021712 Chicago Maroon

FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 17, 2012

ISSUE 28 • VOLUME 123

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

Clarke’s opening met with lukewarm reception Stephanie Xiao News Staff The opening of Clarke’s Diner, a 24-hour restaurant chain that officially opened the doors to its new Hyde Park branch this Monday, has cooked up a storm among gourmands.

Even as students have already begun to venture to the diner’s 53rd Street location, operational difficulties have plagued the restaurant during its inaugural week. A smoke alarm went off on Tuesday, and some students

Sharing struggles, Newark mayor sees hope

have noted that service at the restaurant is slow.

Second-year Andy Liou, who lives off campus and does not have a meal plan, said that he was looking forward to eating at the restaurant, but was disappointed when he had to wait over an hour for his food.

“It’s the only dining place that’s open 24/7 that’s nearby, so they’re definitely going to get good business,” Liou said. “It wasn’t really what I was expecting.…We came here and waited 90 minutes CLARKE’S continued on page 3

Activists join rally for clean air Sarah Miller News Staff Members of the student group University of Chicago Climate Action Network (UCAN) joined environmental organizations from across the city at a press conference outside City Hall on Wednesday. They called on Mayor Rahm Emanuel to close two coal plants they say are polluting Chicago air and causing health hazards for residents.

The students joined representatives from the Pilsen Alliance, Chicago Respiratory Health Association, and the Southside Steelworkers Union to urge Emanuel to fulfill a campaign promise and close the Fisk and Crawford coal plants. Air pollution from the Fisk and Crawford plants causes 42 deaths, 720 asthma attacks, and 66 heart attacks each year, according to a September

2010 study conducted by the environmental non-profit organization Clean Air Task Force.

The coalition also voiced support for the Clean Power Ordinance, a piece of City Council legislation to reduce pollution in the city. The ordinance has garnered the support of 35 of the council’s 50 aldermen, including aldermen Will Burns, Leslie Hairston, and Willie Cochran from the Fourth, Fifth, and 20th Wards, respectively.

“I am part of a generation who will have to deal with the lasting consequences of inaction,” UCAN Assistant Director and second-year Grace Pai said in her prepared remarks. Members of the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, which UCAN is part of, selected Pai to speak at the press conference because they wanted to give a student voice to the issue.

UCAN continued on page 2

Newark Mayor Cory Booker delivers the annual Kent Lecture in Mandel Hall on Thursday evening.

JOHNNY HUNG | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Stephanie Xiao News Staff Newark Mayor Cory Booker spoke about the challenges of achieving change and the power of small acts of kindness at the 2012 George E. Kent Lecture in Mandel Hall on Wednesday night.

Booker was elected as Newark’s third black mayor in 2006 and was re-elected in 2010. Since Booker took office, violent crime in Newark has dropped by 40 percent; in 2010, the city recorded its first homicide-

free month in 40 years. Booker has also worked on a new public-private partnership to improve city parks and city services and pursued new public education policies.

Booker, who deliberately forewent the on-stage podium in favor of standing on the ground, presented his lecture as a series of stories regarding the difficulties and inspirations that ultimately shaped him as a politician. From recollections of his early childhood and the family lessons he gained from his parents and grandfather to stories about his

earliest days in politics, Booker said that ordinary Americans have the power to effect change.

“If we excite the moral imagination of the people, we can do some pretty transformative things,” he said. “The truth of America is a conspiracy of love; ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things… it is not the big speech, the big debate, the big action, the big legislation that ultimately transform souls. It will be those small acts of kindness.”

BOOKER continued on page 3

Students arrested at Occupy seek dismissal of charges Linda Qiu Associate News Editor

Student Arrestees, Back Row L to R: Ali Feser (Ph.D. Anthropology), Irami Osei-Frimpong (Ph.D. Political Science), Rob Jennings (Ph.D. Anthropology), Sam Brody (Ph.D. Divinity School), Greg Goodman (Ph.D. History), Rev. Bonnie Osei-Frimpong (M.Div. ’09), Front Row Jeremy Siegman (Ph.D. Political Science/Anthropology), and Neil Landers (Ph.D. French Language and Literature).

COURTESY OF IRAMI OSEI-FRIMPONG

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Temperatures in Fahrenheit - Courtesy of The Weather Channel

Twelve U of C students arrested in connection with Occupy protests last October challenged the city’s charges of trespassing in their first hearing Wednesday afternoon.

A total of 175 protesters were arrested in the early hours last October 16 for violating Grant Park’s 11 p.m. closing time, and around 90 protesters, including the 12 students, were charged with trespassing. The students are being represented by defense attorney and U of C graduate student–at-large Thomas Durkin and his firm, Durkin and Roberts. During the hearing, Durkin asked for the charges to be dismissed on the grounds that the students’ protest was protected by their First Amendment rights.

“The city has the discretion to enforce the ordinance. Our position is that the

decision was an abuse of discretion of the police department on direct orders from the mayor’s office,” Durkin said. “There is a well-established constitutional principle that an all-night protest is a necessary form of symbolic speech, protected by First Amendment.”

Jeremy Siegman, one of the twelve students arrested, said that the charges were “a show of political power” preceding the G8 and NATO summits, which the city will host in May. “It was selective enforcement of the ordinance to silence dissidence,” Siegman, a graduate student studying political science and anthropolog y, said. “But we had a right to be there. You can’t separate the message of Occupy from the activity. We have to be occupying.”

Wednesday’s hearing spanned three hours and was followed the next day by a five-minute hearing on the issuing of IOCCUPY continued on page 2

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

Flogging Molly rocks hard, stays chill » Page 6

UAA Championships prove to be a major challenge for Maroons » Page 12

Fit for consumption: Everyone’s invited to Feast at the Smart » Page 6

Last chance for honor roll at Henry Crown » Page 10

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | February 17, 2012

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Alderman praises coalition’s effort to reduce pollution

Doc Films hit with projection problems Patrick Fitz News Staff

Second-year Grace Pai speaks at a press conference Wednesday protesting pollution from coal-fired power plants.

JULIA REINITZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON UCAN continued from front

UCAN member and second-year Edward Warden said that he used to drive by the coal plants with his mother every day when he was younger, but never recognized their environmental impact.

“When I was younger, I wasn’t aware of the amount of pollution they created. Now I am upset by the sheer

amount of pollution the city of Chicago creates. It’s time for Chicago to move off of coal,” Warden, who is also the director of the RSO Green Campus Initiative, said.

Immediately after the press conference, supporters of the Clean Power Ordinance went to the viewing area during an ongoing City Council meet-

ing to get the mayor’s attention. During the meeting, 25th Ward Alderman Daniel Solis, who re-introduced the Clean Power Ordinance last year, praised the activists for their efforts to pressure City Hall to pass the law.

Emanuel, who usually presides over City Council meetings, was not in the chamber during Solis’s remarks.

Uncommon Interview: Cory Booker Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, delivered the annual George E. Kent Lecture last night titled “Empowering Urban America,” Booker, named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2011, has drastically reduced crime in Newark while committing $40 million to playgrounds and parks, and increasing affordable housing production and security. A former attorney and Newark councilman, Booker has been Mayor of Newark since July 2006, and was featured in the 2005 documentary Street Fight, and 2009 Sundance TV series Brick City. The MAROON sat down with Booker before the lecture to discuss universities, student activism, and the significance of local government. To see the full interview, go to www.chicagomaroon.com.

Chicago Maroon: What does it mean to you to give a lecture in honor of Professor George Kent, one of the first black professors to receive tenure at the U of C? Cory Booker: I just feel really blessed to be included, frankly. It’s just very humbling when you’re taking part in a tradition that’s much larger than you are.

CM: Considering that your lecture is sponsored by the Organization of Black Students here, how involved were you in student groups when you were in college?

CB: I was just like many of us who are overcommitted college students. I didn’t really sleep until 1993. So yeah, I was involved. I was a football player, which is a student group of sorts. I ran a crisis hotline, I was president of my class, I was involved in a group of students who were involved in East Palo Alto who were doing tutoring and mentoring there. So you name it, I was sort of overcommitted in college.

CM: What do you think a successful partnership looks like between a major city and a large university?

CB: I think Chicago is a good model from everything I know about it. I went to Yale and I was in New Haven, and that was a good model as well.…

Really, the partnerships to me are about students being involved, and service, and volunteerism, leadership, the university being involved, and everything from economic development to research to job creation. It means that faculty and staff are living within the community, living within the city. I think it’s about having a vision that’s not just an ivory tower, but really the essence of academic empowerment is about making an impact on other peoples’ lives.

CM: David Axelrod recently announced the opening of the University of Chicago Institute for Politics on campus in 2013 to promote civic engagement, among other things. How do you think students should get involved in

government?

CB: First of all, you look around the globe now, and into history, you really do see college students really being at the core of many movements, uprisings in Soweto, Tiananmen Square, the Solidarity Movement in Poland, the protests in Birmingham in the early 1960s, even currently from Tahrir Square to the Occupy Movement.

I just think that young people, and even just political campaigns…the Obama campaign, the lifeblood of that campaign was college students, was young people. To me, I think that it’s critical that there are always provocateurs in political activism. I talked to Axelrod a few months back, and he was telling me about this idea, and I think it’s fantastic.

CM: What do you think modern student engagement is like with local government?

CB: I’m hoping it’s more. I’ll confess that when I was a college student, I don’t think I could have told you who the Mayor of Palo Alto was; I had no clue. And I don’t think I was as focused on local elections as I should have been. Now that I know, now that I am a local actor, and hope that the Rutgers students know who I am, that so many of the decisions that affect our lives every day are being made by local actors from education to public safety to health care, are being dominated by who your state legislator is, who your mayor is, what your city council is deciding. And so I just think that it’s critical, and it’s beyond even, you know, whether you have speeding cameras, [which] is one of the big debates out here recently. It’s beyond things like that. It’s really what’s shaping the buildings that are being built in your community, the priorities of, in terms of recreation, education, things like that for kids.

I think the scope of issues that we talk about on the national level are really being played out here in local government. We need to start being much more focused on those races.

—Noah Weiland

Doc Films, the longest continuouslyrunning student film group in the nation, has had an increased number of issues during screenings this quarter, which the RSO’s leaders attribute to a combination of bad luck, projection complications, and reel quality.

The mistakes have included rough reel transitions, missing footage, and sound mix-ups, according to Doc Films co-General Chair and third-year Andrea Nishi.

Some of the errors were due to operator mistakes and miscommunication, Nishi said, but other problems are inherent to the equipment, such as poor film quality and the complexities of changing reels between two projectors.

During showings, the reels are operated by a head projectionist and two apprentices, most of whom are third- and fourth-years with at least two quarters’ experience volunteering at Doc. According to Nishi, all three go through training involving hands-on experience with reels and film.

However, Nishi said, it is impossible for a student-run theater to gain the projection experience of professional theaters, which do not have the same levels of student turnover.

“Every film that we show is projected

by volunteers, and we want to make sure that everyone that wants to has an opportunity to learn to use the projection equipment,” she said.

Even with less training than professional projectionists, Doc puts forth 80 movies each quarter—more than many professional theaters do in a year, according to Nishi.

She also said that quality issues sometimes arise when the theater must accept lower quality films to acquire the variety of the movies it shows.

“In order to show the films that we want to show, we have to be willing to project prints that aren’t in ideal condition,” Nishi said. “There is always the increased chance that something could go wrong when you’re screening something that hasn’t been shown in twenty years.”

Students who attended a screening of Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums two weeks ago noticed the problems but did not feel it was a regular issue.

“The screen went black, and then someone yelled out saying it would be up again in five minutes. It wasn’t,” first-year Kayla Reinherz said.

“We saw part of the movie that was supposed to come later, and so there were two big elements out of order,” fourth-year Alfredo Perez said. “I saw Mars Attacks! last spring and there were problems then, too, though it isn’t a constant thing.”

E-mail scammers target students seeking internships Ankit Jain News Staff A phishing scam has targeted at least ten U of C students and gotten personal information from one, masquerading as an employer asking for personal information through Career Advising and Planning Services (CAPS).

The suspect e-mails, purportedly from a representative of a large company like JP Morgan, try to gain confidential banking information by saying they received students’ contact information from the “school career center.”

The generic emails, which have been reported by college students across the country, first ask for basic personal information for a job involving acting as middleman for financial transactions. The scammer then offers students a chance to prove their qualifications through a “test,” which involves receiving a check, depositing it, and then wire transferring that money to another account.

First-year Jon Lancaster was one of several people who received the suspicious emails, and said that he responded with personal information at first. “I gave him my name, email, address, that basic information,” Lancaster said.

When he realized it was a scam, Lancaster called the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD), which informed him he

was not alone. “When I called the UCPD, they said there was already one girl who gave the [scammer] her banking information,” he said. The Maroon was unable to verify this account with UCPD at press time.

Despite the scam’s geographical range, CAPS Associate Director Shannon Delaney said her office has only heard reports from about ten students. “How many people are actually getting [the phishing emails], we don’t really know.”

It is unclear how the scammer has been obtaining students’ email addresses, but Lancaster believes that it is through CAPS’s website.

“I think that this person set up fake profiles on CAPS, and then set up similarly fake job descriptions, to which people would send their resumes,” Lancaster said.

CAPS Senior Associate Director Marthe Druska said that the e-mail addresses are not coming from her office. “Student information is public in the online directory. It’s possible, although I don’t know, that it’s coming from that source,” she said.

Delaney said that she forwards all scam emails she receives to the IT Services department and lets them handle the issue from there. “Their response is usually, ‘Don’t fall for a phishing scam. Here’s more information about what phishing scams are,’” she said.

Professor referred students’ case to lawyer OCCUPY continued from front

bonds, which assign a dollar amount to be paid if the defendants miss court.

While the other arrested protesters are being represented by a legal team from the National Lawyers Guild, the Durkin and Roberts law firm has exclusively defended the U of C students.

The firm is working pro-bono for the students, although each paid a symbolic one dollar fee to establish a client-lawyer relationship.

Professor Bernard Harcourt, chair of the Political Science department, brought the case to Durkin’s attention after a number of Harcourt’s doctoral students were arrested.

“I feel very strongly that it is my role as

their professor and, in some sense, in loco parentis, to make sure their rights are protected and their welfare assured,” Harcourt said. “I think people should be allowed to express their political opinions, especially in peaceful ways—students, grandmothers, professors, everyone.”

Though Durkin and Roberts primarily provides defense for those accused of serious crimes, Durkin, who supports the Occupy movement, said he believes the issue to be significant.

“I was incredibly impressed by the students’ determination to make a difference, which is admirable,” he said.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | February 17, 2012

By Rebecca Guterman

Weekly Crime Report 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.

Since Jan. 1

Here are this week’s notables :  Feb. 9, Dorchester and 57th around 6 p.m.—Five male suspects took a wallet from victim’s pocket after hitting the victim’s face and chest.

They then fled in unknown directions. The crime did not merit a security alert, but prompted a memo to residents and staff of Blackstone, Breckinridge, I-House, and Stony Island dorms.

It seems to have been crime of opportunity, not part of a trend in criminal activity.

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After earning Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Stanford, Booker studied modern history as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford before earning a law degree from Yale. Booker said that when he earned a spot on the Newark City Council after a long stint in academia, he wished to fix the social issues of the city, envisioning himself as Newark’s version of the New York City education reformer Geoffrey Canada, but his idealism eventually gave way to disappointment. “A year into this job, I thought I made a mistake,� he said. “I thought I was going to be the next Geoffrey Canada, but I was just a political cog, a wheel, not moving at all, not getting anything done.�

Frustrated, Booker embarked on a tenday hunger strike and prayer session and was quickly joined by numerous other members of Newark and the surrounding communities, an episode that Booker referred to as his

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favorite moment as a politician and one that influenced his mayoral goal to promote collaboration.

Booker concluded the lecture by telling the audience a story from his college days, when he had initiated a conversation with a woman and her young children on an airplane; 15 years later, that woman and her family supported his mayoral campaign because they remembered that day. “Every single day, the biggest thing we can do is a small act of kindness. Ultimately, those acts of kindness aggregated in totality average to transformative changes in society,� Booker said.

Third-year Abdul Dosunmu, president of the Organization of Black Students (OBS), which sponsors the annual talk, said that this year’s Kent Lecture aimed to feature topics that would more tangibly apply to current social issues across Chicago’s South Side. In years past, Dosunmu said, OBS brought in academics to speak on academic theories.

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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 Tuesday, Reynolds Club around 2 p.m.—UCPD officers arrested male offender for stealing a backpack, after the female victim had reported the crime earlier that day and provided enough information for UCPD to track down the suspect

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Hyde Park Clarke’s will not serve alcohol CLARKE’S continued from front

for our food.�

Clarke’s general manager Stan Karagiannis said that Clarke’s would improve with time. “Like any new venture, any new restaurant, there are some growing pains.‌ We have some kinks to work out, but it’s going to work out,â€? he said. “Things are going to run a lot more smoothly.‌ We’re working on doing our best, and we’re happy to be here. We’re excited to be here.â€?

Second-year Annie Pei, who also had to wait an hour and a half for her food, said that she understood the disorganization was part of the restaurant’s first-week learning curve. “Even though I had to wait an hour and a half for my food, I’m not judgmental about that. It was their first day, and they will probably get better,� Pei said.

Since University students comprise a substantial portion of Clarke’s late-night visitors, Karagiannis said, one of the central goals of the new location has been making the environment amenable to the University community. To do this, the restaurant made sure to place outlets alongside every booth, and has hung the artwork of University students around the restaurant.

We’ve tried to make this a place where University students can feel welcome,�

Karagiannis said.

Liou said that he welcomed another late night snack option. “It’s UChicago, we’re going to be up at three or four working. We’re hungry, and if Bart Mart’s not open‌there’s really no other place to go. The 24/7 diner is a really attractive concept,â€? he said.

While other Clarke’s locations in the city serve alcohol to patrons, the Hyde Park location will not, in order to make the restaurant a more family friendly location.

The University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) has also reached out to Clarke’s owners to address any security concerns that might arise out of the restaurant’s late hours. In a statement, UCPD Police Chief Marlon Lynch said that the restaurant is in the UCPD’s extended patrol area and would receive patrol car coverage.

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Clarke’s, the newly-opened 24-hour diner on 53rd Street, has encountered issues since its opening on Monday.

JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

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VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Feast your mind Smart Museum’s interactive exhibition opening reveals the value of bringing Chicagoans to campus 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

This Wednesday, attendees of the Smart Museum’s opening reception of its new exhibition Feast were treated to art, food, and drink. What made the opening unconventional was that the “feast” itself was the art; various participatory meals engaged artist and medium with the attendees.

The combination of live music, free drinks, and interactive art made the event a huge success, drawing a large, enthusiastic crowd. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the gathering, though, was its diversity: students and faculty members were joined by guests from Hyde Park and the wider Chicago arts community.

With the success of Feast in mind, the University should look to organize

more interactive events similar in terms of wide-ranging appeal and accessibility. All of the artworks featured were in some way shared experiences, giving the event an unusually lively atmosphere: guests drank beer with artist Tom Marioni as a part of his social artwork The Act of Drinking Beer With Friends Is The Highest Form of Art; students carved butter sculptures along with artist Sonja Alhäuser, whose own butter and marzipan sculptures were on display, and Michael Rakowitz’s Enemy Kitchen food truck was parked outside to serve regional Iraqi cuisine on paper replicas of Saddam Hussein’s china.

An element of interactivity can also be applied to events concerning more than visual arts. The Hyde Park

Folk Festival is a good example of this. Attendees are encouraged to talk to the artists and play instruments, as well as attend workshops and concerts. The humanities departments or the various museums on campus could plan similar events that mix interactivity and culture. Structuring events in such a way would make them more accessible to Chicagoans outside of the academic sphere.

These types of events are the perfect means for greater community interaction and for making the U of C a center of culture in Chicago. They are also a great way to meet fellow students with similar interests, or perhaps just to provide a fun diversion from the grind of nonstop work,

benefits that are largely absent from academic talks.

The U of C’s arts scene once appeared to be on life support.

However, with the opening of the Logan Center, the arts are set to become an increasingly integral part of the identity of the University.

With a bigger space to work with, administrators (and students) should think of creative ways to bring events like Feast to campus more often. There’s simply no excuse to do otherwise.

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

GABE VALLEY Head Copy Editor DARREN LEOW Photo Editor JAMIE MANLEY Photo Editor REBECCA GUTERMAN Assoc. News Editor LINDA QIU Assoc. News Editor CRYSTAL TSOI Assoc. News Editor

Equal opportunity offender Mitt Romney misunderstands the relationship between hard work and success

GIOVANNI WROBEL Assoc. News Editor AJAY BATRA Assoc. Viewpoints Editor TOMI OBARO Assoc. Arts Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Assoc. Sports Editor TIFFANY TAN Assoc. Photo 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

By Anastasia Golovashkina Viewpoints Columnist

SARAH LI Designer AUTUMN NI Designer 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 NISHANTH IYENGAR Copy Editor

In preparation for Super Tuesday, perhaps the most important day of the presidential primaries (which, in case you were wondering, is on March 6, and is no less super than it is a Tuesday), I propose that we take a look back at one of the most fascinating candidates in GOP history. Not Rick Perry (though he was a Democrat until 1989) or Newt Gingrich (though he helped impeach President Clinton for his nefarious rec-

reations while engaging in his own).

No, I’m talking about the candidate who’s bound to win. The candidate who looks like he should play the president in The West Wing. The candidate whose inconsistencies make him my favorite anyone-but-Romney pick.

That’s right: Mitt Romney. Sure, he’s peculiarly presidential, but the man wears so many hats that, well, you just never know.

Most of us first became familiar with Romney as governor of Massachusetts.

We remember Governor Romney for signing into law the most progressive and efficient statewide health insurance plan to date, a piece of legislation that would go on to provide the template for so-called “Obamacare.” His signatory precedent notwithstanding, Candidate Romney would go on to criticize Obamacare, only to once more argue in its favor.

If you’ve read anything by New York

Times columnist Gail Collins within the past two years, you might also remember Romney as the man notorious for driving to Canada with his dog strapped to the roof of his car. The dog defecated in fear—but then again, wouldn’t you?

Nowadays, Romney is gaining a bit of a different reputation that may be alienating key voting demographics that stuck by their man despite his dithering and animal cruelty. First, there are his notorious statements about the nature of personhood and poverty in these United States. Statements like: “Corporations are people, my friend. Of course they are, everything corporations earn ultimately goes to people! Where do you think it goes? Yes, pockets. People’s pockets!” (To some extent, he’s right— though the past four decades have seen more and more money go to fewer, better-tailored pockets.)

Or: “I’m in this race because I care about Americans. I’m not concerned

about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it. I’m not concerned about the very rich; they’re doing just fine. I’m concerned about the very heart of the America, the 90 percent, 95 percent of Americans who right now are struggling.”

Though it’s nice to know that Romney isn’t concerned with the “very rich,” his suggestion that over 90 percent of Americans are in the middle class is a gross overstatement. At least 15.1 percent of Americans live below the poverty line as of 2010—and, as Romney himself knows, that figure is up from 14.3 percent in 2009, marking the third consecutive annual increase in the national poverty rate.

Then there’s this gem: “I like being able to fire people.” Not to mention that one great joke of his: “I’m unemployed.”

Romney sounds like someone who can understand what those 90–95 percent ROMNEY continued on page 5

MICHELLE LEE Copy Editor KATIE MOCK Copy Editor LANE SMITH Copy Editor JEN XIA Copy Editor ESTHER YU Copy Editor BEN ZIGTERMAN Copy Editor

Setting the bar low Student Government’s inclusion of Tilted Kilt in Pub Crawl sends wrong message to students Rachel Marro Viewpoints Contributor

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Cheap transportation, booze, friends, huge discounts—what’s not to love about Student Government’s pub crawl?

Ask the 19 women at Tilted Kilt, one of the stops on the crawl, who are suing the place for sexual harassment. Student Government apparently thought it would be appropriate to include a contentious place like this in a Universitysponsored event—an event that should appeal to all students interested in “21+ fun,” not just those with numbed social consciences.

As fourth-years, my friends and I are often looking for new places to try around the city on nights when we feel like we’ve gone to Jimmy’s and The Pub a few too many times. We were excited to sign up for the Pub Crawl and enjoy cheap and fast transportation to tried and true venues. But as soon as I saw that Tilted Kilt was one of the destinations, I was shocked and completely lost all interest in going. I explained to my friends the

kind of bar Tilted Kilt is, and they were as critical and incredulous as I was. Needless to say, we did not attend.

Ignorance is no excuse. The sexual harassment lawsuit has been in the media for almost a year and includes accusations of almost 30 counts of verbal and physical harassment. Moreover, the allegations should come as no surprise to those who take even one glance at the Tilted Kilt’s website. The “Irish Hooters” of Chicago encourages the consumption of beer, food, and the women who serve it. A major in gender studies is certainly not required to notice the association between Tilted Kilt’s atmosphere and these allegations. You’re in denial if you think such blatant objectification and hyper-sexualization of women for profit are linked with sexual harassment accusations by coincidence.

But why is this Student Government’s problem? Why plan a pub crawl around allegations that haven’t even been proven true? Why not let students have a little fun and enjoy their view of the ladies while the matter is still in court? The

real question is: Why would Student Government feel comfortable funneling students, money, and publicity to a place where there is even the possibility of systematic sexual harassment? With all the bar options available in one of the largest cities in the country, why choose a place that is even linked to something as contentious as sexual harassment? Why include a bar that has the potential to cause so many students discomfort?

Including the Tilted Kilt sent a message to students that the Pub Crawl was catered toward a very particular type of person—namely, the type of person who is eager to blatantly employ the “male gaze,” or those who have no problem watching others do so. It sends a message to male students that part of the fun of sports bars and alcohol is the stereotypical masculine and heteronormative “sport” of female objectification. It sends a message to female students that they should either get used to that or stay home. It sends a message to Tilted Kilt that they should go on with business as usual, and that sexism, sexual harassment,

and the mistreatment of female employees are not at all problematic for laid-back college students.

Student Government failed in its goal of representing the student population in this case and instead portrayed itself as a Good Ol’ Boys’ Club unbothered by silly womanly issues like sexism and harassment. I doubt this was at all their intention, but for a group that represents the entirety of the student body, that excuse simply isn’t good enough in this instance.

I’m disappointed in Student Government’s choice, or, at the very least, in their lack of research into the types of businesses and atmospheres they endorse.

As for those who still see no problem with Student Government supporting a business accused by 19 women of making lewd comments, threatening sexual advances, undesired touching, and dozens of other forms of sexual harassment?

Well, I’d say Tilted Kilt might be your kind of bar after all. Cheers.

Rachel Marro is a fourth-year in the College majoring in sociology.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | February 17, 2012

Silver spoon privileges factor heavily into success

The University of Chicago Law School and the Karla Scherer Center present

Manhood in American Law and Literature Friday, Feb. 17 – Saturday, Feb.18, 2012

Featuring a reading by

Joyce Carol Oates 5:15 p.m. in the Law School Courtroom 1111 E. 60th Street Followed by a Plenary Session with Martha Nussbaum, Joyce Carol Oates, Judge Richard Posner, and Judge Diane Wood.

RECEPTION TO FOLLOW.

For full conference schedule please visit: http://bit.ly/manhoodconference12

Spring 2012 Courses in the Big Problems Capstone Curriculum for juniors and seniors

MEDICAL ETHICS: WHO DECIDES AND ON WHAT BASIS?

b i g

Announcing

ROMNEY continued from page 4 of Americans (at 8.3 percent unemployment—but he can relate!) are going through.

But then‌then, there were his tax returns.

Plugging 2010’s median household income into Slate magazine’s “Mitt Romney Calculator,� we’re told that, in 2010, “Mitt Romney made $50,599 in 20 hours 27 minutes and 45 seconds.� It would take someone at the median level of income 428 years, 1 month, 5 days, 10 hours, 46 minutes, and 56 seconds to make what Romney made in one year.

But, even then, Romney still pays lower taxes—just 13.9 percent in 2010 and 15.4 percent in 2012. Romney could have used his tax returns as an opportunity to advocate lower taxes for everyone, making for the “equality of opportunity� that the United States has been playing up since its birth. Like his socio-economic colleague Warren Buffett, Romney could have argued for the simplification of the tax code, for the elimination of the loopholes and pitfalls that allow multi-millionaires to pay a lower percentage than does the “very heart of America� whose support is so very valuable to him.

Nope. Instead, Romney opted to criticize the media for downplaying the fruits of his hard work.

Despite being in one of the lowest tax brackets in the country, he went on to point out that, in real terms, he pays a lot: “I’m proud of the fact that I pay a lot of taxes,� he said.

But the problem, as Romney cannot seem to grasp, is not the public’s attitude toward success. It’s his.

No one is criticizing Romney for working hard in school or in his past career. From his joint J.D./ M.B.A. from Harvard University to his work as the founding CEO of Bain Capital, it’s impossible to call Romney a slacker. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone willing to criticize Romney—or anyone, for that matter—for reasons of wealth alone. We certainly don’t criticize Bill Gates or Warren Buffett just for being rich.

But it’s equally impossible to argue that Romney didn’t have the cards stacked in his favor. He was born into wealth, love, and political importance.

WHAT IS ENLIGHTENMENT? BPRO 28100, HUMA 28109, RLST 23403

WHAT DO GENOMES TEACH US ABOUT EVOLUTION? BPRO 29100, BIOS 29319

For more information, please see: http://collegecatalog.uchicago.edu/thecollege/bigproblems/ (click on ‘Big Problems’)

The Big Problems curriculum addresses matters of global or universal concern that intersect with several disciplines and aect a variety of interest groups.

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.

ALL AGES FREE TREBLE

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Anastasia Golovashkina is a first-year in the College majoring in economics.

THIS FRIDAY FEB 17 2012 7.30 PM

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He has great genes.

The problem—the major reason for criticism—is that Mitt has let his success go to his head. He seems to assume that everyone who works hard succeeds and that everyone who hasn’t succeeded must not be working hard enough. If the United States had true equality of opportunity, that might be true.

But, from the well-reported education gap to the Occupy movement’s all-too-relatable distinction between the “99� and “1 percent,� it’s clear that we do not have equality of opportunity in this country.

In fact, the United States has the highest level of income inequality—and, on top of that, the highest growth rate of income inequality—in all of the developed world.

Yes, those who work hard deserve to succeed. But many of those who work hard don’t succeed. It’s important for those who do succeed to recognize this and treat their peers and colleagues accordingly.

This doesn’t apply to Romney alone—his campaign may well flounder if he keeps it up—but to everyone, and especially to high-achieving students at top universities like our own.

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THE SOCIAL BRAIN: SOCIAL ISOLATION AND LONELINESS

5

Music includes a healthy balance of blues, R&B, Americana, roots rock, southern rock, and classic rock.

LOCATION Rockefeller Chapel 5850 S. Woodlawn Ave Chicago, IL 60637

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Rockefeller Memorial Chapel NICK and the Ovorols rockefeller.uchicago.edu nickandtheovorols.com

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ARTS Flogging Molly rocks hard, stays chill Trivial Pursuits

FEBRUARY 17, 2012

Anastasia Golovashkina Arts Staff Mixing Celtic punk with a dash of folk, politics, and the vocals of a heavy metal alum, Flogging Molly has carved out a musical niche that— just like its record label, Borstal Beat Records—is in a class of its own.

Behind this mix are seven musicians on at least seven different instruments ranging from staples like drums and guitar to surprises like the banjo, fiddle, and accordion.

Though they’ve been playing soldout venues and charting platinum albums for the better part of the past two decades, the members of this Celtic seven haven’t stopped striving towards the goals of their beginnings: solid gigs, sound albums, and strong connections with their fans.

The Maroon caught up with one of Flogging Molly’s original members, accordionist Matt Hensley, to talk about life on tour, politics, skateboarding, and do-it-yourself furniture.

Chicago Maroon: You’re in the first week of a 22-city cross-country tour. How do you transition from regular life to touring?

Matt Hensley: Yep—actually, it’s the first day. I flew in just a couple of hours ago, and I’m getting ready to get

going to rehearsal soon. Transitioning between home and touring is easy for me; I’ve been doing this for so long that I really don’t have a problem just taking off and living like this. I’ve just learned to go in and out.

CM: So, what does a day in the life of a touring musician look like?

MH: It’s awesome. I’m getting ready to go to the studio right now to rehearse. We’ll actually be rehearsing for the next two days, to make sure that we’ve got our songs tight for the first gig. Then we’ll go to a restaurant, I think Budapest—grab some beers, wind down, have a good time.

CM: Do you change up your set list throughout the tour?

MH: For the most part, we get to a point where we’re playing a list that works well, and we’ll try to get that locked in as best as we can throughout the tour. But if we’re playing that same city for two days in a row, we’ll change things up a bit. So it depends.

CM: Flogging Molly has seven members, with instruments ranging from guitar to piano to—of course— the accordion. Seeing you all come together on stage is incredible, but how does that process play out while MOLLY continued on page 9

Flogging Molly wants you... (to come to their show at Aragon Ballroom Saturday night).

COURTESY OF LINDSAY HUTCHENS

Fit for consumption: Everyone’s invited to Feast at the Smart

Feast commemorates the use of food and generosity in art.

COURTESY OF THE SMART MUSEUM OF ART

Alice Bucknell Arts Staff It’s an intriguing premise. Gather a bunch of people together, ply them with food and drink, and sate their artistic appetites with exhibits that examine the social, political, and commercial aspects of food.

In Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art, showing now at the Smart Museum, a number of artists have attempted to do just that.

On Wednesday night, I attended the

opening reception for the exhibit.

A line stretching the length of more than half the courtyard spilled out from the museum’s door. Large glass windows comprising an entire wall of the building illuminated the rambunctious scene within: The reception area was teeming with people, all socializing, enjoying the live music, and, most important of all, eating.

Charming waiters and waitresses in stunning outfits were darting skillfully through crowds of attendees.

Guests lined the bar and perfor-

mance arena, talking amongst themselves with great gusto. As I made my way through the jam-packed lobby to the gallery entrance, attempting to navigate around smartly dressed undergraduates and senior citizens alike, a row of sculptures displayed in the middle of the room captured my attention. Their surfaces shone, looking almost wax-like; it wasn’t until I got closer that I realized they were made entirely from butter. While I stood there in total fixation, mouth agape, a man nudged me on the

shoulder to inform me that U of C students had hand-crafted the sculptures under the professional guidance of food sculpture artist Sonja Alhäuser. For me, this was certainly an exhibit without precedent.

Within the gallery space, Feast revealed eighty years worth of “radical hospitality”: that is, the use of food and food serving as an artistic medium to engage the viewer in a way that a traditional painting or sculpture never could. Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), an amorphous sculpture comprised of hundreds of pieces of individually wrapped candy, is designed as an interactive exhibit in which the viewer is welcome to take a piece of candy from the pile. At exactly 150 pounds, the sculpture is the same weight as the artist’s lover, Ross, before he contracted and eventually died of AIDS. By taking (and even more, consuming) a piece of the sculpture, viewers effectually absorb an element of Ross, both immortalizing him and depleting his “life” in the same way the disease did, until the pile empties and is replaced with an entirely new pile. In a sense, through this viewer participation by consumption, Felix-Gonzalez’s lover lives forever.

Other exhibits included photos of Bonnie Sherk’s Public Lunch, a performance piece done at the San Francisco Zoo in 1971 where the artist inhabited a cage adjacent to a live tiger.

While the artist went about typical domestic activities, like sleeping, writing letters, and eating prepared meals, the tiger devoured its daily helpings of raw flesh. This startling juxtaposition invoke serious questions about our

own efforts to “humanize” food and food consumption and its status as a basic necessity for all living things, regardless of the means and modes of its preparation. Another room in the gallery featured photos of Al’s Café, a 1969 public installation and participatory artwork that doubled as a classic American diner. Allen Ruppersberg, the artist, served coffee and other “short-order” food that doubled as improvised sculpture. During its short lifespan, it served as a casual meeting place for local artists, blurring the lines between art and food even further.

That night, I left Feast with a full

Feast

Smart Museum Through June 10

stomach and an entirely revolutionized opinion on what constitutes fine art—which, as far as I’m concerned, means both a three-foot fish sculpture made entirely of butter and a plate of pita bread and hummus. What the exhibit boils down to is the social side of food production and consumption: its cultural, social, and personal significances, and how these ideas are reconciled on the streets, in the barracks, or at the dining table. It’s about food’s unique function of fostering social engagement and promoting humanistic pleasure while unifying us with every other living animal by our necessity to consume. Whether a three-course meal or raw slabs of meat, food is fine art, and fine art is food, so dig in.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | February 17, 2012

Style

Chicago Manual of

7

The brief, wondrous life of the little black dress

by Jessen O’Brien

Close the course books and let’s talk about a different kind of history. Specifically, that of the Little Black Dress, an item so famous that it needs only three little letters to assert itself: LBD. Universally flattering and appropriate for every occasion, a gal’s LBD is a often a trademark piece. And yet there was a time when women couldn’t just reach in their closet for that oh-soreliable piece of clothing, a time when a black dress would have been a faux pas instead of instantly chic.

In the Victorian era, women reserved black for mourning. They’d emulate Queen Victoria’s prolonged mourning for her husband, Prince Albert. She mourned him for forty years, dressing in full mourning for the first three and insisting that the court follow her example. So in the 1800s, the LBD was not so little, and not so trendy. It was long and bulky, indicating grief and a kind of temporal asexuality—the women who donned it were widowers still demonstrating their devotion to their former husbands, a stark contrast to the inherent sexiness the LBD has today.

Of course, Coco Channel changed all that in the 1920s. But even then, the draw was not that the LBD was seen as particularly feminine—rather the opposite. In this era of flappers and nascent feminism, women wanted to push gender norms. As women rarely wore black, it was seen as a masculine color. Black is powerful, and a figure shrouded in black is almost unapproachable. Detached. Independent.

Everything women were not supposed to be but were suddenly embracing.

Even as the decade shifted from

the decadence of the 20s to the austerity of the 30s, the appeal of the LBD remained. The more women wore black, the more they realized that it was eminently practical. It was functional and simple, adhering to the ideals of the time.

But the LBD did not simply continue to rise in fashion’s esteem. In the 50s, old-fashioned ideas of femininity reasserted themselves. The hourglass figure was back. Tiny belts, full skirts, and soft colors were the trends of the day. Some women wore black, of course, but in the media the color was associated with sexuality and malice.

Bette Davis might wear a black dress, but Doris Day never would.

Then in 1961 came what many consider the most famous LBD in fashion history: Audrey Hepburn in the opening scene of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Her Givenchy gown was simple with a decidedly un-hourglass silhouette. It was sophisticated. It was striking. And it was black.

But wait—Hepburn devotees will remember that Audrey wore black in Sabrina and Funny Face, both movies made before Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Yet the context was different. In Sabrina, Audrey dons black after her European excursion. It’s used to indicate that she is no longer a little girl but an adult— and in that sense the color was still in line with the sexualized connotations of Marilyn Monroe. In Funny Face, Audrey is a quirky beatnik. The film’s humor is derived mainly from the concept of an inherently unfashionable person thrust into the world of Vogue. She’s not supposed to fit in, but throughout the film she learns how to and trades in her black turtleneck

for a tulle wedding dress. In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly Golightly straddles the line between sexuality and wholesomeness. She profits from her looks and charm, but is simultaneously naïve and childish, while somehow remaining sophisticated. A heroine who dresses in black unapologetically and is known for her taste—with a single scene the LBD reasserted itself as a must-have item.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s was the last turning point in the history of the LBD. It was back to stay—even First Lady Jackie Kennedy was photographed in her LBD. In the 1970s they got even shorter and became a part of rock and roll culture.

In 1994 Princess Diana wore what has become known as her “revenge dress” at the official announcement of Prince Charles’s affair with Camilla Parker Bowles—a shockingly short and low-cut number, especially considering the strict conservatism of most royal garments.

Now, the LBD comes in all shapes and sizes. The key to the LBD, the reason why it’s always appealing yet ever so individual? Keep it simple.

It refocuses attention to the wearer’s unique features and makes adding and subtracting accessories easy, so it’s perfect for every occasion. Make sure you have one such LBD at your disposal—something slightly above knee length, with a low back and conservative front. You can pair it with tights, boots, and a blazer for work or add a scarf, colored belt, or cardigan to just wear around. Un-accessorize and you’re ready for a night out. So take a second and add another item to the list of why you rather live now than in the 1800s: electricity, the Internet, and the LBD.

Top: Princess Diana in a signature 1994 number.

COURTESY OF REGINE ABADIA/SONY PICTURES CLASSICS Bottom: Anna Mouglalis as Coco Chanel, wearing the gown Chanel made famous.

COURTESY OF WEB/ORGANGE, COPYRIGHT JAYNE FINCHER/GETTY IMAGES

Reading showcases award-winning undergrads Meet the New Generation Angela Qian Arts Staff The 2012 Annan Award winners—Rachel Miller, Amy Chung-Yu Chou, and Johannah King-Slutzky—had a reading of their work on Wednesday at Rosenwald Hall.

The Margaret C. Annan Award is given annually to upper-class creative writing students in the College in three categories: nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. This year, the three students to whom it was awarded presented pieces with strong voices and evocative content covering a range of topics as diverse as their backgrounds.

Amy Chung-Yu Chou, a fourthyear, read aloud from her nonfiction piece chronicling her struggle with brain cancer when she was nineteen years old. She took medical leave from school and, in the excerpt she read, shares the relief and support she felt when she joined a choir. Now, at the notmuch-older age of 21, her experience has given her a story which she colors with humor and maturity. Chou has a soft voice and unprepossessing presence behind the microphone, but her story’s unpretentious honesty and genuine hardship kept the room rapt.

The winner of the fiction prize,

fourth-year Rachel Miller, won the award with the very first fiction piece she had ever written.

The excerpt she read aloud was interestingly structured, beginning at first with a collective “we” perspective that changes into an “I.” The story is not explicitly about the narrator or narrators but about the two best friends whom the narrators observe. Miller’s writing efficiently paints the realistic and sometimes ugly emotions and conflicts of the elementary school students and, later, high school students who watch the two best friends drift apart.

Johannah King-Slutzky’s poetry was somewhat abstract and not easy to understand, but the rhythm of her words and her unique imagery alone would have made the reading worth listening to. Her first poem was about the relationship between a movie and its audience, expounding on the faith necessary to make movie-watching an enjoyable experience and the importance of what we choose to believe in. Another poem was titled “Why I Should Not Eat In Public” and had memorable allusions to Shakespeare and Mad Libs. Underneath her poetry ran an undercurrent that turned the seemingly light-hearted topics into serious meditations. KingSlutzky said that she does not like

the concept of a writing process and writes the best when she “does not think of [herself ] as a writer,” adding that she would like to be as unpretentious as possible but that by the mere act of saying so she has made herself sound pretentious.

Miller said that this was the second reading she had done, having participated previously in one at Blackstone Library as part of her Advanced Fiction class. As for winning, Miller says that she was “really surprised because it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to apply.” Although the fiction piece she read was the first piece she had ever written, she has written extensively outside of the fiction genre throughout her life.

She mentioned that it was very encouraging for new writers to win this award.

Chou said that she has been writing nonfiction since she was sixteen and also stated that winning the Annan Award had also been very encouraging for her.

“After I came back from my medical leave...winning the award was a validation that I could do something and someone cared,” she said, her words accompanied by a smile that illuminated the significance of the Annan Award in giving emerging writers a confidence boost on their literary paths.

Off-Off Campus’s newest members are ready to perform Lindsay Warren Arts Contributor Time may fly when you’re having fun, but it goes even faster when you spend an hour with Off-Off Campus. In light of its seventh week show and the first sketch appearance of the 26th Generation (Off-Off campus’s new first-years), I got to sit in on the improv group’s training rehearsal and its accompanying shenanigans. Considering how hilarious this group is even when it’s not on stage, I highly recommend shelling out $4 and heading down to University Church tonight at 9 p.m. to laugh uproariously.

Off-Off Campus University Church Tonight, 9 p.m.

The members of the new generation are Davio Cianci, Ilana Urman, Eric Stone, Will Stack, Natalya Samee, Haley Johnson and Patrick Ford. Conversation with the New Generation and the select members of the third-

year class chosen to train them demonstrated their improvisational savvy. No matter what I asked them, they inevitably peppered their answers with biblical references, a shout-out to their upcoming show Great Moments in Church History: a Reenactment of the Establishment of the Nicene Creed during the First Council of Nicea and Moments in the Life of Gregory VII, née Hildebrand (Based on a True Story) . . . (Be very, very afraid.)

The 26th Generation members have varying levels of experience with comedy and improv, but they all carry themselves with aplomb and deal with interviews like bosses.

The new Generation will be performing at the After-Glow, Off-Off ’s campus’s aftershow.

Their first performance arrives after a quarter and a half of training. Cianci described the process as something along the lines of the directors saying “Go,” and then explaining everything they did wrong afterwards. Peter qualified the directors’ input: “They definitely gave us things to think about before we put on our performance.” They also side-coach, OFF-OFF continued on page 9

THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | February 17, 2012

8

H U N G E R

S T R I K E

Don’t be a paella hater Iliya Gutin Arts Staff In theory, Vera represents everything I’ve come to despise in Chicago’s new restaurants.

For one, it’s located in the West Loop, at the corner of Loftominium Street and “Wait-howare-there-still-meatpacking-plants” Avenue.

The menu is yet another chaotic smattering of small composed plates, exotically local cheeses, and dainty charcuterie boards, all necessitating your server’s tacit stamp of approval upon ordering. And the décor is more of the same chalkboard specials, globe lights, open kitchens, and the inevitable leg o’ Spanish ham bound to a wooden jamonero stand, uneasily waiting to be sliced “The Pit and the Pendulum”style. Tropes upon tropes upon tropes. I know, I know: “WAH, WAH, WAH… Stop yer bitchin’ and moanin’. You’re no better than the Yelpers giving a restaurant one star before it even opens.” Okay, fair enough. As much as the generic appeal of these restaurants gets on my nerves, that shouldn’t be cause to deny them a chance at redemption. Fortunately in the case of Vera, unlike a U of C Sosc class, it compensates in practice, for what it may lack in theory.

The menu certainly reflects the timeless art of Spanish country cooking. It’s hearty without being too hardy, comforting without being deep-fried and on a stick. Keeping with tradition, the majority of the small but admittedly well thought-out menu is some combination of seafood, vegetable, or meat with olive oil, nuts, and cheese. And, surprise, surprise; the “small” plates are actually large enough to be fit for human consumption rather than for Oompa Loompas after gastric bypass surgery. But don’t bother trying to structure your meal according to “starters” and “mains.” Everything just kind of crawls out of the kitchen with a post-siesta languidness that can easily span two hours. And it’s as if that post-nap haze extends not only to the service but to the kitchen staff as well; on the whole, the food is fairly hit-or-miss.

The first dish presented, for instance, a nightly escabeche special (trout during my visit), had a pleasant saltwater freshness and acidity, like a pan-seared version of a ceviche.

It’s a shockingly simple dish, showing off the chef ’s unapologetic stance toward salt above all else. Yet, brussels sprouts with Iberico ham were roasted beyond salvation, leading to the most dangerous thought one can possibly have in a restaurant: I could make this better at home. Yeah, I eat a lot of brussels sprouts, but damn it, can’t a man enjoy a miniature cabbage every now and then? There’s a reason almost every restaurant offers its own little “spin” on sprouts ’n pork. Because it’s damn good is what it is. But, in this case, I cannot bring myself to understand Vera’s use of premium Iberico ham.

Or should I say abuse? Picking away at those ashen, charred bits of ham, I couldn’t help but weep for the little piggy that gave its legs for this supposedly noble cause.

Interestingly, it’s the less “practiced”, and less traditionally Spanish dishes that really stand out at Vera. The sweet, honeyed squash puree with marcona almonds (though, oddly, they were pecans upon arrival) is very toasty and nourishing, like some kind of deconstructed Thanksgiving Day pumpkin soup. Yet, the dish is far more Plymouth Rock than Rock of Gibraltar, and I failed to see the connection to the Spanish wine bar theme—though ,possibly, this was because I was entirely engrossed by the dish. Same goes for the lamb chorizo with onions and what I am certain was braised cabbage, though the menu reads “winter greens”. It could have had a bit more of that “chorizo-y” bite to it, as it had a long way to overcome the funkiness of the lamb, but the sweetness of

two vegetables on the plate helped neutralize it and restore some balance to the dish. Again, though, the flavors took me to Oktoberfest rather than to the Running of the Bulls. In general, the dishes are not that drastically different from those at many of the other restaurants in this meat-centric side of town, and the “Spanish” influence largely falls by the wayside in favor of inoffensive and relatively straightforward interpretations that can support a community of regular patrons. Business decisions run the kitchen rather than the kitchen running business.

But if there is any reason to come to Vera, it’s for the paella. Last on the menu, last to be served, but first in my heart. The rice dish comes served in a skillet hot off the grill, and easily feeds two or even three (though, preferably, one). You get the duck chorizo AND

111 Year History

duck breast AND rabbit confit. The duck breast was actually some of the best I’ve ever had in terms of preparation, juicy and perfectly rare, while the rabbit tasted just like the dark meat off a lean, fit, Ironman triathlon chicken.

Overall, the paella was a holy union of taste and texture, bringing together the best of creamy Italian risotto and crispy, caramelized Korean nurrungji rice. Yet, I have to painfully concede that the only flaw may have been the fact that it was not technically a real paella.

The dish could have used a bit more of that elusive “soccarat,”—the slightly burnt rice that defines a paella, absorbing all those animal juices and flavors to the point of supersaturation. But that’s just my inner monocle-polishing-salad-fork-rearranging food snob talking.

The long-awaited paella is definitely worth the long wait.

Ravisloe Country Club

2 out of 5 forks

“

Picking away at those ashen, charred bits of ham, I couldn’t help but weep for the little piggy that gave its legs for this supposedly noble cause.

”

Donald Ross Course

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | February 17, 2012

In Off-Off, training and improv go hand-in-hand OFF-OFF continued from page 7 since an improv scene certainly cannot be edited in the middle of a show.

One question that annoys Harmon Siegel (A.B. ’13), a member of the 24th generation and one of the new generation’s trainers, is the ubiquitous “But why do you need to train for improv?� Samee provides the answer: “It’s like a muscle, you have to exercise it.� Training helps build teamwork skills, so when the group is in the middle of a scene, they know that a fellow comedian can be its “savior.�

Fall quarter training included a number of trust exercises and group work. Even for the people with prior experience, the training was valuable. “You can always be a better actor,� Urman said.

For Eric Stone (A.B. ’15), who first began improv training at a “Shakespeare workshop camp thing,� improv has been an on-again, off-again kind of relationship, but, for now, at least, one he is committed to. Although, pre-college, he was stolen away by “the seductress . . .the Jezebel, musical theater,� it sounds like Eric is back to stay. “Screw musical theater, I’m in improv again,� he said.

This quarter, the New Generation has attended some field trips to improv shows.

According to Samee, “You have to see improv live.� So, no YouTube viewing or Comedy Central reruns for this group.

There were also some improv theory lessons, with exercises that have names almost as funny as the actual comedy (e.g. “asscat�). And, once and for all, for anyone still skeptical of improv practice, take Cianci’s word for it. “We don’t just go up and just do improv,� Cianci said.

There are also training sessions that

consist solely of group writing and work on collaborative efforts. As Samee pointed out, “Improv gives ideas for sketches.� The characters the group members create during improv can be expanded upon with longer and more planned-out projects.

In addition to being an art, at least according to Urman, improv can also be an invaluable job skill builder. Urman has received comments that she handles unexpected turns in an interview very well, and according to Evan Weiss, another 24th generation trainer, Chicago Career din Business (CCIB) brings in Second City to help their students improve their interview techniques.

Not everyone is a fan of Off -Off, however, and the directors want their New Generation to understand that, which is why another field trip was participating in a Nicolas Cage impersonation contest underneath the movie screen at Doc Films the night National Treasure was playing.

Peter explained that the point of this exercise was to practice performing in front of people who don’t want you there. This sounds like a valuable life lesson, even though this group should not have a problem with audience reception.

My time with Off-Off ended with a shameless but beautiful plug for the Church history main show. The costumes alone are apparently worth the price of admission, and Siegal is expecting massive exoduses of people. Expect to see the twelve tribes, the pope, and various other people of religious significance, so definitely grab some friends and all of your humor receptors and watch out for the Popemobile on your way to University Church tonight.

www.chicagomaroon.com • www.chicagomaroon.com • www.chicagomaroon.com

9

Flogging Molly’s Matt Hensley talks about the band’s future after 20 years of touring MOLLY continued from page 6 you guys are getting ready to write or record an album?

MH: Dave [King, Flogging Molly’s frontman] is the head songwriter, but he’s really the head of the band—the captain of the ship. He usually comes up with a rough bit of music, gets an idea for where a given song is going to go, and most of our songs develop from that.

So he might have a song, and he’ll say that he feels like it’s going to be a waltz, and then one of us will be like, “let’s do it this way,� or, “make it slow down,� or, “let’s speed this part up.� But yeah, making an album with seven people is definitely very different from making something with two or three or four people. Our music has to go through a lot more scrutiny, but, ultimately, that’s a good thing.

CM: Your music has a strong political message. How does the unfolding of current events influence you and your music?

MH: Some of our music is politicized, you could say, but we never tried to be a political band—it just happened. Things like Occupy Wall Street, the elections— those are things that we tour, we see, and we can’t escape. Bush in the 2000s, for example, we felt like we couldn’t just sit back and not say anything.

CM: Besides music, how do you communicate with your fans?

MH: We love to interact with our fans— especially, you know, go to a pub after a gig and grab a beer with some of them. It’s gotten harder as the years have passed, for many reasons, but it’s still something that we love—and try—to do.

CM: You play the accordion, concertina, piano, and sing – and you’re a professional skateboarder, and a father, too. How did you manage that?

MH: To be honest, I haven’t been in a skateboarding contest in 15 years. But I do have a teenage son, and I skate with him. But I don’t know if I would call myself a professional skateboarder [laughs].

Growing up, skateboarding and music were two scenes that overlapped for me. I mean, I’d go to the skate park, and we’d listen to music, and it was the same crowd and the same scene. I just got into them together, and both have remained a big part of my life ever since.

CM: What’s in the future for Flogging Molly—can fans expect to see a new project or studio album soon?

MH: Well, we just released an album in 2011, and we tend to release an album once every two or three years, so less than a year ago is like yesterday in Flogging Molly time [laughs]. But we really like to put a lot into our music, and to put out only good, solid albums.

CM: Thanks so much, Matt! In honor of the recent Valentine’s Day, let’s end on a sweet note. Do have any secret, favorite, guilty pleasures?

MH: I’m not sure if this counts as a “guilty� pleasure [laughs], but I love to build furniture.

Tables, chairs, doors, looking into building instruments. It’s actually really interesting— you know, wood isn’t like plastic. It’s always changing: It’s expanding, it’s contracting, and you just have to work with it. So, a while back, I started watching videos about how to build my own furniture, and just started doing it. I’m still not sure if that’s a guilty pleasure, but it is something I love to do.

Flogging Molly will be playing at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom this Saturday, February 18, at 7:00 p.m. [It looks like tickets are sold out.]

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10

THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | February 17, 2012

Last chance for honor roll at Henry Crown

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL UAA Standings Rank School 1 Chicago 2 Rochester 3 Washington (Mo.) 4 Emory 5 Case Western 6 NYU 7 Carnegie 8 Brandeis

Record 22-0 (11-0) 19-3 (8-3) 18-4 (8-3) 16-6 (7-4) 12-10 (5-6) 10-12 (2-9) 8-14 (2-9) 8-14 (1-10)

Win % 1.000 .864 .818 .727 .545 .455 .364 .364

Points Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Hannah Lilly Emily Peel Taylor Simpson Erin Hollinger Misha Jackson

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Shelby Coon Emily Peel Taylor Simpson Misha Jackson Melissa Gilkey

School Emory Carnegie Chicago Case Western Emory

PPG 16.9 15.9 13.0 13.0 12.5

Rebounds School NYU Carnegie Chicago Emory Washington (MO)

RPG 10.3 9.4 8.3 7.9 7.5

Assists Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player School Savannah Morgan Emory Bethany Morrison Washington (MO) Cara Bonito NYU Meghan Herrick Chicago Bryanne Halfhill Chicago

APG 5.3 4.1 3.8 3.3 3.3

MEN’S BASKETBALL UAA Standings Rank School 1 Washington (MO) 2 Emory 3 NYU 4 Rochester 5 Chicago 6 Brandeis 7 Carnegie 8 Case Western

Record 17–5 (9–2) 18–4 (7–4) 18–4 (7–4) 15–7 (6–5) 13–9 (6–5) 12–10 (6–5) 7–15 (2–9) 9–13 (1–10)

Win % .773 .818 .818 .682 .591 .545 .318 .409

MEN’S TRACK & FIELD Triple Jump Rank 1 2 3 4 5

School Emory Emory Case Western Emory Carnegie

Athlete Ian Francis Xavier Fowler Andrew Barnhart Mike Moserowitz Ryan Kissell

Metric 14.11m 13.13m 12.95m 12.91m 12.85m

WOMEN’S TRACK & FIELD Triple Jump Rank School Athlete Metric 1 Emory Lauren Attiah 11.37m 2 Chicago Madison Allen 10.94m 3 Chicago Pam Yu 10.94m 4 Chicago Lauren Adler 10.91m 5 Washington (MO) Anne Diaz-Arrastia 10.84m

Women’s Track & Field Jake Walerius Sports Staff For women’s track and field, this weekend is a last chance.

The Margaret Bradley invite, which will take place at the Henry Crown Field House this Saturday, is Chicago’s last meet before the UAA championships and its final opportunity to impact the conference honor rolls.

The Maroons will face off against Aurora, Benedictine, Carthage, Illinois Tech, UIC, Oakton Community College, St. Xavier, and St. Francis.

“We have relatively high expectations in this meet, and I think we’re in a position where we’ll likely win,” head coach Chris Hall said. “We’re trying to establish ourselves in the conference, and we really need to start progressing towards that this Saturday.”

The Maroons may be the strongest team competing this weekend, but they’ll be competing against the clock, and the pressure to deliver conference-quality performances should not be dismissed.

“There will be pressure, yes, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” Hall said. “Our athletes know the indoor season is coming to a close and that these are their final opportunities to feel good about the year.

So there is extra pressure, but it’s in a good way. We need to feel a little bit of that anxiety in order to do something special.”

It’s a peculiarity of track and field that early season successes—or failures—ultimately mean nothing in comparison to the team’s performance at conference, but there is no denying that this meet has a lot riding on it.

“The performances at this meet will determine the final roster of those who will compete at the conference championship the following weekend,” fourth-year Madison Allen said. “For those who are already on the roster, it will be the final chance to improve performances in order to be in the best possible position going into conference.”

Hall is hoping his athletes will remain composed, however, and believes the extra rest they’ve had in recent weeks will do them good.

“In some areas of our team we’ve eased up a little in practices, and I think we should see some better performances because our kids will be less tired,” he said. “We want to go into the meet with no excuses. We want

Fourth-year Sonia Khan competes in Chicago Duals, the first home event of the season held January at Henry Crown Field House.

COURTESY OF JOHN BOOZ

to be competitive and show who we are.”

As far as competitiveness goes, it will certainly help that Chicago will compete at home for only the second time this year.

And, after last week’s split-squad meet at the Chicagoland Championships, the Maroons should benefit from having the men’s and women’s teams together again.

“We’re such a coed program that when we get everyone back together it’s like our team is twice as big, and I think that will

help,” Hall said. “We’ll have more enthusiasm, more people cheering for each other.

It’s those types of things that make us feel like a stronger team in general.”

“I think it's great to get ready for conference with a bang,” third-year Julia Sizek said. “And competing on our home turf, with the whole team, is the perfect way to do that.”

The meet starts at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING 500 Freestyle Rank School Swimmer Time 1 Chicago Andrew Salomon 4:32.45 2 Emory Cameron Herting 4:37.11 3 Emory Andrew Dillinger 4:38.22 4 Washington (MO) Christopher Valach 4:38.39 5 Emory Paul Weinstein 4:40.35 6 Carnegie Andrew Yee 4:40.67 7 Emory Jeffrey Simpson 4:40.98

WOMEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING 100 Breaststroke Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

School Emory Emory Carnegie Emory Emory Carnegie Chicago

Swimmer Jennifer Aronoff Kylie McKenzie Breanna Stillo Renee Rosenkranz Megan Beach Tatiana Duchak Laura Biery

Time 1:04.37 1:05.01 1:05.96 1:06.08 1:06.15 1:06.91 1:07.35

WRESTLING UAA Results Rank 1 2 3

School NYU Chicago Case Western

Record 2–0 1–1 0–2

Win % 1.000 .500 .000

Rematches call for high-octane defense, physical toughness It will be a tale of two styles, as well, as Chicago will first face the high-octane offense of NYU before playing Brandeis’s slower and more physical style. “I think NYU scares us, because in transition they’re just so fast. I think playing at their place on a Friday night also presents difficulties,” Roussell said. “We’re going to have our hands full this weekend.”

Brandeis also features guard Morgan Kendrew, one of the most dynamic and intelligent scorers in the UAA. “Kendrew is a great player,” Herrick said.

“She finishes well at the basket and shoots threes with a high percentage, but most of all she is a smart player. I want to challenge

W.BASKETBALL continued from back 20 points. This weekend’s teams were no exception. When NYU and Brandeis traveled to Chicago, they were defeated by 22 and 28 points, respectively. Despite the wide margins of victory in the first half of UAA play, Chicago is not underestimating their opponents.

“We did beat these teams out by a significant amount, but we were also at home,” Meghan Herrick said. “There is an element of unfamiliarity that we will have to undergo in combination with traveling.

Especially at the end of the season, it is definitely not time to get lackadaisical and take a team for granted.”

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her ability to score with contested shots.”

After this weekend, Chicago will take on Wash U at home, a game that will likely mean little in terms of UAA standings, but will serve as an important barometer of the team’s preparedness heading into March. Wash U is currently ranked 12th in the country.

“If you look too far ahead you’re going to get yourself into trouble,” Roussell said.

“I think Sunday night, sitting in the airport, Carissa and I will really start to get into the Wash U preparation.”

Chicago will play at 6 p.m. tonight against NYU and 2 p.m. on Sunday against Brandeis.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | February 17, 2012

Undefeated record to be tested against Depauw, UIC

Winning streak needed for UAA title contention on the court Men’s Basketball Alexander Sotiropoulos Senior Sports Staff

Fourth-year Tiffany Nguyen crushes a serve during a match against Gustavus Adolphus last season.

COURTESY OF DAVE HILBERT

Women’s Tennis Sarah Miller Sports Staff Women’s tennis (3–0) heads to Greencastle, Indiana to take on DePauw this Friday and will return home to face UIC (3–3) on Saturday at Bally’s in Hyde Park.

DePauw is currently ranked 16th in D-III, while the Maroons are ranked fourth.

After defeating Ball State last Saturday, Chicago is ready to take on another D-I team, but UIC will be a difficult opponent. The Maroons have not been very successful in their recent matches against the Flames. Fourth-year Jen Kung said that the Maroons played UIC in her first and second years but lost. First-year Megan Tang said that in a preseason lineup against UIC, the Maroons had difficulty because they had not had very many practices prior to the beginning of the season.

“UIC is a much stronger D-I team than Ball State, so it’ll be interesting to see how we stack up against them,” Kung said. “We’ve never beaten them before, but I think this year things could be different.”

“We’ve been working hard at improving our

doubles, so I believe we have a good chance of winning the doubles point this time. I also think we have enough depth in our singles lineup to give them a hard time. It won’t be easy, but I think we’re capable of beating them this weekend.”

“After winning against Ball State, we feel pretty confident taking on another Division I team,” firstyear Megan Tang said. “We will continue to implement what we have been doing in practice to our matches, and if all goes as planned, we should have good results.”

So far, Tang has had an impressive first season with the Maroons. Tang and fourth-year cocaptain Carmen Vaca Guzman share the team lead for most wins at three games each. In the match against Ball State last weekend, she and her partner, first-year Kelsey McGillis, had a strong performance.

“Our earlier matches have taught us that being aggressive in doubles is key, as well as a lot of team cheering. Supporting one another with lots of enthusiasm has definitely been a factor in our wins,” Tang said. “Before the ITA championships in March, we hope to improve on our doubles strategies and, overall, improve our individual weaknesses so we can be a solid team throughout the lineup.”

Hall: “We’re going to be covering pretty much everything” M.TRACK continued from back the work that we’ve done so far.”

The level of competition this week will be lower than in recent meets, and better place results are expected. That’s not a condemnation of the field; it’s a testament to Chicago’s rigorous schedule. Just two weeks ago, the Maroons faced what are now the top four teams in the country, all in the same meet. None of the seven schools competing in this meet are ranked at the national level.

“We’ve been in a grinder this year, competing against the best teams in the country,” Hall said. “I think, with some of our younger athletes, there have been times when it’s really frustrated them.

“But the competition level this week is going to be pretty good. It’s just not going to be from a team-scoring standpoint... we’re going to do well. We’re going to be covering pretty much everything, and not all of these other teams are going to be able

to do that.”

And, at a critical juncture in their season, this kind of completion might be just what they need.

“Sometimes you’re a little more inspired when you’re running close to the front,” Hall said. “Our [athletes] are great kids, and they’re working hard, and they’re getting better, and they’ve gotten to the point where they accept ‘this is who we are,’ now let’s get better.’ And I really think they’re going to show that this weekend.”

There are also the added benefits of competing at home. The 11:30 a.m. meet is the Maroons’ second and final home meet of the season.

“It’s always fun to be able to have my friends come out, to have friends’ friends come out,” Dalke said. “I don’t know if there is a tangible advantage, but there is a lot of comfort racing on the Henry Crown track where we’ve been working out for the last eight weeks, seven weeks.”

11

Three games left. Three wins needed.

Not only do the Maroons (13–9, 6–5 UAA) have to win their final three games of the regular season to share the UAA title, Wash U (17–5, 9–2) needs to lose their last three games. On top of that, Emory (18–4, 7–4) has to lose one game as well.

Unrealistic? Not according to head coach Mike McGrath.

“To come up with a three game deficit with three games to go…it’s not implausible at all, especially when we have one of those games in our g ym…for Wash [U] to drop three,” he said. “I think the bigger challenge will be for us to win three. That’s what we can control; that’s what we have to do.”

“It starts with Friday, which is going to be a tremendous challenge.”

Friday’s game features an opponent that the Maroons have lost to at home this season, already: NYU. The Violets defeated Chicago 81–71 in the Maroons’ UAA home opener on January 20.

Guard Kyle Stockmal led the Violets with 26 points on 7–8 shooting from behind the arc.

Still, McGrath does not view Stockmal as NYU’s biggest offensive threat.

“It starts with their big guy [center Andy Stein],” he said. “Then it extends to try to defend their shooters and trying to defend their movement.”

The Violets’ speed allowed them to score

12 points off turnovers and six fast break points in the first half in their last meeting with the Maroons.

It is vital that Chicago does not fall behind early, because it will be difficult to come back.

“If you fall behind and they’re feeling good, the ability to work back in the game, the way we did [against Carnegie] on Friday night, isn’t as easy,” McGrath said. “We’ve got to come out right from the start.”

If the Maroons win on Friday and Wash U loses, their hope of sharing the UAA title will remain alive.

Standing in their way, though, is Brandeis, the team that shocked Chicago at home on January 22 after a buzzer-beating tip-in by guard Tyrone Hughes led to overtime and, ultimately, a 97–89 win for the Judges.

While the Maroons have not yet discussed the game thoroughly, they will be prepared. “[After Friday’s game at NYU], there are some things in the back of my mind that I remember from last game that I’ll want to look at on film,” McGrath said. “I think we’ve done some things in the meantime that we’re more prepared to handle with Brandeis.”

The importance of the NYU game, however, overshadows any games after it, given that a loss to the Violets would eliminate Chicago from title contention for good.

“My message to the team is: Let’s win [against NYU], see what else happens and kind of go from there,” McGrath said.

The Maroons tip off at New York tonight at 7 p.m. and Sunday at Brandeis at 11 a.m.

Central division showdown set for Sunday match Men’s Tennis Shayan Karbassi Sports Contributer The Maroons have aced their competition recently, leaping out to a 4–0 start in what has so far proved to be a dominant season. Ranked 11th nationally and third in the Central division standings, Chicago heads into this weekend with rackets full of confidence.

On Sunday, the men will face off against UW–Whitewater and UW–Green Bay, two teams that have enjoyed successes of their own over the first few matches of the season. UW– Whitewater, a D-III team, is ranked 21st nationally and eighth in the Central Division and has no intention of slowing down.

“UW–Whitewater will be a tough match,” head coach Taka Bertrand said.

Because the Warhawks are a D-III opponent, it is important that the Maroons return to Hyde Park with nothing less than a “W” on their record.

The Warhawks, though, will be tough competition. While they lost their season opener to D-I Northern Illinois University, the team is coming off three consecutive wins: an 8–1 win against UW–Oshkosh, an 8–1 win against Wheaton, and a 7–2 win over Luther.

The team features a strong top two in second-year Byron Balkin and third-year

Andrew Bayliss. Balkin is ranked 14th in the Central Division and qualified for both team and individual NCAA’s last year. Bayliss is also coming off a successful season, in which he won a total of 61 games.

Similarly, UW–Green Bay will be a difficult foe. While Green Bay is a DI team, the Maroons will still aim to come out on top against them in what will be a battle of the phoenixes. Green Bay, similar to Whitewater, lost their season opener, but they too are coming off a four game win streak and sport a record of 4–1.

Last Sunday, Green Bay defeated Carleton 7–0, having also beaten Bradley 6–1 in the week prior. To add to what will be intense competition this weekend, the Phoenix feature a top three with only one loss between them. Front man Craig Cox is 5–0 and third spot Felix Goepper is 4–0, while Erik Finkenbrink is 3–1, with his lone loss coming in the season opener.

The Maroons have strong weapons of their own, however. Fourth-year Troy Brinker leads the team with a 47–17 singles record. Second-year Alex Golovin boasts a 6-1 record, while surrounded by the wealth of talented athletes who round out the Maroon front six.

Chicago will attempt to extend their winning streak this weekend this Sunday S Whitewater at 9 a.m. and noon against Whit and Green Bay, respectively.

For around the clock Sports coverage, follow us on Twitter!

@MaroonSports

SPORTS

IN QUOTES “If I decide to come back, hopefully the fans will accept me.”

—Miami Heat forward LeBron James on the possibility of returning to Cleveland.

UAA Championships prove to be major challenge for Maroons Swimming & Diving Sarah Langs & Liane Rousseau Sports Staff The UAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which began Wednesday at Case Western in Cleveland, are already in full heat.

The women are in second place through day two finals with a score of 404 points. Emory leads the pack with 615 points, and Rochester sits in third with 349.

Third-year Becky Schmidt earned all– UAA honors with a second-place finish in the one-meter diving competition.

She missed out on first place by 25.45 points to Kelly Dietz from NYU. During the preliminary swimming events on the morning of the 16th, Emory dominated the pool. Chicago finished with several third and fourth place finishes.

Today, the Maroons will swim preliminaries in the morning session and finish with finals in the evening. The team will follow the same schedule on Saturday the 18th.

On the men’s side, the Maroons are struggling in Cleveland. Through one day of competition, the team has accumulated one first-place finish, in a lone diving event.

First-year diver Tony Restiano placed first in three-meter diving. He trounced

UAA Results through 2/16 Women 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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

Points 615 404 349 296 291 270 261

Men 1 2 3 4 5 6

School Emory Chicago Case Western Carnegie Mellon NYU Washington (MO)

Points 597 381 370.5 328 322 316

7

Rochester

253.5

his competition, beating NYU’s Austen Blease by 14.35 points.

“The prelims sessions have finished and we had good and bad swims,” firstyear Andrew Angeles said on Thursday, the first day of men’s competition. “Overall, it was a strong effort and we are looking forward to the next couple of days.”

In Thursday’s swimming finals, the Maroons failed to accrue a single firstplace finish. In fact, the highest place a Chicago swimmer or relay team achieved was fourth.

Ranked second heading into the finals for the 200-yard IM, second-year Eric Hallman finished fourth. Emory’s Peter O’Brien finished first in the event.

Chicago also finished fourth in the

The men’s swim team competes against the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee last month at the Ratner Athletics Center.

BENJAMIN TRNKA | THE CHICAGO MAROON

200-yard freestyle relay. A team comprised of Hallman, fourth-year Marius Aleksa, fourth-year Nick Santoro, and first-year George Gvakharia came in behind teams from Emory, Wash U in St. Louis, and Case Western.

The Maroons’ other fourth-place finish came in the 400-yard IM relay. The team of Gvakharia, Angeles, Aleska, and Hallman lost to teams from Emory, Carnegie Mellon, and Wash U. Beyond the two fourth-place finishes, the Maroons had one fifth-place and one sixth-place. Aleksa came in fifth in the 50-yard freestyle. In front of him were swimmers from Emory, Case, Emory,

Roster is key to Margaret Bradley Invite

and Wash U, respectively. First-year Andrew Salomon finished sixth in the 500yard freestyle, behind two swimmers from Wash U and three from Emory.

As expected, Emory is dominating the competition. Chicago headed into this meet already ceding to the strength of Emory and instead hoping for second place. So far, that dream seems to be playing out well for Chicago. Though they have been lacking in first-place finishes, the team has been placing multiple swimmers in the A heats of many events. Thus, their point total has put them in second place at the end of Thursday’s competition, despite not having a first-place fin-

Final road trip of season holds conference play Women’s Basketball Mahmoud Bahrani Senior Editor

Fourth-years Donny Chi and Derek McKay compete in Chicago Duals, the first home event of the season held January at Henry Crown Field House.

JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Men’s Track & Field Matthew Schaefer Associate Sports Editor Margaret Bradley was a “renaissance woman,” head coach Chris Hall said, a member of the concert orchestra, an “outstanding student,” and an All-American cross country runner. A 2001 graduate with an A.B. in biological sciences and geophysical sciences, she had enrolled in Pritzker School of Medicine in 2003. Her future was bright. But on July 10, 2004, searching for help for a heat-ex-

hausted hiking companion in the Grand Canyon, she became lost.

Without water, she died shortly from dehydration and heat exposure. A bright future: gone.

The annual Margaret Bradley Invitational, which started in 2008, consecrates Bradley’s contributions to Chicago athletics. It testifies to her memory. It keeps it alive.

Aurora, Benedictine, Carthage, Loyola, St. Xavier, St. Francis, and Oakton CC travel to Henry Crown Field House for this Saturday’s meet. For the Maroons, there are two big competitive concerns:

rosters and refinement.

“We’re still trying to figure out our roster for next week. So that’s what we’re doing this weekend... trying to see where people are at, who’s performing really well right now,” Hall said. “We’re trying to iron things out, as a coaching staff.

They should be feeling a little bit sharper this weekend.”

“I think that the team as a whole, right now, is looking to kind of fine-tune,” third-year distance runner Isaac Dalke said.

“We’ve been really focusing on putting the finishing touches on M.TRACK continued on page 11

ish in the swimming events.

Chicago will strive to pad their point total over the next two days. On Friday and Saturday, they will compete in numerous events, hoping to begin a more positive trend. The Maroons will try to build off past success in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly, the 100- and 200yard freestyle, the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, and the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke.

The Maroons will continue competition in Cleveland on Friday morning.

The UAAs will conclude on Saturday evening. Check out live coverage of the events at athletics.case.edu.

With the Wash U game looming in the distance, Chicago travels to New York and Boston this weekend to play NYU (10–12, 2–9) and Brandeis (1–10, 8–14), two teams they thoroughly dominated in the first half of UAA play.

This regular season road trip will also be the last for a storied class of fourth-years: Morgan Herrick, Meghan Herrick, Taylor Simpson, Bryanne Halfhill and Joann Torres. There were mixed emotions on whether or not the grueling weekend trips, which involve two games in two different cities in just three days, would be missed.

“I will definitely miss road trips,” Morgan Herrick said. “It’s basically time set aside for us to all hang out and be goofy with no obligations.” However, head coach Aaron Roussell had a different story from yesterday morning’s practice.

“I don’t think they were sad about it. I think they were pretty happy that it was the last 7 a.m. practice they were ever going to have before a road trip,” Roussell said.

“I’m not going to lie, these trips are exhausting,” Halfhill said. “[But] I am definitely going to miss the weekends that completely revolve around basketball and being with your teammates.”

Chicago has had their way with the UAA this year, winning games by an average of more than W.BASKETBALL continued on page 10

CA LEN DA R Friday

2/17

- Track & Field hosts Margaret

- Swimming & Diving @ UAA Championships 10 a.m./6 p.m.

- Women’s Basketball @ NYU, 6 p.m.

Bradley Invite 11:30 a.m.

- Women’s Tennis @ Illinois-Chicago 7 p.m.

- Men’s Basketball @ NYU, 8 p.m.

- Women’s Tennis @ DePauw,

Sunday

4:30 p.m.

Saturday

2/18

-Swimming & Diving @ UAA Championships 10 a.m./6 p.m.

2/19

- Men’s Tennis vs. Wis-Whitewater, 9 a.m. / at Wis-Green Bay, Noon - Men’s Basketball @ Brandeis, Noon - Women’s Basketball @ Brandeis, 2 p.m.