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
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | April 20, 2012
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STUDENT GOVERNMENT The Official CHICAGO MAROON 2012 Election Guide
By Rebecca Guterman, Linda Qiu, Ben Pokross, Gio Wrobel, and Harunobu Coryne
Liaison candidates followed slate debate, calling for BoT transparency L SG continu continued from front
who’s who Executive Slates Chicago Spirit President Ben Yu, Class of 2014 VP of Student Affairs Mohamad Abdallah, Class of 2014 VP of Administration Nicki Cherry, Class of 2014 Connect President Renard Miller, Class of 2013 in the Law School VP of Student Affairs Yusef Al-Jarani, Class of 2015 VP of Administration Douglas Everson, Class of 2013 Moose Party Zihan Xu, Class of 2014 VP of Student Affairs Spencer Bledsoe, Class of 2014 VP of Administration Daniel Kraft, Class of 2015 Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees Tomas Alvarenga, Class of 2013 Chet Lubarsky, Class of 2013 Rohan Manthani, Class of 2014 Liaison to Community and Government Raymond Dong, Class of 2015 Grace Park, Class of 2014 Graduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees Kathryn Hagerman, Class of 2013 M.P.P./A.M. Osama Hamdy, Class of 2013, J.D. Class of 2015 Representatives Nadia Alhadi Jawad Arshad Raymond Dong Yusuf Janahi Andrew Kim Jose Martinez Adan Meza Ezgi Cubukcu Jaime Sanchez Jr. Vidal Anguiano Class of 2014 Representatives Krishna Ravella Ben Hammer Rohan Manthani Taylo Schwimmer Mike Gilliam Steph Mui Christian Nielsen Kristina Brant Mark Andrew Reid Class of 2013 Representatives Chenab Navalkha Sarah Iqbal John Anton SG elections begin Tuesday at 9 a.m. and end on Thursday at 5 p.m. Students can vote online at www.sg.uchicago.edu
University that are feasible, there’s no point in focusing on things that are not,” he said. ChicagoSpirit said that SG had a responsibility to address the impending absence of SafeRide, the number one issue of the slate’s platform. “If you’re telling me that no solution for keeping students safe is feasible or affordable, I’m really troubled here, right. And I think that SG should be heading whatever it is that is that solution,” second-year Ben Yu said. The slate also wants to improve WiFi service, which they said could be spotty on different locations on campus. The Moose Party, comprising representatives of the fraternity Delta Upsilon, campaigned for self-proclaimed unrealistic goals, including vodka taps in place of water taps, a trailer park on the Midway, and replacing water bottles and T-shirts handed out during O-Week with flasks and tank tops. The Moose
Meet Your Slates: The Issues
Party, which has lost 18 years in a row, incited many rounds of rowdy cheers and dancing. The debates for undergraduate and graduate liaisons to the Board of Trustees and community and government liaison then began as most of the Moose Party crowd departed. First-year Raymond Dong and second-year Grace Park, candidates for community and government liaison, both declared their desire to work within the community and to combat homelessness. Dong cited his experience as a student representative this past year and his work to create a program called “Swipes for the Homeless,” a project that would work to utilize U of C students’ unused Maroon dollars toward helping the community. Park discussed her five-pronged platform of service, integration, accessibility, transparency, and action in relation to increasing contact between U of C students and the community, while also working to make diverse student interests heard. Both mentioned that
they wish to increase the scale of U of C service days. Last to the metaphorical podium were the candidates for the undergraduate and graduate liaison to the Board of Trustees. The three undergraduates sought to illustrate their composure and knowledge of the role. Third-year Tomás Alvarenga, who temporarily served as the undergraduate liaison last quarter, discussed his previous experience; third-year Chet Lubarsky cited his communication skills; Rohan Manthani, who is running with Dong, highlighted his dedication to the position and communication abilities. Second-year law student Osama Hamdy, the only candidate for the graduate student liaison at the time of the debate, said he would consistently stand up and voice the concerns of undergraduate and graduate students alike. SG elections begin Tuesday at 9 a.m. and end on Thursday at 5 p.m. Students can vote at www.sg.uchicago.edu.
Moose Party
• ChicagoSpirit • 1. Transportation: Increase efficiency by either adding shuttles and keeping SafeRide or adding an additional route and removing SafeRide after a campuswide survey. 2. Technology: Improve wireless internet service through better communication with the IT department or equipment upgrades. 3. Student Group Recognition: Help Greek life, sport clubs, and activism RSOs access resources and increase publicity.
• Moose Party • 1. New Programs: Institute a state-school study abroad program. 2. Orientation: Give out flasks and pinnies during O-Week instead of water bottles and T-shirts. 3. Housing: Turn the Midway into a trailer park in order to make Hyde Park more affordable to students. 4. Professors: ESL classes for all math and statistics professors. 5. Conduct: Hire Tiger Woods as a professor to offer classes on approaching and treating women.
• Connect • 1. Graduate and Undergraduate Interaction: Work with CAPS and other resources to breach the Midway gap. 2. Communication: Provide new blog and input mechanisms on the SG Web site. 3. Resources: Extend Collegiate Readership Program and updates on new blog. 4. Funding: Make funding options more accessible, like the Uncommon Fund. 5. Transportation: Work with student input on shuttle service and RideShare program.
For the 19th year in a row Delta Upsilon ‘s (DU) Moose Party is entering the elections premised on the platform of making the University “a more bro place.” The slate is compose d of thre e DU brothers: first-year Daniel Kraft and second-years Zihan Xu and Spencer Bledsoe. Moose’s platform entails chang es to almost every facet of the University, from academics and administration to student life. Some of the most sweeping reforms are to IM sports. “We want to include sports that are more bro : flip-cup, beer pong , slap cup,” said Kraft, the slate’s candidate for vice president of adminstration. They also proposed measures to make living in Hyde Park more affordable for students. Xu, the slate’s candidate for president, said that “room and board prices are rising, so we need to make the Midway a trailer park,” thereby saving students the trouble of having to rent an off-campus apartment. The Mo ose Par t y a lso prom ise d an innovative way that the university could become more environmentally friendly. Xu said, “ We’re ver y eco -friendly this year and...bottled water is bad, so bottled vodka is bad, so instead of having bottled
vodka we have tap vodka in Reynolds Club.” Xu saw the slate’s lack of experience with student government as an asset. “ We have no qualifications at all,” he said. “Nobody knows what they’re doing, but we’re the only one’s who’ll admit it.” Bledsoe, the slate’s candidate for vice president of student affairs, went on to praise the slate’s honesty and integrity. “ There are two directions you could take Student Government at this point: You could continue with the traditional slates who are going to symbolically do nothing or you can vote for the Moose Party that will literally do nothing ,” he said. “ The Moose Party is about courage,” Xu said, explaining that the party’s motto, “sun’s out, guns out, sun down, guns still out,” is about more than a way of dressing. Xu explained that “it’s not hard to put your guns out when the sun is out, but it takes courage and confidence and consistency to put your guns out when the sun is down.” To that end, Moose Party is looking to create a Roman-style bathhouse in the basement of Ida Noyes, where the sun is, to be sure, always down.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | April 20, 2012
ChicagoSpirit
ChicagoSpirit candidates aim to address student life issues through improving transparency and communication between Student Government (SG), student groups, and administration. The slate, comprised entirely of secondyear candidates, presents a platform that focuses on transportation, technolog y, and student group “recognition.” Led by presidential candidate Ben Yu, who ran unsuccessfully last year on the UNITED Student Alliance Slate, ChicagoSpirit wishes to breach what they view as a disconnect between students at large and decision-making bodies. “We have a lot of ideas that require interactions and surveys,” Yu said. “We want to be a lot more interactive as a slate and we want to reach out to more people.” A proposed University-wide survey on the future of SafeRide after the election, for example, reflects ChicagoSpirit’s stance on open dialogues. The slate wishes to enhance the efficiency of transportation, its number one goal, through additional shuttles or an additional route depending on the student response to either keep or remove SafeRide. Yu, who serves on the IT Advisory Board, also wishes to improve SG communication with the IT department, noting that wireless internet and printing issues often fail to reach that department. Rather than emphasizing an undergraduate-graduate relationship, the platform’s
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Connect
two key issues affect both the collegiate and graduate populations at the University, said Nicki Cherry, the slate’s candidate for vice president of administration. ChicagoSpirit will also seek to address what they perceive as a lack of “recognition” for student groups. The slate proposes publicizing fraternities and sororities in the OBook and with a URL on the University’s website, providing more funding and facilities access to club sports, and opening administrator office hours for activism RSOs. Other ChicagoSpirit propositions include having quarterly Uncommon Fund application process and allocations, assigning SG liaisons to every RSO, and better utilizing the University listhost. Yu, who served as a College Council (CC) representative last year, is the only candidate on the slate with SG experience, though Mohamad Abdallah, the slate’s candidate for vice president for student affairs, ran for CC last year. However, the slate sees their diverse RSO experiences and underclassmen status as advantageous. “We see a huge disconnect between what RSO leaders want and what the SG agenda often is. I think we’re the most invested slate. We want these changes because we’re gonna be here longer,” Yu said. “There’s a sort of claim that there’s a very unique thing that SG does. That’s patently untrue. At the end of the day, it has to do with being connected to student life on campus and we are.”
Editor’s Note: Douglas Everson is a Maroon editor. With a wealth of college and graduate experience behind them, the Connect slate wishes to enhance communication and cohesion on campus through a five-point action plan of new and improved policies. An unusual combination of candidates that bridges the College and Law School, the slate hopes to connect students with more resources, from graduate students for career advice to funding options for RSOs. Renard Miller, the slate’s candidate for president and a second-year law student, plans to provide undergraduates with graduate students as resources through quarterly social events and working with CAPS, and more thorough integration of the Graduate Council and College Council meetings, both of which he currently attends. “We’re not as far away as the Midway makes it seem,” said Miller, who currently chairs SG’s Graduate Council. First-year Yusef Al-Jarani and College Council (CC) member, who is running for vice president of student affairs, emphasized increased SG accountability, which he plans to accomplish through giving each SG member an individual webpage to report their own progress and that will contain a section for students to provide feedback. “They can see who’s really putting in time to serve them and who’s not,” he said. Miller and third-year Douglas Everson, the slate’s candidate for vice president of
administration, also want to increase students’ awareness of all the funds and other resources currently available to them, and see what needs to be added or discarded. “We want to be a liaison between students and all the things they are already paying for,” Miller said. Everson, who currently serves as chair of the Student Government Funding Committee and as a CC representative, also pointed out that SG is constantly adding new funding options like community service grants for Greek organizations. Al-Jarani hopes for more student involvement in making SG policy recommendations. His plans possibly will encompass an online survey option that allows students to give preferences on current or potential policy when they login to the MyUChicago website. “Hopefully by the end of next year we will have set a precedent for communication,” he said. In addition to addressing concerns like transportation and safety that affect the student body at large, Miller will also bring graduate issues, like child care and regular forums with President Robert Zimmer, to SG’s attention, as graduates comprise twothirds of the student population. The slate also said they bring a lot of experience and realistic thinking to the table. “We put a lot of effort into not just what a great idea would be, but how to accomplish that idea,” Al-Jarani said. “There’s so many more things you can do when you know how it all goes together,” Miller added.
projects and similar programs. She also hopes to foster a closer relationship between College students and graduate students through CAPS. She has participated in Chicago Area Undergraduate Research Symposium (CAURS), Intercollegiate Outreach Project with Campaign Hep B 2012, Homeless Outreach, Christian ministries, and ER volunteer service.
the students and the trustees by representing student concerns. Her main priorities are health benefits, affordable child care for graduate parents, and adequate pay for graduate students. She also wants to have monthly or quarterly meetings with students to get their input, modeled off those of Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Since college, she has worked in human resources and the legal sector, which she believes has given her the skills to adeptly interact with the Board of Trustees.
The next liaisons Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees Tomas Alvarenga An economics and statistics double major, third-year Tomas Alvarenga took over the position temporarily last quarter after Nakul Singh left unexpectedly. Alvarenga has met with board members, including Chairman Andrew Alper, to discuss the best ways of putting the current SG slate’s proposals into effect, when applicable. Alvarenga stresses the importance of presenting the board with a well thoughtout set of concrete priorities instead of a laundry list of demands, in order to be taken more seriously. He does not think a vote on the board is vital for the position, although he believes that a student presence on some of the 11 standing committees, such as Campus Planning and Facilities, would be useful. Chet Lubarsky A visual arts major and third-year, the current class representative wants to establish voting rights on the Board, which the position does not currently possess. He also wants to push socially responsible investing and facilitate more student meetings with the Board. The creation of a fund analogous to the current Dean’s Fund
for Student Life, which offers grants for student innovation, is high on Lubarsky’s list of priorities. A baseball player for the Maroons, he believes he has the knack and personality to communicate effectively with the Board members. Rohan Manthani A biology and economics double major and second-year, Rohan Manthani is looking to liberalize the role of the liaison to the Board of Trustees by allowing more students to sit in on their meetings. He wants to lobby for a new student life center and more community engagement. He also wants to see more transparency in the way the University handles its on-campus development projects and in the dining services. Manthani is running jointly with Raymond Dong and Osama Hamdy. Community and Government Liaison Grace Park Psychology major and second-year Grace Park wants to expand student activities outside the “Hyde Park bubble,” facilitating relationships between University attendees and South Side residents through service
Raymond Dong Pre-med economics major and first-year Raymond Dong has served in multiple SG committees as a class representative. He is president and founder of the RSO UChicago Collegiate DECA, a competitive business-oriented student organization, and co-founder of the RSO United Against Infectious Diseases. He also served on Inter-House Council and has worked with the homeless and advocated for disabled students. Dong is running jointly with Rohan Manthani and Osama Hamdy. Graduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees Kathryn Hagerman A second-year graduate student in public policy and Middle Eastern studies, Kathryn Hagerman wants to close the gap between
Osama Hamdy A second-year student in the Law School, Osama Hamdy wants to make the campus a welcome place for incoming graduate students and have a strong presence on the Board, even though he does not have a vote. He plans to do that by bringing student opinions to the trustees with data and specific evidence to back up his views. He also sees the Board as a great resource rather than an “us” versus “them” situation. He also wants to work with the elected executive slate. Hamdy helped with SG campaigns as an undergrad at UC Berkeley and enjoys community service in his free time. He is campaigning jointly with Rohan Manthani and Raymond Dong.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | April 20, 2012
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Qdoba to open in Woodlawn historic district back on community agenda Hutch this fall Ankit Jain News Staff
Marina Fang Associate News Editor Qdoba Mexican Grill will spice up campus food options in the fall, joining Noodles Etc., Papa John’s, and Subway in Hutchinson Commons. According to Richard Mason, head of Campus Dining Services, the burrito chain will utilize the location currently occupied by Southern Tsunami Sushi. Hutch will have a Qdoba fully operational by Orientation Week this fall, but will only offer pre-made sushi. The idea originated last year as part of the Global Dining Initiative, which was developed with student input. “The focus groups and surveys that we conducted last year identified a need for a burrito concept on campus, and since then we have been working on identifying the burrito concept that would work best in the locations that we had available,” Mason said. Dining Services, in collaboration with the student-run Campus Dining Advisory Board, considered other burrito restaurants, but they were ultimately not a “good fit.” Earlier this year, Aramark engaged in preliminary talks with Chipotle, one of Qdoba’s national competitors. However, a Chipotle branch on campus would have required special cooking equipment such as range hoods, which cannot be accommodated by the current space in Hutch. It would have also needed a full, Chipotle-trained staff of Aramark employees, whereas the Qdoba will be operated by University dining staff. Mason also noted that the variety in Qdoba’s food made it a viable option. “We identified Qdoba as one that provides the culinary variety that we were looking to add to the campus options,” he said. First-year Alana Cole welcomed the new dining option. “I don’t know what would be bad about it...I guess I’m going to get fat off of Mexican food,” she said. But other students were skeptical that Qdoba would add variety to Hutch. “All the food is really heavy. Burritos are heavy. Sushi is light, and there are other light options like miso soup,” second-year Gabrielle Newell said. “Qdoba is not actually Mexican food, so I would rather have a real Mexican place as opposed to a franchised place that’s basically McDonald’s with burritos. Mexican food isn’t expensive. There are better options than Qdoba,” third-year Michael Heltzer said.
Labeling South Woodlawn Avenue and University Avenue as a historical landmark has re-emerged as a community priority recently, with Preservation Chicago’s inclusion of some Woodlawn homes in their endangered and historically significant Chicago buildings list. Several members of the Woodlawn community are pressing ahead with plans to create a landmark district in the area, despite the recent Planned Development 43, or PD-43, agreement with the University and local Alderman Leslie Hairston in opposition to the landmark effort. For the landmark district to become a reality, Hairston would have to propose it to the Landmark Commission, but she said she feels it is not necessary at this point. “There is no indication that there are any outside factors threatening anything or any portion of the Hyde Park community. Landmarking places a tremendous burden on homeowners of financial expense which none of the other groups [proposing it] are prepared to advance the money for,” she said. Jack Spicer, a Woodlawn preservationist who is leading the charge for a landmark district, hopes to convince Hairston to change her mind and sup-
The number of supporters for designating the 5700 block of South Woodlawn Avenue a historic district have increased since Preservation Chicago designated it as endangered earlier this month. JOHNNY HUNG | THE CHICAGO MAROON
port the proposal. “Hopefully [Hairston] will be able to see that this isn’t stepping into the middle of a battle—this is leading a group of very worried constituents to a resolution here that will be good for everybody,” he said. Although the proposed landmark district is not a response to the University’s actions but rather to other possible outside threats to the historic nature of the community, it could still have consequences for the University’s plans in the area, according to Linda Thisted,
Letter to JUF: “Do the right thing” HILLEL continued from front
president, Sara Segal-Loevy. However, former board member and political science graduate student Adam Levine-Weinberg confirmed that faculty members had read and signed the letter. “The people who are on [the letter] are on there of their own accord,” he said. “They were told about the situation; they found out about it through their own networks and were obviously not pleased with what the JUF had done and how they had done it.” The letter concludes by urging the JUF to “do the right thing: Allow the University of Chicago Hillel to self-govern and concentrate your [JUF’s] efforts on initiatives and programs that only you, as a metropolitan organization for Jewish life and concerns, can achieve.” Jewish students have formed a working group in the aftermath of the firing, as more members of the University community step
forward in criticism of the move and the relationship between the Hillel and the JUF grows more contentious. Currently, the working group’s goals are to weigh in on any further decisions among the Hillel’s leadership regarding its involvement with the JUF, although its specific function will not be settled until the end of the month. Students involved have also put together a Tumblr, titled “Transparency @UChicago Hillel,” where some of the correspondence between the Hillel and the JUF has been posted along with the faculty letter itself. Libenson commented on the controversy stirred up by his firing. “Students who have come to me about the issue are very confused and upset; they don’t quite understand it—it is quite a complex financial situation,” he said. “I have tried to help them understand it and to help them move forward.”
a Woodlawn resident who signed the petition. The proposed landmark district would stretch from 55th Street to 58th Street and would include buildings on both sides of Woodlawn and on the east side of University Avenue. However, that would be subject to changes by the city-operated Landmark Commission. After what most have termed a very satisfactory resolution of their contentions with the University, which resulted in the both community and city approval of the University’s planned
development amendment, some of the signatories to Spicer’s landmark petition do not feel that the district is necessary anymore. However, Bruce Halbeck, a local resident who signed the petition, said that he is still in favor of a landmark district. “I support the whole idea of preserving the unique nature of those blocks. It’s a treasure. Throughout Chicago you can find plenty of single home examples here and there, but I think the collection of these buildings is truly unique,” he said.
Food may soften the pain of chemo Jennifer Standish Associate News Staff Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) have begun a study to determine whether a costly anti-cancer drug could be prescribed at lower doses if taken with food, which would significantly decrease cost and discomfort for patients. Currently, patients taking Zytiga, an oral drug used to treat advanced prostate cancer, are told to fast for two hours before taking the pills. The FDA uses this standard when listing directions for all oral anticancer drugs because they feel that variation in blood sugar level after eating makes it difficult to determine the right dosage of the drug that the patient should take. UCMC researchers posit that doctors could safely determine the dosage depending on specific eating habits, and that patients are smart enough to safely regulate when they take their medicine on their own.
“Taking one pill with a meal, rather than four pills on an empty stomach, is much more convenient for patients,” said Russell Szmulewitz, the study’s director and a professor at the medical school, in an article on the UCMC’s Web site. “It may improve compliance. It would also reduce the cost.” Taking the drug while hungry could cause the patient to eat a meal afterwards, leading to an unwanted increase in the blood’s absorption of the drug, Szmulewitz said in an interview. In addition, according to the UCMC article, most of the drug gets flushed away if taken after fasting. The 75-patient study, which will take place at various trial sites in Chicago such as Northwestern Memorial Hospital, is expected to take approximately a year and a half. Considering the increasing usage of oral anti-cancer drugs, the study came at a perfect time, Szmulewitz explained. If successful, he said, the study could be expanded to other types of cancers.
Community organizer for Sierra Club sees “misinformation” about climate in political process CLIMATE continued from front
From closest to farthest: Christine Nannicelli, Dr. Ray Lodato, Tom Dinwoodie, and Dr. Sabina Shaikh speak at the “Science, Policy, Action: How to Address Climate Change” panel hosted by the UChicago Climate Action Network. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON
“If you understand how political systems work, you have the tools to make climate change solutions happen,” Lodato said. Asked what sort of obstacles lie in the path toward a greener future, Dinwoodie pointed to the “level of misinformation” around the country, especially about the stakes of global warming. Melting polar ice caps could raise ocean levels by 250 feet and drown coastal cities, for example. “We are not paying for that at the pump,” he said. The panelists agreed that the chances of federal policy countering climate change in the next few years seem bleak. Nannicelli stressed the importance of education in science and politics, and emphasized the
need for activism. “There are 20 oil lobbyists per Congress person,” she said. “It’s shaping our federal policy.” Still, they all were optimistic about the power of local engagement. Pointing out that people drive the market, Shaikh said that consumer demand for green energy can give utility companies an incentive to explore wind, solar, and geothermal power. Asked whether nuclear power is a viable option as well, Lodato flatly rejected the idea. “There are two paths that you can take: One is raising consciousness,” Lodato said. “The second is creating a society that promotes green practices in the absence of effective politics.” The UChicago Climate Action Network (UCAN) organized the panel.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | April 20, 2012
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record low in 2011, has led to the dip in crime—and more arrests. “Added security officers on various corners and locations around campus have certainly had an effect on reducing crime,� Mason said. “It shows that UCPD is proactive and visible.� Homicides citywide are up over 60 percent compared with year-to-date numbers from 2011, although every other violent crime measure has decreased, according to Chicago Police Department News Affairs. That increase is mirrored in Hyde Park’s district 21, which has seen a 50 percent increase in homicides from last year.
Still, violent crime in Hyde Park-South Kenwood is down this year from its fiveyear average, a promising development given the unseasonably mild winter. It is generally known that crime rises with better weather and the warmer temperatures. “[Warm weather] brings out more good people, and as things get busier, the bad guys take advantage of that,� Mason said. “Robbery, which drives the crime rating, is a crime of opportunity. But overall, it’s down on the year.� However, crime always maintains an element of the unpredictable. “It’s impossible to tell,� Mason said, “because there’s no telling how it goes.�
This is a series the Maroon publishes summarizing instances of campus crime. Each week details a few notable crimes, in addition to keeping a running count from January 1. The focus is on crimes within the UCPD patrol area, which runs from East 39th to 64th Streets and South Cottage Grove to Lake Shore Drive.
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great. I think actually, and I think the data show this if you look at the polls, the conservatives are fine. They’re going to end up being for Romney, and I think there will be a fair amount of enthusiasm, or at least motivation. They very much want to remove President Obama.
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Prominent environmental advocate Ken Cook assessed standing legislation and advocated for changes to the 2012 Farm Bill Tuesday in Swift Hall. Cook, the president and co-founder of the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, promoted policy reevaluation in the pending omnibus bill that is passed through Congress every five years. The Farm Bill encompasses food stamp programs, subsidies for farms, and funding for agricultural conservation projects. “The Environmental Working Group’s top priority in the Farm Bill is protecting the food stamp program, the SNAP program,� Cook said. “We are the only national environmental organization at all that has taken a stand on that issue.� The funding for the food stamps program totaled around 70 percent of a pool of $288 billion in the 2008 Farm Bill. The second largest chunk of the bill is $60 billion subsidies paid to farmers, in the form of both direct payments to farmers and taxpayer-subsidized crop insurance. Funding distribution is uneven, according to Cook, with a fraction of large farms receiving 74 percent of subsidies while over 60 percent of
farmers receive no subsidies at all. “Mega farms� therefore benefit from the subsidy program, analogous to the corporate bailouts. “We have spent about a quarter of a trillion dollars on farm subsidies since 1995 but to suggest that they are anything like a bailout or welfare would be incredibly unfair to bailouts and welfare,� Cook said. Cook’s version of the 2012 Farm Bill proposes a guarantee of 95 percent of revenue through crop insurance programs, which are almost completely funded by taxpayer money. The Farm Bill also included $5 billion in direct payments to farmers, some of which are absentee farmers who live in major metropolitan areas. Cook also pointed out that concurrently with these subsidy requests American agriculture has made record exports of agricultural products. Under Cook’s leadership, the EWG and its lobbyists support providing allocations for farmers’ markets, the organic industry, and school lunch program enhancements, among other changes to food policies. Cook’s talk is the first in a series of Food (In)Security events hosted by the Center for International Studies and as the spring quarter distinguished lecturer for the Program for the Global Environment.
part of the Republican base that was fiercely opposed to him in the primary? WK: I honestly think it will be pretty easy.‌this was actually, relatively speaking, not as fierce as some other Republican primaries, certainly not Bush or Reagan. The differences weren’t that
By Rebecca Guterman
Cook defends food stamps as Farm Bill looms William Wilcox Senior News Staff
Political analyst and commentator William Kristol speaks to the MAROON prior to a talk sponsored by the College Republicans. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON
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CM: Do you believe that political journalism is becoming increasingly partisan? WK: I mean, I think things are better than when I was younger. You all would be
really shocked, if you were dropped back down into when I went to college, by the narrowness of the opinions you could get just by reading newspapers and magazines and watching TV. There was no cable, there was no talk radio, there was no Internet obviously.‌You watched three 22-minute newscasts a night that were pretty much identical and all produced in New York, and that’s it: No talk radio, no MSNBC or Fox, no going online in the morning to read Charles Krauthammer or E.J. Dionne or whoever you like, no ability to go to The Weekly Standard website or The Nation website. So I think you take for granted the world you live in.
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Chicago Maroon: Is what it means to be conservative today in tension with what it means to be a Republican? William Kristol: Yeah, it always is. You know, political parties are complicated coalitions and aren’t excessively theoretical.‌Conservatism as an “ismâ€? is always going to be somewhat in tension with a political party, and I think it should be. I don’t think you want political parties that are entirely driven by some extremely doctrinal ideology, and of course there are different forms of conservatism.
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Western Europe‌to keep the Americans in Western Europe‌[and to] keep the Germans down,â€? he said. Given that its Soviet and German agendas have become less relevant to global politics since 1989, NATO has shifted its responsibilities to those of a peacekeeping role for the U.S. in Europe, cultivating European states to support the U.S.’s “addiction to war,â€? Mearsheimer said. Concerns about European nuclear proliferation, nuclear deterrence, the weakening role of the European Union, U.S.-Iran relations, and India-Pakistan instability were addressed in a question-andanswer session following Mearsheimer’s discussion. The talk, “NATO: Where It Came From & Where It’s Going,â€? was hosted by Chicago Studies, a program within the University Community Service Center (UCSC), the Human Rights Program, and the College.
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maintain the upward trajectory that has made it among the largest economic forces in the world, it will be a major competitor to NATO and a formidable military power. This could prompt a shift in the U.S.’s strategic priorities away from fronts in Europe and the Persian Gulf toward Asia, Mearsheimer said. Mearsheimer also identified prolonged wars in the third world as a source of NATO’s weakening. “We’re going to lose in Afghanistan. In my opinion, we’ve already lost in Iraq,â€? he said, adding, “There are going to be recriminations.‌Europeans are going to get blamed for not doing enough.â€? He predicted that Afghanistan will be a hot topic at the upcoming summit. Looking backward, Mearsheimer assessed the organization’s changing role since 1989. “[NATO] was designed to do really three things: to keep the Soviets out of
William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard, spoke on campus last night about the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election. Kristol was the former Chief of Staff to Vice President Dan Quayle and foreign policy advisor to John McCain. He sat down with the M AROON to discuss the state of political journalism, Mitt Romney’s candidacy, and the insignificance of Bill O’Reilly and Rachel Maddow. To see the complete interview, go to www.chicagomaroon.com.
| THE CHICAGO MAROON
NATO continued from front
Uncommon Interview: writer, pundit William Kristol
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“We’re going to lose in Afghanistan,� Mearsheimer says
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VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed APRIL 20, 2012
SG SLATE EVALUATIONS The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892
Third-year Douglas Everson of the Connect slate is a senior editor and former head designer of the Maroon. Due to this conflict of interest, the Editorial Board will not make a slate endorsement. Each slate will instead be evaluated in terms of experience, policy, and any potential shortcomings they may possess.
JORDAN LARSON Editor-in-Chief SHARAN SHETTY Editor-in-Chief COLIN BRADLEY Managing Editor DOUGLAS EVERSON, JR Senior Editor SAM LEVINE Senior Editor HARUNOBU CORYNE News Editor REBECCA GUTERMAN News Editor GIOVANNI WROBEL News Editor EMILY WANG Viewpoints Editor AJAY BATRA Viewpoints Editor
Connect The members of the Connect slate are all currently involved Student with Government. G Go vernment. Renard Miller, second-year
CHARNA ALBERT Arts Editor HANNAH GOLD Arts Editor TOMI OBARO Arts Editor DANIEL LEWIS Sports Editor VICENTE FERNANDEZ Sports Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Sports Editor BELLA WU Head Designer KEVIN WANG Web Editor ALICE BLACKWOOD Head Copy Editor DON HO Head Copy Editor JEN XIA Head Copy Editor JAMIE MANLEY Photo Editor CELIA BEVER Assoc. News Editor MARINA FANG Assoc. News Editor BEN POKROSS Assoc. News Editor LINDA QIU Assoc. News Editor MADHU SRIKANTHA Assoc. News Editor JENNIFER STANDISH Assoc. News Editor DAVID KANER Assoc. Viewpoints Editor EMMA BRODER Assoc. Arts Editor ALICE BUCKNELL Assoc. Arts Editor SCOTTY CAMPBELL Assoc. Arts Editor DANIEL RIVERA Assoc. Arts Editor SARAH LANGS Assoc. Sports Editor DEREK TSANG, Assoc. Sports Editor JAKE WALERIUS, Assoc. Sports Editor SYDNEY COMBS Assoc. Photo Editor TIFFANY TAN Assoc. Photo Editor TYRONALD JORDAN Business Manager VIVIAN HUA Undergraduate Business Executive VINCENT MCGILL Delivery Coordinator HYEONG-SUN CHO Designer SONIA DHAWAN Designer ANDREW GREEN Designer ALYSSA LAWTHER Designer SARAH LI Designer AUTUMN NI Designer AMITA PRABHU Designer AMISHI BAJAJ Copy Editor
law school student and candidate president, for pres s iden e t, currently serves as the Chair to Graduate the Student Council and is a part of CORSO. Douglas Third-year is a class Everson representative chair representati t ve and cha a ir of the Student Governmentt Financing Committee. Commit i tee. Lastly, Yusef Al-Jarani is a first-year class Al J f l representative and also serves on CORSO. Additionally, each member has been involved in various RSOs. The slate’s experience manifests itself in a platform that centers largely on making SG more accountable and accessible to students, as well as on pursuing feasible goals. For one, their proposal for an SG blog with personal pages listing each member’s projects and accomplishments takes a laudable step toward ensuring SG members stay busy for their constituents. Other strong policy points include raising awareness about lesserknown sources of funding, using graduate students with work
experience as CAPS resources for undergrads, and making undergraduate RSOs and aactivities c ivities ct students. more open to grad stud u ents. While many of Connect’s C nn Co n ect’s planks aree concrete and promising, one of their core issues—“bridging n the gap” between graduates and undergraduates— seems a somewhat
o v e r a m b i t i o u s un d er ta ki n g . To their credit, they profess to have achievable goals along these lines, such as the two mentioned above. However, their emphasis on the enormous task of connecting two disjointed groups makes one wonder whether they would devote themselves to enacting their other positive yet less glamorous changes. Further, while Connect’s “insider” status has great potential to advance student interests within the administration, it could also detach the executive slate from a student body already lacking in enthusiasm for Student Government. After all, it may be problematic for Student Government to be too in tune with the establishment, and Connect may be toeing a fine line.
ChicagoSpirit ChicagoSpirit is comprised entirely of second-years, all of whom possess diverse RSO experience. Only presidential candidate Ben Yu has served in elected office, as well as on numerous advisory boards, including OMSA, dining, and IT. Both VP candidates have been active in RSOs and have worked on campus: Mohamad Abdallah as a research assistant and active member of the Muslim Students Association and Nicki Cherry as a tutor in the Mac Lab and staff member of Sliced Bread. Spirit’s platform has three main planks: transportation, technolog y, and increased recognition for student groups. Whether SafeRide is kept or eliminated, they would like to see wider and more frequent coverage to ensure student safety and convenience, a view we share. They also want a Garfield– Red Line stop on the Roosevelt shuttle and expanded hours for the #2 bus to the Loop, measures which would positively impact access to the rest of the city. They believe the current state o f the University w i r e l e s s network is
MARTIA BRADLEY Copy Editor
ILLUSTRATIONS BY: NIA SOTTO |
SHANICE CASIMIRO Copy Editor
CHICAGO MAROON
JANE BARTMAN Copy Editor
unacceptable, and want to keep the IT office better informed about problems experienced by students. They also display a unique focus on helping fraternities and club sports, and we support such efforts to reassess how SG can best serve all of its constituencies. Although we believe it is important for SG officers to understand the role of RSO leaders in order to work with them more effectively, more experience in College Council could be a potentially valuable asset that ChicagoSpirit lacks. We also question how feasible some of their transportation initiatives are, given the CTA’s budget crisis and the University’s historical unwillingness to put more money into bus services. In addition, we think they might overstate the severity of issues with wireless internet, and are unsure what could be done to keep IT abreast of the problem beyond the already-extant IT advisory board.
LISA FAN Copy Editor ALAN HASSLER Copy Editor NISHANTH IYENGAR Copy Editor MICHELLE LEE Copy Editor KATIE MOCK Copy Editor ZSOFIA VALYI-NAGY Copy Editor ESTHER YU Copy Editor BEN ZIGTERMAN Copy Editor The Chicago Maroon is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters Circulation: 5,500. The opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are not necessarily those of the Maroon. © 2012 The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 Editor-in-Chief Phone: 773.834.1611 Newsroom Phone: 773.702.1403 Business Phone: 773.702.9555 Fax: 773.702.3032 CONTACT News: News@ChicagoMaroon.com Viewpoints: Viewpoints@ChicagoMaroon.com Arts: Arts@ChicagoMaroon.com Sports: Sports@ChicagoMaroon.com Photography: Photo@ChicagoMaroon.com Design: Douglas@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy: CopyEditors@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com
Moose Party
Delta Upsilon’s perennial slate is running for the 19th year in a row, promoting its usual objective of making the U of C a more “bro” school. The slate, consisting of second-years Zihan Xu and Spencer Bledsoe, and first-year Daniel Kraft, is running on no Student Government experience with a comprehensive, but satirical, platform of policy and reform proposals; it’s a
platform that pl l atform tha h t is essentially recycled from f rom year to year. However, none of this comes as a surprise, and the slate openly professes to be “passionate about losing.” That being said, the Moose Party does serve a purpose beyond inducing laughs and perpetuating tradition. With its patently absurd policies and exasperatingly disruptive tactics, the party’s mere presence in the electoral race highlights a troubling aspect of Student Government. The Moose Party pointed out during Tuesday’s SG Debate that as an executive slate, rather than symbolically do nothing, they would simply do nothing without the guise of productivity. The
implication of this statement—that Student Government is an ineffectual figurehead—does echo the sentiments of much of the U of C student body. This attitude also manifests itself in students’ reluctance for both direct and indirect participation in Student Government, evidenced by frequent unopposed elections and low voter turnout.
The Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and the Viewpoints Editors.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | April 20, 2012
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ENDORSEMENTS Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees For the position of Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees, the Maroon endorses current incumbent Tomás Alvarenga. A third-year in the College majoring in economics and statistics, Alvarenga served in the same position beginning Winter Quarter of this year after winning a closed SG election for a replacement. He demonstrated a strong understanding of the duties of the position—namely, communicating with members of the Board of Trustees on behalf of students and making a reasonable and substantiated case for any causes which need presenting. Though he did not have a platform of student issues, Alvarenga made it very clear that he felt his own stances are not relevant to the position. As such, his focus is on communicating with undergraduates and gathering statistics to give “heft” to any grievances he brings to the Board. He identified the house system—naturally a large institution on campus—and the elected leadership of houses as a means of gathering data and student input. While other candidates expressed a desire to see Liaisons be granted a vote in future Board proceedings, Alvarenga
holds the view that a vote is not as important as strengthening the position and its voice—after all, the Board will always be able to outvote a single student. Instead, it is more immediately important to focus on presenting the strongest possible student voice to the Board, something on which Alvarenga has his sights set firmly. The other two candidates for Undergraduate Liaison— Rohan Manthani and Chet Lubarsky—have enumerated more perceived student issues that Alvarenga. Manthani is running a joint campaign with Community and Government Liaison candidate Raymond Dong, with whom he shares a platform. Lubarsky has discussed the intriguing possibility of trying to start a fund affiliated with the Board modeled on the Dean’s Fund. However, the Maroon feels that only Alvarenga demonstrated that he would commit to reasonably expanding the Liaison’s responsibilities. Emily Wang recused herself from the endorsement process for the Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees.
Graduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees For the position of Graduate Student Liaison to the Board of Trustees, the Maroon endorses Kathryn Hagerman, a second-year in the joint M.A./M.P.P. program in the Harris School and Center for Middle Eastern Studies. Hagerman demonstrated an awareness of graduate student issues including child care, health benefits, and employee pay that she especially wanted to focus on. Though it may not be feasible to tackle all of these problems, as they affect graduate students on a national level, Hagerman has honed in on the issues that are most pressing to current graduate students. Hagerman also wants to increase accessibility, and plans to hold a regular open forum in order to communicate more easily with students. She also emphasized her contact with a variety of students both north and south of the Midway, and hoped to use her past experience in
human resources to help her communicate with students from a wide range of backgrounds. While the other candidate, second-year law student Osama Hamdy, has past experience serving as a Residential Assistant and aiding with SG campaigns while an undergrad at Berkeley, he did not demonstrate the same level of understanding of issues plaguing graduate students. Hamdy failed to provide concrete suggestions or identification of problem areas, instead emphasizing his accessibility and non-specific plans to talk to students. He did, however, exhibit a high level of professionalism and a commitment to communicating with students in order to determine their desires and effectively bring them to the Trustees. A particularly laudable feature of Hamdy’s platform was his interest in gathering a body of institutional knowledge in order to better define the liaison position in the future.
Community and Government Liaison For the office of Community and Government liaison, the Maroon endorses first-year Raymond Dong. Dong, who currently serves as a representative for the class of 2015 on College Council, exhibited a thorough understanding of the duties of the position, which was created two years ago in an attempt to bridge tensions between the student body and the wider community. His platform is extremely comprehensive, and focuses on initiatives like dining staff recognition, joining the Washington Park Advisory Council, connecting community service RSOs for large-scale events, and bringing local aldermen to campus for open forums. These ideas all contribute to the overarching purpose of uniting students with larger service opportunities in Hyde Park and Chicago, and Dong displayed muchneeded foresight in terms of already contacting other liaisons and administrators to ensure these ideas were feasible. Other goals, like
expanding the University’s Days of Service program, build on already-extant initiatives, providing a good balance between large, optimistic projects and smaller, more targeted changes. The other candidate, second-year Grace Park, is by no means lacking in experience, qualifications, and vision. Citing her leadership roles in community-oriented projects like Homeless Outreach, ER volunteer services, and various Christian ministries, Park is running on a powerful platform that emphasizes an “attitude of service” and aims to “reconcile relationships of students and South Side Chicago.” Though these are commendable goals, Park hasn’t articulated the same specificity of intent as Dong, and many of her objectives seem too broad to be feasible. Enthusiasm is an integral part in a position that is so deeply rooted in community service, but more grounded plans are required for efforts to be productive.
Losing your student ID When it comes time to leave school and enter the real world, it’s important to put your education to good use
By Adam Gillette Viewpoints Columnist My neighbors here in Hyde Park include a family of four: Mom, Dad, and two boys. Both parents are college-educated—she’s a homemaker, he’s a teacher in Chicago Public Schools—and the boys are in grade school in the neighborhood. My roommates and I have gotten to know them over the year; one roomie has cultivated a rather close back porch smoke-break relationship with the Mrs., and it’s paid dividends in the form of a number of free dinners. We have cookouts with them, we swig beers and talk about the news—we’re neighbors. And what has struck me most as of late is how incredibly little they care about the University of Chicago, or how little my attendance here affects my relationship with them. In other words, with them, my identity is completely separate from my education. (If that seems like an obvious point, I
submit that it’s not.) In that case, what will life after the U of C mean? Here, we’re students and always have been, apart from maybe a gap year or two. Over half my life has been spent in school, and I imagine the same is true for most of my peers. Until this year, spring meant summer break meant a new school year, and around and around the cycle went. Think about it: If you filed taxes this week, your occupation was likely “student,” and Latin root (“to seize”) aside, the English meaning works too. School occupies us— our time, our energ y, our efforts, and often our identity. My fellow fourth-years and I are going to graduate in June and be hurled into a world where a University of Chicago education won’t be our current occupation. It won’t be the all-encompassing venture that we undertook four years prior, and in fact, many of us won’t be in school at all, meaning our 15–20 year educational careers will be over. (Next year’s grad students can stop reading here.) Sure, we graduates are excited at the prospect of no textbooks, adequate sleep, homework-free weekends, or counting the weeks in ways other than sets of 10 (or not counting them at all). But all that freedom means we’re also without the safety net that says, “When in doubt, you’re a student. Wake up tomorrow and go to school. You know how.” And if that’s
Viewpoints has a blog!
gone, then so is the brand that comes with being a student, at the U of C or elsewhere. Our college education really will be reduced, in a lot of cases, to that expensive piece of paper we’ll be getting a hold of soon. It won’t be what we’re doing—the universal, the present, the thing that’s ev-
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When we all graduate and are free of this place, we’ll get to see how our experience of the last four years can be put to use.
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erywhere and in every moment. In turn, we will each become our own person. To those of you who think you already have, you haven’t. I haven’t. It’s not possible given the demands this place makes of our time and effort. But the thing is, freedom from school doesn’t make me anxious. It’s a lot to worry about, sure, but there’s no use in worrying. If my college degree becomes a literal piece of paper, I’ve got to think about new ways to get return on my investment. My classmates and I should be excited to get
out and actually do something with our educations. So far we’ve all been learning to learn more, passing classes to pass more; education has been a means to an end of more education. When we all graduate and are free of this place, we’ll get to see how our experience of the last four years can be put to use. We’ll see how we’ve embodied or adopted whatever intellectual ideals we’re supposed to take with us out into the world. Will we see society in a useful and meaningful light, and not just in the critical ways borne out of rote Core discussions? Will we tackle problems using new or interesting ideas, or will we be too disillusioned to get our hands dirty? Will we actually do something with the aim of public service, something that takes the academy into the world and proves its much-vaunted worth, or sit back, inactive, pleased with our collegiate accomplishments? Largely expanded, this is what I get when out on my porch with my neighbors, when at no point in the conversation do they ever ask, “How’s your quarter going ?” I’m forced to look outside of myself, outside the University, and to imagine how my peers and I might give value to the life of the mind, once it’s ours to live. Adam Gillette is a fourth-year in the College majoring in history.
maroonviewpoints.tumblr.com
THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | April 20, 2012
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Going overboard on overheard “Overhead at UChicago” Facebook page can sometimes reflect a troubling lack of consideration for others Katie O’Shea Viewpoints Contributor Overheard on the quad: “Sorry, man— why don’t you just eat some fruit or some shit?” Instantly, I felt my “Overheard at UChicago” senses tingling. How many “likes” would that post get? Would it be enough to make it worth posting ? Or would it just sit there on the page, overlooked in favor of different puns about poop—namely those about the Pierce toilets? Then I thought about how earnest the person who had said it had looked. It’s not as if I have any idea whatsoever of what he was referring to. Maybe one of them has a really serious nutritional problem. The person being addressed obviously knew that his friend wasn’t offering him the option of eating fruit or feces. Traditional definitions of the word “shit” aside, all I had done was come across a snippet of conversation and, without any knowledge of context, taken it for an odd comment. Let’s say I had posted the quotation though. Maybe some people would have given it a “like” on Facebook. It would hardly be the first instance of an out-ofcontext quotation being held up as an example of linguistic absurdity at the U of C. Recently, many of my visits to the “Overheard” group have not been filled with laughter about the funny things professors say or the jokes about philosophers that characterize this school’s sense of humor. It seems those types of posts have been superseded by judgmental quips about other
people’s behavior, language, etc. And I will freely admit that I have taken plenty of quotes out of context myself, both in items I have posted and things I have laughed about. Still, I think that maybe we all ought to take these quotations with a grain of salt. Give the people being quoted the benefit of the doubt. In all likelihood, what they said made plenty of sense to them. I remember the complaint that one of my friends has always had about “Overheard at UChicago”—that one shouldn’t judge the quoted people for the things posted on the group because “it probably made sense in context!” I think she’s at least partially correct. It’s true that an outsider can have no idea how a conversation led to the few words that get posted. There is definitely something important to be said for trying to understand a situation before mocking parts of it out of context. Too often, we jump to conclusions about people and what they say without making an attempt to understand them first. There was an advertising campaign for Ameriquest a couple of years ago that illustrated the danger of hasty conclusions: People were shown going about some everyday activity but then accidentally ending up in a situation in which things looked very different from the way they began. There was one in which a woman on an airplane tries to move from her window seat to the bathroom, and is forced in the process to step over the man sleeping in the seat next to hers. When she is halfway over the man, a sudden bit of turbu-
lence causes her to fall into the man’s lap, at which point he wakes up. The commercial ended with a warning : “Don’t judge too quickly.” Sometimes I feel like that reminder ought to be written across the top of the “Overheard at UChicago” page. Sure, there are some posts that are truly funny—the posts recording conversations written in bathroom stalls about God and Nietzsche, for example—but some are definitely more likely than others to be examples not of humorous discourse, but rather of blatant mockery of someone’s sincere words. Sometimes things out of context are funny purely because they allow us to imagine how a situation might have led to the quotation posted. But posts that make fun of someone’s ignorance on some topic that the submitter believes to be essential show that passing judgment on people’s words can very quickly become passing judgment on the people themselves—a far more serious act, bordering on intolerance. And in the setting of “Overheard,” that kind of intolerance can be seen directly beneath each post, in comments that ask how such an ignorant person managed to be accepted to the school, or how the caliber of intelligence at the school is dropping because of people like the one quoted. Those types of reactions can only ever be damaging. What kind of community views the mistakes or ignorance of others not as learning opportunities, but as ammunition to be used against them? It’s not the kind of thing you’d expect to see at a school like the University of Chicago—an institution
that purports to be, and, indeed, prides itself on being, full of bright, diverse, and open-minded scholars. I’m not trying to preach here. I’m hardly qualified. I just think that maybe we all ought to think before we post. Or, if we do choose to post, we should think before we “like.” Katie O’Shea is a second-year in the College.
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.
Word on the Street
This week, the Maroon gets the prospective perspective
Over the last couple of weeks, prospies have littered our campus. Yesterday, the Maroon saw fit to speak to exactly three of them—Ariel Matalon, Matthew Chan, and Jasmine Mathani. Here are some highlights of the chat: Chicago Maroon: Why the U of C? Ariel: I’m originally from New York City, and it’s really important for me to have a city lifestyle—to be close to a place where I can have very serious learning and serious courses but also, other than that, have internships and job opportunities as well. CM: So are you worried that you’re going to realize Chicago is a better city than New York? Ariel: Oh no, not at all. From what I’ve heard, it can come to be evenly-matched, but New York will stay number one for me. CM: We’ll see. CM: Why the U of C? Jasmine: Well, high school was basically the most boring thing. Everything kind of was ruined in high school. I just did barely the amount of work needed to get an A, and then I would just read in my spare time. I think Chicago could put the fun back in learning, and I think it gets my humor, what with the essay prompts and the self-deprecation. It seemed kind of like a place where I could fit in.
CM: You mentioned free time. Are you looking forward to no longer having any? Jasmine: Yes! CM: What are you most looking forward to when you come here? Ariel: There’s a lot of hype about the Core Curriculum. I’m really interested to start exploring different classes. I guess I’m looking forward to a bigger challenge than high school and a different experience. I feel like all the professors here are very passionate about what they’re doing, and it’s exciting to imagine being a part of that. CM: Are you going to be discouraged at all when all of your classes are taught by graduate students? Ariel: Not at all. I think one of the best times to teach is when you’re still a student, still learning a field. It could be a more fun experience. CM: Sure. CM: What other schools are you considering? Matthew: Right now I’m also considering Penn’s Wharton program and Duke. CM: Great. So the thing about here is that it’s very hard, right? Matthew: Yeah. CM: Very difficult. Why would you subject yourself to that? Matthew: No pain, no gain. That’s what they say right?
CM: That is what they say. Matthew: If I slack off in college, I’m not going to be as good of a person in life. CM: So, it’s quite nice outside. It gets so miserable and cold and gray here that it’s often difficult to will yourself to continue living. You just mentioned that you’re considering UCLA, UCSD, and Reed College. These are all really nice places, so what’s your thought process behind considering the U of C? Jasmine: I’ve lived in L.A. my whole life, so I’m used to that stuff. It’s something different. At least, if I come here and it’s the most miserable thing ever I can move back to L.A. and never come here ever again. CM: So you’re from a cold place. Will the weather get you down? Ariel: Not a chance. Obviously, the winter is very difficult, it’s windy, but that’s not a big deal to me. If anything, I’ll just spend my time in a warm corner in the library, just doing my work and studying when there’s below-zero weather. And then I’ll be ready for the spring and summer, when Chicago is a great place to be. CM: The U of C is a very academic place. How do you reconcile this with any pre-professional aspirations you have? Matthew: For me, that’s really the crux of my college decision. If I choose to go here, I’ll go to grad
school, et cetera. If I go to Wharton, on the other hand, right out of undergrad, I’ll be making money in the finance sector already. It’s an interesting decision, but if I came here I would definitely go to grad school because it’s probably not possible to get a job right out of working with the Core and having a liberal arts education. CM: See, I was kind of banking on that working out, so that’s unfortunate. Matthew: Well, I guess it’s possible; it’s just not as practical. CM: What else can you tell us about your career plans? Matthew: If I went to Wharton, I’d pursue something in finance. Here, I would explore my options. CM: So you’re really at a crossroads here, choosing between exploring the world and working for a money company. Matthew: Yeah, exactly. CM: I hope you make the right choice. CM: First night on a college campus. Here, anyway. What are your big plans? Jasmine: Pretty much just exploring the area and seeing if I like it and meeting my potential future classmates and seeing if I like them. CM: And you? Matthew: Go with the flow, you know? See what happens. I don’t know how things work here, so I’ll see. If it comes to burning down buildings… CM: We don’t do that here. Matthew: I’m just kidding.
ARTS
Trivial Pursuits APRIL 20, 2012
RSO Spotlight: PhiNix Dance Crew This is an ongoing series highlighting different arts and cultural RSOs; if you’re interested in having your RSO featured, contact us at arts@chicagomaroon.com.
Angela Qian Arts Staff “I was so bad, actually, that my mom and sister would ask me to dance when they were playing music so that they could laugh,” fourth-year Leul Bezane confessed when asked about the quality of his dancing before he entered college. He was still sweaty from finishing a four-hour rehearsal for REVIVAL: A Dancer’s Daydream, which will be held tonight at Mandel Hall.
REVIVAL: A DANCER’S DAYDREAM Tonight Mandel Hall
REVIVAL is PhiNix Dance Crew’s first showcase since fourth-year Alex Sippel and fourth-year Kevin Lee founded the RSO in 2009. Sippel and two friends had been taking breakdancing classes and met up with other dancers from a variety of dancing backgrounds at the U of C. Though Sippel and Lee are the only ones that remain from the original group, they all shared the common goal of promoting hip-hop dance on campus. Since its founding, PhiNix has transformed from a forum for freestyle practice to a polished group that incorporates choreography and hip-hop in its multifarious forms, from breakdancing to whacking to krumping. They also incorporate different musical styles into their choreography, like R&B and what third-year Crystal Fong calls “swag” music. PhiNix is split into two divisions—choreography and freestyle—to reflect the diverse aspirations and interests that the dancers in the crew may have. Although auditions are required in order to be in the choreography crew, anyone is welcome to join
freestyle. Sippel says that those on freestyle are given the opportunity to showcase what they have learned at various events in which PhiNix participates. Every Saturday PhiNix host workshops from 3–5 p.m. in the basement of Ida Noyes, teaching various styles of hip-hop in the fall and choreography in the winter and spring. “Sticking to the facts, they’re awesome,” second-year Charlie Sun comments. PhiNix members or teachers brought in from the Chicago area teach participants in the freestyle division, which is open to everyone regardless of skill level. Currently the RSO—including the choreography crew, freestylers, and those that come to learn at workshops—consists of 35 to 40 members. The members of PhiNix emphasize the feeling of family and community that comes from dancing and working together. Sippel, who says one never stops being a student as a dancer, likes how “you can see your own personal growth, and that can kind of drive you.” Second-year Jungeun Choi, currently a member of the choreography team, adds that she too did not start dancing until she entered college either. She says “the [PhiNix] community here is really great” and has been essential to her growth and continuous learning. Chicago’s rich urban dance scene also fuels PhiNix. The city is inundated with dance classes, shows, workshops, and groups, all of which PhiNix takes advantage of. They will be participating in an inter-collegiate/professional competition called Hype this quarter. Some members of PhiNix are also involved in individual projects that reach out to a wider community, such as teaching choreography to high school students. PhiNix has collaborated
The PhiNix Dance Crew are so cool, they’re freezing. COURTESY OF JAMES TAO
with other RSOs on campus, performing in the OLAS, SASA, and KSO cultural shows, as well as at ASU’s International Food Festival. REVIVAL will be the first showcase they are hosting themselves. In addition to other U of C dance crews, REVIVAL will showcase
crews from Northwestern and Northern Illinois. Fong says there will be a dance battle open to audience members, with a $5 gift certificate to Karmaloop as an incentive. The show will also highlight individual projects on which the members have been working. Sippel hopes to make
the show an annual event and that it will be even larger next year. Bezane sums up PhiNix’s appeal: “For most guys, we don’t like to express emotion that much. Dance is the best, perhaps even the only way, for me to show my emotions. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”
Civil War drama at Steppenwolf covers scorched ground Alice Bucknell Associate Arts Editor Descending into the theater, I was immediately struck with an ominous feeling : Cloaked in black, the architecture was difficult to determine, except for a sliver of light emanating from the tip of the stage. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I began to make out the cloudy outline of fog lingering in a smoky haze all around the front of the theater.
Though The March had yet to begin, it felt as if I had stumbled upon the ruins of some age-old battle scene, whose faint remnants were waiting patiently to reveal a story to me. The play, directed by Frank Galati, is an adaption of the 2005 novel The March written by E.L. Doctorow, which takes as its subject a highly specific, isolated period of Civil War history. As tides began to turn in favor of the Union in 1864, General William
Tecumseh Sherman of the North led a march of what eventually culminated in over 60,000 troops from Atlanta to the Carolinas. His troops, which moved through Savannah, then up the coast consisted mainly of refugees and freed slaves, and are compared in the text to a continuously growing organism that absorbed all that lay in its path. Sherman’s march burned cities, ravaged people and their property, pitted man against man, and blurred the
division of North and South as soldiers often switched sides in hopes of making it through alive.
THE MARCH Steppenwolf Theatre Through June 10
As with any novel’s theatrical adaptation, there are certain unavoidable restrictions. Telling the
story of 60,000 soldiers with 26 characters was perhaps the biggest obstacle; to combat this, the play abandons the obsessive historicism of the text in favor of crafting an overarching sense of displacement that soon comes to define the piece as a whole. Additionally, “timeless” scenes of the text must be limited to a very specific, very real period of time in the play. At just under three hours in length, the play sucMARCH continued on page 12
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | ADVERTISEMENT | April 20, 2012
A r o u n d 1 9 4 8 : I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y A p p r o a c h e s t o G l o b a l Tra n s f o r m a t i o n
After 1948: Realignments in Politics and Culture Thursday and Friday, April 26 - 27 at the Franke Institute for the Humanities 1100 East 57th Street, JRL S-118, Chicago, IL KEYNOTE ADDRESS Timothy Mitchell, "Economentality: How the Future Entered Government"
PANELS t Disalignments and the Postwar Left t Realignments in South Asia t Politics Disaligned: Civil Rights, Anticolonial, and Anti-Nuclear Activism in the Case of Bayard Rustin t Africa's Late ColonialiTN t Invisible Colonies? Legality, (Neo-)Colonialism, and Disalignment in the Americas during the Post-War Era t Things to Come - Realignments and Aspirations: The Circulation of Jazz after 1948 t Roundtable and Reception: Legacies: "Where Do We Go From Here?" (M.L. King, Jr.) t
SPEAKERS Adam Ashforth, "South Africa, 1948: Apartheid in the Twilight of Empire" Mona Bhan, "Heart Warfare, Counterinsurgency, and the Politics of Territory in Kargil, India, 1948-1999" Fred Cooper, "French Africa, 1947-48: Reform, Violence, and Uncertainty in a Colonial Situation" Michael Dawson, "The Sundering: The Dis-Entangling of Black Radical Movements and Post-World War II Degenerate Politics in the U.S." Danielle Fosler-Lussier,"Postwar Aspirations and Government Support for Jazz: Writing the History of the State Department's 'Jazz Tours'" Laura Gotkowitz, "Democracy and Decolonization in Bolivia, around 1948 and Today" Travis Jackson, "Beyond Playing the Changes: Jazz Strategies, Technologies, and Experiments around and after 1948" Nancy Kates, Independent Documentary Filmmaker John Kelly, "Nehru, the Nation-State and Bandung: Zhou, Highland Asia, and the Actual Politics of Decolonization" Rochona Majumdar, "Decolonization and Film Cultures: An Indian Perspective" Efrén Rivera-Ramos, "Colonial Alignments: Puerto Rico after 1948"
FILM SCREENING “Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin” (Wednesday, April 25)
Sawyer Steering Committee: Leela Gandhi (English), Dimitris Kousouris (History), Deborah Nelson (English), James Sparrow (History), Lisa Wedeen (Political Science); with John Kelly (Anthropology) and Agnes Lugo-Ortiz (Romance Languages & Literatures), The University of Chicago
Co-sponsored by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Franke Institute for the Humanities, The University of Chicago
Open to the public. For more information, please see: around1948.uchicago.edu Persons with a disability who believe they may need assistance are requested to call 773-702-8274 in advance.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | April 20, 2012
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Frank-ly my dear, I don’t give a dawg Iliya Gutin Senior Arts Staff Yo dawg, I heard you like high-end cuisine but low-fuss dining, so I put fancy-ass toppings on your hot dog so you can leave your pinky out while you totally pig out. OK, not exactly meme-worthy, and probably more cringe-worthy, but I can think of no better way to summarize the basic premise of Franks ‘n Dawgs up in Lincoln Park’s Ranch Triangle neighborhood. Opened up a little less than two years ago, it’s a hot dog joint where the terms seasonal and artisanal are applied more liberally than ketchup and mustard—not that you will find either anywhere on the premises. Most of the sausages are made in house, as are all the accoutrements (read in French accent for full effect), and if you’re beginning to think that this sounds suspiciously like Hot Doug’s up in Avondale, I would kindly ask you to keep calm and read on. While the latter definitely deserves its many, many accolades, Franks ‘n Dawgs is an entirely different feast. For starters, you can actually get in and eat without having to experience queues akin to a new iPhone release. And once you are inside, the 20plus hot dog variations make Hot Doug’s selections seem about as exotic as going downtown to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. You know who you are. My journey to the center of the bun, a New England-style roll as the default weapon of choice, began with the Brunch Dog : the overwhelming sign of things to come. The base was probably the best and least bastardized breakfast sausage you’ve tried, topped with, literally, a full brunch replete with sunny side egg, smoked bacon, and maple mayo. The only thing missing was a mimosa. That egg was all like jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, yeah! And then I broke it, and put an end to that nonsense. The yolk oozed all over the place, drenching the dog, and seeping into the bun. And it was glorious, though after that all I could really taste was the bacon and eggs. Ron Swanson would approve. Plus the glis-
tening pool of yolk left over on the plate makes the perfect dipping sauce for a side of truffle fries…though they are “truffled” in the same way that a 14kt necklace on QVC is real gold. Next batter up was The Southerner, another pork sausage, albeit with caramelized onions in the mix, “garnished” with cornbread, a sweet cherry BBQ sauce, and some scallions…in a failed attempt to mellow out the dish. Unfortunately this dawg
FRANKS ’N DAWGS 1863 North Clybourn Avenue 312-281-5187
did not have its day. The BBQ sauce might as well have been reduced Dr. Pepper, and the cornbread got sogg y and crumbly— though it did add that nice nutty corn flavor to the mix, if for a fleeting moment. However, the Krazy Kimchi konkoktion helped Franks N’ Dawgs get some of its groove back. Starting with a spicy (-ish) beef sausage, topped with even more moo in the form of braised short ribs, what really set it off was the copious mound of kimchi atop this meat mountain. While a fairly mild variant of kimchi, it definitely helped keep the beefiness at a tolerable level. Apparently wild rice and turnips made cameo appearances, but they stood no chance in the shadow of the meat and kimchi colossus. Yet my two favorite sausages were a study in contrasts. The Frank’n Stein was true to its name: a monstrous amalgamation of steak and foie gras in the sausage, topped with caramelized onions, fried shallots, and a beer mustard aioli. Rich in more ways than one, my mouth magically transformed into a late 19th-century steakhouse, with tiny little oil barons enjoying a postprandial cigar and a discourse on female skull size. This sausage was a chauvinist’s wet dream. Yet this masculine as-
sault on my gustatory senses was surpassed by the shockingly simple elegance of Perenially Pork, a garlic (you had me at garlic) pork sausage with a cilantro crème fraiche and habanero relish. It sounds just as crazy as all the other dawgs, but the whole affair was remarkably clean and manageable. There’s a good chance that you might have even seen or heard about Franks ‘n Dawgs before. God knows how many times it’s been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel, or any other show requiring a wide-eyed host doing a tripledouble-take upon hearing the ingredients that go into these hot dog (sorry, “haute dawg”) monstrosities. But that should really come as no surprise, as in many respects it is the perfect, made-for-TV food: over the top, absurd, and often excessively indulgent. But that last part may in fact be Franks ‘n Dawgs’ undoing. It’s all fun and games until somebody gets gout. You see, the problem with fast food is not only the fast and careless preparation, but its even faster consumption. Franks N’ Dawgs circumvents the former through thoughtful cooking and ingredients, yet the latter issue seems unavoidable. It’s a blur of a meal, and not just because of gluttony on the part of yours truly: rather because no one just sits around contemplating a hot dog, no matter how “done-up” it may be. You eat it. You scarf it down. You power through it like Kobayashi. In fact, at no point during the meal does the hot dog leave your hand (especially if structural integrity is to be preserved). So before you realize it, everything is gone. What happened? Where am I? The only evidence of your crime is cholesterol-stained fingers and the sudden sensation that you are the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Florence says the dog days are over...but stumbling out on to North Clybourn…the dawg daze is just beginning. The moral of this story may in fact be that no one man should have all that sausage. At the same time, Franks N’ Dawgs can possibly learn a lesson in humility, at least when it comes to their stated mis-
sion of “five-star dining on a bun”. They might be taking it just a little too literally—as in, not every flavor and ingredient has to actually fit within the confines of the squishy bread. The hallmark of a truly great kitchen is the ability to kill the ones you love most. If that means one less squirt of maple mayo or sacrificing some crispy shallots, then so be it. Yet in pretty much every hot dog I tried, there was just too much going on for my feeble taste buds to handle. But the fundamentals are sound. So just take it down a notch, and let the truly well-made sausages shine just as brightly as the clever and often delicious toppings. At the moment, the two are not living sideby-side in harmony. It’s more like they are visiting each other in jail doing that weird palm-to-palm shit through the glass. So close, yet so far. But when it comes to these dawgs, you really do wanna take that big bad bite and get every flavor to mix and mingle. You really, really do. But it just seems to be a physical impossibility. It makes you sad. And everyone knows there’s no crying in hot dogs.
2.5 out of 5 forks
“
Picking away at those ashen, charred bits of ham, I couldn’t help but weep for the little piggy that gave its legs for this supposedly noble cause.
”
Chicago Opera Theater puts on intimate Shostakovich revival John Lisovsky Arts Contributor The closest analogues to Dmitri Shostakovich’s delightful 1958 operetta Moscow, Cheryomushki are the American musical and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. None of the heavy, brooding music of the D minor symphony for which the composer may justifiably be most famous is to be found in this breezy score. The trope that sticks out most clearly to any audience other than the original 1950s USSR is the continual ascription of any and all good fortune to a vaguely supernatural “collective will.” Aside from this cultural anomaly, it is very much about young people and their pursuit of love—a premise sans shelf life, it seems. The opera is set at a construction site in the Moscow suburb of Cheryomushki just as work on a
new apartment building is finishing. The protagonists must navigate soft Soviet corruption to receive their allocated apartments, which are temporarily commandeered by a bureaucrat’s mistress.
MOSCOW, CHERYOMUSHKI Harris Theater Through April 25
The evening’s orchestra was, due to technical failures of the orchestra pit’s elevator, not in the pit but onstage, behind the main action and the main set, with two rather skeletal towers of scaffolding standing in for the apartment complex. Despite such technical problems and a weak text, the singers acted their parts with ingenious panache. The audience was smitten with the production and
gave a lengthy ovation. Chicago Opera Theater (COT) has translated the entire opera into English, which given the heavy presence of dialogue and potential for accessibility, has become the norm in the United States. The largest musical difference between this production and the original is the size of the orchestra, which has been scaled down drastically from Shostakovich’s original: an enormous display of Soviet grandiosity that enables the frequent chorus of “Cheryomushki, Cheryomushki!” to double (one presumes) as a national anthem. It’s a testament to Shostakovich, of course, that the music still fared well in its new form. Rescored for a chamber orchestra of 14 instrumentalists, it gained in intimacy whatever was lost in pomp. Mike Donahue’s direction and Eric Sean Fogel’s choreography were tightly integrated and very
effective, making up for some of the weaknesses of Meg Miroshnik’s stilted, rather artificial translation. The faults are not wholly Miroshnik’s—the opera’s premise itself suffers from thinness, and the libretto could perhaps have benefited from a good editor—but the satire that could have made the work pop was distant, muted, and ineffectual. The ballet sequence in the second act was perhaps the most memorable moment of direction, though punctuated by yet another technical failure—a backdrop failing to unfurl down the length of one of the scaffolds, such that a stagehand was needed to free it. The sets followed a less-is-more philosophy, reusing pieces from one scene to the next in an assortment of iterations, especially by changing signage. The magic garden with which the opera concluded, for example, featured
flowers of variously colored tarpaulin that were affixed to previously seen objects. The actors (one is tempted to call them actors that can sing rather than singers that can act on account of the rarity of good acting in opera, though this is not in the least meant to impugn the strength of their universally solid vocal performances) executed their roles well, one-sided though many of them were. That none of the characters, aside perhaps from Boris, had an emotional arc capable of evoking verisimilitude is certainly not the fault of COT, though it could have been more careful in hiring a translator. The production focuses more on the youthful and idealistic aspects of the opera than on the subtle points of satire that Shostakovich includes and, despite its few shortcomings, has plenty of virtues to recommend itself.
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | April 03, 2012
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WITH HANNAH GOLD
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Friday | April 20 By this point it’s been seared into all our squirrelly brains that at the U of C, fun dies and the only thing that goes down on you is your GPA—but now is the time to build a better T-shirt. You’ll have plenty of “inspiration” at the Hyde Park Art Center’s “Prints & Pints” event, which offers several 45-minute printmaking sessions led by artist Elke Claus, an onsite DJ, a cash bar, and free range to roam HPAC’s many galleries with a brand new slogan on your back. 5020 South Cornell Avenue. First session at 7–11 p.m., $15. You can’t put lipstick on a pig. But at the opening of Bridgeport Art Center’s new sculpture garden you can stick it in Sarah Palin’s mouth and roast it on a spit. Ukranian Village–based artist J. Taylor Wallace created his largescale sculpture of the former governor of Alaska’s head, complete with built-in oven, entitled
Saturday | April 21 “Tea Parody,” two years ago for an exhibit in Memphis. Now it’s on the South Side and everyone, regardless of his or her political persuasion, is welcome to its porcine bounty. 1200 West 35th Street, free. If you’re sitting at home, catatonic-like, and can’t figure out what to do with your Friday, then one very appropriate option would be to attend some or all of “In A Rut,” a daylong series of invited speakers, audience-fueled discussions, and coffee breaks in the performance penthouse of the new Logan Arts Center. The event, the last in a series of three entitled “Arts of Non-Sovereignty,” will focus on the kind of big questions that often get people into ruts in the first place, such as how and why the ordinary seems deadening, and whether critical work must always oppose established norms of thought. 915 East 60th Street. 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m., free.
It’s easy to show your support for improving health care access on the South Side; just show up with an appetite to Students for Health Equity’s “A Night of Music” in McCormick Lounge. The entertainment will include, appropriately, a mix of student and community artists: UChicago’s Soul Umoja Gospel Choir, UChicago’s Ransom Notes a capella group, Members of FLY (Woodlawn’s Fearless Leading by the Youth) and Students of Woodlawn sax players are all slated to perform. To top it all off, (nearly) free food, catered from Cedars, The Nile, and Daley’s Rajun Cajun. 5706 South University Avenue. 7–10 p.m., free admission; $5 dinner. If, come Sunday morning, your arm hurts more than your head does, then you probably made the responsible choice to stop by O’Malley’s Bar, host of the 13th Lady Arm Wrestling match. Winner of this battle of the bi
Sunday | April 22 ceps, brought to you by the Chicago League of Lady Arm Wrestlers (CLLAW), takes home a sash and crown, and all proceeds benefit Sideshow Theatre Company and Erasing the Distance. See for yourself why Penthouse magazine dubbed these dueling divas “one hell of a show!” 3551 North Sheffield Avenue. 9:30 p.m., $25 (includes drinks), 21+. Andersonville’s beloved karaoke dive bar, Café Bong Ho’s, is closing its doors for good this weekend, due to rising rent. Celebrate this fine 24-hour establishment’s last night in business by chatting with owner and bartender Ginny and treating yourself to some very fairly priced Korean vodka. Don’t let this neighborhood gem slip away without drinking it in one last time! 5706 North Clark Street.
Get out your gingham tablecloth and your wicker basket, because it’s time to save the world. Shedd Aquarium is partnering with the Nature Conservancy to bring you the Chicago leg of “Picnic for the Planet,” a global event which, in honor of Earth Day, aims at spreading environmental awareness and breaking the Guinness World Record for largest multi-venue 24-hour picnic. And make sure to show up early. Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford dives, in defense of the planet, into Shedd’s Caribbean Reef at 11:15 a.m. 1200 South Lake Shore Drive. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., $8–$34.95. As part of its film series and running exhibit “Picturing the Past,” the Oriental Institute will screen Michael Curtis’s The Egyptian (1954). This epic tale of a distressed physician named Sinuhe who is just trying to get by and do right in the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, boasts many Odyssean twists and turns, a religiously conflicted Pharoah, and a knockout barmaid/love interest, played by Bella Darvi. 1155 East 58th Street. 2 p.m., free for members, $3 for non-members.
The March universalizes the pain of warfare through stories of slaves and soldiers MARCH continued from page 9 ceeds in hanging on to the transcendental experience of reading a novel by including both quick, jolting, action-packed scenes and dreamy, drawn-out episodes, rife with hypnotic flashes of color and the gentle, fluid movements of its actors, not unlike the bodily flourishes one expects of a ballet dancer. The flow of the play was further punctuated by a handful of monologues, given by soldiers and slaves alike, and the occasional onstage blackout to allow for short musical performances. Different characters took turns divulging to the crowd their hopes, plans, and opinions while looking directly out at the audience. General William Tecumseh Sherman (Harry Groener) spoke defiantly of his army’s explosive power, while escaped convict Will Kirkland (Stephen Louis Grush) complained of his fellow convict Arly Wilcox’s (Ian Barford) domineering ways, the two disguised as Union soldiers to evade imprisonment. Pearl, a freed slave of mixed race, bemoans her light skin as a betrayal of her black family, while the aristocratic fair lady Letita Pettibone (Martha Lavey) mourns the death of her late father and the impossibility of providing an appropriate burial ceremony with the high death toll of the war. By allowing many characters from such varying origins to intimately detail their own stories directly to the audience, Galati’s play underscores the ubiquitous effects of war on every gradation of American society. The rustic wailings of a harmonica echoed out from the
front of a dimmed stage while the back half was softly illuminated to reveal the quiet, sweeping motion of troops moving through dense foliage in the background. Sometimes, after an especially potent scene, the musical performances serve as a scene in and of themselves: a brief halt of action that encourages an artistic contemplation of the events preceding it. Through a literary lens, these gradations are analogous to a brief glance up from the text after making it through a particularly intense passage. In many ways, the play is mindful of its own transition from literature to drama, and makes efforts to ease this change. At its most basic level, the play is about the trials and tribulations of the Civil War. But sitting in the audience, bearing witness to violent sieges, harrowing deaths, the destruction of cities, the disturbance of families, the cruelty of prejudice, and the dissolution of personal identity, it is impossible to brand The March as merely a dramatization of the Civil War. More so, it is a production interested in the psycholog y of war in general and the duration of its impact, though one cannot necessarily say that it ever really ends. The play concludes with Pearl and her lover Sergeant Stephen Walsh, an opportunistic Irish soldier, chatting excitedly about their imagined future together in New York. But as the lights dim on the hopeful couple and the fog crowds in overhead once more, the viewer is left with the grim sensation of the infectious and inescapable nature of warfare.
(left to right) Coalhouse Walker (ensemble member James Vincent Meredith) and Wilma (ensemble member Alana Arenas) discuss the difficulties of being newly freed and plan a future for themselves. COURTESY OF STEPPENWOLF THEATRE
THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | April 20, 2012
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Getting his call-up Lessons learned from the leader who turned Chicago women’s basketball into a powerhouse Sean Ahmed, AB ‘06 Contributor
Back in 2004–05, the upsets over No. 5 Wash U and No. 7 NYU were programdefining moments. Those results and the unanimous support of his players earned him the chance to “finish what we started,” as he said then. Now he departs, having built a model program that fully realized that early promise. Everyone who was at Ratner this March shared in it. On display was a team that showed skill, swagger, sophistication, and outright want. The school community rallied in a way it hadn’t since fans packed Stagg Field to watch the women’s soccer team earn a Final Four berth in 2005. We all got caught up in Maroon Madness. I hope you don’t let that go. It’s that feeling of inclusiveness that was a true hallmark of the women’s basketball program under Roussell. It produced spontaneous alumni reunions in the stands, long gatherings after games, and e-mails sent to our game broadcasts from people literally all over the world. It was the result of recruiting excellent people over the years and cultivating a family atmosphere. I’ve been lucky to be a part of the journey across four distinct generations, the first two seasons as an editor and the last seven as a volunteer broadcaster. There wasn’t always a ton in common from year to year, but if you take a wide view, you can see how each was the product of what came before it. My brief narrative goes something like this: The pre-2004 squads were talented, yet missing cohesion. His 2004–07 teams were youthful fast-breakers, raw but infectious. The defense-and-rebounding beasts of 2007–10 were miserable to
I still remember the day I realized Aaron Roussell would be a top-class coach. It was October 5, 2004—or Day 4. He had just been named interim head coach after Jennifer Kroll took an opportunity closer to home. It was his first season with the team, and opening night was six weeks away. We talked on the phone for 20 minutes that night. It was after 10 p.m., and I was on deadline in the Maroon office. He was too—working in Ratner, one of hundreds of late nights he’d spend there over the next eight years. He walked me through the roster’s strengths with a fresh set of eyes: Quickness and eventually toughness would make up for a lack of size. He then left me with a statement that would tangibly define his program for years to come. “My expectation is to win the first game; then we can go from there. I do have high expectations for everyone on this roster, as I am sure they do of themselves. We will work too hard to not have high expectations.” Spanning two presidential terms, the Maroons went 161–50 under Roussell’s watch, accumulating as many wins as they had in the previous 12 seasons (with 114 fewer losses). Their three conference championships in five seasons were the first since 1989, and anyone who has played in or followed a UAA campaign knows how difficult it is to get a single one. The four NCAA tournament runs marked new heights.
face—and perhaps to watch—if not for the fact that it was our team. The last two seasons were led by a Fab Five that brought it all, with a different trio stepping up every night. Roussell spent his summers developing the tactics around his personnel and demanded a lot out of their basketball intelligence. Each season, there’d be a turning point where the new scheme seemed so intuitive for the players, so systematic. A couple of times it didn’t quite click, but when it did, Chicago was unstoppable. The teamwork was evident off the court too. “Nobody has more fun” has always been the team’s motto—and Roussell would admit that it was as competitive as it was genuine. Which brings me to what I consider his secret: a combination of confidence and insecurity that drove him to outwork the competition. On the one hand, he knew that his team was—or would be—better than its opponents. On the other, he also knew that their opponents could beat them, and would, if they let up in any way. Looking back, he got the head job with some luck and then retroactively earned it with that mentality. It was his kindness that helped it all land with different people. They’re lessons I’ve learned, in part from his example. His assistants have it, and I believe the returning players do too. That’s why this marks a new chapter, not a new book. Oh, and Coach? I’ll be looking forward to that 10 p.m. call in a few days. I’m sure we’ll find something to talk about.
Seniors: “We have had an incredible journey” ROUSSELL continued from back
son were all recruited by Roussell, and Morgan Herrick was added to the group two years ago as a transfer. “As a senior class, foremost we want to congratulate Coach on accepting the head coaching position at Bucknell [University],” the group said in a prepared statement. “We have had an incredible journey the past four years, one that will never be forgotten, and we hope that Coach will have success in his future endeavors at Bucknell.” The University has begun a national search for Roussell’s successor.
South Siders ranked eighth in region SOFTBALL continued from back
games, with six runs scored and the goahead RBI against North Park on Tuesday. A win would most likely help push the Maroons more comfortably into an atlarge postseason bid (the Maroons do not participate in UAA play). This week, the Maroons were ranked eighth in the year’s first NCAA Regional Rankings, a positive sign for their playoff prospects. “Typically, I am simply pleased to be included in the first set of rankings, so it’s a decent start,” Kmak said. The Maroons begin play at 1 p.m. Saturday at Stagg Field.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | April 20, 2012
14
South Siders approach the finish line Track and Field Jake Walerius Associate Sports Editor
First-year Kevin Vollrath bounds a hurdle in the Chicagolands track meet earlier this season. BENJAMIN TRNKA | THE CHICAGO MAROON
CLASSIFIEDS Classified advertising in The Chicago Maroon is $3 for each line. Lines are 45 characters long including spaces and punctuation. Special headings are 20-character lines at $4 per line. Submit all ads in person, by e-mail, or by mail to The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, Lower Level Rm 026, 1212 E. 59th St., Chicago, IL 60637. The Chicago Maroon accepts Mastercard & Visa. Call (773) 702-9555. 5121 S KENWOOD
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The Maroons have reached the calm before the storm. Track and field will compete at the DePaul Invitational today and tomorrow in its last meet before the conference championship. Chicago won’t change its mentality this weekend—it will compete as hard as always—but there will be a slight shift in focus as the UAA meet comes into view. “The team is approaching this meet as a tune-up before conference,” first-year distance runner Renat Zalov said. “Many middle- and long-distance runners are moving down into shorter events so that they will be feeling fresh next week in Pittsburgh. The sprinters and other field event athletes will be trying to better their marks for seeding at conference. I don’t think the mentality of our athletes will be any different from any other meet—we’re going to go out there ready to compete at our highest level.” This meet is hardly going to be irrelevant for Chicago. If nothing else, it will keep the Maroons in the focused, competitive mindset they will need for a successful conference championship. It is one last chance for some athletes to improve their conference seed. “I think the coaches may be trying to put people into different events to see exactly how to best utilize everyone we are taking to the [conference] meet,” fourth-year jumper Paige Peltzer said. “I know several people are taking this week off in hopes that they’ll be healthy and strong for the conference meet.” One thing Chicago will not be doing is taking any serious risks. For example, fourthyear Tyler Calway will be resting a sore ankle, knowing full well that a good performance
from him at conference could mean 10 extra points for his team. “I’m the only hurdler we have for the guys and my ankle is hurt, so if I can’t run well at conference, we’ll be losing out on about 10 points which could be important,” he said. “That is certainly not in the plan, but taking this weekend off will hopefully allow me to recover enough.” In some ways, it’s a slightly strange position for the Maroons to be in. Regardless of how focused they are on the task at hand at DePaul, everything they do over the next two days will be influenced by the prospect of next weekend. “I would say that it is definitely added pressure for those unsure about their conference berth,” third-year Julia Sizek said. “For others though, this is one of the more relaxed meets.” The conference picture is now looking pretty clear, and the Maroons have reason to be optimistic. Currently, both the men and the women have 12 athletes ranked in the top five in the conference in their events. On the women’s side, Wash U and Emory continue to dominate the top of the conference honor rolls, but behind those teams, Chicago— on paper— is the strongest. As for the men, it appears no single team has established itself as favorite. This will give the Maroons hope that they can have a very successful meet next weekend. But for now, Chicago must focus on DePaul and the next two days of competition. These won’t be the Maroons’ two most intense days of competition this season, but they will be a necessary and welcome prelude to the coming conference storm. The DePaul Invitational begins at 3 p.m. today and continues at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | April 20, 2012
15
Two steps in the right direction Baseball
Second-year Ricky Troncelliti hit a two-run homer and a grand slam in Sunday’s home game against Monmouth. DAVE HILBERT | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Sarah Langs Associate Sports Editor The rollercoaster leveled off for the Maroons this week. After three weeks of inconsistency, the South Siders (16–9) finally won two games in a row against DIII opponents. On Tuesday, the squad defeated Wabash (13–20) on the road by a score of 6–3. The next day, in Naperville, they took a 12–7 contest from North Central (15–11). The wins were their first consecutive road victories of the year. Both games featured individual records for Maroons. On Tuesday, second-year William Katzka tied the Chicago single-
season saves record with his fifth save of the season. On Wednesday, fourth-year catcher Stephen Williams set the all-time record for doubles over the course of a career. More important than the individual accomplishments, however, is the fact that the Maroons were able to string together two wins on the road. The squad scored first in the game against Wabash on Tuesday, but found themselves locked in a 2–2 tie headed to the bottom of the fourth inning. After an RBI groundout from third-year outfielder Jack Cinoman and an RBI single from second-year outfielder Ricky Troncelliti, the Maroons were ahead for good.
Though the lead held up, the game stayed close. Katzka entered the game in a save situation with a score of 6–3. After hitting one batter with a pitch, Katzka emerged from the inning unscathed, notching his fifth and record-tying save of the season. “The game against Wabash was a neat experience playing in a minor league ballpark. We [got] some excellent pitching from Claude [Lockhart], and timely hitting helped us get a big win,” Troncelliti said. Coming off of their five-error game on Sunday, the Maroons committed three errors on Tuesday. “Our hitting and defense still isn’t at its best, but our pitching was able to make up for that,” first-year infielder Kyle Engel said. After the win Tuesday, Chicago was hoping to do something that had been difficult for them the last few weeks: win another game on the road. The team got on the board early in Wednesday’s game, scoring two quick runs in the first on a home run from Troncelliti. However, they gave it right back up in the bottom of the inning, also on a home run. After a few back-and-forth runs, the Maroons went ahead for good in the top of the sixth. With the bases loaded, thirdyear infielder J.R. Lopez came to the plate and continued the Maroons’ display of power for the day, hitting a grand slam. The Maroons amassed 12 runs on the afternoon, winning 12–7. “The win against North Central was another nice one to pick up against a quality opponent. Alex [Garcia] really battled on the mound and J.R. had a huge hit to break the game open,” Troncelliti said. Now, with even more momentum than they’ve had all season, the Maroons look to continue their newfound road dominance. The squad will travel to St. Louis this weekend for two doubleheaders against Wash U—one on Saturday and one on Sunday—meaning they will play four games over the course of two days. Wash U enters the game 23–8 and is certainly one of the toughest opponents the Maroons will face this season. “The win against North Central…should give us some momentum going into four big games in St. Louis,” Troncelliti said. The Maroons are hoping that this time the momentum carries over and the rollercoaster doesn’t loop down just yet. First pitch for the Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for noon in St. Louis. The Sunday doubleheader will follow suit.
Before UAAs, Chicago cranks up the confidence Tennis Alex Sotiropoulos Senior Sports Staff With the UAA tournament quickly approaching on Thursday, April 26, the Maroons are using their final home and regular season match of the year against North Central to build on one aspect of their game: confidence. “After our two losses last week, this match can help us a lot in reestablishing our confidence,” second-year Zsolt Szabo said. “The effort last week was rather lacking, and now we can show that we have learned from last week’s mistakes.” In the two matches this past weekend, Saturday against Case and Sunday against Wash U, Chicago won a combined four matches to its opponents’ 14. However, tt will be much easier for the Maroons to be confident going into Sunday.
Second-year Alex Golovin is set to play after being inactive in last week’s matches. He will likely hold the No. 4 singles spot. Szabo will likely return to No. 5 singles from No. 4, and first-year Deepak Sabada will be at No. 6, after playing No. 5 last week. Fourth-years Troy Brinker and Jan Stefanski and first-year Ankur Bhargava will look to get wins at the top three singles spots. The doubles lineup will likely feature Brinker and Stefanski, Bhargava and Sabada, and Szabo and second-year Krishna Ravella at No. 1, 2, and 3 doubles. Still, even if the Maroons are not able to bring their top lineup, they will still have a lot more confidence than last week, given that North Central has a 3–9 record. That being said, the Maroons cannot, and will not, look past their opponents. They need to believe in themselves going
into UAAs, but they cannot afford another loss on the season. “A little team- and confidence- building is especially useful going into UAAs, as we will have to do very well in that tournament in order to be able to continue our season,” Szabo said. “Since there is not a great amount of pressure in this match, everyone should bring out their best self, and that should be enough for the team to build up its confidence going into UAAs.” Szabo said that the Maroons are ready to showcase their efforts on Sunday. “I am really looking forward to this weekend, as I believe last week was a true wake-up call, and everyone is eager to play with great effort and prove their abilities,” Szabo said. Doubles play is scheduled to start at noon on Sunday at the Stagg Field tennis courts.
SOFTBALL UAA Standings Rank School 1 Emory 2 Washington (MO) 3 Rochester 4 Case Western 4 Brandeis 6 Chicago
Record 27–3 (6–2) 22–10 (4-4) 21–10 (4–4) 21-14 (3–5) 18–12 (3–5) 18–8 (0–0)
Win % .900 .688 .677 .600 .600 .692
Batting Average Rank Player Kaitlyn Carpenter 1 2 Amanda Genovese 3 4 5
School Chicago Brandeis
AVG .479 .427
Washington (MO)
.424
Marianne Specker Brandeis Adrienne White Washington (MO)
.423 .417
Ashley Janssen
ERA Rank Player 1 Lena Brottman 2 Kim Cygan 3 Amanda Kardys 4 Bridget Holloway 5 Sarah Wayson
School Emory Chicago Emory Emory Rocherster
ERA 0.92 0.95 1.53 1.61 1.85
Player
School
Hits
1
Kaitlyn Carpenter
Chicago
2 3 3 5
Gena Roberts Case Western Molly O’Brien Case Western Corissa Santos Washington (MO) Marianne Specker Brandeis
Hits Rank
46
44 42 42 41
BASEBALL UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6
School Emory
Record 22–10 (7–1)
Washington (MO) Case Western Rochester Brandeis Chicago
23–8 (5–3) 22–12–1 (4–4) 8–18 (3–5) 6–28 (1–7) 16–9 (0–0)
Win % .688 .742 .643 .308 .176 .640
Batting Average Rank Player School 1 Brandon Rogalski Washington (MO) 2 Jack Cinoman Chicago 3 J.R Lopez Chicago 3 Pat Nicholson Brandeis 3 Brandon Hannon Emory
Wins .455 .441 .407 .378 .368
ERA Rank Player 1 Claude Lockhart 2 Mike Bitanga 3 Connor Dilman 4 Edward Abramson 5 Corey King
School Chicago Emory Emory Case Western Rochester
ERA 0.99 2.14 2.52 2.58 2.73
Triples Rank Player School Triples 1 Jack Cinoman Chicago 8 2 Kyle Billig Washington (MO) 4 3 Brandon Rogalski Washington (MO) 3 3 Bobby Marko Case Western 3 5 Brett Huff Chicago 2
MEN’S TENNIS UAA Standings Rank School 1 Emory 2 Washington (MO) 3 Carnegie 4 Case Western 5 NYU
Record 15–0 (0–0) 12–5 (0–0) 12–6 (0–0) 12–7 (0–0) 3–3 (0–0)
Win%
6
Rochester
6–11(0–0)
.353
7
Brandeis
4–10 (0–0)
.286
8
Chicago
2–5 (0–0)
.286
1.000
.867 .667 .632 .500
WOMEN’S TENNIS UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3 4 5
School Chicago Brandeis Carnegie Case Western Emory
Record 9–1 (0–0) 13–2(0–0) 15–3 (0–0) 16–4 (0–0) 13–4 (0–0)
Win% .900 .867 .833 .800 .765
6
Rochester
8–3 (0–0)
.727
7
Washington (MO)
13–5 (0–0)
.722
8
NYU
0–5 (0–0)
.000
IN QUOTES
SPORTS
“Justin Bieber is the only person I talked to on the phone that night after I won...It was a big honor that they would both call me and talk to me.” —PGA golfer Bubba Watson, on receiving a special phone call after his Masters victory.
Bucknell bound: Roussell departs after eight seasons Maroons
to take on the Flying Dutch
Women’s Basketball Mahmoud Bahrani Senior Sports Staff
ROUSSELL continued on page 13
Softball Derek Tsang Associate Sports Editor
Women’s basketball coach Aaron Roussell has resigned to accept the same position at Division I Bucknell University. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON 1.00 0.964
0.98 0.96 0.94 0.92
0.90 0.88
0.862
0.86 0.84 0.82
0.786
0.80 0.78 0.76 0.74 0.72
0.731 0.720
0.70
0.680
0.68
0.680 0.66 0.64
0.640
0.62
0.60
Season
2011-12
2010-11
2009-10
2008-09
2007-08
2006-07
2005-06
0 2004-05
Win Percentage
Head coach Aaron Roussell is taking his talents to the east coast. Roussell accepted the women’s basketball head coaching position at Bucknell University, the athletic department announced Tuesday. The move came after arguably his most impressive season, as the Maroons went undefeated in the regular season before falling to Calvin in the Sweet 16. Chicago’s 43 consecutive regular season wins is the longest active streak in NCAA DIII basketball. “Coach Roussell’s departure is Chicago’s loss and Bucknell’s gain,” head athletic director Tom Weingartner said in a statement on Tuesday. “He has been a superb coach, wonderful department citizen, and great colleague. He helped build Chicago’s women’s basketball program to national prominence and we wish him, [his wife] Molly, and [his son] Riley all the very best in what is a great opportunity for him and his family.” “I owe everything to the UC players, athletic department, and the entire community. This is an amazing situation for my family, and my eight years at Chicago both are why I got this job and what has prepared me to be at Bucknell,” Roussell said. “Why Mr. Weingartner agreed to hire me eight years ago is something I constantly wonder, but his faith in me changed my life.” Roussell will have his hands full at Bucknell. Last year, the Bison finished 5–25, losing in the first round of the Patriot League tournament to Lehigh. However, Roussell will have a young team with which to work: 5’7” guard Christina Chukwuedo is the only graduate, and their leading scorer, Shelby Romine, is just a second-year. “I could not be more excited about the opportunity to lead the women’s basketball program at Bucknell University,” said Roussell in a press release from the Bucknell Web site. “I am extremely thankful to the University of Chicago, because it has prepared me perfectly for a program like Bucknell and the Patriot League as a whole, which places academics in the highest regard. To be frank, there is no way I would have left Chicago unless it was for a place that shared my values on what the student-athlete experience should be all about.” The numbers back up Roussell’s words: The Bisons’s team GPA was a robust 3.36 during the 2010–2011 season, according to the Bucknell press release. Perhaps Roussell’s most impressive class of recruits is graduating this spring. Fourth-years Meghan Herrick, Bryanne Halfhill, Joann Torres, Taylor Simp-
With only 10 of their 36 regular season games left on the slate, the Maroons are starting to think about the postseason. They’ll look to take a step towards improving their resume against Hope College in a doubleheader on Saturday. Against the Flying Dutch, the South Siders will also look to get back in the habit of playing with confidence, as they’ve aimed to do all season. “The biggest improvement I would like to see in the Hope games is to play confidently and aggressively through an entire 14 innings, ‘winning’ each and every inning,” head coach Ruth Kmak said. ”If we can do that, we will be successful.” Chicago (18–8) has taken care of business this season against teams with worse records; only one of their eight losses has come against a team that had a losing record, and even that was a oneto-nothing decision three weeks ago against Lake Forest. The Flying Dutch (12–16), then, should be an easier foe than last week’s ninth-ranked UW– Whitewater (21–5), with whom the Maroons split a doubleheader. Hope averages a shade under five runs a game and allows its opponents to score a bit more than five. It is led on offense by fourth-year Brooke Nienhuis and her .433 on base percentage. Their pitching staff is anchored by right–handed Jess Kohlhoff ’s 3.63 earned run average. In preparation for their weekend fixture, the Maroons have spent their practice time honing in on their individual games. “We set out to individually set some basic goals for ourselves at the beginning of the week,” Kmak said. “We have utilized practice time to work on our individual goals, and then bring everyone together to work collectively with a team focus.” If everything goes as planned, the Maroons should start thirdyear Kim Cygan (10–3) and fourth-year Sarah Neuhaus (6–4). Last week, they threw in a new wrinkle, starting Cygan in the second game of their doubleheader after she pitched a complete game in the first, but they don’t plan to do so again this week. Their mercurial offense will be led by the scorching bat of fourth-year Julia Schneider. The second baseman was named UAA Athlete of the Week for an 8–11 performance at the plate in four SOFTBALL continued on page 13