020312 Chicago Maroon by The Chicago Maroon

FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 3, 2012

ISSUE 25 • VOLUME 123

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

U of C among city’s Still off campus, ROTC soldiers on worst polluters, EPA says Joy Crane News Staff Recent findings from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that universities are among the worst contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago. The report comes at a time when the University of Chicago’s Office of Sustainability is intensifying energy-saving efforts to address long-standing environmental issues on campus. The 2010 findings, published in a recent article by Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, indicate that Scope 1 emissions—those directly caused by activities such as the burning of fuel—were higher at universities like the U of C and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) than those from O’Hare International Airport, any of the city’s landfills, and the Finkl and Sons’s steel plant. “That comparison didn’t make sense to me; you’re comparing apples to oranges,” said Ilsa Flanagan, Director of the Office of Sustainability, referring to the Medill report. “If you look at the way we’re doing business, it’s so completely different. We have 200 acres, 200 buildings, and 50,000 people.” However, closer comparisons don’t depict a rosier situation for the University. The U of C is still the largest emitter of greenhouse

gases of all Chicago universities when taking into account emissions indirectly caused by the University, such as electrical and heat consumption, known as Scope 2 emissions. Scope 3 emissions include pollution generated by commuter traffic. Environmentalist Ignacio Tagtachian (A.B. ’11), co-author of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, which the University has published since April 2010, says that the U of C still emits more greenhouse gases per square foot even compared to other research institutions like Northwestern and Stanford University. Part of the problem, he explained, is Chicago’s cold climate and the high energy cost of doing research. “We do use more than UIC does, but we have more labs. Not all buildings are made equal,” said Tagtachian. “So let’s say we compare our inventory to Stanford’s: They have essentially perfect weather, so of course their heating and cooling costs are much lower than ours. This isn’t meant to be an excuse so much as it is to say that no matter what we do we’ll never be [them]. We don’t have the conditions that a university like Stanford does, so we do the best we can.” The main energy expenditure on campus comes from buildings, as electricity accounted for 49 percent and heating for 26 percent of emissions in POLLUTION continued on page 3

James McKinney (A.B. ’11), an Army ROTC recruiter on campus, fires an M16 rifle. Student enlistment for the officer training program has traditionally been low. COURTESY OF JAMES MCKINNEY

Patrick Fitz News Staff Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) recruiter James McKinney (A.B. ’11) often wonders why more U of C students don’t want to become soldiers. A second-year at the Harris School of Public Policy, he is the Pentagon’s

point man for getting U of C students to commute to Chicago’s only Army ROTC, at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The turnout, as might be expected, is slim. “There are only a few U of C students currently in the program. With all the benefits of involvement, there’s no reason why ROTC shouldn’t be [on campus] and have a greater role in the

Board of Trustees Chair talks tuition, trauma center Rebecca Guterman Associate News Editor Chair of the University’s Board of Trustees Andrew Alper (A.B. ’80, M.B.A. ’81) discussed the University’s financial standing, the demand for a trauma center, and other student concerns at the quarterly Trustee breakfast with 25 students yesterday morning in the West Commons of South Campus Residence Hall. Reacting to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in which he said that schools that did not rein in rising tuition rates would receive fewer federal funds, multiple students asked about the U of C’s financial future. The University’s endowment, now on the rise, did not suffer as much as those of its peer institutions during the recession, Alper said. A buoyed endowment, Alper said, helped the University retain faculty and attract

College,” he said. ROTC trains college students to be future officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force through academic classes, team-building and leadership exercises, and simulations of live combat situations. It allows students to study at their respective colleges while receiving the same training as full-time military per-

UCPD chief responds on SafeRide, racial profiling Lina Li News Contributor

Chairman of the Board of Trustees Andrew Alper invited students to voice concerns and questions over breakfast yesterday in South Campus Residence Hall. COURTESY OF RENARD MILLER

students. Many students were also concerned about the rise in tuition prices and lack of financial aid. Alper explained

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rising tuition rates using the economic principles of supply and demand; the demand for a U of C education is high, Alper said, so the University

can increase tuition prices. In this situation, he said, the demand is higher than supply. People often voice BOARD continued on page 4

ROTC continued on page 4

Nine University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) personnel responded to student concerns regarding racial profiling, transportation options, and initiatives to decrease on-campus crime at an open forum Tuesday evening at 5710 South Woodlawn Avenue. The Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) hosted the panel in an effort to increase communication channels between students and campus security administrators. “Such forums have previously been hosted by Student Government, but we wanted to reorient issues of campus security to be more broad and more diverse,” OMSA Student Advisory Board member and fourth-year Ian Dummett said. “Given the recent crimes on major streets, we think it’s necessary to voice student con-

IN ARTS

IN VIEWPOINTS

RSO Spotlight: Korean Students Organization » Page 7

Two thumbs down

UT’s Weekend of Workshops is a theatrical grab bag » Page 7

Fallible measures

» Page 5

cerns and talk about safety in a diverse community.” Police Chief Marlon Lynch opened the panel by highlighting UCPD success in the past two years: Calendar years 2010 and 2011 had the two lowest rates of violent crimes in recent memory, and 2011 saw crime rates drop to 14 percent below the Hyde Park-South Kenwood neighborhood’s five-year average. “UCPD efforts are unmatched by those of peer institutions located in Chicago, the Ivy League, or other areas of notable crime,” Lynch said. “We act as an integral part of community culture, as we police both the University and surrounding neighborhoods, with an emphasis on ensuring safety for local charter schools.” With 90 full-time officers and 10 part-time officers, UCPD is the second-largest OMSA continued on page 3

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | February 3, 2012

Maria Trujillo, familiar face at South Campus Dining Hall, dies Raghav Verma News Staff Maria Trujillo, a dining employee at South Campus Dining Hall who had worked in University Dining Services under Aramark for five years, died last Friday. While the Maroon could not confirm the cause of Trujillo’s death, an e-mail circulated between house listhosts said that she collapsed on Friday evening and was rushed to the hospital, where she died. Those who worked with Trujillo said she was well-liked and admired for her work ethic. “She was a very active lady, never missed a job, never said ‘I’m sick,’ she always looked happy,” said Maria Campa, another South Campus Dining Hall employee and a close friend of Trujillo. She added that Trujillo, who frequently worked at the dining hall’s omelet station, would often arrive a half hour early to work because “she wanted to be there for the kids.” Richard Mason, the executive director of University Dining, said dining hall employees were informed of Trujillo’s

death on Saturday, and many attended a funeral service on Wednesday at the Benson Family Funeral House. “Aramark has a number of ways it tries to support its employees and employees’ family members in a case like this,” Mason wrote in an e-mail. “Managers rearranged their own schedules and their employees’ schedules to allow as many people as possible to attend the funeral services, where they were joined by some University staff.” He added that many Aramark employees have reached out to Trujillo’s family to offer help and support. Second-year Daniel Brenner, a South Campus resident, said that he was stunned to hear about Trujillo’s death. “I was a bit surprised that at least South Campus students weren’t given an official statement about Maria,” he said. Some South Campus residents were informed of Trujillo’s death through house listhosts, and were told that they could make a donation to help cover funeral costs. A card was also placed in the dining hall that students could sign, which was brought to the funeral on Wednesday. Trujillo is survived by two sons and one daughter.

1998: Graduates from the U of C 2010: Receives Ph.D. from Harvard April 5, 2011: Captured by pro-Gaddafi forces in Libya

This Tuesday: Clare Gillis returns to the U of C

Writing as a freelance reporter in Libya for publications including The Atlantic and USA Today, Clare Gillis was detained in military prison for 44 days. Join us this Tuesday as she tells the story of her journey from academia to journalism, and her time in Libya.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 • 6:00 PM Ida Noyes, East Lounge Presented by The Chicago Maroon & The College

Grant funds research into cell mechanics Marina Fang News Staff A team of U of C professors has received a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a center that could lead to breakthroughs in researching diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. The new Center for Multiscale Theory and Simulation (CMTS) will aim to develop better ways of predicting molecular motion inside of a cell to more accurately examine what happens to a cell when it is infected with a disease. The Center will be led by Gregory Voth, the Haig P. Papazian Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry, and will bring together faculty from multiple fields, as well as the Computation Institute, the James Franck Institute, and the Institute for Biophysical Dynamics. Voth said that collaboration between different disciplines will improve the center’s understanding of molecular motion. “The assembly of all of these building blocks working together defines the living cell in ways that are not well understood,” Voth said. “Multiscale theory and simulation develops new conceptual frameworks and computational methods to help researchers address the complex, connected scales of

such problems and how they work together.” The NSF money comes in the form of a Phase I grant, which will account for about 20 percent of the Center’s initial budget. Once the Center can show that it has made progress, Voth said that it will compete for a Phase II grant, which would give the center funds each year to expand. Voth hopes that if the project receives its Phase II grant, CMTS will move into the Eckhardt Center, which is set for completion in 2015. CMTS currently operates out of Searle Chemistry Laboratory and the Gordon Center for Integrated Science. According to a University statement, CMTS is the only NSF-funded research institution that combines a computational and theoretical approach to research in the field of chemistry. In addition to its scientific impact, the research it produces will help companies develop more advanced pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. According to its website, CMTS has already partnered with IBM, Genentech, and Schrödinger, Inc. Voth has been working to develop the center since arriving at the U of C in 2010, and said that its creation put the University at the forefront of molecular motion research. “One of my goals when moving to the U of C was to make it the world center in this particular area of research,” he said.

Quidditch to land on campus this spring Ben Pokross Senior News Staff Grab your broomsticks. The first Quidditch season will begin this spring , according to fourth-year Evan Weingarten, founder of the RSO UChicago Quidditch. The sport, which wizards in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series play by flying around on broomsticks, has been adapted in high schools and on college campuses across the country. According to Brian Bock, director of Intramurals, Recreation, and Sports Clubs, over 300 institutions in the country have a student Quidditch team. UChicago Quidditch members said that they received strong interest from students interested in the sport. “We’ve gotten eight responses so far... [and] we have had other organizations asking if they could play,” said third-year Bethany Bailey, a member of UChicago Quidditch’s board. There is an International Quidditch Association (IQA) that has created a set of rules, and a Quidditch World Cup has been played every year in New York since 2006, according to first-year board member of UChicago Quidditch Julia Rittenberg. Both Bock and UChicago Quidditch members said that they would modify IQA rules to ensure the safety of all who participate in the sport. “We had to revise the IQA rules because they involved slide tackling,” Rittenberg said. Weingarten said that the RSO had reviewed the rules at different universities in order “to get a sense of what would minimize risk.” Bock expressed concern over rules allowing one of the players, the “snitch,” to run anywhere, even beyond the limits of the field. “It’s fine if it’s confined within a space, but as soon as we have people running across streets, we have some concern,” he said. Overall, Bock was supportive of the new sport, whether run as an IM sport or as a student-run activity. “I’m all for it, I’m excited, I hope it takes off,” he said. However, Bock expressed concern about Quidditch’s ability to sustain significant student interest, based on

stories from other schools. “It’s had mixed reviews,” he said. “The backing hasn’t been there, it’s fizzled out. There hasn’t been interest in a season.” Stone said he isn’t concerned about lack of interest. “Even the amount of teams we have now implies a significant interest,” he said. Bailey was also optimistic about the future of Quidditch at the University. “We have young members on the board who are really excited about it,” she said. “That’s one of the great things about it being student-run.” This inaugural season of Quidditch has been in the making for several years. After hearing about the sport being played on other college campuses, Weingarten started to wonder why it wasn’t being played here. In the summer of 2010, he began making inquiries into starting a Quidditch team. “We have this reputation as Hogwarts, but we don’t have Quidditch,” he said. “The summer before submitting, I was in contact with Brian Bock and people in the housing office about why we didn’t have this.” Encouraged by the response from University administrators, Weingarten decided to apply to the Uncommon Fund. “We were unanimously voted into the second round,” Weingarten said, and ultimately UChicago Quidditch was allocated $2,165, which will be put toward operations costs and buying nets, hoops, and jerseys. On their application, Weingarten said, they had listed themselves as “IM Quidditch” in order to communicate to the board what the season would look like. However, Weingarten said, the RSO is trying to model Quidditch off of Midnight Soccer, a student-run activity. For future years, the RSO’s goal is to be able to field a club team that could compete against other schools around the country. For now, however, UChicago Quidditch is simply looking to introduce the sport on campus. “We should have an opportunity for people to get into it,” said Bailey. “We just want to get it out there.” A meeting for RAs and representatives from other interested organizations will take place next week.

www.chicagomaroon.com

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | February 3, 2012

Foreclosed homes a new Occupy target

Construction projects a major contributor to energy consumption Indian ministry

endows new professorship

Stephanie Xiao News Staff

Ankit Jain News Contributor

Forget Wall Street. Students joined numerous South Side community activists at a teach-in Wednesday night to discuss and celebrate their occupation and renovation of a place much smaller than Zuccotti Park: a single family home. Members of the University’s Southside Solidarity Network (SSN) convened in the living room of the house with leaders from Liberate the South Side, an ad hoc organization aimed at bringing the Occupy movement closer to home by placing displaced Chicago families into foreclosed houses. According to Shani Smith, a member of both Liberate and Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), a grassroots social justice empowerment organization that works closely with SSN and Liberate, SOUL specifically targets foreclosed homes because of the extent to which the negative effects of foreclosures can weaken the surrounding neighborhood. “We were looking for homes that the bank owned and that basically are a blight on the community. We wanted these homes that are eyesores, that the neighbors didn’t want to be a part of the community any longer,” Smith said. “It really takes a toll not only on the people who were removed from their homes, but also the community,” she added. The occupied single-family brick house is about 30 blocks south of the University in the Calumet Heights neighborhood, and has been vacant for the past two years after HSBC terminated its mortgage. The teach-in offered around 30 attendants a forum through which they could reflect on the “home liberation” journey, which involved locating and renovating the house, gaining support from neighbors, and identifying a suitable family to resettle the house. The entire process culminated in the physical reoccupation of the home on January 19

In an agreement with the Indian government, the U of C has pledged to create the Swami Vivekananda Visiting Professorship, honoring the Hindu leader’s influence. The permanent professorship will be funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Indian Ministry of Culture. Both parties sealed the agreement at the International House last Saturday, with several members of the Indian government present, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The professorship will bring a distinguished scholar to the University for one quarter each year to honor Vivekananda’s legacy by teaching, researching, and speaking about Indian history. The professor will teach several classes on South Asia, with at least one class open to undergraduates, and give one lecture on issues related to the region. Martha Roth, dean of the Division of the Humanities, said that the University hopes to have the first visiting professor here in the spring of 2013. Indian ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao also mentioned the benefits of the long-standing partnership between India and the University of Chicago. “The year 2012 will be a specific marker of our strengthening relations, and the setting up of the Vivekananda chair here…will go a long way in our mutually rewarding and durable partnership,” Rao said. The professorship will commemorate the 150th birthday of Swami Vivekananda, an influential Hindu priest who raised the profile of Hinduism in America. He gave his most famous speech in 1893 in Chicago, imploring attendees to show religious tolerance and engage in interfaith dialogue. “Vivekananda’s speech at the

SSN continued on page 4

The South Campus Chiller Plant (left) and Steam Plant at East 61st Street and South Blackstone Avenue. DARREN LEOW | THE CHICAGO MAROON POLLUTION continued from front

FY2009. Total CO2 emissions on campus increased marginally from FY2008 to 2009, while CO2 from purchased electricity (a Scope 2 source of emissions not included in the EPA study) increased by about 25,000 metric tons, according to the University’s GHG Inventory published this week. The increase reflects a gradual but annual trend since 2006. Ongoing construction projects explain much of the growth in consumption. “You have to take into account the fact that we’re growing. So if you cut it by square feet, it’s one issue; to account for construction, it’s a whole different issue,” Tagtachian said. “It’s also difficult because all of the new buildings going up are under construction, where buildings are using a lot of power mainly because they’re not closed up. But also you can’t have people working in subzero conditions.” In spite of these figures, the Office of Sustainability has recently championed several major initiatives to reduce university emissions, with help from a $2.5 million grant from Jim and Paula Crown in 2009. The three-year-old office has just completed energy upgrades in four buildings—Pick Hall, Stuart Hall, Social Sciences Research Building, and Henry Crown Field House—and 16 others are currently being retrofitted. “I think any step forward is a good step, and clearly the Office of Sustainability, with the grant they just

got...is taking that step,” said secondyear Grace Pai, Assistant Director of UCAN, a climate action RSO. “The retrofits that they’re doing to the older buildings are really important, because so many of our buildings are old, but we also want to preserve the history of these buildings.” In addition to the retrofitting of older buildings, all new campus and medical center buildings costing over $5 million must now be LEED-certified, according to the Sustainability Building Policy that the University approved in December 2010. The LEED certification aims to improve building performance across a number of different environmental benchmarks, such as energy efficiency and waste reduction. “There are certainly buildings that were upgraded and are using less power,” Tagtachian said. “But also it’s difficult for us, just having over 16 million gross square feet, to say we’re going to choose a program and use it across all of campus, as that would cost more money. It would be expensive, so you would normally go a group of buildings at a time.” The main obstacles to reducing emissions are time and money, according to Flanagan. “There is a finite amount of resources. You can’t go in and retrofit every building over the next three years; it’s going to take time. Time and resources are the biggest challenges to getting some quick returns.” Tagtachian also identified that university bureaucracy can sometimes slow

down the process. “We’re also a part of Facilities, which is in some sense an advantage and in some sense a disadvantage. It’s an advantage because every time a decision is made, we’re there. It’s a disadvantage because you have constraints, a lot of them being financial. It’s what it is.” No formal goals have been set by the University to curb emissions, although a broad plan including emissions reductions will be published by the end of the year. This plan will involve the GHG Inventory and coordination with the independent Sustainability Council. “The strategic plan is going to be up on our website within the next month or two. I think having that with the inventory, with this climate plan, really put some policies, guidelines, and vision in place for the department. Otherwise you could just spend a lot of time reacting to people’s interests in things,” Flanagan said. “The Office of Sustainability is going about it in a very UChicago way,” Pai said. “That is probably the most effective way: really working with the University community.” When asked whether the University was doing enough to reduce its carbon footprint, Flanagan said that it is too early to tell. “I think that, as we’re putting these plans in place right now, that would be a good question in a year or two from now. By then we’ll really start to ramp up and address any kind of aggressive goals we put into place.”

PROFESSOR continued on page 4

Lynch: “We do not racially profile—we criminal profile.” OMSA continued from front

First-year Jamie Sanchez (left) speaks with Chief of Police Marlon Lynch during a UCPD question-and-answer session Tuesday night at OMSA. JOHNNY HUNG | THE CHICAGO MAROON

private police force in the United States. With a seven-squaremile patrol area extending from 39th to 64th Streets and from South Cottage Grove Avenue to South Lake Park Avenue, UCPD covers a substantial area because a majority of students live off-campus, according to Lynch. Lynch also emphasized transportation initiatives, acknowledging the many issues that students experience with SafeRide. “SafeRide was initially instituted without adequate parameters, resulting in perpetual inefficiency and an average of 40-plus minute wait times,” he said. “We are working on reevaluating the system, but until then, we encourage students to utilize evening shuttle routes or to contact Theresa Brown,

Director of Transportation and Parking,” Lynch said. Audience members voiced concerns about racial profiling, a practice that Lynch denied officers engage in. “We do not racially profile— we criminal profile,” Lynch said, adding that UCPD officers are encouraged to become familiar with those on campus, regardless of their race. Two years ago, tensions between students and campus police flared around the issue when Maurice Dawson (A.B. ’10), a black student, was arrested in the A-level of the Regenstein Library after refusing to show student identification to a UCPD officer. Other UCPD initiatives discussed included a focus on security during O-Week, tightening of housing security measures, updates to TransLoc and shuttle tracking software, fur-

ther installation of on-campus security cameras, and extended offering of rape, aggression, and defense courses. Fourth-year Anna AkersPecht came to the forum to follow up on issues discussed two weeks earlier at an informal student meeting on campus security organized by the Chicago Justice Initiative RSO. “Discussion on campus safety feels lacking, and increased communication, interaction, and student participation would be desirable,” she said. The panel also included Patrol Services Bureau Commander Fountain Walker, Assistant UCPD Chief Gloria Graham, Deputy Chief Eric Heath, Security Systems Director John Matherson, Community and Support Commander Kevin Booker, and three other officers.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | February 3, 2012

UCMC trauma center â&#x20AC;&#x153;not feasible,â&#x20AC;? Alper says

World Congress of Religions in 1893 had an enormous impact in the United States and the desire was to in fact have this professorship here at Chicago precisely because of that reason,â&#x20AC;? Roth said. Mukherjee said that Vivekananda was responsible for inspiring a curiosity about Eastern cultures in the West. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The great interest in the spiritual traditions of the East that we see in the West today is in substantive measures directly attributable to Swami Vivekananda,â&#x20AC;?

This is a weekly series summarizing instances of campus crime. Each week details a few notable crimes, in addition to keeping a running count from January 1. The focus is on crimes within the UCPD patrol area, which runs from 39th to 64th Streets and Cottage Grove to Lake Shore Drive. Here are this weekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s notables : Âť There were eight thefts reported on Friday: three bicycle thefts, two wallets, one vacuum cleaner, one involved multiple laptops, and one involved a box of supplies.

Mukherjee said. The University and Indian Ministry of Culture have been in conversation with each other for almost two years about honoring Vivekananda in the city where he gave his most famous speech. Mukherjee said that other organizations and ideas honoring Vivekananda were considered, but ultimately the Indian government decided that â&#x20AC;&#x153;the proposal of the University of Chicago, that has the distinction of being one of the great centers of learning, would be the most befitting to enshrine the universal values that Swami Vivekananda professed.â&#x20AC;?

Âť Sunday between 3:08 and 3:14 a.m. Softball fieldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Unknown persons stole home plate.

ÂťThe January 27 article â&#x20AC;&#x153;College Applications Jump 16 Percent To Record Highâ&#x20AC;? omitted that the University of Virginia received a 17.64 percent increase in applications from last year. A graphic accompanying an online version article also incorrectly represented the number of applicants to the College: there were 25,271 applicants.

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CLASSIFIEDS Classified advertising in The Chicago Maroon is $3 for each line. Lines are 45 characters long including spaces and punctuation. Special headings are 20-character lines at $4 per line. Submit all ads in person, by e-mail, or by mail to The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, Lower Level Rm 026, 1212 E. 59th St., Chicago, IL 60637. The Chicago Maroon accepts Mastercard & Visa. Call (773) 702-9555.

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Professorship two years in the making PROFESSOR continued from page 3

WEEKLY CRIME REPORT

Âť Monday 1:07 p.m. Bookstoreâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Two unknown males stole toiletry supplies.

completely broken,â&#x20AC;? Alper said. However, he added that the costs and capacity required to operate a trauma center on the South Side are not feasible. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a question of balance. If we do that, what canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t we do?â&#x20AC;? Alper said. Students also asked Alper about Harper Court development on 53rd Street, and the biggest challenges for the University over the next 10â&#x20AC;&#x201C;15 years. When asked about the future of a liberal arts education at the U of C, Alper defended the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to broad thinking. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Liberal arts education is the most valuable thing you can get,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a common DNA of UChicago alumni.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Additional reporting by Douglas Everson

attached to it. She loves the independence.â&#x20AC;? First-year SSN member Emma LaBounty highlighted the importance of being aware of the communities outside of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;U of C bubbleâ&#x20AC;? and the issues that affect them. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are neighborhoods around the U of C where most students have never been... but the U of C is situated in a broader community that we can engage and learn about and definitely link these sorts of struggles with the conversations that students have about the economy,â&#x20AC;? LaBounty said. LaBounty also believes this campaign gives credence to the notion of bank accountability by giving a face to issues that are often discounted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Once you actually talk to people face to face, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot harder to maintain the sense of complicity that comes when you complain about the individuals, and when you realize that thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a structural crisis and look on maps, and these maps are dotted off by foreclosures, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to talk about stupid individuals making stupid individual decisions,â&#x20AC;? she said. By Rebecca Guterman

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their frustration over raising costs, but at the same time, increasing numbers of students want to come to the U of C. Alper said that new programs that increased the attractiveness of the University, such as the Logan Arts Center and expansion of study abroad programs in China, have been supported by tuition increases. He added that the Board of Trustees is aware that new programs must be balanced with tuition increases. Continuing on the theme of balance, Alper mentioned the decision not to create a trauma center at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC). Alper, who is also on the UCMC Board, recognized the desire to provide for the community. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The medical system in this country is

by Shani Smithâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sister Tene Smith, a single working mother of four. Liberateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial resources limit the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s involvement to homes with only light renovation needs, and the Calumet project was often hampered by a lack of approval from neighbors, although the group was able to succeed with the help of supporters across the South Side. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We had so many people just working around the clock for two weeks to get this home in move-in conditionâ&#x20AC;ŚThe furnace and water heater were donated, and a lot of the work was donated,â&#x20AC;? Smith said. Ultimately, Tene Smith, whose family was displaced for the past three years, welcomed the opportunity to settle down and start over. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve adjusted to it quite a bit. We love it,â&#x20AC;? Smith said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was a grand opportunity for her to truly get a fresh start.... The kids are really appreciative because now they have a little bit more space.... They can come home and do their homework,â&#x20AC;? Shadi Smith added. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s really

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BOARD continued from front

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A :OYS AV]`S

dents want to join, they can,â&#x20AC;? she said. What has kept ROTC from taking off, according to Vice President for Communications Julie Peterson, is student demand. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was never enough critical mass,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;What we learned in the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s history was that there wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough student interest for a formal ROTC program.â&#x20AC;? However, if student interest is the issue, there is also a history of loud and active debate to contend with. Up until the repeal of Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Ask, Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Tell (DADT) in December 2010, military recruitment on college campuses was a flashpoint for students. For instance, four students were arrested in 2006, while protesting the presence of the Marine Corps on campus, while several editorials and letters appearing in the Maroon that year excoriated the University for its apparent anti-ROTC stance. Many of the arguments advocating for formalized ROTC training were directed toward administrators rather than the military, though they also recapitulated points that spring up in McKinneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recruitment pitch. The repeal of DADT took some of the ideological edge out of universities which opposed ROTC on moral grounds. Harvard University began offering ROTC this past fall after a decades-long hiatus, its president specifically citing the repeal as an impetus for the decision, and Yale University will reinstate its program for the incoming class of 2016. McKinney sees hope for more student enrollment in the campusâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s changing face, attributable to its expanded admissions process and acceptance of the Common App. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Students on campus are being more responsive to ROTC and its goals, and weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re hoping to take advantage of that,â&#x20AC;? he said.

| THE CHICAGO MAROON

sonnel and students at the Service Academies. Whether turnout at the U of C has always been low is uncertain, and officer recruitment has a disputed history at the University. For reasons that remain murky even today, the military broke ties with many schools during the 1960s and 1970s. The U of C was one of them. Explanations have included spats with college administrators over academics, rising sentiments against the Vietnam War, and a deliberate choice by the military to prioritize recruitment in regions where students were more likely to enlist. The prevailing narrative is that the U of C has never had an official ROTC presence on campus, but any information at all about the program here is difficult to find. World War I-era photographs depict students performing military drills on Stagg Fieldâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the current site of the Regenstein Libraryâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but most people, including President Robert Zimmer and Vice President for Campus Life Kim Goff-Crews, hold that the armed forces never had a formal presence, and that the University certainly never kicked it out. The only ROTC option available to University students is at either of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two sole ROTC programs: one for the Army at UIC, and one for the Air Force at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). But according to administrators, ROTC presence is not the reason so few students have enlisted in the program. ROTC recruiters regularly table at RSO fairs on campus, and Goff-Crews said that she meets with new campus recruiters for all three ROTC branches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[Recruiters] are at all student organizational fairs, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re always there, so however many stu-

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VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed FEBRUARY 3, 2012

Two thumbs down Changes to the Uncommon Fund application and selection process are well-intentioned but inadequate The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 ADAM JANOFSKY Editor-in-Chief CAMILLE VAN HORNE Managing Editor MAHMOUD BAHRANI Senior Editor JONATHAN LAI News Editor HARUNOBU CORYNE News Editor SAM LEVINE News Editor EMILY WANG Viewpoints Editor CHARNA ALBERT Arts Editor DANIEL LEWIS Sports Editor VICENTE FERNANDEZ Sports Editor DOUGLAS EVERSON, JR Head Designer KEVIN WANG Web Editor ALICE BLACKWOOD Head Copy Editor DON HO Head Copy Editor GABE VALLEY Head Copy Editor DARREN LEOW Photo Editor

Applicants to this year’s Uncommon Fund, which will finish taking submissions today, have been greeted by two new additions: an extra $35,000 (for a total of $75,000), as well as more guidelines for selecting the winning projects. Submissions must include a minute-long video, to be posted on the Fund’s website, and fellow students can “thumbsup” their favorite projects, which will ultimately factor into the final decision. These measures come after Dean of the College John Boyer, who contributed $25,000 of the extra $35,000, called for more student input and accessibility to the Uncommon Fund selection process. While these improvements do address some common complaints about the Uncommon Fund, they fall short of meeting their potential and might hurt the application process.

Since many proposals to the Uncommon Fund concern student life, it is a step in the right direction to allow students to vote for their favorites. However, it is unclear how much of an impact this “thumbs-up” option will have; although the Board has stated that the poll results will factor into the decisionmaking process, it does not say precisely how much weight they will carry. According to second-year Forrest Scofield, an SG adviser to the Uncommon Fund, the team with the most student approvals will have dinner with Dean Boyer. However, there’s no guarantee that the Uncommon Fund board will pay any significant heed to these votes in its final decisions. Better methods to take student input into account would be to either allow voters to decide what firstround proposals go on to the next round

or for the Board to choose acceptable first-round proposals themselves and let voters decide the final outcome. Another good intention executed poorly is the video requirement for the project proposals. The Uncommon Fund is about more than budgeting and logistics, and adding a multimedia requirement lends a degree of creativity to the competition. However, creating an engaging video to draw student votes is a lot of pressure early on in the competition, and those who do not have video editing skills or do not think their idea will translate well to film may be discouraged from applying. Those projects with more polished videos would have an unfair advantage, despite the merits of the ideas themselves. Instead of focusing solely on video, the Board should accept a

broad array of multimedia submissions that could include a photo slide show, audio recording, or graphic display. The Uncommon Fund has become a U of C tradition near and dear to students’ hearts. If the ever-increasing number of entries and Dean Boyer’s contribution are any indication, the Fund has more visibility and impact than ever. The Board did well to recognize this change and improve its selection process to increase interactivity, however ineffective these modifications may turn out to be. With the stakes higher than ever, the Board can no longer afford any missteps.

The Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Viewpoints Editors, and an additional Editorial Board member.

JAMIE MANLEY Photo Editor REBECCA GUTERMAN Assoc. News Editor LINDA QIU Assoc. News Editor CRYSTAL TSOI Assoc. News Editor GIOVANNI WROBEL Assoc. News Editor AJAY BATRA Assoc. Viewpoints Editor

Fallible measures The media focuses too much on polls and personal lives in assessing each Republican candidate’s merit

TOMI OBARO Assoc. Arts Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Assoc. Sports Editor TYRONALD JORDAN Business Manager VIVIAN HUA Undergraduate Business Executive VINCENT MCGILL Delivery Coordinator HAYLEY LAMBERSON Ed. Board Member HYEONG-SUN CHO Designer SONIA DHAWAN Designer ALYSSA LAWTHER Designer SARAH LI Designer AUTUMN NI Designer

By Eric Wessan Viewpoints Columnist

AMITA PRABHU Designer BELLA WU Designer KELSIE ANDERSON Copy Editor CATIE ARBONA Copy Editor AMISHI BAJAJ Copy Editor JANE BARTMAN Copy Editor MARTIA BRADLEY Copy Editor ELIZABETH BYNUM Copy Editor ALAN HASSLER Copy Editor

There is something inevitable about the coming presidential election. However, this inevitability is not what many would expect. It is not inevitable that Mitt Romney will be the Republican nominee. While his nomination is likely, it is by no means guaranteed. It is not inevitable that Newt Gingrich will

collapse under the weight of his ego. While it is not inevitable that either will beat President Obama, it is equally not inevitable that President Obama will win. This word, inevitability, should imply a true sense of finality. There is a mistaken idea that we as humans can see what the future holds to such an extent that we can predict it and, further, that we can know it. The only thing we can be sure of this election cycle is that man’s fallibility in this regard will once again be highlighted for all to see. Indeed, no one is perfect, but it seems to be the media’s mission to highlight the imperfections of these candidates’ personal lives. What hubris we mortals have! Polling is substantially better than it was 100 years ago, but there is still no way to accurately

predict the outcome of an election even a week before. An excellent illustration of this is the recent Republican primary in South Carolina, where Mitt Romney was leading in the polls by 14 points four days before the contest. In the subsequent four days, some shift in the voters occurred and Newt Gingrich ended up winning by more than 12 points. Acclaimed New York Times pollster Nate Silver waited until two days before the contest to declare that Gingrich had “momentum” and was more than 50 percent likely to win in the primary. Two days before that, Silver had written about how it was all but a fait accompli that Romney would win. Despite all the failures in polling surrounding South Carolina—namely, the lack of accuracy for any reasonable length of time and the general flip-

flopping of the average voter—the mainstream media still report on and seemingly respect these meaningless poll numbers. Up to now, each successive surge in the Republican primary has been as much about media hype as the legitimacy of each candidate. Only now that the field has been winnowed can all of the candidates prove to be real contenders. Yet the problems continue. Working in conjunction with these faulty polls is, as usual, the complicit media and its 24-hour news cycle. Whether watching MSNBC or Fox News, or even the supposedly less partisan and more “newsy” stations such as CNN or PBS, there will be hyperbolic mention of every single bit of minutia in the presidential race. While real business POLLING continued on page 6

NISHANTH IYENGAR Copy Editor MICHELLE LEE Copy Editor KATIE MOCK Copy Editor LANE SMITH Copy Editor JEN XIA Copy Editor ESTHER YU Copy Editor

A private process The most creative thinking occurs during time spent alone, not from collaboration

BEN ZIGTERMAN 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. © 2012 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: Douglas@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy: CopyEditors@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com

By Emily Wang Viewpoints Editor Last Wednesday night, I was alone. Ostensibly, the mere fact of being by myself was nothing notable. Even though colleges inherently have a higher density of people than most places, students—myself included— are often alone: in Reg cubicles, in our rooms, in transit. But this alone had a different quality to it—I felt locked into my own world, my energies shaped by the issues of the task at hand. It was my first time working at Midway Studios by myself. I was finishing up an art project for my Visual Language class, with nothing but the music from my iPod seeping into my mind and the

fragments of artwork strewn about to keep me company. It was a kind of “alone-ness” that stuck with me, that forced me to acknowledge a troubling fact that’s been slowly creeping into my consciousness: Creatively, I’ve experienced a drastic downturn since coming to college. In high school, I would go to class during the day and go home and write or draw liberally in the privacy of my own space. And it wasn’t until this night at the studio that I realized that this decrease in creative productivity might be related—even beyond the obvious fact that I have a lot of other obligations occupying my time now—to the amount of time I dedicate to actually being alone. Everything creative I produced in high school was done independently. Occasionally, I would ask a few close friends for their feedback on various projects—after I had already finished them. That’s not to say, though, that I haven’t written or drawn in college. In fact, I’ve written quite a lot, and now that I’m taking my first art course here, I’ve also completed a few pieces

of artwork. Somehow, though, it’s not quite the same. Here, there’s the constant pressure that I’m writing or painting for someone else, and often there really is another set of eyes, or many sets of eyes, watching me and offering feedback as I work. When there’s so much pressure, I find myself resistant to even starting something new. I recently created and tried to maintain a public blog—after years of writing anonymously on various private online journals—and I just couldn’t keep it up. Since then, I’ve begun to wonder whether college is both an initiation into independence and interdependence, into a kind of social fabric that takes hold of one’s attention and doesn’t let go. A particular statement, the first line of a recent New York Times article (“The Rise of the New Groupthink”) keeps coming back to me: “Solitude is out of fashion.” Solitude is out of fashion. I’m struck by just how well that statement encapsulates the culture and the mentality of our time. Consider, for one, just how often “must

work well in groups” appears in the list of requirements for a job opening in pretty much every field imaginable. In the classroom, external critique is increasingly encouraged during the process of writing and creating something, rather than being offered only post-completion. On the Internet, any comment can be “liked” or “up-voted,” or conversely ridiculed and “down-voted.” Post a new profile picture, but nobody’s commented? The message is clear: It’s probably poorly shot, unattractively posed, or just plain boring. Next time, then, you’ll find a better one—more vivid colors, a more flattering angle, a more outrageous facial expression. We live in a culture of nonstop external critique; it’s become vital for us to know whether or not each joke we tell or comment we make is worthy of public admiration, and that, in turn, shapes what we’re producing. And this is a great tool—to a certain extent. The idea implied by all this focus on collaborative skills is that we can accomplish greater things in greater SOLITUDE continued on page 6

THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | February 3, 2012

Criticism of candidates should revolve around ideas and policies POLLING continued from page 5 is going on, there are sure to be attacks and apologies made toward the various presidential candidates on decidedly non-presidential issues. Examples of such pseudo-scandals come to mind with the top two GOP candidates—Gingrich’s marriages and infidelities and Romney’s tax returns. First, I’ll address Newt Gingrich’s private life. Gingrich has an incredibly long résumé. For those that question his stances and policies, his list of votes could be gone through with a fine-toothed comb and discussed in a mature way. For those who truly want to attack Gingrich’s candidacy, there is at least one instance where the House Ethics Committee recommended penalizing him. That being said, he is running to become President of the United States. His personal affairs and his own private life should not enter the debate. Whatever people believe about Gingrich as a person, they should not allow these views to color their thoughts on whether he would be a competent president. Attacks coming from the left should reflect the same standards they applied to former President Clinton. He was a man with great moral failings in the personal realm, but he managed in large part to keep them separate from his presidency. From the right, such attacks would be hypocritical: Any true conservative should ensure people’s privacy and liberty. Newt Gingrich may have moral failings, but even so, they should remain personal. Even worse than the attacks on Gingrich’s personal life are those on Mitt Romney’s taxes. After losing in South Carolina, Romney released his tax returns. Many on the left lamented that his 13.9 percent effective tax rate was unacceptably low, and questioned how we could have a leader that paid so little despite his immense wealth. These ridiculous and patently un-American complaints against someone figuring out a way to pay lower taxes to the oppressive IRS are terrible—they assign blame to Romney for doing nothing wrong. First of all, at 43 percent, his effective total tax plus charity rate was very high. While he may not have been paying the U.S. government more than his legally required due, he more than made up for any perceived shortchanging by donating to the charities of his choice. Further, under Romney’s economic plan, many people in the middle class would be taxed at Romney’s current rate. He merely did what made the most sense with the money he earned from his successful business ventures and should be praised for such actions, not derided. These are all symptoms of a greater problem. The media have tried to show these candidates under the harshest possible light all in the name of vetting, but it is so harsh a process that it should and likely does scare off qualified presidential candidates. We should be looking to elect in our next president someone with great dignity and great ideas, and the media’s attempts to influence elections with scatterbrained polling and diminish the dignity of the candidates based on irrelevant issues are not conducive to public discourse. Trying to bring these men down through personal attacks—even in the interests of the lofty ideal of transparency—is not a virtue, but a vice. Eric Wessan is a second-year in the College majoring in political science.

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.

Shades of intolerance Seeing religion in terms of black-and-white generalizations impedes productive discourse

By Anastasia Golovashkina Viewpoints Columnist In Luther’s era, it was “the devil’s work” to propose an alternate reading of scripture; in Galileo’s, radical to suggest that our planet wasn’t the center of the universe. These were eras defined by religion: where worship wasn’t once a week, but once a day, when rites would consume hours at a time, when scholasticism was the supreme form of scholarship, when sovereigns ruled via divine right. Since then, however, the developed world has witnessed a major shift in how its citizens define and identify with faith. Now, we pride ourselves not in ostracizing others’ religions, but in recognizing each person’s freedom to choose her own. Our constitutions cement the separation of church and state. Our public schools don’t pray. Indeed, 16.1 percent of the U.S. population reported that they are unaffiliated with any faith, and 34.5 percent responded “no” to Gallup’s 2009 question, “Is religion important in your daily life?”, while 70 percent of the population agrees that the importance of religion is “declining.” This contrasts sharply with a 1957 poll, when 69 percent of Americans said that religion was increasing its influence, and it all points to a trend of diminishing religious sentiment. But the trend is neither all-consuming nor unilateral, as churches and other religious

Working to please everyone doesn’t always lead to a better product SOLITUDE continued from page 5 frequency when we work together. The product, when there’s more feedback during the actual creative process, is somehow inherently better. That’s why tools like brainstorming sessions and group meetings exist. But the problem is that, as the Times piece points out, “Research strongly suggests that people are more creative when they enjoy privacy and freedom from interruption.” When there’s external critique involved in the process, it’s more likely that the product will have greater appeal to a wider audience. But I have to ask myself: Is that always what I want? One of the most celebrated poets of all time, Emily Dickinson, was radically private—not in the sense that she was a social recluse (a common misconception), but with regard to her creative process. Aside from a few of her very closest confidants, Dickinson’s work was rarely read or critiqued by anyone but herself. In her prolific career, she wrote nearly 1,800 poems, fewer than a dozen of which were published while she was alive. What emerged from Dickinson’s posthumously published body of work was the most inimitable voice of a generation, largely untouched by public perception. So whether it’s a work of art or simply a problem that calls for an innovative solution, there’s something about creative tasks that just calls out for solitude. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about public opinions of my work—sometimes, when I’m stuck, an outside perspective will be just the thing I need. But when I’m deep in the process of working out a thorny issue that demands all of my creative focus? I just don’t want to hear it. Emily Wang is a second-year in the College majoring in English.

organizations still hold a prominent position in our nation’s social and political discourse. Religious considerations still seem to top the list of reasons that voters favor a given candidate; indeed, hoards of current voters report that they’ll vote against Romney simply because he’s Mormon or praise Bachmann and Santorum for “putting their faith first.” Not to mention the fact that our first non-Protestant president, JFK, took office just over 50 years ago, or that every U.S. president has been a Christian male. Our one-dollar bills are stamped with “God.” Our houses of worship are almost always tax-exempt. Our government even seems to grant religious groups like the Westboro Baptist Church far greater permission to protest than it does political groups like Occupy Wall Street. Religion is prominent on the U of C campus as well. We too have strong faithbased organizations like InterVarsity and Hillel, alongside the equally popular Secular Students Alliance. Off campus, many of our students are active members and regular attendees of churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other houses of worship. But while the religious tolerance and freedom that has developed over time has been a positive trend on the whole, it has also led to the simultaneous development of an odd and often unjustified tendency— especially among those who identify as atheists—to speak of religion in all-ornothing terms, and often in an insulting manner. From my experience, the trend has been most prevalent online and, curiously enough, on our campus. The most common sources of argument seem to be the inconsistency of various Bible verses with either one another or with contemporary social standards, and the fact that, unfortunately, no one can produce

definitive, immediate, and unquestionable proof of a supreme being’s existence. From these two principles, the debater almost always concludes (in a logical progression not at all different from those Bible verses they condemn) that all religion is bad, and all those who call themselves religious are either ignorant or stupid. But are they really? More importantly, is this sort of uninhibited bashing of religion really going to get us anywhere? First: God. While anyone would be hardpressed to definitively prove that God exists, it’s equally impossible to outline the precise origins of the universe. Even granting the Big Bang theory, for instance, doesn’t quite disprove the existence of a divine being, just as our lack of contact with aliens doesn’t disprove their existence either. Second: Biblical inconsistencies. Is it an automatic mandate that someone who identifies as “Christian” must adhere to each and every principle outlined in the Bible? The answer is an almost definite “no.” Just as someone who identifies as “Republican” mustn’t espouse an unconditional belief in every bullet point of the official GOP platform, so too can someone who identifies as “Christian” opt to be pro-choice, support same-sex marriage, or believe that Earth isn’t 6,000 years old. Third: the Bible. It is not representative of all religions. I’m often surprised by just how many people making the above two arguments forget this basic fact. But most importantly, this sort of approach threatens our society’s incredible religious tolerance. Just like everything else, religion isn’t monochrome—and it should be recognized, and respected, as such. Anastasia Golovashkina is a first-year in the College majoring in economics.

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ARTS

Trivial Pursuits FEBRUARY 3, 2012

RSO Spotlight: Korean Students Organization This is the first in an ongoing series highlighting different arts and cultural RSOs; if you’re interested in having your RSO featured, contact us at arts@chicagomaroon.com. Tomi Obaro Associate Arts Editor It could be the premise of a really lame, possibly offensive joke: Two Koreans sit in a bar.... But it’s actually one of the first scenes of The Secret Garden, the Korean Students Organization’s (KSO) annual culture show, which is set to debut tomorrow in Mandel Hall. First-years Jin Sung Kim and Hyeong Sun Cho sit at a wooden table onstage. Cheesy bar music, complete with a wailing opening harmonica solo, plays in the background. Next to them, between two wooden partitions, first-year Sang woo Park cuts imaginary lemons. He’s wearing an ill-fitting red hanbok, a traditional Korean dress. First-year Henry Han saunters onto the stage. Kim and Cho get up, and they all greet each other. After some brisk chitchat, Han makes an announcement: “I’m going to join the army.” “What?” Kim and Cho exclaim in mock astonishment. “Cut!” yells Maria Chung , a fourth-year econ major sitting in the empty auditorium. “You guys have to be shocked.” They run the scene again. Han: “I’m joining the army.” Cho and Kim literally fall out

of their chairs. Chung’s laughter vouches for the quality of the scene. Founded in 1976, KSO has a pretty self-explanatory mission: to represent the Korean campus community and “bring together those who have a common interest in Korean culture through social activities.” Though it only has 13 board members, it has

THE SECRET GARDEN Mandel Hall Saturday, February 4 Dinner at 6:30 p.m., performance at 8 p.m.

a strong campus presence, with about 100 students somehow involved in the organization, according to the RSO’s website. The culture show is KSO’s signature event; they were actually the first organization to put on a culture show back in 1980, creating a campus tradition that virtually every other cultural RSO has since emulated. An amalgamation of scripted drama and traditional Korean music and dance, the culture show tends to garner a healthy audience. “It’s a chance for people to socialize, meet other Koreans, learn Korean music or culture,” Chung , current president of

KSO, explains. “We also try to bring awareness.” This year, for example, the culture show writers, Jason Kang, Eric Cho, Christine Chae, and Chung, decided to set their play in Kaesong Industrial Region, a special economic zone in North Korea that allows South Korean companies to work there. “We figured that a lot of people, even Koreans, don’t know about that place and we just thought that it’s a really interesting setting,” Chung explains. Turnout for the KSO culture show has typically been high. KSO recently moved their shows to Mandel Hall, and Chung expects between 300 to 350 people to attend this year.”We also have Koreans coming from the suburbs like high school and middle school students and second- generation students who don’t know a lot about Korean culture,” Chung says. But while KSO has attracted a lot of local Korean attention, they haven’t always been great at encouraging non-Koreans to participate in the organization. It’s a sticking point for many cultural RSOs centered around a particular ethnic group, and naturally, KSO is not immune. “Anyone who’s interested in Korean culture can become part of KSO,” KSO continued on page 9

First-year Do Q Lee (left) and first-year Kimberly Han stare into the distance in this year’s KSO Culture Show: The Secret Garden. JULIA REINITZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON

UT’s Weekend of Workshops is a theatrical grab bag Lindsay Warren Arts Contributor Just in case the Super Bowl is not going to be the highlight of your weekend (or if you simply feel like being well-rounded), University Theater’s Weekend of Workshops has great entertainment (and even shock!) value in store for you. For this year’s continuation of an annual event, the Weekend of Workshops cast and crew worked on four separate pieces that were either student-written, studentdevised, or, in the case of the Gribsby scene, resurrected from the depths of Oscar Wilde’s editing processes. Five weeks after production began, they have reached this final showcase. After attending a run of the four-piece show and catching up with the directors, I can safely assume that you will enjoy yourself for 80 minutes, and for better reasons than the avoidance of homework. Get your tickets, head to the First Floor Theater in the Reynolds Club at 8 p.m. from Thursday to Saturday (or catch the Saturday matinee at 3 p.m.), and settle in

for a great time. The Gribsby scene from The Importance of Being Earnest, which director John Lisovsky labels as “grossly under-known and underperformed,” begins the show with Schubert in the background and tuxedoed actors on stage. This environment of upper-class pretension quickly becomes ironically humorous as the scene progresses: Viewers have the opportunity to hear what it means to be a gentleman while gazing upon behavior that is quite the contrary. For all of you future econ grads who need a guidebook on how to act after earning your investment banking bonuses, this will be an educational experience. Graceland follows next. Inspired by the album of the same name, it allows its crew to “mix music and theater,” according to director Zev Hurwich. Although Hurwich brought the album—which he considers one of his all-time favorites—to the creative table, it is the actresses who wrote the scenes. The short pieces range from comical (a How I Met Your Mother-

esque tale involving the “gumbo of love,” along with the mental processes of a first encounter at a bar) to more forlorn sketches of childhood fantasy worlds, single-motherhood, and moving on, as well as a daughter’s attempt to break free from home. The insights the actresses give into some of life’s important moments offer a poignant reminder that there are emotions at this university beyond stress and exhaustion during midterms. Although the underlying conflict that drives This is Our [Chicago] Youth remains “intentionally unclear,” according to director Fred Schmidt-Arenales, the laughter that ensues over the actors’ interactions is obvious. The performance is improvisational: Schmidt-Arenales had his actors read the original This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan and used improv directing to achieve a general result, but the lines themselves can change each time. Based on Monday’s run, University of Chicago– friendly comments about Ratner, the proper pronunciation of “Medici,” analysis of french fry

quality, and even Chicago Bulls fan-wear are certainly not offlimits. And neither is a healthy dose of F-bombs. Midnight Snack finishes off the show with a humorous and horrifying tale of domestic violence at its best and worst (yes, both…sense my inner conflict). All of you Fourth Meal participants know just how important late-night dining is, but not even the Pierce staff could handle the hunger pangs of the wife in this crazy couple. The process of writing this scene, which originated as a project for writer and director Myra Su’s playwriting class last year, has been both “frustrating and gratifying” for her. These contrasting feelings course throughout the play until you’re wishing for the food to get there faster almost more than the famished wife (even if you aren’t feeling particularly charitable toward her at this point… just to spare the husband). Use this as a guide of what not to do next time you’re in a fight with a significant other, although it should be obvious. The efforts of the cast, direc-

A WEEKEND OF WORKSHOPS

» This is Our [Chicago] Youth » Scenes from the Importance of Being Earnest » Midnight Snack » Graceland

Friday 8 p.m. Saturday 3pm & 8 p.m. Reynolds Club First Floor Theater

tors, stage managers, and everyone else involved in these University Theater productions over the last five weeks were well worth it. Weekend of Workshops provides an emotional spectrum that should have something to offer to any viewer. So instead of (or before) setting up shop on the couch in front of the big screen of your dreams, spend a chunk of your valuable free time on this exceptional viewing experience.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | February 3, 2012

Festival highlights Haiti on earthquake’s anniversary Alexandra McInnis & Alexandra Garfinkle Arts Staff Watching the West Indian Folk Dance Company perform at the University of Chicago I-House on Wednesday night, one can’t help imagining what would happen if the dancers relocated to the center of the main quad. Certainly the pulsating drumbeats, spirited singing, and bright costumes could inject some life and color into the heart of campus on a dreary winter afternoon. Characteristic of music from that region, the West Indian Folk Dance Company projected a contagious ebullience, which could provide the student body with some serious uplifting halfway through winter quarter. Part of Haiti: Culturally, an exhibition of Haitian artistic culture, the performance was the ending act to an afternoon of visual art, and corresponded with the anniversary of the 2010 earthquake that devastated much of Haiti. Paintings from the Jacmel neighborhood of Haiti were displayed in the performance space. They were abstract yet skilled and colorful compositions showcasing the remarkable artis-

tic potential of the Haitian community. The featured visual artists were Prince Luc, an artist whose work has been shown extensively in Haiti, as well as in the United States and France; Rose-Marie Lamour, and Riccardi Jules. Lamour’s work focused on the many facets of Haitian life, according to a press release, from “the pastoral beauty and tranquility of the countryside to the spiritual depths of Haitian Vodou,” while Jules, a painter and sculptor from Haiti who now lives in New York, drew his inspiration from abstractions and the realities of Haiti. “My inspiration derives from the intersection between the colors and sounds I grew up [with], and modern art,” Jules said. Lauren Eldridge, a graduate student in music who organized the event, initially decided to do the exhibition when she was conducting field research in Haiti in August. “The stories [of these artists] are amazing, and their art is far more abstract than I expected,” Eldridge said. The West Indian Folk Dance Company’s performance was particularly vibrant—an explosion of color and sound. The music, performed by three drummers, provided rhythm and

Two visitors discuss the artwork by Prince Luc and Rose-Marie Lamour in Haiti: Culturally, an art exhibit and performance at the International House on Wednesday. SYDNEY COMBS | THE CHICAGO MAROON

strength for the playful dancers. Six women outfitted in bright ruffled dresses swayed sinuously to the drumbeats, while two male dancers bounded across the stage. Their dances were light-hearted, playful, and

sometimes suggestive, but always elicited cheers from the audience. The songs, performed by the drummers and two backup singers, conveyed the joy in simple pleasures found in the West Indies; one of the liveliest

songs, “Crayfish,” eulogized the morning routine of going to the marketplace. Attendee Sabine Cadeau, a graduate student in Caribbean history, is from Haiti and appreciated the positive exposure of Haiti’s culture.

“For me, it’s a day to remember Haiti and to share it with other people,” Cadeau said. “I like that this is a space that shares Haiti’s culture in a way that’s not entirely focused on charity and aid.”

Dark Play proves that all’s fair in love and cyber-war Eric Shoemaker Arts Contributor The traveling artists known as Collaboraction have finally found a permanent home: the Flat Iron Arts Building in Wicker Park. They’re putting it to good use, too, bringing to life Carlos Murillo’s cyber-drama Dark Play, or Stories for Boys. A Jeff-recommended play, thisteenage-angst-will-knock-yoursocks-off piece is both original and well-acted, with a superb, fast-paced plot that manages to keep the audience enthralled even when the technical design and the script’s frayed edges become hard to digest. You’d be hard pressed to find a play with a plot as compelling as Dark Play. Nick (Clancy McCartney), a troubled teenage computer genius, concocts a false female profile online in order to chat with a boy named Adam (Aaron Kirby). Through this online avatar,

whom he calls “Rachel” (Olivia Dustman), Nick lures Adam into a relationship, and even into love, leading to an intensive examination of Nick’s character and an explosive set of climactic disturbances. There was no point in this play at which I was disinterested; waiting for even the smallest interaction kept me wonderfully baited. The production’s powerful plot was supported by equally powerful acting. The play is written such that a separate actress plays “Rachel,” Nick’s online avatar, lending an interesting level of depth and dynamism to the acting and cast. The main cast, particularly the two leads, Aaron Kirby and Olivia Dustman, played their parts splendidly. Kirby maintained an admirably high level of performance for the duration of the play, leaving the theater in a deep sweat. The supporting actors, Jane deLaubenfels and Sorin Brouwers, provided

well-placed comedic relief and, at times, dramatic monkey wrenches to the plot that kept the audience on its toes. Speaking of being on one’s toes, the most fulfilling and

Dark Play or Stories for Boys Flat Iron Arts Building Through February 26

well-directed portions of Dark Play revolved around the sexual tensions of the two boys. The image I recall most vividly is the cyber chat between “Rachel” and Adam; all three main actors lean against each other, groping for a closeness that is impossible to experience online, within a suffocating magenta light wash that manages to be simultaneously disturbing and intoxicating. These scenes were well-hashed and well-designed, all around. The voyeuristic ele-

ments of the script were incredibly disturbing—imagine feisty teens with a webcam—but allowed the director to manipulate the audience’s mind to a high degree of success. Where the show falters is in the rest of the set design, in the “normal” mode of the stage. It is very difficult to portray the online world onstage, and for that reason most playwrights stay away from cyber-izing their work. Some, however, cannot resist the challenge. Murillo blends online chats with Nick’s narration and with the dialogue, and in most ways, it works—the audience is willing to separate what is what in their minds. But allowing chats to happen onstage creates a paradox; we can see the chatters, and they can see each other. Collaboraction’s design doesn’t account for the normal circumstances of

not seeing the other person chatting, a problem which we, born in the texting age, are very familiar with. It is simply left to the imagination whether the characters react to what they see or to what they hear, which leaves many particularities unresolved and confusing. The script itself doesn’t offer assistance with understanding these moments, often leaving out helpful entrance and exit cues. This leaves the audience with a rather hard- to- swallow design in which one must actively suspend disbelief in order to mentally agree with the action of the stage. It would have been interesting to see Collaboraction construct a screen of some kind for the chat scenes; perhaps we, the audience, could see the chatters, but they couldn’t see one another. At any rate, Dark Play

is a very creative and emotionally overwhelming play that hooks the audience and doesn’t let go. This high-intensity new work is typical of Collaboraction but is also a part of the group’s initiative to ensconce themselves in the Flat Iron Arts Building. August of 2010 brought the creative ensemble to its new home and ushered in a new era—even now, the group intends to expand ist vision from one black box theater to a larger theater space elsewhere in the building. The larger space would certainly have changed this production, allowing for more efficient set changes and a more dynamic design. Perhaps Dark Play’s Jeff nomination will bring in new revenue for this talented team, and more work in this vein will be produced.

THIS COULD BE YOUR WORK. Join the MAROON Photography staff.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | February 3, 2012

Style

Chicago Manual of

Fashion blogs bring couture to the masses

by Jessen Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien

It seems that just about everyone has a blog these days, and with so many out there, finding a few good ones can seem an impossible task. Not to worry! I have braved the Internet and found three great fashion blogs for your enjoyment. JakandJil: JakandJil truly understands visuals. No, reallyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I know it seems obvious in a field like fashion, which is so visually based, you would assume that most fashionistasâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; blogs would be easy on the eyes, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seldom the case. Rarely do you come across a blog thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s so aesthetically well done. It has a simple, coherent design thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about the images. JakandJil runs photographs from behind-the-scene shots of the latest, most influential fashion shows to street-style

candids of various fashionable folks from around the world. Moreover, the photography is not only good but interesting. The colors are rich, the images sharp, the cropping effective. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clear what aspect of an outfit the viewer is supposed to focus on; so clear, in fact, that JakandJil rarely relies on words. Like a good outfit, the visuals do all the talking. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spell out every little bit of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beautiful but instead trust the viewer and the photographs themselves to make it known. Finally, JakandJil presents a fairly even ratio of men and women. Unless itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a purely male blog, most fashion sites stick to the women, with the men getting an occasional shout-out every once in a while. But the photos on JakandJil are equally likely to

be either gender, a refreshing and welcome distinction. (http://jakandjil.com/) Garance DorĂŠ: Frustrated with the lack of connection she felt with her readership when working for magazines, Garance started her blog to develop connections and start a conversation. Consequently, the site emphasizes the back -and -forth between blogger and reader; Garance often publishes and responds to comments. She poses questions to her readers, and her interviews come across as less of an official report and more of an introduction to a close friend. While the focus of the blog is unequivocally fashion, you get a strong sense of Garance herself. The blog is a mix of photos, personal musings on fashion in

general as well as the latest trends, and interviews/photo sessions with style icons that Garance knows. There are photos, illustrations, and videos, as well as collages, advice sections, entries on lifestyle, travel, and more. Garance is also the girlfriend of professional photographer Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist, another great fashion blog , so you can trust that her posts will have quality photos. (http ://www.garancedore.fr/ en/) The Uniform Project: In May 2009, Sheena Matheiken started the Uniform Project in order to raise money for the Akanksha Foundation, a non-profit group which provides education for underprivileged children in India. For 365 days, Sheena cre-

ated and posted unique outfits around a single little black dress. In addition to raising money, the project served as an exercise in creativity, as well as commentary on fashion and sustainability. Even though Sheena now has more outfits in her rotation, the blog is still worth checking out. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inspiring to look through her outfits and, with 365 entries, it takes a year to get through them. Moreover, she has inspired other charitably-minded fashionistas to mimic her project on a monthly scale to raise money for various organizations. The site also hosts a daily little black dress outfit, sells little black dresses as a fundraising project, and has the pattern for Sheenaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dress for sale as well. http ://www.theuniformproject.com/

Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longest-running culture show returns to Mandel Hall this Saturday KSO continued from page 7 Kang says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;but the fact is, because we are so tightly knit, we definitely come off as very exclusive in a way. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s something that weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been trying to tackle for quite a while.â&#x20AC;?

These issues aside, most of the young cast (the vast majority of the 15 -member acting ensemble is first-years) are just excited to be there. For lead actors Henry Han and Kimberly Han (no relation), the experience has

been both enjoyable and stress-inducing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been really fun. It is stressful because the time commitment is pretty huge, but at the same time itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fun, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not academic,â&#x20AC;? Kimberly says. When asked what he

Ben Lerner lauds poetryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possibilities Emma Broder Arts Staff Poet and novelist Ben Lerner read last Thursday afternoon in Rosenwald Hall as part of the Poem Present series. Assistant Professor in English Srikanth Reddy, who introduced Lerner, praised the â&#x20AC;&#x153;dexterityâ&#x20AC;? of Lernerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work. He described Lernerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book of poetry Mean Free Path as â&#x20AC;&#x153;a left-handed book,â&#x20AC;? and called his 2011 novel Leaving the Atocha Station â&#x20AC;&#x153;haunting, beautiful, and, yes, poetic,â&#x20AC;? though he said of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s writing, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Poetry plays the lefthand to the dominant cultural form of the novel.â&#x20AC;? Lerner began his reading by excerpting the first scene of Leaving the Atocha Station. The protagonist, Adam Gordon, who has a fellowship in Madrid circa 2004, goes through his morning routine of opening his skylight, having coffee and a spliff, and walking to the nearby museum, where he stares at van der Weydenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;Descent from the Cross.â&#x20AC;? As Adam trails a man who wanders the museum, stopping to weep in front of several paintings, the scene develops into a meditation and confession of Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lack of â&#x20AC;&#x153;a profound experience with art.â&#x20AC;? Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s real-world counterpart, Lerner himself, is similarly preoccupied with the alienation of modern personhood. He read two poems from Mean Free Path and several newer pieces. In one of these, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Auto-Tune,â&#x20AC;? about the software used to standardize vocals in popular music, Lerner wrote, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want to sing/the destruction of the world for profit/This is the sound of our collective alienation.â&#x20AC;? Another new poem, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dilation,â&#x20AC;? was similarly troubled: â&#x20AC;&#x153;You can feel the content streaming.â&#x20AC;? The work Lerner shared was also conscious of the tension between the mindâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ability to conceive and languageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s limited ability to communicate. The colors blue and green were paired with the adjectives â&#x20AC;&#x153;antitheticalâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;predicate,â&#x20AC;? and he read, â&#x20AC;&#x153;In a

perfect world, this would be/ April, or an associated concept/ Green to the touch/several feet away.â&#x20AC;? Lerner was the first poet to come to campus this quarter as part of the Poem Present series, which the Poetry and Poetics program coordinates. The series hosts several poets each quarter. Founded roughly a decade ago, it has a unique structure in which the visiting poets give a reading on one afternoon and a lecture the following day. Earlier this year, Poem Present partnered with the Renaissance Society and the France Chicago Center to bring Alice Notley and Rosemarie and Keith Waldrop to campus. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what makes the series uniqueâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s about creative writing and its vision of itself. The writers have an intimate discussion with students and faculty about themes theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re wrestling with in their own work,â&#x20AC;? said Kate Soto, the coordinator of the Committee on Creative Writing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We definitely want the events to reach the campus at large, and draw a mix of people.â&#x20AC;? Shortly after the reading, Lerner described the poems he had just read as being â&#x20AC;&#x153;designed to be impossible to read out loud,â&#x20AC;? since lines share margins and words are often shared among lines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a tension between text and oral performance, and I think the poem exists in the space between the text and its vocalization,â&#x20AC;? said Lerner. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not until I read a poem out loud that I can see its flaws.â&#x20AC;? He said about the modern person, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We let ourselves experience interconnection only negatively. We need to begin to speak as a collective subject, and poems can be ways of reminding you of that possibility.â&#x20AC;? Happily, Lernerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s reading, his art, and the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s delight at his presence were sources of positive human connection for the attendees. Indeed, drawing from the closing words of Lernerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s novel, Reddy said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is no skylight in this room, but we are surrounded by friends.â&#x20AC;?

considered to be the hardest scene, Henry Han says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Pretty much every scene, because I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have any acting experience.â&#x20AC;? Still, the culture show has been most helpful in one major regard: mem-

have a sense of which way to go, so we sort of have a tradition of passing this on,â&#x20AC;? Kang explains. Henry Han calls this process by another name: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hazing ,â&#x20AC;? he says with a playful grin.

ber retention. The KSO culture show has become an excellent way to attract new members. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All the lead actors are primarily first -years, so that next year, the first- years will become the new directors, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | February 3, 2012

Emory, Rochester: Part II Men’s Basketball Alexander Sotiropoulos Senior Sports Staff Matt Johnson. By now, when UAA teams hear that name, they should know what to expect. This season, the fourth-year guard is averaging 21.7 points per game, which ranks him first in the UAA and 18th in DIII for scoring average. Two teams that are familiar with that name and are preparing for rematches are Emory (15–3, 4–3 UAA) and Rochester (11–7, 2–5). Combined, Johnson dropped 86 points against those two teams when the Maroons (11–7, 4–3) played them at home last weekend. After scoring 49 against Emory, the guard said that a 100-point game is not in the near future, especially given that the Maroons play Emory and Rochester away this weekend, on Friday and Sunday, respectively. “I don’t think any coach is going to let that happen, especially Emory and Rochester this weekend,” Johnson said with a laugh. But despite Johnson’s unfathomable weekend, the Maroons’ head coach Mike McGrath said that neither team will take drastic measures at the start of the game to contain Johnson. “I don’t expect any dramatic differences from the other teams,” he said. “[Rochester and Emory] played the way they wanted to play. I think both of them might try to do some things if [Johnson] gets going.” McGrath said that Emory is not demoralized after losing to Wash U in addition to Chicago this past weekend. “It’s a big game for Emory. It’s a big, big game,” he said. “They’re going to be focused. They’re going to be intense. They’re going to have a lot of energy.” The Eagles’ energy was not able to carry them on last Friday though, one reason being that star point guard Austin Claunch ran into

foul trouble and only played eight minutes in the first half. Still, he was able to drop 24 points on the night. With identical records in the UAA, the importance of this game for both Emory and Chicago is increased. For the Maroons, however, traveling to Atlanta will add to the challenge. “For [Emory,] it’s a game where they feel that they want to get [wins] at home to have a chance to win the league,” McGrath said. Rochester closely guarded Johnson last weekend but was unsuccessful in stopping him, as he hit on 14 attempts from the field and totaled 36 points. “Rochester did some things they don’t normally do in terms of trapping and displaying some box one on [Johnson], which we were fine with and we were ready for,” McGrath said. Defensively, the Maroons will once against concentrate on John DiBartolomeo. The Rochester point guard scored 22 points against Chicago on Sunday, on 6–15 shooting from the field. While the Maroons will heavily rely on Johnson throughout the game, they also feature versatility up and down the lineup. Fourth-year forward Steve Stefanou is currently second in scoring on the team with 10.1 points per game, and leads the team with 4.9 rebounds per game. Fourth-year guard Michael Sustarsic’s playmaking abilities have not gone unnoticed, either, as he has racked up 47 assists on the year. After injuries to fourth-year forward Tom Williams and fourth-year guard Chase Davis, two second-year forwards, Sam Gage and Charlie Hughes, have seen more minutes. While Williams has returned, Gage’s success in his absence has allowed him to continue to start. Johnson has carried Chicago recently, but for the Maroons to prevail on the road this weekend, everyone will need to perform. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. (EST) at Emory on Friday and 11 a.m. (EST) at Rochester on Sunday.

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McElroy: “What I’m hoping is that we’re ahead of where we were this time last year.” M. TRACK continued from back be 10th in the competition.” Because the Invitational is a split meet— with the men competing Friday and the women Saturday—the men’s team will be able to take more athletes to the competition. Beyond that, Carley doesn’t see a foreseeable difference in attitude or concentration. “Our kids still go to class in the morning, get to the bus, and then go about their business,” Carley said. “It’s a shorter week, so you take one day off your training, but I don’t think there’s a major advantage or disadvantage to competing on a Friday or

a Saturday.” But perhaps the field will serve as motivation. Even if the Maroons are crushed this weekend, they can still post performances that move them up in the conference honor rolls and demonstrate improvement, whether it is recent or cumulative. “I’m hoping to be able to rise to the level of competition we have this week,” Jenkins said. “What I’m hoping to see,” McElroy said, “is that we’re ahead of where we were this time last year.” Tonight’s meet at Kachel Fieldhouse begins at 5 p.m.

To players, national championship more important than running the table W. BASKETBALL continued from back four remaining unbeaten teams in the country. With only seven games remaining on the schedule and the dominance with which Chicago has been playing, it would not be unreasonable to see them run the table in the regular season. While going undefeated would be nice, members of the team reiterated over and over that the most important games happen in the postseason. “I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want a perfect season. But, in the end, very few teams go undefeated and win a national championship,” Meghan Herrick said. “And for me, that’s what I want: a national championship. So if that includes a loss or two, even though it’s difficult for me to admit, I will accept those losses to be a national champion.”

“It’s just not something that we’re focused on. It’s never been a goal,” Roussell said of the potential for an undefeated season. “We just want to win the next game. I think there’s a difference in wanting to win your next game as opposed to winning all of them.” After playing Emory tonight, the Maroons will spend the evening in Atlanta before flying to Rochester, where they will practice. Following the game Sunday, they will fly straight back to Chicago, for a total of three flights in the course of just four days. Whether or not this will play a part in the performance on the court is yet to be seen. Friday’s game begins at 5 p.m. (EST), and Sunday’s at 1 p.m. (EST). Both games will be streamed live online at athletics. uchicago.edu.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | February 3, 2012

11 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Confident squad confronts best of the Midwest

UAA Standings

Women’s Track & Field Jake Walerius Sports Staff Women’s track heads to Wisconsin this weekend to compete against six teams at the UW-Whitewater Invitational. The Maroons are confident following their dominant performance in last weekend’s Chicago Duals, but as far as the quality of the opposition goes, this Saturday will be a step up. UW-Oshkosh, North Central College, UWWhitewater, St. Norbert College, Augustana College, and Loras College will round out the field at Whitewater. Three of those teams are nationally ranked and Oshkosh is last year’s national champion. “We’re going up against outstanding competition,” Head Coach Chris Hall said. “Arguably, our meet is the best D-III meet in the country this weekend.” The Maroons are making a habit of facing strong competition this season. After this Saturday, they will have faced five nationally ranked schools in only four meets and will have seen UW-Oshkosh twice. The question now is how Chicago will respond to a higher level of competition. Consistently racing against stronger opponents can be difficult, but Hall is hoping for a positive reaction. “I hope that our athletes aren’t intimidated by that level of competition and they recognize this as an opportunity to post some performances that will elevate them within our UAA conference,” he said. Now that the indoor season is fully underway, the Maroons are shifting their attention to the conference honor rolls. The team is beginning to reach full health and it is time to start assessing how they match up to the conference and national standard. “We spend a lot of time looking at our conference honor rolls and we’re trying to impact that,” Hall said. “I think we’re in a setting this weekend that will allow us to put in some better performances and I really hope we take advantage of that.” “We need to be aggressive to prove that we deserve to compete against these nationally ranked teams,” third-year Julia Sizek said. “We can’t just start a race or hit the runway without thinking that we have the ability to beat these people right now.” The Maroons do not expect to be the best team this weekend, but it is important for them not to be overawed by the competition and to remain focused on their conference goals. “We’ve just got to take it one meet at a time,” Hall said. “Our hopes are to be most prepared for the conference championships.” The meet at Whitewater begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Second-year Michaela Whitelaw competes in the Chicago Duals track meet in Henry Crown Field House last weekend. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

School Chicago Rochester Washington (MO) Emory Case Western NYU Brandeis Carnegie

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Loren Wagner Morgan Herrick Taylor Simpson Emily Peel Jodie Luther

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Joann Torres Emily Hyncik Hannah Lilly Dani Hoover Gabrielle West

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Jodie Luther Emily Peel Cara Bonito Chelsea Peck Evy Iacono

Record 18–0 (7–0) 17–1 (6–1) 15–3 (5–2) 13–5 (4–3) 10–8 (3–4) 9–9 (1–6) 8–10 (1–6) 7–11 (1–6)

Win % 1.000 .944 .833 .722 .556 .500 .444 .389

Field Goal Percentage School Rochester Chicago Chicago Carnegie Rochester

FG % .581 .559 .545 .543 .507

Three-Point Percentage 3-Point % School .484 Chicago .432 Emory .431 Emory .413 Washington (MO) .402 Carnegie

Free-Throw Percentage FT % .860 .779 .778 .763 .759

School Rochester Carnegie NYU Case Case

MEN’S BASKETBALL UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

School Washington (MO) NYU Brandeis Emory Chicago Rochester Carnegie Case

Record 14–4 (6–1) 15–2 (5–2) 11–7 (5–2) 15–3 (4–3) 11–7 (4–3) 11–7 (2–5) 7–11 (2–5) 8–10 (0–7)

Win % .778 .882 .611 .833 .611 .611 .389 .444

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Weight Throw Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Distance Thrower 15.77m Daniel Heck 15.36m Nathan Cheek 15.16m Nick Rockwell Patrick Robinson 14.34m 13.66m Izzy Budnick

School Chicago Carnegie Chicago Carnegie Case

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Weight Throw Rank 1 2 3 4 5

School Case Chicago Case Chicago Chicago

Thrower Amanda Kline Reecie Dern Christina Tam Kelly Wood Melita Aquino

Distance 13.58m 12.30m 12.25m 11.81m 11.73m

MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING 200 Free

Scrimmages against Air Force prep Chicago for homestretch WRESTLING continued from back Colorado Springs is not famous for its attractions, but the team made a point to visit the Garden of the Gods, a national landmark and nature center filled with ancient and massive monotonic red rock formations and generous greenery. “We went mountain climbing and did a little bit of exploring,” said first-year Joseph Ruettiger, who wrestles in the 141-pound weight class. “But [Colorado Springs] was more of a place where you go to get focused.” Kocher agreed, saying that the trip gave the wrestlers an opportunity to work with “a minimal amount of the distraction they normally have from school.” On the last day of camp, the team went to the nearby Air Force Academy (AFA) for a scrimmage against the AFA’s B team, in which each wrestler got about three matches against the cadets, after their four-day taste of their militarystyle daily discipline. The cadets had about 35 wrestlers present at VISIT CHICAGOMAROON . COM VISIT CHICAGOMAROON . COM VISIT CHICAGOMAROON . COM

the scrimmage. Even though AFA’s first stringers were absent, the Maroons were still pleased with their performance. “Not being acclimated [to the high altitude] put us at a disadvantage against the AFA cadets, but I thought we took some real steps forward,” Kocher said. His wrestlers were confident that they may have even won more of the matchups than they lost. Overall, the wrestlers were satisfied with the trip; they considered it a great opportunity to work on their skills and spend time with their teammates, rather than an obligation removing a chunk out of their breaks. Despite the pain that comes with training and maintaining weight, wrestlers relish the discipline—and grow closer because of it. “The amount of time we spent in the wrestling room brought us together,” Mahoney said. Time spent alone with wrestling was also useful to the team. “It helped us individually, and let us think about what we need to fix,” Ruettiger said.

• • •

VISIT CHICAGOMAROON . COM VISIT CHICAGOMAROON . COM VISIT CHICAGOMAROON . COM

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

The Maroons are hoping that the work they put in over break, the work they put in now, and the disciplined mindset they have garnered will help them reach their goals for the end of the season. “I have a bit of a spring in my step now,” Mahoney said of spending time training in high altitude. The Maroons think they are strong enough to win UAAs, and many of the wrestlers have shown themselves to be strong enough to compete at a national level. At recent tournaments like the Elmhurst and Wheaton Invitationals, the Maroons have seen their wrestlers take down a handful of nationally ranked wrestlers, although it remains to be seen whether they can beat the best of DIII on a regular basis. What is certain is that the Maroons have the youth and the chemistry to improve as individuals and as a team in the next couple of years. “We’re kind of like a family,” Ruettiger said– –of a group of guys who live together, train together, and fight together.

• • •

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School Emory Emory Emory Chicago Emory Washington (MO) Washington (MO)

Swimmer Jacob Stephens Sean Ransenberg Jeffrey Simpson Andrew Salomon Andrew Dillinger Christopher Valach Mark Minowitz

Time 1:40.57 1:41.96 1:42.21 1:42.22 1:42.33 1:42.81 1:42.94

WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING 200 Free Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

School Emory Emory Emory Emory Emory Emory Carnegie

Swimmer Whitley Taylor Anne Culpepper Ann Wolber Jennifer Pak Courtney McDermott Anna Dobben Soleil Phan

Time 1:50.99 1:51.21 1:51.79 1:52.48 1:52.90 1:52.94 1:53.94

WRESTLING UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3

• • •

School Chicago NYU Case

Record 6–6 6–7 0–7

Win % .500 .462 .000

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IN QUOTES

SPORTS

“MY NAME’S MATT JOHNSON I HIT 49 POINTS.” —Matt Johnson impersonating “SportsCenter” anchor Neil Everett, who was impersonating Matt Johnson.

Maroons hit the road for conference rematches Women’s Basketball Mahmoud Bahrani Senior Editor Rochester and Emory will be seeking revenge this weekend as the Maroons travel east to begin the second half of their treacherous UAA schedule. Chicago made quick work of both teams last weekend, stifling Emory’s usually potent offense on Friday and dominating previously unbeaten Rochester on Sunday. The Maroons are anticipating their opponents to be emotional after they opened up two wide margins of victory, 68–49 on Friday and 75–59 on Sunday. “Beating a team gives them that much more motivation to come back and beat you,” fourth-year guard Meghan Herrick said. “In the UAA, it is difficult to beat a team once, let alone twice, because of the talent level in this conference.” “Both teams are going to want to get revenge,” fourth-year guard Bryanne Halfhill said. “I know we play by a one-game-at-a-time phi-

losophy, but I think we know that we did look ahead, and this might be the most important weekend for us on our whole schedule.” Emory, especially, will have to adjust their game plan if they want to break through the stifling Chicago defense that held them to a season-low in points. Star sophomore Hannah Lilly was unable to find the light of day, scoring only nine points—10 below her average of 19. “I think we did a really good job on her, but that doesn’t mean we automatically shut her down again on Friday,” Head Coach Aaron Roussell said. “She has enough of our attention that we’ll be ready for everything they throw at us.” Rochester remains the #5 team in the nation, even after getting blown out by the Maroons. The team was unable to capitalize on its height advantage, grabbing only 23 rebounds to Chicago’s 36. Only one Yellowjacket had more than four rebounds Sunday, compared to four Maroons. After defeating Rochester last weekend, Chicago is now one of W. BASKETBALL continued on page 10

First-year Morgan Donovan dribbles down the court during a home game against Emory last week. JULIA REINITZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Colorado air pushes training to new heights DIII superpowers assemble at Whitewater Men’s Track & Field Matthew Schaefer Associate Sports Editor

The U of C wrestling team outside of the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Maroons hope to utilize their winter break training in pursuit of a UAA Championship. COURTESY OF LEO KOCHER

Wrestling Derek Tsang Sports Staff As the Maroons move closer to the postseason, they can’t help but remember what they did over winter break. After going through the emotional and intellectual pain of finals week, and before their standard break, the U of C wrestling team subjected themselves to four days of intense training and physical pain— and liked it. Over the “vacation,” the Maroons traveled to Colorado to hone their discipline, sharpen their skills, and take their conditioning to another level. The team hopes their training aids them in their quest for a UAA title. “I felt like we got a lot of work done,” Head Coach Leo Kocher said, “and the team really bonded.” The team stayed in Colorado Springs, and worked out at the Olym-

pic Training Center (OTC), home of two 50,000-square foot sports centers and an almost equally gargantuan aquatic center. In addition, 12 national sports federations have headquarters in the complex, which features a hall of fame memorializing past champions and a regular rotation of current Olympians training. “We got to work with some of the guys from the American Olympic freestyle [a type of wrestling] team,” said second-year Paul Mahoney, who wrestles at 133 pounds. “We got to see how they practice, how they train.” The example set by the Olympians was particularly useful considering how young the Maroons are this year. Only one wrestler is graduating after the season, and 20 of the 25 members of the team are underclassmen. More important, though, is the work that the wrestlers got done at the training camp. Despite the trip being optional, 22 of the 25 wrestlers came to work through grueling two-a-days.

Each day, the wrestlers left at 8:45 a.m. for the morning mile-and-a-half run to the OTC through Colorado’s punishing thin air. There, they began their first workout of the day, taking advantage of the center’s comprehensive weight room to get reps on equipment they don’t normally have at Henry Crown Field House—like an extensive set of sand bags and machines to work on shoulder muscles. After a break for a shower and lunch through the OTC’s meal service, the team would either receive special assistance from OTC staff or simply gather for a team meeting. After another two-hour workout, they were free for the evening to do what they pleased. For many of the athletes, that meant a nap back in the hotel. “Most of the days we couldn’t really get anywhere interesting, so sometimes we just hung out in the hotel,” Mahoney said. “After [5 p.m.], we were just so tired.” WRESTLING continued on page 11

Just look at Chicago’s competition for tonight’s Leonard “Squig” Converse Invitational in Whitewater, WI. There’s #1 North Central, #2 UW-La Crosse, #3 UW-Oshkosh, and #6 UW-Whitewater, among others. It’s going to be a challenge. “This is a very high-caliber meet,” Associate Head Coach Laurie McElroy said. “This is an opportunity to see where we stack up against the top teams in the country. It’s definitely an opportunity for our top performers to have some great opportunities to see some top competitors.” For the team, progress and preparation—not winning—are what matter most, at least at this point in the season. “There will be more of a focus on competition,” Assistant Coach Aaron Carley said. “In basketball, in football, you try to go out and win every game. We win the conference meet at the conference

meet.” “I’d say we look at it as an opportunity to hit times that are faster than those run by individuals from teams in our conference,” secondyear sprinter Jackson Jenkins said. “Not to knock those teams in our conference, but if you can run with the likes of North Central and Oshkosh, you’ll be pretty well prepared when it comes time to race at conference.” In a sense, the team’s mindset will be the same as at every other meet this season. The level of competition won’t change that. “I think we approach it just the same as every other meet,” Carley said. “You anticipate that you’re going to run in certain heats with similar competitions. You race the heat you’re running against.” Still, based on the field, the team is approaching the meet realistically. “I don’t think you can expect a kid to go out there and meet a national champ unless you are a national champ yourself, or on the same level,” Carley said. “Some of our best kids may go out there and M. TRACK continued on page 10

CA LEN DA R Friday

2/3

- M. Track and Field @ UW-Whitewater, 5 p.m.

- W. Basketball at Emory, 6 p.m. - M. Basketball at Emory, 8 p.m. - Wrestling at North Central, 7 p.m.

Saturday

2/4

- W. Track and Field at UWWhitewater, 11 a.m. - M. Tennis vs. Elmhurst, 4 p.m.

Sunday

2/5

- W. Tennis vs. Elmhurst, Noon - M. Basketball at Rochester, Noon - W. Basketball at Rochester, 2 p.m.