, and political mechanics of that campaign. Even given this tight scope, there is so much rich material here, enough for dozens of movies. There must have been a temptation to bring in cameos of other important figures from the era—a temptation, thankfully, given into only once with the very brief appearance of Malcolm X (Nigel Thatch). The movie works hard to show the stakes of voting and the costs of this right being withheld. Again and again, Selma ties voting to power and self-determination, and the lack of it to vulnerability and violence. In one
speech early in the movie King denounces those “who would use their power to keep us away from the ballot box and keep us voiceless,” and black leaders who go on to attain elected office after the events of the movie are emphasized. And we are made to feel what powerlessness leads to. Violence in movies can be sanded and glossy—a placeholder for dialogue, or plot. Not so in Selma. We shouldn’t be surprised; it’s all in the history. But the portrayal of violence devastates nonetheless. Selma is not a tear jerker, it’s a movie that makes you cry. DuVernay’s direction brings home the terror and brutality of racist violence. This is one of the ways Selma makes sure not to take nonviolent protest as a moral given in the face of injustice. Rather, the SCLC, its tactics, and its goals are bluntly laid out—and criticized from every quarter (Webb’s script does an excellent job of making these arguments organic and urgent). The nonviolence movement staked itself to concrete progress; responding to supposed criticism from Malcolm X, King angrily says, “Our movement has been the one that has moved the needle.” But topdown tactics of the SCLC and the admitted attempt to raise “white consciousness” raises hackles among the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (including an excellent Stephan James as John SELMA continued on page 6
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | January 13, 2015
6
“DuVernay can do terror, she can do glory” SELMA continued from page 5
Lewis), who focus on the grass-roots raising of “black consciousness.” And the movie is honest about the appeal for whites and white politicians of nonviolent resistance compared to violent resistance. Selma treats nonviolent protest with bracing honesty: as a difficult choice, not an imposed expectation. But it wouldn’t be right to say Selma is never in awe of the Civil Rights movement. On the contrary, DuVernay knows the awe that movement can inspire. At the right moments, especially in the final march scenes and in Dr. King’s speech on the steps of the State Capitol Building in Montgomery, we get the uplift and hope we need. The camera will zoom out and turn onto the united masses, or gaze up from ground level at a row of men in dark suits marching against helmeted police, and we feel the majesty of what these people did. Just as DuVernay can do terror, she can do glory. Oyelowo’s magnificent voice helps, no doubt—not a reproduction of King’s so much as a tribute to it.
> pls get us up to date > > > >
A final word on the controversy stirring around the historical accuracy of Selma. Many have criticized its portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson. In the movie he plays the role of political power (to quote, “the consciousness of whichever white man who happens to be in the Oval Office”) that must be politically maneuvered by nonviolent protest and morally led by Martin Luther King. Professor Peniel Joseph, of Tufts University, summed up this particular debate on NPR as being “part of a larger debate about who owns American history, especially the portions of that history that were led, organized and shaped in large part by African-Americans... the real problem many critics have with this film is that it’s too black and too strong.” That seems exactly correct to me; in fact, the disproportionately negative response by some critics shows how an honest portrayal of King and his movement still has an ability to make people uncomfortable. It shows how far we still have to go before we reach “a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.”
Hollywood’s booziest night raises a glass to outsiders
> The Chicago Maroon is seeking qualified web designers > positions are paid! > come fiddle with our website and show us what you've got! > applicants should have a portfolio prepared
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler left no one unscathed in their final year hosting the Golden Globes. COURTESY OF NBC
GLOBES continued from page 5
> email rabb@uchicago. edu with questions!
EGG DONOR NEEDED We are an Ivy League couple seeking the help of a special woman who is healthy, Caucasian, tall, natural blonde hair, blue eyes, and under the age of 29. Please contact our representative at:
info@aperfectmatch.com Or call 1-800-264-8828 $20,000 (minimum) compensation plus all expenses paid IPN: 11/2014
wood is traditionally quick to throw ribs but even quicker to circle the wagons around one of its own (see: Allen, Woody; Polanski, Roman) when things get serious. So a joke which implicitly assumes his guilt is actually quite radical, even if taking the subject so lightly might have been ill-advised. Nothing quite as surprising as this occurred the rest of the evening, but again and again the Hollywood Foreign Press seemed eager to thumb its nose at its older brother Oscar. The split between comedy and drama, as well as the inclusion of television categories, strike at two soft spots for the film industry: the lack of respect in awards circles for comedy (as Michael Keaton hinted at in his acceptance speech for Best Actor in a Comedy for Birdman, which also won Best Screenplay) and, more bitingly, the current perception of TV's artistic dominance over film. In that realm, the night's big winner was doubtlessly Amazon's Transparent, a show starring Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development) as a transgender woman who has begun her transition late in life. The show took home Best Comedy Series and Tambor snagged Best Actor in a Comedy. Socially conscious acceptance speeches such as those that followed can seem self-serving and tone-deaf; one has
to question what good pop culture's so-called "transgender moment" is actually doing for real people facing those struggles. But it was hard to be too cynical of the self-congratulation when this was actually breaking some ground. This is as mainstream a transgenderfocused piece has gone so far, and so perhaps there is some cause for celebration. Less radical was the confirmation that Richard Linklater's Boyhood remains the frontrunner for Best Picture at the Oscars in a few weeks' time. The film shot over a 12-year period brought home Best Picture–Drama, Best Director for Linklater, and Best Supporting Actress for Patricia Arquette. Linklater and Arquette are also favorites for the same awards at the Oscars. Using the Globes as a predictor for the Oscars can be dicey, since the critics’ mindsets can be so fundamentally different from that of the Hollywood insider, but Boyhood has so much support from both ends of the spectrum it would be foolish to mark it as anything other than the prohibitive favorite. Hollywood's booziest night is over. Oscar nominations are announced this week. By then, the nominees should be sobered up and ready to get back to the awards season grind. It's almost over, folks, but the big one is still coming. More coverage as we get closer.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | January 13, 2015
7
Divers shine at Chicago Invitational
Weekend matches end in squad victories
Swimming and Diving
Wrestling
Katie Anderson Sports Staff The Maroons finished this weekend’s Chicago Invitational with two team wins to kick off the winter quarter. The women’s team totaled 1,045 points while the men totaled 1,250 points. Fourth-year diver Matthew Staab placed first in the three-meter, while also breaking a pool and school record with a score of 553.85. Fellow fourthyear Anthony Restaino was runner-up, with a score of 512.50. Both Staab and Restaino made NCAA provisional qualifying scores on both boards. First-year swimmer Alex Lin praised the divers’ performances. “The divers absolutely killed it and many made zone cuts even though it has only been our first meet after two weeks of break,” Lin said. On the women’s side, first-year Natalie DeMuro had a standout performance, winning the onemeter and making the
NCAA provisional qualifying score. DeMuro credits the team’s strong diving to a successful week at training camp in Florida. “[The] training trip definitely got us more comfortable on the boards and brought us a lot closer as a team. We were able to focus on just diving, something that can be hard to do when we’re at school,” she said. “We came back from break ready to compete and it’s always fun to perform in front of a home crowd.” The swimmers also had a successful weekend. Lin finished first in both the 400-yard IM (4:13:93) and the 200-yard backstroke (1:56:79). Matthew Chen, Thomas Meek, Kevin Ku, and Mantim Lee also all placed first in their respective events. On the women’s side, fourth-year team captain Jennifer Hill finished first in the 400-yard IM (4:40:00), while secondyear Michelle Law also took home a first place finish in the 200-yard backstroke (2:13:42). First-year
Sydney Wong also won first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:11:84). With the UAA Championships nearing, the teams are excited about the confidence that this weekend’s wins will bring them. “I think that the strong performances will help build confidence going into UAAs because even though we are in the middle of our hardest training, we still managed to pull off some good performances,” Lin said. UAAs are on the teams’ collective minds, but so are the national championships. “Five of us earned qualifying scores for Zones, so Matt [Staab], Kevin [Steffes], and Dean [Boures] now have secured spots at that meet,” DeMuro said. “We’re really excited about our results going into conference championships and hopefully some of the divers will make nationals.” The South Siders’ next meet is on Saturday, January 17 at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Bronagh Daly Sports Staff Chicago wrestling had a strong performance this past weekend at the Chicago Duals. Although their first match against No. 2–ranked Wabash was rocky, the Maroons held the home advantage and brought themselves to victory, winning the next two matches against Manchester University and Harper College. “I was very proud of our performance this past weekend,” said fourth-year Mario Palmisano. “We had a lot of guys really step up for us and win some important matches. Overall, I think we grew both as individuals and as a team.” Palmisano had a successful showing, going 3–0 in the Chicago Duals along with second-year Paul Papoutsis. First-year Nicholas DiNapoli, who was able to take home a win against Manchester University at 184 pounds, agreed that Palmisano and Papoutsis were two of the standouts of the day. “Two other veterans I thought stood out were our 165 pounder, Paul Papoutsis, and Mario Palmisano, who
both went undefeated on the day and beat their opponents pretty handily,” DiNapoli said. “In previous matches this year I feel we have not had the intensity we needed to be successful, but at the Chicago Duals I feel we wrestled tough and each wrestler played an important role in securing two victories.” The squad had several smaller victories throughout the Chicago Duals as well, for both newer and veteran team members. First-year Devan Richter brought home an offensive-filled 27–16 win at 125 pounds against Wabash. Fellow rookie first-year Nick Ferraro managed back-to-back pins against Harper. On the veterans’ side, thirdyear David Gremling pinned his opponent immediately at 197 against Manchester. Fourth-year Adam Wyeth took an 8–7 win at 133 pounds against Harper. DiNapoli gave reasons for such successes. “Over the winter break the wrestling team was at the University practicing and I thought that was a crucial part for our success at the Chicago Duals,” said DiNapoli. “We only got to go home the week
of Christmas, and the rest of the time we were here practicing twice a day. During this time we made gains both on and off the mat.” Palmisano is feeling optimistic. “The team energy was great this past weekend. Hopefully we can ride that momentum and go into next weekend feeling strong and enthusiastic,” said Palmisano. A winning weekend helps, but the Maroons still have plenty of work left to do in the season. “The team is preparing very hard for the upcoming Lakeland Duals,” said DiNapoli. “We had a great performance last week, but we know we still have a long season to go. The most important thing we can do this week is push each other to get better every practice, keep our weight under control, and stay healthy. I feel we have had two great practices already this week and plan on having two more hard workouts before we compete this weekend.” The Elmhurst College Tournament will occur on Saturday, January 17 at 9 a.m. in Elmhurst, Illinois.
Prepare...
Transform...
Empower...
Become a RESIDENT HEAD Attendance at an information session is required for all Resident Head applicants. Information sessions will be held at the following dates, times and locations: Saturday, January 10th - 10:00 a.m. - The Fairfax, 1369 E. Hyde Park Blvd. Monday, January 12th - 7:00 p.m. - Burton Judson Residence Hall, 1005 E. 60th St. Wednesday, January 21st - 7:00 p.m. - Burton Judson Residence Hall, 1005 E. 60th St. For more information about applying visit College Housing at housing.uchicago.edu
SPORTS
IN QUOTES
“I know they’re not playing, but I’ve got the Sun Devils winning tonight.” –Jimmy Kimmel via Vine on last night’s college football championship game
Maroons topple No. 1 Bears in decisive fashion Men’s Basketball Mary MacLeod Sports Staff At home this weekend, the Maroons (9–3,1–0 UAA) beat the No. 1–ranked Wash U team (11–1, 0–1 UAA) by a wide margin of 63–43. In addition to being a huge upset, the game also marked the fourth straight win for the Maroons. “We spent two weeks preparing for Wash U,” said third-year forward Alex Voss. “We knew almost all of the various plays and actions they ran, so we were prepared to stop them when the time came. We also knew how they would play us defensively, so we knew where we could get open shots. The only thing left to do was execute.” And execute they did. Right from the opening buzzer, the South Siders went on a 10–0 run to take control of the game. The Maroons played well on both sides of the floor, forcing the Bears to take bad shots, meanwhile shooting an impressive 43.8 percent on offense. “We shared the ball and worked well as a team, giving us some good looks,” said first-year guard Jake Fenlon. “We limited our turnovers and didn’t let Wash U prevent us from what we wanted to do offensively. Rebounding was also huge for us,
and it gave us multiple opportunities for second chance points.” By halftime the score was 33–17 in favor of the home team. Coming out of the break, Wash U attempted to turn the game into a physical battle, focusing most of their offensive energy into trying to score points in the paint. Nonetheless, Chicago was able to stay composed, matching layups with scores on the other end. “Wash came out in the second half looking motivated to make a run and gain momentum, but we maintained our composure and kept the pressure on to limit their run,” Fenlon said. In fact, the visiting team was never able to gain traction. After the half, they were not able to pull the game closer than a 15-point deficit. It wasn’t just a spectacular defense that allowed the South Siders to pull off the 20-point win. The Maroons beat their opponents in almost every category. The South Siders outrebounded the Bears 51–42, outshot them from every position, and more than doubled Wash U’s number of assists. The only categories in which Chicago didn’t prevail were in turnovers and second chance points. Nevertheless, this game demon-
Third-year forward Jordan Smith drives into the paint against Wash U in a game last season. COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS
strated the Maroons’ potential moving forward. “It feels good to start UAA play with a win, especially a game against a perennial power house in our league,” Voss said. “Them being number one was an added bonus,
but it’s just the beginning of a long season of league play.” Next up for the Maroons is a home game against Rochester this Friday. The Yellow Jackets are currently 4–8 overall and 0–1 in conference play, having lost to Emory
by 15 points last Saturday. The last time the University of Chicago and Rochester played, the Maroons won 69–62. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. on the Friday January 16 in Ratner Athletics Center.
Chicago torches competition at opening indoor meet
South Siders stumble against rival Wash U
Track & Field
Women’s Basketball
Zach Themer Associate Sports Editor The legend of the phoenix tells of a mythological bird that is born from its ashes three days after its spontaneous death. With the blankets of snow covering the frozen University of Chicago campus, one would not be surprised to find that this tale has played out in reality. The rising phoenix, in this case, was Chicago, which took the Phoenix Invitational this past weekend in their first indoor meet of the year. Shaking off the ashes of freezing temperatures, a long winter break, and an exhausting fall season, the men and women looked to open their season with a brazen display. “This was the team’s first time competing this year, and a chance to put down first marks as starting points where athletes can get better,” said third-year long distance runner Henry Blood. In taking the Phoenix Invitational, the Maroons toppled six other teams this past Saturday. The women’s team decimated its opponents as they won the meet with a total of
264.5 points, nearly double the 145 points posted by runner-up Aurora University. On the day, the women’s team won five separate events. Winners for the South Siders included thirdyear Briana Hickey in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:38.69, fourth-year Pam Yu in the long jump and triple jump with distances of 4.98 and 10.59 meters respectively, third-year Nelson Trotter in the high jump with a height of 1.59 meters, and first-year Olivia Cattau, second-years Elenor Kang and Michelle Dobbs, and third-year Rebecca AskinsGast, in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 4:17:95. The results were strong, but preparing, conditioning, and practicing for the meet was no easy task. “The training included heavy lifting and speed endurance,” said second-year sprinter Charissa Newkirk. Not to be outdone, the men’s team also put on a show at the meet as they dominated the competition, netting a total of 206 points, good enough for first over the distant Aurora University that put up 121.166
points. Propelling the men’s team to victory were success in the six separate events. Winners for the Maroons included second-year Timofey Karginov in the one-mile with a time of 4:28:40, second-year Gareth Jones in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:54:45, third-year Michael Bennett in the pole vault with a height of 4.56 meters, second-year Andrew Maneval in the shot put with a distance of 14.37 meters, second-year Brandon Dixon in the weight throw with a distance of 14.53 meters, and first-years Obi Wamuo and Nathan Downey, and third-years Ben Clark and Ryan Manzuk in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:25:15. Simply put, the Maroons ran circles around the competition this past weekend at the Phoenix Invitational. With a three month–long season, it was imperative for the South Siders to start out hot, and they did just that. Both teams take to the field of competition this Saturday at the Private School Championships in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Competition begins at 11 a.m.
Russell Mendelson Senior Sports Staff To begin this year’s conference play, the Maroons took on an undefeated Wash U squad at home, starting a stretch of 14 UAA games to finish out the regular season. Chicago (6–6, 0–1 UAA) fell to the Bears (12–0, 1–0) by a score of 65–52, snapping a three-game winning streak. The South Siders had won five of their last seven games prior to the loss. Early in the first half, the Maroons battled to stay within striking distance. Almost three minutes into play, first-year Elizabeth Nye managed to steal the ball from Wash U’s Alyssa Johanson. The possession ended successfully for Chicago as fourth-year Morgan Donovan passed the ball to second-year Britta Nordstrom, who made the layup to knot the game up early at four. “My teammates put me in positions where I was able to be successful with my shot, whether it was from their passes or on their drives that occupied multiple players,” said Nordstrom, who scored eight points, going 4–6 from the field. The four-point tie would be the closest Chicago would
get to the Bears, as they found themselves 32–23, a ninepoint deficit, after 20 minutes of play. “Wash U is always a very disciplined team, and they scout us extremely well,” fourth-year Ellie Greiner said. “I think this gave them the ability to predict our passes and decisions, and we didn’t adjust well enough to get the easy shots we normally do on offense.” Nevertheless, Greiner made four of six shots behind the arc, and she racked up 14 points and three rebounds on the day. “We were definitely excited to come out and play them, as we feel that we have something to prove,” said Nordstrom. “We wanted to show that we are a much better team than our record shows.” There were added emotions among the team leading up to the game. “Our entire team was extremely pumped up for this game. Wash U is always our biggest rival, and their solid pre-conference record only increased our sense of urgency in practice and workouts leading up to the game,” Greiner said. “Unfortunately, this excitement showed itself in nerves, which led us into some poor decisions.”
At the same time, the team went through its same structured preparation as always so as to not allow for opponents to capitalize on avoidable mistakes. “We knew it was a big game, but we prepared for this game the same as any other by watching film and learning their personnel,” Nye said. “We prepared our defense for their offense, so a lot of times it was just knowing where the ball was [going to] be and being in the right place at the right time.” This strategy worked well for Nye as she managed to accumulate four steals, seven points, and one assist over the course of the game. Nye also attributed her defensive prowess to the pressure her teammates put on the Bears’ offense, which she believes led to poor Wash U passes. “We definitely learned that we can play with one of the best teams in the country. But we also learned that we have to do the big things, like rebounding and making good passes in order to do that. But those are things that we have in our control, so that’s definitely a positive,” Nordstrom said. The Maroons’ next game is a home matchup this Friday against Rochester at 6:30 p.m.