FRIDAY • JANUARY 24, 2014
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
ISSUE 21 • VOLUME 125
Local students benefit from Promise Freenters returns, ups
Dejohn McCray-Perry, a senior at Hyde Park Academy High School, says he would have applied to the University of Chicago had he known about UChicago Promise. FRANK YAN | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Christine Schmidt News Staff On Tuesday afternoon, Hyde Park Academy High School senior Dejohn McCray-Perry laughs with his friends after finishing his semester exams for the day. He has applied to colleges such as the Dawson Technical Institute of KennedyKing College in Chicago and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, but he didn’t consider the University of Chicago. “That’s a lot of money,” he said. If he had known that he didn’t have to pay the application fee and would be given grants instead of loans if he were accepted, would McCray-Perry have applied? “Yeah!” he said with a surprised look. With 905 students, an ACT aver-
age of 14.9, and a graduation rate of 53 percent, Hyde Park Academy, a public school in Woodlawn, is on probation as determined by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) as of the 2012–2013 school year. Only 65.1 percent of graduates go on to attend college, and 94.7 percent of the school’s students are considered lowincome. Because he resides and goes to high school in the city of Chicago, McCrayPerry is eligible for UChicago Promise, a program announced in October 2012 that offers college preparation by UChicago faculty and students, an application fee waiver, and coaching by admissions counselors for financial aid applications, interviews, and application essays. The most coveted aspect is a pledge of graduating debt-free through University
grants—and no loans—in a student’s financial aid package. A year after the launch of the program, the first cohort of UChicago Promise students is now enrolled at the University. There were 116 students accepted to the class of 2017 who were part of the first year of UChicago Promise, and 73 of them are currently enrolled, according to a University report. The admissions office also saw almost a 50 percent increase in applications from Chicago students, 82 percent of whom were from the CPS system. The University also has a $2.2 million commitment to replace loans with grants as part of UChicago Promise, and the program includes 31 full-tuition scholarships for select students from CPS. First-year Rita Jefferson is one of those 31 students. The daughter of a librarian and a school bus driver, the main reason she considered and enrolled at UChicago was the pledge of grants instead of loans. “I didn’t initially want to come. I was forced to apply because I didn’t think I would get in, but I ended up choosing it because I got the CPS scholarship,” she said. “It was almost exclusively [because of the] money.” UChicago Promise also includes programming to prepare Chicago high school students for college—at the University or elsewhere. “There are two different pieces to the puzzle in the admissions portion. One very directly services kids who want to be here, and that’s the application fee waiver and no-loan offer. That’s a very different PROMISE continued on page 2
security measures Natalie Friedberg News Staff
After a security breach forced the company into a two-month hiatus and a complete revamping of its online security systems, Freenters, the free printing startup, reopened its kiosks this Tuesday. According to first-year Stephen Huh, Freenters head of IT, the hacker breached the system not through its website, but through the printing kiosks placed
around campus. Password authentication took place on the printer server, as opposed to on the website, leaving user information accessible to the hacker. The hacker may also have taken advantage of a one- to two-second lag time, caused by the running down of machines, to steal hashed user passwords. “We’re talking about a machine. Things get lagged up, things get slow over time,” said Freenters co-founder and FREENTERS continued on page 2
After nine month delay, E&R amendments passed Sindhu Gnanasambandan Associate News Editor Amendments to Student Government (SG)’s Elections and Rules (E&R) committee passed last night with a unanimous vote, following nine months of pressure to reform. The push to increase transparency stems from a series of violations that came to light during the last election cycle. Last quarter, revisions were tabled after the first assembly meeting, not discussed at the second, and short of the two-thirds vote needed to pass during the third. “Basically…the concern was that there would be vitriol aimed at [stu-
dents on E&R] if they had to deliberate in an open meeting,” said SG President and fourth-year Michael McCown. Three secondary amendments were added to address this concern, resulting in a compromise: While complaints will be made in open meetings, E&R deliberations will remain private. Also, a description in the statement that all candidates must read and sign will give an overview of these changes to E&R rules, emphasizing that their complaints will now be public knowledge. “We want to take into account that [the candidate is] just a kid and so maybe you don’t want this to be totally public,” McCown said.
Wingers flies onto 53rd Street, replaces Hyde Park Gyros Raymond Fang Maroon Contributor Greek and American fast food converge at Wingers, a new restaurant opening in Hyde Park on February 1. The restaurant will serve a variety of menu items, including wings, gyros, and burgers. Located at East 53rd Street and South Kenwood Avenue, Wingers is replacing the old Hyde Park Gyros restaurant, which closed last year when the old owners decided not to renew their lease. Wingers features an all-new exterior and interior design, a result of a renovation project undertaken by the restaurant’s owner, Mike Alnatarneh, who owns several other restaurants in Chicago, including the Oasis Café and Shark’s Fish and Chips. Alnatarneh, who has been in the restaurant business for a dozen years, attributed his motivation for opening a new restaurant in Hyde Park to the increasing visibility of 53rd Street.
“I see [Hyde Park] is becoming a great area. I see some high-rises are coming to Hyde Park too,” he said. “And there are all different kinds of people in Hyde Park—there are teenagers, students, workers, and neighbors.” Peter Cassel, director of community development for MAC/Antheus Capital, which owns the building, described the opening of the new restaurant as a product of Hyde Park’s recent commercial growth and unconnected to the University’s larger project of renovating 53rd Street. “[The University of Chicago and Wingers] are not related at all. I would say it’s the natural evolution of Hyde Park retail,” Cassel said. “Restaurants come and go, and new owners come in and leave.” Alnatarneh said he chose to open a wings, burgers, and gyros restaurant because there are no other restaurants in Hyde Park that offer this variety of menu items. The restaurant will serve five types of burgers and different flavors of wings.
Wingers, a new fast food restaurant located on the corner of East 53rd Street and South Dorchester Avenue, serves wings, burgers, and gyros. The space was formerly occupied by Hyde Park Gyros. JULIA REINITZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
Speak for yourself » Page 3
At Harris Theater, Deavere Smith bids goodbye with Grace » Page 5
Neon Night victory fuels Sunday win over Brandeis » Back Page
In Lasky’s voice, poems take flight »
Women first, men second, at Private School Championships » Page 7
Letter: Obama library is an archive, not a presentation » Page 4
Page 5
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 24, 2014
FREENTERS continued from front
Since Jan. 1
Jan. 15 Jan. 22
6
2
Arrest (except traffic violation)
0
0
Assault (multiple types)
0
0
Attempted burglary
1
1
Attempted robbery
3
2
Battery (multiple types)
4
0
Burglary
0
0
Criminal trespass to vehicle
6
1
Damage to property (including vehicle)
34
19
3
1
Robbery (multiple types)
0
0
Traffic violation
10
3
Theft (including from motor vehicle)
0
0
Trespass to property (including residence)
 January 15, 900 East 60th Street, 7:30 p.m.—Two unknown males attempted to steal a purse from a woman walking on the sidewalk but fled without taking it.  January 17, 57th Street between Harper and Lake Park Avenues—Between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. an unknown person opened a parcel in the mail area of an off-campus apartment building and took a fur coat.  January 21, 6031 South Ellis Avenue (SCRH), time unknown—Three individuals became ill after consuming brownies believed to contain marijuana. They were transported to the ER by EMS, and the report is now a CPD case.  January 21, 5700 South Maryland Avenue (CCD), 4:30 a.m.—One male struck another male in the face during the course of an argument and was arrested by UCPD.
53rd
Battery Criminal tresspass to vehicle Damage to property
55th
Other Report
57th
Theft Traffic violation Trespass to property
59th
Burglary
60th
Attempted Robbery Robbery
62nd Arrest
Source: UCPD Incident Reports
51st Blackstone
Assault
Other Report
47th
University
 January 22, 1100 East 57th Street, 8:45 p.m.—A known male threw coffee on another male and struck him in the chest with his hand before departing. The victim claimed no injuries and declined medical attention.
Type of Crime
*Locations of reports approximate
Attempted Burglary
SSS
fourth-year Hye Sung Kim. Although there was initially an investigation to find the person responsible for the hacking, Freenters has decided not to pursue the hacker, and even thanked him for pointing out the flaws in its security systems before the company underwent expansion to other schools around the country. “Obviously, we were pretty shocked, and we were pretty angry at the moment. Now we look at the bigger picture of the company issues. Because of the hacker, our team tightened up a lot, and we dealt with security issues‌Pretty much changed everything from scratch,â€? Kim said. The Freenters IT team has spent the past two months rebuilding its servers from the ground up, moving password authentication to the website server, and making changes to password encryption and hardware, according to Huh. Although Huh was unable to go into too much detail due to security concerns, he said that more changes are on
the way. Freenters’ advertisers were refunded a portion of their money and promised a free advertising period once the company got back on its feet, Kim said. A representative from Hyde Park Produce, one of the advertisers, said that none of the store’s information had been compromised, and it continues to advertise with Freenters. The hacking incident did prevent Freenters from being featured in a Booth article, but it has not put a stop to its plans for expansion to other schools in Atlanta, Boston, and New York. Recently, Northwestern University, the other campus that Freenters serves, even asked for two more printing stations. Freenters is also on the verge of signing contracts with five additional schools. “Obviously, [the hacker] could’ve done things better. He could’ve just told us. But the end thing is that we are back with a better and much more comprehensive system, with better security,� said Freenters co-founder and fourth-year Rho Kook Song.
Here are this week’s notables:
S. Lake Shore
Freenters plans to expand after two-month hiatus
This is a series the Maroon publishes summarizing instances of campus crime. Each week details a few notable crimes, in addition to keeping a running count from September 23. The focus is on crimes within the UCPD patrol area, which runs from East 37th to 65th Streets and South Cottage Grove to Lake Shore Drive.
S. Hyde Park
school that offers potential first-generation college students the opportunity to experience college and prepare for admission to post-secondary schools. Some of these programs fall under the umbrella of the Office of Special Programs-College Prep (OSP-CP), which Dovetta McKee directs. The OSP-CP serves certain CPS high schools in the Greater Grand Crossing, Douglas, Washington Park, and Woodlawn neighborhoods, all on the South Side—including Hyde Park Academy. “When young people looked at the cost of coming to the University, they automatically thought [they] could not afford it,â€? McKee said. “With UChicago Promise, that changes that dynamic‌.It gives young people the chance to talk to admission counselors [through workshops] and understand that they have the opportunity to gain admission.â€?
Cornell
set of students than the broader programming set,� said Veronica Hauad, UChicago’s admissions counselor for the city of Chicago. “Our real focus was the larger program. We knew students were undermatching [with colleges], and we wanted to help.� That broader programming set includes the Admissions Academy, an initiative that provides professional development for educators and guidance through college admissions and the financial aid process of any selective four-year college for students and their families; the Collegiate Scholars program, a three-year program for preparing students for higher education beginning after ninth grade; the College Bridge program, which allows students to take an undergraduate University course at no cost; and Upward Bound, a program for underclassmen in high
Stony Island
PROMISE continued from front
Weekly Crime Report By Alex Hays
Ellis
Seventy-three students in Class of 2017 were part of inaugural year of UChicago Promise
Cottage Grove
2
CORRECTIONS
• The January 17 article “Yusho Lawsuit Droppedâ€?misstated the date of the lawsuit’s dismissal. The date was December 17, 2013. • The caption accompanying the January 17 article “MA Governor Invokes MLK’s Call to Serveâ€? misspelled Massachusetts. • The January 17 letter “Rebuttal To Prof. Stone on Snowdenâ€? misidentified Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley Manning).
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SSS
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VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed JANUARY 24, 2014
A promising start Positive results after the first year of UChicago Promise indicate potential for expansion The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 REBECCA GUTERMAN Editor-in-Chief SAM LEVINE Editor-in-Chief EMILY WANG Managing Editor AJAY BATRA Senior Editor DANIEL LEWIS Senior Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Senior Editor EMMA THURBER STONE Senior Editor MARINA FANG News Editor ELEANOR HYUN Viewpoints Editor LIAM LEDDY Viewpoints Editor KRISTIN LIN Viewpoints Editor EMMA BRODER Arts Editor ALICE BUCKNELL Arts Editor WILL DART Arts Editor LAUREN GURLEY Arts Editor DANIEL RIVERA Arts Editor SARAH LANGS Sports Editor SONIA DHAWAN Head Designer KEVIN WANG Online Editor MARA MCCOLLOM Social Media Editor CONNOR CUNNINGHAM Head Copy Editor
According to a University report released last week, the UChicago Promise program increased the number of Chicago-area applicants by nearly 50 percent in its first year. UChicago Promise, announced to the public in the fall of 2012, is a University initiative to increase college opportunities for Chicago high school students. The program waives the application fee for students who live in the Chicago area and has committed $2.2 million to replace all loans with grants for those students. The program also provides workshops that allow high school students to better navigate the college admissions process, regardless of where they plan to attend college. The report issued by UChicago Promise shows that the program has been effective in moving toward
accomplishing its goals so far. The University should continue in the direction it’s headed and not only encourage other peer institutions to establish similar programs, but also more fully develop its own program’s availability to UChicago applicants over time. As one of the prominent universities running a loan-free program, the University has set a national example by launching UChicago Promise. To maximize this influence, the University should collaborate and encourage other universities to establish similar programs. If the University feels that the city of Chicago is a priority, this could mean working with Northwestern, DePaul, and Loyola, for example. The University has already shown an investment in the well-being of
students from Chicago through its workshops that provide assistance even to those who will not apply to UChicago. Working with other schools will allow the University to implement the program and its ideals on a wider level. A $10-million initiative announced last week—praised by President Barack Obama— that will in part improve college readiness in high schools across the nation is an encouraging step for the University to take. At the same time, the University can look inward and move even closer to a no-loan policy for all students, not just those from Chicago. Many premier institutions, including Harvard and Princeton, already engage in more extensive no-loan policies, turning loans into grants for all
students. Student organizations throughout Chicago have also advocated for the University to take this step, which we have supported in the past. The University needn’t rush things— assuring that the program is effective in the areas in which it’s employed is a priority—but slowly expanding those who benefit from the program geographically is not only philanthropic, but also allows the school to improve its applicant pool. While the University should be celebrated for its progress toward alleviating financial burdens for students, UChicago’s promise can always extend further.
The Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and the Viewpoints Editors.
ALAN HASSLER Head Copy Editor SHERRY HE Head Copy Editor BEN ZIGTERMAN Head Copy Editor SYDNEY COMBS Photo Editor JULIA REINITZ Photo Editor PETER TANG Photo Editor FRANK YAN Photo Editor
Speak for yourself A second look at Cross’s articles on India
COLIN BRADLEY Grey City Editor JOY CRANE Grey City Editor THOMAS CHOI Assoc. News Editor ALEX HAYS Assoc. News Editor HARINI JAGANATHAN Assoc. News Editor STEPHANIE XIAO Assoc. News Editor TATIANA FIELDS Assoc. Sports Editor SAM ZACHER Assoc. Sports Editor
TYRONALD JORDAN Business Manager TAMER BARSBAY Director of Business Research SHAWN CHEN Director of Internal Marketing
By Emma Thurber Stone Viewpoints Senior Editor
ANNIE ZHU Director of External Marketing VINCENT MCGILL Delivery Coordinator ANNIE CANTARA Designer CARINA BAKER Designer AURNA HASNIE Designer JANE JUN Designer JONAH RABB Designer NICHOLAS ROUSE Designer KRYSTEN BRAY Copy Editor SOPHIE DOWNES Copy Editor MICHELLE LEE Copy Editor CHELSEA LEU Copy Editor KATIE LEU Copy Editor JOHN LOTUS Copy Editor KATARINA MENTZELOPOULOS Copy Editor CHRISTINE SCHMIDT Copy Editor OLIVIA STOVICEK Copy Editor ANDY TYBOUT Copy Editor LAN WANG Copy Editor RUNNAN YANG Copy Editor
The Chicago Maroon is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters Circulation: 5,500. The opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are not necessarily those of the Maroon. © 2014 The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 Editor-in-Chief Phone: 773.834.1611 Newsroom Phone: 773.702.1403 Business Phone: 773.702.9555 Fax: 773.702.3032 CONTACT News: News@ChicagoMaroon.com Viewpoints: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com Arts: Arts@ChicagoMaroon.com Sports: Sports@ChicagoMaroon.com Photography: Photo@ChicagoMaroon.com Design: Design@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy: CopyEditors@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com
About two months ago, I wrote a column expressing discomfort with the way an article written by College student Michaela Cross was being mobilized in a campus-wide (and nationwide) discourse on sexual harassment in India. On December 30, Cross posted a follow-up to her original article, also posted on CNN iReport, titled “India: the Stories I Never Got to Tell” in which she responded to both the article’s immense popularity and the feedback she received. As a feminist and recent traveler to India, I read and critiqued the first piece with great interest and vague apprehension, but it was with a definitively sinking feeling that I read the second. I suspected, though I hoped otherwise, that Cross was not interested in engaging with the consequences of writing about “India” writ large. Her second article confirmed this in spades. This critique, as I have said before, is not about “disproving” Cross’s story, and neither is it about arguing that the story should not have been shared (although I would argue that there are better ways to share such stories). It is simply to say that as a white feminist who believes that white feminists have unacceptably erased—and continue to erase— the agency of women of color in discourse on women’s rights, I cannot support a view of women’s
rights in India in which Indian women must be legitimized and spoken for. Indian women in both of Cross’s pieces are a mass, a background, a demure contrast to Cross’s bravery and critical eye. That Cross refers to her experience as “the story that not enough people were telling” casually neglects India’s complex and vibrant history of women’s rights activism and paints Indian culture as particularly conducive toward silence on sexual assault. When Cross writes, “In India, I was the woman who spoke up,” and when she refers to her tale about sexual assault as “the story they had been unable to tell” (emphasis mine), she is relying on an understanding that Indian
“
I cannot support a view of women’s rights in Indian which Indian women must be legitimized and spoken for.
”
women are unable or unwilling to act or speak out against violence. I also cannot excuse flippant refusals of accusations of racism (“I was ‘racist’”) which Cross, as a white woman, ought never to take lightly, let alone completely discard without any attempt at accountability. In fact, her writing is racially homogenizing —not just in the sense that it makes a silent monolith of Indian women, but also in the sense that it does the same for Indian men. In defense of her original piece, Cross writes, “I wrote about myself because I’m the only person I have a right to write about.” I don’t know whether or not I agree with that INDIA continued on page 4
Letter: SCS Director on programming We commend the Maroon’s decision to publish a quarter-long series on student health last fall. The article, “Student Health Series Part III: Counseling and Mental Health” (11/19/13), was especially welcome news at the Student Counseling Service (SCS). We embrace every opportunity to get the word out to the University community about our services. And to be sure, Jaganathan’s article contains a great deal of useful information. The paper’s choice of subheading, however (“After six sessions, students were told that their counseling could no longer continue at the SCS.”), is unfortunate because it could give readers the impression that this is a common experience at the SCS. It isn’t—and if even one student who could benefit from our services chooses not to access them out of fear that they will have such an experience, this would be a most unfortunate outcome. It is critical that the student body have accurate information about the SCS and what we do. We provide a wide array of vital services to the University community. These services include individual, couples, and group counseling, as well as psychiatric evaluations and ongoing medication management. We have several specialty programs, including our Academic Skills Assessment Program, our ADHD Assessment and Treatment Program, and our multidisciplinary Eating Disorders Treatment Team. We run off-site drop-in counseling hours through our Let’s Talk program. And we provide expert consultation to University faculty and staff. Many students use our services—in fact, over 18 percent of all eligible students last year. And they did so without having to wait. No matter how busy we get, we never maintain a waitlist. That means that if you
are in crisis we will see you right away. If you aren’t in crisis we will offer you an appointment within a week—usually sooner. If you are in crisis and it is after hours, you can consult with an on-call counselor 24/7, 365 days a year. Students who require ongoing medication management can be seen at the SCS throughout their University careers. Students who require short-term counseling can also be seen at the SCS. When students require longer-term counseling, or more intensive treatment than the SCS can provide, we work with them to find off-campus providers or programs. The SCS is staffed by a talented and dedicated group of clinicians, administrators, and support staff who care deeply about students and understand that students’ emotional well-being is critical to their overall functioning, both academic and otherwise. And while we are proud of the work that we do, we are always looking to do better. This is why we ask every student who accesses our service to let us know (anonymously) about his or her SCS experience on our Patient Satisfaction Survey. And this is why we regularly post the survey results on our website. Unfortunately, and despite our best efforts, there are students who need our services but aren’t accessing them. Sometimes this occurs because a student is unaware that our services are available. Other times this occurs because a student has misperceptions about the services that we offer. The Maroon’s choice to run an article on the SCS is most helpful with the first situation, and I hope that this letter serves to help with the second. —David Albert, Director of Student Counseling Service
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | January 24, 2014
Dreamless sleep
Michaela Cross’s article oversimplifies India’s history of women’s rights
A new year with unresolved endings leaves us lying awake at night
By Ken Jung Viewpoints Columnist Billions of bright tiny specks of light from a box on the other side of the room crashed into my eyes like a wrecking ball and a dysfunctional simile. The first second of 2014 had already caught me off guard, and the distant sounds of celebration proclaimed a joy that seemed neither inside nor outside myself. It’s pretty crazy, the mix of feelings that can run through your head the instant that a giant ball hundreds of miles away from you reaches the bottom of a pole. Not quite the bubbly anticipation of a future unforetold, nor the somber recollection of days that once were; not quite the emptiness of “Twenty Going on Twelve,” but not quite the kind of feeling that comes with Netflix and Chinese food; but maybe all of them at the same time. In any case, I feel like slapping the face of whichever fool first said that hindsight is 20/20. My year had come to an end without resolution, but the new year was born regardless. Throughout the night, a vision softly creeping lingered in the back of my mind
for no good reason, forming the same familiar words. The weight of this sad time we must obey. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say. “My life is a series of unresolved endings.” The words escaped into the yellow-striped dark night before I knew what they were, and then lingered—festered—in my room because the windows were shut. Unresolved endings. Is that the way things go? Is each passing moment a diminished triad, a Hum discussion, a confrontation between Batman and the Joker? It’s a banally horrifying sort of existence, to be sure: condemned to be stuck in a state of inbetween, always-restless, neverfinished. I had always thought that it wasn’t for me to speak of what lies behind reflections or hides beneath shadows, the grotesque affairs of silent things. Most of us choose to live from place to place, day to day. One would think that the absurdity of time is in the way we cut it up, not its continuity. But it’s the latter that drives people crazy. It’s the latter that keeps tired people up at night. A starting engine outside murmured quietly as if to answer and the yellow stripes flashed red, but the lights faded back to yellow so that all retreated into indecision again. I flip the pillow over. Close eyes. Reposition. Scratch an itch. Scratch another itch. Roll to the
other side. Rinse. Repeat. Push. Pull. Sigh loudly. Sit up. I’m not sure what time it is, not that it really matters. (What seems like) several eternities ago, I learned that the blind man who could see math through an eye patch had passed away with the old year. It makes me wonder about what else he might have seen. Did he ever find x? See something a mantis shrimp can’t? Have time to scribble down, in his final moments and ounce of strength long-indomitable, one last QED, one last cartoon of his head? At some point, my mind dismisses the night as a giant triviality, as I can no longer afford to think about the space between precipice and artifice which I inhabit. My days may lack closure, but that shouldn’t keep me from being at peace with myself. What use is there in living in mourning for the hours and the years which are outlived by me? If I’m no more than the sum of my misfortunes, is that supposed to make me something less than whole? Maybe holding on is only easy because it’s harder to let go. Maybe it’s better to live out of strength instead of weakness. The sounds fade into the yellow dark night and become quiet, as Samuel L. Jackson leans by my bedside to tell me what I already know: “Close your eyes. There’s nothing more for you to see here.” Ken Jung is a first-year in the College.
INDIA continued from page 3 statement philosophically, but I definitely disagree with those first four words. The original iReport story was not about Cross alone, and could never have been. Let me explain. A story that invokes a leering population, “eyes that every day stared with such entitlement at my body,” is not about one person. It is not even about the particular people who belonged to the particular eyes she had in mind. Such an image is about masses, about nations, and, regardless of the intent with which it is written, about race. Cross cannot argue that as readers we were supposed to imagine disembodied eyes, a theoretical male gaze, when we read her description of what it is like to walk down a street in India; that we weren’t supposed to imagine racialized, sexualized bodies. It is the image she wrote. It is the image we saw. It is the image we see in the photograph on top of her first article: Cross, foregrounded, with an Indian man in what is clearly and suggestively a watchful and predatory position behind her. Why this photograph? Why these images? As a writer, Cross is responsible for the impressions that her writing evokes. And when your writing is embedded with problematic assumptions, it is never enough, nor is it particularly ingratiating, to say that it doesn’t matter because you didn’t mean it. (Cross: “I would never insult India by ascribing disrespect
towards women as part of Indian culture.”) The intentions and feelings of a white writer who has told a “story” about Indian people that places her agency above theirs do not matter. The fact that one did not intend to cause harm in no circumstance invalidates or negates the harm done. I write this article, my second on this topic, because Cross’ second piece made overt assumptions that lurked further below the surface in her first. When I responded in November, I faced a piece of writing whose racial overtones were, while interpretable, not quite explicit. But I was troubled, and there is sure evidence for trouble now. This most recent piece of writing does damage to the diligent and courageous activism, not to mention the enormous pressure for legal reform, that has transpired in India over the past several years, and whose history extends much further than Cross (or any trendy think piece on the subject, for that matter) seems to recognize. It contributes to a white feminism that sees men of color as inherently more misogynistic then white men. It contributes to a white feminism that holds that white women need to “see injustice” done to women of color before outrage and action can occur. And this is a feminism that I refuse. Emma Thurber Stone is a thirdyear in the College majoring in anthropology and gender and sexuality studies.
Letter: Obama library is an archive, not a presentation In “Obama Library is a Compromise Not Worth Making” (1/17/14), Andrew Young fundamentally misunderstands the nature of presidential libraries. They are at once libraries and museums. While certain artifacts and documents may be presented as part of a narrative in the museum space, the documents and communications accumulated during a presidency are presented to researchers without mediation or interpretation of any kind. Presidential libraries are repositories for the ephemera of government. Every memo, note, doodle, and letter is carefully filed away, with the expectation that its contents will shed light on the president’s term. Within these archives, professional staff labors to create transparency, processing Freedom of Information requests and declassifying documents to satisfy a curious or even skeptical public. The avalanche of information the White House produces in a single day is staggering, and presidential archives are important places for researchers and staff to untangle a presidency’s complicated implications over the following decades. These spaces serve not as
temples for the leaders they describe, but as forums for the discussion and analysis of their way of governing. The museum space, where interpretation of these materials can take place, is distinct from this archive. Using Young’s example of the Regenstein Library, we can understand his fallacy. Writing off the importance of the Obama Presidential Library based on the potential for a positively skewed and curated narrative of his presidency is like tossing out the entire contents of the Regenstein based on the content of one of those display cases by the stairs. Even if we take Young’s criticism to apply strictly to the museum portion of a proposed library complex, his assumptions are faulty. It is true that the act of curation can reveal bias, but this is not a fault, only a point for further debate. It is this debate, and not the content of the museum itself, that shapes a president’s legacy as it passes from politics to history. Take, for example, our newest presidential library. I recently visited the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Dallas, and was surprised by one of the
museum’s first featured objects: hanging chads. A tiny plastic vial of punched paper and a mispunched ballot lie beneath that fateful picture of a Florida election official attempting to discern voter intent from a constellation of indentations. What grand story of Bush’s presidency do these artifacts tell? To a viewer predisposed to support Bush’s agenda, they recall those tense hours when Bush’s victory was in jeopardy. For one skeptical of the results, they may prompt one of those familiar sighs of what might have been, or a forlorn “poor Tipper.” Regardless of the labeling or other interpretation, the viewer alone is entrusted to draw meaning from these artifacts. While it is true that the selection of objects or documents for presentation tells a story, it is also true that objects, like the chads, speak for themselves. The same is true for other historical objects enshrined there. The Port Authority Police Department badge belonging to an officer who gave his life helping others to safety on 9/11. A still life painted by Senator Ted Kennedy and sent to Laura Bush: simple but for a distinct yellow tint, a result of radiation
from the anthrax screening treatment given to all White House mail. Though an incomplete picture, selections of meaningful objects have always had a way of telling a complete truth. A museum cannot hold an object to represent every moment of a president’s tenure. Omission is a natural, if regrettable, part of curation. Given this reality, it is understandable that museums would be devoted to accomplishments rather than failures. One can hardly expect George H.W. Bush’s museum to be shadowed by the specter of the elusive Saddam Hussein. But a friend who worked at the presidential library of the elder Bush recalls an archive box full of Saddam Hussein voodoo dolls. The stuff of scandal
and missed opportunity may not be on a pedestal, but that does not mean it has been erased from history. A 2011 revamping of the Nixon Presidential Library reveals the incriminating tapes that doomed Nixon’s legacy, allowing visitors to decide for themselves the impact of Watergate on the president and the nation. This is key. Museums are evolving institutions. With the entire weight of the archives behind them, presidential museums can respond to new revelations, changing implications, and the continuing impact of presidents’ leadership. The “Mission Accomplished” banner may not be on display now, but rest assured: It is swaddled somewhere, safe and acidfree, waiting to tell its story.
All of this is to say: An affiliation with the Obama Presidential Library and Museum is not a compromise. It is an opportunity we must not pass up. Proximity to this site would give UChicago students and South Siders a front-row seat to the fascinating process of history making. The partnership of the University and the Library, two great research institutions, would benefit each tremendously, as scholars from around the world are drawn to Hyde Park to study these dynamic times in which we live. We must not miss our chance due to superficial political concerns. Politics are temporary, but history is forever. —Kirsten Madsen, class of 2013
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
Heartlandia JANUARY 24, 2014
At Harris Theater, Deavere Smith bids goodbye with Grace
From left to right, Cook County Board Board President Toni Preckwinkle (A.B. ’69, M.A.T. ’77), actress Anna Deavere Smith, and David Axelrod (A.B. ’76) discuss grace’s role in politics at Logan last Monday. The event was sponsored by the Institute of Politics, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, and UChicago Arts. FRANK YAN | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Emma Broder Arts Editor Is there tension in labeling a play as being “about grace” and performing it before 800 people as part of a symbolic, first-ever collaboration between UChicago’s new Logan Center and the Harris Theater, the cavernously large stadiumstyle theater adjacent to Millenium Park? This very event took place Tuesday evening as celebrated documentary
theater–maker Anna Deavere Smith concluded her three-week residency at the Logan Center with a performance of her new show, a work in progress entitled Conversations on Grace, leaving town immediately after the performance. The director of Logan, Bill Michel (A.B. ’92, M.B.A. ’08), and the president of Harris, Michael Tiknis, spoke before the performance began, calling the collaboration a “joyous, wonderful”
occasion. In an interview with the Maroon, Smith credited Michel with the genesis of the residency, saying she had been encouraged by people at the Harris School of Public Policy to contact him after performing at the Harris Theater with Theaster Gates. “It had less to do with the city, although I do like coming to Chicago,” Smith said. “In the times that I’ve given speeches here, I would say that Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, and
Portland—and I travel a lot all over the country, and present and talk—and I would say those are the audiences that listen the deepest.” The answer to the question, and the problem at stake not only in Smith’s residency here but also with Conversations on Grace as a play, is that there is little tension, since it feels engineered to be performed before a big, any-cityin-America audience. The subjects Smith interviewed for On Grace are, fittingly, mostly elite. They are spiritual and intellectual leaders—a rabbi, an imam, the head of the Memorial Church at Harvard, another Harvardite who is a professor and author, a philosopher. Those subjects who are not, such as Paulette Jenkins, a female prison inmate whose story Smith has performed in other plays, resonate most deeply and are respectful of silences. They are the most humble and real and graceful of all Smith’s characters. And yet they feel most out of sync with this particular show’s more nebulous purpose. Smith’s past work has included the docu-plays Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles. These projects explored racial conflicts in Crown Heights and Los Angeles, respectively. Let Me Down Easy, her most recent work, centered around health care, the vulnerability of the human body, and, to some extent, the word “grace” (although in that case, “grace” was only grace as it referred to the direct experiences of the hospital patients Smith spoke with). These three plays focused on local social and political issues in order to speak about abstract moral
In Lasky’s voice, poems take flight Beca Alderete Baca Maroon Contributor Dorothea Lasky’s Thunderbird arrived at my apartment several days after I ordered it, and a couple days after I expected it. The book, her latest book of poetry, published by Wave Books in 2012, is printed with a white cover, flecked with small bits of blue and brown pulp that were folded into the paper when the cover was made. When the book arrived at my apartment, the cover was white but the book was used, so it was scuffed with black, and the spine was worn down on the top. It was as if someone had hit the book upside down against a table to punctuate a sentence while saying something adamant. Maybe saying something like, “What a voice!” or, “She is incredible, like Sylvia Plath,” or, “The word death is used so many times in this book, it must be about the devil.” All of these things could be said. Because the book got to me after I expected it to, I had already heard most of her poems when she read them last Thursday in a
small Cobb classroom. Her voice is comedic, and less serious than the voice one uses to read poems in one’s head. She read “Why is it a Black Life.” “Why is it a black life/ Because nothing is permanent/ And everything goes on and on not meaning anything/ Because I am an animal/ And I will always be displaced/ Until I die/ Because I am human/ And it will be loneliness until the end/ Which will be more or less lonely/ Because until then I eat by myself.” When she read this poem, I was not caught off guard: It did not begin to feel like I was reading my own old, sad, middle-school diary. Coming out of Lasky’s mouth, I was able to see this feeling of blackness in a new light, a self-deprecating light that did not make me want to wince and close the book, but made me want to laugh—to laugh with her as she did after she finished reading each poem. Her poems are better coming out of her own mouth. The staccato lineation, when you read it, can be cloying and supersaturated, and it can be difficult to access, to peek into the
questions, as opposed to focusing on abstract moral questions, period. Cellist Joshua Roman performed alongside Smith. The two have been in several residencies, including this most recent one, in various parts of the country over the past two years. Roman’s lovely cello catches your attention sidelong, when you are considering what has just been said during the intervals between Smith’s portrayals of her various characters. The complicated relationship between the famed social conscience of Smith’s work and the source of the money that allows her to create it—the “famed” part—comes through in glimpses in Conversations on Grace. When boxing champion Michael Boytt speaks about what held his troubled father back in life, for example, he says, “What was in his way? The white man.” Transformed into English professor Elaine Scarry, Smith says, “In this country, we don’t like to talk about symmetry, because we are so asymmetric…Everybody would have to say, ‘Gee, we have a big problem.’” “Maybe, in the case of Minneapolis and Chicago, it’s so cold in the winter that you want to be in a live environment inside; you can’t be outside,” Smith said. “But maybe it’s about the nature of the educated citizenry…. Sometimes it’s just like, what is the culture of a town, in terms of how they expect people to be.” Smith’s next project is slated to be about education, she revealed. “It’s about the kids who don’t make it through school…the kids who just don’t make it.” She has already begun conducting interviews, but has not latched onto a specific narrative.
No-braska: It’s not all black and white Andrew McVea Maroon Contributor
Dorothea Lasky, pictured here for a conversation with UChicago’s own Lauren Berlant in MAKE: A Literary Magazine. The beagle is over it. COURTESY OF JOHNATHAN CRAWFORD
world of the speaker. When read aloud, however, the line stops binding the ideas in tiny and potent packages, and the poems are one long conversation with your
hilarious friend who has been inside for too long and hasn’t brushed her hair in forever and you are a little worried about her, but the BIRD continued on page 6
“I saw her standin’ on her front lawn just a-twirlin’ her baton/ Me and her went for a ride, sir...and 10 innocent people died.” So begins Bruce Springsteen’s immortal album Nebraska. Inspired by the Starkweather homicides that took place in the state, Springsteen sang about a state often forgotten in the middle of the country. Despite being one of the most popular albums of the 1980s, the album is divisive in the state of Nebraska because of its depiction of the murders combined with the relatively little time it devotes to positive aspects of the state. This past year, Director Alexander Payne brought the state of Nebraska back into the limelight with his new film, also named Nebraska. As with Springsteen’s album, the people within the state are divided over how to view the film. A debate has raged on in the editorial pages of the local papers over the accuracy of the depiction of Nebraskans in the film, as
well as the appropriateness of its title. Any film named after a large geographic area, especially one not often seen in film, is bound to cause a stir,
NEBRASKA Alexander Payne Landmark Century Centre Cinema
and Nebraska’s accolades at the Cannes Film Festival and a recent Oscar nomination for Best Picture have brought this issue to the forefront for many moviegoers. Although largely set in Nebraska, the film begins in Billings, Montana. David (Will Forte) is an electronics salesman who is called to pick up his aging father, Woody (Bruce Dern), who is found walking along the highway to Lincoln, Nebraska. Woody is a longtime alcoholic and is now dealing with the onset of dementia. After receiving a scam in the mail that promises him one million dollars if he returns the letter to their offices in Lincoln, he begins NEB continued on page 6
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | January 24, 2014
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Payne’s Nebraska misses the field for the cornstalks by relying on stereotypes and scenery
Oscar nominee Bruce Dern goes for the gold this season, with company from funny man Will Forte. COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT VANTAGE
NEB continued from page 5 walking there alone. David decides that he wants to bond with his father while he still has time, so he drives his father to his hometown of
Hawthorne, Nebraska and then on to Lincoln. While in Hawthorne, they meet old friends and relatives who are all happy to see him, but are also secretly vying for a cut of his
winnings. While the film has been advertised as a road trip movie, the majority of the film is spent in Hawthorne exploring the lives of local small-town residents.
At times, Nebraska is scarily accurate about aspects of Nebraskan life. Everything is true to the area, from University of Nebraska football schedules in the background to the long shots of the cornfields and little houses with aging white siding poking out over the stalks. Payne has the sense of place down perfectly, and his choice to film the movie in the small town of Plainview, Nebraska, as well as the use of extras from around the area contributes to this accuracy. While his intention seems to be bringing to light a population not normally seen in cinema, Payne also tries to straddle the line between cultivating an accurate representation of Nebraskans and poking a little fun at them. While this resulted in some of the most humorous moments of the film, at times the film descends into stereotypes of rural life. Probably the best example of this occurs when one of David’s cousins asks what cars his family drives. David responds that they drive a Subaru, a Kia, and a Nissan. “So you all got Jap cars?� Despite how it may look on the outside, the state of Nebraska is not still living in the ’40s, and although
the movie puts a large amount of effort into capturing the everyday life of a small-town resident, Payne sometimes undermines this attempt by delving into clichÊs. Along with the people, the film also contains a healthy dose of the scenery of eastern Nebraska. Rolling hills, endless fields of corn, and grasslands all get their time in the spotlight as David and Woody drive across the state and explore Hawthorne. The film is shot in black and white, and although this gives the film a vintage look and feel, the lack of color also takes away from the state’s beauty. The plains don’t have much to start with, but when they’re filmed without color in early winter, only corn and browning tall grass are left to see. Nebraska is a well-made movie that is more successful in its exploration of rural life in Nebraska than any other recent film. That being said, it should be taken with a grain of salt. While many of the aesthetic aspects of the state are depicted accurately, Payne veers too often into stereotypes, and, in doing so, fails to authentically capture Nebraska in its entirety.
Queen of the Nerds in Cobb: “I was in high school when everyone was wearing trench coats� BIRD continued from page 5 conversation is too lush and too wild to stop her talking to tell her to go see someone or to just get over it, my goodness. During the question and answer section of the reading, someone
asked her what she was like in high school. “I was the Queen of the Nerds,� Lasky said. “I was in high school when everyone was wearing trench coats.� She wore one, too. To read the poems, to read them well, you have to read them think-
ing of this girl in a trench coat: Queen of the Nerds, who grew up a little more and started writing about the black life. As a reader, you have to read with Lasky’s voice in mind. It is a voice that is off-putting, like the black scuff on
the white book I got in the mail several days too late, but it pulls you back in. In another poem, this one called “Death of the Polish Empire,� Lasky says, “The Polish empire is dead today/ My father died six weeks ago/ I have no real
anything to speak of/ I am not a body anymore when you read this/ What am I then/ I am what I was made visible./ What am I then/ I am the word.� She is the word, and if she’ll read her words to me in her voice, I’ll listen.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | January 24, 2014
Women first, men second, at Maroons split conference weekend Private School Championships Women’s Basketball Adam Freymiller Sports Staff
Track & Field Bronagh Daly Maroon Contributor The Maroons continued their strong start this past weekend at the Private College Invitational, with the men’s side taking second place and the women’s side taking first out of 11 teams. “The team is feeling pretty good,” said third-year thrower Kelly Wood. “We have a couple athletes ranked top 50 nationally for DIII. And we had a lot of individuals, especially on the women’s side, who placed first in their events and set PRs.” One of the main female standouts this week was third-year Pam Yu, who brought home first-place finishes in the long jump (5.56m) and triple jump (10.67m). She was not the only team member who made a strong showing this past weekend, though. “We have people in placing range [top six] of almost every event,” third-year Reecie Dern said. Two male standouts this week were firstyear Nicholas Nielsen, who finished first in the 800-meter at 2:00.38, and thirdyear Kevin On, who also placed first in the 3,000-meter at 8:59.64. “I think, as a team, we’ve gotten off to a great start and we just need to keep that momentum going throughout the season,” Dern said. The South Siders hope to carry this momentum all the way to UAAs, on which the team continues to focus throughout its upcoming events. With conference coming up in just over a month, they have little time left before the height of their season.
“Obviously every meet, we want to get better marks and better times so that we can [go] into UAAs ranked as highly as possible,” Wood said. “After this weekend, we look pretty good for UAAs. However, the other schools are just now coming back from break, so we have to be wary of that.” This wariness will play a big role in the team’s mindset as the squad heads into the Illinois Wesleyan University Triangular this coming weekend. “Heading into the Triangular everyone is just trying to keep improving,” Dern said. “We still have enough time before conference that people are working through technique and just trying to improve upon last week.” This weekend, however, brings an exciting, new, and unusual challenge for the team. “It’s a big meet for us,” Wood said. “We are competing against Wash U and it’s the only time that we’ll see a team in our conference until our indoor conference meet, which starts February 28. Competing against Wash U at this meet is especially important because we feel that they’ll be our biggest competitors heading into our conference meet.” “It always gives the meet a different feel when you have to compete against teams that you have a legitimate rivalry with,” Dern said. “The caliber of the meet, in a lot of the events, will be better than we’ve faced so far. This weekend’s meet should be fun and challenging.” The Illinois Wesleyan University Triangular will begin at 11 a.m. this Saturday in Bloomington, Illinois.
The Maroons (7–7, UAA 1–2) endured a rollercoaster weekend of games, falling short against the No. 23 NYU Violets (13–1, 2–1) 87–89 on Friday evening in a close loss, but defeating Brandeis (6–8, 0–3) 97–81 on Sunday to regain the taste of victory. The Violets put their undefeated record on the line as they tipped off against the Maroons Friday at Neon Night. While both managed to score regularly and change leads, it didn’t take long before NYU realized its perfect season was in jeopardy. Seven minutes in, Chicago capitalized on several NYU turnovers to go on an 8–2 run, which the Maroons’ lead increased to 11 points at 30–19. Although the visitors stayed within striking distance, the game appeared to be out of hand as Chicago went on an offensive tear to take a commanding 48–31 lead following a three-pointer from second-year guard Caitlin Moore. The Violets had other plans, though, responding with a 7–0 run of their own in the span of three minutes to maintain hope for a win heading into half-time. While Chicago took a solid 55–43 lead into the break, NYU responded fiercely by reeling off five layups in the first four minutes of the second half, dwindling the Maroons’ lead to five points. While the rest of the second half was an intense and evenly matched battle, the Violets regained their lead with just under two minutes to play and converted enough free throws down the stretch to stave off any Maroon comeback. “This weekend really emphasized to us the importance of playing all 40 minutes
of a game. You have to play well the entire game in order to win in our conference, and unfortunately we weren’t able to do that. Hopefully we can learn from the loss and use it to improve going forward,” said fourth-year guard Julie Muguira. She led Chicago with 20 points. Sunday afternoon offered an opportunity for the Maroons to forget Friday’s emotional loss. Chicago made good on this opportunity through a well-balanced attack in which six players entered double figures, allowing the Maroons to maintain a comfortable lead throughout the second half. While the run of play was fairly balanced between both teams for much of the first half, a 10-point spurt with around two minutes to go allowed Chicago to take a 37–30 advantage into the locker room. In the second half, the South Siders made sure that they wouldn’t fall prey to the same outcome as their previous game, making good on a number of offensive possessions to outscore the Judges 13–6 in the first five minutes. From then on, Chicago didn’t look back, seeing through a 97–81 victory that gave them their first conference victory and brought them back to .500 on the season. The victory on Sunday gave the Maroons the opportunity to share the wealth on offense, as first-year forward Britta Nordstrom and guards Muguira, fourthyear Maggie Ely, Moore, third-year Morgan Donovan, and third-year Claire Devaney all surpassed 10 points, with Devaney achieving a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Next up on the Maroons’ schedule are four conference road games, the first of which will be against Carnegie Mellon (10–4, 1–2) tonight.
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SPORTS
IN QUOTES
“I just taste for the first time a smothie..MAN GOD BLESS AMERICA.” —Milwaukee Bucks rookie and Greek native GIannis Antetokounmpo tries his first smoothie
Neon Night victory fuels Sunday win over Brandeis
Senior Day acts as final tune-up before UAAs
Men’s Basketball
Swimming & Diving
Fourth-year guard Wayne Simon takes a shot in the Neon Night home game against NYU last Friday. FRANK WANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Jenna Harris Maroon Contributor ‘Twas a victorious weekend in conference play for the South Siders. Chicago hosted NYU during Neon Night in the
first game of a men’s-women’s doubleheader. The stands were full of screaming students in bright colors supporting the Maroons (9–5, UAA 2–1). “ We had a really good crowd, which made it easy
for our guys to get excited for the game,” said fourthyear forward Charlie Hughes. Fourth-year guard Derrick Davis agreed. “Neon Night was awesome for the team. It brought so much energ y and spirit into the g ym. Hopefully the next Friday night home game can match, or possibly surpass, Neon Night in energ y and excitement,” Davis said. That excitement was evident as the Chicago defense stood strong against NYU (11–3, 1–2) resulting in a 58–50 win, which also marked the Violets’ third consecutive loss to the Maroons. The game was lowscoring , as predicted, as both defenses put up a strong front to their opposing teams. Regardless, Hughes, fourth-year forward Sam Gage, third-year point guard Royce Muskeyvalley, and second-year shooting guard Jordan Smith were standouts offensively. Following their victory over the Violets, the Maroons took on Brandeis at home on Sunday. The South Siders’ game against the Judges (8–6, 0–3) saw success as well. Sunday’s game had a much quicker pace than Friday’s, pushing Chicago to pick up its offense. The Maroons took home an 85–75 win. “The biggest thing we did last weekend on the court was shutting down
five for FRIDAY
NYU and Brandeis’s best players,” Hughes said. Hughes also mentioned how Sunday’s game saw a lot of action from players who don’t normally get the chance to shine. Some notable shots included three-pointers from second-years Eric Robinson and John Steinberg , who generally get some minutes off the bench. “These two wins are only a starting point for us during conference play this year. We have a goal, and to reach it, we will need to carry the momentum that last weekend gave us into our road trip this weekend. As a team, we want to get better with every game we play, and last weekend we accomplished that,” Davis said. This weekend, the Maroons are competing on the road in Pittsburgh and Cleveland to play the Carnegie Mellon Tartans (9–5, 2–1) and Case Western Spartans (9–5, 1–2). “Adjusting to travel is hard,” Davis said. “There are so many distractions during these trips, so the most important thing is that the team stays focused and realizes that we are there to win a game. Our coaches and team captains do a great job of keeping the team focused during difficult road trips.” The Maroons will face the Tartans at 7 p.m. tonight and Case Western at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
Following a close defeat by DI UW– Milwaukee last weekend, the Maroons are diving right back into competition. For its last meet before UAAs, Chicago will be hosting DePauw and IIT on Saturday at the Myers-McLoraine pool for Senior Day. Fourth-years Eugenia Chen, Vivian Yuen, Evan Bernard, and Eric Hallman will be competing for the last time at Ratner and will be honored at the meet. After suffering a loss to DePauw last year, the South Siders are looking for redemption this year, and are ready to race against the Tigers in their final chance to tune up before their conference tournament in February.
(7–7, 1–2 UAA) had their first conference win on Sunday against Brandeis, after putting up almost 100 points (97–81). However, offense hasn’t been the key to Chicago’s wins this season. In its previous six games (going 3–3), if Chicago gave up more than 81 points, a loss was guaranteed. The Maroons take on Carnegie Mellon (10–4, 1–2) and Case Western (7–7, 1–2) this weekend—teams that average 85 and 64 points per game, respectively—so the South Siders may have to step up the defense against Carnegie if the 81-point trend is any indicator of their success.
Close, but no cigar. The Maroons fell just short of defeating DI UW–Milwaukee for the first time. Chicago lost by just one point (149.5– 148.5) on the men’s side and by a larger margin (165–128) on the women’s side. The Maroons collected 14 event wins with seven each for the men’s and women’s squads, as well as three school records. “The team put up its best performance against UW–Milwaukee in the history of the meet,” said third-year captain Jenny Hill. “This was by far the closest we have ever come to winning the meet on either side. They have always ‘exhibitioned’ their swimmers in the second half of the meet because they would be beating us so badly, but they didn’t do so this year.” Even with several athletes out of competition due to illness, the South Siders still posed a serious threat in the pool. One swimmer in particular managed to impress, despite having been out of the water for the majority of the season. First-year Mantim Lee won the 100-yard freestyle in 45.68 seconds, accomplishing one of the fastest event times in the country and earning an NCAA B cut as well as a school record. In addition to Lee’s outstanding performance, thirdyear diver Tony Restaino broke two more school records dominating on both the one- and three-meter boards (316.28 and 332.03 respectively). “Overall, the team’s perfor-
mance was impressive in terms of times, scores, and perseverance through fatigue from a tough two weeks of training after the break,” Hill said. Other notable times were accomplished by second-year Bryan Bunning, who led the 100-yard backstroke (52.62), third-year Andrew Angeles, who won the 100- and 200yard breaststrokes with 57.67 and 2:10.63 times, respectively, and first-year Kevin Ku, who led the 200-yard butterfly (1:53.07). The top finishers among the women included second-year Karen Chu in the 1,000-yard freestyle (10:46.70), first-year 200-yard freestyler Alison Wall (1:56.31), first-year Abby Erdmann in the 200-yard butterfly (2:08.95), and first-year Maya Scheidl in the 100-yard freestyle (52.89). As usual, Hill also did not disappoint, with a first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.41). This dominant performance by the Maroons was their best ever against DI UW–Milwaukee and has also set a positive attitude for the end of the season. After losing to DePauw University last year, Chicago seeks a revenge match this Saturday in its penultimate home meet. “There is definitely more hype for this meet than a typical dual meet,” Bunning said. “They have turned into our outof-conference rivals.” Watch the Maroons face DePauw and IIT on Senior Day this Saturday, January 25. The four fourth-years will be recognized prior to the meet, which begins at 1 p.m. at Myers-McLoraine Pool.
taking a look at the week’s key storylines
DePauw and IIT visit Defense tells the tale Women’s tennis to for swim and dive’s for women’s basketball start season against final home meet tough opponent women’s The South Siders
Charlotte Franklin Maroon Contributor
women’s Chicago opens its season against the University of Illinois tonight at 6 p.m. in Urbana, Illinois. The Fighting Illini are DI, so the matches won’t affect the South Siders’ ranking later in the season. This means it’s a great opportunity to showcase new first-year talent and sharpen up the upperclassmen’s skills before taking on Denison and Kenyon next weekend. The squad has ballooned since last year, with six first-years now sporting the maroon and white. The Maroons only lost one fourth-year, Linden Li, so there should be plenty of leadership coming from the remaining team members.
Men’s basketball winning without the three-ball men’s
The Maroons (9–5, 2–1 UAA) are showing that they can legitimately compete for a UAA title this season. After a close loss to No. 7 Wash U (12–2, 3–0) a few weeks ago, Chicago responded with two victories last weekend, beating NYU (11–3, 1–2) and Brandeis (8–6, 0–3) at home. Third-year Royce Muskeyvalley (12 points against NYU, 18 points against Brandeis) and fourth-year Charlie Hughes (15 points against NYU) continue to lead the team, while second-year Jordan Smith quietly provides consistently solid performances. Impressively, the Maroons won the past two games while shooting 35 (5–14) and 20 (4– 20) percent, respectively, from three, a spot from which Chicago usually shoots 38 percent on 8–21 shooting.
Track and field hopes to keep up momentum at Illinois Wesleyan This weekend, the South Siders will face Illinois Wesleyan and Wash U on the road at the Illinois Wesleyan Triangular meet. Chicago is coming from a successful showing at the Private School Championships, where the men’s squad placed second and the women’s squad took first. The Maroons hope to keep up their hot streak of only first- and second-place finishes at competitions this season. This will be the team’s first chance to compete against a conference opponent, and the South Siders are ready to show UAA rival Wash U what kind of competition they will be facing at conference later in the season. —the Sports Editors