FRIDAY • NOVEMBER 9, 2012
CHICAGOMAROON.COM
ISSUE 11 • VOLUME 124
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
Last stop, McCormick: Obama supporters rejoice Ankit Jain Senior News Staff As third-year Lee Kuhn sat behind a curtain Tuesday night at McCormick Place, he heard cheers from the thousands of people on the other side but had no idea what was happening on stage. On the other side were thousands of campaign volunteers and supporters, from veteran canvassers to firsttime voters, who supported the newly re-elected President Obama with never-ending cheers. Thanks to a stroke of good luck, Kuhn and his friend second-year Lauren Thomas were picked out by Obama staffers to sit behind the President as he gave his speech on stage, where they waited for three hours before the speech. “We could hear the crowd roaring on the other side—but we didn’t really know what was going on. It was pure excitement and anticipation,” he said. After MSNBC and then CNN called the election in Obama’s favor at 10:20 p.m., McCormick Place’s main convention room shook with roars from Obama’s most fervent supporters. Attendee Todd Belcore, a poverty lawyer, said he was “overcome with emotion; just overjoyed and in a sense relieved; with happiness and gratitude for all the solidarity, all the people working together.”
President Obama delivers his acceptance speech in McCormick Place after his re-election on Tuesday evening.
OBAMA continued on page 2
COURTESY OF CATHERINE TARSNEY
Valois hands out meals Village Foods becomes Whole fit for a president Janey Lee News Contributor
Linda Qiu News Editor Victory is a dish best served hot. President Obama’s favorite restaurant gave out his favorite breakfast in celebration of his reelection Wednesday morning. Valois, the Hyde Park diner famous for its cafeteria-style grub and POTUS approval, served breakfast on the house from 6 to 11 a.m., inviting hundreds of Chicagoans to feast upon the No. 2— two scrambled egg whites, turkey sausage, hash browns, and wheat toast. In little over four hours, more than 700 had been served, with the line spanning a block and half from East 53rd Street and South Harper Avenue to Lake Park Avenue. “[Valois] did it for Obama, for his people,” said Dimitrios Lathouris, who was cooking behind the counter Wednesday morning during the giveaway. The morning after Election Day 2008, Valois also gave out free breakfast
to a larger crowd and a tired Presidentelect Obama, who stopped by for a hot meal after his first win. Since then, Obama’s returns to the diner have been less frequent: His last publicized visit was in 2010 after a campaign rally on the Midway for Alexi Giannoulias’s bid for Obama’s old Senate seat. “He doesn’t come here regularly anymore. I think he’s busy,” joked Jon Lathouris, a manager who has been at the restaurant for over 20 years. Lathouris, who used to flip Obama’s eggs back when he frequented the restaurant, pointed to a wall next to the cash register with a photo of a smiling Obama, and said, “Yeah, I miss him, I miss my friend.” The Lathouris brothers said that even those who were not supporters of Obama were welcome to enjoy the meal. The morning, however, was decidedly a moment of celebration and victory for Obama’s neighbors and supporters. “This is very special for me,” Yolanda Willis, who had canvassed for Obama in VALOIS continued on page 4
Village Foods, a low-cost grocery store that has served Hyde Park residents since 1983, closed on October 16. It will be replaced by the upscale organic grocery Whole Foods. The new store is part of City Hyde Park, a development that in 2014 will occupy the area now known as Village Center. Antheus Capital acquired the building in 2005, when a number of tenants, including Vil-
lage Foods, were approaching the end of their leases. Seeing an opportunity to redevelop the entire site, Antheus sponsored workshops and focus groups in order to gauge neighborhood residents’ main needs, which included retail stores, high quality handicap-accessible housing , and affordable housing. To meet these needs, the development plans to include 110,000 square feet of retail on two levels as well as 182 apartments, 20 percent of which will be designated affordable housing.
City Hyde Park has received support from numerous local organizations including the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce and the Coalition for Equitable Community Development (CECD). “This proposal includes 38 new units of affordable rental housing , which will be the first of its kind in many, many years in our community. CECD’s mission is to preserve the economic diversity of our neighborhood, and the creation of this TIF and the resulting deGROCERY continued on page 3
Panel dissects Chicago teachers’ strike Alex Hayes News Contributor A panel of labor activists spoke about the recent Chicago teachers’ strike and the challenges that the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) faces during a discussion in Harper last night.
Chicago Public School’s (CPS) teacher Sarah Chambers, a member of the teacher activist group that laid the groundwork for the strike, Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE), said that the build-up was five years in the making. CORE first had to change the
top-down management style of the teacher’s union to a more effective grassroots effort by union members. Panelist Micah Uetricht, a journalist for The Nation, said that it is rare for union members to be as involved as CTU memSTRIKE continued on page 3
IN VIEWPOINTS
IN ARTS
IN SPORTS
A new scientific method » Page 5
Logan’s black box theater lights up with youthful glow » Page 7
Nationals in sight as Maroons line up for Midwest Championships » Back Page
Spielberg logs Lincoln in biopic » Page 7
South Siders face uphill battle to qualify for NCAAs » Page 11
Facing the elephant in the room » Page 6
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 9, 2012
No split hairs over Obama re-election for Hyde Park barbershop Celia Bever News Editor President Obama knows a good haircut when he sees it. For 25 years, he has frequented the same barbershop on East 53rd Street and South Blackstone Avenue, where his regular chair is now encased in glass. He knew the barbers and their families and sometimes stopped in just to watch sports with them. During the 2008 presidential campaign, he was in the shop every week; eventually, the place had to be cleared out and the doors locked during his appointments. Even as President, Obama has insisted on the same cut. Every ten days for the past four years, Zariff Smith has flown out to D.C. to give the President a trim. The rest of the time, Smith is just another barber at Hyde Park Hair Salon. Tuesday night, Smith was at McCormick Place fixing up Obama before he spoke to the nation. But at the “Official Barbershop of the Presidency,” staff, community members, local media, and a
OFF-CAMPUS APARTMENT “Romney’s bringing out the nondiet Sprite tonight.” “Shots, shots, shots! Before I have to go back to the Reg...”
few out-of-town visitors gathered to wait for the results. The shop held a viewing party in 2008, but attendees thought the atmosphere was different this time. “2008 was historic. Now it’s a lot of nervous energy,” said Monique Coye, who owns the barbershop with her husband. This nervousness was reflected in many of the statements heard throughout the night. When asked how they would feel if Obama was reelected, many of the attendees said the same thing: they would be relieved. The apprehension was apparent in A.C. Chandler, one of the the barbers at the shop. He said that if Obama was reelected he would feel “like my prayers have been answered.” Chandler, like many at the event, met Obama before he was commander-in-chief. The two developed a rapport during Obama’s frequent visits, and Chandler clearly remembers the genuine interest the President showed in the lives of the barbers and
I-HOUSE
other patrons. “He likes being around ordinary people,” he said. “He’s for the people.” Seeing Obama connect with patrons convinced Chandler that Obama was the right man for the presidency, and that a second term would have a positive impact across the globe. “It’s going to benefit the Republicans too, even if they don’t realize it,” he said. Coye called the country’s disappointment with Obama’s first term “inevitable” based on the unrealistically high expectations set for him. Her father, Gerard Edge, agreed. “How could you expect that devastation to be fixed in four years?” he said. While many were confident that Obama would ultimately prevail, Coye’s grandfather William Smith was skeptical. He relayed stories from around the neighborhood about registered voters showing up at their polling station to find their names not on the list or pressing “Obama” on an electronic voting machine and being told they voted for Romney.
REACTIONS
“I don’t understand why people are worried about Obama’s reelection chances. Does no one understand regression?” a German graduate student asked.
DODD-MEAD
“DON’T SAY THAT!”—after CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer wondered whether Florida’s razor-thin margin would be “a repeat from 2000.”
Complementing the anxiety surrounding Obama’s electoral prospects was disdain toward a potential Romney triumph. “They don’t even like him in his own state,” said Harold Merrell, a frequent patron of the shop, referring to Romney’s loss in Massachusetts, the state where he was governor for four years. “The guy’s a snake.” When CNN called California for Obama and his electoral count finally rose above Romney’s, the crowd erupted. They chanted “O-ba-ma! O-bama!” when he reached 249 votes and “Four more years!” a minute later when the former state senator reached 256. Their cheers reached fever pitch when the network projected that the President would be re-elected. The relief so many had expected came through at the end. “[I have] a feeling of, it’s going to be okay now,” said Christopher Holliday, a Georgia resident in Chicago for a business trip. “It’s not going to be an easy four years, but I think it’ll be a good, solid four years,” he said.
THOMPSON CENTER 500 strong singing, “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye” to Romney.
Dems pour into Grounds
McCormick hosts GOP viewing
Students eagerly follow coverage of the 2012 election in Hallowed Grounds, which hosted the Democratic viewing party. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Apprehensive students watch the election unfold at the Republican viewing party in McCormick Tribune Lounge. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Rebecca Guterman News Editor Hallowed Grounds was filled to the brim Tuesday night for a Democratic viewing party of the election on CNN, one of three viewings in Reynolds that evening. CNN called the election for President Obama at around 10:20 p.m., to prolonged clapping and chants of “four more years” and “Obama” by those in attendance.
Just after CNN reported that Obama had won Iowa’s six electoral votes, firstyear graduate student Hannah Brechka was optimistic. “I really hope Barack wins,” she said. “I think he might.” First-year and first-time voter Sophia Johnson chose the coffee shop to view election results for a decidedly collegiate experience “and [to be] in a space with like-minded people…without curbing my enthusiasm.”
Ben Pokross Associate News Editor As the site of the Republican election-viewing party, McCormick Lounge hosted a very different set of political enthusiasts than the Place that shares its name. A core group of conservatives stayed throughout the event, but the crowd also included other students wandering through to check the returns and sample the catering. The College Republicans were also selling Mil-
ton Friedman “Freedom” T-shirts, modeled after Shepard Fairey’s iconic 2008 Obama poster, along with copies of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. A popular attraction at the viewing was two lifesized cutouts of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan that College Republicans brought with them, according to third-year Jacob Rabinowitz, president of the RSO. “The cutouts are absolutely hilarious. I’ve already seen ten people take pictures with them,” said second-year Logan Snyder, who identifies as libertarian.
Unlike Grant Park, 2012’s private rally turns out thousands of Obama campaigners OBAMA continued from front
Unlike Obama’s 2008 victory rally in Grant Park attended by an estimated 240,000, McCormick Place’s event was indoors and closed to the public, with invitations issued to only a few thousand volunteers who campaigned for him in the last days of the election. But, as in 2008, Obama’s victory rally brought people of all stripes together. Veteran canvasser Norma Brown, 58, who has been a Democratic campaign volunteer since 1971, said she’s never seen such a sense of unity as that engendered by President Obama. “I’ve seen a lot of people come together—black and white.
Everybody was happy and excited, and history was made, and we were overwhelmed about it.” For this crowd of supporters, the victory was especially poignant as many campaigners volunteered based on their sense of the high stakes of this election. “There was too much at stake [in this election] to leave it to luck. So you have to put your own sweat in it. You want to make sure your blood, sweat, and tears are in there if you’re going to hope for the best outcome. Hope alone isn’t enough,” said Belcore, who was afraid that a Romney victory would mean cuts to funding for his legal services. The poverty lawyer characterized the atmo-
sphere as “absolutely electric” and “one of love, happiness, and excitement.” This excitement, pointed out UIC freshman and first-time voter Ian Shipton, shows that the level of energy and enthusiasm is the same as at the 2008 rally. But “Grant Park was kind of a big spectacle,” he said. “Here it’s a little more suppressed.” That sense of an ecstatic but slightly more subdued night carried through to Obama’s victory speech, which was delivered a little after 12:30 a.m., but didn’t quite live up to the President’s oratorical reputation for some of his die-hard supporters. “I don’t know if it was his most inspired speech in terms of the actual content. But I thought for the
moment it was the right speech to give. I knew he was exhausted, and it was a lot of stuff he had said before. But clearly the power of the moment made it that much more,” Kuhn said. “It was a speech that the crowd loved, which was also I think the most important thing.” For Kuhn and other attendees, it was a surreal experience. “I think it’s certainly going to be one of the most memorable experiences of my life,” Kuhn said. “It was weird because we were in the middle of everything, but we didn’t know anything. It was like the eye of the storm. We could hear roars around us. For that moment, it felt like we were in the center of the world.”
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 9, 2012
Ayers blasts Obama education policy Hamid Bendaas News Contributor Bill Ayers had damning words for the Obama administration’s education policy in a talk entitled “Obama, Duncan, and the End of the Public Education” at the Gleacher Center Thursday evening. Ayers, perhaps most widely known as the founder of the Weather Underground, a revolutionary group which carried out a series of public bombings in the 1970s, is also a leading education theorist and retired professor from UIC’s School of Education. He began by outlining his theory of what education should be. “In a democracy we take as an article of faith that every human being is of incalculable value,” he said, making the contrast of this belief to underlying principles of education in apartheid South Africa or fascist states. “We have to create the conditions where every person is allowed their fullest and deepest
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SHoP now in the market for a new home
and richest development. That [assumption] is where we start.” For Ayers, the reforms made by President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s administration are not living up to that standard. “I don’t think the education policy has been inspired. I think it’s been largely backwards,” Ayers said, referring to Duncan’s “Race to the Top” program. He characterized Duncan’s program by three fundamental beliefs: the idea that education is a market that should be privatized, the view that there is a single metric to measure student intelligence, and anti-union sentiment. Ayers judged harshly the increased focus on standardized testing and the generation of competition between charter schools and regular public schools which have come about through the policies Obama and Duncan have advocated. “This isn’t an education program,” Ayers said. “It’s a sorting and killing program, and one we have to stop.”
CTU strike was victorious and productive, according to panelists Zesham Bagewadi performs as part of the band Zamin at the Southside Hub of Production (SHoP). COURTESY OF HAMID BENAAS
Madhu Srikantha Associate News Editor
Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign Professor Stephen Ashby criticizes the corporatization of the Chicago Public School system during the Students Organizing United with Labor’s Chicago Teachers Strike Panel on Thursday night in Harper. JAMIE MANLEY | THE CHICAGO MAROON STRIKE continued from front
bers were in the lead-up to the strike. Uetricht also added that the CTU had a broader vision for the strike than merely teacher salaries. In addition to keeping a new merit pay system for teachers out of the system, the strike sought to improve the conditions of CPS across the city. Joy Clendenning, mother of four children in CPS and Hyde Park resident, spoke about what the strike accomplished for public school students. “Working conditions for teachers are learning conditions for children,” she said, addressing the teachers’ union victory over overcrowded classrooms. The panelists cited the strike as one of the first major victories against corporate education and as only the first phase of CTU’s fight against recent anti-labor
movements in the city. Steven Ashby (PhD ’93), professor in the Labor Education Program at the University of Illinois, spoke about the impending closure of nearly one hundred schools across the Chicago public schools system. The intent, he said, is for these schools to be replaced by privately owned charter schools. He added that current charter schools, on average, are not better than current public schools. Aiming to rouse the support of U of C students in upcoming protests, Chambers addressed what students can do to aid in the fight against the school closings. She urged students to “occupy” local Hyde Park elementary schools with other activists to protest any potential school closings in the CPS system. The discussion was presented and sponsored by Students Organizing United with Labor.
Community arts venue SHoP (Southside Hub of Production) will likely say good-bye to its current home at Fenn House this December According to Laura Shaeffer, ShoP’s artistic director, although the First Unitarian Church extended SHoP’s lease until the end of the calendar year, SHoP’s future beyond that point remains uncertain. However, Ken Schug, a member of the First Unitarian Church who put forward two offers to buy Fenn House this past year on behalf of SHoP, continues to support the project and plans to financially support its relocation to a new facility. He also maintains a backup offer if the church’s current plans fall through. Part of the confusion between SHoP and the church arose from initial agreements in 2011, when Shaeffer and the other directors first leased Fenn House from the church. Shaeffer said the church had originally planned on only granting a three-month lease and then placing the house back on the market. Shaeffer was able to push the lease to six months, with the promise that she would be given a three-month warning from the church when Fenn House was put on the market. “But then when six months into the lease came, it wasn’t even a discussion. It was on the market. The sign was put up. We were in shock. I don’t think any of us expected that they were going to [put it back on the market]; they just wanted to have the freedom to be able to do it,” Shaeffer said. “We believed that they would have given us the year, but they never had the intention of giving us the year.” But the church tells a different story.
“I’d be very surprised that [SHoP] didn’t know what was going on,” said John Saphir, President of the Board of Trustees to the First Unitarian Church and its main representative in navigating the leasing agreements with Fenn House. He said Fenn House had been sporadically on and off the market for the past three years, and the intention to put it back on the market was clear in the agreement. Barbara Gadon, the church’s interim senior minister, also said she thought the arrangement was clear. “It was also our mutual understanding that this arrangement was tentative, and that the property would be shown to prospective buyers, with generous terms of notice on both sides if either SHoP or the church wished to terminate the arrangements,” she said in an e-mail. Shaeffer believes Schug’s offer was never seriously considered before the church put Fenn House back on the market. “I never knew officially from anyone that they weren’t even entertaining another offer until they had already taken the [offer from a couple blocks down the street from Fenn House],” she said. But Saphir disagreed. “[Schug] was a church member. Certainly we considered his offer,” he said. Saphir added that as a business arrangement, they considered Schug’s offer independent of his intentions for the space. Gadon said the decision to put Fenn House back on the market was purely one of self-preservation. “We were pleased to offer SHoP the use of Fenn House for rent at a rate substantially below market value, for as long as we were able,” she wrote in an e-mail. “During [SHoP’s] tenure in Fenn House, it became clear that SHoP needed much more time to de-
velop the financial resources to function without church subsidy. It also became clear that the church did not have sufficient resources to continue subsidizing SHoP without risking damage to itself.” According to Shaeffer, the new buyer’s intentions are unclear as of yet, though the contract was made public on October 19, when SHoP was informed of the arrangement. “[The husband is] supposedly buying the house for a single family house, although in a conversation he revealed that he’s not selling his [own] house,” Shaeffer said. “Also, there’s a lot of rumors that he’s looking to change zoning.” Saphir said that no applications for zoning have been submitted as of yet, and that the house is currently being sold as a single family residence, with potential for sub-leasing to graduate students in the future, which, if the contractors intend to sub-lease to more than three people, requires zoning changes. But there is opposition in the neighborhood to change. According to the Hyde Park Herald, Fifth Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston said she had not received any requests for zoning changes as of yet, but had received many letters from neighbors speaking to their desires to maintain the current zoning of Fenn House. For SHoP, it is business as usual until December, except for liquidation sales every Saturday, intended in part to help raise money for SHoP’s relocation. Despite the looming bitter end, SHoP remains hopeful, planning to celebrate its last night, December 31, with a New Year’s Eve party. Saphir adds a note of caution to the pending deal. “A deal’s never done until cash changes hands and we’re very hopeful that it comes to fruition.”
THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 9, 2012
4
Booth professor encourages the impossible
South Side celebrate: Let them have egg whites
Mara McCollom News Contributor
A line forms outside Valois after the cafeteria started to give away “The Obama Breakfast” for free on Wednesday morning. REBECCA GUTERMAN | THE CHICAGO MAROON
Randolph McCollum, owner of Randy’s General Merchandise in Washington Park, who was selling T-shirts and celebrating Obama’s victory in his hometown. “I knew without a reasonable doubt that Obama was going to win the election, and we had been campaigning for him up until the election,” he said. “We did some street vending and just talking about his policies, letting everybody know to give him a chance to dig out of the hole that he was given when he first started.” He and Paul Cleveland had been selling Tshirts since 9 a.m., and already had them made because of their campaigning activities. Pointing to a t-shirt with Obama’s face on it for only $5, “In these hard economical times, we want to let people know that Obama understands,” McCollum said with a laugh.
VALOIS continued from front
Wisconsin, said. Willis has been a long-time fan of Valois and Obama. “We partied last night and we did what we had to do to keep him in the White House.” “We were praying on our knees earlier last night and then we got up and thanked the Lord at the end of the night. This is so important for the neighborhood,” said Cowana Williams, a native Hyde Parker. For Margo Steward, a Hyde Park native and Valois regular for over 25 years, the free celebratory meal was a change from her usual two pancakes, eggs over easy, and coffee. “It was a nice victory, you know?” she said as she waited in line. Lacisha Dickens, from the far South Side, has never been to Valois but decided to trek north after a night of anticipation of election results, “but this makes it all better.” In addition to breakfast, the President’s reelection offered a different business opportunity for
Wisdom can often come from small moments. On Tuesday, Harry L. Davis, the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management at the Booth School of Business, discussed what motivated him in his personal and professional life in the first installment of “Six Impossible Things,” a quarterly series sponsored by the Spiritual Life Office. Davis, borrowing from the famous Alice in Wonderland quote that inspired the title of the series, shared six truisms that have guided him through his life. “I thought maybe I could generate my six impossible things, or at least impossible things that I believed were impossible early in my life,” Davis said. One of those ideas is that seemingly inconsequential moments can turn into vital learning experiences. Davis explained that early in his career, he prided himself on crafting difficult multiplechoice exams that he designed to trick students.
However, after one of these nearly impossible tests, one of his best students led him to reevaluate himself as a professor. “He said, ‘I expected more of you than that test.’ And it was like a real stab in the heart. And I realized there was such unbelievable truth to what he said,” Davis said. “I realized that I was pretending to be somebody that I wasn’t.” Davis also believes chance encounters can have a lifelong impact. Davis is a big believer in blind dates—he met his wife of 50 years on one, but he also believes that the principle can be applied professionally. “Some of the things that have had the biggest impact on my role in the business school were lunches that I had without a very clear agenda of why I was having lunch. Simply someone said, ‘How would you like to have lunch with x?’” Davis said. As Davis drew the conversation to a close, fourthyear Chris Stavitsky raised his hand to ask Davis for a lunch meeting next week. “Another blind date,” Davis said with a smile.
CORRECTIONS Due to an editing error, the November 6 article “Studentscampaign in WI, participate in local efforts” incorrectly identified the involvement of UC Demcoracts in campaigning.
Cassel: “Whole Foods chose Hyde Park”
--Additional reporting by Rebecca Guterman
Weekly Crime Report
By Rebecca Guterman
This is a series the Maroon publishes summarizing instances of campus crime. Each week details a few notable crimes, in addition to keeping a running count from September 24. The focus is on crimes within the UCPD patrol area, which runs from East 37th to 65th Streets and South Cottage Grove to Lake Shore Drive. Since Sept. 24
Nov. 1 Nov. 8
» Thursday, Burton-Judson Courts, 5:20 p.m.—Someone reported an incident of domestic battery that occurred between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. on October 1, 2010. The person declined the option of prosecution of the suspect.
10
3
Robbery
0
0
Attempted robbery
4
2
Battery
8
1
Burglary
0
0
Criminal trespass to vehicle
8
1
Damage to property
» Thursday, Ratner Athletic Center, 7:10 p.m.—A graduate student playing a pickup game of basketball collided with another player and injured his left shoulder. He was taken to the emergency room.
145
25
Other report
Here are this week’s notables:
» Friday, Woodlawn between 53rd and 54th, 1:10 a.m.—A victim was walking on the sidewalk when the victim was cut on the leg by an unknown assailant.
0
Simple assault
13
Theft
0
0
Trespass to property
24
6
Arrest
S. Hyde Park
Blackstone
University
53rd
55th
S. Lake Shore
Ellis 51st
59th 60th
62nd
Cornell
57th
Stony Island
Source: UCPD Incident Reports
1 75
Village Foods, on the corner of East 51st Street and South Lake Park Avenue, is closing to make way for City Hyde Park, a new luxury apartment and retail complex. JULIA REINITZ | THE CHICAGO MAROON GROCERY continued from front
47th
Cottage Grove
» Saturday, CTA bus on 55th Street, between 1:55 and 2:05 p.m. and 8:10 p.m.—In the first incident, a victim’s wallet was stolen from her purse while on the bus, which she noticed after she deboarded. The second incident was a theft by a male suspect who took an iPhone out of the victim’s hand as he exited the bus.
Type of Crime
*Locations of reports approximate
velopment will move us in that direction,” said the CECD in an official letter to the City of Chicago. The creation of the 53rd Street tax increment financing (TIF) zone in 2001, a result of city and University collaboration, has made funding available for extensive redevelopment, and has helped attract more retailers to Harper Court and the surrounding area. Antheus’s Director of Community Development Peter Cassel said that a variety of tenants were considered, but Whole Foods made the best offer on the rent they were willing to pay, the amount of improvements that were needed for the space, and the length of their lease. “We didn’t choose Whole Foods as much as Whole Foods chose Hyde Park,” he said. He also noted that Hyde Park, as well as the South Side, has often been ignored and neglected by national retailers as a result of their perceptions regarding the residents’ low incomes. Cassel is hopeful, however, that with the coming of Whole Foods, “other retailers will look and see Hyde Park as a viable market where there are people who want, are able, and choose to buy things.”
Furthermore, Whole Foods plans on offering partnership options with local nonprofits and donating daily to local food pantries, according to Kate Klotz, Midwest public relations manager of Whole Foods. Around 170 jobs will be created, she says, but most will be filled by external candidates. Critics are disappointed that a low-cost grocery has been replaced with a relatively upscale one. “Many of us in the community feel the closing of Village Foods is a loss, particularly the people who liked to find a bargain,” said George Rumsey, president of the CECD, in an e-mail. Steven Lucy, owner of Open Produce, another low-cost food store in the area, also regrets the replacement. “While I have no problem with adding a Whole Foods to the food landscape of Hyde Park, I think it is shortsighted to shut down the only large low-cost grocer in the area,” he said in an e-mail. Despite his qualms, CECD president George Rumsey has faith that the new store will not take away from Hyde Park’s character. “Hyde Park was a special neighborhood before Whole Foods and will still be a special place with or without Whole Foods.”
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial & Op-Ed NOVEMBER 9, 2012
A new scientific method The physical science curriculum for non-science majors should focus on broader scientific understanding
The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 JORDAN LARSON Editor-in-Chief SHARAN SHETTY Editor-in-Chief COLIN BRADLEY Managing Editor HARUNOBU CORYNE Senior Editor DOUGLAS EVERSON, JR Senior Editor SAM LEVINE Senior Editor CELIA BEVER News Editor REBECCA GUTERMAN News Editor LINDA QIU News Editor AJAY BATRA Viewpoints Editor DAVID KANER Viewpoints Editor EMILY WANG Viewpoints Editor EMMA BRODER Arts Editor HANNAH GOLD Arts Editor DANIEL RIVERA Arts Editor DANIEL LEWIS Sports Editor VICENTE FERNANDEZ Sports Editor MATTHEW SCHAEFER Sports Editor SONIA DHAWAN Head Designer BELLA WU Head Designer KEVIN WANG Online Editor ALICE BLACKWOOD Head Copy Editor DON HO Head Copy Editor BEN ZIGTERMAN Head Copy Editor JAMIE MANLEY Photo Editor SYDNEY COMBS Photo Editor JOY CRANE Assoc. News Editor MARINA FANG Assoc. News Editor
We may now have a shiny arts center, an egg-shaped library, and an influential Institute of Politics, but the U of C’s name is still most associated with the intensive Core Curriculum of its College. Though the Core has been downsized since the Robert Maynard Hutchins era, most recently through the elimination of the P.E. and swimming requirements, it still largely shapes the undergraduate experience. Among the most contentious facets of this curriculum is the physical science (“PhySci”) requirement. Next to the revered humanities and social sciences programs, the PhySci offerings seem doubly inadequate for their comparative lack of quality and their confused approach to class material. It’s time for Dean Boyer and the College to strongly consider starting from scratch and completely revamping the program’s structure and purpose. For students majoring in the biological or physical sciences, as well as students preparing for the health professions, the PhySci requirement involves courses in general chemistry or physics. Though non-majors may also take these
courses, most shy away from hard sciences and take any dual combination of Ice-Age Earth, Environmental History of the Earth, Global Warming, Chemistry and the Atmosphere, Natural Hazards, Foundations of Modern Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, and The Origin of the Universe. This system presents a major problem. Looking at the course list for non-majors, one question comes to mind: Exactly what foundation of knowledge are these courses trying to establish? They mostly share vaguely environmental subjects and clearly all fall under the wider realm of science, but their flaws are wide and legion. The classes are large and often overenrolled, many require labs that are far too time-consuming for introductory courses, and professors and TAs seem unsure how deeply they should delve into material. These classes, as they are currently structured, do not augment or improve the Core. They dilute it. The idea of a physical sciences requirement, in itself, is not a bad one. But when restructuring the non-major facet of the program,
should the College be committed to teaching hard sciences or a more contextual understanding of scientific issues? The answer seems clear when one considers the reality that non-science majors already have the option to take hard science courses for PhySci, but overwhelmingly choose not to. Given that these courses are geared toward preparing science majors for higher-level study, it is understandable that nonscience majors do not feel fully engaged by the theory-laden material. However, classes in the non-major track wrongly strive to present a watered-down version of the same material. It is this nonmajor track that needs revamping, and it should wholly embrace an alternative approach to scientific inquiry and investigation. Scientific inquiry does not necessarily need to rely on the formal mathematical methods and theory taught in sequences for science majors. The University should instead consider modeling a new PhySci program after the classes currently offered in the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine (HIPS) de-
partment. The stated purpose of the undergraduate HIPS program is to cater to “students interested in studying science in terms of its historical development, conceptual structure, and social role.” It is this approach, which emphasizes scientific literacy and contextualizing science within society, that PhySci professors for the non-major track should adopt. Class material should include basic scientific concepts, but focus primarily on establishing a foundation for students to think critically about and discuss scientific issues. As is, PhySci is regarded as a burden for undergraduates. Students either take it early to get it over with, or delay it in hopes of curriculum reform. It’s time for the latter to finally be embraced. If PhySci is to achieve the high standard of learning the Core aspires to, it needs to be taken seriously and not dealt with as a requirement tacked on to the more thorough programs of Hum and Sosc.
The Editorial Board consists of the Editors-in-Chief and the Viewpoints Editors.
BEN POKROSS Assoc. News Editor MADHU SRIKANTHA Assoc. News Editor JENNIFER STANDISH Assoc. News Editor ALICE BUCKNELL Assoc. Arts Editor SARAH LANGS Assoc. Sports Editor JAKE WALERIUS Assoc. Sports Editor
A promising start The University has the right idea with UChicago Promise, but its goals should be national
JULIA REINITZ Assoc. Photo Editor TYRONALD JORDAN Business Manager VIVIAN HUA Undergraduate Business Executive TAMER BARSBAY Director of Business Research VINCENT MCGILL Delivery Coordinator HYEONG-SUN CHO Designer ANDREW GREEN Designer JANEY LEE Designer NICHOLAS ROUSE Designer KELSIE ANDERSON Copy Editor CATIE ARBONA Copy Editor KEN ARMSTRONG Copy Editor
By Jane Huang Viewpoints Columnist
AMISHI BAJAJ Copy Editor MARTIA BRADLEY Copy Editor SHANICE CASIMIRO Copy Editor CONNOR CUNNINGHAM Copy Editor LISA FAN Copy Editor MAYA HANDA Copy Editor ALAN HASSLER Copy Editor SHERRY HE Copy Editor NISHANTH IYENGAR Copy Editor CECILIA JIANG Copy Editor MICHELLE LEE Copy Editor
As a graduate of a Chicago high school, I followed the news about UChicago Promise with great interest. To recap, the University announced last week that the program is supposed to help Chicago residents navigate the admissions process and offer grants in lieu of loans for those
who are admitted. Although the program obviously doesn’t apply to me, I have benefited from some of the policies and resources that now fall under this program’s umbrella, including the Young Scholars Program run by the Department of Mathematics and the application fee waiver granted to all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students. The initiatives that the University has taken to attract CPS students certainly influenced my decision to matriculate here, so I believe UChicago Promise will be very effective in drawing more applicants from the area. Generally speaking, there seem to be two ways of expanding applicant pools. The first is to try
to poach students who, under slightly different circumstances, might have gone to another insti-
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The initiatives that the University has taken to attract CPS students certainly influenced my decision to matriculate here.
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tution whose applicant pool overlaps significantly with our own (say, Northwestern). This may be satisfying in the short run, but it’s an approach that’s vulnerable to
fads. One school may rise in the U.S. News rankings, while another might get a famous movie star or do really well in the NCAA tournament. Thus, it’s not always going to be the same institution getting all the attention in media and pop culture. The other approach is to seek out individuals who are well qualified but may not necessarily be equipped with the information or support that would help them find universities that are good matches. Given that the second approach is the explicitly stated goal of UChicago Promise, I hope that this program will influence how the University recruits nonChicago residents as well. PROMISE continued on page 6
JONAH RABB Copy Editor LINDSEY SIMON Copy Editor KAYLEIGH VOSS Copy Editor ESTHER YU Copy Editor
Mon dieu, Monsieur Président While Romney and Obama made for a tough choice stateside, the French were all of one mind
The Chicago Maroon is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters Circulation: 5,500. The opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are not necessarily those of the Maroon. © 2012 The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 Editor-in-Chief Phone: 773.834.1611 Newsroom Phone: 773.702.1403 Business Phone: 773.702.9555 Fax: 773.702.3032
By Maya Fraser Viewpoints Columnist
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“Gods would be needed to give men laws,” wrote Rousseau in his Social Contract. Most Americans have long abandoned the notion that Obama is such a god—all
understanding , but reasoned; all intelligent, but caring. Instead, we see his failure to fix everything , his ups and his downs, and the weariness in his face after so long a campaign. We see that he is only a man. The French, however, have yet to get the message. In a poll of Frenchmen conducted by the BFMTV and Le Groupe CSA, 78 percent of respondents said that they would vote for Obama if they could, including 68 percent of respondents belonging to Le Front National, France’s far-
right nationalist party. Only five percent said that they would vote for Romney. It’s easy to see this sort of enthusiasm reflected on the street. Along with some other U of C students, I was lucky enough to go to an event hosted by the U.S. Ambassador to France the morning after the election. Leaving the event bedecked in American flags was the perfect opportunity to observe French reactions to the election. As we walked down the streets there were smiles, nods, fist pumps, thumbs-ups, and cries
of “Yes We Can!” and “O-Ba-Ma, O-Ba-Ma!” Most memorably, a woman opening her shop saw us walk past and timidly called out, “Qui était victorieux?” Who won? When we told her that Obama had won, her entire demeanor changed, a grin breaking across her face. She hooted with glee. Though there is something charming about the French response to Obama, it doesn’t quite add up ideologically. It makes sense that they would prefer OBAMA continued on page 6
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 9, 2012
Facing the elephant in the room The political culture at U of C and other colleges is forcing Republicans into hiding—and that’s not a good thing for anyone
By Raghav Rao Viewpoints Columnist Most of my friends are liberal, and rather hostile liberals at that. Word got around that a boyfriend of someone in our circle might be a Republican, and independent of each other we all confronted her. In lowered and incredulous voices we asked, “Is your boyfriend really a Republican?” Tearfully she responded, “Who is spreading these awful rumors?” It’s a hard life out there for Republicans on our campus. They learn to avoid confrontation and deflect attention away from their political leanings. Whenever the subject comes up they’ll find renewed interest in what’s happening elsewhere in the apartment or in their fantasy football teams. Even when pinned down and forced to admit their wrongs, Inquisition-style, these Republicans have a number of evasive maneuvers at their disposal. There are a few things that you should look out for so that in
your next Republican witch-hunt you don’t let them get away. First, there’s the red herring of ‘fiscal conservatism.’ Your average closet college Republican pledges his or her allegiance to this abstract notion, even though its meaning has become obscured. Everybody is, in some sense, fiscally conservative. Very few people actively advocate deficit spending unless there’s an emergency. What’s happened is that the idea of ‘fiscal conservatism’ has become conflated with lower taxes. So, what that dodg y and squirming Republican at your mercy is saying is that he likes low taxes. Don’t let him dress that up in highfalutin language. The truth is that Republicans’ over-the-top commitment to national security spending should disqualify them from being ‘fiscally conservative.’ Nevertheless, it remains a strong gambit for the closet Republican because imprecise phrases take away specificity from the debate. Another smoke and mirrors tactic you may come across is a faux inclination towards libertarianism. Note that this never translates into an actual vote for the Libertarian Party. After armchair supporting Ron Paul during the primaries they’ll end up vot-
ing Republican anyway. This phenomenon is similar to the Green Party-ers who end up voting Democrat. Perplexingly, libertarianism gets a get-out-of-jail free card from many college liberals. Perhaps there’s a hangover effect
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Said in a certain tone, the word ‘Republican’ has become an ad hominem attack.
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from reading Ayn Rand in high school (even though Objectivism receives nothing but scorn). Republicans at this institution are particularly vulnerable because the University’s stances on certain issues, while seemingly bipartisan, are actually at odds with the Republican party line. For one, Romney is opposed to same-sex marriage, while almost all universities pride themselves on being extremely supportive of LGBTQ groups. Furthermore, this election has seen the Republican Party become associated with opposing women’s rights over their own bodies. Once
again, universities like ours, which hold plurality and equality as central governing principles, are indubitably against such a position. Therefore, though universities are meant to be independent, in terms of policy ours is implicitly critical of the Republican stance (and rightly so). Consequently, just by being here, Republicans find themselves in an unspoken confrontation with their own institution. All of this raises a larger question: Are Republicans on our campus ashamed of being Republican? Well, judging from my conversations with some of them, at least a few are. It says a lot that in order to escape confrontation they’re willing to say that they’re not Republican. After all, if being one can adversely affect your chances of getting a girlfriend, you aren’t going to go screaming it from rooftop to rooftop. We don’t need to go on witch-hunts; instead we’ve stigmatized being Republican to a dramatic extent. And at first, it’s tempting to say that this is wonderful. We’ve managed to get a delusional section of the electorate who is willing to vote for a deceitful candidate to finally shut up. (I’m not entirely sure if Romney really is deceitful and conniving, but it’s a comfortable bandwagon and I’m
determined to jump on it.) However, all this stigmatizing doesn’t seem to be making its way into the voting booth. Derision, after all, does not cause a change in beliefs. What it does do, though, is put an end to intelligent, informed, and respectful debate. The truth is that on our campus and on campuses across the country, we’re tacitly vilifying Republicans. Said in a certain tone, the word “Republican” has become an ad hominem attack. In response to our accusatory tone they call upon the old gods of “fiscal conservatism” and “libertarianism.” No progress is made. We put away our pitchforks, content that they’re publicly ashamed of their beliefs. They continue practicing their rituals in secret. Now, the election is over. Swords are being sheathed all over the country. But, like President Obama said in his acceptance speech, democracy doesn’t stop at the voting booths. We’ve got to keep debates alive, and for that, our opponents have to know that they’ll be respected. But most importantly, we can’t make girls cry for having allegedly Republican boyfriends. Raghav Rao is a fourth-year in the College majoring in English.
The U of C community has much to gain from the insights of urban public school students PROMISE continued from page 5 The logical next step—to expand these initiatives to include other urban public school systems—would simultaneously broaden the University’s national scope while introducing some fresh perspectives on education. Throughout my six-and-a-half quarters at this university, I have met my fair share of people from a dozen countries and most of the states: Members of different faiths, phys ics prodigies, stoners, and zombie hunters. The University promised diversity, and in a certain sense, it delivered. But I haven’t met very many students who graduated from urban pub-
lic school systems outside of Chicago, which is a little disappointing given the sheer number of students in the country who have attended those schools. I don’t know for certain whether my experiences are a reflection of the demographics of the applicants to this university, but I’m willing to hazard an educated guess that urban public school graduates are underrepresented here and at peer institutions. The idea of specifically encouraging applications from urban public schools has percolated in my mind ever since I read about University of Pennsylvania’s partnership with the
Posse Foundation a few years ago. Through this collaboration, Penn focuses on recruiting Miami public school students who may not have thought of applying to schools like Penn. Though your first instinct might be to ask why universities should not simply focus on local public school kids, my response would be that giving students the opportunity to explore a different part of the country would improve their understanding of how other environments might have shaped people’s beliefs and behaviors. Students from urban public schools have a lot to contribute to the conversation at universi-
ties like ours because our lives have been deeply affected by some of the most contentious ongoing ideological debates being held in the classroom and beyond throughout the country. Standardized testing and the teaching of topics such as evolution or climate change may be the most obvious, but they are not the only ones. Urban public school students also directly observe the disparities in school resources that arise from income inequality, the changes in school demographics as policymakers continue tweaking race-based or class-based affirmative action, and the cultural shifts that ac-
Obama’s timing, barrier breaking, and economic management endear him to the French OBAMA continued from page 5 Obama to Romney as the more liberal of the two candidates, but the enthusiasm goes further than that. Like many Americans, they fell in love. They fell in love with a politician who, far from being the socialist he is hyperbolized to be, would probably be on the right in France. He is a politician who believes in capitalism and Jesus. Obamacare preserves the role of private insurance, while France has had universal healthcare since 1945. So, what’s going on here? There are many potential causes of Obama’s initial and continued popularity in France. In some ways, he simply benefited from his placement in history. Coming in on the heels of George Bush, detested by the French in large part for the U.S.-led inva-
sion of Iraq, Obama automatically looked good by comparison. When I was in France in 2006, I heard nothing but complaints about Bush, and when I was there again in 2008, I heard nothing but cheerful praise for Obama. The French felt, and rightly so, that Obama’s vision of society and world politics was more in line with theirs than Bush’s was. In 2012, the global economic crisis provides additional motivation for the French to look up to Obama. The United States is faring the economic crisis much better than France. Since 2008, French unemployment has risen from 7.5 percent to 10.2 percent, and shows no signs of improving. Under Obama, unemployment rates in America have begun to drop. Our economy is showing signs of recovery, while France’s
is not. Finally, Obama’s race should
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The most powerful man in the world is a man of color, and that means something very real for the people that I see every day on the Métro.
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not be overlooked. That black politicians are a rarity in France is an unpleasant reminder of its history of colonization and current immigration problems. For many French, Obama’s election represents a level of tolerance that has yet to be reached in their own nation. For French blacks, many of whom are African or Caribbean
immigrants, Obama represents the hope that they will some day be able to attain political representation. The most powerful man in the world is a man of color, and that means something very real for the people that I see every day on the Métro. A student I met here declared that everyone in the world should get to vote in American elections. The rest of us, the nonAmericans, he said, have to live with the results, so why shouldn’t we get a vote? Though stated in jest, his sentiment is not far from the truth for many French people: They wanted to vote, and for whom is no secret. I hope their god does wel l in office. Maya Fraser is a third-year in the College majoring in Sociology.
company new waves of immigrants. I realize that my suggestion to focus on increasing the representation of urban public school students might be a little too piein-the-sky to be implemented. It takes a lot of time and resources to recruit students, and it’s always hard to say whether we ever have enough students from any given group. Nevertheless, if other students can wish for an on-campus Chipotle or friendlier squirrels, I feel all right putting my idea on the wish list. Jane Huang is a third-year in the College.
SUBMISSIONS The Chicago Maroon welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to:
The Chicago Maroon attn: Viewpoints 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 E-mail: Viewpoints @ChicagoMaroon.com The editors reserve the right to edit materials for clarity and space. Letters to the editor should be limited to 400 words. Op-ed submissions, 800 words.
ARTS
Trivial Pursuits NOVEMBER 9, 2012
Logan’s black box theater lights up with youthful glow Will Dart Arts Contributor The year is 1982. Ronald Reagan is president. Lionel Richie is topping the charts. And somewhere in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, two very stressed-out young men are bickering about the selling price of a discontinued, semi-collectible toaster. Ladies and gentlemen—This Is Our Youth.
THIS IS OUR YOUTH Logan Center, Theater West Through November 10
Kenneth Lonergan’s This Is Our Youth (adapted by UT/TAPS) follows a day and a half in the lives of antagonistic buddies Dennis (fourth-year Alex Stein) and Warren (fourth-year Connor Settlemire) as they listen to records, smoke pot, and plot ways to get laid while feverishly pacing the tiny floor-space of Dennis’s messy apartment. Warren— thoughtful, awkward, and a college dropout at 19—has come to crash with Dennis after being kicked out by his wealthy, abusive father. He has also made off with $15,000 of his father’s cash. Dennis—scheming, street-smart, and, frankly, kind of a dick—convinces the impressionable Warren that they can use the money to buy drugs, score chicks, and even turn a profit. What could possibly
go wrong, right? Without giving too much away: several things. Making excellent use of the Logan Center’s black-box Theater West, fourth-year director Fred Schmidt-Arenales spins the room’s claustrophobic closeness and the stage’s almost cruel dimensions into an advantage. “I wanted to keep that ‘trapped’ feeling, while still blocking the actors in a dynamic way,” said Schmidt-Arenales of the stage’s size and unique diagonaltilt. The sense of being caged-in presides over the characters in the play. Everyone, it seems, wants to escape from something. The cluttered set, which features stacks of records, a minifridge, and a working television, was furnished with items from the director’s own room, some of which he inherited from his father, whom SchmidtArenales looked to as a source of inspiration. “Some of the elements of the play—the music and language, especially—really reminded me of him, which made me want to explore that generation a little bit more.” If the actors are constricted by the set or its numerous props, they hardly show it. Stein can cross the length of the stage in two strides, but he moves with balletic grace, springing about like a particularly energetic scarecrow. Third-year Gwen Muren, who plays Warren’s tentative love interest, Jessica, says the ever-moving set pieces can be challenging to work around, but they also provide a crucial element of spontaneity. “The little surprises allow for organic
Fourth-years Alex Stein (left) and Connor Settlemire perform in UT/TAPS’s staging of This is Our Youth. COURTESY OF JOHNNY HUNG
interaction, which is really exciting.” This type of compelling interaction is the driving force behind Youth’s engaging narrative. Warren and Jessica share an extended exchange which is so cringe-inducingly relatable that I wanted to duck out of the theater. For their part, Stein and Settlemire have exceptional chemistry; they manage to pull off Lonergan’s rapid dialogue with believability and, rarer still, spot-on comedic timing. The play is
Basbaum’s sparse exhibit is touch-and-go Thomas Choi Arts Contributor The room is pitch black, save for eight bold white words visible on the screen: “Would you like to participate in an artistic experience?” Already, I can see that this is going to be no ordinary artist talk. A few minutes later, the projector switches to the next slide, showing a rather simple image: a rectangle with cut corners and a circle at its center. There are no words, no indication of its size, no context clues. That’s it: a simple
diagram. This is his art. Ricardo Basbaum came to the University this past Monday to speak about his exhibit at the Logan Center, which opened during the Logan Launch Festival in early October. As his exhibit reveals, Basbaum takes a unique and daring approach to art by significantly incorporating the audience into his work. For him, his pieces aren’t simply visual but experiential—they earn meaning through the ways in which they are shared with and affected by their audience.
Born in Sao Paolo in 1961, the Portuguese artist and writer moved to Rio to pursue a career in contemporary art. In the early ’90s, however, he gravitated toward this singular image, allowing the rectangular shape to form the foundation of his future artistic vision. Before long, Basbaum was inspired to give this image, which up until this point had only been conceptualized, a tangible, physical body: The shape manifested itself as a basin-like chunk of metal, painted white and outlined in blue, BASBAUMcontinued on page 8
hilarious partly because you’ve had the same stupid arguments with your roommate a million times. But Youth is heavy, too. Weeping follows laughter within moments, and vice versa. Anger and joy are in constant tension. In fact, scenes shift from light-hearted to serious and back again so rapidly it’s a little disorienting. It’s that youthful duality where something can be no big deal and the most important thing in the
Spielberg logs Lincoln in biopic Paola Cardona Arts Contributor Having steered clear of the trailers, I didn’t quite know what to expect from Steven Spielberg’s latest period drama, Lincoln. I’ve never watched War Horse, so my points of reference were Saving Private Ryan, Munich, and Schindler’s List. Lincoln doesn’t feel similar to those films, and that’s perfectly fine—it has its own identity when compared to other Spielberg films, and in several ways is unique within the biopic genre.
LINCOLN
Steven Spielberg AMC River East
Ricardo Basbaum, “Would you like to participate in an artistic experience?”, 1994-ongoing. Object to be used by participants; iron, paint, 125 x 80 x 18 cm COURTESY OF THE REVA AND DAVID LOGAN CENTER FOR THE ARTS
world at the same time. Times have changed a bit. We live in Chicago, and we’ll probably graduate from college. But take away New York, some of the “man”s and “totally”s, swap out Zappa for Ocean, and ditch the crack (the weed can stay), and this is, pretty much, our youth. This Is Our Youth plays at the Logan Center, Theater West 115, November 8th-10th at 7:30
Daniel Day-Lewis is Abraham Lincoln. Not plays, but is. In case it hadn’t already been established, Day-Lewis’s reputation as one of the strongest actors of his generation is cemented here; Lincoln makes a strong case for his DNA being half-chameleon (the other half, Irish). If somebody wanted to make a biopic of Harriet Tubman, Lewis would probably be in the top ten actors vying for the role (which, in my opinion, would have go to the equally fabulous Viola Davis). Lewis’s real achievement in
playing the role of Lincoln is the subtle manner in which he chooses to portray the legendary president. While others are bellowing furiously at the top of their lungs or making passionate speeches for or against the abolition of slavery, Lewis sits by calm and collected, effortlessly exuding a gravitas that draws all attention to him. When the audience finally gets to see an impassioned Lincoln, it is all the more powerful because of the restraint that he has shown throughout the rest of the movie. When it’s not focusing on the battle to abolish slavery and keep the country united, the film provides a window to Lincoln’s own personal life. Rather than weighing down the movie, these scenes provide a breather from the intensity of the political scenes and add a dose of humanity to a man who is rightly viewed as a legend in history. Another stand-out performance is Tommy Lee Jones as Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens, a staunch proponent of the abolition of slavery. A majority of the wittiest and most overtly funny lines go to his character, who takes pride in calling out the other politicians on their shenanigans in a direct and often comically insulting manner. The LINCOLN continued on page 8
THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | November 9, 2012
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An honest look at the politics of war LINCOLN continued from page 7 rest of the cast does an overall great job, though Sally Field is the weakest link in her role of Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does not get nearly enough screen time, since he was probably hired for a role that could have gone to any decent actor in order to attract his female fans. The cinematography is also, as expected, top notch, helped in great part by fantastic use of lighting in certain scenes. Political junkies are bound to love this film as it provides an in-depth look at the strategies and maneuvers used in Washington, D.C. during the last few months of the Civil War. The overall climate is the war, but the battlefields we see on screen are sessions in the House of Representatives, cabinet meetings, and political deals made
behind closed doors. Even those who don’t feel a particular affinity for politics are bound to laugh at some of the antics both sides employ, which are purposefully presented in a humorous light, unlike modern politics, which are funny in a sad, unintentional way. Clocking in at two and a half hours, Lincoln is by all standards a long movie that runs the risk of feeling like a drag at times. Luckily, Spielberg manages to set a perfect pace, and I never felt the urge to glance at my watch. In a time when the country is divided by sharp ideological lines and incapable of coming together for even the most trivial decisions, Lincoln reminds us that there have been darker times in the nation’s history, and that we have managed to endure them.
Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) has a hat as tall as this film is long. COURTESY OF DREAMWORKS PICTURES AND TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX
In the lobby of Logan, art cashes in on its miles BASBAUM continued from page 7 its most notable feature being a large, hollow spout at its center. This object sits in the center of his exhibition as the underlying element that weaves together all of his artistic output since its conceptualization. Basbaum believed that this drawing had the potential to produce something, but faced an inherent problem: an awareness of its own apparent “uselessness.” He combated this supposition— derived no doubt from the object’s unusual shape and hulking size, which strip it of any true use—by restructuring the meaning of the object around the ways in which it is actually used by the audience rather than around any objective theoretical critiques of what it can and can’t do. He called this project, which incorporated themes of participation and transformation, “New Bases for Personality (NBP)”. He focused his art on the interaction of the audience itself, being careful to leave the project open-ended. “I had to fight against the project a lot of the time so it’s not finished in itself,” said Basbaum. The point was to leave the viewer with the ability to create his or her own temporary vision of the object and for the object to grow with meaning in the wake of each viewer’s recorded usage. He did not want the viewer to stand briefly before the object, observing it from a safe distance before moving on to the next gallery wall and leaving all thoughts of that object behind. Rather, he wanted the viewer and the object to engage
in a unique and sustained symbiotic relationship, within which both parties benefit from acting upon and influencing the other. “It is not the result of getting in touch with one artwork,” he said. “You read a book, a newspaper, or see any artwork, but they don’t have the power to work by themselves. They need to connect and work together to produce an effect.”
RICARDO BASBAUM: WOULD YOU LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN AN ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE? Logan Center Gallery Through November 25
To further breathe life into the materialized object, Basbaum frequently drew upon biological vocabulary to describe his work during the talk. He articulated this effect of the object as a “symbolic metabolism,” which “made an organic change in the body.” Once it had been planted in my mind, this image was hard to shake, and it occupied my thoughts well after I had left the physical space of the exhibit. It was as if Basbaum’s object had left its physical body and burrowed its way into my thoughts as a microorganism settles on its host. Extending far beyond the traditional site of the gallery space, Basbaum took the process of integrating his work with the larger world around him a step further by sending his art objects
abroad. Inviting willing audience members to take the object home with them for varying amounts of time—anywhere from two weeks to two months—Basbaum requested that they return it with recorded evidence of how they made use of the object. From this point onwards, his project took on a life of its own, moving independently from Basbaum’s directive influence. He did not simply create a piece of artwork; he succeeded in creating a living, breathing art experience that found its body in the hundreds of bodies engaging with it and through it. From a video clip of a pair of boys using the object as a makeshift surfboard, to one featuring it as a baby bath (the hole in its middle making a nice storage spot for bath toys), to a photograph showing a man using it as a bed, the object—so plain in its former abstract life—bloomed into a rich physical creation with hundreds of different functions. As of this year, there are 30 of these objects travelling around the world. “Would you like to participate in an artistic experience?” is a project whose emphasis is placed on interactive experience through a common, but vague, process: the act of appropriating an object for personal use and allowing it in turn to define and grow from its user. He appropriately defined the ideological framework of the object as a “contact-and-contamination strategy,” characterizing its later global passage as an epidemic: “The image is like a virus in your body that would, of course, not show in a blood test. But it’s there.”
HUNGER STRIKE
Ramen to that Iliya Gutin Senior Arts Staff Winter is coming. Cold, dark times draw near. As the clutches of despair tighten their vice-like grips, there’s nothing like getting a care package from home. A veritable cornucopia that runneth over with goodies to help pull you through. Stale Oreo crumbs. Mac ’n’ cheese-like substance. Microwaveable popcorn for burning. Maybe some primo stuff like Lindt truffles or Ferrero Rocher; pre-melted and ready to get on your clothes.
SLURPING TURTLE 116 West Hubbard Street Average ramen: $13
And then there’s ramen. There’s always ramen. Let me rephrase my original sentiment: There’s nothing to like about getting a care package from home. The word “care” should elicit feelings of compassion and warmth. Cup Noodles succeeds in providing warmth in the form of second-degree burns. I’m sure your parents still love you, but they would do well to remember that college students are more than just $50,000-a-year garbage disposal units. In the mean time, Chef Takashi makes a
great surrogate mom; and his River North restaurant, Slurping Turtle, can be your home for a night. Having gained most of my knowledge of Tokyo from repeated viewings of Lost in Translation, I can safely say the restaurant has a distinctly Japanese dissonance of outward chaos and inward control. Sure, you walk in and it’s all cartoon animals and pictures of Takashi eating noodles plastered on a clock. At the same time, it has a neo-industrial white plastic interior that makes you wish you’d picked up your hazmat suit from the dry-cleaners. It’s a long and narrow space with a communal table spanning its length, booths on the side, and a tiny open kitchen that occasionally flares up. Try not to mind any diners looking down on you from the second-story space. One day you, too, may have the privilege of this noble perch. The menu entices with “Sashimi Bar/Maki Rolls,” a “Bincho Grill,” “Cold & Hot Tapas” and, less imaginatively, “Noodles.” You’re best off sticking with these last two options. If you want quality raw fish, you could do much worse in this city, but ordering sushi here is like going to Applebee’s for a good steak. And the Bincho grill concept of small items is fun until you realize you’re paying $3 for a piece of asparagus. Desserts are a nice way to top off a meal. There’s an assortment of “exotically” (read: Asian) flavored macaroons, plus buttery black sesame and sea salt ice creams. A Japanese sundae, with a mixed bag of add-ins, is unique.
In this restaurant, the concept of “tapas” feels forced and nonsensical. Like, Here’s a trendy word, let’s use it! Good work, everyone, let’s call it a day. They are appetizers, no more and no less. It’s not really a big deal, but the Duck Fat Fried Chicken is. Everyone says it’s the dish to get, yet it’s remarkable how much your enjoyment of the dish will depend on the piece of chicken you get. Some are dry, boneless chunks with a tacky flavor. The bone-in pieces are where it’s at–they’re far juicier. The pièce de résistance is the crisped-up chicken skin, which is chicken fat cooked in duck fat…there’s a poultry party, and you’re invited. But if fried chicken’s not your jam, other alleged “must-order” starters are the Pork Belly Snack and Octopus Salad. The pork belly would probably work better as a dessert. It’s sticky and sweet in all the wrong ways. Especially if you have facial hair. The pork is naturally sweet, but the syrupy glaze takes it over the top. Stacking that on top of a sweet white bun is a diabetic coma waiting to strike. The salad, meanwhile, had heat to it, but the octopus was tough and devoid of any flavor. The whole dish was covered in what I can only compare to a sprinkling of broom bristles. It was only dried seaweed, but eating the dish was like constantly pulling hair out of your mouth. I overlook these indiscretions as minor hurdles on the path to Ramenlightenment. There’s not really a reason to go to Slurping Turtle other than for
its ramen dishes. They are traditional takes on the noodles. Fine by me; a thousand years of noodlemaking can’t be wrong. There aren’t exactly a lot of good ramen places around Chicago, so although Chef Takashi isn’t making a statement, he gets the job done. There’s nothing as satisfying as biting into a clump of noodles cooked to the perfect chewy texture and letting the rest slither back into the bowl. There is a pink fishy thing, kamaboko, strips of salty nori, tender braised pork shoulder (chashu), and a poached egg—all the proper accouterments for a bowl of ramen. Broths range from the classic soy-based Shoyu, which is light and refreshing, to the dark and silky pork-based Tonkotsu. Miso ramen, a salt-based wheat-free ramen, and other non-broth noodles round out the menu; you can’t go wrong with any of them. It’s damn good ramen, plain and simple. Few restaurants get by on the success of a single menu item, and most of them have “Fried Chicken Shack” in their names. The food is not spectacular, and it is over-priced beyond the bowls o’ ramen. In some ways, Slurping Turtle is another example of the “must-order-dishes” fallacy that is pervasive in contemporary dining. These dishes don’t exist, so order whatever the hell you want. Takashi fills the ramen-shaped hole that resides in the soul of every man, woman, and college student, a deep-seated need no package of instant noodles could ever hope to satisfy.
9
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | November 9, 2012
10
CALEND AR 1
WITH HANNAH GOLD
Do What You’re Told
2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Friday | November 9
Sunday | November 11 Leave your place for Stud’s Place, and you shall be rewarded with an entertaining lapse in the space-time-television continuum. Pocket Guide to Hell is producing a new episode of actor, broadcaster, and historian Studs Turkel’s semi-improvised television series, which examined the everyday goings-on of a 1950s
THE CHICAGO MAROON
Want some sugar on your tongue? Will you settle for some brown sugar scrub on your forehead? Tyler, Tia, and Francesca of Collective Cleaners are leading a workshop called Caring for your Home and Body, dedicated to DIY bath, body, and cleaning products— all natural, some delicious. After concocting various waxes and serums, participants will leave with homemade lip salve, essential oil conditioner, a beauty product recipe booklet, and more. Come hungry: The byproducts of the lesson will be cooked down into organic soy milk and veggie burgers. 5638 South Woodlawn Avenue. 1–4 p.m., $5–$10 donation for cost of materials and venue.
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Don’t let the name fool you— James Joyce’s “The Dead,” now playing at Court Theatre, is allegedly a heartwarming musical, perfect for the upcoming holiday season. This theatrical adaptation of Joyce’s short story of the same
Saturday | November 10
If you enjoy bowling, driving around, and having the occasional acid flashback, then Lebowski Fest Chicago is the weekend event of a lifetime. The two-day festival originated in Louisville, Kentucky in 2002 and was conceived when “Founding Dudes” (some guy named Scott and another named Will) went to a tattoo convention and decided they preferred conventions to tattoos. On Friday there’s a big to-do screening with special guests, live music from the film’s soundtrack, and maybe even some food at the Portage Theater. But if you’re a true-blue dude you’ll stick with today’s event—bowling, costumes, and trivia at Diversey Rock and Bowl. 2211 West Diversey Parkway. 7–11 p.m., $25 in advance ($25 two-day pass).
ALICE BUCKNELL
Open Books, a local nonprofit with a mission to promote literacy, is hosting Make the Case 2012, a quirky combination of home improvement, bookkeeping, team sports, and philanthropy. Guests are welcome to competitively deck out a bookshelf in a classic literary theme of their choosing…if they can muster the required donation of $500 to participate in the action. You’ll probably watch—and read and cheer from the sidelines; Bookslut managing editor Charles Blackstone, science writer Rebecca Skloot, and WBEZ reporter Anthony Martinez will judge. Ticket includes appetizers, drinks, a raffle ticket and a coupon to Open Books bookstore. Next week the shelves will be filled with actual books donated by partner nonprofit organizations in Chicago. 3730 North Clark Street. Starts at 7 p.m., $40.
name (the final tale in his famous collection of stories, Dubliners) focuses on a gathering of family and friends who have joined together in celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany in Dublin. Go this evening for their Student Night and you’ll get discounted tickets, pizza, and the lively company of your peers. 5535 South Ellis Avenue. Starts at 8 p.m., $15 with UCID.
American diner. The episode will be set in the present day, but the cast will perform scenarios and personas from the original series in the front bar of the Hideout while an audience watches the event from the concert room. The purpose of all this is to give the illusion that the show is being performed live (which it is, right next door, where nobody is actually watching it). The broadcasting charade will be followed by several short talks, including one by Walter Podrazik
of the Museum of Broadcast Communications, where previously unearthed episodes of Turkel’s show were screened for the first time this past September. 1354 West Wabansia Avenue. Starts at 7 p.m., $7–$10 suggested donation. ’Tis the season to start your stockpile of small, fascinating objects to give your friends and loved ones in the coming months. It’s impossible to skimp on kitsch when the
Artisan Market Streeterville is coming to town, specifically to the Ryan Family Atrium of Northwestern University’s Lurie Center. The impressive line-up of food vendors includes Fox & Obel, The Goddess and Grocer, Veruca Chocolates, and Rare Bird Preserves. Also expect a wide selection of bangles, throw pillows, and hats—a full list of participating vendors can be found on the festival’s Pinterest. 303 East Superior Street. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., free.
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CLASSIFIEDS Classified advertising in The Chicago Maroon is $3 for each line. Lines are 45 characters long including spaces and punctuation. Special headings are 20-character lines at $4 per line. Submit all ads in person, by e-mail, or by mail to The Chicago Maroon, Ida Noyes Hall, Lower Level Rm 026, 1212 E. 59th St., Chicago, IL 60637. The Chicago Maroon accepts Mastercard & Visa. Call (773) 702-9555. 2 BEDROOM, 3 BEDROOM
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | November 9, 2012
11 FOOTBALL
South Siders face uphill battle to qualify for NCAAs Men’s Cross Country Isaac Stern Sports Staff The South Siders travel to Oshkosh, WI, this weekend for a race that will make or break their season. The Maroons’ performance at the Midwest Regional will decide
whether or not the squad will qualify for the DIII National Championship. Traditionally, the top five teams from the Midwest region qualify for the national meet. Currently, the Maroons are ranked ninth in the area. Due to the high level of competition in the region, the South Siders will not have an easy
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path toward qualifying. In fact, the Midwest Region contains tough squads, including the defending national champions, North Central. The teams expected to stand in Chicago’s way are Augustana, UW–Platteville, UW–Stevens Point, and Wheaton. Wheaton and Augustana, both members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW), most recently placed second and third respectively in their conference championship. Platteville and Stevens Point, members of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), are coming off of very tight third- and fourth-place finishes in their conference meet. UW–Lacrosse won the WIAC and is currently ranked third in the region. The Maroons placed fourth in the UAA, with rival Wash U winning the conference and earning the #4 ranking in the region. Thus, the Maroons will have to run one of the best races of the year if they wish to qualify. “There is a lot of focusing going on right now,” second-year Renat Zalov said. “We’re just mentally preparing right now.” The Maroons know that they will run in this race not as individuals but as a team; scores are tallied by adding together a team’s top five finishes out of seven runners. The lowest team score wins. Fourth-year All-American Billy Whitmore will lead the pack as always, but where the next four Maroons finish will be the deciding factor for the team. “My personal goal is to help my team get to the national meet. That will probably mean a top-25 finish,” Zalov said. “Isaac Dalke and I plan on running together, and the remaining four runners are planning on running in a pack.” Strategically, the squad plans to get a good pace and feel for the field in the first three miles of the race while saving energy for the last two miles. “Everyone on the squad needs to have a good race in order for us to advance,” Zalov said. “By good race, I mean a focused team effort where we run with our teammates and establish position through the third mile, and then eventually close it out over the last two miles of the race.” If the Maroons stick to the plan and successfully place Dalke and Zalov in the top 25, they could be booking tickets for Terre Haute, IN, where the National Championship is set to take place a week from Saturday.
UAA Standings Rank School 1 Washington (MO) 2 Carnegie 2 Case Western 4 Chicago
Record 4–5 (2–0) 6–3 (1–1) 5–4 (1–1) 4–5 (0–1)
Win % .444 .667 .556 .444
Passing Rank 1 2 3
Player Rob Kalkstein Erik Olson Vince Cortina
School Carnegie Case Western Chicago
Yds 1787 1512 1185
4 5
Eric Daginella John O’Connor
Washington (MO) Washington (MO)
880 130
Receiving Rank Player 1 Tim Kikta 2 Dee Brizzolara 3 Drew Sexton 4 Sean Lapcevic 5 Timoth Swanson
School Carnegie Chicago Washington (MO) Case Western Carnegie
Avg/G 81.9 69.4 51.3 51.2 48.9
Rushing Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Player Patrick Blanks Manny Sicre C. Castellucio Zak Ross-Nash Ian Gaines
School Carnegie Case Western Washington (MO) Chicago Chicago
Avg/G 82.6 77.2 57.6 53.7 52.4
MEN’S SOCCER UAA Standings Rank 1 1 1 1 5 6 7 8
School Brandeis
Record 16–2–1 (4–2–1)
Win % .868
Carnegie Washington (MO) Emory Rochester Chicago NYU Case Western
12–3–1 (4–2–1) 10–4–2 (4–2–1) 11–6–2 (4–2–1) 10–3–3 (3–1–3) 8–4–5 (2–3–2) 10–7–1 (2–4–1) 3–14–1 (0–7)
.781 .688 .632 .719 .618 .583 .194
Goals Rank Player 1 Andrew Natalino 1 Lee Russo 3 Max Tassano 3 Dylan Price 5 Sam Ocel
School Emory Brandeis Carnegie Emory Brandeis
Goals 12 12 11 11 10
School Carnegie Brandeis Brandeis Rochester Emory
Assists 11 8 7 6 6
Assists Rank 1 2 3 4 4
Player Ben Bryant Sam Ocel Lee Russo Alex Swanger David Garofalo
WOMEN’S SOCCER UAA Standings Rank School 1 Washington (MO)
Record 16–1–1 (6–0–1)
Win % .917
2 3 4 5 6 6 8
11–1–4 (4–1–2) 11–1–6 (3–1–3) 12–6 (4–3) 13–4–2 (2–3–2) 10–7–1 (2–4–1) 8–6–4 (2–4–1) 3–13–1 (0–7)
.812 .778 .667 .737 .583 .556 .206
Carnegie Emory Chicago Brandeis NYU Case Western Rochester
Goals Rank 1 1 1 4 5
Player Melissa Menta Anna Zambricki Dara Spital Sara Kwan Cami Crawford
School NYU Washington (MO) Brandeis Chicago NYU
Goals 12 12 12 10 9
Assists Rank Player 1 Charlotte Butker 1 3 4 5
Sara Kwan Melissa Menta Brigette Kragie Lillie Toaspern
School Emory Chicago NYU Chicago Washington (MO)
Assists 10 10 9 9 6
VOLLEYBALL UAA Standings Rank School 1 Emory 2 Washington (MO) 2 Chicago 4 Case Western 5 Carnegie
Record 31–5 (8–1) 29–3 (8–2) 28–10 (8–2) 24–11 (5–5) 15–17 (3–6)
Win % .861
.906 .737 .686 .469
6
Rochester
22–12 (3–7)
.647
7
NYU
18–14 (1–6)
.562
8
Brandeis
19–13 (1–8)
.594
SPORTS
IN QUOTES “Are you floating right now?” —New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski on Skype with NASA astronaut Sunita Williams on Thursday.
Nationals in sight as Maroons line up for Midwest Championships Women’s Cross Country Spencer McAvoy Sports Contributor The Midwest Regional—hosted by UW–Oshkosh in Winneconne, Wisconsin, this Sunday—is the one race that stands between Chicago and the NCAA Championships. And coming off an easy 59-point win at last week’s UAAs, the squad isn’t exactly strapped for confidence. The Maroons’ biggest competitors this weekend will be Wash U, UW–Eau Claire, and Illinois Wesleyan. “We’ve actually won against all of these teams when we competed against them earlier in the year,” fourth-year Julia Sizek said, who was the women’s runner-up at the UAAs. But while the team has had relatively comfortable victories over Illinois Wesleyan and Wash U, they’ve only seen Eau Claire once this season—at the Oshkosh Invitational, where the Maroons edged them out by just one point. However, the women need only a second-place finish to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, and that’s where, according to Sizek, the team’s “real goals lie.” “We are clearly in the top two. We don’t want to take this meet lightly, because there are so many
great teams within our reach,” head coach Chris Hall said. “We would still like to go out and compete very well, but we’re hoping to do that without having to expend so much mental energy this meet.” “We expect to [finish in the top two, but] not with great ease,” Sizek said. “There’s really no time when you’re running and you’re thinking ‘Oh, this isn’t hard.’” This weekend, the South Siders can qualify for their fourth-straight NCAAs appearance. They expect nothing less. “We’re going to get out hard, we’re going to be competitive, but late in the race we hope we have a chance to relax a little bit.” Regionals will be held at the familiar Lake Breeze Golf Course which, according to Sizek, “everyone on the team has seen at least once.” “It’s a flatter, faster course,” Hall said, “And I think our kids thrive on fast courses.” If the weather cooperates—there has been heavy rain in previous years—the course is an opportunity to post fast times. The top 35 finishers are named to the All-Region team. Both Sizek and Coach Hall, however, agreed that the focus this weekend is on the team as a whole.
Third-year cross country runner Elise Wummer, seen here racing in the 2011 UAA Championships, will compete in the Midwest Championships this weekend. COURTESY OF NATHAN LINDQUIST
“We’re going to have a lot of great individual performances this weekend,” Coach Hall said. “But that’s just not our concern. We’re fortu-
nate right now that we’ve got a great team. I think the athletes in our team are 100 percent committed to the success of our program, and not
to their individual goals. And that is just such a great place to be.” The meet begins at noon tomorrow.
Bearable ending? Chicago to close out season at Wash U Football Sarah Langs Associate Sports Editor
Third-year quarterback Vincent Cortina prepares to pass the ball to an open receiver in a home game earlier this season. AUMER SHUGHOURY | THE CHICAGO MAROON
The Maroons’ season is at its two-minute warning. And by the end of Saturday, the final whistle will have been blown. This Saturday’s home game against Wash U (4–5, 0–2 UAA) is the last contest of the year for Chicago (4–5, 0–2 UAA). It is also Wash U’s final regular season game. Though the teams have accumulated the same overall record, their paths have been vastly different. As the Maroons opened up their season with a victory, the Bears were shut out 34–0 against UW–Whitewater. The Bears have been up and down all year, but they’ve hit their stride recently. They’ve won three in a row, including two straight against UAA opponents. The South Siders, on the other hand, are mired in a twogame losing streak, with both losses coming to conference rivals. Games against Wash U are always particularly exciting for the Maroons, and this weekend is no exception. With both teams trying to achieve .500 records, it should be a no-holds-barred matchup. “I feel excited,” third-year quarterback Vincent Cortina said. “I’m excited to play another UAA opponent and the last time with the seniors.” Earlier in the year, these same Maroons were hoping to win the UAA and head to the playoffs. The
expectations are lower at this point in the season, but this team has not given up. That said, you won’t hear any Rex Ryan fantasy land comments from Chicago, no last hopes for a miracle turnaround and a playoff berth. “This win would mean a lot,” Cortina said, “putting us at .500 and carrying some momentum into next season.” While they haven’t achieved all they’d hoped to, the season was by no means a wash for this squad. “This season hasn’t quite lived up to our expectations,” Cortina said, “but I have seen a lot of improvements in a lot of players.” For now, the focus for the South Siders is to send the seniors off with a win against a big conference rival in this game, which is known as the Founders Cup, in reference to the UAA Conference. The Founders Cup was established in 1987 to mark the first-ever football game played between the two UAA teams. Just as the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University have an axe that goes back and forth between the teams possessed for a year by whichever side wins the rivalry game, Chicago and Wash U have a Cup that goes back and forth. Wash U won back the Cup last year, so the Maroons will be looking to get the Cup back for the first time since 2010. Kickoff is at Stagg Field at noon on Saturday.