MAY 1, 2018
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
VOL. 129, ISSUE 44
Student Government Elections Underway to vote:
Log into blueprint.uchicago.edu before Wednesday, May 2 at 4:30 p.m. for executive slate: Unite slate is running against Moose Party, a satirical slate. other r aces include College Council class representatives for the classes of 2019, 2020 and 2021, and Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees.
Profiles of some candidates, written by Hesham Albaharna, Daksh Chauhan, Emma Dyer, and Caroline Kubzansky, are available on page 2.
Maroon Staff
SG ELECTIONS: Unite Slate (left) participates in a debate against the Moose Party (right).
Health Inspection Deems Bartlett “High Risk” BY BRAD SUBRAMANIAN NEWS REPORTER
Bartlett Dining Commons failed an April 16 health inspection because of insufficient temperature maintenance, cleanliness, and pest-control measures, according to a report posted last Friday on EveryBlock Chicago. The dining hall was found to be at “high risk” by the City of Chicago’s Department of Public Health Food Protection Program, though a subsequent re-inspection found the issues resolved several days later. The initial inspection found evidence of rodents and poor pest prevention methods in several parts of Bartlett. According to the report, the inspector observed over 20 mice droppings in the first-floor kitchen electrical room, which caused
the health inspector to instruct the manager to call an exterminator and to sanitize all surfaces. The inspector also noted that a loading dock door on the first floor had not been rodent-proofed, and that certain foods were not being maintained at proper temperatures. For example, the report listed several breakfast foods—including scrambled eggs, hash browns, and veggie sausages—as being stored at temperatures below the food-safe threshold of 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Raw chicken and black beans were also reportedly stored at improper temperatures. Though the report from the initial inspection noted that most handwashing facilities were easily accessible, an inspector’s comment stated that the sink near
the grill and taco station was not accessible and that the paper towel dispenser was not operable. A subsequent inspection on April 23 stated that floors, walls, and surrounding premises were cleaned and maintained free of litter. Additionally, the rear door had been found rodent-proofed, and mice droppings had been removed. Dining halls at the University have failed health inspections in the past. In 2012, a failed health inspection caused Arley D. Cathey Dining Commons to close for several days. Bartlett also failed a health inspection in 2013, after similar risks related to cleanliness and pest-control measures were found.
PHOTO OF THE ISSUE
Sonia Schlesinger
With the temperature rising this week, goslings emerged from Botany Pond.
Experience the Experiment. The Stevanovich Institute on the Formation of Knowledge (SIFK) is delighted to announce an unprecedented set of new courses: XCAP, The Experimental Capstone for rising fourth-year undergraduates. Unite for Student Government Executive Slate Page 4 The M aroon Editorial Board endorses Unite for Executive Slate in this week’s Student Government elections. Though short on details on several key platform points, Unite nevertheless has views that are in line with the Board’s previous stances.
Sculptures Speak With Space in Richard Rezac’s Address Page 6 Rezac draws on the traditions of Minimalism and Finish Fetish in exploring the aesthetic qualities of his sculptures’ materials and geometric forms.
Apply now at sifk.uchicago.edu/ courses/xcap
Experience a set of courses that emphasize practice as much as theory. Figure out what is “real.” Reflect on the nature of knowledge and examine your own beliefs and assumptions. Compare, contrast, and explore the cultural and scientific context of the human body in performance and medicine. End your University of Chicago experience with a different learning experience, and take it with you.
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Events 5/1– 5/3 Today David Kerns in Conversation with Daniel Brauner 57th Street Books, 1301 E 57th St, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. David Kerns will discuss his novel Fortnight on Maxwell Street in conversation with Dr. Daniel Brauner, a professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. A question and answer session will follow the talk. Alash Tuvian Throat Singers International House, 7 p.m. Head over to International House this evening for a free performance of traditional Tuvan throat singing by this world-renowned enseble. A reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by the concert. The event is free and open to the public. Tomorrow Khsled Beydoun in conversation with Ifrah Magan The Seminary Co-Op Bookstore, 6 p.m.7 p.m. Race theorist and law professor Khaled A. Beydoun will discuss his new book on Islamobphobia in the United States. He will be joined in conversation with Ifrah Magan, a lecturer at the Jane Addams College of Social Work. Thursday Queerness and Mental Health: Authoring Our Stories Center for Identity + Inclusion, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The Office of LGBTQ Student Life and the Iracus Project will host a workshop on understanding one’s stories. Participants will gain insights into how to begin to tell their stories in their own words. Is Peace with North Korea Possible? International House, 5 – 6:15 p.m. The Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) is hosting a conversation with the former US Ambassador to South Korea Mark Lippert. Lippert and political science professor Robert Pape will discuss internaional security questions regarding North Korea. A question and answer session will follow the talk. This event is free and open to the public. UChicago Night at the Art Institute Featuring UGrad’s Expose Yourself The Art Institute of Chicago, 111 South Michigan Avenue, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Complementary shuttles will leave from Reynolds Club for visitors with a UCID. During this evening at the Musuem, UChicago graduate students will give brief presentations.
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Maroon Staff
Candidates for Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees participate in a debate.
SG Candidates Speak to The Maroon JAY GIBBS Second-year Jay Gibbs is running as a write-in candidate for Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees. Gibbs said that his personal connections to different parts of campus would help him bring as many different issues to the trustees’ attention as possible. “I am always on Facebook, I’ve been in a lot of moderating situations, I’ve been talking to people in different organizations, I’m in them myself—those kinds of conversations…[give] me a kind of neat lens into what the actual idea of campus is,” Gibbs said. Gibbs believes that there are mechanisms in place to facilitate trustee-student interactions, but he is not sure that administrators and past liaisons have used these opportunities to their full potential. “If we’re being realistic here, I’m almost certain…that oftentimes these meetings are kind of like having summaries, regurgitations of these ideas. The meetings that happen aren’t always meetings outside of being called a meeting,” he said. Following the shooting of fourth-year Charles Thomas last month, Gibbs hopes to bring up the issue of mental health and the University of Chicago Police Department (UCPD)’s relationship to students with the trustees. Gibbs attributes the cause of the shooting in part to a lack of transparency on the part of UCPD and the University. “‘Transparency’ is a kind of buzzword…but what it really is is making things that should be clear a bit more clear. I think that in this scenario…that’s making sure students are broadly aware of what mental health access exists, what it consists of, what kinds of services they can pursue for themselves, and if those services fail, what are the ramifications,” he said. Gibbs also suggested an examination of the recent shooting to see if it violated any UCPD policy, and if it did not, a follow-up reevaluation of the policies themselves. “If this bad event was normatively bad, [but] did not violate some set of rules, some kind of policy, then what’s wrong with those policies?” he asked. Gibbs also said that other police forces are beginning to develop special mental health–episode response units and suggested that UCPD could develop a division like this for the future. “Maybe we can make some kind of coordinated effort…to specifically have officers who are trained to handle those sorts of scenarios so that when there is an issue,
they can respond,” he said. “[The Chicago Police Department]’s been able to do this, [and] there are police officers in Baltimore and Newark and New York City…to make sure that when there are mental health emergencies, they’re handled in the best ways possible.”
KYLE SHISHKIN First-year Kyle Shishkin is running to be the Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees, on a platform of “Communication, Accountability, and Transparency” (CAT). Shishkin said he is pursuing the position because he feels that he can provide undergraduates a greater voice in the administrative decisions that affect them, particularly with trustees. Shishkin has three initiatives to make student voices better heard: a letter to the board, lunch with a trustee, and consensus construction. The letter to the board—which requires 2,000 student signatures—would allow students to highlight important campus issues to the trustees. “While getting 2,000 votes will be hard, I believe it is doable,” he said. “And when the trustees see that almost a third of the undergraduate body wants an issue to be considered they will have to look deep into the issue.” The other initiative, lunch with a trustee, aims to to give small groups of students a chance to have conversations during a lunch session. His third idea, “consensus construction,” would gather students who represent certain groups on campus to meet with the trustees before events, allowing them to express their opinions. Shishkin also hopes to spotlight campus issues in trustee meetings. These issues include “disability accommodation,
mental health, sexual assault, student counseling, student employment, or issues of diversity and inclusion,” he said. Additionally, if elected, Shishkin plans to facilitate discussion with board members around what he sees as the University’s inconsistent invocation of the Kalven Report, the 1967 statement that many seen as a University statement of political neutrality. Shishkin highlighted letters to President Donald Trump on which University President Robert J. Zimmer has been a signatory, such as the one regarding students attending U.S. universities on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, as an example of what he considered an inconsistent application of the report’s principles. “This university has sent letters to President Trump, which in themselves are political and in themselves have statements ingrained in them. And I would not say whether this is a good or a bad thing [that] they did so, but it does show an inconsistency,” he said. Shishkin is familiar with the paramount value clause of the Kalven Report, which states the University may take a political stance on issues that directly affect its function or are of “paramount value” to the University. However, he believes that students should play a greater role in determining what is and is not of paramount value to the University. “The interpretation of what is vital and not vital to the University should also be up to students, to a certain extent. And a big vision of mine is to be able to provide this voice for our students,” he said. “I want to give undergrads more power in decision making so that they can impact policies that will affect students years after we graduate.”
Continued on page 3
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“None of them were able to follow up on what they promised” particular, he would like to expand accessibility of SCS resources for people of color. Hudson says UChicago’s SCS is too small, with 18 staffers, compared to peer institutions, like Columbia University, which has 59 staffers. Therefore, Hudson believes that UChicago is unable to provide a diverse workforce to match of its student population. He would like to see an expansion in SCS hiring alongside an increase in resources that would allow students to remain on campus for support. “Ultimately I think there is no reason that with as strong a medical facility [as there is] on campus, students should have to be referred to outpatient services,” he said.
BRITTNEY DORTON Continued from page 2
Second-year Brittney Dorton announced her candidacy for the position of Undergraduate Liaison to the Board of Trustees in a bid to “improve communication between students and the board.” The liaison is responsible for representing the student body to the board and working to connect students with individual board members. Dorton is running on a platform of accessibility, which includes both physical and financial accessibility. “I myself have a physical disability,” she said. “I want to make sure that meetings with the board are not only physically accessible for students with disabilities or in terms of having ASL interpreters for students with hearing impairments, but also accessible to students that might have jobs or classes that they can’t afford to miss.” Dorton also said that she believes the liaison’s main role is connecting students to the trustees in order to discuss any grievance or initiative. “ My top priority in this role is talking about the issues that are important to the community as a whole and connecting them to the admin so they can talk to them about the issues that they care about. It’s not my place as a liaison to be focusing only on the issues that I’m aware of and active in,” she said. In terms of increasing administrative transparency, Dorton suggested several additions to communications between students and trustees, including making minutes of events like “Luncheon with a Trustee” and “Student Perspectives” easily accessible and expanding minute-taking for other administrative events. She also proposes that meetings have American Sign Language interpreters available upon request, and would like to increase the frequency of meetings with varied dates and times so that students who are unable to miss class or work can still attend. Lastly, she wants to make the trustees themselves more familiar to students. “I’d also like to try and make the profiles of the trustees a little more public so students are aware of what a trustee is, what their powers are, how they get selected, and who our trustees are, and then I think publicizing the meetings students can have with the trustees,” Dorton said.
MYLES HUDSON First-year Myles Hudson is seeking reelection to his College Council position. Hudson wants to continue his initiative to create cultural sensitivity workshops for incoming first-years and to expand student counseling resources. Hudson’s focus on cultural sensitivity workshops is intended to help introduce students to aspects of different cultural identities that they may not have been familiar with before coming into the College. “Ideally [it would be] some sort of workshop for first-years during fall quarter, winter quarter, and spring quarter, just for an hour during house meetings,” he said. “Preferably they would address issues like microaggressions, various cultural stigmas, and ways that we deal with people who are very different from us.” In addition to first-year workshops, Hudson would like to work with the Center for Identity and Inclusion to create peer-to-peer mentorship programs, because “the best efforts are conducted through peer to peer interactions, and not necessarily from faculty members.” Hudson will also seek to work collaboratively with on-campus organizations and Student Counseling Service (SCS) to make mental health resources more visible and accessible. “There are a lot of resources buried on the student counseling services website,” Hudson said. To address this, he plans to increase signage around campus advertising mental health resources to alleviate ignorance surrounding resources. For example, Hudson would like to collaborate with Active Minds, an organization with a chapter on campus that aims to connect students with mental health resources and fight mental health stigmas, to further the reach of SCS. In
and introducing them to equipment. “A lot of people want to make a positive change in their life but do not feel comfortable doing so because they feel intimidated...I know the people who go to the gym regularly and many of them love working out with someone else and teaching other people,” Pinna said. This led him to outline a plan for the MMP, which would pair experienced gym-goers with those looking to learn how to use equipment and gain confidence exercising at the gym. Similar short term projects will be a staple of Pinna’s tenure if elected. Another goal of his platform will be making College Council projects widely known due to their direct effect on the everyday lives of students. He hopes to raise awareness of what college council does for the student body. “I want to do things for the College that I know we can accomplish as fellow students and with the limited funds and limited power that we have.”
MATTHEW PINNA First-year Matthew Pinna is running for College Council and says that he is “really the practical candidate.” He adds that “I don’t pretend to be anything else, I don’t pretend to push for things I know that we can’t do.” During the fall quarter College Council elections, Pinna felt that then-representatives were making promises they could not keep, and that he should take the initiative to make more feasible changes. “Just look at some of the candidates that are running for reelection,” he said. “If you look at what they’ve done during the minutes you’ll see that none of them were able to follow up on what they promised and they are promising the exact same thing this upcoming year. And that’s where I feel like I come in.” His platform’s primary goal is an expansion of a personal project: the Maroon Muscles Program (MMP). After interacting with many friends who were uncomfortable with exercising in Crown and Ratner, Pinna began taking them to the gym with him
BRIAN JOHNSON First-year Brian Johnson is running for College Council on a social issue agenda, hoping to influence sustainability initiatives, mental health resources, University of Chicago Police Department accountability, and the development of cultural centers on campus. During his time at UChicago, Johnson has competed on mock trial, participated in and led Art Is Movement (AIM) workshops, worked at the University Community Service Center, and will be serving on the leadership team for the Chicago Bound pre-orientation program this coming summer. Johnson said he would like to partner with the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative to aid in their efforts to make the Food Recovery Program more wideContinued on page 4
Former Health Secretary Speaks at Institute of Politics BY DAKSH CHAUHAN SENIOR NEWS REPORTER
Last Thursday at an event held by the Institute of Politics, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price spoke about the existing problems in the health care system and the government’s approach to solving them. Dean of the Harris School Katherine Baicker interviewed Price about the current state of health care in America and about ways the government could solve existing issues with coverage and the quality of care. “When we talk about issues in health care, we primarily mean issues in financing it, and I believe that in health care,
one size doesn’t fit all,” Price told Baicker. Price explained that while everyone in America needs coverage, citizens should be able to make their own decisions when it comes to choosing the kind of coverage or health care plans they could use. However, Price later said that even though America’s variety of available health care plans is beneficial, the types of available plans are currently “so silo-ed,” or distinct from each other, that it can be hard to transition between different systems. Price also talked about how the government should promote formation of new payment methods to best deal with the problem with financing care. “New health care payment methods
should be experimented with so that patients can have more choice over what kind of plans will work best for them,” he said. He later argued against using bundled payments (lump-sum amounts made to cover a certain population) for financing health care, because “it is incorrect to assume that an area’s population will be homogeneous and that single bundled payments could accurately respond to diverse needs.” The audience was given a chance to ask questions, once Price finished speaking with Baicker. In response to a question inquiring about his support of the American Health Care Act, which would have stripped more
than 20 million people of their health care coverage, Price explained why he considers the statistic misleading, and that it does not represent the whole story. “The Congressional Budget Office, which produced this data, look at a silo of information and do so devoid of any other activity occurring in the background,” he said. Price ended the event with a message of bipartisanship: “In the end we are all on the same side, and we can create an environment in which it would be financially foolish for someone to not purchase health coverage.”
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“Everything I have suggested is within a possibility” Continued frompage 3
ly known and bring compost bins to the dining halls. The Food Recovery Program works with RSOs to collect any leftover food from events and move them to areas where people can eat it, such as in house lounges or the Regenstein Library first floor. As for composting, Johnson said, “We have recycling bins, we have some things that we are doing to help prevent waste, but I think compost bins would be a great next step to prevent food waste.” His platform also advocates for expansion of resources and availability of SCS. To achieve this, Johnson would like to create a mental health resource book to aggregate resources for students and to provide direction towards the best health care professionals in Hyde Park and the greater Chicago area for any given situation. “Therefore if students find that student counseling doesn’t have any options for them or isn’t the best option for them, they can just look at this resource book and call around and see what in the area is available and so students can have a little guidance getting help, which I think is an important step,” Johnson said. UCPD accountability is also an important issue to Johnson. He cited concerns with UCPD’s lack of requirement to act under the Freedom of Information Act as a private police force and argued that the breadth of their jurisdiction, nearly 65,000 Chicagoans, makes this lack dubious. In a mission to uphold the University’s support for cultural diversity, Johnson stands with the campaign for cultural centers on college campuses. “If the University of Chicago is ded-
icated to diversity initiatives as they say they are, I believe that establishing cultural centers on campus would be the next step to showing that they are committed,” Johnson said. Despite his extensive long term goals, Johnson understands the limitations of his position on college council. “Things may change and may become apparent that maybe it’s not possible... but I think everything I have suggested is within a possibility. These are things that are being done across college campuses across the country, so why not at the University of Chicago?” Editor’s note: T he M a roon reached out to all the official candidates for this position. The candidates not featured did not agree to an interview.
VIEWPOINTS Unite for Student Government Executive Slate The Editorial Board Endorses Unite, But Some of Their Proposals Would Benefit From Revision The M aroon Editorial Board endorses Unite for Executive Slate in this week’s Student Government election. Unite’s views are largely in line with those of the M aroon Editorial Board’s previous stances: They support increased mental health access and reforms to Student Counseling Services, increased Greek life involvement in handling issues of sexual assault, and releasing the use of force policy by UCPD. That being said, the Board has reservations about some of the details of the Unite slate’s platform and their plans to execute them. Many of their proposals lack specificity, and others include misplaced priorities. The Unite slate has presented a serious platform addressing key campus issues, and its members have a range of experiences that make them well-qualified to lead the student body. The slate consists of Sat Gupta for student-body president, Malay Trivedi for Vice President of Student Affairs, and Natalie Jusko for Vice President of Administration. Two of Unite’s members—Gupta, second-year College Council chair, and Trivedi, a first-year College Council representative—bring valuable Student Government (SG) experience to the table, and second-year Jusko adds to the slate with her wide-ranging campus involvement in organizations ranging from Panhellenic council to Peer Health Exchange.
Brooke Nagler
Malay Trivedi, Sat Gupta, and Natalie Jusko (left to right) discuss their platform in a meeting with the Maroon Editorial Board. However, after meeting with Unite members to discuss their platform, we were left unsatisfied in several key areas. Unite’s strong stance on addressing sexual assault on campus is admirable and its plan to place Greek life at the center of this conversation is smart. However, its proposals for how to bring fraternities
into the conversation surrounding sexual assault are inadequate. Gupta said he is opposed to formal University recognition of fraternities because that would make the University more responsible when chapters misbehave. This may be true, but we believe that the University must take some responsibility in policing fraternities be-
cause we’ve seen that they are reluctant to do so on their own. While it’s unlikely that the administration will change its position on recognition, the Board believes this may be the only way to add real accountability to the Greek system. Unite said it supports strengthening or expanding Fraternities Continued on page 5
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VIEWPOINTS UChicago: No Place for People of Color UChicago Is Not a Safe Space For Students of Color
Soulet Ali Prospective PoC (people of color) undergraduates: Don’t come to the University of Chicago. Last on the University administration’s list of priorities are the needs of students of color on campus. This is reflected in the lack of PoC faculty members, ineffective training of the UCPD on the administration’s part, and the University’s imbecilic stance on free speech. Over the last six quarters of being a PoC undergraduate at UChicago, I—along with a number of PoC students that I’ve met—have directly faced the consequences of administrative decisions that have supported the marginalization of PoC students. To better understand the treatment of people of color at UChicago, I interviewed three undergraduates about their experiences as PoCs on campus: Second-year Adriana Gonzales gave a general account of her experience as a PoC: “I think it’s just really difficult to be in a predominantly white school where you have not only students, but even staff and faculty, making people of color feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, and disliked. You have people not receiving the refund checks they need to buy groceries, you have PoC being singled out or made to talk for their whole race or ethnicity in class, and anonymous racist posts coming out of pages like UChicago Secrets all the time while people cry out for their free speech and lack of safe spaces. Study abroad was plagued by the same kinds of incidents. The lack of diversity in our faculty is unacceptable, especially because I have had some of my most impressive, enriching classes with instructors of color, who are unafraid of having important conversations regarding race. I do not recommend this school to students of color that I know,” Gonzales said. The composition of the University’s faculty is acutely homogenized. The “Final Report of the Diversity Advisory Council” of 2017 noted that only 6 percent of current faculty are from underrepresented minority (URM) groups (black, Hispanic, and Native American) and that the University’s ambition over the next decade would be to increase the number to 12 percent, “The goal would be to increase the percentage of URM faculty to 12 percent of total projected
faculty, up from 6 percent as of 2016.” In comparison to peer institutions, the University’s demographic distribution over the past decade has fallen short: “The University’s demographic distribution lags behind many peer institutions. Despite stated commitment to encouraging diverse hiring of faculty, numbers of African-American and Hispanic faculty at the University have not increased over the past decade.” In particular, a problem with retention of PoC faculty is at issue, as there have been as many departures of prominent faculty members of color as there have been faculty members hired in the recruitment process, “including those of the first two African-American faculty members to serve as Divisional Deans, in 2008 and 2014.” Not only this, but the University’s PCEP Fellowship Program (Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows Program), which began in 2009 and “reflects the University of Chicago’s commitment to increasing the diversity of its faculty. This program provides up to two years of funding for the highest caliber junior scholars from diverse backgrounds, including historically underrepresented groups,” has not led to a substantial increase in PoC hires. “The PCEP Fellowship Program...has not led to appreciable increases in underrepresented hires.” The University is not alone. Peer institutions have shown similarly poor performance in hiring underrepresented faculty members: In 2014 Harvard’s faculty was composed of 5.6 percent URMs, Yale’s 6.4 percent, Princeton’s 5.8 percent, and UPenn’s 7 percent. Third-year Allan Lake Jr. also reflected on the general experiences he has faced as a PoC on campus, “I have had my share of problematic concerns during my time here, including being mistaken for a resident of the neighborhood but not a student. Of being mistaken by teachers, peers, staff, etc. as another black student (who in many cases I don’t look like), a number of microaggressions and plenty of stereotyping. I have been asked for my student ID to prove that I am a student; it has been assumed I am up to no good for being out late, many times it’s with friends or leaving the library from an already long night,” Lake said. Fourth-year, Alan Yang spoke about his reaction to the shooting of fourth-year PoC Charles Thomas: “I was horrified when I learned that Thomas was shot. Contextually, I believe that UCPD is a deeply problematic institution that systematically
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discriminates against African-American South Side residents. But I had never recalled a student ever being the target of a violent attack by the department—ever. I guess it should come as no surprise,” Yang said. UCPD has had a long history of targeting PoC students. The Diversity Advisory Council also reported cases of PoC student arrests on campus, which included, “the 2010 arrest of an African-American undergraduate on the A-Level Regenstein Library, for questionable causes,” and “the January 2013 arrest by campus police of an African-American Ph.D. candidate, along with three non-students, at a protect on UC Hospital property supporting extension of trauma care services.” Personally, I am most perturbed by the administration’s spiel on free speech. I attended an open forum last month, in which President Robert Zimmer and Dean John Boyer participated in a moderated conversation with David Axelrod on the issue of free expression and open discourse on campus. The conversation was also conducted in light of an invitation sent from Booth professor Luigi Zingales to Steve Bannon to come speak at the University. At one point in the forum, Axelrod asked Zimmer pointblank, “You and I are both Jews. I’m trying to put myself in the shoes of the students who have come to me and said, ‘I feel personally, not just uncomfortable, but threatened to have people come on campus who espouse views that are fundamentally hostile to me on racial and ethnic terms,’ and there was a professor in Dallas who said, ‘I would have invited a young Adolf Hitler as well’ and that caused a lot of eyebrows to be raised and I’m thinking, if I were a student in his class in the 1930s or ’20s, how would I
feel about that? And would I feel threatened by the rhetoric that essentially targeted me personally and my faith and my community as a part of that talk. So where does empathy play a role in this?” Zimmer responded, “Yeah, I think there is no question that people are going to be faced with unpleasant people. Looking at these extreme cases are difficult, there’s no question…but who’s got control of what people say in the world? And we need to be prepared for this. And I think that it is part of the university’s obligations to help students with those difficulties. It’s not an easy thing, and I think the degree of empathy needs to come from a community that is supportive of people...but that it should not undermine our fundamental principle.” The most frustrating aspect of Zimmer’s response is that perhaps for the privileged members of our society, inviting Bannon and giving a platform to ideals like his is what they consider to be an “intellectual debate.” But for marginalized people, this is not just a subject we read or hear about from an ideological open forum: It’s our lives. And students of color do not need more practice in discourse with “unpleasant people” to prepare us post-graduation. Marginalization because of our race is already a part of our material reality. If the University wants to help students of color, then our worthiness as human beings should not be put up for debate, lest we undermine UChicago’s principles for discourse. In the end, the administration has decided to prioritize a space for “hot takes” rather than the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of students of color on this campus. Soulet Ali is a second-year in the College.
“The University must take some responsibility in policing fraternities.” Continued from page 4 Committed to Safety (FCS), the initiative by fraternities to standardize sexual assault policies. We hope that if elected, Unite will develop a more concrete and cohesive plan for addressing fraternity issues, and we hope they will be leaders in bringing fraternities together to expand FCS into a fraternity council that can respond to policy violations on issues beyond sexual assault. Unite also writes in its platform that it hopes to increase transparency of University administration decisions by facilitating significant dialogue between the student body and the administration. It aims to do so primarily through more town halls with administrators, similar to the one held earlier this month with University President Robert Zimmer. But when asked how they intended to increase attendance at such meetings, Unite members offered few suggestions beyond holding meetings on more specific topics. And they did not appear to have a concrete plan for convincing administrators to agree to more meetings with the student body. It seems like an empty proposal, and Unite is unlikely to find success in this area where past slates have failed unless they are ready to present some new ideas. The Editorial Board was also confused by Unite’s inclusion of Major Activities Board (MAB) funding in its platform. Unite members stated explicitly to T he M aroon that activities such as Summer
Breeze are less of a priority than, for example, the Student Government Emergency Fund described in the section right above increased MAB funding in their platform. When asked about whether they believe it is more important for MAB to receive funding than initiatives such as the Emergency Fund for undocumented and marginalized students, Unite clarified that any increases to MAB would not come out of the Student Government budget which currently funds MAB, but rather from the University’s budget. We encourage Unite to focus their energies on using SG’s own budget to fund important initiatives like the Emergency Fund and to the extent that they are able to convince administrators to fund initiatives, we encourage them to prioritize serious matters. Unite is running unopposed, with the exception of the satirical slate of Delta Upsilon fraternity brothers. In 2016, the Editorial Board declined to engage with the Moose Party because they refused to discuss sexual assault or any other serious issues. This year, a Moose member simply said “Yeah, we’re good,” when given a chance to address sexual assault at the SG debate, so our position on Moose stays the same. Unite is thus the obvious choice to lead the student body, and we strongly encourage students to participate in the election by casting votes for Gupta, Trivedi, and Jusko, despite our stated reservations. –The M aroon Editorial Board
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 1, 2018
ARTS Sculptures Speak With Space in Richard Rezac’s Address BY JONATHAN MANDEL ARTS STAFF
Upon seeing Richard Rezac’s work, you may be tempted to believe that he was born and raised inside Cobb Hall. In his solo exhibition, Address, his work seamlessly enters into dialogue with the Renaissance Society’s unique gallery space on the fourth floor of Cobb. Born in Lincoln, NE in 1952, he attended Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland and the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore before settling in Chicago in 1985. Since then, Rezac has held a professorship at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The old maxim, “Those who can’t do, teach,” is far from the truth in Rezac’s case: his sculptures on display in Address are exciting and mystifying. According to the printed guide available at the gallery entrance, “Having seen numerous exhibitions here at the Renaissance Society over a 30-year period, [Rezac] was keenly aware of how much the architecture could change dramatically with each presentation.” Bearing this in mind, Rezac worked closely with curator Solveig Øvstebø to produce “a cohesive installation informed by and responding to the openness of the gallery. Each sculpture’s precise placement is the result of careful consideration of its own spatial requirements and the composition of various sightlines through the exhibition.” The exhibition’s title plays on this notion of site-specificity: “Address” can be taken in the sense that Rezac is addressing us, his audience, through his
sculptural work, or in the sense that his work is tied to a particular geographic address—in this case, the open, multiplanar, high-ceiling space of the Ren. Rezac draws on the traditions of Minimalism and Finish Fetish in exploring the aesthetic qualities of his sculptures’ materials and geometric forms. These qualities are inseparable from each sculpture’s setting and the viewer’s gaze. When looking straighton at his sculpture “Quimby,” for example, one sees little more than a vertical line, ambiguously composed of wooden and metal rods, with a few odd protrusions resembling chair legs. But as one walks around “Quimby,” it explodes into a complex of Mondrian-like panels and polished wooden curvatures, echoing the windows and planes of the gallery wall behind it. Some pieces, like “ Untitled ( Ren Screen),” were commissioned by the Ren and created directly in response to the nuances of the Ren’s gallery space. “Untitled (Ren Screen)” captures the triangularity and sense of ascendancy present in the gallery wall directly behind it. Light from nearby windows glints off of the slick, painted portions of the sculpture and brilliantly illuminates the beautiful patterns in the unpainted portion of natural cherrywood. Other pieces, like “Untitled (05-07),” which is suspended from the ceiling just above “ Untitled ( Ren Screen),” were created by Rezac over a decade before Address, but still give the impression that Rezac had the idiosyncrasies of the Ren’s space in mind: “Untitled (05-07)” is an inscrutable arrangement of cast
Installation view of “Untitled (Ren Screen)” and “Untitled (05-07).”
Photos by Jonathan Mandel
Richard Rezac’s sculptures reflect their surroundings (Above: “Untitled (14-04)”). bronze cones, cylinders, and planes. From each angle, the light from the windows behind hits the sculpture differently, causing a variety of geometric forms to advance and recede as one walks around it. Its many lines and oblique angles are perfectly suited to the similarly composed gallery in which it hangs. Rezac invites the viewer to explore the gallery space through each sculpture. Some of Rezac’s sculptures recall the shimmer of the Southern California sun through perfect, polished hot rods and smooth, shiny surf boards, which gave rise to a generation of Finish Fetish artists in the 1960s. Others confront us with the recalcitrant solidity of industrial-looking objects, while
finding beauty in their material surfaces, just like the work produced around the same time by Minimalist artists. Some of Rezac’s sculptures, like “Tendril (Thomaskirche),” do both at once. But all of his pieces explore the relationships between the sculptural work, its setting, and the viewer. They are coy and enigmatic as they unfold before you, simultaneously open and resistant to interpretation. All, however, are a treat to the eye, and make for a truly special show at the Renaissance Society. Address will be on view at the Renaissance Society, on the fourth floor of Cobb Hall, through June 17.
“Untitled (17-07).”
J. Cole Preaches More Than He Teaches on KOD BY PIERRE LEDAN MAROON CONTRIBUTOR
It’s been more than a year since J. Cole dropped his last album, 4 Your Eyez Only, which, though disappointing, had its moments in songs such as “Neighbours.” While his newest project, KOD, does not have the same youthful exuberance and energy as his most well-received album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, it does highlight his excellent narration ability and his role as a conscious rapper. Much of the criticism against Cole draws from the often heavy-handed lessons he tries to spout. His critics decry his holier-than-thou attitude and sometimes misinformed preaching (his hit
“No Role Models,” for example, turns regressive ideas of women into a moral struggle for Cole). In his new album KOD, Cole turns toward a more serious issue: the drug abuse prevalent in his community—which other rappers often glorify. Functionally, KOD is an anti-drug PSA. The very first song after the intro, the titular track “KOD,” does not begin as one would expect from an album about the dangers of drug abuse. In this song, Cole raps from the point of view of a drug dealer, speaking about substance abuse (“Yeah, at this shit daily, sipped so much Actavis/ I convinced Actavis that they should pay me”). Cole comes out with an undeniable swagger in his f low, which is combined with a
trap flavored beat to make it catchy. But J. Cole does not make songs just to rank high on the charts. Instead, he imbues his songs with lessons. For the seriousness of his subject matter, a conscious rapper would be expected to approach his songs with more nuance. But oftentimes, Cole’s world is too black-and-white, in the service of proving his point. Separately, his arguments make sense, but together his lessons come off as ignorant and overly simplistic. For example, throughout the album he refuses to distinguish between the range of dangers of different drugs and instead mixes less serious marijuana use with the abuse of lean. This lack of nuance is also seen in “Once an Addict
(Interlude)” when Cole refuses to provide context for his mother’s addiction and instead focuses on his response to it (“Little did I know how deep her sadness would go/ Lookin’ back, I wish I woulda did more instead of runnin’). Although this track gives context for his perspectives on addiction, the way he mentions no redeemable qualities when portraying his mother—who raised him and his brother alone—is heartless. In his ninth track “Friends,” Cole attempts to find a solution for addiction: meditation. W hile meditation might have health benefits, this simplistic approach ignores the fact that drug abuse is a complex problem and is hard to overcome without support from Continued on page 7
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 1, 2018
“...oftentimes, Cole’s world is too black-and-white, in the service of proving his point.” Continued from page 6 others. This reductive solution negates the importance of the narrative that he has previously built. A review of KOD would be incomplete without looking at the conf lict between new wave rappers and J. Cole. Throughout the album, Cole pays tribute to legends of hip-hop through the electronic voice on “Intro,” evoking the A Tribe Called Quest album Midnight Marauders, or through his interpolating hook “We Don’t Care,” reminiscent of Kanye West. The final track “1985 (Intro to ‘The Fall Off ’)” is a response to Lil Pump’s unreleased diss track surfaced online titled “Fuck J. Cole.” Here, Cole adopts a mentoring tone to help guide some of the new rappers. Cole’s clever language displays how quality rap is always going to be appreciated,
even as trends in hip-hop change. Even with some solid songs, KOD must be judged as a work from a conscious rapper, and is thus a f lawed project. Although the individual songs hold up well, the weaknesses of his arguments can’t be ignored. The album is held back by Cole’s lack of nuance, ultimately weakening his message. Still, it is a commercial success, breaking streaming records on Apple Music (64.5 million streams) and Spotify (36.7 million streams), and Cole looks likely to add to his streak of platinum records. Catchy and wise despite its faults, KOD is certainly worth a listen.
Photo courtesy of Dreamville/Roc Nation
Exhibit [A]rts TUESDAY [5/1] Alash Tuvan Throat Singers Concert International House, 7–8:30 p.m., free. Head over to I-House this Tuesday for a free performance of traditional Tuvan throat singing by this world-renowned ensemble. THURSDAY [5/3] Post Now and Post New: Afrofuturist Themes in Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Photography, 6–8 p.m., free. Alongside the museum’s new Afrofuturist exhibit, In Their Own Form, this discussion
between Afrofuturist artists D. Denenge Duyst-Akpem and Ingrid LaFleur will examine how the genre is portrayed in various mediums. UChicago Night at the Art Institute Art Institute of Chicago, 5–8 p.m., free. Take advantage of your UCID for a night of gallery tours and artist talks at the world-renowned Art Institute. In conjunction with Northwestern, this event is a great way to see the museum in a new light, and to mingle with fellow art-lovers!
FRIDAY [5/4] Student Night at the Ren Renaissance Society, 5–9 p.m., free. This quarterly event provides a full night of programming, just for students! Munch on pizza as you wander through Richard Rezac’s new exhibit or sift through old exhibit posters to decorate your walls. Then, round off a night of art with a concert by Iranian electronic musician Cameron Shafii. No Burden for Continuity Logan Center, 6–8 p.m., free. In the first installment of the 2018 M.F.A.
Thesis Exhibition, view the work of M.F.A. candidates Derek Ernster, Frances Lee, Franny Mendes Levitin, and Takashi Shallow, on view through May 20. SATURDAY [5/5] UT/TAPS Presents: I & You Logan Center, 7:30 p.m. $6 in advance, $8 at door. In the heart-warming story of a school project–turned-friendship, playwright Lauren Gunderson depicts the formation of a deep connection through poetry.
CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS
diversity community inclusion Join the conversation about inclusion in our classrooms and within our campus community. Participate in one of three upcoming Campus Conversations. These facilitated discussions, open to UChicago community members, will enable you to share your thoughts and insights with one another. Wednesday, May 2 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. Booth 104 A/B
Tuesday, May 8 Thursday, May 3 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Booth A/B Booth 104 A
Space is limited. Register now at bitly.com/campusconversations. Campus Conversations are offered as part of UChicago’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. Learn more at diversityinitiative.uchicago.edu.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON - MAY 1, 2018
SPORTS
Maroons Sweep Senior Day Games BASEBALL
BY VIKRAM PRASAD SPORTS STAFF
In their very last home games of the 2018 season, the baseball team went out with a bang, handily sweeping Caltech in a three-game series and improving their season record to 22–9, with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 28, and a single game the next day. The Sunday game was particularly special—it was the team’s Senior Day, with fourth-years Matt Slodzinski, Chase Packard, Max Larsen, and Ricardo Fernandez honored by teammates, coaches, and fans. In the first game, third-year pitcher Brenton Villasenor started and pitched six innings, striking out five batters and allowing only three earned runs, with one unearned run in the sixth. Maroon offense was strong early on; the team managed to score five runs in the second inning, with one more in the third and another in the fourth. A three-run rally by Caltech in the sixth did not prove to be enough to beat the South Siders. The second game ended up being even better for the Maroons, as second-year pitcher Jacob Petersen had one of his best outings yet, allowing only one hit and one run in over
six innings of play. Maroon offensive efforts were strong throughout the game, with the first and fifth innings seeing two runs each, but it was the seventh inning where they really shined. First-year shortstop Brian Lyle and third-year outfielder Connor Hickey managed to score one run each, and third-year outfielder Josh Parks batted in a three-run homer for himself, Larsen, and third-year catcher Ian Bohn. Third-year first baseman Brady Sarkon, second-year designated hitter Payton Jancsy and first-year second baseman Jimmy Kelly also scored, bringing the total to 12–1. The eighth inning also saw a double by Lyle that batted in first-year designated hitter Joe Burns and third-year second-baseman Max Brzostowski, along with a sacrifice fly from Hickey, bringing the final score to 15–1. The momentum continued the next day, with the offense showing glimpses of brilliance with one run each in the first, second, and fifth innings, and two runs in the sixth. However, the team really came alive in the eighth inning, with six runs coming from Hickey, Larsen, Sarkon, Jancsy, Bohn, and Kelly. The pitching staff also managed to successfully hold off Caltech, as starter Fernandez, first-year Chandler Yu and third-
Sophia Corning
Fourth-year Ricardo Fernandez winds up a pitch. year Ravi Bakhai managed to strike out a portant to continue the positive momentum total of ten batters in the game, with Bakhai and to continue winning in order to make the allowing only one hit in two innings. playoffs,” he said. “Give it our all—that’s all Bakhai acknowledged that the team’s that we can do and control. Shout-out to the strong performance this weekend was a seniors for a great four years.” good sign for the rest of the season. “We took The Maroons’ next game will be taking care of business against a team we knew we place at University of Illinois at Chicago at should beat. Now we need to stay focused, 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1. and since we’re not in a conference it’s im-
Men’s Tennis Takes UAA Title TENNIS
BY ALYSSA RUDIN SPORTS STAFF
The Maroon men’s tennis team broke the dominant streak of the Emory men’s tennis team this past weekend to win the UAA conference title for the first time in program history. Chicago defeated NYU and Carnegie Mellon in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. With this win, they earn themselves an automatic qualification to the NCAAs. In the first round, the Maroons swept seventh seed NYU 9–0. Doubles went quickly, winning 8–3, 8–2, and 8–4. Up 3–0, UChicago only needed two more wins from their six singles matches to clinch a semifinal berth. Third-year Charlie Pei came through first, winning 6–1, 6–2, and fourth-year Nick Chua
BY ANDREW BEYTAGH
won 6–3, 6–0 to seal the Chicago win. Every other singles match went similarly in favor of the Maroons except for the No. 1 singles match, in which second-year Erik Kerrigan was pushed to a third-set tiebreaker. He barely escaped, winning 12–10 in the breaker. On day two, the Maroons won 8–1 against Carnegie to send themselves to the title match for the first time in program history. The Maroons put themselves in the best possible position heading into singles by sweeping doubles 8–4, 8–6, 8–5. Once again, Chicago only needed to win two singles matches to push them over the brink. Fourth-year Luke Tsai took care of business, winning 6–2, 6–1 to get the team right to the edge of victory. Another fourth-year, Peter Leung, came up big, winning 6–2, 6–2, to secure history and the win for his team. Pei, Chua, and first-year
The Maroons come off a tough weekend against the Case Western University Spartans. The Maroons dropped all four games and fell to 19–15 on the season. Errors and tremendous fielding by the Spartans hurt the Maroons over the four-game series. In the first game, UChicago tallied four errors which lead to five un-earned runs in route to a 6–0 defeat. In the second game of Saturday, Case Western’s offense dominated as Chicago struggled with the bases loaded. With the bases loaded in the second and fourth innings,
SOFTBALL the hosts failed to get a run home. The Spartans added five runs in the sixth inning to close out the game in the sixth inning with a mercy-rule score of 11–0. On Sunday, the Maroons played the visiting Spartans much closer, but persistent lapses continued to hamstring Chicago. In the first game, third-year Maeve Garvey launched a solo homerun for the only run of the game for the hosts. Meanwhile, Case Western’s balanced attack belted 11 hits including a solo home run in the sixth inning
UPCOMING GAMES SPORT DAY Opponent Today Today Wednesday Friday
the moment, first-year Yuan clinched the title for the team 6–3 in the third. Chua and Tsai provided the last two wins for the team, with the final match score being 7–2. This title seems like an appropriate parting gift for the Maroon’s historic senior class, who are some of the best players to ever step foot on the UChicago campus. Looking back on the weekend, Leung was elated. “I could not be prouder of this team and the effort and fight they showed this weekend,” he said. “UAAs are so competitive and to come out every day and fight and find a way to win against teams as top notch as Carnegie and Emory is a testament to their mental strength.” Thinking about his legacy, Leung hopes that winning a conference title becomes standard for this team in a few years.
Case Western Blasts UChicago
SPORTS STAFF
Softball Baseball Softball Track & Field
Jeremy Yuan supplied the rest of the wins for the Maroons. The Maroons headed into the championship match as distinct underdogs, being the lower seed and having already lost to the Emory Eagles at ITA Indoors. This didn’t stop the Maroons, who came out hungry and ready to play on every court. Third doubles dropped a quick pro set 2–8, but second doubles second-year Tyler Raclin and Yuan brought the match score to 1–1 with an equally quick 8–2 win, avenging an earlier season loss to the Emory second doubles team. In a highstakes match, second-years Kerrigan and Ninan Kumar won 9–7 to give the Maroons the lead heading into singles. Pei and Leung once again set up the team to win with two straight-set wins at the fifth and sixth singles positions. Not one to be intimidated by
North Central Illinois-Chicago Elmhurst Loras Dr. Tucker
compared to the Maroons three hits. In the final game of the four-game tilt, the long ball proved to be the key differentiator. The Spartans blasted a pair of two-run shots while the Maroons answered in the bottom of the sixth inning with a solo blast by first-year Skye Collins. Chicago ended up dropping both contests on Sunday by the scores of 4–1 and 5–2 respectively. Third-year first baseman Carly Schulz spoke about the home-stand against the Spartans. “We struggled to gain momentum
against Case’s pitching staff until late in the games,” he said. Dropping these games were tough and they are a really good team, but we are looking forward to our games against North Central, Elmhurst, and Lawrence this week.” The softball team continues their homestand with double headers against North Central, Elmhurst, and Lawrence this week. UChicago takes on North Central at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 1 and Elmhurst at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2.
M AROON
TIME
SPORT
3 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 3 p.m.
Women’s T & F Softball Baseball Women’s Tennis Men’s T & F
SCORE BOARD W/L Opponent W L W L W
UAA Champs Case Western Caltech Emory UAA Champs
Score 2nd of 7 5–2 11–3 7–2 3rd of 7