042012 Chicago Maroon

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FRIDAY • APRIL 20, 2012

ISSUE 39 • VOLUME 123

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

Faculty condemn Hillel firing

Before summit, Mearsheimer charts NATO decline

Nussbaum, Polonsky among signatories Sarah Miller News Staff More than 30 Jewish faculty from across the University have signed onto a letter condemning the Jewish United Fund of Chicago’s (JUF) firing of former Executive Director Dan Libenson last month and the dismissal of his executive board. The first signatory of the letter, which was drafted shortly after Libenson and the board were notified of their firing on March 30, was neuroscience professor Peggy Mason. It has since garnered the signatures of Law School professor Martha Nussbaum, physicist and mathematics professor Leo Kadanoff, and Pritzker School of Medicine Dean Kenneth Polonsky, among others. “We are a group of faculty at the University of Chicago, and we write to you out of profound concern as to your purported firing of the

Board of Directors of the University of Chicago Hillel, which includes prominent members of the University of Chicago faculty and administration, as well as five student representatives, and your termination of the employment of Executive Director Dan Libenson,” the letter opens. It goes on to label the shift in leadership, which played out as tensions between the Newburger Hillel and the JUF came to a fever pitch, as “disgraceful,” “unwelcome,” and “profoundly un-Jewish, indeed unkind.” Libenson was fired following a heated correspondence between his board and the JUF over finances and the Hillel’s corporate autonomy. Specific signatories of the letter were unable to be contacted by print time to confirm the authenticity of the letter, which was provided to the Maroon by the board’s former vice HILLEL continued on page 4

Political science professor John Mearsheimer claimed that the relevance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is quickly fading, due to American military blunders and the rising star of Asian economic powers. VARSHA SUNDAR | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Lina Li News Staff Professor John Mearsheimer prophesied the impending decline of

the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in anticipation of Chicago’s hosting this year’s May summit, last night in Stuart Hall.

Mearsheimer, the codirector of the Harris School’s Program on International Security Policy, said that NATO’s future “does not look

too bright,” due to global changes that will lessen the treaty’s power, particularly in the Middle East and Asia. If China is able to NATO continued on page 5

SG slates spar ahead of Tuesday election After Congress bid, Lodato talks energy Lingyi Peng News Contributor One month after conceding defeat in his primary bid for Woodlawn Representative Bobby Rush’s (D-IL) congressional seat, University lecturer Ray Lodato waded back into academia for a panel discussion Wednesday night on climate change and the potential for progress in the clean energy industry. Joining Lodato were Sabina Shaikh, a University lecturer on environmental economics, Tom Dinwoodie, an

executive at solar panel manufacturer SunPower Corp, and Christine Nannicelli, a community organizer for the Sierra Club currently advocating for the closure of coal-fired power plants. The discussion drifted from the difficulties of passing environmental reform in Congress to the feasibility of specific forms of clean energy, although the panelists quickly agreed on their first point: Individuals need to educate themselves in science and politics in order to impact the process. CLIMATE continued on page 4

Hyde Park defies city rise in murders First-year Daniel Kraft, representing Delta Upsilon’s Moose Party, speaks during Student Government’s debate between competing slates ChicagoSpirit and Connect. NICHOLAS RUIZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Madhu Srikantha Associate News Editor Candidates vying for some of the highest positions in SG faced off over transportation issues and the feasibility of their proposed platforms at a debate Tuesday evening. Both ChicagoSpirit and Connect, the two slate frontrunners,

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claimed that they represented the diverse interests of the student body. Connect, whose three candidates all currently hold SG positions, argued that their experience with SG, in addition to experience with student life, gave them particular knowledge to navigate the administration. ChicagoSpirit, on the other hand, said that their general ex-

Temperatures in Fahrenheit - Courtesy of The Weather Channel

perience with RSOs gives them a unique advantage to describe the views of students. In response, second-year law student Renard Miller refuted ChicagoSpirit’s claims that Connect could not represent student interests. “There are certain things at this SG continued on page 2

Patrick Fitz News Staff Violent crime in the Hyde Park–South Kenwood area has gone down compared to last year’s levels at this time, despite a rise in homicides for the city at large. In an e-mail update to all students last week, University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD) Chief Marlon Lynch noted that UCPD has put security officers on patrol 24 hours a day over the last quarter and has

continued the installation of additional security cameras near residence halls and on campus. Although UCPD patrols regularly in the area extending from East 39th to 64th Streets and Cottage Grove to Lake Shore Drive, Lynch warned students to remain alert as the weather warms. UCPD spokesperson Robert Mason said that the force’s renewed vigilance, part of a plan to keep crime in the Hyde Park– South Kenwood area near its CRIME continued on page 5

IN VIEWPOINTS

IN ARTS

SG Slate Evaluations

RSO Spotlight: PhiNix Dance Crew » Page 9

» Page 6

Liaison Endorsements » Page 7

Frank-ly my dear, I don’t give a dawg » Page 11


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