Chicago Maroon 020615

FRIDAY • FEBRUARY 6, 2015

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

ISSUE 25 • VOLUME 126

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SINCE 1892

Workday to bring major changes to student pay systems Shelby Lohr News Staff Students will be unable to simultaneously work as a teaching assistant and a lab assistant beginning in autumn 2015. This policy is a University-wide change stemming from recent changes in how payments are disbursed to students.

In January the University switched to the payroll system WorkDay from the UChicagoTime system. Under the new system, student pay is calculated on an hourly basis. This contrasts with the past method of pay-

ment, under which T.A.s were often paid a lump sum for their work. The switch to an hourly payment system means that students are now exceeding the maximum number of hours that they can work, and thus cannot hold both jobs at the same time.

According to Laurens Mets, master of the Biological Sciences Collegiate Division, there has not been a change in University policy regarding the number of hours that students can work. Instead, the change stems from a new form of enforcement of the already existing policy.

PAY continued on page 2

Hill Harper delivers anuual Kent Lecture Award-winning actor and best-selling author, Hill Harper speaks at the annual Kent Lecture at Mandel Hall on thursday. The lecture, titled “The State of Black Youth” discussed the American justice system and rising incarceration rates in United States for African-American males. Full coverage of the event can be found online at chicagomaroon.com.

FRANK WANG | THE CHICAGO MAROON

Admin. discuss campus climate assessments Cairo Lewis News Staff Students and administrators discussed their concerns about the implementation of the upcoming campus climate surveys at a town hall hosted by Student Government (SG) on Tuesday evening.

The event was held to gauge student interest and to allow students to give suggestions about what the surveys should include.

The two surveys, part of current SG President Tyler Kissinger’s campaign platform, are the result of conversations between SG and President Robert Zimmer last April, according to Kissinger.

After several racial and sexual assault– related incidents where students challenged the University’s handling of these situations last quarter, Zimmer and Pro-

vost Eric Isaacs announced the surveys as part of a larger administrative action to address diversity and inclusion issues on campus, including the creation of a diversity advisory council.

Dean of Students Michele Rasmussen spent the majority of the time discussing the sexual assault survey, which will be the first survey released. She said that the University’s administration, faculty, and students are currently working with Stanford University, Rice University, and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) to create the surveys, insisting that both professional guidance and faculty and student involvement are key in generating the clearest responses.

The surveys’ format, methodology, and length are not yet known.

“These are surveys that are done in a very scholarly fashion…You probably

know from your experience that this is a place that prides itself on critical inquiry and not just taking things at face value,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said that while the surveys will not be mandatory, the University would like to see at least a 35 percent response rate from the student population.

She also stressed the importance of anonymity and confidentiality among University of Chicago students when the surveys are administered.

Following Rasmussen’s comments, SG led an open forum in which both its leaders and other students voiced their concerns about the plans for the surveys.

SG Vice President of Administration Arlin Hill discussed the timing of the surveys in relation to recent events on campus and the need for this kind of acSURVEYS continued on page 2

Students prepare for municipal elections Katherine Vega News Staff As the Chicago mayoral and aldermanic elections draw near, University of Chicago students are getting involved with campaigns across the political spectrum. The municipal elections will take place on February 24.

A number of student groups, both partisan and nonpartisan, have been campaigning for both mayoral and aldermanic candidates. Most focus on grassroots efforts, such as canvassing and phone banking. Both methods interact directly with constituents, but through different mediums: can-

vassing involves direct contact, such as handing out flyers or knocking on doors.

Second-year Alex DiLalla, the communications director for the University of Chicago Democrats (UC Dems), arranged phone banking for Democratic mayoral candidates twice a week. Participants, most of whom are members of UC Dems, can choose to campaign for Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, or both. Last quarter, DiLalla helped organize the RSO’s campaign efforts for the unsuccessful re-election of former Governor Pat Quinn.

DiLalla said that although there are

political motives for members of UC Dems to phone bank, this opportunity also exposes students to a more active role in the elections as a whole. “[Phone banking] offers a programming opportunity for members to get their feet wet in political campaigning close to campus,” he said. “In addition, I’m in contact with the [Garcia and Emanuel] campaigns to connect our members to fellowship opportunities for those who want a more long-term experience with the campaigns.”

On the other side of the aisle, College Republicans said in a statement that after spending most of their enerPOLITIC continued on page 2

Study highlights gains from Match tutoring program Lorentz Hansen Maroon Contributor A team from the University of Chicago’s Crime Lab and Urban Education Lab, together with researchers from Northwestern University and Harvard University, released the findings of a study highlighting new strides in narrowing the education and success gaps for young black and Latino male students from low-income areas.

Graduation rates, GPAs, and test scores of adolescent Latino and black

male students in low-income areas have long been lower than those of their white peers from higher-income areas, and the gap has become increasingly disproportionate in recent decades.

University of Chicago professors Steven Levitt and Erin Robertson, among others, have proposed a now popular theory regarding the achievement gap. “[W]hen it comes to underperforming students [schools should] eschew traditional success metrics like STUDY continued on page 2

Startup connects students to off-campus apartments Marta Bakula Associate News Editor A new startup called College Annex is hoping to help UChicago students ease the process of moving into an off-campus apartment.

College Annex is a marketplace for student apartments that connects all components of the rental process, including resources for students, parents, landlords, and universities. Their mission is to make the search for an off-campus property easy for students and the rental process more efficient for property owners, according to the company’s Facebook page.

The company was founded on September 21, 2012 by Miami University alumni Phil Shea, David Spooner, Curtis Pittman, Anthony Zinicola, and Jeff Corbo.

The startup’s program began at Mi-

ami University and added 14 other campus locations within two years.

Last October, the company made one of its most recent expansions to UChicago.

“We started the company on personal experience,” said co-founder Curtis Pittman. “We noticed a need for apartment search tools and property management software for landlords. We looked into the industry and went on marketplaces to find a solution and there wasn’t one, so we decided to create one.”

College Annex allows the entire apartment rental process to be completed online, including signing a lease and paying monthly bills. The company makes profits through optional property management software, on which landlords are charged a 1% convenience fee based on their property’s monthly STARTUP continued on page 2

IN VIEWPOINTS

IN ARTS

IN SPORTS

Marine Biology Lab creates a whale of a problem » Page 3

A gap year spent in 1450: finding passions and restoring frescoes in Italy » Page 5

Track & Field: Windy City Invite to host field of 19 » Back page

The Seer’s tower » Page 3

ABC is Off the Boat but into the sea » Page 6

Women’s Tennis: South Siders to make DIII debut » Page 7

THE CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | February 6, 2015

2

Animal rights activist posits solutions to meat industry abuses Stephanie Williams Maroon Contributor Cheryl Leahy (A.B. ’03), an animal rights lawyer and lecturer at UCLA, discussed the tactics and legal tools used to address large-scale animal rights issues in the United States at the Law School on Tuesday afternoon.

She described the suffering animals encounter in factory farms and the specific logistics of exposing and changing the abuse.

Leahy serves as general counsel for Compassion Over Kill-

ing, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of animals. She primarily targets factory farming in her work, which aims to reduce systemic suffering in a long-term, legal way. Her approaches involve undercover investigations and creative litigation to address both the cruel practices in the factories and the misleading marketing of the animal products.

“We need to think strategically [about what] solutions we can create with the tools that we have,” Leahy said. She added that

one of the biggest challenges to her work involves companies that don’t obey the laws put in place by state and federal governments to protect animals.

Leahy pointed to the misinformation circulating in the public sphere as evidence of the lack of transparency in the farming industry, saying that people congratulate themselves for giving up steak, while keeping chicken or pork in their diet. In fact, “cattle raised for beef have the best lives,” Leahy said, “and it’s between pigs and egg-laying

College Annex expanded to UChicago last fall STARTUP continued from front

rent, but does not cost anything for students and parents to use.

“One of the biggest things that sets College Annex apart is that other [apartment] rental sites charge landlords to list on their site, so anything you see is an incomplete market,” said first-year and College Annex campus representative Bryan Waterhouse. “Without that barrier to entry, we list a more complete market of apartments and aim to gear them towards college students.”

In addition, College Annex hopes to help students

choose safer off-campus locations to move to, by partnering with landlords who are currently renting to students.

“There are plenty of tools that the University might offer [to aid in choosing safer locations] but we try to accomplish this by looking for landlords who already rent to students, ensuring safer apartment buildings and locations,” Pittman said.

In the preliminary stages of marketing, the platform had been used by more than a thousand University of Chicago students, with the hopes to reach more as the company releases a more simplified version of its site

in the coming months, according to College Annex co-founder Dave Spooner.

“In creating a single marketplace for student housing, the opportunities for growth and student services are really endless. We envision partnerships with local business, better screening techniques to keep students safe and help landlords pick out the best candidates, allowing for utility payments and maintenance requests, splitting bills, etc.,” he said in an e-mail.

The company plans to expand to 33 campuses across the U.S. by the end of the current school year.

Students cannot work as TAs and in labs at once PAY continued from front

According to University spokesperson Jeremy Manier, “[The University] now [has] a more accurate picture of the overall magnitude of students’ work effort, and that information has compelled us to review how student work hours are established and monitored to ensure they are in compliance with the limit on overall effort.”

The change has ramifications for students across the University, but it is particularly problematic for students in the sciences, and especially in the biological

sciences.

“The biological sciences might see the biggest effects [from the payroll change], because we hire about 100 undergraduates and a fair number of graduate students,” Mets said.

Sarah Watanaskul, a thirdyear biology student, described the complications resulting from the new policy, saying, “There is an overlap between the students who are active in research and those who want to teach.”

Manier described the rationale for change as prioritizing classwork.

“The major priorities for

graduate students and undergraduates are to make progress in their studies, [and] prepare for success after graduation,” he said. “The University supports these priorities in many ways, including by placing limits on the amount of paid University work that students can perform while enrolled in a full-time degree program.”

Watanaskul expressed concern about the effects of the proposal. “While I understand the motivation behind the policy change, I think this new rule will make it difficult and inconvenient for professors to find T.A.s,” she said.

UC Dems & SSN take to the city POLITIC continued from front

gy on the Illinois gubernatorial race last quarter, they are focusing their efforts on increasing their presence on campus.

“While we would welcome the entrance of a qualified Republican to the race, we are in the unenviable position of mostly sitting this election out,” first-year representative Matt Foldi said in a statement.

Other organizations on campus, such as the Southside Solidarity Network (SSN), are working toward different goals.

Fourth-year Emma LaBounty, an organizer for SSN, works to connect outside organizations and partnerships with student

activists.

LaBounty works closely with Reclaim Chicago, a partnership between The People’s Lobby, a Chicago-wide electoral organization, and National Nurses United, the largest nurses’ union in the United States. Like SSN, these organizations do not officially endorse any political party; rather, they work to elect progressive public officials.

Many members of SSN participate in the aldermanic elections by phone banking and door-to-door canvassing.

In their work, there is special emphasis on the campaign of Tara F. Baldridge, a University of Chicago alumna who is run-

ning for alderman in the 8th ward. (The 8th ward is located just south of Woodlawn and Washington Park.)

For LaBounty, campaigning is as much about the communities involved as it is about the election.

“The election cycle is a huge uphill battle,” she said. “I think that by going door-to-door and calling people on the phone, we’ve really been connecting with people on a neighborhood level about what issues are occurring in their communities that are upsetting to them. This is an ongoing project of building an engaged citizenry and giving people hope.”

hens for the worst.”

“Eight to nine billion animals suffer each year,” Leahy said, and went on to highlight the most common malpractices for each kind of factory farm animal.

Physically restrictive environments are common, according to Leahy, especially for pigs and egg-laying hens, which are both kept in crowded cages. Because hens can be aggressive, their beaks are cut off to prevent the birds from attacking one another in the natural pecking order. Often

animals are not stunned before slaughter: Investigations have uncovered that boiler chickens are placed in the boiler while still conscious, and that cows consciously leave the knockbox intended to kill them.

Leahy’s work has also found examples of body modifications occurring without proper painkillers: pigs castrated by hand, fully conscious, and the tails of veal twisted off until broken.

“It’s important to say [that] you can’t have dairy without

veal,” Leahy added, arguing that people recognize the cruel treatment of veal, but miss the connection between veal and dairy. Veal are young calves that are usually male, and are often the offspring of dairy cows. A market that necessitates dairy also necessitates the production of veal.

Leahy emphasized the need for more interest in this section of work, especially from law students. “There are solutions,” she said. “This will change as long as we apply ourselves strategically.”

NEWS IN BRIEF U-Pass referendum set for February 10–12 Student Government will hold a University-wide online referendum from February 10– 12 on whether or not to enroll in the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) U-Pass program. UPass is a program that provides unlimited rides to full-time students during the school year.

The referendum, which is nonbinding, is meant to give Student Government a survey of student opinion on U-Pass.

If it passes, the proposal will

likely be brought to the respective Dean of Students, and would not be implemented until the 2015–16 school year.

The CTA allows universities to join the program by school or division, though all fulltime students in participating schools or divisions must take part in the U-Pass program. Every division of the University will be participating in the referendum, except for the School of Social Service Administra-

tion, which is already enrolled in U-Pass.

According to the Student Government U-Pass Fact Sheet, U-Pass will be rolled into the Student Life Fee. UPass will cost approximately $85 per quarter per student, roughly equivalent to four CTA rides per week. Students on financial aid will have the $85 fee factored into their aid awards.

—Eileen Li

Sexual assault assessment to come in April 2015 SURVEYS continued from front

tion in the past.

“I can say personally that there are individuals who are involved in this process who have wanted to see more action [from the University] since my freshman year,” Hill said.

Fourth-year Cameron Okeke was concerned about the University’s decision to collaborate with other universities to create the surveys: “It’s very interesting how

higher education only moves when other people move… For one, UChicago is not like the other schools. We are a very specific place with a very specific population.”

In terms of the methodology of the survey, third-year Alex Jung, undergraduate liaison to the Board of Trustees, worried that students would find the exact reason for answering questions about their comfort at the

University unclear.

“They should make explicit what they’re going to do with this survey. That is, people should know what the premise is…. That way we can ensure that the University follows up on its promises,” she said.

Rasmussen anticipates that the sexual assault survey will be available for students to take by April 2015, and the second by the end of 2015.

Study focuses on black, Latino male students STUDY continued from front

test scores, focusing more on pragmatic objectives like keeping kids out of trouble…and helping them with labor market integrations,” Levitt and Robertson wrote in their 2013 report, “What Can be Done to Improve Struggling High Schools?”

The recent Crime and Urban Education Labs’ study details the effects of Match, a national tutoring program. Developed

by Match Education in Boston, which seeks to correct the “mismatch” in academic preparedness common among minority students in impoverished areas, the program involved two-onone math tutoring and was offered for school credit. The Chicago Match study worked with approximately 2,000 black and Latino male high school students in 12 South and West Side Chicago Public Schools over the past year.

Though studies on how to best remedy the achievement gap are numerous, Match tutoring is different in both its strategy and success. Aside from its

intensive, small-scale structure, Match tutors receive training “much more intensive than most other tutoring programs,” Match Research Manager Julia Quinn wrote in an e-mail. Tutors, she continued, “are supervised by Site Directors (one per school) who handle behavioral issues…and conduct formal observations of every tutor for 30 minutes once a week.”

The one-year study found that participation in Match improved student math test scores by the equivalent of an extra one to two years of learning for the typical American high school student (equal to about 30 percent of the black-white test score gap nationwide for 13-year-olds). It also improved math grades, reduced math course failures by more than 50 percent, and reduced overall course failures by more than 25 percent.

Match tutoring has the potential for future success. A New York Times article published this week cited a study by the Washington Center for Equitable Growth which found that

“eliminating the achievement gap in America…would raise the total output in the U.S. by another 10% percent.” And in the process, “lifetime earnings of the poorest quarter would jump by 22 percent.”

Though, Quinn cautioned, Match’s results “do not mean that providing this intervention universally would cut the blackwhite test score gap by the magnitude we see in [the Washington Center] study,” states could save money using Match. While tutoring programs in New York City public schools can cost the state $20,000 per student, Match costs a mere $3,800 per student. Quinn attributes Match’s cost-effectiveness to “recognizing that small group tutoring simplifies the teaching task in many ways” and adjusting training programs accordingly.

“Match has shown,” Quinn concluded, “that we shouldn’t throw in the towel on [disadvantaged adolescents], and that it is still possible to cost-effectively and substantially improve their academic outcomes.”

VIEWPOINTS

Editorial & Op-Ed FEBRUARY 6, 2015

Marine Biology Lab creates a whale of a problem The University’s partnership with MBL is a missed opportunity to get our science majors their study abroad The University recently announced a new study abroad program entitled “Whales: Biolog y, Culture, and Evolution on Nantucket Sound,” in conjunction with the Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL) in Massachusetts. The program fulfills the general biolog y requirement for non-science majors like the existing Neurobiolog y and Primates study abroad programs in Paris. Although the sciencebased study abroad programs are exciting, these programs are not targeted towards science majors because they rarely fulfill the major requirements. Science majors are uniquely underserved by the University’s study abroad programs because they are locked into sequences for the major, which makes it difficult to fulfill core requirements abroad.

For this reason, we encourage the University to develop study abroad programs which fulfill higher level science requirements and benefit students majoring in scientific fields.

The ability to tailor study abroad programs to give major credit in technical fields already exists—as evidenced by the quarter-long Advanced Math study abroad program in Paris. Science majors, however, have no comparable programs. This is especially striking in light of the fact that it can be especially difficult for science majors to fulfill their core requirements by studying abroad.

These majors often require specific sequences of courses which must be completed over the course of students’ first two or three years. Pre-med students in particular must complete four sequences (two years of chemistry, one year of physics, and one to two years of biolog y). Without study abroad programs which fulfill degree requirements, studying abroad is simply not a feasible possibility for many science majors.

The Whales program recently announced by the study abroad office is an exciting and valuable opportunity for students, but

we call on the University to also make these kinds of opportunities available to all students. The University’s partnership with the

WEI YI OW

MBL began over a year ago. This partnership is an opportunity to provide serious study abroad programs for science majors, and we

encourage the University to take advantage of it.

—The Maroon Editorial Board

| THE CHICAGO MAROON

The Seer’s Tower The Study Chicago Quarter shouldn’t be the only way for the University to encourage students to explore Chicago

Liam Leddy Sprezzatura Two weeks ago, the University announced its latest “study abroad” program, the Study Chicago Quarter, which will allow participants to learn about the history, art, and

politics of this city. The announcement has been met with a largely positive response, with supporters applauding the University’s effort to broaden students’ minimal explora-

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892 Emma Broder, Editor-in-Chief Joy Crane, Editor-in-Chief Jonah Rabb, Managing Editor The Maroon Editorial Board consists of Harini Jaganathan, Ankit Jain, Nina Katemauswa, Liam Leddy, Mara McCollom, Kiran Misra, Jake Walerius, and Sarah Zimmerman.

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tion of the fascinating and beautiful city around them. The Study Chicago Quarter is indeed a great idea for a number of reasons, and the University deserves praise for making it a reality.

But it seems something of a shame—and altogether too fitting—that a sequence of classes is what it takes for UChicago students to explore Chicago. It’s a tired topic, really: our failure as students to leave Hyde Park. Many before me have implored their fellow students to get out and see the city, as will many after me. The truth, though, is that it’s a pain in the ass to explore Chicago.

While studying in Paris last quarter, I appreciated how much of my educational experience was implicit, and how much was outside the classroom. My teachers expected me to explore the city, to spend my time outside of class doing far more than studying. Despite the fact that the city I was in had little to do with the topic I was studying (African Civilizations), professors expected my classmates and I to see the city, to learn from it, and to enjoy it. And upon returning to the United States during winter break, I wondered why I didn’t do the same in this city.

Chicago is, in many ways, as grand a

place as Paris, just with nicer people and cheaper food. Why is it, then, that I have yet to leave Hyde Park this quarter? Why is UPass, whose cost-efficiency hinges on students riding the CTA four times a week, generally condemned as an unwise investment?

In thinking about why I explored Paris so much more than I do Chicago, I realized there are some pretty evident and irreconcilable differences in my situations in the two cities. For one, Paris has one of the best public transit systems in the world, while it often takes an hour to get anywhere north of the river on the Red Line. There’s also the reality that when you live in a city for only three months rather than four years, you’ll tend to be more inclined to see it while you can. There’s little to be done about these disparities, but these are also not the main reasons we don’t get off our couches (or out of our carrel desks) on the weekends.

Those reasons, as I see them, would be these two: It’s always colder than the abominable snowman making that one face that Vladimir Putin always makes, and school is far more difficult here than it is abroad. Now, it would seem that there’s little the school can do to affect the weather,

although I’m sure we have some labs working on that. But if the University really wants us to see more of Chicago, they could simply schedule school for months when the space between here and downtown isn’t occupied by a frozen deluge.

The only months when students really go out of Hyde Park anyway are those blissful six weeks in May and June when the weather (last year excepted) is beautiful. So why not give us more of those summer months? Modifying our quarter system to more closely resemble Dartmouth’s—which brings students to campus in mid-September and then lets them go from Thanksgiving until January—would not only eliminate September’s status as something of a lost month; it would have us on campus for the sunny days instead of the snowy ones. Classes could even start earlier, perhaps at the beginning of September, and then we could all be gone for as much of the now-annual snowpocalypse as possible. If it’s nice out, we’re all the more likely to get out.

Changing the quarter schedule is a relatively simple matter. The rigor of classes, however, is not. We are obviously an institutionfamous for EXPLORE continued on page 4

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4

THE CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | February 6, 2015

“If seeing Chicago is something we value, then perhaps we need fewer homework problems.”

EXPLORE continued from page 3

academic rigor, and will continue to be one.

But rigor doesn’t always foster enlightenment, and at a certain point hinders it. I understand that I’m railing against a philosophy that’s been held dear for decades, and perhaps if I don’t agree with it I should just shove off and go somewhere else. But if seeing Chicago is something we value, and if learning outside the classroom is something we want to foster, then perhaps we need fewer homework problems. This is not a change that will happen overnight, nor is it necessarily one that needs to happen. Perhaps as an institution we really do value rigor over metropolitan discovery. In order for students to have the time to get into the city, though, something’s got to give, and it seems to me that that something should be coursework.

It’s easy to implore others to get out and see Chicago, but it’s a lot harder to actually do.

There’s always snow and homework in the way.

I don’t blame students for not leaving Hyde Park. Most of the time, trouble, and stress of doing so isn’t worth it. But that can be fixed— if not entirely, at least partially. Some changes are easy, some quite difficult. It may be a tired message, but Chicago is a great city worth seeing. The Study Chicago Quarter is a great way of doing that, but it shouldn’t be the only way.

While some responsibility lies with us as students to get off our asses, there are steps the University can take to help us learn from and see not only UChicago, but Chicago as well.

Liam Leddy is a third-year in the College majoring in economics.

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FEBRUARY 6, 2015

A gap year spent in 1450: finding passions and restoring frescoes in Italy Grace Hauck Arts Staff Think back to last spring.

Were you on campus, trying to survive midterms?

At home, succumbing to senioritis? Josephine Geczy, a first-year visual arts and art history double major from London, was in the midst of a six-month apprenticeship with a seasoned fresco restorer in the heart of Florence, Italy. I know, casual.

Josephine’s story starts back in England, where she turned down a spot in Oxford’s selective art history program in favor of taking a gap year. “I basically just needed a break,” she said, “My school was a real bubble.” Josephine accepted UChicago’s offer of enrollment for the following year and set her mind on Italy, where she hoped to work as an au pair (a person who lives with and in return assists a host family in a foreign country).

Josephine researched potential au pair placements while helping her family move to their new home in Melbourne, Australia, and later while visiting a cousin in Berlin. At last, she coordinated with a family in Rome, but just a week before the start of her employment, everything fell through. The clock was running out on her, as was her bank account.

So, naturally, Josephine packed up and took a train to Florence.

“I walked from the Santa Maria Novella train station, and when you walk from Santa Maria Novella you arrive right at the steps. I ar-

rived in the evening—and it wasn’t pouring down raining—but I arrived, and I still think that the Duomo is more beautiful at night. I had been traveling all day with my bags from Berlin, and when you finally get there it’s just like...” she inhaled deeply.

You know what I mean? Like, ‘I have arrived.’”

Josephine spent her first week in Florence in a hostel (read: an entire week alone, with no knowledge of Italian, in a slightly unsettling hostel). She then proceeded to blow her savings on the next month’s rent, and panic set in again. In the evenings, Josephine attended a weekly life-drawing class, meeting local students with whom she explored the city. “Florence is small,” she reflected, “and all life is centered in the piazza.”

Pressed for money, Josephine found work with a florist and liaised with a potential host family, finally nailing the au pair job and getting a tiny room all to herself in the northern quarter of the city.

Each morning, Josephine helped little Lorenzo and Julia get ready and head off to school, picking them up later in the afternoon (lovely children by the way, though she could not say the same of the parents). Weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Josephine was free.

But not too free. For her birthday, Josephine’s parents gave her a precious gift: Italian classes at the British Institute in Florence. Classes were seven days a week, three hours a day, with bi weekly, hour-long conversations.

Fortuitous and fruitful con-

versations, in fact.

At the start of April, two and a half months into her Florentine escapade, Josephine had her weekly conversation with a woman named Brunella, a Florentine illustrator and, specifically, an illustrator with friends. She was thoroughly taken with Josephine and introduced her to her friend Elena, a fresco restorer desperately in need of a cheap apprentice.

Semplice.

Now 70 years old, Elena began her long study of art conservation at the age of 18. A former Uffizi (one the world’s most famous art museums) employee, she still restores and evaluates frescoes. Under Elena’s wing, Josephine learned the theory of fresco restoration and even worked on a mini fresco of her own, frequently assisting Elena with off-site visits.

“She was really lovely,” Josephine said. “And we just got along.”

As apprentice, Josephine also played the role of personal assistant. “I was mainly in charge of her studio and mixing her colors for her, buying pigment for her—basically kind of organizing her life.” Their days were simple and lovely: They’d start early, chat about life, break for espresso every couple hours, blast some Puccini, and soak up stereotypical Italian life.

Elena only spoke in rapid Italian with a heavy Florentine accent, not to mention a Tuscan dialect. Nonetheless, Josephine caught up quickly.

“She wasn’t doing the Sistine Chapel,” Josephine said.

“But the Accademia and the

A work created by one of Josephine Geczy's favorite fresco painters, Fra Angelico.

COURTESY OF MUSEO DIOCESANO, CORTONA

Uffizi, they have these giant holdings that no one ever sees, and they send out for their stuff. We’re talking Renaissance. I wasn’t allowed to touch that. I was allowed to watch her doing it.” Laughing, she expanded, “It wasn’t like people were saying, ‘Oh yeah, Josephine, that church over there, go and paint.’

It was more about being in proximity to that kind of work.”

She broke down the basics of restoration for me: “Fresco is difficult because the pigment is actually within the plaster. So the issue comes when things get too damp, and you can get mold within the plaster. So often you just have to scrape away at the plaster and then paint on top. It’s like one smooth surface, and if you were to put plaster on top off that, it would really show. So you do it ‘a secco’—dry color with water, which sits on top but isn’t actually within. You of-

ten use specific animal fats, but there are lots of issues with that. For example, in churches, sometimes when frescoes have been done, they’ll add things on top, but because that’s sitting on top of this surface, it can still acquire a lot of dust and grime.

It’s also just a lot of cleaning.... It’s mainly just cleaning.”

Even though Josephine never set a brush to a work of her beloved Fra Angelico, her apprenticeship experience left an indelible mark, both molding her persona and confirming her interest in doing practical art at UChicago.

“I would say I’m a lot happier now. Having that time by yourself, when you’re only responsible for yourself— well OK, I was responsible for making sure the children didn’t set themselves on fire—but just having time means that you get to know yourself. You become aware

of yourself a lot more. With people, you realize what you like and what you don’t like as much. And with all that comes a sort of calm.”

Josephine has enjoyed her experience at UChicago thus far, though the lack of studio space accessibility in Logan concerns her. Between taking classes at the British Institute and working with both her host family and Elena, Josephine became proficient in Italian, and she plans to enroll in Italian courses on campus. As she looks toward a future in art publishing, Josephine will continue her studio work and study of art history—and perhaps work on a mini fresco from time to time.

She reflected, “I really realized when I was working at this apprenticeship that doing art and making art, and being around making art, is something that I need to have in my life. I’m my happiest when I’m doing that.”

Chicago icon with plenty of UChicago connections passes away suddenly

Here is a picture of Andrew Patner (X’81) noted Chicago art critic, in his early days.

THE CHICAGO MAROON

Hannah Edgar Arts Staff This week, the Chicago art critics’ community is grieving the loss of one of its most prolific and influential observers.

Longtime cultural commentator and UChicago alumnus Andrew Patner (X’81) succumbed suddenly to a bacterial infection on Tuesday morning.

He was 55.

Referring to Patner as a mere “cultural commentator” is something of an understatement. In his 55 years, he dabbled in more subjects, influenced more careers, and accrued more knowledge than most people do in a lifetime.

But for most of his professional life, Patner’s area of expertise was classical music. He

reached thousands of listeners daily as WFMT-FM 98.7’s critic-at-large and penned reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times. He was a familiar sight at Chicago’s concert halls and opera houses, and frequently accompanied the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on tour. Just about every living Chicago-based music icon has graced his popular Monday night program, “Criti-

cal Thinking,” at some point.

However, Patner was anything but a one-trick pony.

A lifelong resident of Hyde Park, he left Kenwood High School—where he was editorin-chief of the Kenwood Kaleidoscope—for six months to work as a staff assistant to late Congressman Ralph H. Metcalfe in Washington, D.C. He studied history at the University of Chicago while contributing to and eventually becoming editor-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon, a position he held from 1979 to 1980. Patner’s historical knowledge and zest for journalism culminated in his 1988 biography of journalist I.F. Stone. He received awards for his coverage as staff writer and editor of Chicago magazine, and served as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal for two years.

He even gave law school a shot: His biography courtesy of the Hyde Park Historical Soci-

ety cheekily mentions that he emerged from the University of Chicago Law School “relatively unscathed but with no degree.”

But a strong sense of justice defined Patner’s career just as much as his accomplishments did. In 1978, while a reporter for the Maroon, Patner passionately covered the University’s controversial decision to grant former Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara the Albert Pick, Jr. Award, a $25,000 prize for “outstanding contributions to international understanding.” Later in life, he became the first full-time journalist for a major Chicagobased newspaper to openly write about his homosexuality, and was also the first regular Chicago radio host and contributor to do the same.

Music, history, politics, law, activism—nothing, it seemed, was safe from Andrew Patner.

Simply put, he was a Renaissance man, one whose myriad

interests were represented by the varied personalities he invited onto “Critical Thinking.”

Physicists, comedians, economists, and poets shared the airwaves with Patner almost as often as did famous maestros and virtuoso soloists.

But journalism was always a constant. Though he wore many hats in the world of arts journalism, Patner was noted as someone who would always find time to meet with young people to discuss his work. Riccardo Muti, the CSO’s Music Director and a frequent guest on Patner’s programs, summarized him best, calling Patner “a man of great culture and deep humanity”—culture and humanity that will be sorely missed by those that knew him.

Patner is survived by his mother Irene, brothers Seth and Joshua, and his longtime partner, New Yorker caricature artist Tom Bachtell. A public memorial service is being planned.

THE CHICAGO MAROON | ARTS | February 6, 2015

6

theSketch

ABC is Off the Boat but into the sea

Arts, Briefly.

This Friday night Pi Beta Phi is putting on "Arrowfest", an annual philanthropic fundraising event in the form of an fun evening of entertainment and friendly competition. This year’s theme is A Night at the Circus. All Greek organizations and the honorary fraternity Upsilon Tau (University Theater) will compete with comical lipsyncing and dance routines they refer to as music videos. In addition to the more amateur acts, there will be performances from Le Vorris and Vox, UChicago Maya, and Run for Cover.

Proceeds will go to the Pi Beta Phi Foundation for their Read>Lead>Achieve initiative. This year’s goal is $10,000, and the teams are already well on their way there. Tickets are almost sold out. Don’t wait to buy yours at the door! They’ll be selling tickets in Reynolds from 10:30 a.m–3:30 p.m. on Friday. It promises to be the phinest show on earth.

Friday, February 6, Logan Center Performance Hall, 6:30 p.m., $10

dread. But this evening, UChicago’s Motet Choir will do its best to liven up the place with song and cheer with its third and final performance of a three-part local concert series. Founded all the way back in 1960, the Motet Choir is a 40-person strong vocal ensemble made up entirely of undergraduate students. The choir performs mostly contemporary classical works, and has gained enough respect over its history to tour outside of Chicago, including a seven-city East Coast tour in 2013. Entitled Freedom Songs, this concert—which is part of a larger string of performances—focuses on South African music in addition to work by composers such as William Byrd. So if you’ve ever wanted to spend time in that room above Harper without the threat of midterms hanging over you, then tonight’s performance is for you. Free reception to follow.

Friday, February 6, 7 p.m., Harper Memorial Library, free

The Arley D. Cathey Learning Center, inside Harper Memorial Library, is usually a place filled with profound sleepiness, monotony, and sometimes even

This weekend, University Theater presents A Weekend of Workshops.

It will feature student-directed, performed, and in some cases adapted selec-

tions from Shakespeare’s Othello and Hamlet, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner, and Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire. The pieces collectively work to explore humans’ interaction with wrongdoing. The workshop performed its free show on Thursday and will continue through Thursday and Friday in Reynolds Club’s intimate theater.

Friday, February 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, February 7 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Reynolds Club, Francis X. Kinahan Third Floor Theater; $6 in advance or $8 at the door It’s a busy weekend for the UChicago Arts world. If you still haven’t had enough, you can get your fill of string music with the University Chamber Orchestra in its Winter Concert this Saturday at Logan. Highlights include a performance of Frank Proto’s “Carmen Fantasy” featuring soloist and UChicago Conerto Competition co-winner Emily Brown. The group will also play Gilbert and Sullivan’s “The Yeoman of the Guard” and Ottorino Respighi’s “Gli uccelli.”

Saturday, February 7, 8 p.m., Logan Center Performance Hall, free

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It has been more than 20 years since the last sitcom featuring an Asian-American family was on network television. Let that sink in.

Most first-years were not even born when Margaret Cho’s series All-American Girl premiered in 1994 and ran for only one season. On Wednesday night ABC ended that drought with Fresh Off the Boat, a new series set in 1994 about a family of Taiwanese immigrants.

The series follows the Huang family as they move from a primarily Taiwanese neighborhood in Washington, D.C. to Orlando, Florida where the father of the family, Louis (Randall Park), takes over a cowboy-themed steakhouse. As Louis and his wife Jessica (Constance Wu) struggle to keep their business afloat, their children try to fit into their new school to varying degrees of success. Eddie (Hudson Yang) is treated as an outsider by

his peers even as his younger brothers seem to fit in seamlessly. The series is based off of Eddie Huang’s memoir of the same name. Huang, a well-known Asian-American chef, is the protagonist and narrator for all of the events in the show.

While the subject of Fresh Off the Boat is certainly groundbreaking, the show itself fails to break any new ground. It very much feels like one of ABC’s other family-oriented sitcoms— Modern Family and Blackish—only with Asian-American actors and a few jokes thrown in about misunderstanding American customs and parents obsessing over report cards. Perhaps it’s too much to ask of the show, especially since it has only aired two episodes, but a lot of the scenarios in Fresh Off the Boat felt somewhat stale.

While the second episode hit some genuinely funny notes, the show needs a few more episodes before it can get into its stride.

On Wednesday, the PanAsia Solidarity Coalition held an event to watch the pilot and second episode with a short discussion in between episodes. While the general consensus seemed to be in favor of the show and the greater exposure of AsianAmerican stories in the media, concerns were raised about whitewashing the immigrant family experience and how faithful the show is to Eddie’s real life experiences. For example, while Eddie’s father in the show is portrayed as a rather dopey, laid-back parent à la Phil Dunphy in Modern Family, Eddie’s father in the memoir is described to be very strict, an image that didn’t necessarily fit with ABC’s brand of family comedy.

Regardless of the quality of the show, though, Fresh Off the Boat is a step in the right direction. While the series has certainly made waves, it now needs to make sure it does better than just tread water.

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THE CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | February 6, 2015

South Siders to make DIII debut Women’s Tennis Katie Anderson Sports Staff Coming off a 4–3 loss against DI opponent UW–Milwaukee at the end of January, the No. 12 Chicago team looks to get its 2015 campaign back on track this weekend. The Maroons will face off against No. 28 Denison on Friday, No. 23 Case Western Reserve on Saturday, and Kenyon and No. 32 Oberlin on Sunday.

Despite their previous loss, the South Siders are confident about the weekend. The team acknowledges that a narrow loss against DI competition shows great promise for the team moving into a weekend of DIII play.

“Morale going in is pretty high actually; we didn’t really treat University of Wisconsin– Milwaukee as a loss because it was so close and we played really well,” second-year Tiffany Chen said. “We are really excited for our first DIII matchup.”

The South Siders will also go into the weekend having much improved since their last match.

“We worked a lot on doubles strategy, including lobs,” Chen said. “For singles we worked on playing under pressure and making good decisions in those situations.”

Working well under pressure, as Chen mentioned, will be a key component all season for the young Chicago team.

The squad carries three firstyears, who have already proven that they are ready to compete at the collegiate level.

First-year Courtney Warren, for example, secured a win

against UW–Milwaukee in doubles play with Chen. Firstyears Jasmine Lee and Ariana Iranpour both picked up singles wins against UW–Milwaukee.

The autumn season was also an impressive showing for the first-years, with Iranpour earning second place in the singles competition at the ITA Central Region Championships.

While the squad as a whole is young, there is nothing inexperienced about its No. 1 singles player and team leader, fourth-year Megan Tang. Tang took her opponent to three sets against UW–Milwaukee.

Tang and Iranpour will pair up to take the No. 1 doubles spot in what is a very promising pair-

ing.

Fellow veteran Chen emphasized the importance of the hard work the team has been putting in at practice.

“I think we’re much closer now as a team,” Chen said. “We are much more confident after a couple weeks of practice, which will be an important factor this weekend.”

The first match against No. 28 Denison will serve up at 5 p.m. in Westlake, OH. The Maroons will then travel to Case Western, where play will begin on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Maroons will finish the weekend at Oberlin, where they will face off against Kenyon at 8 a.m. and against Oberlin at 11:30 a.m.

7

Competitive weekend lineup for No. 17 Chicago Men’s Tennis Helen Petersen Associate Sports Editor Three days. Three matches.

Three teams all ranked in the top 30 in the nation.

This is what the No. 17 Maroons have in store this weekend as they face off against No. 26 Denison, No. 8 Case Western, and No. 12 Kenyon.

The importance of this weekend is not lost on Chicago, even among the rookies in the lineup.

“This is a very important weekend for our season because these matches not only impact our team ranking, which is crucial for making the NCAA tournament, but they are also our opportunity to show everyone that we are a completely different team this year,” said first-year Luke Tsai.

Chicago is off to a 1–1 start to begin the season. After dropping its first match to DI DePaul, Chicago bounced back to sweep No. 35 Coe 9–0, with fourth-year Deepak Sabada and four first-years, Nicolas Chua, Peter Leung, David Liu, and Tsai, all tallying wins in both doubles and singles play.

Denison, on the other hand, is opening its winter season against Chicago. Case Western and Kenyon play each other today to open their season. The game will be an indicator of the improvements both teams have made in the offseason.

The Maroons know they have no time to rest on their laurels.

“After beating Coe last weekend, it showed that we definitely have talent and depth on our team, but everyone had something they could improve on,” Tsai said.

“More specifically, I think we just tried to work on our fundamentals this week like hitting with more depth and not being afraid to move forward.”

The Maroons boast the No. 1–ranked singles player in the nation in Chua. The rookie won in three sets last weekend to begin his DIII career with a statement. The squad is also host to the No. 4–ranked doubles team in Sabada and Liu. The duo earned a victory last weekend against Coe. With such a young team, the Maroons will be relying on the talent of the younger play-

ers in conjunction with the guidance of the veterans to get them through the tough weekend. Second-year Sven Kranz commented on his transition into becoming an older member of the squad.

“I definitely had to step up to become more of a leader this year. We are a very young team, and I think experience plays a huge role in being successful at the end of the year,” Kranz said. “However, we have fantastic senior leaders on this team that definitely help guide not only the freshmen but also all other players. I personally just do what I can to make a positive impact on this team.”

This weekend could prove to be one of the toughest of the season for the squad; however, the team feels they have adequately prepared.

“We have all put in the hours, so this weekend is the time to show what we have,” Tsai said.

The match against Denison begins today at 5 p.m. in Westlake, OH. The squad will then travel to Cleveland on Saturday to play Case Western at 5:30 p.m. and Kenyon on Sunday at 9 a.m.

2O14/2O15 CONCERT SERIES

First-year Courtney Warren completes her follow through at a game earlier this eason.

COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS

Squad sets out to cap off regular season with win Wrestling Eirene Kim Sports Staff The Maroons look to finish their regular season strongly with a win against No. 29 Augustana College this weekend.

The South Siders know they have a tough opponent in the nationally ranked Vikings. At the Pete Wilson Invitational at Wheaton College, Augustana placed seventh overall, while Chicago placed 21st. Despite the tough competition ahead, Chicago remains confident that it can come out with a win if each Maroon shows up and performs.

“Everyone on the team knows that Augustana is going to be a tough duel for us. We are going in with the mindset that as long as all of us give it our all and wrestle our best, we should be able to come out on top in the end,” said first-year Devan Richter.

Chicago needs all of its wrestlers to show up for a huge win

against Augustana, but it also looks to a few wrestlers who stepped up under pressure in the past. The Maroons face a lot of pressure going into this dual, but it is nothing they have not dealt with before.

“Some guys on our team know that they are really going to have to pull through for us.” Richter said. “If one person makes a mistake and loses a match that wasn’t supposed to, it could mean the difference between winning and losing the dual. It is a lot of pressure for everyone, but at the same time I think the team can handle it.”

To get the team prepared for this weekend, coach Leo Kocher has had the Maroons working hard all week practicing their core techniques.

“We have been focusing a lot on our core techniques that apply to every match. Our coach’s methodology here is that if we can really get down these core moves, we should be adequately prepared no matter what Au-

gustana throws at us,” Richter said.

A huge win against Augustana can give the Maroons the confidence they need to prove they can have a successful showing at the UAA Championships and the NCAA tournament. This win can show that all of Chicago’s hard work in practice is finally coming together.

“This weekend is really just a stepping stone for us as the UAA conference and postseason approaches,” Richter said.

“We are always trying to improve in the practice room, but the only way to know what the team truly needs to work on is during real competition like our dual with Augustana. After that, we can get a better idea of what our strengths and weaknesses are and adjust accordingly to be better prepared for what is to come.”

The Maroons’ first match will start at 1 p.m. in Ratner Athletic Center.

Stefan Jackiw and Anna Polonsky FRIDAY / FEBRUARY 6 / 7:30 PM MANDEL HALL, 1131 E. 57th Street Ravel: Tzigane Lutoslawski: Partita Kaija Saariaho: Nocturne in Memory of W. Lutoslawski Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major Internationally acclaimed solo artists violinist Stefan Jackiw (“uncommon musical substance,” Boston Globe) and pianist Anna Polonsky (“a chamber musician of exceptional refinement,” the New York Times) make their Chicago recital debuts in an exciting collaboration. The program includes the magnificent Franck Sonata, written as a wedding gift for the “King of the Violin,” Belgian violinist Eugene Ysaye.

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SPORTS

IN QUOTES “I’m throwing all of my #USC drawers away” – Longtime USC fan Snoop Dog on his change of collegiate allegiance after his son, Cordell Broadus, committed to play football for the UCLA Bruins

Maroons to face familiar foes on the road Women’s Basketball

Ahmad Allaw Sports Staff After hosting Case Western (7–11, 1–6 UAA) and Carnegie Mellon (11–7, 2–5) just a week ago, the South Siders will travel to their courts and try to replicate their winning ways.

The Maroons have come a long way since the beginning of the year. The season started off disappointingly slow, with the South Siders picking up just one win in their first five games. But when things turned around, they turned

around completely.

Recently it has seemed like Chicago can do no wrong. It has strung together nine wins in its last 10 matches. Its only loss, moreover, came to No. 6 Wash U. The turnaround has come with a change in mentality.

“I think a major part in our recent successes has been due to our increase in confidence and knowing that we have something to prove,” said second-year guard Stephanie Anderson. “Most people didn’t really expect much from us at the beginning of the season,

and knowing that has motivated us to push harder in practice and in games to show how great of a team we are. Once our winning streak began, we started to gain a lot more confidence and truly believe that we deserve to win each game.”

Whereas Chicago has experienced success, its opponents have experienced troubles recently.

The Spartans will enter the match looking to pick up their third win in their last 12 games. The Tartans will look to snap a two-game skid.

If there is something Chicago’s

opponents can look forward to, however, it is the Maroons’ less than stellar away record. On the road, the Maroons sport just five wins to four losses.

But that’s not at all that’s on the Maroons’ minds. Just as they have done in all their recent games, they will look to continue playing team basketball, to prepare for each opponent with focus.

“We’ve been working hard and playing well together and that’s made all the difference,” said firstyear guard Elizabeth Nye. “We just need to keep preparing for

each game individually and take it one game at a time.”

For all teams involved, the latest stretch of games will prove critical. Chicago, Case Western, and Carnegie Mellon will end their seasons with seven UAA games.

While the South Siders will play to finish atop the conference, the Spartans and the Tartans will look to climb back to respectable positions in the league.

The Maroons face Case Western Reserve on Friday at 6 p.m.

They take on Carnegie Mellon at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Brooks and co. looking to repeat Windy City Invite last weekend wins to host field of 19

Men’s Basketball

Track and Field Russell Mendelson Senior Sports Staff

Head coach Mike McGrath addresses men’s basketball team members in a match against Washington–St. Louis earlier last month.

COURTESY OF UCHICAGO ATHLETICS

Derek Tsang Senior Sports Staff After beating Case Western and Carnegie Mellon in their last home stand, the Maroons will play both teams on the road again this weekend in a pair of rematches.

On Friday, Chicago (13–5, 5–2 UAA) plays Case (14–4, 5–2) for the UAA lead on Case’s Neon Night, before heading to Pittsburgh on Sunday to face a Carnegie (10–8, 1–6) squad looking to break a five-game losing streak in conference play.

“It’s always nice to see teams once and then see them right again,” said third-year guard John Steinberg.

“You know what’s coming, and you get two weeks to prepare for it.”

The Maroons pulled away early in their previous game against Case, winning 81–72 on the back of 16 offensive rebounds—seven by thirdyear forward Nate Brooks—and 44 trips to the free-throw line. They also held Case to a 41.3 percent field goal percentage, 5.6 percent below its season average.

“Case has a lot of ball screen action, which we anticipated,” said second-year guard Alex Gustafson.

“After seeing how we defended their screens the first time around, they’ll most likely be more prepared. We’ll make some adjustments this week in

practice and try to catch them offguard again.”

The Spartans are coming off an 89–78 win at then-No. 7 Wash U, behind 25 points and seven threepointers from fourth-year forward Dane McLoughlin, Case’s leading scorer. The Maroons held McLoughlin to five points.

When Chicago plays Carnegie Mellon, the Tartans will be coming off of a home game against Wash U, who blew them out 79–59 in their last encounter. After a win against Brandeis and two close losses against NYU and Rochester, Carnegie has lost its last three games by at least 19 points.

Chicago beat Carnegie 86–65 in their last encounter, scoring a seasonhigh 14 three-pointers. The Tartans had relatively nondescript nights from their stars, second-year Jack Serbin and fourth-year Seth Cordts, who average a respective 17.1 and 16.5 points per game. No other Tartan averages more than six.

“Our scouting report is really just to limit those two guys and the number of touches they get on the ball,” Steinberg said. “We want to make the shots they do take uncomfortable.”

Last weekend’s wins broke a twogame losing streak for the Maroons, who had won five straight before that.

“We had lost our step a bit,” Steinberg said. “And it boiled down to us not running our offense efficiently.

So in practice, we focused on moving the ball quickly and setting hard screens, which is the name of our game.”

Although the South Siders are coming off decisive wins against both their opponents, they don’t want to come in overconfident.

“We felt that although we played both games well, neither Case nor Carnegie played up to their full potential,” Gustafson said. “With both these games at their respective gyms and having just been beaten by us, we expect them to come out much stronger this time around.”

The Maroons have six games left in the conference schedule after this weekend. At this point last season, Chicago was 11–8 overall and 4–3 in the UAA; the Maroons won four of their last six games, but missed out on the postseason.

“We’re in a good place right now, where we haven’t been since before I got here,” said Steinberg with regards to the Maroons’ playoff chances. “It’s exciting; our guys have a good mentality. We want to take one game at a time.”

Tip-off at Case will be at 7 p.m. tonight. Chicago will then take on Carnegie at 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Get in the game.

With the UAAs just under a month away, the Maroons will stay home this weekend to compete in the Windy City Invitational.

Both the men and the women came out of last week’s meet in Whitewater, WI with a slightly bitter taste in their mouths after placing eighth and fifth respectively. Although the results appear disappointing on paper, it is worth examining them in context, as many of the schools and individual competitors from last weekend’s meet in Wisconsin are some of the best in all of DIII. Five of those nine teams for the men are currently ranked within the NCAA’s top 25, including three top 10 selections and the No. 1 overall, North Central.

The women faced three top-25 teams including the No. 2 team in the country, UW–Oshkosh, who won the meet, and No. 4, the host, UW–Whitewater.

Despite the tough competition, there were standout performances by some of Chicago’s own. First-year Patrick LeFevre took the 60-meter hurdles down to the wire, finishing in a virtual tie for first, but took second overall after further review even though both hurdlers recorded identical times of 8.34.

“At the end of the race I saw that I finished next to the guy who was the top runner from prelims. I didn’t think I beat him at the end, but I knew it was a good race,” said LeFevre of the nailbiter of a finish he had with unattached runner Marcus Smith.

“I’m very happy with my time and I’m very motivated to improve on my 60 dash time as well this weekend,” LeFevre said.

Fourth-year Semi Ajibola placed third overall in the high jump, securing his position with a jump of 1.96m.

“My mentality entering the meet was that it was my day to break 2.0m” said Ajibola on his performance. “I ended up 4cm shy of this goal, but I had some good attempts at 2.01m so I couldn’t be too upset with my performance.”

In his attempts to reach his goal of 2.0m, Ajibola faced some adjustments along the way, which he considers an important learning experience for future meets.

“During competition, I needed to adjust my steps significantly as the bar went up and I brought in more speed. Changing steps in high jump is often a very uncomfortable experience, but I was able to adjust and doing so put me in a position to perform better,” Ajibola said. “Being comfortable with making the change needed to adapt to the current situation is a lesson that I will keep in mind moving forward.”

LeFevre, on the other hand, has had to resist the urge to make adjustments, as he is currently satisfied with his progress.

“I feel like I’ve adjusted to college track and am in a good rhythm going into the second half of the indoor season,” LeFevre said. “I’ve seen good results so far, and I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. It’s like the old saying : if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.”

Ajibola agreed, applying the same idea to the team’s overall performance.

“As a team, we just need to continue working hard, trusting the system, and taking care of our bodies,” Ajibola said. “If we can sustain a positive training and competing environment among ourselves throughout the season those three things will come naturally.”

Come see the Maroons on home turf this weekend beginning 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Henry Crown.