CHICAGO MAROON
TUESDAY March 10, 2009 Volume 120, Issue 34 CHICAGOMAROON.COM
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892
CAMPUS
FA CU LT Y
Westboro Church protest meets students’ mocking
Prof’s son charged in Dead Sea scroll scandal By Louise Lerner senior news staff
house at University Church run by a group of U of C divinity students, has evolved into a social service agency providing educational, afterschool, and counseling services for children and adults in neighborhoods across the South Side. Blue Gargoyle now offers adult learning, literacy, and GED prepa-
New York City police arrested the son of a U of C professor Thursday on charges he conducted an Internet smear campaign against his father’s academic opponents. Raphael Haim Golb, 49, a graduate of Harvard and New York University Law School, is accused of identity theft, harassment, and criminal impersonation. He is the son of Norman Golb, a professor of Jewish history and Dead Sea scrolls scholar at the U of C’s Oriental Institute. The Manhattan district attorney’s report describes an intricate online scheme designed to promote Norman Golb’s ideas and harass opposing scholars. Chief among the allegations is the charge that Golb impersonated NYU Judaic Studies professor Lawrence Schiffman, opening a Gmail account in his name and sending out fake e-mails in which Schif fman admitted to plagiarizing Norman Golb’s work on the origin of the Dead Sea scrolls. “We will fight the allegations placed against Mr. Golb,” said Irena Milos, the attorney who represented Raphael Golb for his arraignment. “We will fight anyone who tries to harm the Golb family.” Norman Golb remained steadfast about his son’s innocence. “My son has not had his opportunity to tell his side of the stor y, and when he does, the world will know what a terrible thing has been done to him,” Norman Golb said.
GARGOYLE continued on page 4
SEA SCROLLS continued on page 5
Chris Salata / MAROON
Student participants in a counter-protest against the Westboro Baptist Church’s picket of the University watch, sing, and shout during the Church’s time on the quads. The counter protest, organized by multiple groups on campus, drew hundreds of people to Hutchinson Courtyard, where students signed petitions against California’s Proposition 8.
By Nathalie Gorman
news staff
Over 100 students gathered on South University Avenue and in Hutchinson Courtyard Monday to demonstrate against six protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) advocating against the
University of Chicago, the Chicago Theological Seminary (CTS), and the University of Chicago Law School’s employment of Barack Obama. The WBC protesters arrived at the CTS at noon. Carrying signs reading “God hates the world” and “Bloody Obama,” they stood on the corner of
East 58th Str eet and South University Avenue for half an hour. They allowed people to photograph them and held up their signs, smiling. At one point, Shirley Phelps-Roper, WBC’s spokeswoman, sang a joyful rendition of “God Hates America.” They were accompanied
down the street by a group of students mocking the WBC’s message. The students held a sign r eading “Figs Doom Nations” and planted themselves across the street from the WBC, drawing from a Biblical passage in which Jesus disparages a fig tree. “If you need WESTBORO continued on page 3
H Y D E PARK
Literacy non-profit says demand for essential skills on the rise as funding falls By Ella Christoph
Pamela Bozeman-Evans is the executive director of Blue Gargoyle, a South Side social service agency, and when you hear how fast she talks, it’s easy to see how she gets so much done. Bozeman-Evans ser ved as
the associate dean of students and director of the University Community Ser vice Center (UCSC), then left the University to work as director of Chicago operations for Barack Obama before taking her current position at Blue Gargoyle. While at the UCSC, BozemanEvans increased staff program
D I S C O URS E
STU DE NT LIF E
senior news staff
budgets and expanded the center’s services. Now she faces a different challenge: answering to increasing need in the face of diminishing resources. “The irony of that is there are fewer and fewer dollars to support the increase [in clients],” she said. The nonprofit organization, which began in 1968 as a coffee
Law professors ques- Shoreland residents evacuate after carbon monoxide reaches toxic levels The Shoreland was evacuated to Fire Department spokesman tion Gitmo closing While many civil liberties activists are celebrating President Obama’s closing of Guantanamo Bay, the implications of closing the detention center are actually fairly limited, according to two professors at a discussion hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union Thursday night. The panelists agreed that closing the center has greater public image significance than actual policy significance. “The symbolic issue is laden with a lot of significance that it probably doesn’t deserve,” law professor Mary Anne Franks said. “Where the real debate should lie is why we are picking up these people and calling them enemy soldiers.”
—Nora Sørena Casey
Sunday afternoon after the Chicago Fire Department detected high levels of carbon monoxide in the dorm’s basement. About 150 students temporarily vacated the building, and one Shoreland engineer was hospitalized, according to Fire Department officials. Responders found between 300 and 500 parts per million in the Shoreland basement; lower levels were found on other floors. 35 parts per million can cause headaches and dizziness after prolonged exposure. The gas was generated by one of the Shoreland’s boilers, which malfunctioned that day, according to University spokesman Steve Kloehn. Students were evacuated at around 1:30 p.m., according
Larry Langford, and ushered to nearby Broadview to escape the rain. Engineer Ray Graham had high levels of carbon monoxide in his blood, and was treated with oxygen in the lobby before being taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Many residents said they were surprised by the incident’s severity. “I was freezing in my flip flops because it started pouring rain. Some people had bathrobes and conditioner in their hair,” said first-year Monica Rivera, who stood outside the building with other students. “We all thought it was a drill, and we couldn’t figure out why they would do that in this weather.”
—Rachel Cromidas
Shane Coughlin / MAROON
Residents of Shoreland Hall were forced to evacuate Sunday afternoon due to elevated carbon monoxide levels. Chicago Fire Department officials identified a faulty boiler as the cause of the leak after a search of the building.
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