JANUARY 19, 2018
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
VOL. 129, ISSUE 22
More online: Leadership of the Obama Presidential Center hosted a community forum Monday evening to discuss plans for the Center’s museum.
Brooke Nagler
Workers bustle about in the new restaraunt.
Tea Shop Opens to Crowds in Campus North BY CAROLINE KUBZANSKY NEWS REPORTER
Te A mo Boba Bar Café, a new restaurant in Campus North serving Taiwanese-style bubble tea, iced tea, and fruit freezes, had a soft opening on Tuesday. The café was so busy on its first day of business that it ran out of boba.
According to owner Mia, who declined to give her last name, Tuesday’s boba shortage was due to the fact that Te Amo makes its boba on the premises and had only prepared six pots of boba. In the two days since opening, Te Amo has had eight pots of boba on standby. Te Amo purchased the deed to its location in North in May, and the owner attributed the
delay in opening to construction work. Records show that Te Amo failed its initial health inspection on December 18, 2017, but passed shortly afterwards, on December 21. Te Amo is the final retail establishment to open in North, joining Insomnia Cookies, Dollop Coffee, and Nella Pizza e Pasta.
Law Clinic Files Against US Steel BY KAMRYN SLOMKA NEWS REPORTER
The Surfrider Foundation, represented by UChicago’s Abrams Environmental Law Clinic, announced yesterday that it is proceeding with a lawsuit against the U.S. Steel Corporation. Last November, the clinic sent a notice of intent to sue to U.S.
Steel over its violations of the Clean Water Act. The company dumped hexavalent chromium from its Midwest plant into Lake Michigan via the Burns Waterway in Indiana on multiple occasions during 2017. In April, the company discharged an amount of chromium into Lake Michigan far higher than the legal limit of 30 pounds per day. From 7 Continued on page 3
Groundbreaking Journalist Speaks at MLK Day Event BY KATHERINE VEGA DEPUTY NEWS EDITOR
Journalist Dorothy Butler Gilliam speaks at an MLK celebration.
Brooke Nagler
The University of Chicago hosted its 28th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Rockefeller Chapel on Tuesday, with a keynote address given by Dorothy Butler Gilliam. Gilliam was the first black female reporter at The Washington Post, and is known for her civil rights reporting. During her career as a journalist, she covered history-making events, such as the integration of schools in Little Rock and the University of Mississippi.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
T he evening included a welcome by fourth-year Claire Moore, performances by the Chicago Children’s Choir, a reading from King’s “If I Had Sneezed” speech, and remarks by University President Robert Zimmer, who announced the recipients of diversity awards for faculty, alumni, and staff and introduced Gilliam’s address. Gilliam’s speech focused on her career as a pioneering black journalist, starting from her days as a budding reporter in the segregated South. After graduating from the historically Continued on page 2
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The recently released film trips over issues of race, but is worth seeing, our reviewer rights.
Swim Team to Mark Senior Day Editorial: Save Grounds of Being Page 3 Grounds of Being should not be charged rent, the editorial board writes.
Page 8 The team will take on the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Saturday.
Excerpts from articles and comments published in T he Chicago Maroon may be duplicated and redistributed in other media and non-commercial publications without the prior consent of The Chicago Maroon so long as the redistributed article is not altered from the original without the consent of the Editorial Team. Commercial republication of material in The Chicago Maroon is prohibited without the consent of the Editorial Team or, in the case of reader comments, the author.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
Events 1/19–22 Today Alison Winter Lecture: “Darwin’s Afterlives: Recollection and the Making of Biography Room 110, Classics Building, 5–7 p.m. Janet Browne, a professor of the history of science at Harvard, will reflect on her work cataloguing the life and impact of Charles Darwin. A reception will follow the lecture. Arrowfest 2018: Battle of the Bands Mandel Hall, 6:30–9 p.m. University student organizations will compete in a lip sync contest to raise money for charity. Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased at Reynolds Club from 10:30 a.m.–4 p.m. throughout third week, or online. Proceeds will go to the Pi Beta Phi Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to funding education. Sliced Bread Launch Party McCormick Tribune Lounge, Reynolds Club, 7–9 p.m. UChicago’s largest literary magazine, “Sliced Bread”, turns 10 this year! Join them for their launch party, which will feature an open mic, refreshments, and a performance by the professional local storytelling troupe 2nd Story. Saturday UChicago Science Olympiad Invitational Closing Ceremony Mandel Hall, 3:30–6:30 p.m. The University’s Science Olympiad is hosting its first invitational for high school students. They close the day of events with RSO performances, a keynote address by the National Science Olympiad’s director, and an awards ceremony. Sunday UChicago Presents: The Boston Camerata Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, 2–4 p.m. The Boston Camerata will come together with the Trebles of the Choir of St. Luke’s and the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel Choir to perform “The Play of Daniel.” See the 800-year-old play retold for a modern audience, right here in Rockefeller Chapel. $11 students/$31 staff and faculty/$39 general. Monday President Trump, Year One Cloister Club, Ida Noyes Hall, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Five leading journalists gather to analyze the year since Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Brooke Nagler
Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson Sr. also spoke at the University’s MLK celebration.
MLK Day Celebrated in Rockefeller Chapel Continued from front
black Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, Gilliam was denied positions at several all-white daily papers. Instead, she took a position at a black weekly newspaper, the Tri-State Defender. Although Gilliam’s boss at the Defender, L. Alex Wilson, was supportive of her, Wilson felt it was too dangerous for her, as a woman, to cover the South’s violent integration processes—where even male black reporters were being harassed or attacked. After Gilliam witnessed Wilson getting beaten with a brick on television while he was covering school integration in Little Rock, Arkansas, she called a photographer she knew and decided to go to Little Rock herself. While making a name for herself covering integration at schools, Gilliam decided to go to graduate school for journalism. Although she was initially rejected from Columbia University’s School of Journalism because her education at Lincoln University did not meet Columbia’s prerequisites, she managed to gain admission after a friend helped her get the credits she needed at a different institution. After graduating from Columbia, Gil-
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touched on how debilitating poverty can be in achieving one’s goals and how it especially devastates communities of color. She discussed the need to support youth facing poverty. “A good ecosystem is like a multifaceted, holistic environment around students that promotes success by alleviating the pressures and issues, primarily poverty, that hold students back.” After her talk, Gilliam sat down for a conversation with her daughter, Melissa Gilliam, the vice provost for academic leadership, advancement, and diversity at the University. Melissa Gilliam asked a range of questions on journalism and the media. When asked if she would recommend people go into journalism, Gilliam said yes. “I would not discourage someone who really, strongly wanted a career in journalism because it is still so important to try and be a truth-teller…. We have a lot of bloggers, but bloggers don’t have the training so that they can really separate truth from lie. It takes a lot of training and development of expertise to really write in a way that impacts people, impacts history.”
Hillel Offers Milgrom Social Justice Fellowship BY DAKSH CHAUHAN
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liam spent a summer reporting in Nigeria and other countries on the continent. Throughout her time in Africa, she wrote articles and sent clips to The Washington Post, which hired her upon her return. “There were only a handful of black reporters at daily newspapers at that time…. Washington, D.C., was also a very segregated Southern city…. I knew that if I failed, it would be tougher for the next black woman to be hired at a major daily newspaper.” While covering the integration of the University of Mississippi campus, Gilliam faced further hardships due to her race. Because hotels were segregated, black reporters had nowhere to stay, and Butler would spend the night wherever she was able to find a bed. Sometimes, she would resort to staying the night at a local black funeral home. While working at The Washington Post, Gilliam wrote a popular weekly column on politics. She went on to become the president of the National Association of Black Journalists, founded the Young Journalists Development Program, and created a journalism mentorship program for underserved youth. Near the end of her speech, Gilliam
The Newberger Hillel Center will begin the Milgrom Social Justice Fellowship, a rigorous 10-week program for students committed to social justice beginning this summer. The program is open to second-, third-, and fourth-year University of Chicago undergraduates and comes with a $5,000 stipend. The fellowship is a collaboration between Hillel, the Pozen Family Center for Human Rights, and the Fried Public Policy and Service Program. This program is funded by the Hymen Milgrom Supporting Organization, which was created from a $17-million gift from Hymen Milgrom’s estate.
Milgrom (AB ’35) was an entrepreneur who founded multiple companies. He founded his first company Milex Products, Inc., a women’s medical health care company, two years out of college in 1937, and he founded his last one, Innowattech Ltd., in 2008, when he was 94 years old. Milgrom was also a supporter of multiple organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Hebrew University Medical School, and his alma mater, UChicago. The Milgrom fellowship will give students an opportunity to work with Chicago-based nonprofits. These nonprofits include North Lawndale Employment Network, Thresholds, Bronzeville Dream Center and Bright Star Church. Students will be addressing issues in education and
workforce readiness in disadvantaged communities. Students interested in careers in social change will also have an opportunity to be exposed to a spectrum of models and career options. The fellows will also engage in educational seminars to enhance their understanding of social issues. Students are expected to work at least 250 hours throughout the program. “We look forward to building a cohort of students who learn together and encourage each other in the pursuit of a career social change work. Through this program we honor the memory of Hymen Milgrom and his commitment to access to education and gainful employment for all,” said Anna Levin Rosen, rabbi and executive director of UChicago Hillel.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
U.S. Steel Point Toward Improvements in Indiana Plant Continued from front
a.m. on October 25 to 7 a.m. on October 26, U.S. Steel released 56.7 pounds of chromium. According to a letter sent by the company to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) on October 31, Indiana officials were not notified of the spill until October 27, the following day. “U.S. Steel has 21 days to respond, according to the Federal Rules of Procedure [after being formally served with the lawsuit],” said Robert Weinstock, a lecturer in law at the Law School and the Abrams Environmental Law Fellow. Students at the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic originally found the letter while tracking pollution violations at factories situated on the shores of Lake Michigan. Though the letter was posted on the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s database and was publically available, U.S. Steel and IDEM did not notify either the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the general public. The weekend following the spill, several surfers were exposed to hexavalent chromium, the adverse effects of which include skin and eye irritation, kidney and liver damage, and cancer. In December, after having announced its intent to sue the corporation in November, the City of Chicago sent a letter to the EPA
requesting that the City be made part of any negotiations with U.S. Steel. Surfrider and the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic sent a similar letter. According to Weinstock, the EPA never responded to the clinic’s letter and recently denied the City’s request. The Clean Water Act allows citizens to sue polluters and requires that both the polluter and the government be given a 60-day notice from the intent-to-sue notice to when the lawsuit is served. During those 60 days, neither the EPA nor the IDEM took legal action against U.S. Steel. “The fact that there has been no formal legal action taken by regulators is certainly disappointing,” Weinstock said. According to Weinstock, the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic and the Surfrider Foundation hope that their suit will act as a deterrent for other potential Clean Water Act violators and serve to remind regulators that if they fail to take action, citizens are prepared to do so. “I think that what is important here is that U.S. Steel should be forced to take all necessary actions to make sure that further illegal discharges never occur again,” Weinstock said. “It is important that U.S. Steel be subject to an appropriate and significant civil penalty to reflect the seriousness of their past violations and to deter them from future
A Lake Michigan beach scene on the Indiana Dunes. Clean Water Act violations.” The penalty must be large enough to negate any economic benefit that U.S. Steel has enjoyed from not investing in upgrades at their plants. The Surfrider Foundation hopes that the money from U.S. Steel’s penalty will go back to the local environment that the chromium dumping harmed. In a comment given to The Maroon by U.S. Steel, the corporation states that it has “worked cooperatively with government and
Alen Ištokovi
regulatory entities to swiftly remediate the issues at our Midwest plant in Portage, Indiana, with which the Surfrider Foundation is concerned, thereby rendering this lawsuit unnecessary.” U.S. Steel also says that it has taken several steps to ensure that its Midwest Plant is compliant with current environmental and safety standards. The full statement can be read in the online version of this article.
VIEWPOINTS The Proving Ground
Grounds of Being Should Be Preserved as an Independent Student Institution As reported in T he M aroon in recent weeks, the Divinity School has asked Grounds of Being to pay about $60,000 a year in combined rent and utility costs for its space in the basement of Swift Hall. Administrators have cited the University’s new budget structure, which includes the cost of space in divisions’ revenue targets, as reason for the change. The student-run coffee shop has attempted to negotiate the terms of the demand, objecting that $60,000 far outstrips the café’s annual net profits—a key source of funding for the Divinity Students Association (DSA), which facilitates academic, professional, and social opportunities for students at the Divinity School. A recent breakdown in negotiations may jeopardize the café’s future. T he M aroon Editorial Board finds it troubling that Grounds of Being—an institution by and for Divinity School students—has become a casualty of this policy change. We urge the Divinity School administration to ensure the DSA’s relative independence and Grounds of Being’s profitability by allowing the café to operate in its current space rent-free. Additionally, the DSA has reasonably argued that replacing Grounds of Being with a corporate coffee shop like Starbucks—as Divinity School Dean Laurie Zoloth suggested, according to accounts of the proceedings published by representatives of Grounds of Being—would not make financial sense. Given Grounds of Being’s demonstrated profitability and competitiveness in its current space, it is difficult to imagine any similarly popular replacement, much less a Starbucks when there are four others within walking distance. Besides effectively shuttering a dynamic student space on campus, charging Grounds of Being rent would result in less funding toward the DSA, rendering it significantly more dependent on the University. This would be a blow to graduate student independence, both literally and
Amelia Frank
symbolically. University centralization is not necessarily bad, but it is when it affects a beloved campus institution, especially one so ingrained in the student community. Unless the administration plans to attract a uniquely profitable corporate tenant or take a net cut in DSA funding, even a cold-blooded consideration of the bottom line would not seem to recommend the move. Due to Grounds of Being’s extensive
documentation of its negotiations with Dean Zoloth and the Divinity School, T he M aroon has a somewhat one-sided view of the situation. We understand Dean Zoloth has a responsibility to steward the Divinity School’s resources. However, the Divinity School’s current terms—pay the full $60,000 or face eviction—are unreasonable. Campus may know Grounds of Being as an independent coffee shop, but for Divinity School students—from the baristas paid fair wages to students
whose research directly benefits from DSA services, like its travel and conference funds—it is much more than that. Grounds of Being’s existential crisis affects all Divinity School students. T he M aroon stands with them in hopes of an outcome that affirms Grounds of Being’s benefit to the community it serves most. Spencer Dembner recused himself from this editorial.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
Thinking of Ink
For the Love of the Game?
A Columnist Ruminates on a Common Class Interaction, Gone Horribly Wrong
Even for a Longtime Fan, It Is Hard to Reckon With the Harm Football Inflicts on Its Players
Krishna Sunder It was me. I confess—it was me. You lent me your pen in calculus on the first day of the quarter, and I accidentally took it home. I was going to give it back the next day, but you switched sections and we’ll probably never see each other again. It’s a good pen, too. It’s got one of those super-thin fountain tips that lets out ink in crisp yet fluid strokes as it glides across the page effortlessly—none of that scratchy ballpoint bullshit. My handwriting usually looks more like chicken scratch than legible print, but with your pen everything makes sense. I used to just take notes because everyone else was doing it, but now I understand! You’re actually supposed to read them later! I’ve thought about you a lot, actually. I’m sure if I tried hard enough, I could find you and give your pen back. I could post in that UChicago Lost and Found Facebook page, or ask around in class and find out if anyone knew your name. Maybe I could find one of those criminal sketch artists to render your face so I can stick “WANTED” posters all over campus to reach you.
“Your generosity has been much appreciated, but I think I’ll be bringing my own pens from now on.”
But I probably won’t. It’s a lot of effort, and well... it’s just a pen, right? I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if you’re out there in your new calculus section right before a midterm, fumbling around in your backpack for a pen—only to realize you
Lucas Du
haven’t got one now. Maybe you’ll lean over and ask the person sitting next to you for a pen—like I did to you—but they’ll refuse (or claim they have no pen), perhaps because they, too, have lost pens in the past to absent-minded classmates who pocketed their belongings. If that’s the case, then I’d be part of the reason less than a third of Americans believe people can be trusted. I don’t know if I can live with that weight on my conscience. Then again—it’s just a pen. If it was your cell phone, I definitely would go through all that effort to track you down. So why shouldn’t I do the same for your pen? Think about it in terms of money: Let’s say I’m walking across the quad, and someone in front of me drops $50 on the ground without noticing. To me, the “right” thing to do is pretty clear: run up to them and hand them their money. But what if they just dropped a penny? What if it was $10, but they’re on a bike and half a mile ahead of me by now? Where do I draw the fine-tipped line? And that’s not even getting into all the other questions I have. You obviously had multiple pens if you were willing to lend me one. I, of course, had none. Does that mean I have a greater “need” per pen than you do? Let’s imagine someone else asks me to borrow a pen in a future where I am responsible enough to actually carry multiple pens. If I give one to them and they don’t return it, would my pen karma balance out? If you were standing right in front of me, I’d certainly give it back to you; but how hard should I try to find you before I give up? I’m not sure I have any answers, unfortunately—but it’s way too early in the quarter to have an existential crisis. So, to the true owner of this pen: If you’re out there, I have it. Take it back. Please. Your generosity has been much appreciated, but I think I’ll be bringing my own pens from now on. Krishna Sunder is a first-year in the College.
MULTIMEDIA
Grace Hauck, editor BUSINESS
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SPORTS
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There were 10 seconds left on the game clock as Case Keenum, quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, lined up on the field and made sure his players were ready. The scoreboard stared down at the stadium: 24–23, New Orleans Saints. Time was running out and the possibility of salvaging a win looked increasingly slim. Keenum took the snap and threw up a prayer to receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs went up between two defenders and made an incredible catch 27 yards down the field, just enough for a risky field goal that could win the game. But as he came down, Diggs felt Saints safety Marcus Williams fly past him on a poorly timed tackle attempt and, when he looked up, saw only open turf. He regained his balance and sprinted 34 more yards into the end zone to score six points and give the Vikings a 29–24 walk-off win. Diggs threw off his helmet and reached his arms to the sky. It was an impossible play and a heart-stopping finish. For Vikings fans, it must have felt as if the world had frozen in place and it was just them, at the stadium or in the living room, witnessing one of the most indelible moments in NFL history. I’m a sucker for anything but homework on just about any night of the week and, true to form, I stayed up for hours that Sunday night watching YouTube compilations of fan reactions to that final play. Maybe it was the exhaustion I felt setting in around 2 a.m., but I found myself tearing up at those grainy clips that I saw again and again. There’s something profoundly beautiful about watching a bearded middle-aged man flop to the floor and scream at the TV or seeing the face of a young girl light up in awe under the flickering glow of the live broadcast. You know that this moment will live with all of them for a long, long time. This moment has changed them. As the annual pomp of the Super Bowl approaches, the nation is gearing up to celebrate another time-honored, ad-frilled American spectacle. Even here at UChicago, a school known far more for the life of the mind than its football fandom, many are also preparing for their own Super Bowl get-togethers. And as the spotlights warm up, questions about the future of the sport loom ever larger. The NFL is experiencing a historic decline in ratings. Player health is coming under closer scrutiny. People have questioned out loud the very ethics of watching and playing the game. At a school as devoted to rigorous inquiry and debate as UChicago, it is important, for those that care, to engage with those questions and reflect on what it means to watch football. Football is a sport at a crossroads, unable to deal with the self-destructive violence at the heart of its appeal. The health risks, especially to the brain, are undeniable. Just this year, Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier launched himself headfirst into the chest of an opposing player and suffered a severe spinal injury. He was taken off the field in a backboard and had to undergo spinal stabilization surgery. He may never walk again. And of course, there are the countless
studies done on the brains of NFL players that have passed away, showing without a doubt the effect that repeated blows to the head—blows that happen in almost every play during an NFL game—have on the brain. In a study of 111 retired NFL players’ brains, 110 had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Aaron Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight end convicted of homicide, took his own life last April. In a posthumous study of his brain, researchers found that at just 27 years old, Hernandez had severe CTE, the worst case of CTE ever discovered in a person of his age. For reference, the average age of an active NFL player in 2015 was just over 26. It’s a complicated thing, grappling with my love for the sport and the knowledge that with every play, every big hit, a player I admire is slowly mashing his brain into a pulp. That, to me, is the central tragedy of football as it is played now: For so many, the debt of glory and fame earned on the field inevitably comes due years later, in a middle-aged man years past his prime, stuck in a body that he feels he can no longer control, wracked by periods of unprovoked anger and deep depression, and finally, moved to take his own life. There have been various technical advances that promise a better, safer, future for the game. From the VICIS helmet, which aims to reduce impact forces with an innovative take on helmet cushioning, to a push across football for heads-up, rugby-style tackling—a movement spearheaded by a video from my own hometown Seattle Seahawks—coaches, players, and entrepreneurs across the country are trying to find ways to make the game less dangerous while keeping its essence alive. But if, in the years to come, football does prove too dangerous to merit its continued existence, and if the NFL does fail to uphold its professed dedication to player safety, the game will still live on in my memories and those of countless others. My Seahawks fandom gave me some of the brightest and most powerful moments of my middle and high school life (although, truth be told, that may not be a particularly high bar). The Richard Sherman pass breakup to win the NFC Championship game and take the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. The Jermaine Kearse touchdown catch to win another NFC Championship game in overtime. A Super Bowl win. Even a heart-wrenching Super Bowl loss. It’s those moments, just like that Vikings walk-off touchdown on Sunday, that remind me of the beauty and sublime joy this game can evoke, despite all its tragedy and darkness. In a sport that some say is dying, in a sport that I believe must fundamentally change if it is to survive, there is something worth saving. And if it cannot be saved, then there is, at least, something worth remembering. Lucas Du is a first-year in the College.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
ARTS
Sliced Bread Turns 10 and Keeps Rising BY NEHA LINGAREDDY MAROON CONTRIBUTOR
Last year, UChicago’s largest literary magazine turned 10. Sliced Bread, which aims to publish a “slice” of everything— poetry, short stories, photography, drawings, and any other form of creative endeavor that you can think of—has grown exponentially from a small magazine in 2007 to a now-quarterly publication with its own podcasts and online serial illustrations. “Sliced Bread is like family,” said fourth-year and co-editor-in-chief Sophia Chun. “Everyone is super passionate about their pieces, and it’s really a great creative environment.” The editorial board at Sliced Bread works hard to maintain this tight-knit community. Two editors-in-chief take care of administrative work, send out e-mails, coordinate meeting times, and make sure the magazine stays afloat. Editors are responsible for author outreach, layout, publicity, and the magazine’s podcast section. They help assemble every issue. Unlike other literary magazines on campus, Sliced Bread also collaborates
with authors through outreach editors. These editors communicate with students about their submissions and decide which pieces to accept, which to deny, and which to workshop. Authors being workshopped revise pieces collaboratively with editors, offering them an unusual opportunity to polish a piece rather than receiving a flat yes or no. “As a first-year, it’s great being part of an RSO where there are also fourthyears,” said Imaan Yosuf, a first-year author outreach editor. “Our meetings are always a lot of fun, and it’s a really nice space on campus.” Yosuf also mentioned, with glee, that there is always an explosion of bread puns at meetings and e-mails pertaining to Sliced Bread. Yosuf also commented on how the school’s policy on free speech influences Sliced Bread. “I think the nature of the school makes us feel like there’s no limit,” he said. “Even if a piece is bold, it will be published. There’s a lot of freedom to articulate ourselves.” When the editors were asked for more details on Sliced Bread’s culture, it became evident that Sliced Bread is part of what makes UChicago unique. Sliced Bread is the only literary magazine that
Sara Maillacheruvu
Olivia Alcabes
The 2017-18 staff of Sliced Bread pose for a group photo.
exclusively prints the work of UChicago students, resulting in art that is diverse yet strangely familiar. To this end, Sliced Bread works to represent work from large parts of the UChicago community. In 2008, Sliced Bread produced a DVD with Fire Escape Films titled FIREBREAD, and collaborated last year with mental health RSO Active Minds to publish an edition on mental health issues. Sliced Bread has also expanded to include the Bread Beat, its very own podcast that includes spoken performances of selections from its print magazine. “I’m a big fan,” co-editor-in-chief of the magazine and third-year in the college, Parker Chusid said. “To hear the words spoken out loud is very different from reading the print myself, and I love this addition to Sliced Bread Magazine.” Despite these developments, both Chun and Chusid believe that the magazine’s central mission will always remain
the same. Although many magazines are transitioning to being online-only publications, Sliced Bread will continue to distribute print copies. “I think it’s the best way because it allows us to communicate with the campus,” Chun said. “I like holding a physical print in my hands, and I think the readers of Sliced Bread do too.” “Being at UChicago, you obviously appreciate that a lot of people around you are spectacular. But getting to review their poems, I’m sometimes just blown away by the artistic talent on this campus,” Chun said. “That’s the biggest thing for me about Sliced Bread—getting to witness the creative inventiveness...a side of the campus I wouldn’t normally witness.”
Sliced Bread will be hosting a launch party for its latest issue today.
Three Billboards: A Contentious Contender BY MICHAEL SHERMAN MAROON CONTRIBUTOR
In light of its recent success at the Golden Globes (four wins including Best Drama Motion Picture), Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri now has the center stage in this cultural zeitgeist. Yet Three Billboards’s success at the Globes has not been without controversy. The story is set in the eponymous Ebbing, Missouri, following Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand), whose daughter was the victim of a still-unsolved rape and murder. Seeking vengeance for her daughter, Hayes rents three billboards, which
read: “RAPED WHILE DYING,” “AND STILL NO A RRESTS? ” and finally, “HOW COME, CHIEF WILLOUGHBY?” While the town sympathizes with the pain of the heartbroken mother, they are angered by her rage toward police chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), who is dying of pancreatic cancer. Mildred’s actions anger her ex-husband Charlie (John Hawkes), embarrass her son Robbie (Lucas Hedges), and frustrate the Ebbing Police Department—particularly one racist officer, Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell). The film explores its nuanced moral and ethical dilemmas through these characters, particularly Hayes’s and Willoughby’s family lives. Strong performances
Courtesy of TIFF
Three Billboards stars Frances McDormand.
from McDormand (perhaps her best since Fargo) and Harrelson encourage empathy with both McDormand’s rage and Willoughby’s good-faith attempts to find the murderer(s). These moral dilemmas are helped along by McDonagh’s experience as a playwright. He crafts dialogue that is not only hilarious, providing a delightful aspect to this dark comedy, but also pushes the audience to examine morality. For those who have seen his previous films, In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, McDonagh’s ability to seamlessly navigate the complexities of morality through dialogue will be immediately recognizable. In doing so, McDonagh investigates the motivations of the justifiably enraged mother and the competence of a small town police department. Fortunately, the film’s dialogue is not only intellectual, but also deeply comedic. By setting the film in a town that would sneer at the idea of “PC,” McDonagh is able to embrace absurd territory that most screenwriters would not dare touch. Through this embrace of the absurd, the audience is given moments of levity that impressively feel appropriate in a film that is so dark and painful. The juxtaposition of pain and comedy alone will justify the cost of admission for most audiences. However, any review of this film must acknowledge a central issue: that the film should have treated race more carefully. Central to Mildred’s diatribe against
the Ebbing Police Department is her accusation that they are “too busy going round torturing black folks” to solve her daughter’s murder. While it may seem that the film is trying to criticize racist cops in America, the issue of systemic racism within police departments is never addressed. Frustratingly, in one of the witty exchanges that takes place between McDormand and Harrelson, an n-word– laden argument ensues. This conversation is played off for laughs, yet poses deeply troublesome problems and lacks a real punch line. More egregiously, the central redemptive character arc for Dixon does not address his racist behavior. The conversations and character development in this film illustrate its fundamental problem, which is that McDonagh is not from the United States, let alone Missouri. This reviewer believes that it would be impossible to expect McDonagh, an outsider to the unique dynamics of U.S. race relations, to add valuable commentary on the topic; this only makes it more unfortunate that he chose to prominently feature it as a part of this film. All that said, Three Billboards is still one of the Oscar contenders that is worth going to see. The comedy, when present, the action, and the tragedy all make for an entertaining and challenging film. Whether or not this film should win an Academy Award, though, will be rightly litigated in the media for the next several weeks.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
Artwork and Homework at the Smart Museum BY JONATHAN MANDEL ARTS STAFF
The Smart Museum of Art’s latest showing, The History of Perception, opened on January 9. More than just an exhibition, however, The History of Perception is course material: The various artistic works on display have been carefully curated by Michael Rossi, assistant professor in the history of medicine, in consultation with Smart Museum Assistant Curator Berit Ness, to accompany a class taught by Rossi this quarter. P r ofes s or R o s si’s cl a s s , also entitled “History of Perception,” is cross-listed in the history, HIPS, and anthropology departments, and is now a K NOW class. The mysterious “ K NOW ” classes —including offer ings this quar ter such as “ Histor y of Skepticism,” “Feminists Read the Greeks,” and “Planetary Britain, 1600 – 19 0 0 ”— are offered through the Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge. L o c at ed bet we en A lph a Delt and Calvert House, the Stevanovich Institute opened in the fall of 2015 and boasts a prestigious group of faculty and fellows from fields including medicine, history, divinity, anthropology, and literature. This group is united in their commitment to examining the bounds of knowledge, its formation, and its cultural context. “History of Perception,” as taught by Rossi, is predicated upon the premises that “per-
“Art objects serve as archives of the history of perception, capturing the specific concerns, anxieties, and exultations of a particular place, person, or era.”
Photos by Olivia Shao
ception— construed, roughly, as the cognitive ordering of notionally sensual phenomena—has a history…[and] that this history is both constitutive of and constituted by the exigencies of particular political, social, ideological, and institutional orders held by different people in different times and places.” The course seeks to examine how humans have historically understood sensation to be cognizable, and thus, communicable. It achieves this goal partly through The History of Perception at the Smart Museum. As the introduction to the exhibition notes, “Art acts as an immediate sensory stimulant—a prompt for the viewer to think about the ways sensations and
ideas play off one another.” However, in addition to stimulating the viewer as a means of transmitting ideas, “art objects serve as archives of the history of perception, capturing the specific concerns, anxieties, and exultations of a particular place, person, or era.” A s pa r t of t he c ou r s e , “students w i l l be asked t o contr ibute wa l l tex ts, performance pieces, pamphlets, maps, soundscapes, or other supplemental material to the exhibit” in order to help viewers consider the subjective concerns intrinsic to each work of art. Perh aps i nev it ably, t he collection of ar t on display feels a little disjointed in the absence of student contribu-
tion. There is no explanatory wall text conveying the voice of the curator throughout the gallery, which is intentional— eventually, students will be creating the texts. In the short term, viewers are left to fill in the blanks themselves. This reviewer personally felt a compulsion to impose some sort of unifying consistency on the exhibition, which made me question whether walking through the gallery was a self-conscious commentary on perception. Nonetheless, the art itself is a pleasure. From Dada-inspired works by Jean (Hans) A rp and Dieter Roth, to the installation Light and Space by Robert Irwin, The History of Perception highlights some
“Perception— construed, roughly, as the cognitive ordering of notionally sensual phenomena—has a
real gems from the Smart Museum’s permanent collection. If the excitement surrounding Yayoi Kusama’s infinity mirror rooms is any guide, Antony Gormley’s Infinite Cube is bound to be a crowd pleaser. It is a collection of small LEDs arranged within a mirrored cube so that the only thing separating the v iewer from a seemingly infinite void of small lights is a transparent glass case. That said, it is disappointing that the art on display in The History of Perception is limited to European and A merican art. It is unclear whether that was a curatorial choice, or a result of the limitations of the Smart Museu m’s c ol le c t ion . Perh aps works by artists like Hélio Oiticica and Lygia Clark, which require interaction with art objects, cou ld help explore the historical relationship between sensation and cognition from additional perspectives. Nevertheless, The History of Perception is a worthwhile arrangement of art to wander through and will undoubtedly be enhanced by its engagement with its corresponding UChicago course throughout the quarter.
history” The History of Perception is on view at the Smart Museum of Art until April 22, 2018.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
SPORTS Chicago Hits the Road MEN’S BASKETBALL
BY ANDREW BEYTAGH SPORTS STAFF
The UChicago men’s basketball team heads into the third weekend of UAA play in the middle of the pack. However, two road wins would be huge for Chicago this weekend. The Maroons face off against the Tartans from Carnegie Mellon University and the Spartans from Case Western Reserve University in games that have recently been closely contested. Last year, the Maroons had a pair of close calls with each of these teams: it took a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Jake Fenlon to win it against Case Western, and UChicago lost a heartbreaker at home in overtime against Carnegie Mellon. Playing away
from the soft rims and friendly crowds of Ratner Athletic Center has not been kind to the Maroons this season who are 0–6 away from Ratner. Hopefully, Coach Mike McGrath can right these road woes with two massive wins this weekend ahead of a difficult home stand next weekend against Emory and Rochester. A key to the Maroons attack thus far centers on their balanced scoring. Though they are usually lead by fourthyear shooting guard Jake Fenlon, the supporting cast has been huge recently. This past weekend, fourth-year forward Collin Barthel chipped in 19 points, one shy of his career high. Second-year center Sam Sustacek dropped 19 points on 8–11 shooting against Brandeis with third-year
guards Justin Jackson and Noah Karras on the two teams this weekend, saying, pouring in 14 and 13 points, respectively. “We are going to be dealing with a lot of Orchestrating this balanced attack has ball screens this weekend, so we need to been point guard Jordan Baum. The sec- communicate really well and bring a lot of ond-year dazzles with an assist-to-turn- energy to keep guys out of the paint. We over ratio of 2.7 and 86 assists on the sea- also want to close out to their shooters so son which places him in the top 15 in all they don’t get going early.” of DIII. These two games could be a springTaking a look at the Tartans and the board for the Maroons in UAA play with Spartans, both teams are coming off losses two massive games next weekend at home to Emory and Rochester. Both teams are against Emory and Rochester, two top 25 relatively inexperienced and lead by their teams. Berhorst commented on the team sophomore classes. Case Western relies going forward. “We still have plenty of strongly on the three-point shot with over things we need to improve on, but the 45 percent of their shot attempts coming team is feeling good going into our first from behind the arc, while Carnegie Mel- weekend on the road in the UAA. We are lon utilizes a more balanced attack. Sec- looking to keep things rolling this weekond-year guard Jake Berhorst commented end on the road.”
South Siders Look to Ride Momentum WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BY ALYSSA RUDIN SPORTS STAFF
The Maroon women’s basketball team has continued its exceptional run, extending its win streak to 10 games and going 2–0 in its first UAA games. It continues conference play this weekend, heading to Carnegie Mellon University and Case Western University for the weekend. Over the weekend, the South Siders were once again boosted by big performances from multiple players. Against NYU, second-years Mia Farrell and Taylor Lake scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. Third-year Olariche Obi earned yet another double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. First-year Marissa Ig-
unbor proved to be up to the challenge, scoring 12 points. Fourth-year Elizabeth Nye led the team with five assists. Despite the Violets opening with a 10–0 run, the Maroons stayed steady to get a definitive 83–59 win. The game against Brandeis was definitely more of a challenge for the Maroons, but once again multiple players stepped up to get the win. The game was a backand-forth affair, as each quarter was basically a different story. In the first quarter, the Maroons earned a 12-point lead at one time thanks to scoring from Farrell, Igunbor, and Obi. That lead wasted away to just one point right before the end of the half, but Obi made a big play to put them up by three. The Maroons continued to
barely hang onto their lead in the third quarter, thanks to key three-pointers by second-year Miranda Burt. A fiery fourth quarter from Lake in which she scored 10 points changed the course of the game and allowed the Maroons to finally put it away. Overall, Lake scored 16 points, followed by Obi with her seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Burt with 14 points. Setting specific goals has been critical to the Maroon’s success. According to Lake, “It’s definitely easy to get caught up in the flow of conference play week after week, but I think we do a good job of holding each other accountable each week coming in to practice. We make sure to set a goal at the beginning of every week to
keep us focused on winning the weekend and not looking past any opponent. By having a goal in mind, it gives us something to work towards and keeps all of our attention on what we can do to achieve it.” The Maroons are once again favored in their games this weekend, as neither Carnegie nor Case Western are ranked nationally and Case Western has a losing record in the UAA. Additionally, Case’s overall record is losing as well. The Maroons, however, do not just focus on winning. Rather, they use games to focus on achieving quantifiable goals, as Lake described it, for every game that will help them improve in ways that they know will make them better as a team.
Maroons Ready to Run TRACK & FIELD
BY KAT WILLIAMS SPORTS STAFF
The Chicago Maroons are traveling down to the I-55 Triangular meet hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University this weekend. Going into their second meet of the season, the Maroons are looking forward to competing after coming off a great team win last weekend at their season opener, the Phoenix Invitational. The South Siders combined 17 wins between the men’s and women’s teams. Third-year sprinter Emma Griffiths looked back, saying, “Last weekend was the start of what I think will be a really exciting season. We’ve got some great freshmen joining us this year that have really been strong assets to the team in performance, dedication, and enthusiasm.” The I-55 is a huge meet, where one
of their largest competitors Wash U will be competing. Third-year All-American Emma Koether is looking forward to the meet. “The I-55 meet is cool because it’s an early-season look at where our top competitors are at physically”, Koether said. “Comparing ourselves to previous national champions in the second week of season will give us a good sense of what we need to do to improve and beat them out in a couple of months.” Wash U and Illinois Wesleyan are both tough competitors for the Maroons. Koether said, “Teams like Illinois Wesleyan and Wash U are consistently ranked top in the nation in many events, especially women’s sprinters. Racing Wesleyan and Wash [U] in the 4x4 is always daunting, but always a thrill. We are young, fresh, and eager, and although we graduated a few amazing competitors on
UPCOMING GAMES SPORT
DAY
Swim/Dive Women’s Basketball Men’s Basketball Men’s Basketball
Saturday Friday Friday Friday
Opponent
UW–Milwaukee Carnegie Mellon Wash U Carnegie Mellon
our team, we are still strong.” The firstyear class dominated the meet this past weekend—two of the 4x400 runners are first-years—where they came up with a victory with a time of 4:12:05. Koether continued to speak very highly of the first-year class, saying, “They are one of our best to date, and I can’t wait to see what talent they bring to the table this weekend. Last weekend was a good preliminary look at the team as a whole, but I think this weekend will be an even better showcase of how we are all coming together.” Men’s first-year standout Ryan Cutter is looking to showcase his one-mile run this weekend as well. Last meet, he won the one-mile event where he ran an impressive 4:27.61. Griffiths continued, “Our seniors this year will be a big determining factor, with Khia Kurtenbach coming in
as the Cross Country National Champion, Angel Fluet, who was the Athlete of the Week last week, and Patrick LeFevre, who will be a very strong competitor in the hurdles.” Both the men’s and women’s teams are coming off of great wins and looking forward to carrying their momentum this weekend and competing against some of their stiffest competition in the I-55 Triangular meet in Bloomington, IL. “Going into this weekend, I’m expecting to see some outstanding performances as we compare against Wash U and Wesleyan, two of the top teams in the country,” Griffiths added. The Maroons will begin the meet on Saturday at 11 a.m.
M AROON
TIME 6 p.m. 6 p.m. 8 p.m. 8 p.m.
SPORT Wrestling Men’s Basketball Women’s Basketball
SCORE BOARD W/L W L W
Opponent Wheaton Wash U Wash U
Score 21–18 78–79 82–76
8
THE CHICAGO MAROON - JANUARY 19, 2018
SPORTS Swimming to Honor Their Seniors SWIMMING & DIVING
BY SIDDHARTH KAPOOR SPORTS EDITOR
After a strong start to the new year, the Maroons’ swimming and diving teams are ready to take on UW–Milwaukee this Saturday. With the Panthers being a NCAA Division I foe, the Maroons are going to be fired up for the battle. This occasion also has extra significance because it marks Senior Day, where the University of Chicago will commemorate and recognize the 10 fourth-years on the roster for their efforts and achievements. The South Siders come to this dual meet following last weekend’s meet against Lewis University and Olivet Nazarene University. They were dominant, clinching 14 events with second-year Agnes Lo providing one of the multiple noteworthy performances. With wins in the one-meter and three-meter diving events, by 33 and 37 points, respectively, Lo was named the UAA Women’s Diver of the Week, which was her third UAA award of this season. To make things even better, her results in these events were good enough to be classified as NCAA provisional qualifying scores. Additionally, first-year Elizabeth Shen won the women’s 100- and 200-yard freestyle events while second-year Taye Baldinazzo won the 100-yard freestyle event for the men’s section in addition to being runner-up in the 200-yard individual medley and 200-yard freestyle events. In the end, UChicago’s women’s team beat Lewis by a score of 222–65 and ONU 154– 144. The men’s team also beat Lewis by a hefty margin, winning 177–99, but they
The swim team swims its way down the lanes on January 12. narrowly lost out to ONU 146–133. With such a good showing last weekend, morale in the Maroon camp is high. Second-year Tina Rodriguez concurs, saying, “The team is excited for the next meet. It is our last home meet for the season where we celebrate the graduating seniors.” This sense of excitement and unity in the team camp is likely to drive them forward in their future endeavors. This sense of teamwork was highlighted by
the South Siders’ success in the 400-meter medley events in both the men’s and women’s section. In addition to this feeling of eagerness, the team is also working hard in order to achieve their goals. According to Rodriguez, “The team is still training hard to prepare for our end of season meets, and we’re confident that the long hours we put in, in and out of the pool, will pay off.” This shows that the Maroons are not resting on their laurels but making
Defne Anlas sure that they put in maximum effort till the very end. With this attitude, there is no doubt that they have a high chance of success. The fourth-years will be commemorated at the Myers-McLoraine Pool at Ratner Athletics Center on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Maroons Prepare to Spar WRESTLING
BY EMMA GRIFFITHS SPORTS STAFF
This upcoming Saturday, the University of Chicago wrestling team will be facing an exciting team of wrestlers from North Central College, who are ranked 14th in the country. UChicago is currently No. 23. Coming off a seventh-place finish out of 12 teams last weekend, the Maroons are looking to improve their current national standings. There are high hopes to be in strong competition with this tough opponent. With a big opponent ahead of them, the Maroons will have to rely strongly on two of their first-years, Justin Crary and Will Britain. Both first-years are in the 157-pound bracket, finishing first and second, respectively, at last weekend’s meet.
These were impressive feats considering action a chance to compete,” head Coach that it was a 12-team meet with very Leo Kocher said. “One of the wrestling strong competition. Currently standing program’s goals this season was to make at 3–0 for his season thus far, Crary was sure any team member that wanted to named the UAA Athlete of the Week. compete would get multiple chances to Another strong contender going into do so. We only covered seven of the ten this weekend will be Duncan Payne, a weight classes today and we placed in four third-year in the 197-pound bracket who of them and just missed in another two. finished third in last weekend’s meet. He Our wrestlers demonstrated that we have is going to be looked toward for both lead- some true depth—particularly at 157 and ership and performance as he works to 197, where two Chicago wrestlers claimed continue making a big impact on the team. places.” A few more UChicago wrestlers to look Fourth-year Cristen Bublitz is also out for are first-years Quinton Mincy, Will very excited for this weekend, saying, Hare, and Gage Bayless, all three placing “Our young guys really make our team at the invite last weekend. There is a lot of what it is. They go out and are always promise with such strength in the future able to get things done. North Central has of the team. been a tough opponent for us historically, “We used this event to give some of but we should have no issue with them our guys who had not been seeing a lot of this weekend if our guys do what they do.
It will be a good meet, and I look forward to the high levels of competition.” Third-year Mason Williams shares a similar sentiment, saying, “We have about a month left until our regional tournament, so we are looking to start clicking on all cylinders. This weekend is going to be a pretty tough match. North Central has improved a lot this season and a victory over them this weekend would really give us the momentum to finish the season in the right direction training for the UAA Championship and the regional tournament.” With enthusiasm all around, the Maroons are sure to have a very successful day on Saturday. The meet will take place in Ratner Athletics Center at 1 p.m.
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