110513 Chicago Maroon

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TUESDAY • NOVEMBER 5, 2013

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

ISSUE 10 • VOLUME 125

Student Health Series Part II: The Services Harini Jaganathan Associate News Editor

Tickets for Fall Formal at Shedd Aquarium sold out in less than an hour this year. Above, the 2010 Fall Formal held at Adler Planetarium. COURTESY OF ZENOBIA GONSALVES

Fall Formal sells out before first classes Andrew Ahn News Staff Despite several changes made by the Council on University Programming (COUP) this year to address high demand, Fall Formal

tickets sold out in less than an hour last Wednesday. Due to the event’s increasing popularity over the past couple of years, COUP recently restructured the ticketing process. Each ticket must now be bought

through COUP; those who didn’t get tickets were added to a waitlist. In addition, tickets were sold at 7 a.m. to eliminate scheduling conflicts. Students who woke up as early as 7 a.m. to get tickets

and were put on the waitlist voiced their frustration with the new process. “We waited in line from 7:30 to 8:10 a.m. We made it to the very front of the line, but we were told that COUP continued on page 4

Last March saw the launch of an anonymous student blog entitled Student Health Horror Stories, the self-proclaimed home of “terrifying tales of abysmal service with UChicago Health and Counseling.” One submission on the blog was a four-line poem: “Went in knowing I had pink eye and the flu./Told them I had pink eye and the flu./They said I had pink eye and the flu./They prescribed me cough drops.” Issues that come up repeatedly in the blog include being unable to get an appointment at a desired time, being misdiagnosed, and being treated unkindly by the Student Health Services (SHS) staff. According to The American Journal of Medicine, 15 percent of all medical cases in the developed world are misdiagnosed, and the National Institute of Medicine estimates that $750 billion is lost each year due to misdiagnoses, excessive

administrative spending, and inflated prices. Amid the national conversation about the efficacy of health care, where does the University’s Student Health Services stand? The state of the SHS Services at the SHS include medical care visits with any SHS providers, routine physicals, basic lab tests, some STD testing, and some physical therapy testing. They are covered by the Student Life Fee, which is $354 per quarter for College students and $331 per quarter for graduate students. SHS does not cover most laboratory tests, emergency room care, consultation or treatment by specialists or providers outside SHS, medical supplies, and hospitalization, among other services. This fall, SHS announced several changes to its operations. An additional physician was hired, bringing the total clinical staff to six physicians and four SHS continued on page 2

Maroon TV to air student sitcom Upscale eatery opens today on 53rd Natalie Friedberg Maroon Contributor Last Saturday at BurtonJudson Courts, a group of actors and camera operators from MaroonTV filmed the pilot episode of S.C.A.B., a sitcom written, acted, and produced entirely by students. S.C.A.B., which stands for the fictitious Student Committee on Advisory Boards, is the network’s first foray into original programming and will be followed by more programming later this year, according to fourth-year

Philip Ehrenberg and thirdyear Maayan Olshan, the heads of post-production at Maroon TV. Set to air on Maroon TV’s YouTube channel in one to three weeks, the pilot follows the eponymous student committee, dedicated to organizing the various advisory boards on campus. The sitcom is scheduled to consist of six episodes, each spanning seven to 10 minutes. “The idea behind S.C.A.B. is that every university in the country creates these advisory boards when problems come up….It’s a

way that bureaucracies solve issues. They create more bureaucracy,” said head writer and third-year Dan Cronin. The committee is composed of a cast of eclectic characters, including a clueless first-year, an overachieving political opportunist, a guy brushing his teeth in the back of the room, and a muffin aficionado. Although S.C.A.B. is the only original series in production now, there are proposals for a cooking show, a talk show with faculty, a political debate series, and

Hamid Bendaas News Staff While students craving Chipotle will have to wait one more day, those who would rather order boudin noir, with Tuscan kale on the side, should be more excited about today’s grand opening of A10, the first Hyde Park restaurant from chef and

owner Matthias Merges. Merges is known for his upscale cuisine at two North Side locations: Billy Sunday and Yusho restaurants. A10 will satisfy its customers with made-from-scratch dishes inspired by Merges’s trips to France, Italy, and the Alps, an array of cocktail options, and amenities such as a full bar and outdoor seating.

Despite the restaurant’s impressive offerings, the conversation about Merges’s Hyde Park openings have been focused less on what’s on the menu and more on the larger controversy surrounding the recent Universitysponsored commercial development of East 53rd Street. The announcement of his A10 continued on page 4

TV continued on page 3

Profs, laureates talk 2013 Nobel Anton Yu Maroon Contributor Multiple Nobel laureates debated the claim that the 2008 financial crisis disproved existing economic theories at a panel exploring the research of Professors Eugene Fama (M.B.A. ’63, Ph.D. ’64) and

Lars Peter Hansen, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics this year, held Monday afternoon at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts. Professors John Heaton and James Heckman, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Economics, presented on Hansen’s research,

and professors John Cochrane and Tobias Moskowitz presented on Fama’s work. Professor and 1992 Nobel laureate Gary Becker (A.M. ’53, Ph.D. ’55) served as moderator. Heaton and Heckman discussed Hansen’s broad collection of research, including NOBEL continued on page 2

A10, a new European restaurant by Chef Matthias Merges, is opening on 53rd Street today. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON

IN VIEWPOINTS

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

Perspective from Pune » Page 5

Warmly received at Cannes, Blue continues to stir » Page 8

Women take UAA crown, men finish third » Back Page

Spinning Plates satisfies documentarian Levy’s appetite » Page 9

New athletic director hopes to raise attendance at varsity events » Page 11

Letter: Questioning IOP event » Page 6


THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 5, 2013

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NEWS IN BRIEF

“Life of the Mind” redefined for K-12

Profs featured at Chicago Humanities Festival

Raymond Fang Maroon Contributor

Renowned professors Jonathan Lear and Martha Nussbaum spoke Saturday about the human experience and animal ethics as part of a lecture series that brings UChicago faculty to the Chicago Humanities Festival. Lear, Committee on Social Thought member and philosophy professor, drew upon on his background in both psychoanalysis and philosophy to argue that what makes human life unique is our experience of the uncanny, “the familiar, namely ourselves, returning to ourselves as strange, and thereby shaking us up.” Though fundamental to human life, Lear said that this experience, which he sees expressed in humanistic inquiry, is vulnerable. “If human beings would continue on with biological life, living less internally contested, reflective, uncanny lives than they do now….We might say that the human went out of existence but the biological species continued,” he said. In a separate event, Nussbaum, a Law

School and ethics professor, said that before we can determine how to best treat animals, we must first change how we view them. Nussbaum rejected previous approaches to animal rights, which focused on reducing the suffering of animals because they are “just like us.” As an alternative, she presented her capabilities approach, which proposes that the most respectful treatment of animals concentrates on providing each individual species with what it deserves for a fruitful life. Nussbaum said that just because a person will be happy living in a small apartment in Chicago does not imply that an elephant will flourish living in a cage. Instead, “we should see how far we can push ourselves in imagining the whole world of a completely different species.” —Jon Catlin and Sara Cao For full coverage of both events, visit chicagomaroon.com.

Panelists discussed how philosophy can be “subversive” to traditional models of education because it prompts students to question assumptions in “The Winning Words Initiative,” a conference held in Mandel Hall on Saturday. Named after the University’s Winning Words Program, a student volunteer organization bringing philosophy to Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on the South Side, the conference brought together teachers and students from around the country to share ways to spread philosophy in pre-collegiate education. The keynote speakers, C.D.C. Reeve, professor of philosophy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Jana Mohr Lone, director of the University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children, each focused on a different issue. Reeve discussed the importance of living a life true to one’s values, as Socrates did, while Lone discussed the

value of pre-collegiate philosophy in improving critical thinking skills. Reeve, Lone, and conference organizer Bart Schultz, a senior lecturer in the humanities and director of the Winning Words Program, spoke to the Maroon before the conference. Schultz explained that introducing philosophy early on helps develop academic skills such as critical thinking and argumentation. “It’s important for everyone to be more philosophical. It’s an ideal vehicle for critical thinking and dissecting Socratic arguments,” he said. “When I look at what so many CPS students get, and what UChicago expects, there’s a big gap.” Lone agreed that philosophy provides an appropriate setting for developing these skills. “Children start to understand that there are many personalities and many ways to see the world, and as a result ...they start to realize the world isn’t binary....There’s no better discipline for learning to think critically, analytically,

learning to give reasons for what you think, to look for assumptions behind what you say and do,” she said. However, American schools today do not place an emphasis on philosophy, which Lone attributes to schools focusing on career-oriented education. “My view is that the pivotal reason is that American schools haven’t been geared particularly towards the intellectual; they’ve been geared more towards the vocational. ‘How do you get a job?’ That’s been, in many ways, how people understand education’s goal,” she said. But Reeve noted that philosophy can be useful in many careers. “If you actually look at the sorts of people who occupy high-paying top jobs, they tend to be people whose vocational training is backgrounded [sic] by their larger intellectual training,” he said. “Businesses want people with imagination and an ability to...think critically about things. I’d say there is a lot of evidence that philosophy promotes those.”

Moskowitz: “Sometimes we like a good crisis” NOBEL continued from front

his far-reaching generalized method of moments (GMM), which Hansen developed in 1982 as a technique to help analyze economic models. Hansen’s work has provided an important framework for the research of other economists. Cochrane explored Fama’s concept of efficient markets: a market where prices always fully reflect the available information, and price movements are unpredictable. This theory of efficient markets has many practical implications. For example, “professional managers should do no better than monkeys with darts at picking stocks,” he said. Moskowitz clarified the importance of Fama’s more recent work on asset pricing, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize. “Prices are ultimately what determine resource allocation, where we invest as an economy into productive assets. Prices are going to determine that,” Moskowitz said.

Before inviting Hansen and Fama onstage to speak, Becker asked the panelists how they thought “the [economic] theories we’ve had survived the financial crisis?” Heckman responded that the financial crisis “created some challenge about regulating the economy.” “In some quarters of economics, we were unprepared,” he said. Cochrane said that the financial crisis offered an opportunity to see how accurate theoretical economic models were. “Sometimes with a big data point, you see how our simple models work beautifully,” he said. “Consumption fell like a stone; stock prices fell like a stone. Just like the models said they ought to.” Moskowitz argued that the financial crisis offered a valuable challenge to economic theory. “One of the things that I would say as a researcher is sometimes we like a good crisis,” Moskowitz said. “They’re events we don’t usually see in the data.”

Gary Becker (A.M. ’53, Ph.D. ’55) (left) and Eugene Fama (M.B.A. ’63, Ph.D. ’64) share a laugh at the panel discussion. JACKIE JIANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Lickerman: “SHS offers students an appointment within a day of phone call 100 percent of the time” SHS continued from front

nurse practitioners who serve between 80 and 130 patients a day, according to Assistant Vice President of Student Health and Counseling Services Alex Lickerman (A.B. ’88, M.D. ’92). “Walk-in” hours are now available Monday through Friday for students who call first and cannot make the appointment time offered to them, and Saturday hours are available from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which resulted directly from student demand. Both sides of the spectrum At the end of winter quarter last year, third-year Ruchi Mahadeshwar developed what seemed like an innocuous cough. After a few days of cough medicines, home remedies, and rest, her cough became bloody, and she started running a fever. Mahadeshwar made an appointment at SHS, where a nurse practitioner diagnosed her with whooping cough, a highly contagious bacterial disease that commonly affects infants. The nurse practitioner prescribed her antibiotics, and Mahadeshwar trekked to CVS to pick up the prescription. But the CVS pharmacist questioned the diagnosis. “She was like, ‘Your cough sounds pretty bad; it doesn’t sound like a common virus, but I don’t think it’s whooping cough. I haven’t prescribed this in years. We rarely prescribe this. Do you happen to know another doctor you could go to?’” Mahadeshwar recounted. Mahadeshwar learned through her own research

that whooping cough was highly contagious but remembered that the SHS nurse had made no mention of this. “That’s kind of one of the things that set me off thinking, ‘I don’t think this woman knows what she’s talking [about],’” Mahadeshwar said. A Chicago native, Mahadeshwar went home to her general physician, who diagnosed her with bronchitis and prescribed her antibiotics. Mahadeshwar recovered within the next two weeks. In an opposite situation of underdiagnosis, third-year Kirsten Gindler visited SHS last summer with a temperature of 101 degrees and a sore throat and was told that she had a common sore throat. She returned the next day with a 103-degree temperature and had some tests run on her. That weekend, Gindler returned to her home in St. Louis to see her pediatrician, who diagnosed her with mononucleosis. When Gindler called on Monday to receive her test results, she was told that the nurse practitioner had left for vacation and that she had not authorized anyone else to release the results. “I would have had to wait two weeks to find that I actually had mono,” she said. “Then it turns out that my test results from [the University] test showed that I had liver complications that the University didn’t even bother to call and let me know [about].” When Gindler returned to Hyde Park, she established herself as a patient at the University of Chicago Medical Center. “When I finally became a patient of my

physician, she said, ‘Student health is O.K. at handling a cold or stomach virus, but they’re not to be messed with for major health complications,’” Gindler said. Gindler also found scheduling at SHS to be difficult. “You have to call as soon as you wake up, 8 a.m. if you want to get in on the actual day of. You shouldn’t have to call at a specific time if you want to be seen by a doctor.” Lickerman agreed that the best time to call for an appointment is “first thing in the morning before slots start to fill up,” though he claimed that SHS offers students an appointment within 24 hours of their phone call 100 percent of the time. Not all students have had negative experiences with SHS. For second-year Mosum Shah, SHS has been effective, efficient, and convenient on two occasions. After calling at 8 a.m., Shah said she booked appointments a few hours later with minimal waiting time on both occasions. “They took the samples that they needed, and they told me exactly what was wrong with me, prescribed me the appropriate medicine, and it was done,” she said. “In all honesty, it felt like I was going to a doctor back home.”

interactions with personnel, waiting times, and the location and appearance of the clinic. The survey did not ask about diagnostic accuracy. Recognizing the varied student experiences, Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) is expanding the Student Health Advisory Board (SHAB) from six students to 20. SG Vice President for Student Affairs and second-year Jane Huber said she and SG president and fourthyear Michael McCown spoke extensively with administrators at SHCS and wanted to attract more student input. “The thing is that [SHCS] is so all over the place in terms of students’ experiences and reactions and stuff like that, so I think the idea of institutionalizing a way in which students can get all of their perspectives and experiences heard is really exciting,” Huber said. There were over 40 applications for SHAB, which is higher than normal for a student committee, according to Huber. Nonetheless, she does not believe SHAB will have all the answers. “I think it’s going to be a long-term process. I do think it has great powers to make some positive things happen, but I don’t think SHAB is going to be the only solution,” she said.

A changing institution Overall, student opinion of SHS has been varied. According to Lickerman, the results of the latest patient satisfaction survey indicate that 95 percent of students or more are “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with most aspects of SHS. Spanning from July to September, the survey focuses primarily on

This is the second installment of a quarter-long series on student health care, the third of which will be published November 19. The Maroon is committed to understanding all aspects of student health care. If you or someone you know has experiences relating to health care on campus, please contact harinijaganathan@uchicago.edu.


THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 5, 2013

Baking challenge as nice as pie Marina Fang News Editor “I was having trouble with the crust, so I tried a tart crust. Once that worked, it eliminated any doubts about crust,” Ysobel Gallo, 13, said about her pecan pie, an entry in the second annual South Side Pie Challenge. At another culinary showdown, a seasoned baker might have commented on the distinctions between different types of pie crust, but the Pie Challenge, held Saturday at Ray Elementary School on East 56th Street and South Kimbark Avenue, brought out even Hyde Park’s youngest bakers. Gallo said she heard about the contest last year but decided she needed a bit more experience before entering. “I got into baking more this year, so I felt prepared to do it,” she said. Her pie ended up winning second place in the nut pie category, one of 32 entries in the Challenge. The contest’s co-founder, longtime Hyde Park resident Julie Vassilatos, aims to bring out the best of the South Side. Two years ago, her friend and fellow Hyde Parker Kate Agarwal entered the Bucktown Apple Pie contest. Vassilatos and Agarwal then decided they wanted to start their own pie contest—with two major changes: expand the diversity of pies, and emphasize the diversity of South Side residents. “I thought, you know what, this is really, really North Side, really white. It’s not very diverse,” Vassilatos said. “I want to shine a light on the positive things on the South Side.” To add to the community nature of the event, Vassilatos and Agarwal chose to donate proceeds from the contest fees to a local food pantry, the Hyde Park and Kenwood Hunger Programs, noting the impact of the Great Recession on exacerbating food insecurity in urban areas. “We went around and around [trying to find] some very worthy causes. I did a lot of research on hunger and food pantries. Those numbers rose

and rose during the recession,” Vassilatos said. She estimated that this year’s event raised about $1,500. In planning the contest, Vassilatos engaged the support of Hyde Park businesses, among them Medici, Pizza Capri, and Harper Theater, all of which sponsored the prizes. She said the community aspect of the contest made it relatively easy to find sponsors. “Most of these businesses are like, ‘Here, absolutely. Here’s a gift card.’ I mean, they’re completely awesome….I’ve fundraised for a lot of things, but it’s easy and fun to do it for this,” she said. Vassilatos estimated that the majority of contest entrants are Hyde Park and Kenwood residents, but felt that the two neighborhoods have “a wide reach that covers a lot of the South Side.” The contest extended beyond those borders. For instance, contest entrant Mary Gehrke invited friends and family on the North Side to attend. North Side resident Lana Tran heard about the contest through an interview Vassilatos did on WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR affiliate. She happened to be hosting a few friends, some from other parts of the country, and they decided to spend the day at the contest. The contest also brought out UChicago students, including third-year Matt Kellner, who came with a group of friends after reading about the contest online. “I figured we all like pie, and it’s a good way to spend a Saturday….We’ll support the community if there’s pie involved,” he said. In addition, members of Chicago Men’s A Capella (CMAC) performed throughout the event. CMAC President and fourth-year Daniel Comeaux said that this is the second year the group has sung at the event, citing an interest in reaching out to the community. “We had fun singing for people with their pie. It’s for a good cause. It’s right here at home in Hyde Park. And there’s lots of good pie,” he said.

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Murder-based drama slated to air in spring

Fourth-year Phil Ehrenberg, head of postproduction for Maroon TV, films the pilot for S.C.A.B., a sitcom about a fictitious committee regulating the abundance of student advisory boards at UChicago. NATALIE FRIEDBERG | THE CHICAGO MAROON TV continued from front

a murder-based drama titled Ivy. There have also been talks with the improv comedy group Occam’s Razor about possibly televising student-made comedy sketches. While most of these series are still nascent, the writing process has begun for Ivy and it is scheduled to air by spring quarter at the latest. Previously, Maroon TV had been limited to news and sports broadcasting. Since the advent of the original programming sector, the station’s staff has almost doubled in size and continues to grow. Budgeting is not expected to be a problem, because the largest expense, the camera and film equipment, is all borrowed from the Logan Center for the Arts. Currently, the Maroon TV YouTube channel has 35 subscribers and 8,390 total views, with individual videos having anywhere from a few dozen to a few hundred views. Although Maroon TV will advertise its new programming, Ehrenberg said that viewership

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is not a pressing concern, because viewership will not determine whether or not the staff can keep producing content. Olshan noted that the station is open to more shows. “If there’s another group of people out there that wants to come in and write a sitcom and just wants to use our equipment and our resources, we’d be happy to just sign them on board. We’re really non-exclusive right now…. The bigger the better, in terms of the number of projects,” Olshan said. When Maroon TV was created two years ago as an Uncommon Fund project, the founders intended to have original programming alongside the news and sports, even including it in the yearly budget. But for various reasons, no project ever made it to the production stage until now. “We’re a new organization….We want this to be solid and to have a long future ahead of it,” Olshan said.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 5, 2013

4

Fracking may benefit environment and economy, journalist says Nathan Peereboom News Staff Journalist Alex Prud’homme argued that the fracking debate is polarized and oversimplified in a speech at International House last night to promote his new book, Hydrofracking: What Everyone Needs to Know. Prud’homme claimed his book is an objective and evenhanded analysis of the environmental, political, and economic issues in question. “[Hydrofracking] is neither all good nor all bad,” Prud’homme said. “There’s always been a give and take between energy and environmental concerns.” Hydrofracking, shorthand for hydraulic fractur-

ing, is a process that extracts compressed natural gas by injecting millions of gallons of a water-sandchemical cocktail into shale rock at 90,000 pounds per square inch. In his talk, Prud’homme said hydrofracking can lead to a stronger economy, fewer emissions, and potential energy independence. Some of the economic benefits include the 600,000 current U.S. jobs in hydrofracking and the in-sourcing of chemical companies like Dow, which have relocated back to the United States. As for environmental advantages, America’s falling CO2 emissions rate can at least partially be attributed to natural gas’s greatly reduced CO2 limit as compared to coal, he said. Moreover, Prud’homme

showed that hydrofracking consumes less water than either coal power, nuclear power, or even golf courses. He did, however, mention that the 2,500 chemicals used in the hydrofracking sludge cocktail are disconcerting. Prud’homme cited a controversial 2012 study by Cornell University professor Robert Howarth that suggested that methane was leeching into the water supply in many fracking operations. While a University of Texas paper responded with a contrary finding, the jury is still out and the EPA is currently studying the issue. The geological implications can be disturbing too. Prud’homme cited a 5.7 magnitude earthquake in Oklahoma that was attributed to a fracking operation as an example.

Prud’homme’s interest in hydrofracking began at public meetings in New York in 2009 where drilling the Marcellus region, 95,000 square miles of gas-rich shale rock that extends from New York to Ohio, was discussed. “The stakes are enormous,” Prud’homme said of the Marcellus region. “It’s thought to be the single largest energy deposit in the United States and the second largest natural gas deposit in the world. ” Prud’homme recalls a deeply divided and exaggerated discourse at the meetings and knew there was a journalistic role to be filled. “While shale energy is too important to ignore, its health and environmental impacts are too important to overlook,” he said.

Merges says restaurant would be on South Side with or without the University A10 continued from front

other Hyde Park restaurant, Yusho, raised concerns from Hyde Park residents that noise coming from the restaurant late at night may disrupt the residential atmosphere of the surrounding area. Both restaurants have been criticized as being part of a larger plan by the University to upscale the 53rd Street corridor by importing businesses from

outside Hyde Park. Such criticisms are unfounded, according to Merges. “ We happened to be on the North Side and now we happen to be on the South Side. If it was with the University or it wasn’t, we would still be down here.” Merges cites relationships with the University and Hyde Park through family—his father and

father-in-law are alumni of the College—as the reasons he originally considered opening a restaurant in the neighborhood. And once he saw the University’s commitment to adding commercial infrastructure to 53rd Street, he felt it was a good business decision. Merges believes his restaurant’s warmth and hospitality will be the antidote to the criticism that’s

preceded it. “[A10] is an old school idea…about creating a space, a restaurant, for people to socialize and share ideas,” he said. Noting the hundreds of people who have tried to get in during the restaurant’s soft openings the past few days, Merges is convinced that “there’s something we’re doing that is resonating with Hyde Parkers.”

The Lumen Christi Institute, The Center for Latin American Studies, and The Theology Workshop present

Resales of tickets must go through COUP COUP continued from front

the tickets were sold out,” first-year Elizabeth Adetiba said. “I’m very much hoping to get off the waitlist. I’ve already purchased a dress.” COUP made several changes to this year’s Fall Formal, to be held at Shedd Aquarium on Friday, to streamline the process. Each ticket now has a unique ID number linked to the name of its buyer. This means that students cannot resell tickets and that every resell must go through COUP. As a result of this new policy, a waitlist system was established. One hundred students who waited in line on Wednesday were placed on this list. Every time a person resells a ticket, COUP will contact students sequentially down the list, according to third-year Jonathan Jin, assistant chair on COUP’s board. “We have this waitlist system in place to allow students who were in line on Wednesday to effectively keep their place in line,” Jin said. Second-year Seraphina Yong, who waited in line at 7:45 a.m., was also put on the waitlist. Yong, who is around the 30th person on the list, has yet to hear from COUP as of last night. “I feel that it would be better if they sold more tickets, but I understand that they try to choose venues that are places people want to go to, which may not have the capacity to hold a large student body,” she said. “Perhaps they could adjust the budgeting.” Currently COUP has a $100,000 budget for Fall Formal. “We completely understand the demand, and we tried our best to meet the numbers,” said third-year Nikita Sachdeva, assistant chair on COUP’s board. “We made the availability of tickets easier by starting selling at 7 a.m. We tried to make time a nonissue. If we were to expand Fall Formal, we would have to cut down on other events.” Four hundred and twenty-four tickets were sold for this year’s Fall Formal, with singles charged $25 and pairs $45.

CORRECTION A photo caption accompanying the October 29 article, “Cuckoo for Kuko, The Man Behind the Omelet” misspelled Refugio Cortes’s last name.

POPE FR ANCIS

FIRST POPE

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Anna Bonta Moreland Villanova University

R.R. Reno First Things Magazine

Tuesday, November 5, 7:00PM Mandel Hall, 1131 East 57th Street Since his election as the first pope from the Americas in March 2013, Pope Francis has drawn the attention of the world. His accessibility to the media and the long newspapers interviews through which he has shared his vision represent an unprecedented shift in the approach of the papacy. This symposium will discuss the significance of this figure who seems to have captured the hearts of many with his humility, warmth, concern for the poor, and openness to the world.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information and to register, visit www.lumenchristi.org.


VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Stops on the way to our destination Current changes to NightRide are the beginning of a more comprehensive solution The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 REBECCA GUTERMAN Editor-in-Chief SAM LEVINE Editor-in-Chief EMILY WANG Managing Editor

CELIA BEVER Senior Editor VICENTE FERNANDEZ Senior Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Senior Editor MADHU SRIKANTHA Senior Editor MARINA FANG News Editor ANKIT JAIN News Editor LINDA QIU News Editor KRISTIN LIN Viewpoints Editor EMMA BRODER Arts Editor WILL DART Arts Editor LAUREN GURLEY Arts Editor SARAH LANGS Sports Editor JAKE WALERIUS Sports Editor SONIA DHAWAN Head Designer KEVIN WANG Online Editor MARA MCCOLLOM Social Media Editor CONNOR CUNNINGHAM Head Copy Editor SHERRY HE Head Copy Editor JEN XIA Head Copy Editor BEN ZIGTERMAN Head Copy Editor JAMIE MANLEY Photo Editor TIFFANY TAN Photo Editor

Yesterday was the debut of the 53rd Street shuttle, the most recent addition to campus transportation options this year. In addition to these changes, Transportation and Parking Services is tracking the usage of the 53rd Street shuttle by requiring individuals to tap their UCIDs when they board, and plans to implement this policy for all routes starting winter quarter. These changes were made in response to surveys administered last year by Transportation and Parking and are designed to address a myriad of concerns, but there are still some that remain unresolved. Transportation and Parking should be commended for its active efforts to tailor its services to students and faculty, but still needs to focus on improving the punctuality and usefulness of its routes. Changes to the Central and East NightRide shuttle routes took effect September 15 and

reflect an openness to feedback, as well as a willingness to adapt the program after a yearlong pilot. The East shuttle’s loading zone has moved to East 56th Street outside Max Central, in order to “ease congestion and pedestrian safety concerns” in front of the Regenstein Library, according to a UChicago News article. The Central route has also been modified to stop at East 60th Street and South Ellis Avenue in an effort to help Broadview students get to Cathey Dining Hall more readily; previously, it did not go south of the Midway. The 53rd Street shuttle will run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and will employ a tap-to-ride system so that Transportation and Parking can track the shuttle’s usage and traffic patterns. The department has continually attempted to address new issues as they arise each year, but several problems persist.

For one, shuttle arrival and departure times are often inconsistent, which can be frustrating for students waiting outside, especially for those without smartphones to access TransLoc. And even for those who have access to it, TransLoc is prone to glitches. Making a concerted effort to ensure that shuttles arrive on time is the ideal solution, but there are other steps that Transportation and Parking can take to improve the shuttle system in the meantime. As we have suggested before, there could be a reverse route for each shuttle to make the ride shorter for those near the end of the loop. And while the 53rd Street shuttle will allow students to access East 53rd Street and Harper Court, it does not run on the weekend when there are fewer daytime transportation options, even though that is the very time when people would be most likely to take advantage

of those businesses. While the shuttle also has the potential to provide easy and quick transport to Harper Court in the evening, it does not end up being an incentive to get off campus; students have fewer ways to return to campus after 6 p.m., when the shuttle stops running. Transportation and Parking has been responding to student input in recent years, a practice that it should continue. However, the department needs to address additional grievances to provide a fully cohesive transportation system, including improving shuttle timeliness and synchronizing nighttime shuttles with their various daytime options. The department has improved its services through past changes, but that’s no reason to stop.

The Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and the Viewpoints Editors.

COLIN BRADLEY Grey City Editor JOY CRANE Grey City Editor THOMAS CHOI Assoc. News Editor ALEX HAYS Assoc. News Editor

Perspective from Pune

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Reform to the Pune study abroad program needs to take into account more perspectives than just one

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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. © 2013 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: Design@ChicagoMaroon.com Copy: CopyEditors@ChicagoMaroon.com Advertising: Ads@ChicagoMaroon.com

By Emma Thurber Stone Viewpoints Columnist As I have followed the recent resurgence of interest in Michaela Cross’s CNN iReport article from the country she wrote about, I have begun to feel obligated to comment on it, or, rather, to comment on the commentary surrounding it. It has taken a while to gather my thoughts. The article, for both myself and many of my peers currently living with me here in Pune, posed an enormous challenge to the decision we had made several months previously to come to India. More recently, it has been very peculiar for me to encounter such strong skepticism from elsewhere about a program in which I am currently enrolled, and a country that is currently my place of residence. It has given me confidence that the following is a necessary addition to existing coverage both of the article and of the current campaign to alter the program. It is unacceptable that survivors of sexual assault feel in any way silenced or shamed into concealing their experiences. There is a way to talk about Cross’s article such that her experiences are neither denied nor discredited, and I will try to do this here. It is possible, I believe, to allow that everything she reported was factually accurate—and her reactions to her experiences entirely

valid—and yet remain extremely uncomfortable with some of the implications of her piece and the ways that her piece has been interpreted and mobilized within the UChicago community. Cross’s piece in many ways works as a personal essay: It is more interested in conveying the impact of a personal experience than in analyzing the conditions of that experience. And I make no value judgment when I make that distinction; I mean only to say that when we try to make the leap from Cross’s piece to thinking about the Pune p rogram, we must first understand that Cross herself, in the original piece for iReport, never made that leap. That essay was not written as advice for me, a would-be participant in the program. It was not written for a University of Chicago study abroad program administrator. It was written in order for Cross to share her truth. What does this mean? It means, first of all, that the essay does not answer a lot of questions. How many other students and staff members were present when incidents occurred? What time of day and in what kinds of settings did they occur? What response did Cross receive from on-site study abroad staff, particularly the program assistant? How many students experienced feelings similar to Cross’s? Cross’s essay does not lack credibility because it does not provide answers to these questions. Anyone trying to think about changes to a study abroad program in India absolutely must be interested in them. Considering them does not amount to an effort to make Cross culpable for

her own harassment. It amounts to an attempt to determine for what the study abroad program itself can be held responsible, and that is a necessary project. Second of all, Cross’s personal truth cannot be taken as emblematic of the way UChicago students, and female students in particular, have experienced and continue to experience India. To assume that her article alone ought to be enough to merit institutional change within the Pune program—regardless of whether or not those changes are necessary—elides a whole range of female voices equally qualified and ready to talk about their time in India. The Maroon Editorial Board recently insisted that “the Study Abroad Office must not see Cross’s experience in India as simply an isolated incident which can be left behind with some quick fixes.” This is a conclusion which I must respectfully criticize. I do not deny that the Study Abroad Office and the University have an obligation to Cross as an individual student. But I certainly will deny that it is acceptable to decide what female UChicago students in India need without considering their experiences in sum. Such an approach would not only be impractical, but also would exclude the voices of students who have radically different stories to share, of whom I have met many and among whom I include myself. I would also argue that it is necessary in this conversation to be aware of the ways in which racial stereotypes have the potential to be mobilized around issues of gender and violence,

and, in a larger sense, how gender and violence in India are reported and discussed in mass media. This is not to throw skepticism on any such reporting or, again, on Cross’s article, but rather to urge caution in advance on the kinds of language we use and the kinds of arguments we make when we talk about India and danger. The inclusion of all voices at this stage is crucial because whatever is diagnosed as the problem will be the target of the eventual cure. And the diagnosis will differ depending on whose voices are allowed to enter the discussion. Do we need an on-site staff member trained in mental health issues to stay in our hotel at all times? Do we need to provide further, more specialized training to the on-site program assistant? Does the Study Abroad Office need to improve its feedback mechanisms or its resources for returning students? And in a greater sense, how are we to behave as women in India? What can we do, or can’t we do, about the aspects of our experiences that are troubling to us? We cannot take the answers to any of these questions for granted. If the project that the Editorial Board and others are interested in is one of keeping UChicago students safe in India, then there is a lot more to do than read Cross’s article, and the foregoing questions are much more pressing and useful to ask than the insidious and misdirected question of why “nothing has changed” from the past year’s program to this year’s. Emma Thurber Stone is a third-year in the College majoring in anthropology and gender and sexuality studies.


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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 5, 2013

In my (humble) opinion Opinions are an exercise not in rectitude but in growth Grace Koh Viewpoints Staff My laptop is placed perfectly on the desk in front of me, with a notebook and pen sitting neatly by its side and a cup of coffee in the corner. The PDF of my reading is colorfully marked with my personal arsenal of (selfdeemed) riveting comments and questions. Each class discussion is a draining battle, and today, I’m ready for war. I carefully follow the progression of the conversation and enjoy what’s being said, but can never let my guard down, as I need to find ways to wedge the facts and notes I collected from the night before into the discussion. Yet somehow—in comparison to my peers’ skillful and coordinated series of attacks—my contributions seem like blunt, crude beatings, short in duration and infrequent in number. And as that difference becomes increasingly prominent, I shrink perpetually deeper into my prison of silence, restless to speak but unable to do so. A similar phenomenon occasionally transpires in more casual settings. I enjoy pleasantly stimulating political discussion until someone, usually confident and well informed, asks for my personal opinion. This observation begins to unpack the fear I have of participating in class discussions or intellectual conversation in general. They’re often based on opinions—whether it’s sharing your opinion, understanding someone else’s, or some variation of the two—and I’m terrified of even having one, particularly in the face of perceived superiority. For me, having an opinion on something is tantamount to possessing extensive knowledge on that subject. Opinions are a result of vested interest over a long period of time, complete with analysis of underlying generalities and insightful comparisons to other current events. Any thought I may have is consistently

overshadowed by the ever-present principle that there is still so much that I do not understand. Take a hypothetical situation in which I read an article about the President’s decision on Syria. Maybe the article triggers some microscopic shadow of a reaction, but that small thought doesn’t stand a chance against the army of questions that are prepared to destroy it. “Do you know the full historical context of U.S.-Syrian relations?” “Are you an expert in political strategy?” “Did you consider that there might be x, y, and z factors that also come into play? What do you know about those?” Backed into a corner, I choose the easiest way out: surrender. The undeniable knowledge that my opinion could be wrong strictly prohibits me from claiming any sort of subjective belief as my own. I resort instead to hoarding CNN news clips and collecting witty comments from the Colbert Report to store away in my tent, camped on neutral ground. At least there I can peacefully craft my storage of information into little puppets and play director in my up-and-(neverreally)-coming show, Both Sides Have Equally Valid Arguments. At least by doing this, I justify to myself, I’m not making an uneducated judgment, and I’m not oversimplifying a complex issue. I’m not some “ignorant protestor,” and I’m not an “extremist politician” too stubborn to compromise. I would never dare be arrogant enough to think that I am omnipotent and infallible. My intellectual conscience can remain clean. Such a thought process, however, implies that the purpose of forming opinions is to be right. Ultimately, I choose to remain neutral because I know that someone intellectually superior to me can prove me wrong— and I don’t like being wrong. I tried to appease my fear of participating in class discussions by reading the assigned articles

more intensively and doing background research on authors. As the quarter progressed, I did feel slightly more comfortable handling the material, but my classmates only seemed to be getting exponentially more intelligent. In the beginning of the quarter, class discussions were something I struggled to keep up with; entering into fifth and sixth week, I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be chasing after. All of my efforts seemed futile, and I felt utterly lost. I slowly realized that I had confused the importance of being informed with a necessity to be infallible. Picking a side does not have to mean I assume I am never wrong, because the opposite of a stubborn reluctance to admit mistakes is not passivity. Passivity is a preventative measure to ensure that one is never wrong. The two are not opposing forces; they are allies fighting under one misguided leader: pride. After this realization, I approached discussions not as a means to impress others, but as a mechanism through which I could learn and gain a wider perspective. The goal of having opinions was no longer to stand perfectly unchallenged, but rather to be corrected. A truly informed opinion is created to be broken apart, and in this process facilitate growth. The best opinions do not fear defeat but seek after criticism. They are neither impervious to differences nor do they falter at the slightest touch. An opinion is like the ultimate personal tutor. It teaches you to put your heart into and love what you learn, but also that you’re supposed to be wrong sometimes, because that’s how you grow. All of that without an hourly rate of $50. A pretty good deal, in my opinion. Grace Koh is a second-year in the College majoring in political science.

Letter: Questioning IOP event Having read your report on claims about insensitivity at the Institute of Politics (IOP) (“IOP Alters Program After Insensitivity Claims,” 11/01/13), I feel compelled to voice a different kind of complaint regarding activities at this institute and its meaningful contributions to life at the University. Others may be troubled by the food served at the IOP and the way it is publicized. What I find troublesome, however, is that the three guest speakers at the Conservatism in America workshop I have been attending this quarter are only exposed to questions which the moderator, Ramesh Ponnuru, deems appropriate. In all fairness, I should note that this highly esteemed conservative commentator fields

all questions in sessions where there are no guests and does seem to relish the give and take which arises in response to the exposition of his own views. But on the occasions when former GOP Chairman Ed Gillespie, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have been in attendance, questions were required to be submitted in writing and then approved for asking by Ponnuru. As a consequence, whether intended or not, the questions which get asked tend to be extremely polite and rooted in a decidedly Republican world view. Of course, there is nothing wrong with that, but it strikes me as rather counterproductive, or at the very least limiting, considering the vigorous intellectual inquiry which we like to think

we engage in. I understand that this may be designed to protect the guests from being asked embarrassing or overly hostile questions, but one would like to think that people at the University of Chicago are smart enough to ask tough and penetrating questions without being rude or obnoxious. After all, don’t we all strive to do precisely that in our everyday intellectual pursuits? Thus, I would ask the IOP’s policy makers to adopt a more open stance with regard to the way in which guest speakers are questioned. That should be as important to the future success of the Institute as the way it refers to sessions in which Harold’s Chicken is served up to their audience! —Steven Platzer

A. S. Byatt Tom McCarthy Fredric Jameson Isobel Armstrong Nicholas Dames Simon During Declan Kiberd Deidre Lynch Sandra Macpherson Vicki Mahaffey Michael Wood

Forms of Fiction

The Novel in English November 7–9, 2013

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

Middlemarch George Eliot

The Golden Bowl Henry James

Ulysses

James Joyce

formsoffiction.uchicago.edu Made possible through the generous support of Randy L. and Melvin R. Berlin. Additional support provided by the UChicago Division of the Humanities, Department of English Language and Literature, and Nicholson Center for British Studies.


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ARTS

Heartlandia NOVEMBER 5, 2013

Warmly received at Cannes, Blue continues to stir source music, with brilliant effects), Adèle catches the eye of a denim-clad, bluehaired woman, who has her arm around another woman. After breaking up with the boy, Adèle encounters the same woman at a lesbian bar, claiming that she “came [t] here by chance.” Léa Seydoux plays the blue-haired woman, an artist named Emma. The two begin to talk and then to spend time together; the camera jump-cuts and hovers close, and the effect is immersive.

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR Abdellatif Kechiche AMC River East

Nineteen-year-old Adèle Exarchopoulos stars alongside Léa Seydoux (Mission Impossible) in Blue is the Warmest Color. COURTESY OF LAS VEGAS GUARDIAN EXPRESS

Rob Sperry-Fromm Maroon Contributor On the one hand, Abdellatif Kechiche’s new film Blue is the Warmest Color is a simple coming-of-age story with the same structural backbone as countless other stories of

first love and heartbreak. On the other hand, this Palme d’Or–winning, three-hour film that never leaves its main character’s side is completely unlike any love story you’ve ever seen. I’m not talking about the fact that it concerns a lesbian relationship, or

At 41, Eminem finally grows up Zane Burton Arts Staff It’s nearly impossible to not compare Eminem’s latest release, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, to the latest albums from fellow hiphop heavyweights Jay-Z and Kanye West. All three artists have felt pressure to reinvent themselves in some way or another, and each has taken a wildly different approach. Jay-Z struck an unprecedented deal with Samsung to push Magna Carta…Holy Grail to double platinum before it was even released, while on Yeezus, Kanye West abandoned his pioneering soul samples in favor of sparse production and dark, aggressive lyrics. Meanwhile, MMLP2 finds Eminem revisiting his past. The title of the album is a reference to Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP, his 2000 release, generally considered to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. He spoke with Rolling Stone about the album’s title, stating that the decision to title the album was “more about the vibe, and it’s more about the nostalgia.” Still, the title invites certain expectations. Surprisingly, the album delivers. MMLP2 is at its best when Eminem is having a

good time—tracks like “Love Game” and “So Far…” are effective in spite of (or perhaps because of ) their ridiculous samples and lyrics. “Rhyme or Reason” features the first Yoda impersonation I’ve ever heard on an album, and it actually works. The track features a sample of The Zombies’ “Time of the Season,” a classic hip-hop sample that Eminem reworks into a brilliant call and response: “(What’s your name?) Marshall/ (Who’s your daddy?) I don’t have one./ My mother reproduced like a komodo dragon.” When Eminem is able to approach his upbringing with introspection and humor, he is successful. It’s the moments where he doesn’t show any growth from the first MMLP that are the most cringeworthy. There’s still tons of gay bashing in Eminem’s work. Lines like “Little gay lookin’ boy/ So gay I can barely say it with a straight face lookin’ boy,” on “Rap God,” take away from a track that is otherwise impressive. Eminem’s flow on the track is unbelievable despite the lyrical issues—he manages to rap 97 words in 15 seconds, displaying a hunger that he hasn’t shown in quite some time. Aside from “Rap God,” the EMINEM continued on page 9

about the much-discussed nearly-10-minute-long sex scenes between its two lead characters; I’m talking about basically everything else. The film starts and ends with Adèle Exarchopoulos’s frankly incredible performance. Exarchopoulos

plays an average and reasonably popular high school student, also named Adèle. A niceenough boy courts her and briefly becomes her boyfriend. But while crossing the street on the way to their first date, steel drum music playing (the film’s score consists only of

Immediately we become disarmingly close to Adèle, who is almost always on screen and almost always shot in close-up. When she eats, we see the food that gets on her face. When she cries, we see the snot running down her nose. She does a lot of eating and crying, not to mention having sex, dancing,

drinking, marching in parades, posing for paintings, cooking, and sitting in the sun. The three hours we spend in close proximity to her give the impression of a lived-in, authentic portion of a person’s life, something I can’t recall having ever experienced with such vividness at the cinema. This would not be possible if the young Exarchopoulos were not such a committed, emotionally raw, heartstoppingly beautiful lead. Nor would it be possible, for that matter, without Kechiche’s revelatory directing. The film’s cinematography is at once naturalistic and vividly stylized in the way it fixates on Adèle’s face, swirls about her as she moves, and locates bright washes of color and light in the frame. Kechiche’s camera loves Adèle, the way Godard’s loved Karina, and you feel it in every frame she occupies. In one scene, the lovers kiss by a river, and a symmetrical two-shot with the sky in the background makes it appear as if they are about to be swallowed BLUE continued on page 9

Football book gives Chicago paws James Mackenzie Arts Staff Monsters by Rich Cohen tells the story of the 1985 Chicago Bears football team, which embodied the city it championed and served as a touchstone for fans who had never witnessed the truly dominant Bears teams of the ’30s and ’40s. After a brief introduction recounting Cohen’s trip to New Orleans and Super Bowl XX, in which the ’85 Bears defeated the New England Patriots, the book spends its first quarter detailing the life and football career of George Halas, the Bears’ head coach for over 40 years and owner for 60. Consequently, the story takes the reader from the infancy of the National Football League to the televised spectacle of the 1960s, and then turns to Mike Ditka, one of the last players to play during Halas’s coaching career and the man who would eventually lead the ’85 Bears as head coach. Finally, the book introduces the critical members of that year’s squad, such as quarterback Jim McMahon and running back Walter Payton, and recounts the story of the 1985 Super Bowl run through the eyes of these players. From a historical standpoint, Cohen’s work is superb. His research on every era of football from the 1900s to the 1980s borders on the encyclopedic, calling up countless details about the lives of key figures

like Halas, Ditka, Jim Thorpe, and Sid Luckman. He details individual plays that occurred in otherwise forgotten football games, even though many of these games probably don’t exist on film. These descriptions make the book feel like a collection of folklore, passed from generation to generation of Chicago football fans. Sports folklore is an essential component of any sports city as storied as Chicago, and this is not lost on Cohen. However, the real genius of Cohen’s writing lies in his incorporation of the personal and emotional aspects of football and its players. Despite never having played competitive football, Cohen has a profound understanding of the game’s psychology, and his insights are both original and thoughtful. One of the book’s most consistent themes is the connection between football and violence, a topic that is sure to make many readers uncomfortable, especially in light of recent headlines about the long-term brain damage suffered by former football players. Cohen neither glorifies nor demonizes the sport’s violence, but traces it through the history of the game, from the sons of immigrants who would become the first football players brawling in the urban ghettos of the 1800s to the fatalistic men of the 1900s plunging ahead without regard for the future.

Cohen’s most brilliant observation may be his comparison between the evolution of football and the evolution of warfare. The trench warfare of World War I mirrors football’s line-based war of attrition in the 1920s, while the vertical passing game that followed World War II reflects both the war’s fast pace and the fear of long-range nuclear

missiles of the Cold War. But rather than making the violence his principal subject, Cohen shifts his emphasis to the spirit of the players, showing that they were men who could endure violence and still go on. He ties this in with the culture of Chicago, emphasizing that is it impossible to separate one of America’s great cities from its favorite team.

Without insensitivity, the work draws connections between football and violence. COURTESY OF FARRAR, STRAUS, AND GIROUX


THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | November 5, 2013

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Spinning Plates satisfies documentarian Levy’s appetite Robert Sorrell Arts Staff There is a strange kind of ferocity in the food industry—workaholics who think they have demanding jobs should spend a few days in a professional kitchen. The chefs and restaurant owners who run our favorite joints everywhere from New York to Chicago to North Dakota regularly work hours that would make most of us curl up in the fetal position. Joseph Levy’s surprisingly affecting documentary now playing at Landmark Theatres’ Century Centre Cinema, Spinning Plates, explores this mania, asserting, “It’s not what you cook. It’s why.” The first stop out of three in Levy’s culinary documentary is Chicago’s own Alinea, a restaurant toting three Michelin stars and the title of 15th-best restaurant in the world (down from 7th in 2012) according to the prestigious San Pellegrino 50 Best List. Alinea is at the cutting edge of molecular gastronomy, a hybrid of technology and technical chef skills that attempts to capitalize on all aspects of cuisine including aroma, aesthetics, and, of course, taste. Head chef Grant Achatz, wrapped in a scarf, with wild eyes and flourishing hands, walks the line between artist, chef, and scientist, serving up dishes that take haute cuisine to new heights. However, Achatz has other things on his plate besides running one of the world’s top restaurants. After being diagnosed with stage four oral cancer and thinking he would have to undergo disfiguring surgery, Achatz instead received an intense chemotherapy and drug treatment at the

SPINNING PLATES Joseph Levy Landmark Theatres’ Century Centre Cinema

University of Chicago Hospital and was cancerfree after three months. Directly after finishing treatment, Achatz once again started working into the wee hours of every night, sleeping an average of four hours a night, knowing that his lifestyle makes the cancer, which already has a 60 percent chance of returning, more likely to recur. Despite such dire possibilities, Achatz simply can’t bring himself to stop working, especially as his and his partner

Chef Grant Achatz plates locally sourced salmon pâté, here deconstructed to closely resemble soil. COURTESY OF FILM ARCADE

Nick Kokonas’s new conceptual restaurant Next continues to garner worldwide acclaim. Flipping back and forth between three restaurants, Levy works his way even further into the American heartland with Breitbach’s Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa. The Breitbach family has run this tavern in a corner of Iowa near the Mississippi since 1862. Levy soaks up the small town vibe as customers and the Breitbach family itself try to explain the intangible nature of a restaurant that is “like home, or what you’d wish it to be.” Breitbach’s somehow became much more of a “community center” than a restaurant, and when the restaurant burned to the ground in 2007 and again in 2008, the community pitched in to rebuild Breitbach’s in time for its 150th anniversary. The third focus of Levy’s documentary is La Cocina de Gabby, a Mexican restaurant in Tucson run by Francisco and Gabby Martinez. The husband-wife duo serve up authentic Mexican food in an endeavor that is equal parts financial and emotional; Francisco’s faith in his wife’s cooking is

tempered by their financial hardship and need to support their young daughter. The documentary lags a bit in the lengthy sentimental depictions of Francisco and Gabby’s restaurant, although the hardworking couple’s plight does strike strong emotional chords. Gabby and Francisco weave a tale that is worthy to note—though sadly, not for being unique. The arc of La Cocina de Gabby is one steeped in American-dream ideals, religion, and family, but at times seems hazy on its connection to food and cuisine itself. However, this departure, notable in parts of the Breitbach’s sequences as well, is part of what separates Levy’s Spinning Plates from typical culinary documentaries, and even from some of the more original movies in the genre. Levy attempts to understand restaurants as a whole more than the cuisine they produce, examining the ways that people commune and connect over food. Levy found his perfect subject in Achatz, who grew up working odd jobs in his parent’s diner in

a small Michigan town, and went on to become a world-renowned experimental chef. Despite his current status, Achatz highlights the similarities between places like Alinea and a small-town diner, asserting that they both work toward the same goals. Achatz asserts that in homey restaurants, people open up because they are so comfortable, and at unique, unconventional restaurants like Alinea, people share a moment because their experience is so radically uncommon. Achatz attempts to “make people feel comfortable and exposed” at the same time. As Levy constructs his point, he certainly succeeds in proving that “it’s not what you cook,” but perhaps fails to answer the “why.” Hints are provided: The subjects of the film cook for reasons financial and emotional, in the search for artistic expression, or to create a place worth calling your second home. Perhaps these incentives are more similar than one would expect. Humans, after all, are social animals. According to Levy, we’re apparently also social eaters.

Eminem’s MMLP2 is the same, but more good

Blue actresses report tension with Kechiche on set

EMINEM continued from page 8 other singles on MMLP2, “Berzerk,” “Survival,” and “The Monster” are some of the low points of the album. “Survival” features production from DJ Khalil and feels virtually phoned in, both instrumentally and lyrically. The beat on the track features the distortion-filled guitars that have marked most of Eminem’s albums for the past 10 years or so, and they’re starting to show some serious age. While quite a few of the tracks feature female vocalists, the only rapper featured on MMLP2 is Kendrick Lamar. Lamar shares bars with Eminem on “Love Game,” a track that is surprisingly successful. This is probably Lamar’s most relaxed feature of the year, a far cry from “Control.” The track samples Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders’ “Game of Love” and adds a bouncy, carefree beat that only adds to the ’60s nostalgia. While Eminem’s frustration with women has always been a central theme in his music, it works a lot better on this track than it has in the past. Eminem is actually introspective here, and the tone of the sample against the aggressive lyrics brings an ironic aspect to the track that suggests Eminem might be a little more aware of his moral shortcomings than he once was. This newfound self-awareness is especially visible on “Headlights,” a track featuring fun.’s Nate Reuss. On the track, Eminem finally apologizes to his mother after years and years of expressing his hatred toward her, rapping, “’Cause to this day we remain estranged and I hate it though / ’Cause you ain’t even get to witness your grandbaby’s growth.”

BLUE continued from page 8 by light. Scenes are allowed to stretch well beyond the point most directors would allow, which is part of what makes this emotionally draining film go by so quickly. Time passes, but we never really know how much, because the film doesn’t step back from its relentless intimacy. Much has been made of the length of the sex scenes, but some moments of dialogue, dancing, and fighting are no less extended. We live with these characters, which gives the plot shape beyond its predictable structure. Seydoux, while not allowed as much play as her counterpart, is tremendous in her own way. Emma is more experienced—a proudly out, artistically ambitious lover and mentor to Adèle’s heroine. This dynamic chafes them. When Emma talks to Adèle, somewhat patronizingly, about Sartre, and Adèle naively compares him to Bob Marley, it is clear how their relationship will eventually play out. There are also class and value differences between them (Emma wants to be a famous artist, while Adèle aspires to be an elementary school teacher) that make their connection untenable. Seydoux removes any hint of the predatory from her character, emphasizing the sadness that comes with the couple’s imbalance in wisdom. There are times when it seems that Emma wants to be Adèle as much as she wants to be with her, and her inability to do so is what dooms them. But at the relationship’s peak—the film’s middle third—it sings. Here are the infamous sex scenes, and they go as far as any film without an XXX rating is likely to go. They

Shady’s latest shows refreshing self-awareness. COURTESY OF INTERSCOPE RECORDS

Overall, the album’s successes are stronger than its shortcomings. At 41, it seems that Eminem is finally starting to show some growth, even if it’s only present in a few tracks. Eminem remains one of the most technically skilled rappers in the game today, and he goes fairly far on raw ability alone. While his lyrics have always been divisive, and will continue to be in the foreseeable future, Eminem at least suggests that he is starting to move in a more interesting direction on the album. MMLP2 is Eminem’s finest album in a decade, and a surprisingly worthy successor to The Marshall Mathers LP.

make you feel the physical reality of this couple’s feelings for each other. They don’t feel exploitative, but rather like an extension of the intimate atmosphere that has already been created. They are an integral part of the couple’s relationship and are treated as such. When the inevitable falling out comes, the emotional aftermath for Adèle is as painful as the rest of the film is rapturous. She continues to show an incredible naturalism, a full inhabitation of the character, and as she breaks down in the wake of the breakup, we feel bruised and battered. The brutal scene in which the ex-lovers meet— months or years later—in a bar, and in which Adèle professes her hurt, is one of the most emotionally scalding things I have ever seen. Steven Spielberg’s Cannes jury made the unprecedented move of awarding the Palm d’Or both to the director and to the two lead actresses. However, the actresses, especially Seydoux, have been vocal about the grueling difficulty of the six-month shoot, speaking candidly about Kechiche’s bullying demeanor and indicating that they would not want to work with him again. The director, in turn, has talked about his displeasure with the actresses. Polanski, Kubrick, Herzog, Fincher: The list of demanding directors who have had miserable relationships with their lead actors is long. All I can do is recommend the movie. Works this formally innovative, visually rich, and emotionally bruising don’t come out easily. It is to the credit of everyone involved that this thoroughly beautiful film exists.


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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | November 5, 2013

Maroons shut Chicago takes third place after NYU win, Brandeis tie down by Case in Women’s Soccer league opener Tatiana Fields Associate Sports Editor

Football Samuel Zacher Associate Sports Editor In a somewhat backward fashion, Chicago (5–3, 0–1 UAA) lost to Case Western (4–3, 1–0) on Saturday in a defensive battle in which the Maroons only put up a field goal in a 16–3 loss. On paper, the South Siders, who offensively averaged 21 points per game prior to the matchup, should have been able to run up the score against the mediocreseeming Case, which was allowing over 27 points per game entering Saturday, but the Maroons could not rise to the challenge. “Overall, we played decent, but we didn’t finish,” said third-year linebacker Schuyler Montefalco. “We were great at creating turnovers, but we were just unable to capitalize on our opportunities.” “Decent” refers to the defense, which only allowed 209 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers. However, the five turnovers (two fumbles and three interceptions) set a season high for Chicago. “Their defense did a good job of staying tough and forcing us to try and make plays,” said fourth-year quarterback Vincent Cortina. Moreover, going two out of 14 (14 percent) on third downs and only gaining 131 passing yards and a dismal 10 rushing yards don’t exactly make a recipe for success. The offense has seemed like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of Hyde Park this season: it averaged over 30 points per contest from September 28 to October 19, but has not put up more than six in the last two weeks. On the other hand, Chicago’s defense played with fire—even the offense thought so. “Our defense was terrific all game,” Cortina said. Case only gained 109 passing yards and 100 rushing yards while converting just six out of 17 (35 percent) third down opportunities. “I couldn’t be prouder of the defense,” Montefalco said. “We worked so hard, and we never gave up. We were put in some tough situations on our own goal line, and we came together and stopped them. The momentum wasn’t going our way, and we just went out there and did our job—very proud, but still a lot of room to grow.” Second-year defensive backs Vincent Beltrano and Greg Thome wrangled in the two picks for Chicago’s defense, which was led by fourth-year linebacker and captain Brian Duffy (10 tackles), third-year defensive lineman Brandon Bolock (nine tackles), and Montefalco (eight tackles). Chicago had trouble converting drives into touchdowns last weekend, too. Montefalco knows that the Maroons will have to work hard to come out of their current rough patch. “The main issue was, again, finishing. We had some good chances, and we just didn’t get it done. Also, our special teams play needs to be picked up immensely. It should be an easy fix, but it’s all attention to detail, and we will have to focus up and come back mentally prepared for next week,” he said. The Maroons will have a chance to improve their record when Carnegie Mellon comes to town next Saturday. The Tartans are 3–5 this season and lost a close game to Wash U in their UAA opener, falling 9–7. If Chicago is to challenge for a conference title this year, a win over Carnegie is a must.

In an important stretch of conference play, the Maroons won one game and tied another to move ahead of No. 15 Carnegie and now have sole possession of third place in the UAA. Chicago (11–3–3, 3–1–2 UAA) got off to a promising start as it traveled to New York to face NYU (7–7–3, 0–4–2) and scored a pair of goals in the second half to win 2–1. The South Siders then held off Brandeis’ (9–6–2, 1–3–2) strong offensive efforts through double overtime to eventually end the match with a 1–1 tie. Although the Maroons had hoped to win both games this weekend, the four points they earned can be considered a success. In Saturday’s game, both Chicago and NYU took a while to get their offenses up and running. Neither team could score in the first half, and each had limited opportunities. The Maroons had three shots for the entire 45 minutes, while the Violets had six.

Early in the second half, the Maroons’ offense finally got a good shot off and sunk it in the net to take the lead 1–0. Fourthyear forward Natalia Jovanovic scored in the 47th minute off a free kick, which marked her sixth goal of the year. Chicago kept up its offensive momentum with a second goal from third-year midfielder Sara Kwan just 15 minutes later, extending its lead to 2–0. Second-year forward Julia Ozello provided the assist. NYU answered with its own goal in the 78th minute but could not close the gap as Chicago won 2–1. “Our team played hard during our NYU game and deserved the goals we scored,” said first-year midfielder Sophia Kim. “NYU had quick forwards and looked to spread our defense out to play their forwards through, but our defense stayed with them and shut them down.” The Maroons’ second game on Sunday against Brandeis also started off slowly, with neither team getting on the scoreboard until the second half. Brandeis led in shots 7–1 in the first half, so the South Siders

had to rely heavily on their defense to keep the game scoreless. “Brandeis pressured the ball quickly and looked to play one- and two-touch,” Kim said. “They [played] long balls through to their forwards.” Chicago broke through in the second half with a goal from leading scorer Kwan, who tallied her eighth goal of the season and her second of the weekend. Fourthyear midfielder Micaela Harms hit the crossbar with a shot, and Kwan scored off the rebound, giving the South Siders a 1–0 lead. Brandeis tied the game with a goal just nine minutes later, finding its offensive stride just as the Maroons found theirs. Despite double overtime, neither team could score again, settling the game at a 1–1 draw. In their final UAA game, the Maroons will take on No. 1 Wash U (16–1, 6–0) at home next Saturday on Senior Night. The game will help determine whether Chicago qualifies for the postseason, and the South SOCCER continued on page 11


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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | November 5, 2013

New athletic director hopes to raise attendance at varsity events

COURTESY OF THE UCHICAGO NEWS OFFICE

Alexander Sotiropoulos Senior Sports Staff Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Karen Warren Coleman had just finished conversing about the new athletic director, Erin McDermott, when she was asked if there was anything else she wanted to add. With a smile, Warren Coleman was eager to respond. “One of the things I thought you were going to say, and I always joke with [McDermott] that she’s welcome to take credit for this even though she just started, is that in the first several weeks of the fall quarter, the varsity athletic teams have been doing exceptionally well. So I [tell McDermott], ‘Just own up to it,’” Warren Coleman said. While McDermott may not be able to directly impact the results of varsity athletic contests, her positive energy and sincere care for the Department of Physical Education and Athletics have not gone unnoticed by the general student body, student athletes, and

administrators since taking office on July 22. “Ms. McDermott brings refreshed alacrity to the director of athletics role,” said fourthyear baseball player and Order of the “C” president Claude Lockhart. “She is working toward integrating athletics with campus life, a pursuit admired by all student athletes here at the College. Her efforts have already been noticed, and the energy in the athletic department is an exciting development for our campus.” McDermott’s interest in sports administration sprang from her interest in playing sports, which she fostered from a young age. In high school, McDermott was a three-sport athlete, competing in field hockey, track and field, and basketball. Continuing her basketball career at Hofstra University, McDermott quickly recognized her passion for sports administration. “What led me down this road was realizing that there was a way to stay [involved] in sports without continuing to play,” she said. “I decided I could impact more athletes, and the experience for more [people], being in an administrative role and working up to being athletic director.” While her first position in sports administration was at Columbia University, McDermott’s 13 years at Princeton University equipped her with the most practical skills for the athletic director job. She started at Princeton in an entry-level position and worked her way up to the deputy athletic director spot. “Having those different experiences really helps to inform how you lead at the top, and having an understanding of what people do in their daily lives in your department is really important,” McDermott said. “The general full experience at Princeton helped prepare me for any situation or issue that can come down and that you have to deal with at this level.”

Kim: “This game will greatly influence our bid to the [NCAA] tournament”

Perhaps the most important thing for McDermott’s transition to the University of Chicago was the parallel academic-athletic balance at Princeton. “We in athletics were complementing [the academic] experience but never overstepping our bounds with that and being completely respectful of the pressures that were being placed on the students involved,” she said. “We knew in athletics we were that pressure release.” Through her wide variety of experiences, McDermott was ready to become the athletic director at a university that was both academically and athletically prestigious. “The more I learned about the University and its current leadership, its current vibe on campus, and the buzz nationally about the University, the more excited I became about being here, because I thought, ‘Well, athletics just fits perfectly with that. We can add a lot of energy to the campus, and we can also benefit through recruiting from this kind of talk about the University of Chicago being a place where people want to be,’” McDermott said. Immediately, Warren Coleman and the University of Chicago athletic director job search committee were impressed with McDermott. “She stood out to the entire search committee as someone who brought a great deal of creativity and innovation,” Warren Coleman said. “Having been at Princeton, both through talking to her and talking to all of her references, she was someone who came to us naturally as a collaborator, who was going to partner across the campus, and who was going to understand that athletics means different things to different people.” McDermott has already begun collaborating with students. Whether she is serving pizza at a soccer game, attending the Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) meetings, or communicating with non-varsity athletes, the

new athletic director has a genuine interest in the student body. “What I say all the time is, ‘We’re here for [the students].’ I mean, this is why I got into this,” McDermott said. “I got into this so that we could provide opportunities to students so that they have a great experience, and so that we make these four years as special as they should be for them… Since it’s about them, and it’s for them, we need to know what they think.” “The student experience and how students live and breathe the University of Chicago drives how we think about [their] experiences,” Warren Coleman said. McDermott is proposing new ways to increase attendance at varsity athletic events. The new athletic director said it is critical to inform members of the surrounding community, not just the student body, about the games and matches being played. After finding out that the Department of Physical Education and Athletics was not distributing schedule cards off-campus, McDermott saw an opportunity to reach out. “Let’s just get onto 53rd and 55th and 57th Streets and just hit all those places, because it’s a pretty simple thing for somebody to see it,” she said. “Just making the community as aware as possible is an easy step we can take.” On campus, McDermott strives to bring together varsity athletes and non-athletes alike. “I really think students attend games at a place like the University of Chicago because they know and like those who are competing,” she said. “If they have friends who are on the team, then they’ll come out and support them; if they feel that the athletes are kind of isolated and not really integrated, then they may feel more apathetic about it.” McDermott’s collaboration and innovation will only help an athletic department that has recently been striving to make itself a more prominent part of campus life.

In the Chatter’s Box with Sarah Langs Maggie Vaughn is a fourth-year middle blocker from Texas. We chatted with her to get some insider info on the life of a Maroon athlete.

Third-year midfielder Sara Kwan scored a goal in games against NYU and Brandeis this weekend. She leads the team with eight goals this season. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON SOCCER continued from page 10

Siders are ready to face their longtime rivals. “This game will greatly influence our bid to the [NCAA] tournament, and it is senior night, so we are looking to come

out and beat the No. 1 team in the nation at the moment and represent our seniors,” Kim said. The Maroons conclude the regular season against Wash U at home this Saturday.

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COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS

CM: Did you always envision yourself as a college athlete? MV: Once I was set on attending a toptier university, I used my skill in volleyball as a platform for acceptance… I worked hard to be good enough to get recruited here, on the court and in the classroom. I didn’t realize until I got here that I wasn’t even half the athlete I needed to be in order to contribute to the team here... I have been working for the past three years in the weight room, on the track, and to get my schoolwork managed so that I could be a positive force on the team and eventually be a starting middle. It sounds dramatic, but we are an incredibly good volleyball program, and being a member of the team is not easy. I spend so much energy on the court that performing in the classroom is a feat. CM: What is it like to be a senior on the team now, having been with this squad for four years

and heading into the very end of the season? MV: This has been my one year to make an impact, and though that is a hard idea to cope with, I have enjoyed every single moment of it. Being a senior makes you realize that all of the work you put in over the years doesn’t just make the team better: it builds a network of friends and allies around you due to the fact that you have sacrificed a part of yourself to something bigger. Coming to the end of season is sad, honestly, but I am excited to attack other aspects of life and new sports with the same passion that I have gained while playing for the University of Chicago. CM: You’re also involved in theater—how do you balance those two? What’s it like to have those two interests coinciding? MV: I can never audition for the fall shows! I have had people ask me if I would audition for them because they see me in a role, and I just have to cry and say no. I love theater and I always have, and I am definitely a performer in all aspects of my life, but boy, do I start missing the stage. In high school, I tried to direct during volleyball season, and it was so incredibly difficult I knew that wouldn’t fly in college. So I just have to compartmentalize my life and personality. Now do you understand why I am so dramatic? However, I do forcedly maintain this extremely stealthy existence in the theater crowd, being that I only come around every so often to audition. I love being a clandestine UT [University Theater] member. CM: You’re a fourth-year. Will you keep playing volleyball after college? MV: Of course… I also plan on picking up tap dancing, boxing, martial arts, high jump, biking, belly dancing, broomball, yoga, and cross training, because you know. I’ll have the time.


SPORTS

IN QUOTES

“The world series ended on Wednesday when the St. Louis Cardinals were defeated by Mumford and Sons.” —Cecily Strong on the SNL “Weekend Update” making fun of the bearded Boston Red Sox.

Women take UAA crown, men finish third Topsy-turvy conference campaign continues with win, loss Cross Country

Men’s Soccer David Gao Maroon Contributor

Women’s cross country finished first at the UAA Championship for the second straight year on Saturday. COURTESY OF DAVE HILBERT

Isaac Stern Sports Staff After a trip to Pittsburgh this past weekend, the women of Chicago’s cross country team can call themselves UAA champions for the second year in a row. In a field that featured six nationally ranked teams, the women edged out eighthranked NYU by six points. The men, facing equally stiff competition, managed to capture a third-place finish. The UAA title came down to the fifth-place finishes for both the Maroons and the Violets. Second-year Karin Gorski took a 19th-place finish while NYU’s Kassi Chrysanthopoulos took 30th. The 11-place difference ended up as the deciding factor for the conference championship. “Prior to the race, I [wanted to] emphasize the importance of racing together in packs,” said fourth-year captain Elise Wummer.

The pack running strategy that the Maroons have used all season paid off handsomely, as Gorski finished a mere five seconds behind second-year Maggie Cornelius. NYU, on the other hand, had a 45-second difference between its fourthand fifth-place runners. Individually, the women had three runners place in the top 10. Secondyear Cat Young continued her dominant season with a second-place finish (21:46.8). Fourth-year captain Michaela Whitelaw kept the trend going with a solid sixth-place finish (22:17.3), and second-year Brianna Hickey managed to break in at 10th (22:36.3). On the men’s side, Wash U proved that it deserved its No. 2 national ranking, taking four of the top six finishes in the race. Only fourthyear captain Dan Povitsky (fourth) and NYU’s Dylan Carten (third) managed to break through the Bears’ line and prevent a sweep of spots

one through four. Seventhranked NYU also had a strong race, finishing three of 10 runners in the top 10. “More than anything, I [wanted] this to be a team race,” head coach Chris Hall said. “I’m not concerned about any individual accomplishments; those will come with a full commitment to our team goals.” The Maroons accomplished that goal with their pack mentality. Runners two through five finished a mere 20 seconds apart. Even though the strategy did not lead to a conference title, the experience will certainly help in the regional race a mere two weeks away. Both the men and women now look to the North Central Open this week. The race will serve mainly as a solid racing experience for some of the younger South Siders. Many Maroons may not race in an effort to rest up prior to the regional race. The North Central Open does not usually bring in a heavy

amount of competition and will likely have less than 10 teams again this year. “[We want to] use conference as a springboard for regionals and nationals,” Wummer said. The championship season for the Maroons is far from over. The men and women must now focus their efforts on the Midwest Regional Championship. In order to qualify for the NCAA National Championship, Chicago must finish fifth or better at the regional race. The women will likely not have trouble as they have defeated almost every team in their region and currently rank first in the Midwest. The men hold the sixth spot in the region despite ranking 14th in the country. Due to the NCAA selection policy, the men still find themselves on the bubble for a national berth. While the race for a conference title may be over, the Maroons will still find themselves under immense pressure to succeed.

Chicago men’s soccer (9–5–2, 3–3 UAA) kicked off its East Coast road trip on Friday against the NYU Violets (6–7–3, 0–5– 1), dominating possession to win the game 1–0, but couldn’t continue its momentum into Sunday against the Brandeis Judges (13–4–1, 2–3–1) where the team fell 0–3. Against the volatile Violets, who opened their season winning six of seven games but have recently been on a four-game losing streak, the Maroons took control of the ball, outshooting the home team 11–4 in the first half. The South Siders’ dominant play continued into the second half as NYU took a red card. “In the second [half ] we came out and continued to be really in control of things until 20 to 25 minutes left when [third-year forward Kyle Kurfirst] broke in behind their center back, who took Kyle down. He got a red card and we got a P.K. [penalty kick],” head coach Mike Babst said. “It really could have made things difficult for NYU, but their keeper made a nice save on a P.K. From that point on they were playing with 10 men, and we definitely had most of the play.” Lucas Doucette, the keeper for the Violets, did an excellent job under pressure, compiling 18 saves for NYU. However, Doucette eventually dropped the ball against Kurfirst, who scored on a rebound in double overtime to seal the win 1–0. The Maroons had a more difficult time in their second road game of the weekend, opening well against Brandeis but going down a point in the 21st minute.

“The mistake was a misplayed ball. They have a very good player who had a good pace and got around our defender,” Babst said. “[Second-year goalkeeper Brett Wiesen] made a nice save, but we didn’t have anyone, and the ball went right back to their guy, and no one recovered back to the line. He hit a slow dribble that went in. I thought we had two opportunities in that series to prevent that from being a goal, but we just didn’t do it.” Down 0–1, the South Siders attacked more vigorously, handling the ball for the following 10 minutes. But the Maroons failed to capitalize after the first goal, and the Judges added two other goals at the 32nd and 57th minutes. “We have an unfortunate trend of having difficulty coming back from deficits, so when they scored the first goal, it was tough for us. I would say we matched up well against Brandeis, but we made several crucial mistakes,” said fourth-year midfielder Sawyer Kisken. With the weekend’s results, the Maroons sit behind three teams in the UAA, each of which holds a 4–1–1 UAA record (Rochester, Carnegie Mellon, and Emory). Chicago will host the Wash U Bears (9–4–3, 2–2– 2) this weekend in its final game of the regular season. “It’s an interesting game against Wash U, who has an almost identical record [as] us. They’re the only UAA team in the region, and we’ve both been ranked regionally, and I think both teams are looking at it like if we get a result then we have a very good chance of going to the NCAA tournament,” Babst said. The South Siders will take on Wash U this coming Saturday at 11 a.m.

South Siders end regular season with disappointing 3–1 weekend Volleyball Noah Hellermann Maroon Contributor No. 19 Chicago (23–10, 6–1 UAA) ended its season on top of the UAA, edging out opponents No. 8 Wash U (25–3, 6–1 UAA) and No. 6 Emory (28–3, 5–2). The Maroons went 3–1 at the Benedictine Tournament last weekend to finish up their regular season. They won both of their matches on Friday, and split the matches on Saturday. In the first match of the tournament, Chicago beat North Central (12–21) 3–1. The Maroons dominated the first set 25–8, but the Cardinals kept themselves in the second set, only losing by two, 26–24. By the third set, the Cardinals had found their footing and won 25–22. In the fourth,

Chicago sealed the match with a decisive 25– 11 victory, taking home its first match of the weekend. In the second match, the Maroons played Concordia (4–22), winning in straight sets. They won each set by 10 points or more, in their most dominant performance of the weekend. On Saturday, Chicago played Carthage (23–13) through four sets. The Maroons won the first two sets by less than five points, and Carthage came back to win the third 25–19. However, in the fourth set, Chicago pulled ahead to a 25–18 lead. In their only loss over the weekend, the Maroons were swept by DePauw (24–5) in straight sets. Chicago came within two points in its second set, but ended up losing 25–18, 25–23, and 25–19.

The South Siders were disappointed that they didn’t end their season as well as they could have. “We were really hoping to go 4–0 this weekend, and our one loss was a tough one,” said fourth-year setter Nikki DelZenero. One highlight of the weekend was the nomination of DelZenero and third-year libero Eirene Kim to the all-tournament team. Even though Chicago did not win all of its games this weekend, the Maroons won the games that they needed to. “We won all three of our regional matches, and that was very important for this weekend,” DelZenero said. Regional matches will help with placement in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Reflecting back on the regular season,

Chicago was most proud of the wins over Emory and Wash U. Because they are both contenders in UAA play, beating them was very important. “The Wash [U] and Emory matches are two matches…that helped us gain the number one seed going into championships, something that Chicago volleyball hasn’t done before,” DelZenero said. The Maroons have been proud of their ability to put together good matches and sets against even very strong opponents, and hope this will carry over into tournament play in the next two weeks. Chicago will open the UAA tournament with a game at noon EST on Friday against Rochester (8–25, 0–7 UAA) in Waltham, Massachusetts.


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