110411 Chicago Maroon

FRIDAY • NOVEMBER 4, 2011

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

Dining changes encounter obstacles Fourth Meal a success as Phoenix Plan fails to take off

ISSUE 11 • VOLUME 123

Injury shuts down dance room, leaving RSOs up in the air Jonathan Lai News Editor A dance injury last Thursday led to the indefinite closure of the Ida Noyes Hall Dance Room, one of the most used dance spaces for RSOs. The dance room, located in the basement of Ida Noyes, had been the subject of student complaints for over a year for its lack of maintenance and safety risks posed by damaged flooring. One student twisted his ankle in February; when another student injured his ankle last Thursday, administrators decided to close the room indefinitely.

Although the most recent incident was captured on video, it is unclear what caused the injury. However, the major safety risk raised by students who use the dance room is the uneven floor-

ing surface. The “marley,” a term used to describe the performance dance surface that sits on top of the floor itself, has formed “bubbles” that can trip a dancer. Eventually, the bubbles pop and leave holes behind. February’s incident occurred when a student fell after getting a toe caught in one such hole.

Last week’s injury was reported along with the video on Tuesday evening.

Within hours, an Ida Noyes building manager closed the room, stopping a rehearsal by the dance RSO Maya.

According to Co-Director of dance RSO Maya and Technical Director for Dance Council third-year Shir Yehoshua, the staffer told students that the room was being closed “indefinitely.”

In an e-mail addressed to student leaders, the Director of the Office of Event DANCE continued on page 2

Community responds to CPD plan Lesha Sesson serves first-year Jayson Gorski pancakes during fourth meal at Pierce. Over 400 students have attended fourth meal each night since the beginning of third week.

JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Sam Levine News Editor & Rebecca Guterman Associate News Editor Dining administrators are re-evaluating parts of the University’s new dining plan after fewer students than expected have been utilizing the Phoenix meal plan and the meal exchange program.

One hundred eighty-three students are currently on the Phoenix meal plan, which provides 150 visits to the dining halls, 150 Maroon dollars, and 15 meal

exchanges each quarter. 2,609 students are on the Unlimited meal plan, which all first-year students are required to purchase, and which is the default for upperclassmen living in dorms other than Stony Island, Blackstone, and the International House. The plan provides unlimited visits to the dining halls, 100 Maroon dollars, and three meal exchanges per quarter.

Richard Mason, Director of Campus Dining, said that between 1,200 and 1,300 upperclassmen living in student housing could purchase either the Un-

limited or Phoenix meal plan.

Both the Unlimited and Phoenix plans cost $1,667 per quarter, but Mason said that the increased number of retail options in the Phoenix plan gives it an equal value to the unlimited plan. Because the University must pay franchise fees and meet certain staffing requirements, a meal in a retail location could cost more for the University, he said.

“It’s more flex, but still has a very significant number of meals in the dining halls,” Mason said of the Phoenix plan.

DINING continued on page 2

Fourth sorority may come to campus Joy Crane News Contributor Record-high recruitment levels have raised old questions about space and resources for the three sororities on campus, as well as the prospect of introducing a fourth sorority to accommodate the sudden jump in student interest.

An all-time high of 126 women turned out for sorority “rush weekend” last month—a 21 percent increase from last year. Furthermore, nearly 60 percent of the women who received bids from a sorority were first-year students, bucking past trends of low firstyear recruitment.

“Sororities are looking forward to making the sorority life on campus a larger community, and thus are interested in the expan-

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sion process. [A higher number of sisters] will definitely create changes,” said Markie Westwood, president of the University of Chicago Panhellenic Council.

“Yes, it will be a long process, but it’s something that we think the campus could really benefit from.”

There is a formal appeals process for National Panhellenic Council (NPC) chapters, like U of C’s, that want to add sororities on campus, Westwood said.

The national organization would decide whether to bring a fourth sorority here. “We won’t know which sorority it is for at least a few more months [after applying ],” she said.

The consideration of a fourth sorority on campus is rooted in the Greek system’s unique re-

Temperatures in Fahrenheit - Courtesy of The Weather Channel

lationship with the University.

Sororities are not officially recognized by the U of C as campus student organizations. However, sororities have access to some University resources, including an ORCSA advisor and funds from the Student Government Finance Committee (SGFC).

In particular, the increased turnout for sororities raises past concerns of housing. Space is still a contentious issue for the NPC, even though Alpha Omicron Pi was granted housing in International House last year, according to Delta Gamma President Glynis Fagan. Already sororities are speculating whether more student involvement could change the way the University allocates its resources.

GREEK continued on page 2

Crystal Tsoi Associate News Editor Fourth Ward Alderman Will Burns (A.B. ’95, A.M. ’98) held a community meeting at the Congregation Rodfei Zekek on Tuesday addressing community concerns regarding the proposed closure of the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) 21st District police station.

The 21st Police District covers the Hyde Park and South Kenwood area east of Cottage Grove Avenue from 25th Street to 61st Street. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed 2012 budgetary plan includes merging the 21st District into the 1st and 2nd Districts. If the plan passes a City Council vote, the consolidation will go into effect on January 1, 2012.

Representatives from both the Mayor’s office and CPD attended the meeting. Felicia Davis, first deputy chief of staff for public safety

to Emanuel, emphasized the mayoral administration’s commitment to transparency regarding the 21st District’s consolidation into both the 1st and 2nd Districts.

“This is a major concern,” Burns said. “I think that it’s very important that [the representatives] hear directly from you.”

For months, there were rumors that the police station would close.

In an October 12 public statement sent out by e-mail, Burns wrote that the police superintendent and the Mayor’s office had formally notified him the day before of the proposed closure.

Davis noted that current district lines reflect outdated population data from the 1960s.

“This consolidation gives us the opportunity to right-size those beats and make sure that your beats are reflective of the crime trends that CPD continued on page 2

4th Ward Alderman Will Burns, the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety Felicia Davis, and CPD Area One Patrol Chief Wayne Gulliford field questions from 21st District residents at Wednesday’s Community Forum.

NICHOLAS SHATAN | THE CHICAGO MAROON

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

At Art Institute, design beyond reach » Page 5

Chicago battles for UAA crown in Empire State » Page 8

Oh, burger, where art thou? » Page 6

Title hopes on the line against Carnegie » Page 8

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 4, 2011

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promising, some students feel that the late night offerings, which include breakfast foods, milkshakes, and smoothies, lack healthy options.

“The dearth of vegetables was kind of disappointing. I would like some fruit, vegetables, spinach,” first-year Kelvin Lo said.

CDAB head and thirdyear Benjamin Lehrman said that the Board would address getting healthier options for

*All first-years are required to purchase the Unlimited Meal Plan.

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DANCE continued from front

Services Timothy J. Banks and ORCSA Director Sharlene Holly said that while it’s unclear whether the injury was caused by room issues, the room was closed in order to evaluate the safety of the space.

“In order to assess the state of the floor, to ensure the safety of users of the space, and to determine our ability to make any immediate repairs, the dance room was closed while these assessments were conducted,” the e-mail says, noting that an update on the status of the room is expected today.

For fourth-year Persephone Ma, the president of Dance Council, the admin-

istration’s response was too little, too late.

“If they had had regular maintenance of the space, they would be able to keep tabs on it and this wouldn’t have happened.… I think it’s not the appropriate reaction. The timing is bad,” said Ma, who also serves as the executive director of the RSO University Ballet. “[The room] is also just a staple for many, many dance crews.”

Leaders from twelve dance RSOs sent a letter to Banks last November, with additional letters from seven of those groups attached. However, Banks was not the person ultimately in charge of the room at the time, University spokes-

person Jeremy Manier said. Final authority of the room was given to Banks in August.

Yehoshua and Ma said that while the damaged dance surface does pose a safety risk, the room should be re-opened since the safety situation has not changed.

“If they’re going to close the dance room indefinitely, then for every moment that we don’t have space to practice, they should be fixing the floor.… Because for every second that we don’t have the floor, or don’t have the space, it’s a very heavy burden on every single dance RSO,” Yehoshua, who is also a co-captain of Raas, said.

Ideally, Ma said, the room would be reopened through the end of the quarter, at which point the floor could be fixed over winter break without affecting dance groups.

With the dance room in Ida Noyes closed indefinitely, affected dance RSOs are scrambling to secure alternative spaces on campus. None of these spaces are suitable substitutes for the Ida Noyes dance room, Ma and Yehoshua said.

The Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Space has a marley but is too small for larger dance RSOs, according to Ma and Yehoshua. Other spaces that RSOs have used, including the Cloister Club in Ida Noyes, the basement in Pierce, or the Henry Crown Green Room and squash courts, lack marley, putting stress on dancers’ joints. They also lack other equipment, such as mirrors and bars, that some groups require.

The dance groups will continue to do what they can to make it work, Yehoshua said, including taking the risks dancing in the Ida Noyes dance room if possible and using the other spaces as necessary.

“We go in at our own risk, we tape up holes, we try and do the best that we can. But this is what the University gives us, so this is what we deal with,” Yehoshua said. “You take what you can get.”

Community members see positive side to consolidation CPD continued from front

you’re facing right now,” she said.

The number of police officers on the street in the District would remain proportionally the same, according to Deputy Chief of CPD Area 1 Wayne Gulliford. The district is currently the second most staffed of the city’s 22 districts, not

counting the presence of additional UCPD officers.

In order to coordinate with the new district lines, the beats in the newly drawn boundaries will have to be redrawn, Gulliford said.

Burns also discussed possible future uses for the current 21st district building, including turning it

into a field house for Dunbar Park.

A field house would help fill an existing community need for “supervised activity for young people in Oakwood Shores and Oakland in the northern end of the ward,” Burns said.

Community members said they were not necessarily opposed to the consolidation.

“I appreciated that we had the meeting so that people can voice their concerns,” President of forum co-sponsor Coalition for Equitable Community Development Pat Wilcoxen said. “I’m not alarmed by what I heard. It may be a reasonable thing to take this opportunity to right-size [the districts].”

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Few alternative spaces exist for dancers

A student stands near a duct-taped hole in the Ida Noyes Hall Dance Room.

CAMILLE VAN HORNE | THE CHICAGO MAROON

fourth meal.

Mason said that administrators based some aspects of the current dining program on their visits, and are constantly considering new options. For example, Mason said a “carry-out” option at Johns Hopkins intrigued him, though there are no plans to add it to the U of C anytime soon.

—Additional reporting by Donna Guo and Hannah O’Grady

Meal plan enrollment

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familiar with the program, which allows diners to use a meal swipe to purchase specific meal combinations at retail locations or student-run cafés.

“Meal exchanges are new and unusual on campus, and we’re going to support it,” Mason said.

The dining office created a flyer explaining exactly how meal exchanges work, in hopes that more students will take advantage of them.

Second-year Emma Dries said that she was not entirely sure of how the meal exchange program worked.

“I know they have signs by some cash registers that explain meal exchange, but more signage would make it more clear,” Dries said.

While students have been slow to embrace the Phoenix Plan and meal exchanges, they have taken to Fourth Meal.

The new late night dining program, which costs between $200 and $250 thousand annually to maintain, has drawn anywhere from around 400 to 600 students to Pierce dining hall each night since the beginning of third week. The program replaces last year’s failed late night dining program in Hutchinson Commons.

Although the numbers are

Ap

Second-year Gwendolyn Stegall said that she chose not to change her unlimited meal plan because she liked its convenience.

“Why change what’s already good?” Stegall said.

Dining administrators will work with the Campus Dining Advisory Board (CDAB) and students who chose the Phoenix plan to determine how they can improve the plan, according to Mason.

Amelia Hawkins, a secondyear who lives in I-House, said that she chose the Phoenix Plan because of the additional Maroon dollars.

“If I’m out around campus it’s easy to grab something to eat, and I can go get food on my own,” Hawkins said. Hawkins added that if she could change the Phoenix Plan, she would add even more Maroon dollars and decrease the number of meal swipes.

Students are also using just over 100 meal exchanges per week, a number that Mason felt was relatively low given that every student with a meal plan has meal exchanges. Mason attributed the low numbers to the fact that most students were un-

oe nix

Talk of genetically modified octopuses filled the air at Hallowed Grounds Tuesday night, as ORCSA hosted its first-ever student stand-up comedy show.

The five performances, which included four aspiring stand-up comedians and one act by the improv comedy troupe Off-Off Campus, had the student coffee shop consistently ringing with laughter, though at points it was clear that audience members found certain routines too lewd.

First-year Will Dart, the fourth act, had a few listeners heading for the exits during his short performance, when he speculated about the awkward morning-after if he were to sleep with one of his younger sister’s friends.

“I have this theory that beards correspond with levels of manliness, like Super Saiyans in Dragon Ball Z,” Dart said. Coming up with material was a simple process, he said, despite having never

performed stand-up before.

“I bounce a lot of stuff off him,” he said, pointing to his friend and audience member, first-year Brandon Rayhaun.

First-years Mickey Desruisseaux and Oliver Dean also delivered punch lines.

The longest routine belonged to Off-Off Campus, who consistently drew laughs with a round of the improvisation game “Montage,” wherein multiple disconnected scenes are put in sequence.

In the final act, second-year Anna Moss delivered a rendition of rapper Asher Roth’s song, “I Love College,” modified to be more pertinent to the average University of Chicago student.

ORCSA sponsored the student event following the success of other recent standup shows, like a performance last year by 30 Rock writer Donald Glover, according to ORCSA’s campus activities coordinator Katie Przybys.

“I think that it just takes one student to get up and do it and succeed to encourage other students to try,” she said.

DINING continued from front

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Madhu Srikantha News Contributor

Students unsure how meal exchanges work

U Menlim al ited Pla n

Hallowed Grounds mixes coffee & comedy

Stronger outreach boosts sorority bids GREEK continued from front

“Perhaps the University will be forced to consider allocating more resources to us,” Fagan said.

“Space is a huge issue for us on campus: My chapter is 93 women, and there’s pretty much nowhere we can be all together.”

A high-energy publicity effort during the first few weeks of the quarter contributed to the surge of interest in Greek Life.

“Our outreach was much stronger this year. It was the first year the Panhellenic Council partook in the RSO Open House,” Assistant Director for Student Activities and Greek Life Kirsten Siron said.

First-years said that their class was particularly adamant in pursuing sisterhood, explaining the phenomenal turn out.

“I definitely think our class is unique from some of the other classes that I’ve met, and I’ve actually heard this from upperclassman and some people in the admissions office too. Our class is really social, and I think that has something to do with the amount of girls who decided to rush this year,” first-year Kappa Alpha Theta sister Lexi McCammond said.

McCammond also noted that the sororities serve to create communities for those who do not feel accommodated by the housing system.

“I live in Blackstone, so the community isn’t very tight—it’s hard to meet people there. All the girls I met who were in sororities would talk about how much they loved it,” McCammond said. “It was just something I really wanted to be a part of.”

VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & OP-ED NOVEMBER 4, 2011

Arrested development Lack of communication between the University and the community jeopardizes construction plans The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 ADAM JANOFSKY Editor-in-Chief CAMILLE VAN HORNE Managing Editor JACK DIMASSIMO Senior Editor AMY MYERS Senior Editor JONATHAN LAI News Editor HARUNOBU CORYNE News Editor SAM LEVINE News Editor PETER IANAKIEV Viewpoints Editor SHARAN SHETTY Viewpoints Editor JORDAN LARSON Arts Editor HANNAH GOLD Arts Editor MAHMOUD BAHRANI Sports Editor JESSICA SHEFT-ASON Sports Editor DOUGLAS EVERSON, JR Head Designer KEVIN WANG Web Editor ALICE BLACKWOOD Head Copy Editor GABE VALLEY Head Copy Editor LILY YE Head Copy Editor

Campus development is a difficult issue. Construction, perhaps the one thing that affects all members of the University community, is also one of the least understood aspects of campus life. So it wasn’t very surprising to read in the Chicago Tribune last week that Leslie Hairston, the alderman who oversees the University of Chicago area, is threatening to halt the University’s Institutional Planned Development (PD) 43—a city zoning document that governs how the University uses campus land—because of the “confusion” and “concerns” expressed by community members. The University recently proposed an amendment to PD43 for expansion that includes four properties on Woodlawn Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets. As the second largest private institution in the city of Chicago— and the only one that plans to spend $1.7 billion on capital improvements

over the next five years—the University must make a greater effort to communicate development plans and involve the community if it wants large projects to finish successfully and on time.

Although the University hasn’t had the best track record in this regard (flashback to the 2008 announcement of the Milton Friedman Institute that caused a continuous outpour of community and faculty concerns), we would expect administrators to learn from the hurdles they’ve encountered in the past.

However, an alderman publicly speaking out against construction plans and residents calling for the creation of a historic district to block the University’s expansion indicates poor communication between administrators and the community. And if these concerns aren’t properly addressed, there could be severe consequences. For instance, the Seminary Co-Op, celebrating its

50th anniversary, could find itself shafted again if construction in McGiffert House, its new home, is delayed due to zoning issues.

But, in the dance of community relations, the University can’t be the only partner: Hyde Parkers have to meet them halfway. It is, to borrow a couple of their own words, confusing and concerning that some residents are considering petitioning for the creation of an historic district to block University development. Such an attempt—blocking just for the sake of blocking—isn’t constructive. While community members often have reason to criticize University actions affecting the community, the default response to the U of C’s intentions to improve Hyde Park by creating lively commercial areas and state-of-the-art academic buildings shouldn’t be hostility. Instead of setting up roadblocks and red tape, Hairston and local residents

should provide constructive input.

It’s nice to see that Hairston has organized a community meeting on November 9 to discuss concerns, but it is obvious that the University and Hairston should have held such meetings together before threats were made.

It’s also comforting that Hairston said in a press release that the “the University has assured me they will listen,” but this shows that the University is using a politician as a liaison, instead of directly engaging with community members.

The University should use these zoning issues to build a better relationship with the community, or else large-scale developments will be constructed on unstable ground.

The Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Viewpoints Editors, and an additional Editorial Board member.

DARREN LEOW Photo Editor JAMIE MANLEY Photo Editor REBECCA GUTERMAN Assoc. News Editor LINDA QIU Assoc. News Editor CRYSTAL TSOI Assoc. News Editor GIOVANNI WROBEL Assoc. News Editor

More than hot chocolate Undergraduate access to graduate school resources should be expanded

Letter: Core reform proposal inadequate

COLIN BRADLEY Assoc. Viewpoints Editor EMILY WANG Assoc. Viewpoints Editor DANIEL LEWIS Assoc. Sports Editor TERENCE LEE Assoc. Photo Editor TYRONALD JORDAN Business Manager VIVIAN HUA Undergraduate Business Executive VINCENT MCGILL Delivery Coordinator HAYLEY LAMBERSON Ed. Board Member HYEONG-SUN CHO Designer SONIA DHAWAN Designer ALYSSA LAWTHER Designer

By Sharan Shetty Viewpoints Editor

SARAH LI Designer AUTUMN NI Designer AMITA PRABHU Designer BELLA WU Designer CATIE ARBONA Copy Editor AMISHI BAJAJ Copy Editor JANE BARTMAN Copy Editor

Walking in is easy. Slip past the doors, look mildly professional, move with purpose and upright posture.

Wayward stares may unnerve you. Ignore them: You belong here. Kinda.

Either way, you’re here now, and free

to gape open-mouthed and wide-eyed, your drool a slow waterfall cascading down your jaw. Yes, dumbstruck reader: This is the Booth School of Business. There is grass on the other side, and it is a million times greener.

This has been my after-class routine the past few weeks. The Regenstein, bless its ugly concrete heart, just didn’t cut the mustard anymore. Hallowed Grounds—well, after witnessing a hipster couple playing footsie on the pool table, I decided my studious efforts were best pursued elsewhere. My apartment is good for watching Breaking Bad and cooking heart attacks on a plate, but not for writing my latest column. So I’ve settled on this refuge of pre-professionalism,

with its classy cafés, lounges with complimentary coffee and hot chocolate, and sweater-vested students.

Let me tell you what I’ve observed.

First: The people are unusually attractive.

They have a swagger that comes either from their tailored suits or the success they all know is hurtling toward them with each new investment bank interview. They are young, smiling, and brimming with confidence.

The facility is even more beautiful.

This is the second-oldest and third-richest B-school in the nation. They have motion-detected filtered water stations to refill bottles. They have rooms made specifically for sitting in leather couches GRADS continued on page 4

MARTIA BRADLEY Copy Editor ELIZABETH BYNUM Copy Editor DON HO Copy Editor JANE HUANG Copy Editor MICHELLE LEE Copy Editor KATIE MOCK Copy Editor

That’s no way to say goodbye Leonard Cohen’s remarkable story inspires columnist to seek answers

LANE SMITH Copy Editor JEN XIA 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. © 2011 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

By Colin Bradley Associate Viewpoints Editor Leonard Cohen is going to die. The French-Canadian Jew who has his finger more closely situated on the pulse of longing and romance than almost any other figure of the last half-century is going to rot and decompose and smell like sulfur and despair. He is 77 years old and has been a smoker as long as anybody can tell—it’s a wonder he’s made it this long. But even though his recent touring gives credence to his seemingly perpetual youth (he skipped gleefully around the stage when I saw him in 2009), he can’t keep it up forever.

A few days ago, it was a Leonard Cohen type of day. I’m not sure if you’re

familiar with these. Although his diverse repertoire transcends any face the weather might assume, on this day it was a bit chilly with a breeze just pesky enough to keep your hair constantly blown against the grain. I was walking home from my morning class, puffing a cigarette, with Book of Longing tucked haphazardly in my pocket when I was overcome by the notion that opens this column. I realized that somehow, anyhow, it didn’t matter, I just needed to find a way to tap into the soul which had given me so much, and had so inequitably borne the burdens I asked it to carry with me.

Last month, when accepting the Prince of Asturias Letters Award in Spain, Leonard Cohen made public a story that the great storyteller himself had long kept private. In the early ’60s he saw a flamenco guitarist playing in a park in Montreal. He asked the young man to give him lessons. Despite only being able to communicate in broken French, the man agreed to teach him to play guitar. After several days, the man had succeeded in forcing Cohen’s stubborn fingers to memorize the shapes of

six chords. Then, he disappeared. Cohen discovered that the guitarist took his own life shortly after. But those six chords, Cohen admitted to the Spanish Royal Family, formed the basis of every song he ever wrote.

Let’s unpack and romanticize this a bit. Leonard Cohen—forever in devout confraternity with Federico Garcia Lorca, a budding poet and uninterested guitarist—met a gypsy guitarist in a park in Montreal who taught him the secret chords and gave him the medium with which he would touch the lives of millions for the next five decades. It’s a somewhat more credible and certainly much more beautiful version of the Faustian tale of Robert Johnson meeting the Devil at the crossroads and trading his soul for guitar skills. Cohen didn’t trade anything; he presented his soul and was rewarded with the guitar.

After first hearing this story, I couldn’t help but think: What the hell? That’s totally unfair. Cohen was already a renowned poet before he had ever thought to pick up a guitar with COHEN continued on page 4

In your November 1 editorial, you claimed that students enrolled in discussion-based courses like Hum, Sosc, and Civ “often have a newfound respect for the fields that they were exposed to,” whereas “similar claims cannot be made for lecture-based courses like Core Bio, Global Warming, or Chemistry and the Atmosphere.” Such an argument glosses over the real issue: Courses like Global Warming or Chemistry and the Atmosphere teach very little real science.

Indeed, the claim that Chemistry in the Atmosphere teaches anything even resembling real chemistry is nothing short of ludicrous, and it is insulting to those majoring in scientific fields.

Why are students enrolled in Chemistry and the Atmosphere so uninspired when those majoring in scientific fields frequently seem so invigorated by what they learn?

It cannot be because the material is taught by lecture; some (indeed, most) of the University’s best and most inspiring science classes are taught in a lecture format. The actual answer should be obvious: Students enrolled in real science classes are learning fundamental truths about the universe, not rules of basic arithmetic.

How can students in Chemistry and the Atmosphere be inspired when they are learning nothing inspiring?

Nor is the editorial’s proposed solution any better: The authors encourage the creation of discussion- and readingbased science classes, lamenting that the teachings “of Farraday [sic] and Heisenberg are available to a small minority.” Unfortunately, not only does such an approach fall prey to the same problems as the current one, it just wouldn’t work. Non-scientists might like to believe that science can be treated in much the same manner as are the humanities, and that one can understand a scientific text simply by reading it carefully enough, but such a belief is simply untrue. To understand Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle requires a great deal of mathematics, including a solid understanding of LETTER continued on page 4

THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 4, 2011

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Booth, Pritzker should engage College students GRADS continued from page 3 while exchanging business cards. There are Merlotladen mixers, functions, and information sessions every hour. This place is a corporate El Dorado. It is a Mecca of glass and steel and triple-digit salaries. It is the Promised Land.

So why, in the name of all that is “life of the mind,” is it walled off from the undergraduate community?

This isn’t meant literally, of course. Doors are readily provided around the building. But the Booth School, like every other graduate school of the University, remains curiously detached from our lives.

This could be because the graduate student body is a particularly sneaky one. There are 10,000 (twice as many as us) of them swarming Hyde Park during the day. Their residence halls pepper the streets north of campus. Their parties are legendary. They are our TAs and our writing assistants, our neighbors and our peers. But somehow, they become white noise.

This is bad news. These schools aren’t just corollary buildings on campus; they are homes to literally some of the most prestigious faculty and institutions in the world. We lowly undergraduates should have more chances to dip our toes into these golden, realworld waters. Opening up these resources—the business school in the east, law school in the south, and medical school in the west—would do wonders to forge a more fulfilling education.

This has been said before, and baby steps have been taken. But the current extent of these programs is minimal: You have the Chicago Careers In (Law, Business, Arts, etc.) programs, scattered lectures hosted by graduate schools, and the occasional Q&A session in graduate departments. Sure, the CCIB initiative is immensely helpful, but it’s restricted to those first-years who apply and are accepted. Same with joint-degree programs like the one offered by the Committee on International Relations. CCIL admittedly offers a quality law student mentor program for those wannabe lawyers (read: this guy) who need guidance. But most other programs feel forced and incomplete, and have the strength and length of a Kim Kardashian marriage.

The list goes on: Graduate classes, besides those

October 26, 2011 University Hall 8 pm Lorem ipsum dolor

taught by the accommodating professor, are mostly inaccessible. Graduate events aren’t advertised or publicized, though they feature some of the most celebrated speakers and compelling panels each year.

And faculty in the graduate departments rarely venture out of their esteemed offices to mingle with the less-specialized College folk.

I’m not advocating an invasion of the graduate departments; no Occupy Booth movement is in the works. Undergraduates should, by no means, suddenly decide to barge en masse into graduate seminars, annoy graduate professors with incessant questions, or converse randomly with busy graduate students. They have lives as well, and I don’t mean to compromise their experience.

But students and the administration should make a concerted effort to establish some overlap in these two student spheres. There’s always been muffled controversy as to how much attention the University is paying to its graduate schools versus to the College, but the two don’t have to trade off. The “undergraduate experience” is a nationally encouraged cliché that shouldn’t have to be isolated from the graduate opportunities that could complement it. We’re not talking about the separation of church and state. We’re talking about bringing together the minds and resources of two connected student bodies. Such an initiative could supplement all the work CAPS does, inspire more rigorous and informed student work, and create a more cohesive campus community.

In the Booth School, there are stacks of a red, textured journal called the Gradbook. Inside are listed various ways to take advantage of U of C resources, entertainment, and activities—most of them facilitated by undergraduate student organizations and RSOs. So graduates get their information about us, but where’s our scoop? There should be more chances than the occasional flyer in Harper or TA office hours to immerse us in the resources of the graduate world. I want more than the free hot chocolate.

Sharan Shetty is a third-year in the College majoring in Law, Letters, and Society.

Ipsum in consectetuer Proin in sapien. Proin in sapien. Fusce urna magna neque egeuat vita consectetuer Proin in sapien. Proin in. Fusce urna magna neque.

No easy way to find artistic inspiration COHEN continued from page 3 any seriousness, and he was taught the mysteries of song by a suicidal gypsy in a Canadian park.

Stacked deck. I’m the one who needs to be shown David’s secret chord.

So I settled on the idea of contacting Leonard Cohen. If I couldn’t stumble upon a gypsy in a park to teach me guitar, maybe at least I could harass him until he sued for a restraining order. I stopped on a bench in Nichols Park on my way home to flip through the poems and sketches in Book of Longing. While sitting there, enshrouded in smoke and song, I received a text message from an old friend to whom I had not spoken in nearly a year. It read, “Call me when you can. I have a Leonard Cohen question.”

Obviously struck by this coincidence, I called her immediately. She was nearly hysterical. Apparently she had awoke that morning with the resolution that she must contact Leonard Cohen before he dies. So she did. She reached his manager under the auspice of working on a B.A. on Cohen and needing to get in touch with him. The manager replied to her email. He was willing to facilitate.

She was calling me mostly to calm her nerves and

Intensify the science Core LETTER continued from page 3 topology, linear algebra, and functional analysis, maths that are not likely to be possessed by those interested in a casual discussion class.

However, the problem does admit one solution strangely overlooked by the authors of the editorial.

Students wishing to be inspired and challenged and learn science in the process, are free to take the introductory courses offered in the chemistry and physics departments. There, they can gain a scientific literacy unavailable to their colleagues enrolled in Chemistry and the Atmosphere.

coach her through the next steps. She was on the precipice of meeting her gypsy in the park.

In respect for my friend’s privacy, I’ll leave the rest of her story to your imagination. For my part, I immediately gave up the notion of trying to get in touch with the man himself. Where did that leave me? Messy hair, a hacking cough, a wellthumbed book, and an extinguishing cigarette were all that I found in my park in Chicago.

Try as I might, there will be no secret keeper with a guitar and a soul right out of Romancero Gitano. And I’m not sure a restraining order issued in the name of Leonard Cohen’s lawyer amounts to quite the same as the long-term dialogue contained in Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet that I had been vaguely hoping for. Anyway, at this point I’ve put so much on Leonard Cohen’s shoulders that at his ripe age, I doubt he could stand to support me any more than he already does. But I can’t shake the feeling that if he dies without passing on his secret, well then maybe “there are no oceans left for scavengers like me.”

Colin Bradley is a second-year in the College majoring in Law, Letters, and Society.

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.

Benjamin Gammage, Class of 2014

Proin in sapien Fusce urna magna neque egeuat vita consectetuer in sapien. Fusce urna magna neque egeuat vitae lorem ipsum dolor urna.

Consectetuer in In consectetuer Proin in sapien. Proin in sapien.

Fusce urna magna neque.

Fusce urna magna neque egeuat vitae lorem ipsum dolor urna magna.

David and Kris Wray, Resident Masters at Max Palevsky Residential Commons present the Autumn 2011 Wirszup Lecture

John Wilkinson Professor of Practice in the Arts Department of English Committee on Creative Writing

What is Cambridge Poetry?

November 7, 2011 at 7:00 PM Max Palevsky East Commons

Free and open to the public Refreshments will be served

ARTS

Trivial Pursuits NOVEMBER 4, 2011

At Art Institute, design beyond reach

Goldberg’s design for the Pineda Island Recreation Center, Mobile, AL, (1956-60) complete with plenty of shade, palm trees and a hint of swimming pool.

COURTESY OF BERTRAND GOLDBERG

Celia Bever Arts Contributor The first thing I saw upon entering the Bertrand Goldberg exhibit at the Art Institute was a curved, faux-wooden wall with the name of the show, Architecture of Invention, written on it in thick lettering. This seems like an oddly unremarkable choice for an architect who spent his life experimenting with idiosyncratic design. However, behind the fake wall, an extensive collection of photographs, models, blueprints, and more of Goldberg’s work is presented in all its unconventional glory.

The exhibit works best when it combines several different media in a single structure. For example, the first thing I noticed in the section that shows Goldberg’s work on hospitals was a black and white photo of the Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix.

The building appears ominous and slightly menacing, and reminded me vaguely of the Tower of Mor-

dor. The picture was taken from an angle that looks up at the tall structure, and the top of the building is immersed in thick, black clouds. The double rows of oval windows that run up all sides of the hospital are made eerie by curtains that are either closed or only slightly parted. It didn’t look like the kind of place I’d want to go to get my tonsils removed.

But then I turned to the models, and the squat recreations looked much friendlier and more inviting than the photograph did. They’re simple: Gray, with oscillating corners and those same oval windows that now just looked cute. Still, they struck me as a bit unusual considering the standard image of hospitals as plain, rectangular, purely utilitarian designs. I dismissed this as artistic flair before the blueprints convinced me otherwise.

Before I entered the exhibit, I was not excited about seeing the blueprints. I have little interest in architecture, so looking at detailed building plans seemed painfully boring. But in this exhibit, the

blueprints helped inform and enhance the other media of Goldberg’s work. For the Good Samaritan Hospital, I saw that the oscillating design was not conceived for its aesthetic merit, but stemmed from Goldberg’s interest in incorporating circular sections as community boundaries into his buildings. The plans showed that one of the oscillations was meant to house a nurse’s station in the center, with patient rooms fanning out from it. The effect of this was that each patient would be equidistant from his or her primary medical care, as well as creating a small, clearly designated wing for each group of rooms. Other parts of the hospital, like the surgical suite, were designed similarly.

This community-minded design was present in much of Goldberg’s work—sometimes a little too much. Goldberg’s first design for River City was of nine clusters of three 72-story buildings.

These would house over 20 thousand people, and would have a post office, schools, and basic shops.

His intention was to create close-knit communities in Chicago and a “walk-to-work” culture.

The Physicists tests the limits of sanity Gabriel Kalcheim Arts Staff

From sketches and the detailed description of his plans for the communities, it occurred to me that what he was really trying to create were condensed, miniature suburbs. This River City never came to fruition and Goldberg settled for a serpentine group of curved apartment buildings that are now housed just south of the Loop. The model of this, the white, snake-like structure set against an aqua representation of the river, looks like a tacky, Caribbean resort.

The exhibit also features examples of Goldberg’s

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about The Physicists, now being presented in an extremely successful production by University Theater, is that it manages to straddle the lines of the philosophic, political comedy of Bernard Shaw and the 1960s absurdism of Samuel Beckett, and yet not quite devolve into either. For The Physicists, written by Swiss playwright Friedrich Durrenmatt in 1961, is also a well-made play; its themes are many and varied.

According to fourth-year director Katie Goldberg, “The Physicists is about an intellectual’s responsibility to knowledge, specifically framed in the struggle between physics and war as set against the backdrop of the atomic bomb.” Durrenmatt certainly could have left this play, very successfully, as a one act, philosophical comedy about how human beings invent their own identities according to how they think they are viewed by society. And it is a testament to Durrenmatt’s genius that this theme is by no means lost in the ensuing discourse on the scientist’s place in the atomic age, in which perhaps the most salient argument is that proffered by Mobius, one of three physicists consigned to a sanatorium in this play, when he says in Act Two, “Today it is the responsibility of a genius to remain unrecognized.”

The play is set in the sanatorium of Doktor von Zahnd (fourth-year Markie Grey) in one particular ward in which are kept three formerly practicing physicists who are apparently so mad that one of them thinks he is Isaac Newton (second-year Zev Hurwich), another that he is Albert Einstein (thirdyear Jose Medina), and another, Mobius, the real protagonist, that King Solomon appears to him on a regular basis. When the play opens, “Einstein” has just strangled one of the ward’s nurses. The police inspector (first-year William Craft) is called in to investigate, but is denied the chance to interview,

GOLDBERG continued on page 6

PHYSICIST continued on page 6

BERTRAND GOLDBERG Art Institute September 17–January 15

Winging it never looked so unscripted Eric Shoemaker Arts Contributor The Museum of Contemporary Art has a penchant for putting experimental and, oftentimes, dense material on their stage, and their newest production, a genuine work-in-progress, is no exception. Lucky Plush Production’s The Better Half fully embodies the quirky nature of MCA Stage, but it is also one of the most successful pieces of performance art I have recently seen. Through a delicate blending of dance and physical theater, Leslie Danzig and Julia Rhoad’s collaboration resonates beautifully with every-day audience members and refined theatregoers alike.

THE BETTER HALF Museum of Contemporary Art October 26–November 6

The Better Half rides a very fine line between meta-theatricality and reality, using elements of both to construct a powerful piece. The plot of the show is loosely based on Gaslight, a 1944 Ingrid Bergman film.

Five performers are handed the script of Gaslight, which seems to materialize from nowhere, and they begin to

embody the characters from the film.

A powerful and invisible force, represented by technical elements such as spotlighting and sound, constructs the world of the play and dictates to the actors what they should do onstage. The show is at first intensely connected to this script and thus to the idea of a script as the core of a production, but as the show progresses, the script becomes less and less important to the characters, and other methods of creation become more privileged, including the incorporation of outside scripts and new, imaginary props.

Perhaps it is at the point in the show when the actors begin incorporating the script of The Bourne Identity, that we realize the great importance of meta-theatrics in The Better Half. Leslie Danzig, co-creator of The Better Half and most well-known for her Chicago work with the physical theater group 500 Clown, holds that, despite the production’s inherent meta qualities, “self-commenting can cause a loss of the possibility of investment in a story or in characters and can be superficial.” She refers to meta-theater as a “trap” to avoid because of this fear of investment and presence, but also as a tool to be used to comment on the physicality of the stage: “Let’s have both, a layer of consciousness of script, but also locate the accumulation of consequence

and experience in the directness of action onstage.”

These layers of the show unfold beautifully through both acting and design techniques. The set is bare, but The Better Half uses appropriate amounts of light to create space, particularly in the designation of “paths” for the characters to follow, and sound, which serves mostly to highlight the choices that the actors make.

These elements deftly accentuate the choreography, which couples brilliantly with theatrical blocking and presence. The show is, as Danzig intimates, meticulously choreographed, but with a playful hand so as to maintain the appearance of improvisation.

Indeed, it is very difficult, at times, to tell whether or not the actors know what they are doing from the way they test out various acrobatic tricks during the performance. At the very beginning of the show, a replacement actor runs in from the lobby, shouting that he is sorry he is late—a perfectly believable entrance, since Adrian Danzig, original member of the cast, threw his back out performing that week. This sets the scene, so to speak, for the rest of the production’s spontaneity.

The design is simple, but perfect.

One particularly effective moment involves a very small number of footlights that burn across the stage, casting enormous shadows of the actors

These dancers make the choreography look spontaneous.

COURTESY OF WILLIAM FREDERKING

against the back wall. This moment shows what design can do by merely accentuating the movement of the actors. “This production is in the service of what a show wants to be, with a very conscious design,” Danzig explains. “The premise of the work is that it’s happening in real time, so it must succeed without a set and the audience can’t know what’s rehearsed

and what happens in real time.” The show explores what it means for acting to be immediate and real, not in a pre-made world of light and sound, but directed by a subtle, unseen authority who provides simple technical effects that create the world of the show and balances the production with meta-theatrical elements.

MCA continued on page 6

THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | November 4, 2011

6

H U N G E R

MCA gets meta-theatrical

S T R I K E

Oh, burger, where art thou?

Iliya Gutin Senior Arts Staff The noble profession of the butcher may be a dying breed, but the fast-casual burger is very much alive and kicking.

Five Guys, Smashburger, The Counter, Shake Shack, In-N-Out—they are taking over the world like the conquistadors of yore. Five Guys has opened 300 outlets in less than five years, Shake Shack made it to Dubai, and In-N-Out will now send you two burgers anywhere in the country for the princely sum of $50.

Even the Burger King is getting in on the action, desperately trying to defend his sovereignty with a new “chef ’s choice” burger that’s not only “premium” and “hand-crafted,” but also “artisanal” and “fresh.” Clearly someone in the marketing department has been studying the art of foodie seduction. Perhaps that’s why it’s such a shame that, in this burgeoning burger market, the burger at Butcher and the Burger cannot rescue the butcher from life support.

You would think the restaurant (and ye olde butcher shoppe) has a lot going for it besides its Lincoln Park location.

The concept comes from Executive Chef Allen Sternweiler of the progressive New-American restaurant Duchamp in Wicker Park, whose vision calls for a combination specialty butcher and burger spot that’s “simple so the average college kid can come in and eat.” While I appreciate Mr. Sternweiler’s concern for my simple college palate, nothing here

sounds too crazy—or particularly novel for that matter—that it shouldn’t work in principle. The wood and steel interior does actually resemble some weird fusion of being at a meat counter and soda fountain. There are some tables upfront, and a long counter that runs the length of the space. The defining feature of the space is a tiny, open burger prep area in the middle of the restaurant, operated by five chefs, and consisting of a tiny stove top, a fryer, a char-broiler and a shit ton of smoke.

But on to the burning question: Where’s the beef? Despite the “simple” intentions of the menu, the number of options was pretty overwhelming. Just between the patty choice and spice mix, there were nearly 100 possible combinations—will it be the House Blend with Chicago Steakhouse seasoning or Elk Burger with Grandma’s Onion Soup… whatever the hell that is. This is not including the bun, toppings and extras (from a fried egg to foie gras) that brings the final count to somewhere near infinity. I put my average college mind to use and decided that I would make this a tale of two burgers—one simple, straightforward and clean, the other slightly more interesting, but not too absurd. With that in mind, my dining companion and I split a House Blend with simple salt-and-pepper seasoning, a GrassFed Prime Blend with Sonora Desert Chili, and a side of fries. I spied “Bacon Custard” on a little chalkboard near the menu, but the notion struck me as gim-

micky and I decided against it, opting instead for some “Benton’s Tennessee Mountain Smoked Bacon,” and adding significant class to my simple burger.

A not so fast-casual 20 minutes later, our burgers were served up on cute little chopping boards (aw shucks) and the feast was afoot. Actually, the feast was quickly interrupted when my dining companion nearly choked to death on the “bacon.” Turns out this fancy, artisanal, semi-locally sourced bacon was something more along the lines of pork belly—chewy, fatty and waaaaay too smoky. On its own? Maybe a delicious entree. On a burger? You’re a long ways from home, stranger. But safety hazards aside, the burgers were both fine.

Emphasis on the fine. The meat was clearly a high quality affair, cooked to the requested medium rare, but the charbroiling method renders it far too smoky so certain bites feel like a mouthful of barbecue sauce in the least enjoyable sense. The Sonora Desert Chili mix, which sounds pretty intimidating in the Scoville sense, turned out to be something more akin to a smoked pepper flavor, so now we were faced with smoky flavor inside a smoky burger within a smoky restaurant. Insert Inception or Yo Dawg reference here. Finally, it’s worth noting (or rather not) that the fries tasted kind of like under-seasoned potato chips—a little too bland, a little too blanched.

Overall, nothing particularly spectacular, but I won’t obnoxiously pretend that the meal was beyond salvation, as in the end

All the world is a madhouse PHYSICIST continued from page 5

much less take into custody the murderer—or rather “the assailant,” as nurse Monika (second-year Ariel Von Hippel) calls him. For Einstein is just then occupied with playing Kriesler on the violin in order to “calm himself down.” This is the second time that such a killing has taken place at the sanatorium: Only two months before, Newton had strangled another nurse to death and had been left unmolested by the police. Things get turned upside-down when Newton explains to the police inspector that he is actually only pretending to be Isaac Newton, that he is actually Albert Einstein, but that if he were to drop the act, “all hell would break loose.” Better to keep things in order and go on pretending to be who others think he really is.

Durrenmatt’s message is that these sorts of expectations about identity, whether merely perceived or really enforced by society itself, make world a virtual prison. Is not the world, then, the real madhouse, and a madhouse, in fact, the only place where we

can find freedom, where we can “think our own thoughts” and do what we like? Goldberg gives us just the sort of keen direction this play requires and has chosen a work that is extremely well suited to the talents of this troupe of actors. The mad physicists require just the sort of broad presentation that second-year Zev Hurwich and third-year José Medina are able to execute rather well, and particularly notable is first-year Ivan Pyzow as Mobius. As someone who has frequented the theater, both in New York and Chicago, I can say that you will not find a more talented young actor on any stage, conveying such pathos and such a feel for his character.

According to Goldberg, “Durrenmatt said in an interview that ‘the world is a madhouse,’....” physicists themselves are totally rational beings—the part that’s nebulous is whether or not rationality is, in fact, insanity in disguise.” In the end, however, skepticism triumphs more than anything and the audience is left not quite knowing what to believe. Is modern science even possible in such a state of things?

The best laid plans don’t always get built GOLDBERG continued from page 5

other artistic work, namely, his drawings and furniture designs. His sketches, “Study of Circles,” “Study of Bottles,” “Study of Male Nude,” and other such “studies,” look very art student–esque.

Even the best of the drawings, “Servant of Two Masters Costume Design,” which comically depicts a large man with a small head and thick black glasses wearing a fat, oval penguin suit, is hardly notable compared to Goldberg’s other work. His furniture is more interesting, though similarly amateurish. A clunky, Lucite-topped coffee table has legs made of bicycles spokes. Another table looks like a giant white dinner plate, with a slightly hollowed center, and a large, plush chair has, puzzlingly, only one arm.

If there’s one thing to take away from the exhibit, it’s the great variety in Goldberg’s work. Initially,

MCA continued from page 5

he worked in manufacturing and designed freight cars, sketches of which are on display. He designed a bathroom that would simplify plumbing and decrease the cost of construction, but it was never widely adopted because it conflicted with deepseated building codes and trade practices. At one point he obsessed over the idea of mobility, designing the “Mobile Penicillin Lab” and “Mobile Delousing Unit”, among others, none of which were ever built. His plans for the “Mobile Delousing Station African Theater” are on display at the exhibit.

While many of Goldberg’s sketches and designs may only interest architects or Goldberg fanatics, the exhibit, with its plethora of information, is smartly designed to entice the rest of us, too.

However, even this dazzling show cannot save an amateur architect critic from noticing the often unsophisticated nature of the work.

our chopping boards were stained with burger juices and nothing more.

I sympathize with Butcher and the Burger, and their ambition to stand out from the rest of the crowd. Chicago ain’t lacking when it comes to burger joints—Kuma’s, Edzo’s and DMK are pretty much Chicago institutions at this point and well worth the inevitable wait.

It also has more than enough butchers— from hipster hub The Butcher & Larder to the oldster Paulina’s. And it’s great that B&B offers all of these options, trying to elevate the burger and give it some intrigue. But that doesn’t mean that you can just ignore the fundamentals. The burgers ultimately failed because of rookie mistakes; the bun was too thick, the toppings were unbalanced (i.e. a slathering of Dijon that would clear Adrian Brody’s nose), while the concept is ultimately overhyped and under baked.

“But they’ve only been open a week!”

Yeah, well I’m going to assume they’ve been cooking for longer than that. A burger should be right the first time and execution should be spot on every time, especially if that’s your self-professed specialty. In this case, consistency and quality is the only combination that Butcher and the Burger needs—otherwise they’ll just become another outpost of the fastcasual burger empire. Maybe the first Shake Shack in the Midwest! Or Five Guys’ second Lincoln Park location! Or, in keeping with their theme of having a burger “your” way, the gazillionth Burger King in the universe.

The Better Half, shows the propagation of a new text from onstage creation,” and showcases just how creative and spontaneous performance pieces can be. Some of the actors try on roles until one fits, others try out character voices for several minutes before settling on one that seems right. There really is an “immediate sense of the performer experiencing in the room,” as Danzig desires. It is this playful, quirky, improvisational aspect that makes The Better Half so much fun to watch. The clowning is fluid and integrated into the dance, creating humor and drama from simple movement. The actors create the space around them throughout the play, describing in detail such things as an enormous office desk, which is revisited in hilarious moments later on. The design adds just enough environment, the acting is rehearsed just enough—all of these things combine to create one outstanding performance.

Save for one seemingly interminable dance sequence, this production is perhaps the most audience-friendly piece of dance theater that I have ever seen. Danzig expressed her desire “to make complicated theater that is really smart, where the audience member is not many steps ahead of it…you can come into the theater without any previous knowledge of dance, theater or Gaslight and can have a really satisfying experience.” Without a doubt, Danzig got everything she wished and worked for.

columbia university press congratulates

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | November 4, 2011

7

FOOTBALL UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3 4

School Case Western Washington (Mo.) Chicago Carnegie

Win % .875 .625 .625 .500

Record 7–1 (1–0) 5–3 (1–0) 5–3 (0–1) 4–4 (0–1)

MEN’S SOCCER UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

School Washington (Mo.) Case Western Emory Rochester Brandeis Chicago New York Carnegie

Record 13–3–1 (4–2–0) 13–4–0 (4–2–0) 10–7–0 (4–2–0) 9–4–2 (3–2–1) 11–5–1 (2–3–1) 9–6–2 (2–4–0) 7–8–1 (2–4–0) 6–8–1 (2–4–0)

Win % .794 .765 .588 .667 .676 .588 .469 .433

WOMEN’S SOCCER UAA Standings Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

School Emory Washington (Mo.) Case Western Carnegie Chicago New York Rochester Brandeis

Record 14–0–2(5–0–1) 14–4–0(4–2–0) 12–3–2(4–2–0) 9–6–0 (3–3–0) 9–5–2 (2–2–2) 11–6–0 (2–4–0) 8–7–0 (2–4–0) 6–10–2 (0–5–1)

Win % .938 .778 .765 .600 .625 .647 .533 .389

UAA Standings School Emory Washington (Mo.) Chicago Case Western New York Rochester Carnegie Brandeis

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Amelia McCall Tricia McCutchan Lauren Budde Breanah Borque Sarah Buckingham

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Marilee Fisher Natalie Schonefeld Nikki DelZenero Breana Freeman Hope Bogle

Rank 1 2 3 4 5

Player Katie Trela Natalie Southard Breanah Borque Caroline Brander Tricia McCutchan

Conference 32–3 (7–0) 29–1 (6–1) 27–4 (5–2) 21–8 (4–3) 18–14 (2–5) 19–14(2–5) 14–13 (2–5) 9–18 (0–7)

Last Week .914 .967 .871 .724 .562 .576 .519 .333

Kills School Emory Case Western Washington (Mo.) Emory New York

Per Set 3.96 3.95 3.94 3.34 3.33

Assists School Washington (Mo.) Emory Chicago Case Western New York

Per Set 11.31 10.87 10.45 10.14 8.68

Blocks School Chicago Case Western Emory Chicago Case Western

Per Set 1.08 .99 .92 .91 .90

MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY USTFCCCA Midwest Region Rankings Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

School North Central Washington (Mo.) Wheaton UW-Oshkosh UW-La Crosse Chicago UW-Platteville Augustana UW-Stevens Point UW-Eau Claire

Conference CCIW UAA CCIW WIAC WIAC UAA WIAC CCIW WIAC WIAC

Last Week 1 2 3 4 6 5 7 8 9 10

WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY USTFCCCA Midwest Region Rankings Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

School Washington (Mo.) UW-Eau Claire North Central UW-Stevens Point Illinois Weslyan UW-La Crosse UW-Oshkosh Chicago Monmouth (Ill.) St. Norbert

Conference UAA WIAC CCIW WIAC CCIW WIAC WIAC UAA Midwest Midwest

Swim and Dive Lily Gordon Sports Contributor The beginning of the season won’t be easy for Chicago, as they face their biggest rival, Wash U, at the Myers-McLoraine pool this Saturday.

According to Head Coach Jason Weber, “This meet is our first real test of the season. Wash U is our biggest rival and one of the best teams in D-III. Our men lost by a wide margin last year, while our women barely pulled out a win.”

Third-year swimmer Katherine Crain acknowledges the challenge that awaits the teams.

“It will be one of our more difficult meets of the year, and we have been anticipating that Wash U will bring their best.”

Despite last year’s results, Weber is still confident in his team—and for good reason. “The times that

Last Week 1 2 3 6 10 5 8 4 NR 9

we have posted in our first two meets are way ahead of where we were last year,” he said.

It doesn’t hurt that the teams have been victorious in their first two meets, either.

“We are training very hard. Our swimmers and divers are putting in long hours, and we are seeing some great results. The men’s and women’s teams have won both of our meets so far this season,” said Assistant Coach Krista Carlson.

Perhaps these victories are also due to the influx of a large group of first-year swimmers and divers.

“With five male divers, including three first-years, diving on our men’s side will probably be our strongest event,” said Weber.

Carlson also commented on the first-year class: “They are already making a huge impact for us.”

The coaches are not the only ones diving into the meet with confidence. “The whole team is very excited. We’re looking forward to having some fast swims and getting a big win over WashU,” said first-

year Robby Kunkel.

Coaches, swimmers, and divers alike see the meet as an opportunity to pave the way for victories in the Maroons’ swimming and diving meets to come, especially in the major UAA conference in February.

“I expect to win this meet in dominating fashion.

Wash U is one of our biggest rivals, so our team is very excited to race them. It’s a great opportunity for us to put up fast times,” fourth-year men’s swimmer Marius Aleksa said. “It will also let the rest of the UAA conference know that we have the ‘refuse to lose’ mentality that will push us over the edge. We have high goals this year, and we won’t let anything get in our way, especially Wash U.” For the rest of the season, Weber said, “I see the women closing the gap on Emory at the UAA conference and breaking into the top-20 at NCAA Championships. I see the men placing second at conference for the first time ever, and possibly scoring as high as top-15 at NCAA Championships.”

Up-and-down season comes to a close against Bears Men’s Soccer Sarah Miller Sports Contributor

VOLLEYBALL Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Maroons face first real test of season against Wash U

As their season comes to a close, the men’s soccer team will be vying for one last chance at the playoffs.

It has been an up-and-down season for the Maroons (9–6–2, 2–4–0). The team got off to a good start before a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season and a succession of injuries, but has turned it around in recent weeks with wins against conference opponents Case Western and Rochester.

The team can increase their UAA winning streak to three and finish the season with a bang with a win against archrival Wash U (13–3–1, 4–2–0) this Saturday. Wash U is ranked 16th in the country.

“I feel really positive about facing Wash U on Saturday,” said fourth-year back Rashad Masri. “We are feeling really confident going into the game due to our current winning streak, and we know that we can play with anyone if we play up to our potential and avoid mistakes.”

Already heated rivals, Wash U and Chicago have

Seniors to be honored at halftime with parents FOOTBALL continued from back

ing hard, but execute better when it matters.”

For fourth-year players, this will likely be their final game at Stagg Field. Players will be honored with their parents at halftime to recognize their careers at Chicago. Several fourth-years have been starters for three years. And in the cases of Polaneczky and fourth-year offensive lineman Nate Williams, four years.

“We are all getting a little nostalgic with our last home game approaching,” Polaneczky said. “We have all accumulated a lot of memories on that field and have become a really close group. It’s sad to comprehend that we only have two more games together.”

As is the case with big games like homecoming and conference play, senior day will bring a rush of emotions. Both teams are coming off a loss and clinging to title hopes. The stakes are high, and this is now the biggest game of the season, but Chicago teams will most definitely come prepared to sing on the field one last time for their fourth-years.

The Maroons welcome UAA rival Carnegie to Stagg Field this Saturday at noon.

visit chicagomaroon.com visit chicagomaroon.com visit chicagomaroon.com

a history of close matchups, characterized by both teams’ grinding, possession-oriented style of play.

Since Wiercinski began coaching at Chicago six years ago, each game between the teams has been decided by a goal or less.

“We’re not quite as fortunate in our league games as Wash U, but we’re motivated and determined,” said Wiercinski.

The Maroons last won the conference in 2009, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament in the process. Chicago hasn’t returned to the NCAA tournament since. “Younger members should take advantage of every opportunity and be grateful for every victory,” Masri said.

If the Maroons win Saturday’s match, then they will be eligible for an at-large bid for playoffs. If they lose, their season will be over.

Wiercinski praised his entire team for persevering through the team’s losing streak, and singled out a few players he thought had made a significant impact on the season.

“We had really important contributions from everybody. Alec Lane was a consistently good goalkeeper, which is a pleasant surprise for a firstyear player. [Fourth-year] Stanton Coville was also

a key player, and [second-year] Alexis Onfroy was an excellent addition to the team from last year,” said Wiercinski. “Everybody has had a pretty good season, and we have a good combination of young players with more experienced ones.”

“I loved the group of guys we had, and we had a very strong team chemistry throughout the season.

The young guys came in and were responsive to the older guys and the coaches for what was expected of them, and the veterans set a good example for all of them,” Masri said. “The wins against Rochester, Case Western, and Wisconsin Whitewater showed how good we really are, and it was great to realize our potential in those instances.”

Despite the rocky season, Wiercinski is optimistic about the team’s prospects for next year. The Maroons are only graduating four from their starting lineup.

“With each season, we are looking to improve.

The seniors who will be graduating will be leaving big footsteps to fill, but we have a very young team with first-, second-, and third-years who have played a significant role over the season,” said Wiercinski.

Chicago will play Wash U tomorrow at 11 p.m. at Stagg Field.

Chicago gets burned by UIC Basketball Derek Tsang Sports Contributor The men’s basketball team fell to the UIC Flames Wednesday night in a friendly exhibition. The night saw about what you would expect from a preseason game—plenty of effort, and even excitement, but room for improvement and polish.

“We competed pretty well,” said Head Coach Mike McGrath. “We made mistakes, but most of them were mental, not a matter of physical effort.”

Despite losing, the Maroons out-rebounded the Flames 36–32 and snagged 12 offensive rebounds.

Fourth-year forward Steve Stefanou led the team with six rebounds. Fourth-year guard Michael Sustaric also chipped in five boards.

Chicago was led in scoring by Sustaric, as well, who had eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a perfect two for two on three-pointers. Fourth-year guards Matt Johnson and Tommy Sotos each had six points.

Tellingly, though, the Maroons shot 36.5 percent from the field, compared to 43.8 percent by UIC. Both teams had relatively poor performances behind the arc; Chicago was 5-of-20, and UIC 4-of-17.

The Flames were led in scoring by third-year guard Gary Talton’s 14. They had three other players– fourth-years Dorian Tyler, Paris Carter, and Daniel Barnes–with 10 points each.

After matching UIC for the first few minutes, the Maroons fell behind for good as the Flames went on an 18–0 run during an eight minute period in the middle of the first half, giving them a 16-point lead. That differential turned out to be too much for Chicago, which struggled to battle back against the

taller and more athletic D-I players.

“There’s not too much to be read into that,” said McGrath, “We made some shots early, but one of things that happens is that size and athleticism wears on you over time. We turned the ball over, missed some free throws, missed shots, and they stretched it out.”

The Maroons were at a height disadvantage against the D-I Flames, although not by much. Chicago doesn’t have a center listed on the roster, and their tallest player is 6’8’’ Steve Stefanou.

Perhaps the biggest factor was the 23 turnovers by the University’s squad, compared to 14 by UIC’s. UIC turned those 23 turnovers into 22 points. In addition, UIC got to the free throw line 26 times, making 15. The Maroons were just 2-of-7 from the stripe.

In the second half, McGrath took the opportunity to give playing time to more players, including his first-years. All 16 players—five first-years among them—got an opportunity to take the court.

Between now and the beginning of the season, the Maroons will look to improve on the mental aspect of the game.

“We have to execute better,” stressed McGrath.

“It’ll take time and repetition, but that was the biggest thing. We need to make sure we continue to concentrate on handling the ball.”

Despite the final score, the exhibition gave Maroons fans a reason to be optimistic about the upcoming season. The handful of devotees who made the trip out to the UIC Pavilion got to see that firsthand. And for the players, the exhibition gave a welcome opportunity to compete against another team instead of against each other in practice.

Chicago begins their season November 15th against Dominican at the Ratner Athletic Center.

SPORTS

IN QUOTES “If Tyree didn’t catch the ball, WHO THE FUCK DID?!”

—Deadspin writer Drew Magary, commenting on Grantland writer Bill Simmons claim that David Tyree’s catch in Superbowl XLII was ‘lucky’. The Giants play the Patriots this weekend.

Chicago battles for UAA crown in Empire State Title hopes on

Second-year Morgan Clark spikes the ball in a game earlier this season at the Ratner Athletics Center. The team will head to New York this weekend to compete at UAAs. DARREN LEOW | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Volleyball Charles Fang Senior Sports Staff The nationally ranked Maroons head into the UAA Championship this weekend in the hopes of continuing their strongest season in years with Chicago’s first conference championship and a second straight berth in the NCAA Tournament following last season’s drama on the national stage.

The Maroons have played well all year, but to win the UAA they will have to bring their play to another level. The UAA features some of the nations strongest teams, including #2 Emory and #3 Wash U. “We’re really excited for this weekend and have

been trying to polish up a lot of things at practice these past couple weeks,” second-year Nikki DelZenero said.

“We had an off week last week which was really good timing for our team and program,” Head Coach Vanessa Walby said. “The girls were able to catch up on some homework, and we were able to heal and rest our bodies. It also gave us some time to rejuvenate our mindset.”

The team will look to follow up on last year’s venture into the national championship bracket, which was the first in school history. However, the Maroons aspire to capture an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the UAA conference championship.

The conference championships will have a different format from years past, which featured

pool play and teams advancing from their respective groups. This year, a tournament-style arrangement will feature single-elimination matches to crown a champion. A loss in the first round will relegate a team to a loser’s bracket, while losses in subsequent rounds will leave the defeated to compete for lower rankings.

This new format was partially derived to limit the number of games the teams played and, in part, to emulate a more standard postseason layout. This system of play will almost certainly produce an element of unpredictability, but will also reward consistent play throughout.

Chicago will open the tournament facing Rochester, a team they scoured in the first UAA round robin. “Rochester will be a great match for us to get back into the swing of things,” DelZenero said.

In spite of their lack of competition in the past week, the Maroons should be prepared for this weekend’s matchups.

“Practices have been very scrimmage-focused, in order to replicate game-like competition,” thirdyear Samantha Brown said. If not, the tournament will provide a fine study to resolve the dispute of the benefits of bye weeks in playoffs.

The Maroons came into this campaign ranked 25th nationally in a preseason poll and swept past their first eleven opponents. The ensemble improved to 15–1 and rose to 16th in the AVCA Coaches’ poll, which they have maintained for nearly half a season. But losses to conference rivals Emory and Wash U dampened the outlook, and Chicago will purpose themselves to prevail over these Goliaths this weekend.

“Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant [once] said, ‘A great unit...shares the same heartbeat,’” Brown said. “This is what it will come down to this weekend—whether or not [we] believe in our ability. If and when we are all on the same page, we will take the UAA title on Saturday.”

Archrival Wash U comes to town for season finale Women’s Soccer Marina Fang Sports Contributor Fresh off a 1–0 win against Rochester, women’s soccer will close their regular season when they face Wash U tomorrow.

Chicago (9–5–2, 2–2–2) needs a strong performance in Sunday’s match to propel them to another win, and a spot in the NCAA D-III tournament.

“The team was focused and committed throughout the game which is the difference for us when we compete and win like we did on Sunday,” Head Coach Amy Reifert said.

The players hope to apply some of the same winning strategies when they tackle Wash U (14–4–0, 4–2–0). “We scored a systematic goal and were able to hold off a really dynamic Rochester offense during a tough second half where they really pressed us,” said fourth-year goalie Emma Gormley. “I think that if we stick to the same game plan for the Wash U game we should be in pretty good shape.”

A win against Wash U would ensure the Maroons a bid in the NCAA D-III Tournament, a goal that serves as the team’s chief motivator.

As second-year forward Micaela Harms says, “I know that the whole team is really excited because Wash U is a very important game for us, and I’m confident in my team’s ability and resolve to win this last game.”

However, the Maroons know that this critical match against one of their chief rivals will require their utmost focus and ability. The match holds equal significance for both teams, as the Bears are also looking to gain a postseason berth. In Wednesday’s regional rankings, WashU is ranked second, while Chicago is ranked fourth.

Third-year Brigette Kragie takes a corner kick during a home game against Rochester.

TERENCE LEE | THE CHICAGO MAROON

the line against Carnegie Football Daniel Lewis Associate Sports Editor Coming off a huge loss at Case Western, the Maroons will return home to face UAA rival Carnegie Mellon this weekend. With Chicago’s UAA title hopes on the line, this week is the epitome of a must-win game.

While the team still has a slight chance to win the UAA, a loss would end that possibility for good.

“What’s done is done, and our new goal has to be to finish out the season 2–0,” said third-year kicker Jeff Sauer, who received UAA Athlete of the Week honors for his punting against Case.

“The atmosphere obviously was a little down, initially, after the loss, but that soon faded as we began to look ahead to Carnegie,” said fourth-year linebacker Danny Polaneczky. “There is now a little more fire and focus as we are all eager to rise back from that devastating loss and put ourselves back in a position to reach our goal of a UAA championship. Football teaches men to respond to setbacks and adversity with hard work and hustle, and that’s exactly what we are doing.”

To rebound, the Maroons will need to shore up their rush defense and their red zone offense. They have surrendered over 200 yards on the ground in two straight games, a weakness that a team with a premier running game like Carnegie will undoubtedly look to exploit again this week.

“You face a new set of challenges every time you play,” said Head Coach Dick Maloney. “Last week, our problem was that we couldn’t score in the red zone. In past weeks, we’ve been able to score on the big play, but we couldn’t do that against Case, and we couldn’t find another way in to score. This week, we’re going to have to play better run defense because Carnegie is one of the topranked rushing teams in the nation.”

In practice, players have been trying to remain motivated following their loss to Case.

New plays and formations on offense could help them reach the end zone this week.

“We’ve definitely been working on new things this week, trying to expand our playbook and have a little more fun out there,” said third-year Dee Brizzolara, the team’s leading receiver.

“It’s been tough for a lot of us to stay positive after the loss, but the coaches and captains have been doing a good job of reassuring us there is still a lot to play for,” said second-year quarterback Vincent Cortina.

“Every conference game is just as important as the other. The coaches feel the season is not over and the UAA is still up for grabs.

We just need to go out there and keep playFOOTBALL continued on page 7

“[Wash U] is a strong physical team with lots of talented soccer players,” says Reifert.

“We will look to focus on the little things this week to make us better within our system, [such as] one-on-one defending, finishing runs, and combination play in the midfield.”

Saturday’s season finale will be bittersweet for the team’s fourth-years. Gormley will miss playing with the team, which she sees as “more like a family than just a team.” She will also miss the scale of college-level competition.

“Once this year ends I won’t ever play in another game that means as much as the one on Saturday does. I’m definitely going to miss the excitement that comes with playing in those big games and knowing you have fans cheering

you on and supporting you.”

Reifert keeps the team’s veterans in mind when weighing the magnitude of Saturday’s match. “They are the heart of our program, and our effort on Saturday will certainly be focused to make sure they get to play in the postseason.”

In the meantime, the Maroons are optimistic about their chances at making the postseason. “[We] will need to bring an all-or-nothing attitude to the game,” first-year forward Sara Kwan said. “If we play with the passion we played with this past weekend, I am confident that Wash U will not be able to handle us.”

Chicago plays Wash U at Stagg Field tomorrow at 1:30 p.m.

CA LEN DA R Friday

11/4

- Volleyball @ UAA Championship. vs. Rochester, 2 p.m. (ET), vs. TBD 4 p.m. or 6 p.m.

Saturday

11/5

- Volleyball @ UAA Championship, vs. TB 10 a.m. or 1 p.m.

- Men’s Soccer vs. Washington, 11 a.m.

- Football vs. Carnegie Mellon, noon - Swimming & Diving vs. Washington, 1 p.m.

- Women’s Soccer vs. Washington, 1:30 p.m.