FRIDAY • APRIL 18, 2014
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
ISSUE 39 • VOLUME 125
Harper Court effects still shaking out for 53rd St. businesses Christine Schmidt Associate News Editor The opening of the Harper Court redevelopment, undertaken by the University of Chicago and opened in November 2013, has brought unprecedented change to the 53rd Street commercial landscape. For a price tag of more than $106 million, 20 new tenants have moved into 518,000 square feet of space. This change has affected and continues to affect 53rd Street businesses in various ways. The Harper Court project broke ground in 2011 as a response to requests from city officials for assistance in revitalizing the commercial district on 53rd Street. Businesses were recruited by the University based on student surveys and community in-
put, said Calmetta Coleman, communications director at the Office of Civic Engagement. “[Our focus has been] to build up a kind of area that would have those kinds of amenities that the community wants, that would be beneficial to faculty and students in terms of having things available and convenient,” Coleman said. “In the process, we’ve also been able to help open a number of new locally owned businesses, in addition to having a mix of long-term establishments on the street.” The state of long-standing small businesses Several of the “long-term establishments” on 53rd Street suggest that the Harper Court project has injured
Small businesses on 53rd Street reevaluate their role within the Hyde Park community as Harper Court continues to change neighborhood commerce. DOVE BARBANEL | THE CHICAGO MAROON
their businesses. “A big corporation like the University of Chicago should extend some more kindness to the small business community, to the people who are trying to survive in a harsh economy already,” said Sekou Tafari, owner of Frontline Books on 52nd and Harper Avenue.
Frontline had an issue with the development early on, when a fence installed for the construction blocked access to the store from August 2011 until June 2013. According to Tafari, representatives from the University met with him before the installation to reassure him. “They said
it wouldn’t impact us at all,” he said. Tafari claims that his revenue declined from $200 or $300 a day to as low as $18 a day during the construction, and that the University did not offer any compensation for the lost income. Compensation is a significant issue for Laurel Stratford,
the owner of international gift and household accessories store What the Traveler Saw. The University asked her to relocate her business from 53rd Street to 55th and Harper Avenue. when the development was being planned, and she moved her store in 2009. 53rd continued on page 2
Univ. gets four Truman scholars Alpha Delt hosts discussion on sexual assault prevention Ankit Jain News Editor
Yusef al-Jarani, Ava Benezra, Andrea Haidar, and Erin Simpson, four third-year students pursuing different career paths but unified by their interest in public service, were
awarded Truman scholarships on Wednesday. Only two other schools in the past 15 years have seen all four of their nominees receive the award. The Truman scholarship is a prestigious academic scholarship for students interested in government or public service
work. Recipients receive up to $30,000 to fund graduate education in public service. Fifty-nine students received the award this year. Scholars are nominated by their universities but are selected to represent the state they are origi-
TRUMAN continued on page 2
Student Housing Part I: A primer on pricing Sarah Manhardt Associate News Editor This is the first installment of a series on student housing, the second of which will be published April 25. “College Housing is your home base for UChicago
life,” proclaims the University’s College Admissions website. While all undergraduates begin their time at the University in a residence hall, this statement is challenged by the approximately 50 percent of students in the College who live off campus.
This percentage lags behind the number of students living on campus in peer institutions such as Harvard University, with 97 percent, Yale with 87 percent, University of Pennsylvania with 66 percent, and Northwestern with 59 perHOUSING continued on page 2
Lower bound cost per person ($/month) $951/mth
Single/suite in Burton-Judson Double 3-bedroom in MAC 4-bedroom in MAC 3-bedroom in Blackstone Management 4-bedroom in Blackstone Management 3-bedroom with independent landlord
WEI YI OW
| THE CHICAGO MAROON
$823/mth $500/mth $550/mth $573/mth $503/mth $550/mth
Felicia Woron Maroon Contributor When Ross Wantland, a social justice and violence prevention educator, asked if anyone knew a victim of sexual assault, nearly everyone in the room of about 50 attendees raised their hands. These 50 hands were those of students and members of the UChicago community who attended the Keeping Our Parties Safe: Fraternity
Brothers Against Sexual Assault event, co-hosted by the Alpha Delta Phi (Alpha Delt) fraternity and Resources for Sexual Violence Prevention (RSVP) on Thursday night at Alpha Delt’s fraternity house. “Somebody needs to step up and start talking about [sexual assaut],” said Aliza Warwick, peer coordinator of RSVP and organizer of the event. Fourth-year Giuliano
Wrobel said that while sexual assault is sometimes discussed in other places, in fraternities it often seems to be a taboo subject, which is a “real shame,” especially since fraternities are often blamed as the perpetrators, as Wantland pointed out during the event. Brothers from several different fraternities were present at the event, according to Wrobel, an Alpha Delt brother who co-organized PARTY continued on page 3
Jackson Park to add new amphitheater, museum, and café in $10-million renovation Ananya Pillutla Maroon Contributor Jackson Park, a 500-acre park located just south of Hyde Park’s Promontory Point, will be renovated by Project 120, a Chicago-based
nonprofit created solely for this project. They will be working with the Chicago Parks Department to create an amphitheater, exhibit space, museum, café, and remodeled natural spaces, all on the lakefront.
The renovation will begin in early 2015 and finish around 2016. Project 120 has proposed a $10-million renovation plan which will be funded by private donors from the community. PARK continued on page 3
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
Faith and Fear » Page 4
Hillel commemorates ancient history with modern installation » Page 8
Maroons’ momentum continues with two more victories » Back Page
Uncommon Sense » Page 5
Losing the 53rd St. Graffiti Wall » Page 9
Visiting South Siders fall short against Rockford Regents » Page 14
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | April 18, 2014
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Businesses have mixed experiences with 53rd Street development 53rd continued from front
When asked about the difference in rent prices between the two locations, she said her affordable rent on 55th street was due to the “generosity of the University.” However, Stratford is shutting down her store this June due to the financial troubles that emerged from a sharp decrease in business. “[Moving off 53rd Street] changed my business platform considerably. I had no walk-by traffic to speak of,” she said. “Overall it has been a downspiral since I moved here.” Opportunities for growth and expansion Some Hyde Park business owners, such as Dr. Tom Wake, co-founder and medical director of the Hyde Park Animal Hospital, have found new business opportunities as a result of the redevelopment. The animal hospital had been located in Harper Court’s predecessor since 1965, but the University asked Wake to move in 2010, he said. They negotiated a buyout of the remainder of the lease, but the new storefront agreed upon was too small to serve the hospital’s needs. “It certainly was traumatic,” Wake said. The business bought a new parcel of land in the South Shore neighborhood at 69th and Stony Island and built a new hospital, while maintaining its storefront as a clinic in Hyde Park. Wake said that having two locations has been positive for his business overall. Jim Hennessy, the associate vice president for Commercial Real Estate Operations at the University, assisted him in looking for a new facility, he said. “Mr. Hennessy was way beyond kind and helpful in his attempts to help us solve our problem [of relocating],” Wake said, though the new hospital was ultimately built in South Shore. On the other side of 53rd Street, Kilwin’s Chocolates and Fudge opened its doors in December 2012 after the owners, Jacqueline Jackson and Kenneth Faulkner, were recruited by the University to open a new storefront in Harper Court in addition to their store in Old Town. According to Jackson, the success of the new store overwhelmed the revenue of the other location, which they decided to close in 2013. “We live in the community and we were very excited about the 53rd Street development and wanted to be a part of it,” Jackson said. “[The University was] very instrumental in helping us get the dollars to make this a reality.” Faulkner added that the University provided compensation for the renovations necessary to convert what had been a visual arts studio into a chocolate shop. Sir & Madame, a high-end boutique offering eclectic vintage styles, is another store that was recruited to the area by the University, opening six months ago as a temporary pop-up store. The owners, residents of Hyde Park, said that due to the success of their store they are now looking to permanently keep their commercial roots in the neighborhood. University efforts to engage the community The University would not disclose
the ways in which it has supported specific businesses with rent, but last month it launched UChicago Local, an initiative aimed at supporting small businesses across the South Side through workshops, forums, and connections to University procurement personnel, who arrange the purchase of goods and services for the University from local businesses. “We recognize that we are a major institution on the South Side and in the city as a whole. As such we yield a certain amount of power just by virtue of our size,” University spokesperson Steve Kloehn said. “[UChicago Local] is an attempt to say, how can we use our purchasing power and our organizing power to help businesses in the immediate vicinity of the University?” He emphasized that the initiative is not related to issues raised by the 53rd Street development, but open to businesses from specific zip codes across the South Side. UChicago Local hosted its first programming initiative, a pilot workshop on topics ranging from hiring practices to strategic planning, over three sessions on March 18, April 1, and April 8. The program was led by Next Street, a for-profit business that provides advisory services for small businesses. It was attended by 10 local businesses, including Kimbark Beverage Shoppe and Zberry, who were selected by a group of University representatives from UChicago Local and procurement after a short application process. Jonathan Swain, owner of Kimbark Beverage Shoppe, heard about the program from the Office of Civic Engagement, he said, after inquiring about additional opportunities to do business with the University. “The program indicated that the University has a strong desire to do business with local business owners, that they’re making that a priority,” he said. This initiative is in addition to the South Side Business Development Program of the Office of Business Diversity, which holds a series of free programs geared toward assisting women- and minority-owned businesses ranging in topics from “Doing Business with the University of Chicago” to “Marketing Your Business Using Social Media.” Several of the business owners with whom the Maroon spoke were unaware of UChicago Local, but they pointed to Harper Court as a great opportunity for the Hyde Park economy. “There is that opportunity for new businesses to come in all the time, [those] who can afford to move into those spaces,” said Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Wallace Goode. “The question is, are some of the small businesses that are currently there—can they afford to stay in those spaces?” “I think it would be wonderful if the University would step up and support the community,” Stratford said. “I’m at a place where I am leaving the business and I’d like to see things going forward. If this initiative is going to do that for small businesses, I’m going to be a little jealous it didn’t happen in the 10 years I was struggling here.” “The community exists because the University exists because the community exists,” she said.
Univ. room costs competitive with peers but not community HOUSING continued from front
cent. UChicago housing ranges in cost from approximately $7,000 to $9,000 for the academic year depending on the type of room, which is in line with the prices of these peer institutions. Meal plans, mandatory for students living in University housing, range from approximately $4,000 to $5,000 per year, slightly cheaper than those of peer institutions. The University’s comparatively low percentage of students in housing is a historical occurrence, and concerns about housing undergraduates date back to the University’s founding. The University is currently working to increase the percentage of students in housing with a goal of 70 percent, according to Dean of the College John Boyer. “The University is committed to creating a community of scholars, and the College houses represent the particular way we foster that community among undergraduates,” Jennifer LuttigKomrosky, executive director of College Housing and Residential Services, said in an e-mail. As the housing lottery begins this month, the Maroon investigates on- and off-campus housing, examining pricing, the history of housing trends, and students’ experiences on- and offcampus. This series begins with an examination of the pricing of undergraduate housing as well as the rental market in Hyde Park. A price comparison It is difficult to draw clear comparisons between University housing and the rent paid by students in off-campus housing due to the fact that students living off campus pay different amounts for utilities and rent averages vary greatly, but an examination of rents from a variety of Hyde Park landlords points to greater affordability of off-campus housing. MAC Property Management, which owns 53 apartment buildings in Hyde Park, prices its buildings using a supply-and-demand model based on software called Lease Rent Options, according to Director of Marketing and Leasing Greg Guttman. The software
uses approximately 180 factors, such as occupancy, amenities, and interest to determine a price for every apartment every day. Due to the constant price fluctuations with this program it is difficult to assign averages to MAC apartments, however, one-bedroom apartments tend to range from $1,000 to $1,200; two-bedroom apartments can range from $1,000 to $1,400; three-bedroom apartments can range from $1,500 to $1,900, and four-bedrooms can range from $2,200 to $2,600. Guttman said this software enables MAC to set fair pricing. “At the end of the day the renters are setting the price, not us, and if they’re all renting apartments they’re raising the rents collectively; if no one is renting apartments then rents fall. It gives more power to the renter, which is good,” he said. Other players in the housing market MAC’s prices are similar to those of Blackstone Management, which rents two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments. According to manager Marco Soldo, two-bedroom apartments begin at $1,250 per month, threebedroom apartments begin at $1,720 per month, and four-bedroom apartments begin at $2,010 per month. Hallmark & Johnson Properties, which owns six buildings and rents primarily to students, charges approximately $900 per month for one-bedroom apartments, and approximately $500 to $700 per room for apartments with multiple bedrooms, according to president and owner Jerry Ettinger. These prices stand similar to, if marginally higher than, pricing by some independent landlords. Tim O’Connell, who owns two buildings south of the Midway, charges between $550 and $625 for furnished, three-bedroom apartments. Third-year Veronica Heap moved off this summer and lives in a two-bedroom apartment managed by a private landlord. Though she moved largely due to a desire for more independence
and frustration with the dining hall, she noted that off-campus living is much cheaper. “I guess it ends up being two or three hundred dollars cheaper than housing would be [per month],” she said. She also noted this estimate does not factor in the money she saves by not buying a meal plan. Boyer commented on the need to consider housing costs. “I think it has to be studied and looked at because if [you have] the best set of opportunities in the world and people can’t afford them they’re not going to seek them out, so the goal has to be realistic,” he said. The Chicago and national context Hyde Park’s rental prices stand slightly above the averages for Chicago, according to the Coalition for Equitable Community Development. According to a 2013 study on Affordable Rental Housing, in 2010, 65 percent of housing units in the Hyde Park– South Kenwood community are rental units, with the median rent for the community at $910, $25 more than the median rent in Chicago. Rent and utilities should take up no more than 30 percent of a household’s income to be classified as affordable. As a recent New York Times study found, rent as a percent of income has risen to 31 percent, up from a historical average of 21 percent. The article cited a Harvard study that nationally half of all renters live in housing that does not qualify as affordable. In the midst of this rental market, the University is actively working to increase the percentage of students in housing, particularly third-and fourth-years. The history of college housing will be explored in Part II of this series. The Maroon is committed to understanding all aspects of on- and off-campus housing. If you or someone you know has interesting experiences relating to housing, please contact smanhardt@uchicago.edu.
Four Truman scholars bring different approaches to service TRUMAN continued from front
nally from. For each of the UChicago winners, the award carries a unique significance. For Haidar, who is interested in direct social service, the scholarship meant a validation of the relationships she has built working with community groups such as Women and Youth Supporting Each Other (WYSE). “It’s meant to me that the relationships of my life, the experiences I’ve gone out of my way to have, did come together in a way that someone else recognized as worthy of investing in, and that really meant a lot to me,” she said. Al-Jarani, on the other hand, is interested in issues of economic growth and development in an international context and hopes to use his scholarship to allow him to pursue that field. “As of right now I would like to go to
the Middle East and northern Africa. As a region it has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world,” he said. “If I was to help alleviate some of that youth unemployment, I think the region can be a lot more peaceful.” Benezra has been involved in social activism on campus, most visibly as one of the leaders of the Coalition for Equitable Policing, which seeks to end what it sees as discriminatory practices employed by the UCPD. “I come from an organizing background and I highlighted that at every step of my application, so I think it was exciting for me to have that work that is sometimes seen as counterculture or just not mainstream be recognized by what is kind of a mainstream body as well-appreciated and admirable social change work,” she said. Simpson hopes to impact the community from a policy perspective.
She is on the executive board of the Institute of Politics (IOP) and said the IOP helped her through the application process. Simpson also said she was excited to represent her home state. “It’s such a huge honor; it means so much for me, my family,” she said. “I have a really big family; I’m from rural northern Wisconsin, so it’s really cool for me to represent my state and my family and the University in this community of people.” Applicants for the scholarship must be interested in public service, but Benezra pointed out that the four winners from UChicago all have taken distinct approaches to the field. “We’re all so different; we’re all interested in very different issues and all see very different ways of pursuing social change, but we’re all really committed so it’s just really exciting to be going forward in this together,” she said.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | April 18, 2014
Study to analyze bacteria inside UCMC Kelly Zhang Maroon Contributor Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) are currently in the process of analyzing over 10,000 bacteria samples collected in the most comprehensive study of hospital microbiomes ever performed. Entitled The Hospital Microbiome Project, this initiative ended this January and involved taking daily and weekly swab samples of patient rooms over the course of a year. Microbiomes are collections of bacteria commensally living inside host organisms, including humans. The study was conducted in response to a growing awareness of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs). In 2011, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that HAIs affect four percent of all patients admitted to hospitals
in the U.S., which in that year meant over 700,000 patients, 75,000 of whom died. Kim Handley, a researcher for the University of Chicago Department of Ecology and Evolution and the lead researcher for the project, said, “What we’re really looking for is transference, like how people when they come into the hospital impact the microbiology of the hospital and how the microbiology that’s already established in the hospital impacts the patients.” The start of the study coincided with the construction of the Center for Care and Discovery in January 2013. The new hospital building provided ideal sampling conditions because it exhibited no prior pathogenic contamination. Hospital surfaces, as well as patients’ hands and noses, nurses’ hands, shirt collars, pagers, and cell phones were
all sampled for the study. Preliminary results have indicated that upon the hospital’s opening, the microbial composition of the floor changed dramatically. The organisms that colonized the floor seemed to reflect those found on human skin. The scientists will continue to look at marker genes in bacterial RNA to classify the bacteria, and will soon look at whole DNA sequences as well. Handley expects to finish analyzing the data and begin writing out the results by the end of this year. The project was funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a philanthropic nonprofit founded by the former president of General Motors. One of the foundation’s initiatives is to support research on the microbiology of built environments. Hospitals are an especially important area of study with regard to microbiomes
because the antibiotics prescribed to patients leave them more susceptible to other infections. “It’s a catch-22 situation…You need antibiotics, but that knocks down the rest of your microbes…There [are] a lot of different types of antibiotics, but you don’t just knock down the target organism—you knock down a lot of your good bacteria as well. And that can leave you open to new infections,” Handley said. The Hospital Microbiome Project was in part a continuation of a U.S. National Institute of Health initiative called the Human Microbiome Project, which aimed to identify the microorganisms in humans associated with both health and disease. Handley said, “Really we need to not be afraid of microbes but understand them, because when we understand them we can decide whether they’re good for us or bad for us.”
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Group behind Jackson Park renovation hopes to “create a lakefront area that is accessible and available to all” PARK continued from front
According to a statement from University spokesperson Dianna Douglas, “renovations to Jackson Park are part of a proposal made by parties who are not affiliated with the University.” The University, however, has provided space for two public meetings run by Project 120, as it does for other nonprofit community groups. Jackson Park was the site of the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the architect and landscaper behind Central Park in New York, Jackson Park used to be home to natural forests, a landscaped lakefront, and a large amphitheater for outdoor summer concerts, features Project 120
intends to restore. Bob Karr, a founding board member and president of Project 120, says that the renovation will “remember the historical importance and keep in mind current needs” of Jackson Park. Project 120’s main goal for the renovation of Jackson Park, according to Karr, is to “activate use of the park and bring vitality and energy back to the historically significant area...and create a lakefront that is accessible and available to all.” Specifically, Karr says he hopes that the new Jackson Park will provide a way for University of Chicago students from around the world to connect with the history of Chicago.
Wantland: Sexual assault prevention requires “taking seriously the ‘small stuff ’ of sexual violence” PARTY continued from front
the event. Wantland, the main speaker, discussed the stigmas around sex and consent, often asking the opinions of the audience or relating anecdotes garnered from various college students. Sexual violence, he explained, often starts at the mild end of the spectrum: It’s not only what happens on the dance floor of a frat party, but it’s also the crude gestures and words used by seemingly everyone. Wantland also gave examples of the fraternity men he worked with to make changes in their communities, from intervening in potential sexual assault situations to actions as simple as apologizing for possibly offensive statements. Warwick said that fraterni-
ties can play a crucial role in sexual violence prevention and was pleased that the Alpha Delt brothers showed interest in hosting the event when she brought the idea to them. She also hopes that Wantland’s message will reach a wide audience across campus, beyond just the fraternities and the group of students present at the event. “I really hope that people will bring this back to their own communities,” she said. “Keeping our parties safe,” according to Wantland, involves more than looking after friends and strangers within the walls of a fraternity house at a party itself. “Keeping our parties safe means taking seriously the ‘small stuff ’ of sexual violence in our community,” he said.
Ross Wantland, director of social justice education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, talks with students about rape and how fraternities can take steps to address this issue Thursday afternoon at the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity house. COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
UCMC surgeon operated on celebrity chef Graham Elliot Alice Xiao News Staff University of Chicago Medical Center surgeon Dr. Vivek Prachand performed a successful surgery on the celebrity chef and restaurateur Graham Elliot last June, and Elliot will share a celebratory meal with his surgery team later this month. The surgery and subsequent care by Prachand has helped Elliot lose 150 pounds. Elliot is a judge on the show MasterChef and owner of Graham Elliot Bistro downtown. Prachand is an expert in minimally invasive abdominal surgery, and suggested the surgical choice for Elliot, a procedure called “sleeve gastrectomy.” The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) defines sleeve gastrectomy as a procedure for the removal of 80 percent of the
stomach, causing weight loss by restricting the capacity for food. It also induces weight loss by creating favorable changes in gut hormones that suppress hunger, reduce appetite, and improve satiety, which assists the development of a healthier lifestyle. The surgery doesn’t remove sac tissue or significant weight— in fact, it did not remove any type of fat, according to Prachand. “He walked out of the operation room with very little difference in total weight from when he came in,” he said. Prachand explained that Elliot weighed more than 400 pounds before the surgery and immediately after. “A crucial part to making the surgical procedure meaningful is a transition to a healthier lifestyle, and it’s a big aspect of my job as the surgeon to continuously follow up with my patients to ensure that lifestyle change,”
Prachand said. He also said that it is a common misconception that obesity surgery patients seek the procedure for cosmetic reasons. The number one reason for this kind of surgery is health and functionality. “[Elliot] had three young kids, and literally was not able to engage with them in the meaningfully active way he felt he should be,” Prachand said. According to Prachand, Elliot has adopted a significantly healthier lifestyle since he underwent the surgery nine months ago. “This surgery can only be described as a tool; it’s not a shortcut, it’s not an easy way out. Like any tool, it needs correct handling to produce a successful outcome. It’s up to the individual to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” Prachand said. Elliot could not be reached for comment.
NEWS IN BRIEF SG Assembly proposes stipends Student Government (SG) discussed its budgeting, plans to provide subsidies for its top representatives, and Sexual Assault Advocacy Week at its triquarterly Assembly meeting yesterday. Third-year Vice President for Administration Sofia Flores proposed shifting the proportion of money allocated between Student Government Financial Committee and Annual Allocations. The proposal did not suggest changing the combined amount of money that the two committees receive, but redistributing it so Annual Allocations would receive 72 percent of that pool and Student Government Financial Commit-
tee (SGFC) would receive 28 percent, rather than 65 percent and 35 percent, respectively. Based on the fact that Annual Allocations receives more requests than it can grant and SGFC has leftover funds, the resolution passed with 20 members in favor and one abstention. SG also discussed potentially funding undergraduate mixers and the distribution of the Chicago Tribune on campus, as well as potentially removing the earmarked undergraduate Student Government Travel Fund due to its lack of applications. President and fourthyear Michael McCown raised the idea of establishing a potential stipend for top SG Cabinet members in order to make positions on SG more accessible to students who also work. He outlined aims of the stipend plans as increased access, greater accountability, and increased prestige and
desirability of the job. “It’s the piece about access that I think is front and center here,” he said. The proposal would give $1,000 stipends per quarter to five members of SG’s Cabinet who dedicate, on average, 10–15 hours a week, which would include the president, vice presidents, and Graduate and College Council chairs. SG discussed but did not vote on this idea. Flores also introduced the University’s first Sexual Assault Awareness Week, which will take place during the week of May 19. The Week is funded by Executive Slate’s administration budget and will feature a variety of events coordinated by SG and various other campus partners. Flores said she hopes to make Sexual Assault Awareness Week an annual event and to establish an earmark for it. —Sarah Manhardt
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed APRIL 18, 2014
Faith and fear “It’s possible to believe in something wholeheartedly and simultaneously know that you could be totally wrong.”
Grace Koh
No Airs and Graces During O-Week, I met an unapologetically Republican housemate, and, even though I don’t identify as Republican, I felt a sense of camaraderie as I listened to him repeatedly defend his views. After years of conservative upbringing and attending a Christian high school, I found myself quietly hiding my Christian identity because I feared being associated with the accompanying negative stereotypes. Even my Republican housemate at one point clarified that he was economically, not socially, conservative, unlike a “guntotin’, Bible-thumpin’ redneck.” In all honesty, I do fit some of
the assumptions that my friends have about Christians: I own a bow and arrow (gun-totin’) and I have a Christian education (Bible-thumpin’). But while I’m not scared of people finding my Bible or archery equipment, I do have other fears about my beliefs. Because the similarities between the stereotypes and me go further than that: I believe in an absolute Truth, I have chosen a certain framework with which to access it. And by that framework, gay marriage conceptually cannot exist. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I am terrified of these words. My fear comes from my aware-
ness that Christians have wronged the LGBTQ community in more ways than I could probably ever imagine. Because of this, I understand that any visceral, adverse reaction that the LGBTQ community may have is to be expected. My dread is rooted in this concern—of propagating, in any way, hatred and hurt, which is not my intention. Because when I say that I don’t believe in gay marriage, it’s not about condemning anyone, raising barriers against or implying superiority over a sexual preference. What I mean is that within Christianity, which is the body of thought through which I find meaning for myself, there are some fundamental arguments for the purpose of marriage and life, and within these arguments the idea of “same-sex marriage” does not exist. In Christianity, marriage is ul-
timately not founded on passion, emotional compatibility, or a desire for companionship. It is simply another type of relationship (such as a parent-child relationship) instituted by God to reflect some aspect of Him. The reason that marriage is between a man and a woman is because it creates a unique context within which men and women—who are, though equal, different—can understand and learn from each other. True understanding of these differences would entail a deeper understanding of biblical gender roles, which do not imply any superiority in either direction. This is only the tip of the iceberg of the centuries of discussion and debate among Christians regarding the definition of marriage, which encompasses biblical gender roles, the nature of God’s existence as one being but three persons, and
Biblical definitions of sex. And that’s not even getting into the many possible ways that these beliefs can manifest politically. But this piece is not meant to be a persuasive essay, nor a comprehensive overview of my personal journey of thought regarding this issue— which isn’t even over yet; I’m just nineteen. It’s an attempt to begin to lay out where I’m coming from so that we can start an honest discussion. I do not hate people who do support same-sex marriage, nor do I believe does God. I do not believe myself morally superior to anyone, nor do I intend to try to change anyone. How can I say that what I believe is true and simultaneously think that I’m somehow not better than anyone else? I can love and respect people regardless of their sexual preference beBELIEF continued on page 6
Revising history Including study of non-Western cultures would fill the gap in students’ understanding of philosophy and enhance existing knowledge of Western canon Jonathan Paul Katz Viewpoints Contributor Dear UChicago, we need to have a talk about your Eurocentrism. Yes, this is the norm at American universities. Yes, we invented the Great Books tradition. Yes, our students graduate with the ability to reference the greats of Western civilization: Smith and Rousseau, Plato and Arendt. Yes, these are things that provide the vim and vigor of Ameri-
can intellectual life. We still need to talk. Let’s start with one of my majors: history. Yes, there are plenty of professors and students, including myself, who concentrate in non-Western fields, be it transnational migration, East Asia, or “country M” [Mexico]. But the large majority of students who concentrate in American or Western European history—itself not a crime—never take a course with a focus outside the North Atlantic.
This educational gap has consequences. One is that many students are unable to comprehend comparisons or parallels between American and international history. Another is that students who do study nonWestern fields are constantly asked to rehash or reframe our fields in “easy” terms for these students—yet these latter students are not always asked to examine their own assumptions about the United States. (Thankfully, sometimes they are, by professors
and graduate students.) Though the history department seems aware of this discrepancy—and has sought to address it through additional course offerings and lectures—the lack of a non-Western requirement means that many students pass through school with a gaping hole in their knowledge of global history. Beyond the history major, there is the social sciences core requirement: a collection of largely dead white men, with a few women and Frantz Fanon
thrown in. Occasionally, some Power sections read Martin Luther King, Jr. It is true that the thinkers we do read are hugely important to the way American society operates and thinks of itself today. But why is Locke emphasized over DuBois? Why do we read Machiavelli for statecraft, but give short shrift to Chanakya, his Indian forebear? “This is the norm” is a pathetic answer for an institution of this caliber. EURO continued on page 6
Until summer comes The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 Emma Broder, Editor-in-Chief Joy Crane, Editor-in-Chief Jonah Rabb, Managing Editor Daniel Rivera, Grey City Editor Harini Jaganathan, News Editor Ankit Jain, News Editor Eleanor Hyun, Viewpoints Editor Liam Leddy, Viewpoints Editor Kristin Lin, Viewpoints Editor Will Dart, Arts Editor Tatiana Fields, Sports Editor Sam Zacher, Sports Editor Nicholas Rouse, Head Designer Alexander Bake, Webmaster Ajay Batra, Senior Viewpoints Editor Emma Thurber Stone, Senior Viewpoints Editor Sarah Langs, Senior Sports Editor Matthew Schafer, Senior Sports Editor Jake Walerius, Senior Sports Editor Isaac Stein, Associate News Editor Sarah Manhardt, Deputy News Editor Christine Schmidt, Associate News Editor Sindhu Gnanasambandan, Associate News Editor Clair Fuller, Associate Viewpoints Editor Andrew Young, Associate Viewpoints Editor Robert Sorrell, Associate Arts Editor James Mackenzie, Associate Arts Editor Tori Borengässer, Associate Arts Editor Angela Qian, Associate Arts Editor Jamie Manley, Senior Photo Editor Sydney Combs, Photo Editor Peter Tang, Photo Editor Frank Yan, Photo Editor Frank Wang, Associate Photo Editor Alan Hassler, Head Copy Editor Sherry He, Head Copy Editor Katarina Mentzelopoulos, Head Copy Editor Ben Zigterman, Head Copy Editor
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Krysten Bray, Copy Editor Katie Day, Copy Editor Sophie Downes, Copy Editor Joe Joseph, Copy Editor Chelsea Leu, Copy Editor Katie Leu, Copy Editor John Lotus, Copy Editor Victoria Rael, Copy Editor Hannah Rausch, Copy Editor Christine Schmidt, Copy Editor Olivia Stovicek, Copy Editor Andy Tybout, Copy Editor Amy Wang, Copy Editor Annie Cantara, Designer Wei Yi Ow, Designer Molly Sevcik, Designer Tyronald Jordan, Business Manager Nathan Peereboom, Chief Financial Officer Annie Zhu, Director of External Marketing Vincent McGill, Delivery Coordinator Editor-in-Chief Phone: 773.834.1611 Newsroom Phone: 773.702.1403 Business Phone: 773.702.9555 Fax: 773.702.3032 News: News@ChicagoMaroon.com Viewpoints: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com Arts: Arts@ChicagoMaroon.com Sports: Sports@ChicagoMaroon.com Photography: Photo@ChicagoMaroon.com Design: Design@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy: CopyEditors@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com The Chicago Maroon is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters Circulation: 5,500. The opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are not necessarily those of the Maroon. © 2014 The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637
Some silliness to keep you entertained over the next eight weeks (maybe).
Liam Leddy
Vignettes and Hyperlinks So, I’m ready to get out of here. I wrote in September about how I wasn’t ready to come back, and now I’m ready to leave. College students across America are getting out of school soon, and here we are, stuck in the Reg for another eight weeks. That’s not chill. But spring quarter is pretty cool. Here are some ways to enjoy it until summer starts in earnest (I want to acknowledge that some of these recommendations entail messing with people who may be highly stressed. I obviously don’t want to add to that for anyone, so please, everybody, only mess with people if you know they’ll enjoy it on some level. Now let’s get out of this parenthetical and back to business): 1. Ask fourth-years about their B.A.’s
This fun game involves tormenting those who are so close, yet so far from being out of here. It’s likely they’ve read an unfathomable number of books and papers, and are beyond caring about the quality of the thing, so long as they graduate. It’s a very easy question to ask casually, feigning ignorance as to its potency, and watch your subject squirm. Also make sure you ask them how much their 40-pluspage work counts toward their GPA. (Hint: It counts the same as Global Warming.) 2. Ask first-years if they think the Life of the Mind is what they thought it was when they got here This is a simple way to gauge a frosh’s “jaded index.” Are they still the bright, chipper, “quirky” souls
they were when they got here? Or are they worn out, bummed out, and checked out? If you want to assuage your pain over your own crushed dreams and unmet expectations by confirming that it isn’t just you, but everyone else too, this is a great way to do so. But, hopefully, these dispirited souls will soon cast aside their expectations in order to reengage in and be improved by the debates—both trivial and serious—that occur around our campus every day. So tell them to keep their chin up. 3. Bombard UChicago Crushes with fake crushes So, we’re all pretty much aware that the most absurd UChicago Crushes come from one friend and are jokingly directed toward another. Unfortunately, those salacious and vivacious manifestos of unfulfilled lust and unrealized love are jokes. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t fantastic reading, and nice ego boosts for their recipients. So let’s keep that up, team. I wanna FOUR continued on page 6
THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | April 18, 2014
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Uncommon Sense Uncommonness should not be an end in and of itself, but instead be a side effect of the exceptional pursuit of other goals
Jane Huang
The Ionic Column I always thought it was well established that there are a few things you should avoid calling attention to in a conversation, such as a person’s weight, salary, or impending graduation. However, my attempt to remain in denial about being a senior has been repeatedly foiled— various underclassmen have made a sport out of asking me every day this quarter how it feels to be a senior, and the College Programming Office (CPO) has gotten in on the act as well by soliciting submissions of senior memories. Amid the expected prompts in the CPO survey on classes, Hyde Park, and roommates, one that made me raise my eyebrows was, “When I realized I was ‘uncommon’…” I’m assuming that the answers provided by seniors will largely be in a humorous vein, but those who’ve heard the phrase
“Common App” uttered with contempt will also recognize that the preoccupation with “uncommonness” here has also often been sincere. In the past, there’s been handwringing over the admissions office taking new students who dare to care about such ordinary things as getting good grades or being employed—basically, students who don’t fit the “uncommon” UChicago identity constructed from our folklore. But even as a fourthyear, I can’t point to a moment in college when I realized that I was uncommon, unless you count the time at my house table when the opinions I expressed on fruit salad were met with dead silence. I’m fine with that. I’m not the kind of person who gets irritated when a lot of other people like the same books that I do, or when they have
the same hobbies. I don’t want to be uncommon for the sake of being uncommon, because I don’t believe that uncommonness in and of itself can be an identity. It’s intrinsically contradictory to expect people to be uncommon in the same ways that their predecessors were uncommon. If the College wishes to emphasize uncommonness, though, I think the focus should be less on trying to demonstrate one’s own uncommonness and more on developing the capacity to recognize uncommonness in others. I’m concerned that we’re too quick to dismiss people whose lives we don’t know about simply because we assume that the switch to the Common App produces cookiecutter applicants. Sure, the University is casting a wider net, but this also means adding many new voices to the mix. During college, I’ve met many people whose experiences may have seemed ordinary to themselves, but were quite novel to me. The answers we could provide to, “When I realized someone I knew was uncommon…” would
be far more interesting than the CPO’s original prompt, because it says something about the growth of our own perception and knowledge. As we move from place to place, our level of uncommonness relative to others will change. The things that made me uncommon in high school are things that might be considered quite ordinary in college. The grades and test scores I got in high school could be matched by many of the others admitted with me. My extracurricular involvement was solid, but I wouldn’t have difficulty finding someone else with a more impressive résumé I was the odd kid in grade school who referenced books that nobody else had read; now, my references aren’t considered so obscure. Even if I’m not as uncommon as the archetypal UChicago student is supposed to be, I’ve worked on seeking out new ideas and adding to them with my own, because that ability will always be useful. Though uncommonness shouldn’t be thought of as an identity, it is most useful when placed
in the context of individual goals. As someone interested in a career in research, I value uncommonness insofar as seeking original ideas makes us challenge ourselves and look at the world differently. Crucial traits for producing original, influential work include exceptional patience, indefatigability, and self-actualization, and I envy those who possess those qualities. But while those traits are uncommon, they require experience to recognize and therefore do not have the immediate impressive power that quirks like riding a unicycle or casually quoting Durkheim at lunch can. Nevertheless, being less noticeable does not make an uncommon trait less valuable. However, if it’s any comfort to those still nostalgic for the pre– Common App days, I can assure you that my friends who attend other colleges still consider the student body here incredibly, incredibly strange. Jane Huang is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Chemistry.
Reflection from abroad: Bean there, done that There’s no shame in being a tourist in your own town
Kristin Lin
Particularly Nothing The first time I visited UChicago was also my first time in Chicago. I was a prospie, unsure of whether or not I would be coming back at all. So after the overwhelming inundation that is a UChicago Prospective Weekend—the PSAC events, the meeting (and forgetting ) of all the other prospies, and the Alpha Delt party—my dad picked me up at Ida Noyes, and I asked if we could go see The Bean. It’s a Chicago must-see, Cloud Gate. And when I approached Millennium Park, I immediately understood why. It’s huge. That, and swarms of camera-toting tourists are always crowded around it. I joined them that day, taking the first of a collection of Bean portraits I now own. Six months later, I returned to Chicago as a first-year, and my House O-Aides took us on a scavenger hunt downtown. There was The Bean, the Chicago night wrapping around its surface. I am going to live here for the next four years, I thought, still a stranger to the city. “Have you ever thought of who cleans bird shit off the top of The Bean?” a guy in my house pondered as we all stared at our warped reflections. I snapped another selfie. I never thought Cloud Gate would get old to me. Every time I passed by Millennium Park my first year, I was tempted to make a nonchalant detour up the stairs to visit it. I just love that it looks different every day; it’s eternally new. I was always susceptible to the
temptation to blend in with the other shot-snapping tourists visiting The Bean for the first time. But then one day, I cut across Millennium Park to get to the Art Institute and I didn’t take out my phone. I didn’t even really notice The Bean. There’s something particularly sad about getting used to beauty— taking it for granted just because you have access to it on a daily basis. There’s something particularly sad about it, and yet it happens all the time. I’m currently studying abroad in Paris, and every day I walk through the streets just gawking at its beauty. What I love about Paris is how it sprawls, not in a suburban tangle like Chicago, but in the same way a person grows—organically. Capillaries of alleys branch off of wide, winding boulevards, and old buildings hide older buildings. I’ve been here for three weeks and claimed a few regular spots, but every street I walk still seems new to me. One time, I heard a Parisian chuckle mid–smoke break when he witnessed me take a picture of a door. I probably looked like a silly tourist (which I totally am), but it was a beautiful door, OK? Every door in the old part of town seems to be carved with its own unique intricacy. They don’t make ornate, diverse doors where I’m from. Meanwhile, this jaded, jaded man probably took all of these doors for granted. Upon realizing this, I just felt bad for him. Because there’s a certain privilege to being a tourist—
ALICE XIAO
| THE CHICAGO MAROON
you don’t get to take anything for granted. Everything is fresh in a way that home can’t be. I wonder how long these honeymoon tourist glasses last. Even if the Bean doesn’t seem as radiant now, I still find myself taking my camera out and marveling at the Chicago cityscape. It has been a year and a half since I first set foot on campus, and I still take pictures of the stained glass in Rockefeller and the buildings on the quad. One Saturday morning I was walking down Jackson, the sun sloping against the buildings, and without thinking, I pulled out my phone and tried to capture its cold shimmer. I caught myself, slightly embarrassed that I was so doe-eyed about a place that I see so often. I was being such a tourist in my own town. We worry so much about settling down in college and making a home out of Chicago. We memorize street names and CTA stops, explore neighborhoods and parks,
all in an effort to experience the city. There’s certainly comfort in knowing how to get around and knowing the spots where locals grab a beer or watch their movies. But even as I settle in and enjoy these perks, I yearn to remain
a tourist in the mysterious, gritty city that is Chicago. Life is just more beautiful that way. Kristin Lin is a second-year in the College majoring in political science.
SUBMISSIONS The Chicago Maroon welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to: The Chicago Maroon attn: Viewpoints 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 E-mail: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com The editors reserve the right to edit materials for clarity and space. Letters to the editor should be limited to 400 words. Op-ed submissions, 800 words.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | April 18, 2014
“I understand that everyone’s search for meaning looks different.” BELIEF continued from page 4 cause differences in belief systems have no implications on a person’s value. Because it’s possible to believe in something wholeheartedly and simultaneously know that you could be totally wrong. This is what faith means to me. Not a blind leap empty of thought, reason, or experience, but rather trusting that at the end, whatever is true will stand. I understand that everyone’s search for meaning looks different. And my search is rooted in my belief in God and commitment to follow Jesus. This is the way I’ve found to pursue truth, and I can completely understand
why you may not think the same way. Once again, I’m not trying to persuade you of anything. This is a plea, to people of both religious and non-religious backgrounds, to untangle a person’s worth from her beliefs. I think back to O-Week, when my Republican housemate not only understood but also reassured me when I admitted my hesitancy to attend my first frat party. I think about how an agnostic friend gave me advice when I was debating about which church I should attend. I think about a gay friend of mine who helped me process my ignorance of certain aspects of the LGBTQ community. I feel as
if my experiences here have been a living testament to what President Zimmer writes in the University’s diversity statement: “A commitment to diversity is central to our mission of discovery.” Because I was tolerated and respected, I can tolerate and respect. So I admit that, in some ways, I am a gun-totin’ Bible thumper. But my aforementioned fear is tempered because I have personally witnessed the maturity and strength of this community, and in it I have faith. Grace Koh is a second-year in the College majoring in political science.
“I encourage DU bros to not try to throw folding tables over the garden wall like last year...” FOUR continued from page 4 see at least 17 poems full of dirty innuendo, and almost as many anonymous invitations to do it in the Reg. 4. Get Dean Boyer to shave his moustache for charity We set a total $$$ goal, and when the donations reach that number, Dean Boyer shaves his moustache. Then, once it’s shaved, the fundraising resets, and the donations and the moustache grow in harmony. You know, I was kid-
ding when I started writing this, but now I actually think it’s a good idea. Also, I’m aware that someone else has almost definitely already thought of this, given campus’s extreme Boyermania, so I apologize for presenting it as an original idea. I know I’m a fraud. 5. Prepare for Summer Breeze I’m sure the wrestling team is already stockpiling kegs on kegs for Bonanza, although I’d recommend more cups this year, to avoid the messy situation of people tryna
drink beer out of their hands. Or just everybody BYOCup. Also, I encourage DU bros to not try to throw folding tables over the garden wall like last year, or at least if they’re gonna try, to succeed this time. Anyway, start looking for your perfect BYOCup, take bets on who the artists are gonna be, and prepare to feel like you go to a state school for one day. Liam Leddy is a second-year in the College majoring in economics.
Fundamentals: Issues and Texts announces a public colloquium:
THE POWER OF BOOKS with
John P. McCormick Political Science and
Malynne Sternstein Slavic Languages and Literatures
Wed. April 16, 4:30 pm — Stuart 105 — Reception to follow This event is recommended for students considering a major in Fundamentals. More information about Fundamentals will be available at the event.
“We have world-class scholars on the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia...” EURO continued from page 4 It is essentially possible for students to pass through four years at this institution without questioning or examining the West in a greater context, or looking at countries and cultures that rely on different canons. One can study the colonizer without the colonized, the North without the South. For an institution that claims to be adventurous and intellectually stimulating, this is a hopelessly provincial attitude. Furthermore, it produces a culture in which comparisons outside the North Atlantic are disregarded and ridiculed, in which the student of other topics must always cater to those who study the “main” topics. Some might argue that it is not necessary for people to read or study outside the West. The idea is that the Western canon is enough of a toolbox to understand the world, and perhaps that anything else will be irrelevant to the student’s life. I would disagree. You cannot really claim to have wrestled with the West until you’ve actually had to study things from outside the white, Christian, North Atlantic world. Not to mention that in a world returning to a far more common situation in history—that of a powerful Asia and Africa—an inability to engage with non-Western cultures would make applying learning in most contexts—not only professional environments—much more difficult. What would be so tragic if students were required to take just one
course, even, covering topics outside the “West”? For those students concentrating on Western-centric majors, it would offer the opportunity to examine or re-examine orthodoxies centered on an idea of a “normal” and yet somehow specially divergent West. For others, it would offer a place in the curriculum for topics often difficult to access outside the Civilizations requirement of the Core. We have world-class scholars on the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, and our university is unparalleled in the study of ancient Mesopotamia—a series of civilizations that not only developed before Greece and Rome, but greatly influenced both. If students are unofficially required to take an economics course, because of our stellar faculty, should they not also be required to do the same for Near Eastern languages and civilizations? Even the professors who teach the venerated Western canon agree. Shadi Bartsch, in a talk I went to recently, noted that it is “essential” that the “Great Books” be studied alongside other cultures’ histories, philosophies, and canons, because a liberal arts education should produce better citizens of the world. UChicago should live up to that ideal—and outgrow its Eurocentrism. Jonathan Paul Katz is a fourthyear in the College majoring in history and geographical studies.
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ARTS
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Hillel commemorates ancient history with modern installation Evangeline Reid Arts Staff If you’ve walked through Hutchinson Courtyard this week, you may have seen a series of signs with thought-provoking quotes, pictures, and a question: What does freedom mean to you? While the question is inherently important, the reason why it is being asked now, and in this way, is perhaps even more profound. In an effort to connect a very personal tradition and history with the present, UChicago’s Hillel sponsored The Freedom Project during the holy week of Passover. “We wanted to invite people to think about how the Passover story is still relevant in our lives today and how we can take what we’ve learned in the Passover story and make it meaningful,” said secondyear Francesca Freeman, an intern for Ask Big Questions. Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is an international organization that has a thriving presence on campus, hosted in the Hillel center on Woodlawn. UChicago’s center was founded in 1940 and was actually one of the first in the country, going on to host the first of the now-famous and frequently replicated Annual LatkeHamantash Debate. This week, Jewish students and
faculty alike are celebrating Passover across campus. Passover is a key Jewish holiday that commemorates the Exodus, the Israelites’ liberation from slavery in Egypt as written in the Old Testament. Practicing Jews celebrate by abstaining from leavened bread and participating in Seders, ritual tellings of the story combined with a symbolic meal. Passover is a cultural and spiritual event deeply rooted in the tradition and history of a people and faith. However, the installation in Hutch Courtyard is making an effort to allow that tradition to expand beyond its historical image and stimulate conversation about the modern day. UChicago’s chapter of Ask Big Questions, a Hillel initiative, created the project as part of a larger mission: to create opportunities to discuss topics that transcend divisions among mankind and foster common ground and understanding. The group consists of several hardworking interns who inspired and created the collection of signs, as well as manned the indoor table where they gathered students’ responses to the big question they were asking. “We are all very interested in questions of freedom today,” Freeman said of the group. She also interns for a group called Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT)
A UChicago Hillel–sponsored photo display in Hutchinson Courtyard asks students to ponder the Big Questions. EVANGELINE REID
| CHICAGO MAROON
that creates programs and support for refugees, which inspired her approach to The Freedom Project. “They [the Israelites] were free and they were happy...but then it was like, ‘What do we do? We’re stuck wandering around in the desert.’ I feel like that’s very applicable to refugees today.... It’s just a question of what happens after you are free, and are you really free after official
liberation.” In order to get a full representation of different thoughts on this elusive and philosophical question, the group reached out to refugees in Chad to hear what freedom meant to people who were seeking it so desperately. A quote from one of the refugees was featured alongside words from Einstein and other great thinkers.
David Korenthar, the Engagement Associate at Hillel who oversaw the project, said, “Freedom means so many different things to different people.” And in true UChicago spirit, students took the initiative to start understanding a question much bigger than themselves by looking at it through different perspectives, with patience, open discussion, and honesty.
The Composer is Dead George Will’s new Cubs chronicle is home run with MJ Chen
A sneak peek behind the velvet curtain
The magic of grand opera is difficult to describe. It draws the eye, charms the ear, and ensnares the heart all at once: Sight and sound combine to create a spectacle greater than the sum of its parts. I first fell under its spell when I was 14, at a Cineplex. I remember Richard Strauss’s Capriccio, broadcasting live from the Metropolitan Opera; I remember that first thrill of discovery and bliss that continues to draw me to Chicago’s Lyric Opera. And there’s been no shortage of operatic magic this season, from the charm of Il barbiere di Siviglia to the stark beauty of Rusalka. Reader, you might know something—or nothing—of what I’m talking about. But whatever you know, I know that I know a little bit more: I was recently granted a behind-the-scenes tour of the Lyric’s production process, and I now know where the magic of grand opera comes from. Shall we sneak a peek behind the velvet curtain? The operatic story begins and ends with the production. This is the universe of the opera: sets, costumes, staging, vision, lighting, everything. I like to think of the production as a process that connects composer to audience, transforming mere notation into a tangible artistic message. There was a time when a production was two or three canvas backdrops and a few pieces of set dressing. Singers supplied their own costumes—a soprano owned a separate dress for each role in her repertoire (or doubled up if she was cheap). Modern productions have advanced enormously since then, both in complexity and expense. Price
tags break the millions; see, for instance, the virtual forest of Rusalka or the lush party scenes in La traviata. They’ve become so hefty that productions now travel like Broadway shows to recoup costs; Strauss’s Capriccio comes to us next season all the way from the Met. A fair amount of production work still happens in-house at the Lyric, from costume adjustments to prop design. This is especially true for “new Lyric productions,” or operas commissioned directly by the company. Shows have extremely long lifetimes, often revived decades after their supposed retirement. For instance, Lyric’s Ariadne auf Naxos back in 2011 was originally produced in 1998, 13 years previously. Last season’s Turandot at the Met could pass for a grad student, at 23 years old. This longevity calls for especially durable costumes that are able to handle decades of frequent use. Heavy cloth is a must-have to minimize wear and tear. Dresses are designed piecewise for adaptability and ease of replacement. Interchangeable parts make it possible to clothe singers of all shapes and sizes (believe me, they come in all shapes and sizes). Finally, a ground rule: “We never, ever use Velcro,” said one of the company tailors. “It could snap off and make a horrific noise onstage. Can you imagine, Butterfly singing ‘Un bel di’ and then RRRRRRIIIIPPPP! Disastrous.” As for props, the Lyric has two entire storerooms (and a warehouse) full of just about anything you could imagine. There’s standard theater fare like tableware and vases and sofas, from Rococo
to Art Deco, and then some really wacky stuff—giant bull-skeleton puppets, for example. And then there are the weapons. The Lyric has a warehouse chockfull of them—so full they actually call it “the armory”. No doubt you find this arms cache to be overkill. To that I respond with the three Ls of grand opera: love, lust, and lots of stabbings. These are its Holy Trinity. Next season’s Il trovatore promises to be a bloody treat, with a body count of four dead and two traumatized. I can’t wait. Props exist to make the universe of grand opera more believable. After all, opera exists in a universe where everyone sings everything and somehow people still can’t hear one another and rooms have only three walls, so it needs all the realism it can get. Hence the lavish productions, the high price tags of the costumes and props—everything to make the universe more immersive. As my music teacher once told me, “Opera is an illusion.” It’s fascinating how, despite being neither real nor rational, grand opera can move so powerfully. Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is a great example of this—all of his music, really (Puccini is my weakness). I know it so well, yet it seems new to me each time I listen: The music feels as fresh and the story as poignant as it did that first day in October. The illusion is a potent one–it’s almost like magic.
James Mackenzie Associate Arts Editor A formerly proud sports tradition, with which success was once synonymous, worn down by decades of failure until it was stripped of all its former dignity and relevance... no, I am not talking about our sports program here at the University of Chicago, but the professional baseball outfit which calls the North Side its home: the old Chicago Cubs. Chicago’s more listless (I don’t want to take away from some of the White Sox’s own futility) baseball team is the subject of a new book by longtime political commentator and occasional baseball enthusiast George Will, entitled A Nice Little Place on the North Side. That nice little place, Wrigley Field, has a somewhat legendary reputation in baseball. Built in 1914, it is the second-oldest remaining baseball park in the nation after Boston’s Fenway Park. Yet despite its immense age, even Wrigley is not old enough to remember the Cubs’ glory days in the first few years of the 20th century. Back then the Cubs were dominant enough to win two straight World Series titles in three straight appearances, but it’s doubtful that there’s a man alive who could tell you how the Cracker Jacks tasted at those few glorious games so long ago. Will himself was born more than 30 years after this run of successes,
and he’s already several years past 70. Still, he starts his chronicle not with the 1940s, the decade of special futility into which he was born, but instead traces the history of the Cubs back to the mid-1800s when professional baseball was first beginning. He hits all of the major eras and events from Cubs history: the glory days, the decline in the early 20th century, the entrance of owner William Wrigley, Jr. and the stadium built in his name, the era of the legendary Ernie Banks in the 1950s, the brief but heartbreaking near-miss of the great 2003 Cubs team and all the way into today. And as any good historian should, Will intersperses this kind of bare bones accounting of events with little-known facts and anecdotes, such as the case of one player who received a constant shipment of champagne for his dying father from none other than Cubs superfan Al Capone. The book’s early sections lack a bit of personal insight and feeling to give life to these events—which makes sense, as the author was not alive to experience any of them. The times in Cubs history which Will can personally recall are where his book becomes far less dry and more involved. His analysis of the importance of baseball in 20th-century American society and culture, which was also largely the subject of two other books by him (Men at Work and Bunts), is where the real value CUBS continued on page 12
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Losing the 53rd Street Graffiti Wall Jamie Manley
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The wall behind the Mobil Gas station on East 53rd Street used to be one of the few places in Chicago where graffiti artists could paint without being hassled by neighbors or the police. Stretching over 200 feet in the alley between South Kimbark Avenue and South Kenwood Avenue north of East 53rd Street, the wall was a beloved part of the Chicago graffiti scene for at least 20 years. “Hundreds and hundreds of artists have been here,” said graffiti artist and Hyde Park native Shawn Bullen. “People from all over the world have probably painted this wall.” So many artists had worked on the wall that the paint was layered over an inch deep. The famed wall’s 20-year tenure came to an end in March when it was demolished to make way for the upcoming Vue53 apartment complex. Where the colorful wall used to stand is now a chain-link fence, and the only signs of the wall that remain are tags on the telephone poles and dumpsters nearby. Going forward, graffiti artists will have to turn to other walls around the city to display their work. Captions 1: The 53rd Street graffiti wall in October before it was torn down. 2: A close-up of a piece on the wall. 3: Graffiti artist Shawn Bullen reminisces about the wall’s history. 4 and 5: The chain-link fence erected after the wall was demolished 6: Tags on telephone poles are some of the few lingering signs of the colorful graffiti wall that previously occupied the space. Note: image one is a panorama composite of multiple images.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | April 18, 2014
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There she blows! Pequod’s Pizza strikes black gold There are some decisive advantages to living in a big city over a small town, and I’d like to think the quality of food is one of them. Chicago isn’t a university-centric community, but it does have quite a few college and graduate students (over 600,000 actually) and there is no disputing its status as a food city. Sometimes the two even intertwine. A solid restaurant for the low-budget college student is an elusive feat that few restaurateurs succeed in producing. Fortunately for us, Chicago has had several successful attempts. Unfortunately for us, UChicago students don’t always know about them. Pequod’s Pizza at 2207 North Clybourn Avenue in Lincoln Park is one such place. Well known to students at DePaul and Loyola, it isn’t exactly the top UChicago hot spot. But the pedigree is good, and there is plenty of evidence to substantiate. Pequod’s has been serving a collegiate audience for more than 30 years. Founded by the legendary pizza chef Burt Katz, Pequod’s has its own degree of national reputation. It’s been featured on the cover of Saveur and on an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s show No Reservations. Even still, it took me a few years before I made my first visit. The first time around I went because it was aligned with one of my classes—a survey of Melville. So what makes Pequod’s such a collegiate pizzeria, beyond the nod to literary whaling? Two things—it cares
about the food it serves, and it does so unpretentiously. The restaurant is rowdy and a bit of a dive. There are Blackhawks jerseys hanging near the bar, and it gets so loud on the weekends that you have to yell to get your order across. All of this is Pequod’s. It’s the dingy location and the roaring crowds. It’s also the pizza; the pie deserves all the attention at Pequod’s. It’s my firm opinion that almost all Chicago pan pizzas are about the same. The difference between Gino’s East and Uno doesn’t strike me as all that significant. But then there’s Pequod’s pan pizza, which has done pretty much the impossible and made something unique out of an already highly specific food. At Pequod’s the claim to fame is the caramelized crust. Unlike most pies that have a ring of dough surrounding the tomato sauce and cheese, the crust designed by Katz is a sweet, caramelized wall the color of black tar. Each pizza is ringed with cheese before it’s baked all the way. The black halo completely encloses the pie and extends down the pizza’s back, making flaky ends that are burnt to a crisp. The caramelized crust is famous, but it doesn’t look like much when you first see it. In fact, even through the first few bites, there isn’t much to talk about. What you get from the initial nibbles are the fresh ingredients and the competitive taste. It’s thinner than the deep dish you’ll find downtown—you might want to call it a “medium dish”
pizza—and the crust underneath the pie is nice and thick. But the real magic comes toward the back end. Each bite becomes progressively sweeter and more blackened. The entire pizza changes before your eyes—or in this case, taste buds—taking something otherwise salty, starchy, and filling into a supercharged meld of sweet and salty flavors. Every bite of crust is worth it. If they somehow could sell just the crust of the pie, I would probably walk around campus eating strips as midday snacks. The crust is also what leads you to take
the next slice of pizza from the pan. Unfortunately, you can’t really start with the crust; it is the backbone of the pie, after all, and you do want it to stay together. That’s the downside to Pequod’s: There’s disappointment in realizing that you still have to eat the pizza, that the crust has to work with something to make its flavors sing. I took a swig of my beer to make the pain go away. Eating at Pequod’s can be a bipolar experience your first time. Was the pizza really good, or was the crust just that amazing? What exactly did I step into?
It was only a few days after my trip there that I realized I wanted to go back. I remembered the pizza, which itself stood as a solid example of Chicago-style goodness, and then the crust that blew my mind, but that was all expected. Really what I enjoyed most was the idea that every which way you look at Pequod’s, people are having a crazy fun time. There’s no other way to describe it. Even if not everyone at this North Side location is a college student—and many of them are—the cacophony of drinks and emotionally charged eating is certainly collegiate enough for me.
The famous deep-dish pizza at Pequod’s. The pizza itself is excellent, but the black crust is worth coming back for. COURTESY OF KAILLEY LINDMAN
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“Go West, young man, go West!” So American newspaperman Horace Greeley allegedly said in 1836, as encouragement for the U.S. territorial expansion of the decade. Unlike Greeley, I am not an advocate of Manifest Destiny—I care for a less racist, more filling objective: a square, inexpensive meal to fill the Saturday night stomach void for everyone on the meal plan. And rather than West, the University community ought to look to its immediate South. Northern Woodlawn, with a focus near Cottage Grove Avenue, is home to a fair share of solid, relatively inexpensive restaurants. Daley’s (809 East 63rd Street) and Harold’s Chicken Shack (6419 South Cottage Grove) will easily fill and satisfy the palate for less than $10, guaranteed. However, although their food is unquestionably delicious, the major drawback
with these two is that their cooking is lardtastic. If the cost of takeout food is taken to include long-term health costs, as opposed to a strict dollar cost (thank you, Mr. Sanderson), the game changes. I love Harold’s, but I know that if I eat it routinely, I will “get
JAMAICAN JERK SPICE 6500 Cottage Grove Ave. 1.5 lbs jerk: $10
dead” before the age of 30. Fortunately, there exists a restaurant a little bit further down on the Grove that is inexpensive, reasonably nutritious, and, most importantly, serves the best-tasting Jamaican jerk chicken in the Chi. Do not allow the iron bars on the storefront windows to throw you. This is a true diamond in the rough. Jamaican Jerk Spice
( JJS), located at 6500 South Cottage Grove, is a slice of Kingston transplanted with love into the heart of Woodlawn. The wall décor consists of fading ’70s-issue Air Jamaica posters, rows of ginger beer line the drink cooler, and, in complete contrast to stereotypical Chicago impersonality, the ladies who work behind the counter have no sense of urgency in their voices. It’s Jamaican-style cool. But no self-respecting college man goes to any place on his own for the atmosphere. The real question is, and always should be, the quality of the food. Even a food cart operating at a landfill ought to be vindicated if the food is good enough. So let’s talk food. JJS offers the gamut of jerk-seasoned meats and fish, including chicken, catfish, shrimp, and tilapia. Traditional Jamaican plates like stewed chicken and oxtails are also available. For the purpose of this review, I went with the whole mixed jerk chicken ($10)—beJERK continued on page 12
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | April 18, 2014
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The secret, Brazilian underbelly of the Latino Film Fest
Otavio Muller, Paulinho Moska, and Vladimir Brichta, the stars of Caio Sóh’s film Past Minutes, a Brazilian wonder. Here their characters can be seen facing the camera in comic bewilderment, like the lovable tramps that they are. COURTESY OF H20 FILMS
Alec Ontiveros Maroon Contributor The River East is not normally a destination I find myself heading toward. Typically, the prices do not outweigh the amenities of home, and the movie does not have the same effect it did in days past. The difference of a film festival, however, is that it speaks authenticity; it speaks a more personal moviegoing experience. As I walked toward the unfamiliar location, the stream of Spanish-speaking
pedestrians led me on my way. I found myself entering a theater full of Hispanic families, of friends encountering friends, of cousins meeting cousins; it was a night for Latino films. Lines stretched 50 people long for each showing, and I felt myself ready to be embraced by a heritage I so hopelessly wish to identify as my own. Spanish does not roll off my tongue and Portuguese moves through my ears rather than my nose. I have no ability but to listen, to absorb and consume the
world as it moves around me, chartering it with my thoughts so I can call the map my own. So as I moved through this comforting sea of Latinos to the theater that housed my selection, Past Minutes, I found myself coming upon dry land. The lines of jubilant families, rapidly speaking their excitement for a movie night that included their heritage, all migrated toward the larger names of the festival. Toward the films that invoke the general good feeling of a film,
toward films which are the moving mountains of their culture, the high points by which they continue to carry the torch of so many generations. I had no place there, no place making myself feel good with fantasies of being a part of a world I was not a part of. Instead, it was toward the underbelly of the film festival I directed my footsteps. The theater was in the back, with no line, and empty. The patrons who matriculated did not seem excited, rather embarrassed, as if
they had mistakenly chosen their film. Hailing from Brazil, Past Minutes did not have the same comfort the Spanish movies had. To most there, this movie too was foreign. The film opens with the melodic thoughts of a madman, mixing cinematographic beauty and absurdity that only a few seem to enjoy. It moves in three parts, interrogating the character of each protagonist in a playful yet deep style few directors know how to create. Each moment of the story has its own contained space within the narrative; microworlds of dreams are crafted from an artistic mind ever chasing after the freedom to become truly creative. The film is an exploration of that which our media is meant to bring us to, to the making of a space in which the director, the actors, and the viewers are all spectators of something that has its own life, its own vision to be realized. Past Minutes melds itself with your own thoughts in a way that makes you feel like only you can know the true meaning of the story. Most times when a director has his characters speak of the values that guide all our lives, you feel the cringe of an angsty writer sitting in his poorly lit room as his dialogue runs all over
itself, as his actors fail to deliver lines which were never meant to be spoken. But the genius of Caio Sóh’s film is that that experience is open; it is personal. For the pretension never arose; there was no grand purposeful moment, no intense articulation of philosophical concepts. There were just aspects of life played into an absurd carnival of a dark imagination and childish enjoyment. For some it was too much to watch. It was not catered, not created for them, and thus they had no means by which to move but out the door. Sóh wants you to create the story with him. As the other customers walked out on the film, mumbling in confusion or annoyance at what they had seen, I felt closer to the film I was watching. I felt as if I was participating in its passage. Although it may not have been the Latino Film Festival I thought I was entering, I was rewarded with the treasures of something left unpicked. For sometimes it is the truly random experience that is the most rewarding, when expectations are left by the door of a long line, and glee skips its way toward an open room, in which any seat could be yours to take, and life moves and entertains you, sending the haters out the door.
Holy hype, Batman! Review aggregators don’t make movies super Zane Burton Arts Staff I don’t particularly care for superhero movies. I don’t have any sort of general objection to them as a genre, but they’re just not really my “thing.” And yet, I found myself in Harper Theater watching a film called Captain America: The Winter Soldier last Friday. Thankfully, The Winter Soldier does all the little things right: It’s topical, it’s got compelling leads, and it even throws a pretty major plot twist in there for good measure. Even Scarlett Johansson’s turn as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow was surprisingly tasteful, despite the fact that a few of her scenes had some serious “strong female character” vibes to them. That’s all well and good. But I still don’t really like superhero movies, particularly of the post–Iron Man Marvel Studios variety. Out of the (count ’em!) nine films that have been released as part of something that Wikipedia calls the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU for short), I’ve somehow seen all but three. I don’t think I’ve sat down to watch Iron
Man since it was released in 2008, so the details are a little fogg y, but I remember enjoying it quite a bit as a 15-year-old. I can’t say the same about any of the other MCU films; more than anything, I just don’t remember them. That isn’t to say that there’s anything necessarily wrong with the over $6-billion empire Marvel has built over the past seven years or so—I just don’t really like it. To be fair, I don’t really dislike it either; generally speaking, the films don’t make me feel much at all. I had already paid my $6 at the door, and nothing onscreen was aggressively bad enough to warrant walking out. Instead, my dispassionate reaction to The Winter Soldier left me with a couple hours to just think. More than anything else, I used this time to question the thought processes that led me to the latest installment in the MCU. To be honest, the only reason I even saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier (and The Avengers, for that matter) was because of the overwhelmingly positive critical reception it received (although the close proximity and cheap price
of Harper didn’t hurt either). As I do most weeks, I went to see how the latest crop of new releases was faring over at Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. “That new Captain America movie’s got 89 percent on Rotten Tomatoes! I should go see it!” I thought, sadly. Never mind the fact that I didn’t like Captain America: The First Avenger. The Winter Soldier’s nearly two-and-a-half-hour runtime should have made it an even tougher sell, yet I still expected the film to deliver in ways that were patently unreasonable. In an age where web page critical consensus is just a webpage or two away, we tend to forget that movies are almost always matters of taste. As a cinema and media studies major, I should absolutely be the first person to tell you this—on more than a few occasions, I’ve left the screening room utterly confounded by a professor’s decision to include a particular movie on her syllabus—yet I still trust anonymous percentages to recommend movies to me significantly more than I trust myself to know what I enjoy. While there’s certainly some value in websites
that aggregate reviews, it should go without saying that the Certified Fresh seal should be taken with a good-sized heap of salt. I’ve spent countless hours watching movies in the theater, at home, and in class. If nothing else, I have at least gained a vague sense of what kinds of films I enjoy. As blockbuster season approaches and we
move toward Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I’ll try to resist the charms of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Transformers: Age of Extinction, even if a small group of websites put high numbers next to them that tell me I should go see them. There’s nothing inher-
ently wrong with listening to friends (or professors, or websites, or random people on the train) who recommend movies to you— there’s just something dangerous about anything that foregrounds supposed quality over content. Art’s a personal thing! Sometimes websites like Rotten Tomatoes make me forget that.
ALICE XIAO
| CHICAGO MAROON
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | April 18, 2014
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Despite century-long losing streak, Cubbies have storied franchise history and fan base that refuses to quit CUBS continued from page 8
in this book lies. The unconditional devotion coupled with crushing pessimism which he and the Cubs fans of Chicago at large hold for their near-hopeless baseball team is one of the more fascinating examples of fan dedication in all of sports. Yet perhaps that devotion is overstated, as the Cubs attendance rates have done nothing but steadily decline in the decade since that last great 2003 team. There’s surprisingly little writing on the actual playing of baseball itself here, which might say more about the sport than about Will’s writing ability. However, this lack of on-the-ground narration does cause the book to pale in comparison with some of the great sports nonfiction of the recent past, such as last year’s Monsters, a very similar book about the Chicago Bears by Rich Cohen. In that book, the actual playing of football was inextricable from the social and historical contexts on which Cohen was writing. The same cannot be said about Will’s effort. Still, George Will is very passionate and extraordinarily knowledgeable about the topic he is covering, which always makes for good reading regardless of the lack of inherent excitement in the prose. Sports nonfiction enthusiasts beware, but for any Cubs fan, or for anyone interested in Chicago sports history, A Nice Little Place on the North Side is certainly no bunt.
“Do not allow the iron bars on the storefront windows to throw you,” says jerk aficionado JERK continued from page 10
cause, frankly speaking, to go to a jerk establishment and order tilapia is like going to McDonald’s and getting the Filet-O-Fish. Just say no to seafood. At this place, $10 spent on a “whole mixed” yields a surprisingly heavy brown bag of food ejected from a bulletproof lazy Susan. Inside the bag, customers will find three components: a Styrofoam container filled with roughly a pound and a half of bone-in chicken, two slices of white bread, and exactly three small containers of jerk sauce. It is impossible to describe the meal as a whole; each component warrants an individual entry. CHICKEN: It is, simply put, done right. The skin on each piece, thoroughly blackened with the namesake jerk spice, lends the chicken an attitude that puts supermarket rotisserie to shame. Pull back the skin, and the meat has an observably deep hue; it looks like it’s been roasting on low temperature for hours. It certainly tastes the part—the meat is succulent enough to fall right off of the bone. The aesthetic appeal lies in observing a pile of chicken bones stack up on the lid of the container as one forgets how much he or she has eaten. The chicken finishes with an af-
COURTESY OF RANDOM HOUSE LLC
tertaste that is slightly spicy, and lingers for roughly 10 minutes. In sum: far from “boot leg.” This is art. BREAD: When I asked the cashier about it, she was very adamant that this is Jamaican hard dough bread (verbal stress on Jamaican). Note that this is not your dad’s white bread, nor is it the 11-cent-per-slice Wonder Bread that Harold’s adds to its fried chicken orders. The consistency is much thicker than sandwich bread, and it produces a slightly sweet aftertaste. What makes this bread truly special is that while it is included as a side, it may very easily be eaten on its own. JERK SAUCE: While the chicken was mildly spicy on its own, turn to this if you want to feel the burn. Of the three small containers, using one was sufficient for my purposes in eating the whole chicken. I absolutely do not lay claim to being “a badass over here,” but I can hold some spice. If JJS pulled a Harold’s and covered its jerk chicken in this sauce by default, it seems likely that the place would either go out of business or become frequented by modern-era desperadoes. In which case I would still come for the chicken.
MAROON Crossword By Kyle Dolan
Difficulty:
Across 1. Children’s game 4. “Green” prefix 7. Fr. holy woman 10. Celestial path 15. Detergent brand 16. Uber option, perhaps 18. Not a soul 19. Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier”, e.g. [Hyundai] 21. Rush 22. Last of the Stuart monarchs 23. Quarter, e.g. 24. Jake Gyllenhaal, to Paul Newman 25. Worldly 27. Aristotle, to Plato 30. Prefix with dynamic 31. 1941 film starring Humphrey Bogart [GMC] 36. #44 39. Exciting plans,
slangily 40. Supermodel married to David Bowie 43. “Gone With the Wind” estate 45. In a frenzy 46. Overhead light? 47. Jury service, e.g. [Honda] 51. Meadow mom 52. Tee off 54. Earnings, informally 55. Email button 56. Capital of South Australia 60. Had in mind 62. Common science fiction trope [Ford] 64. Yours and mine 67. Wee 68. Historic site near Naples 71. Copy writer? 75. Small peninsula 77. Aware of 78. Relaxed 79. Modern phone
1
2
3
feature...or something needed to read the answers to the starred clues? 82. Bit of plant anatomy 83. Refinery machine 84. ___ long way 85. “Family Guy” patriarch 86. Something to shoot for 87. C.I.A. forerunner 88. Ambulance letters Down 1. Small plates 2. World-famous Chicago restaurant 3. Peek 4. D.D.E.’s command in W.W. II 5. ___ del Sol
4
5
6. Title holder 7. Shrimp ___ 8. Body image? 9. Pitcher’s number 10. Vacationing in Europe? 11. Map line 12. Political V.I.P. 13. Crazy for 14. Freshman, probably 17. Easter preceder 20. Action potential carrier 24. Main idea 26. Softball pitch 28. “That’s awful!” 29. Soup with rice noodles 31. Mata ___ (famous spy) 32. Dodge truck 33. Chopin piece 34. Scout’s mission 35. Set, as a price 37. Motocross racer, for short 38. ___ tai 40. Violinist Stern 41. Juan’s world 42. Role in a Christmas pageant 44. Appear 47. It’s often brewed in small quantities 48. Curse
49. Island strings 50. It’s often brewed in small quantities 53. Antiquity, in antiquity 55. Daze 57. “Aha!” 58. Expected 59. Article in Der Spiegel 61. Chow, in slang 63. Raw bar menu item 65. Go back (on) 66. “Modern Family”, for one 68. Prefix with -graph 69. Plains tribe 70. Smidgens 71. Pig feed 72. Popular Hyde Park bar, with “the” 73. Drubbing 74. Maroon’s home 76. Campaign pro 79. Cleo’s undoing 80. John’s “Pulp Fiction” co-star 81. Monopoly quartet: Abbr.
Last Issue’s Solution
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | April 18, 2014
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Chicago Sailors voyage the world’s waters with class Club Sports Spotlight: Sailing Derek Tsang Sports Staff There’s a certain magic in sailing. “In civilizations without boats, dreams dry up,” says the front page of the University of Chicago sailing club, quoting Michel Foucault. But that doesn’t make it any easier on sailors’ brains or bodies. On Lake Michigan, the University of Chicago sailing club has to adjust to swirling, unpredictable winds and nearfreezing temperatures. “You can get blown over by the wind or have no wind, but when it’s just right, sailing is very cool,” said second-year club treasurer Connor Lynch. “There’s a very intellectual aspect in terms of sail theory and the physics behind it.” Sailing clubs have existed in some form or another at the University since its outset: pictures of undergraduates on Lake Michigan are scattered throughout the University’s photo archive. Twelve years ago, though, the club was disbanded after a team from a visiting school sailed one of the club’s boats while inebriated; the Maroons are still not allowed to host regattas, said third-year club captain Katy Carlyle. This iteration of the club is on the rise, though, with about a dozen committed, experienced members and several more picking up the sport. The sailing club runs a quarterly Learn to Sail lesson, where it teaches newbies everything they need to know about getting started on the water. It’s also starting to fundraise for new, faster boats, and is soon leaving for its second annual trip to compete in the Course Croisière EDHEC in France. Members come to the club from different backgrounds, majors, and experience levels, said Carlyle, who had raced boats in high school and came to Chicago looking for a club to join. The club runs practices three times a week
The University of Chicago sailing team participates in the Course Croisiére EDHEC Sailing Cup in France. This is the second time the University has participated in this event, which draws the world’s best schools. COURTESY OF THOMAS GAZEAU
at the Jackson Park Yacht Club. “I drive the big 16-seater sports van down to the Reg and pick everybody up,” Carlyle said. “We rig up our boats, which takes a while; sometimes we’re hunting for parts or looking to repair our boats. Then we run drills out on the water, do practice races, and come in as the sun sets.” “It’s a pretty mellow, definitely laidback atmosphere,” Lynch said. “The antithesis of a yacht club.” The club also travels to the other member schools of the Midwest Collegiate Sailing Association to compete at regattas, in which fleets ranging from several to hundreds of boats run two races, each with an upwind and downwind component. The team with the lowest average placing wins. The Maroons usually finish mid-fleet, according to Carlyle. Boats are operated by two-man teams: The
skipper mans the helm and steers the larger main sail, while the crew person turns a smaller sail and adjusts the angle of his or her body to balance the weight in the boat. Boats can’t go directly upwind, so the skipper and crew have to figure out the best possible angles to zigzag toward their target. “You have to focus on so much at once,” first-year Al Slajus said. “You deal with everything from the sail to the wind to the position of the other boats. It makes it extremely difficult, which also makes it extremely fun.” There’s also a social aspect to regattas. “It’s tradition for hosting schools to put on a party,” Lynch said. “You get to interact with all the other teams and the athletes.” That sense of tradition extends to the water, too. “Sailing’s very much in the same way as
golf,” Lynch said. “It’s a gentleman’s sport in that there’s an enforceable set of rules that nobody wants to enforce because it takes a long time, so it’s based on the honor system.” In the past two weeks the club competed at the Wet Your Willie regatta in Northwestern, then the Hoosier Daddy regatta at Indiana University. The focus of its spring season, though, is its weeklong trip to France. “I tell everybody it was the best week of my life,” Carlyle said of the team’s trip last year. “It’s five solid days of just sailing out in the ocean; there are so many interesting people from all around the world. We were very good friends with the Scots; hopefully they’ll be back.” Carlyle’s crew will certainly bring the passion, hard work, and appreciation for the sport that makes the sailing club special.
Visiting South Siders fall short against Rockford Regents Baseball Russell Mendelson Sports Staff After a postponement due to inclement weather on Tuesday, Chicago (5–18) took the day off to rest up for Wednesday’s game at Rockford (13–11) under more agreeable weather conditions. Despite the break, the Maroons narrowly lost to the Regents 4–3. After trailing by one run early in the game, the Maroons countered in the top of the second when fourth-year outfielder Ricky Troncelliti singled, advanced on an error. He then scored on a fielder’s choice when first-year pitcher Thomas Prescott grounded into a double play. Rockford answered shortly after in the third in-
ning, scoring on a sacrifice fly, grabbing the 2–1 lead. First-year infielder Ryan Krob displayed his versatility in the game, going 2-for-3 on the afternoon. The second baseman totaled a sac bunt, a single, and a double—his fifth of the season. “I got some fastballs early in the count that I was able to put some good swings on,” Krob said. The visiting Maroons took their first lead in the sixth inning, when third-year outfielder Edward Akers hit a two-run single, but Chicago couldn’t hold onto this advantage, as Rockford evened up the score at three in the seventh with an RBI double. Third-year Anthony DeRenzo pitched the entire contest for Chicago. However, the ninth
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inning didn’t start out too well, as the first two Rockford batters reached bases on errors, leaving DeRenzo to pitch with runners on the corners and no one out. The pressure was only intensified when it was strategically decided that DeRenzo would walk fourth-year Matt Szytz in order to face fourth-year Scott Swiderek instead. The strategy of making a force at any base did not pay off, however, as Swiderek hit a fly ball to right field with enough distance to allow the Regents runner to tag up and score, allowing Rockford to walk off with the win. Although the Regents got the best of DeRenzo, holding a team to three earned runs (out of four total) in nine innings is no small feat. “Anthony DeRenzo pitched a great game,”
Krob said. “[I]t was unfortunate that we were not able to win the game for him. He pitched the entire game and put us in a great position to win.” DeRenzo finished the afternoon, giving up seven hits with five strikeouts and four walks on the three earned runs. He threw 119 pitches. Persistence seems to be the best medicine for the Maroons to turn around their 5–18 season. “I think we just need to keep going out there and competing,” Krob said. The Maroons start this three-game weekend early, battling Aurora (9–18) Friday at 3 p.m. and then travelling to Mequon, WI on Saturday, where they will face Concordia (9–14) for a doubleheader at 1 and 4 p.m.
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SPORTS
IN QUOTES
“Tim Tebow? My son is 2. I’ll take my son over Tim Tebow.”
—Eagles running back LeSean McCoy comments on former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow
Maroons’ momentum continues with two more victories Softball Tatiana Fields Sports Editor After splitting doubleheaders against No. 16 North Central (25–5) and UW–Whitewater (20–7) last weekend, the No. 21 Maroons got back to their winning ways yesterday afternoon. The South Siders claimed wins in both of their games against Hope, improving their stellar record to 19–3. Due to the rain on Tuesday, Chicago’s scheduled doubleheader at Wheaton was postponed until yesterday. However, the Maroons would not let the postponement affect them. Prior to the games, the Hope Flying Dutch possessed a 13–14 record, giving the Maroons confidence that they could build on what has been an impressive season so far. Third-year pitcher Tabbetha Bohac took to the mound for the Maroons in game one. The Maroons got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first, when first-year second baseman Anna Woolery and fourth-year outfielder Kaitlyn Carpenter both stole home, giving Chicago a 2–0 lead early in the game. The South Siders widened their lead in the second inning, as first-year outfielder Mag-
gie O’Hara and second-year infielder Kristin Lopez scored on RBI singles from Carpenter and fourth-year infielder Maddie McManus, respectively, putting the home Maroons up 4–0. Bohac held steady throughout the game, only allowing three hits in the five innings pitched. Hope scored its only run of the doubleheader in the fifth inning, filling the bases with three runners and then drawing a walk to force a run. The South Siders claimed the win with a final score of 4–1. “Our pitchers came through and were solid throughout the day,” head coach Ruth Kmak said. “Tab [Bohac] had a really nice opening outing, pitching consistently when our initial surge of runs stopped coming. [Third-year] Emily Ashbridge threw one inning of solid relief before [second-year] Jordan [Poole] closed out the game and threw the second one.” The second game was a war of attrition, as both teams struggled to record any hits. Poole pitched for the Maroons and impressively held the Flying Dutch to four hits for the duration of the game. Chicago scored the sole run of the game in the bottom of the sixth; Car-
penter hit a double and moved to third and scored off a hit from Poole. “Jordan pitched out of a couple jams and held Hope until we were finally able to push one across in the sixth,” Kmak said. Overall, Kmak was satisfied with her team’s performance but hopes to improve on the offensive end. “We out-hit Hope, but did not always finish off innings by scoring runs,” Kmak said. “We stranded quite a few runners on base and look forward in the future to finding ways to get them in. Hope is a team, like many that we will face as our season closes, who can give us trouble if we don’t take care of ourselves and score. Our defense was once again solid as well with [second-year outfielder] Devan Parkison making a running catch to end the second game.” Next, Chicago will take on No. 17 Illinois Wesleyan on the road in a doubleheader tomorrow. The Titans, who boast a 24–5 record, may prove to offer more formidable competition for the Maroons. Like the South Siders, the Titans split their doubleheader against North Central. Chicago will play Illinois Wesleyan at 1 and 3 p.m. tomorrow.
Third-year Jillian Odeja receives the baton from second-year Catherine Young in the UChicago Duals meet last season. COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS
Second-year designated hitter Kathleen Kohm extends on a swing during a home game against North Park last week. COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS
Chicago churns out secondplace finish in field of nine
No. 17 squad makes statement by thumping Thunder
Track & Field
Men’s Tennis
Zachary Themer Maroon Contributor Coming off an impressive showing at the Chicagoland Championships last Saturday, with the women’s track and field team securing a thirdplace finish and the men coming in fourth, the Maroon track contingent looked forward to yesterday’s meet at Wheaton College with great anticipation, poise, and intensity. The South Siders finished second overall on both the men’s and women’s sides in a nine-team field. North Central College claimed first in both the men’s and women’s fields with 283 and 162.50 points, respectively. The women’s squad didn’t let the pressures of the last meet before the UAA championships cripple them whatsoever as their impressive placing demonstrated. Second-year Catt Young displayed her distance dominance in the 3,000-meter, grabbing first by 16.9 seconds. Furthermore, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team of first-year Michelle Dobbs, second-year Alison
Pildner, first-year Eleanor Kang, and third-year Francesca Tomasi continued to top the field, finishing first with a time of 3:57.80. Fourth-year steeplechase runner Michaela Whitelaw moved herself into the top 5 of the conference rankings by winning second place, securing top placement heading into next week’s conference championship. “Michaela Whitelaw is now a top-five conference runner, as she absolutely killed it today,” first-year Temisan Osowa said. “The steeplechase is one of the toughest events out there, nothing short of torture in my opinion.” As for the men’s team, its success was a collective effort, but the team’s showing was also bolstered by the performance of some particular individuals. Notably, Chicago secondyear and national champion Michael Bennett was not only able to bring home the pole vault, but he was able to eclipse the school record again with a jump of 4.90m. The men’s 3,000-meter run played out in a manner similar to the women’s 3,000-meter, with fourthyear Samuel Butler taking first
place in a time of 8:55.66. “It was like watching a man running amongst boys. Utterly destroyed,” Osowa said about Butler. Furthermore, Bennett commented on his own performance, approach, and recordbreaking performances on the year. “Personally, I have been very slow and methodical, yet consistent in my progression throughout the year,” Bennett said. “I have to make some technical adjustments that take time to get used to but will hopefully carry me to new heights in the weeks to come.” With the Maroons wrapping up their regular season schedule, they head into next week’s UAA Conference Championships with rejuvenation, excitement, and anticipation. “We are looking very strong on both the men’s and women’s side heading into the conference meet next weekend,” third-year Ben Buchheim-Jurrison said. Chicago kicks off the conference meet at home next Saturday, April 26, beginning at 10 a.m.
Helen Petersen Maroon Contributor With an 8–1 win over Wheaton, the Maroons left their rival thunderstruck. No. 17 Chicago (9–8) went into the match against the Thunder knowing they were facing a team on a hot streak. Wheaton (15-3) had won five games in a row before they encountered the Maroons. Chicago swept all three doubles matches to set the tone for the rest of the day. No. 1 doubles duo third-year Deepak Sabada and first-year Sven Kranz earned a win over fourth-year Ryan Kreis and third-year Josh Ward 9–7, while fourth-year Krishna Ravella and first-year Max Hawkins defeated the pair of first-years Justin Ancona and Matt Steiner 8–6 at No. 2 doubles. Sabada and Kranz’s win was vital for Chicago. “I was glad we could pull out the victory in doubles against the No. 5 team in the region after being down 4–7 and a match point,” Kranz said.
“Doubles today was close,” Ravella said. “The match started with no breaks of serve even though Max and I were returning well. We just took care of our own service games and waited for the right moment on a return game, and that moment came towards the end of the match. We played well and getting the doubles sweep gave us a lot of momentum heading into singles.” Third-year Ankur Bhargava and second-year Gordon Zhang rounded out the hat trick with a decisive win over third-year Derek Mumaw and fourth-year David Buursma 8–3 at No. 3. Singles play followed a similar trend for the Maroons. Chicago won five of its six singles matches, with Sabada, Kranz, Hawkins, Zhang, and Ravella all adding to their doubles wins. Ward picked up Wheaton’s only victory in the No. 3 spot, defeating firstyear Brian Sun, 6–3, 6–3. Kranz strained the ligaments surrounding his big toe during his spring break match against Cal Lutheran,
but showed no signs of discomfort, winning his No. 2 singles match in straight sets, 6–1, 6–2. “Singles was a pretty good win for myself,” Kranz said. “I am glad everything worked, and I didn’t feel hindered by my injury which is always a positive.” The win will feel especially sweet for the Maroons with UAAs now less than a week away. Although Wheaton entered the match with a significantly better record than Chicago, the Maroons’ strength of schedule showed through. “This season we have faced a lot of opponents ranked in the top-30 in the country,” Ravella said. “It meant that we had to be ready for competitive matches every single weekend. Having a difficult schedule has definitely been a positive for us; we can rely on a lot of competitive match experience heading into UAAs where nearly every team we play will be ranked nationally.” The UAA Championships begin on Wednesday in Altamonte Springs, FL.