FRIDAY • APRIL 11, 2014
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
ISSUE 37 • VOLUME 125
Late Univ. janitor’s gun cache draws CPD action Isaac Stein Associate News Editor
Akroma Sahan Kourouma, owner of Sahan Motherland Salon and Spa on 53rd Street, threads a customer’s eyebrows on Tuesday. Due to a recent court ruling, Kourouma has two weeks to move from her current location. DOVE BARBANEL | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Local salon must relocate, court rules Christine Schmidt Associate News Editor Sahan Motherland Salon and Spa has two weeks to relocate from its current location in a building located at 1459 East 53rd Street, which is set to become part of the University of Chicago’s Chi-
cago Innovation Exchange (CIE) incubator, according to a verdict reached in court on Wednesday. “I have been frustrated, spending money for lawyers and everything, for [the University] to be there and stand on their power and want to kick me out,” Akroma Sahan Kourouma, who has
run the salon for 20 years in that location with her husband, said after the verdict was announced. She initiated the lawsuit in January against Lake Park Associates (LPA), which buys and sells real estate for the University, when it attempted to terminate her lease SALON continued on page 2
Richard D. Meland, an 80-yearold retired University janitor who passed away on January 25, was an avid collector. Rather than pursuing coins, antiques, or bottle caps, Meland was committed to his collection of guns. Meland owned several firearms and boxes of ammunition in his apartment on 5527 South University Avenue. Meland held all proper registration and permits for his guns. This did not save him, however, from catching the attention of authorities. On March 2, 1990, the Chicago Tribune reported that Meland, then 56, had been arrested by the police while loading more than 75 guns and several boxes of armor-piercing ammunition into his trunk—allegedly failing to provide proper documentation for the weapons. Kay Nelson, the chair of the board of the co-op in which Meland lived and Meland’s landlord in 1990, said that she knew of the incident, but said that the police were mistaken—Meland did, in fact, have all proper documentation for his weapons collection.
“It turned out that [Meland] was falsely arrested; he had all of his permits. He sued the City of Chicago for false imprisonment, and won that case,” Nelson said. After Meland’s death, his relatives decided to voluntarily turn these possessions over to authorities. According to a copy of an incident report, Chicago Police Department (CPD) officers arrived on the scene at approximately 1:30 p.m. on February 20 to collect “live rounds and spent cartridges.” Nelson, who said that she oversaw the entry and exit of the CPD from the apartment complex, also said that the CPD took several guns in addition to the ammunition. Officers hauled heavy boxes into an armored police truck parked in the middle of the 5500 block of University Avenue. UChicago second-year Blaize Gervais witnessed CPD officers carrying boxes from the apartment complex and loading them into the armored truck. Gervais asked the officers what was in the boxes and was told that the officers had found “3,000 pounds” of ammunition in the apartment. AMMO continued on page 3
SG amends rules on mid year vacancies
Nadler retiring after 50 years on job
Sarah Manhardt Associate News Editor
Judith Nadler, library director and University librarian, will retire on June 30, 2014, after almost five decades of employment with the University. Nadler’s day-to-day duties as director and University librarian include leading library budget discussions as well as organizing other library services while maintaining an open-door policy to allow collaborative work among different groups on campus. She also established a Student Advisory Committee, which advises the Library about students’ issues and needs regarding library services. Nadler expressed satisfaction with her 10 years as director. “I have set my goals to achieve a number of things, and I have achieved them,” she said. A landmark of her career was the planning and construction of the Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, which houses books and materials in one-seventh the space of open stacks, has conservation and digitization laboratories, and can retrieve works from the collec-
College Council (CC) passed three amendments Wednesday regarding its policies on vacancies after facing two unexpected vacancies this year. CC discussed an amendment addressing general vacancies, debating between holding a special election
with petitions or establishing some application or requirement, or preserving the current system. Currently, general vacancies are filled by interested students presenting their position to CC on a specified date. The CC then questions them and votes on candidates. Class of 2015 representative Ione Barrows and Class of 2016 representative Mark Sands supported COUNCIL continued on page 3
Mixed opinions on pilot laundry payment system Marta Bakula Maroon Contributor College Housing and Residential Services is piloting a new system of laundry payment in select dorm buildings that was launched Sunday, March 30, the first day of spring quarter. The Change Point laundry system allows students to pay for laundry cycles through a credit or debit card on
Change Point readers, removing the need to deposit money to student ID cards. The new system also provides students with an instant refund if a machine malfunctions and features an easier method for reporting issues directly through the reader. Residents of International House, Maclean, and Max Palevsky Central were selected to participate in the LAUNDRY continued on page 2
Victoria Rael Maroon Contributor
tion in minutes with its automated retrieval system of robotic cranes. “Mansueto is built programmatically and architecturally as the library of the future,” she said. Nadler recalled that when Mansueto opened, some students tried to climb the outside of the dome. She remembers thinking, “How could today’s children have such
ideas? Aren’t they afraid they might fall off ?” In addition to these developments, Nadler emphasized the importance of the bonds she made with students. She said the most memorable aspects of her time at UChicago were when students of years past would send her e-mails NADLER continued on page 2
After almost five decades with the school, Director of the University Library Judith Nadler (right) will retire at the end of this June. COURTESY OF JONATHAN LAI
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
A new prospective on admissions » Page 4
Buying in bulk: Hyde Park’s new botiques » Page 7
Chicago returns to home court with threematch weekend » Back Page
Letter: Maroon Nation not so little » Page 5
Ménage à Trier » Page 9
Annual Chicagoland Championships beckon once more » Page 11