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TUESDAY

IN VOICES

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UT’s Fefu and Friends

Senior Day slam

VOLUME 121 ISSUE 15

» Page 7

CHICAGOMAROON.COM

More than just what women want.

NOVEMBER 17, 2009

CHICAGO

AROON

» Page 12 Football ends season on a high note.

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

DISCOURSE

TRANSPORTATION

Obama campaign manager talks strategy

Weekend downtown shuttle takes off Evening shuttle to South Loop runs hourly from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.

By Amy Myers News Staff

David Plouffe, President Obama’s chief campaign manager, discusses his new book, The Audacity to Win at I-House Friday night. Plouffe’s book discusses the strategies he used in the 2008 presidential campaign.

ALEX GLECKMAN/MAROON

By Asher Klein News Editor David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, revisited his election strategies and riskiest moments at I–House Friday night.

Plouffe, who is on tour to support his new book about the campaign, The Audacity to Win, has been credited with running one of the best presidential bids in America’s history, managing to win the 2008 election with a grassroots campaign

in support of a relatively unknown and untested politician.

“One of the reasons we were successful was we did not begin with a stale playbook for how to run an election,” Plouffe said.

He pointed to Iowa, the first election in the primaries, as the “laboratory” in which strategies were developed. “Everything you saw in the election was something we learned in Iowa,” Plouffe said.

He also said that, traditionally, the elderly came out to vote in the Iowa caucuses in much larger numbers

than young people. And, while those over 65 came out in record numbers, just as many under 30 voted as well, helping Obama to victory.

“What we were focused on was, in the state of Iowa, were we getting enough young people caucus, enough African-Americans coming to caucus?” Plouffe asked. “Were we changing the complexion of the electorate?”

This was one of the keys to Obama’s victory in the general election. While Obama won 50 percent

PLOUFFE continued on page 2

HYDE PARK

DISCOURSE

Alderman’s library a who’s who of Hyde Park

Israel politician encourages students to embrace identity

By Michael Lipkin News Editor When former Hyde Park alderman Leon Despres died last year, he left behind over 1,500 books that showcase his intellectual breadth. Books on French literature, Chicago history, civil rights, legal history, and union activism follow his interests through the years, evidence of a life dedicated to Hyde Park and the University of Chicago.

Hundreds of volumes were written

by University alumni and professors, and many more are about the University itself, tracing Despres’ friendships and correspondences with intellectuals who were as much a product of the University as he was.

Now, flanked by posters from his political campaigns, Despres’ personal library is for sale at O’Gara and Wilson, Hyde Park’s antique bookstore.

Despres (Ph.B. ’27, J.D. ’29) was a Hyde Park institution, making the neighborhood “ground zero” for interest in his books, store owner Doug Wilson said.

Despres moved here when he was a toddler, attended the Lab Schools, and graduated from Ray Elementary School, the College, and the Law School.

He served as Hyde Park’s alderman from 1955 to 1975, known as the only alderman to resist Mayor Richard J. Daley at the height of his power — Despres’ microphone was often turned off during City Council meetings to allow a Daley ally to intervene. Despres also fought against the University’s support of restrictive covenants in Hyde Park and throughout the city.

His books feature a who’s who of University alumni and professors, many inscribed by the author.

Sandwiched between University of Chicago Biographical Sketches and University of Chicago Song Book are legal treatises by former Law School professor and leader of the Kalven Committee Henry Kalven Jr. (A.B. ’35, J.D. ’38) and a study of European immigration by Enrico Fermi’s wife.

Even Despres’ detective novels have

Former Israel politician and author Natan Sharansky called for a strong Jewish identity and universal human rights at a speech at Ida Noyes Monday.

Political Science professor Charles Lipson moderated the event, attended by around 250 students, faculty, and community members. It was cosponsored by the Chicago Friends of Israel, Newberger Hillel Center, and the Jewish United Fund.

At the event, which was strikingly calm in contrast to a controversial talk given last month by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, Sharansky said a people can maintain a strong sense of nationalism while addressing universal issues, contrary to the anti-nationalist message of John Lennon’s song, “Imagine.”

DESPRES continued on page 2

SHARANSKY continued on page 3

The South Loop Shuttle Service made its first trip downtown Friday, the latest in a series of recent changes to the University’s UchicaGO transportation system.

The weekend shuttle runs hourly from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. between the Reynolds Club and the El stop at Roosevelt Road and State Street in the South Loop.

The shuttle is free and takes 20 minutes one-way, making it a viable alternative to public transportation or taxis. It was announced at a student forum last month.

For the five students waiting at the Reynolds Club for the 9 p.m. shuttle Saturday evening, the new service was a convenient way to travel downtown.

“I was so excited [when I heard about the shuttle],” said first-year Neha Premjee. “I plan on taking it every weekend. It’s a good service.” Premjee also said she wished the shuttle started earlier so students could take the shuttle downtown for dinner.

According to fourth-year Student Government (SG) President Jarrod Wolf, the transportation department is open to expanding hours and adjusting the frequency of the shuttle stops if there is student interest.

“I think the Transportation Department has been fantastic getting it up so soon,” Wolf said.

The shuttle was originally slated to run every half hour either from midnight to 4 a.m. or from 11:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., providing a safe way to get home after a night out on the town. But recommendations from the Prospective Students Advisory Committee and the Student Advisory Board suggested more students would use the shuttle if it starter earlier and ran hourly, said Wolf..

The service was created after calls from students for a more efficient and safe way to travel to and from the downtown area. “The downtown shuttle has been a longtime request on behalf of the students,” interim Director of Transportation Rodney Morris said.

The introduction of the downtown shuttle is one of many changes made to campus bus routes since the Office of Transportation instituted its UchicaGO plan this quarter. The changes to bus schedules and routes caused confusion among students unsure of when and where shuttles and buses ran, and have been adjusted based on student feedback as well as ridership data.

That data is collected daily, according to Morris and Associate Director of Transportation and Parking Debra Garfi. The Office of Transportation counts ridership on each shuttle and takes in informa-

TRANSPORTATION continued on page 3

Couric’s compassion

By Christina Pillsbury News Staff

J

ournalist Katie Couric arrives at the 43rd annual Cancer Ball held at the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Chicago on Saturday. Full article on page 3.

ALEX GLECKMAN/MAROON

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CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 17, 2009

Plouffe describes Obama volunteers as regular people “armed with talking points”

STUDENT LIFE

Gadget bans put students on point, off Facebook

PLOUFFE continued from front page

By Christina Pillsbury News Staff Laptops, cell phones, and Kindles are pushing their way into 21st century classrooms at the U of C, and some professors are pushing back, saying banning gadgets has shown positive results.

“I think students are significantly more attentive [when they’re not using laptops], to me and also to their fellow students,” said Adam Green, a professor in the history department, who no longer allows laptops during class.

A graduate student lecturer also banned computers this year, but asked to remain anonymous because he felt the policy might impact his job performance review. The lecturer, who teaches Sosc, implemented the policy after he saw too many students distracted by their laptops.

The lecturer said electronics distract instructors as well as students. “You can tell when a student isn’t paying attention, and it’s distracting for me, so it’s easier to say no.”

This instructor’s strict policy is new, but in the past he discouraged laptop use.

“I have had a softer policy in the past—I would discourage it unless you felt it was particularly important,” he said. “I think I would be distracted if I had a computer in class.”

History professor and member of the committee on Jewish Studies Moishe Postone has never

seen a need for students to bring laptops to class, but said it was not necessary to ban them.

“I have never articulated a formal policy regarding laptops, because students seem to know that I wouldn’t approve,“ Postone said.

“Undergrads [bringing] in laptops will be surfing or IMing; rather than a laptop being an aid, it simply gets in the way.”

Second-year Lauren Blake doesn’t use her laptop in class because she doesn’t want others to assume she’s goofing off.

“If you have a computer in class everyone thinks you’re on Facebook,” said Blake. “Pretty much anytime I see someone’s computer up I see Facebook or e-mail.”

“If it’s boring, you might as well sleep through lecture.”

- Chase Mechanik But some attentive students swear by their laptops. First-year Edwin Olivas said that he never uses his computer for anything other than taking notes.

“I make sure to give the teacher all of my attention because that is what is expected from any student,” Olivas said. “In other words, going on Facebook or checking my e-mail would be gaining a privilege that others in the class may not have; I don’t view that as fair.”

Acknowledging that technology can be a useful resource, some professors allow for certain exceptions to their rules. Green keeps a laptop at the front of the classroom so he can use the Internet as a class resource, and Postone allows his graduate students to use laptops.

“In my grad class, I have perhaps three or four who bring in a laptop to take notes, and I am certain that all they are doing is taking notes,” he said.

Nevertheless, the stereotype of the webbrowsing student is there—and students worry about more than just the impression they’ll make on their professors.

“I don’t want to be perceived to be on Facebook,” said Blake.

While Blake thinks that laptops are mostly distracting, she also acknowledges they can be used as an aid to education.

“I think there’s definitely a potential for technology to help in the class, but I don’t think that people utilize it well,” she said.

According to students, lecture classes seem to attract more laptop action than discussion classes, but not for taking notes.

“In lecture classes, it seems like everyone uses their laptops because no participation is required,” said Chase Mechanik, a second year math and political science major. “People play Tetris and check Facebook. If it’s boring, you might as well sleep through lecture.”

Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, an Obama favorite, on sale for thousands at O’Gara and Wilson DESPRES continued from front page a U of C connection: he has a signed copy of a Sara Paretsky (A.M. ’69, M.B.A. ’77, Ph.D. ’77) thriller following a University alum-cum-sleuth.

When Despres died last year in Hyde Park at 101, Wilson said buying Despres’ books didn’t cross his mind.

“It’s not our policy to chase hearses,” Wilson said.

But months later, two “older gentlemen” walked through the shop, more interested in Wilson than his books. “I felt like I was being checked out,” Wilson said.

The men, Despres’ son Robert and journalist Kenan Heise, co-author of Despres’ autobiography, were looking for a good home for Despres’ books, Wilson said.

Robert, who sorted and donated his father’s papers, was left with his father’s personal library.

Impressed with the “antiquarian” bookshop, they pushed Wilson to bid for the collection.

Wilson walked over to Despres’ house a few blocks away to inspect the books. The apartment was filled with them: bookcases littered the living room, glass cases lined the hallways, and floorto-ceiling shelves covered Despres’ study.

“When you look at a person’s books, you can divine the course of their life,” said Wilson, who found notes scribbled inside many of the books. “Books were clearly a big part of his life. He lived through the World Wars, the Depression, and he held on to every book he ever had. That’s unusual.”

So far, Wilson’s sold about 200 of the books, mostly to people who knew—or wanted to know— Despres. “They want a piece of the person. They know their hero touched and handled, and maybe even read or thought about the books,” Wilson said. “When you deal with a notable individual who voices his opinions in the margins of his books, you want to hear what he had to say.”

One of the first buyers was a young clerk from Despres’ downtown firm who came to the store looking for a memento, and bought a paperback of Nelson Algren’s A Walk on the Wild Side for $125.

“The legend was still very alive,” Wilson said. “That price was quite a leap for a young fellow.”

Despres was close friends with Chicago journalist and oral historian Studs Terkel (Ph.B. ’32, J.D. ’34) for over 70 years. Terkel gave Despres copies of almost all his books, each with page-long inscriptions.

“Studs Terkel was quick with the pen,” Wilson said, adding that autographed copies of Terkel’s works with canned phrases are common even after his death. “But to Leon Despres, filling a whole page with a personal inscription makes them into unique copies.”

Terkel’s inscriptions praise his “mentor.”

“To Leon: Who has been my north star, who has shown me to a world of peace, grace, and beauty,” Terkel wrote. “You are the best example for all of us to what a true public servant is.”

Despres’ books range from $20 to well over $2000. The most expensive is Despres’ copy of Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky (Ph.B. ’30), known for his skill in organizing lower-class blacks against injustices. Rules, Alinsky’s how-to guide, became one of the seminal works on community organizing. Despres’ favorable review of the book for the Chicago Sun-Times is folded inside the copy.

“It has such a historical significance right now,” said Wilson, who has a photo of Barack Obama teaching Rules next to the book in his front window. “And with the connection to Despres and his support of political movements, it’s the very best copy you could ever imagine possessing.”

of the people who had voted in 2004, he took 71 percent of first-time votes. According to Plouffe, “that will never happen again.”

Obama played an important role in keeping the campaign’s momentum going after he lost the next primary in New Hampshire, which Plouffe said was “devastating.”

Obama thought it was a humbling moment that kept the campaign from taking too meteoric a rise, and from falling just as fast. “‘You are in serious denial, dude,” Plouffe remembered thinking. “But as time went on, whether it was true or not, [that attitude] was going to be helpful.”

Another key to the campaign’s success was the vast network of volunteers Plouffe had built since 2007, and the technology that helped keep them organized.

“We could, with a keystroke, have our entire volunteer army on point, on message,” Plouffe said. He said regular people listened more when they heard the campaign’s message from regular people “armed with talking points,” rather than from talking heads on TV. He said this was why Republican smear campaigns involving Bill Ayers and “Joe the Plumber” fizzled out. Plouffe also said similar structures in place today are the reason that talk about death panels has dropped out of the discussion on health care reform.

Plouffe said much of the general election was spent playing offense, and although that led to a few risky moments—like Obama’s trip abroad—it made voters confident in Obama.

Obama’s speeches on race were “thoughtful speeches like that [run] counter to everything you learn” running an election, he said.

While pundits focused on the pretension Obama showed by accepting the nomination in front of Greek columns, Obama worried more about the risk of rain. After Plouffe told him a meteorological union said that, under similar conditions, it had rained only once in the prior 100 years, Obama agreed to the stadium, on one condition: “‘If it rains that night, you [Plouffe] and David Axelrod are going to be holding goddamn umbrellas over my head,” Plouffe remembered Obama saying.

During the question–and–answer session, Obama campaigners thanked Plouffe for his leadership during the campaign and for trusting such a young group. Plouffe responded that his campaign had been informed by his own experiences as a low-level volunteer, which were then called “field scum.”

“The quality of the people coming into the campaign was remarkable,” Plouffe said, because “no one came into the campaign thinking it was the quickest pathway to a high-paying job.”

Plouffe mentioned that Sarah Palin had just appeared on Oprah ahead of the release of her own book, Going Rogue, which he thought would do well. “Don’t let me get beat too bad,” he said.

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CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | November 17, 2009

CEREMONIES

Israel an “island of freedom,�

Sharansky says at protest-free speech

University honors Katie Couric at annual ball for fighting cancer

By Shelby Williams News Staff

Human rights activist Natan Sharansky speaks on the search for moral clarity at the Ida Noyes Cloister Club Monday. Chicago Friends of Israel, the Newberger Hillel Center, and the Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago sponsored the event.

JULIA SILVERMAN/MAROON

SHARANSKY continued from front page “In this great freedom, where there is nothing to die for, there is no freedom, no meaning... If you’re not willing to die for anything, then you’re not living for anything meaningful,� Sharansky said.

Born into a Jewish family in the Soviet Union after World War II, Sharansky said he grew up experiencing very little freedom. “The Soviet Union wanted to create a society where everyone will be equal, so they must remove differences - differences in religious views and national differences,� Sharansky said. “[The] Regime was trying to erase individuals. People must be cogs in the machine of communism.�

Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sharansky emerged as a prominent spokesman for Jewish Soviets, speaking both for universal rights and for the Jewish people. “I was pressed by friends and comrades to choose. They said, ‘If you believe in universal rights, you cannot favor one people over another,’ but I never accepted this,� Sharansky said.

Lipson said Sharansky’s message was unique. “It’s rare to hear a political figure who can place his current remarks within the wider sweep of history and the struggle for freedom, and that’s exactly what Natan Sharansky did,� Lipson said.

Sharansky said his strong sense of identity helped him reconcile fighting for universal rights with fighting for national rights, and he called on his audience to do the same. “Discover for yourself. You are a part of a tradition. Learn about your identity,� Sharansky said. “The more you want to be part of this tradition of this people, you realize there are things more important than your physical existence.

That’s what gives you strength, and you start for the first time to live as a free person.�

Alliances are easier to form with a strong sense of identity, Sharansky said. When he

was imprisoned for treason for spying for the United States in 1978, he learned who to trust. “Who are your best friends in prison? In the conditions of the Soviet Union you didn’t know who’s working for the KGB,� Sharansky said. “In prison you very quickly learn that the stronger the identity, the less likely they are to be KGB because they know there are things bigger than them, things which they will die for.�

Sharansky concluded with the hope that Israel would “continue to be an island of freedom, democracy, and hope� among what he called dictatorial countries.

During the question-and-answer session, Lipson contrasted the atmosphere with the recent Olmert event. “I was proud of the University as an audience [today]. The questions were good, hard, but in the calm, inquiring spirit of the University,� Lipson said.

According to Chicago Friends of Israel (C F I) President and second-year Haley Ossip, security was an issue in planning for yesterday’s event due to the reaction to Olmert’s speech. Ossip explained that UCPD were monitoring for safety. “We’re always a bit worried about how things will go before big events like this,�

Ossip said. “The day Olmert spoke, I saw graffiti on campus saying ‘Israel Nazis.’�

No one protested during Sharansky’s speech.

Second-year Marisa Gage, vice president of CFI, said the event was one of the best she can remember. “The questions were great, I think people were taking various components of what he said and combining it with personal ideology, and it created a great discourse,� Gage said.

The University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation honored Katie Couric for her involvement in fighting cancer at the 43rd annual Cancer Ball at the Four Seasons Hotel downtown Saturday.

The ball was organized by the Women’s Board of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Foundation.

Couric has been actively involved in spreading cancer awareness, funding cancer research, and opening treatment centers for cancer patients since the death of her husband, Jay Monahan, in 1998 at the age of 42. He died after being diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer, which Couric said is the second-deadliest cancer in the United States despite its 90 percent early-detection survival rate.

Couric spoke about how devastating cancer can be and about her work to help eradicate the disease. Despite 20 years as a journalist—she has hosted the Today Show and hosts CBS Evening

SG encourages students to keep shuttle alive by heading downtown TRANSPORTATION continued from front page tion from bus-drivers on the popularity of each shuttle.

Input from housing and tracking common locations that receive calls for Safe-Ride also help determine which routes are changed.

In addition to the data procession, student feedback drives changes to the current transportation system. “We really do use the emails that are sent to us,� Garfi said. “I’ll be waiting for feedback [on the downtown shuttle].�

The Transportation Department intends to analyze the numbers from the shuttle’s first run to determine how to improve the system.

Changes to other bus routes will also continue based on data and student input.

Second-year Spencer Ingle rode the shuttle Saturday evening on his way to Lincoln Park. “Without a designated driver, your next option is the Red Line or Green Line. Both get dangerous at night,� Ingle said.

Taking a cab was the safest option prior to the

From the Introduction by Gary Hull Muhammad: The "Banned" Images is a "picture book" — or errata to the bowdlerized version of Klausen's The Cartoons that Shook the World as published by Yale University Press. It is of course more than that. It is a statement of defiance against censors, terror-mongers, and their Western appeasers. It is a rallying cry for free speech, freedom of the press, and for open scholarship unfettered by fear.

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implementation of the shuttle service, Ingle said, who added it costs upwards of $20 for a ride from downtown to Hyde Park. He said he’ll still take a cab from the North Side to the shuttle stop, but “it’ll at least cut cab fares in half,� he said.

SG hopes this service will bolster student interest in exploring Chicago outside of Hyde Park. They plan to hold regular “downtown days� to encourage cultural experiences and to increase ridership on the shuttle, according to Wolf. This coming weekend’s “Get Out and Go Chicago� will be the first of these events.

In order to encourage student engagement, SG has been approaching restaurants downtown near the Roosevelt stop about offering a discount next weekend. So far, the sushi restaurant Oysy at Michigan Avenue and 9th Street has offered a 10 percent discount.

Wolf said he hopes many students will take advantage of the service to ensure it remains part of campus transportation. “[The continuation of the shuttle] all depends on use,� he said.

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Newsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;her work with cancer â&#x20AC;&#x153;is by far the most meaningful work [I have done],â&#x20AC;? Couric said.

Couric founded both the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance and the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health at the New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center after the death of her husband. The Monahan Center was created to bring together cancer experts from around the world who could provide â&#x20AC;&#x153;seamless, comprehensive, and compassionate careâ&#x20AC;? for people with gastrointestinal cancer. Couric wanted future patients to be able to see various specialists at one site rather than needing to travel to multiple sites in order to get care, a frustrating ordeal that she and her husband went through while he was battling cancer.

Couric also helped start the cancer research charity Stand Up To Cancer, which she said raised $100 million during its first four months, in part through a September 2008 telethon broadcast shown on all three major networks.

Couric was also honored for her push for cancer screening awareness and early detection.

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From the Statement of Principle It is incumbent on those responsible for the education of the next generation of leaders to stand up for certain basic principles: that the free exchange of ideas is essential to liberal democracy; that each person is entitled to hold and express his or her own views without fear of bodily harm; and that the suppression of ideas is a form of repression used by authoritarian regimes around the world to control and dehumanize their citizens and squelch opposition.

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CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 17, 2009

VIEWPOINTS

EDITORIAL & OP-ED NOVEMBER 17, 2009

EDITORIAL

Raising the alert

CHICAGO MAROON

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

SUPRIYA SINHABABU, Editor-in-Chief TOM TIAN, Managing Editor ELLA CHRISTOPH, News Editor ASHER KLEIN, News Editor MICHAEL LIPKIN, News Editor CLAIRE McNEAR, Viewpoints Editor HAYLEY LAMBERSON, Voices Editor BEN SIGRIST, Voices Editor JORDAN HOLLIDAY, Sports Editor MATT BARNUM, Editorial Board Member BEN ROSSI, Editorial Board Member DANI BRECHER, Head Copy Editor SHAHZAD AHSAN, Photo Editor JEREMY MARTIN, Photo Editor HEATHER LEWIS, Head Designer ABRAHAM NEBEN, Web Editor BURKE FRANK, Associate News Editor CHRIS BOOTS, Associate Viewpoints Editor EVAN COREN, Associate Viewpoints Editor RYAN TRYZBIAK, Associate Sports Editor ERIC GUO, Associate Photo Editor CAMILLE VAN HORNE, Assoc. Photo Editor JUDY MARCINIAK, Business Manager JAY BROOKS, Business Director JACK DiMASSIMO, Designer IVY PEREZ, Designer JESSICA SHEFT-ASON, Designer NAKUL SINGH, Designer CLAIRE ZHOU, Designer MATT TYNDALE, Designer ANDREW GREEN, Designer ANNA AKERS-PECHT, Copy Editor JORDAN FRANKLIN, Copy Editor DANIELLE GLAZER, Copy Editor MONIKA LAGAARD, Copy Editor LAUREN LARSON, Copy Editor HOLLY LAWSON, Copy Editor MIRANDA LI, Copy Editor LAUREN MAKHOLM, Copy Editor KATE MARSDEN, Copy Editor ROBERT TINKLE, Copy Editor LILY YE, Copy Editor WENJIA DOREEN ZHAO, Copy Editor

The CHICAGO MAROON is published twice weekly during autumn, winter, and spring quarters.

Circulation: 6,500 The opinions expressed in the Viewpoints section are not necessarily those of the MAROON.

University should use extreme care when alerting community about sensitive crimes The stated purpose of University e-mail security alerts is to “change or impact behavior in order to prevent injury or harm and to prevent or reduce the risk of becoming a victim of a crime.” Last weekend’s alert, which reported an incident of alleged sexual assault on the 5600 block of South University Avenue, highlighted the importance of balancing important student concerns when considering whether to issue these warnings.

There is no question that sexual assault is a serious crime, and that the University should consider it a security concern for students. However, sexual assault is also an extremely sensitive issue. Security alerts that broadcast reports of these incidents to members

of the community may encourage unfounded speculation. The danger of widespread rumor-mongering is obvious: If the student involved is a member of the housing system, an alert could inadvertently divulge to everyone in a dorm, for instance, the reason why a student is absent. Furthermore, mass e-mails could arouse suspicion about people who are not involved in any way. If a police investigation concludes that the alleged crime did not occur, the University should discourage finger-pointing by informing the community in a follow-up alert.

The University explains on its Community Safety Web page that security alerts are appropriate precisely in cases like sexual assault where

OP-ED

Smells like school spirit

Steve Saltarelli Columnist

Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how strange the U of C is. This past weekend, however, when I visited my first state school, that reality was inescapable. I had the pleasure of visiting the University of Wisconsin-Madison, known to many as one of the nation’s elite party schools, known to my Republican brethren as the alma mater of the frozen-faced Greta Van Susteren, and known to my stomach as the friedcheese-curd capitol of the world.

There, 40 miles north of Illinois, on a campus 29,000 undergraduates deep, lay a world very different

than that of Hyde Park. The stillness of our Saturday morning campus ghost town was substituted for a fever pitch built up by pregame chili cook-offs and impromptu beer-pong games, scattered about the legions of red sweatshirts canvassing the city’s wide streets. Gradually, the huddled, drunken masses shuffled into Camp Randall, a former Civil War training site turned 80,000-seat football stage.

Once inside, the blob acted as one: shaking their keys on kickoffs, singing the school’s alma mater, and berating the few unfortunate Michigan fans who happened to be in attendance.

After the game, the pre-scripted behavior continued, as tavern-commissioned school buses greeted the exiting hordes, waiting to whisk fans off to their watering holes of choice. From there, it was an extended triumphal celebration,

OP-ED

Outsourcing, not upgrading

CONTACT News: news@chicagomaroon.com Viewpoints: viewpoints@chicagomaroon.com Voices: voices@chicagomaroon.com Sports: sports@chicagomaroon.com Photography: photo@chicagomaroon.com Design: design@chicagomaroon.com Copy Editing: copy@chicagomaroon.com Advertising: jmarcini@uchicago.edu

— The MAROON Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Viewpoints Editors, and two additional Editorial Board members.

Impact on workers should figure more into MAROON’S analysis of RHC hour cuts

Lack of large campus events detracts from college pride

Editor-in-Chief Phone: (773) 834-1611 Newsroom Phone: (773) 702-1403 Business Phone: (773) 702-9555 Fax: (773) 702-3032

The CHICAGO MAROON welcomes opinions and responses from its readers. Send op-ed submissions and letters to: Viewpoints CHICAGO MAROON 1212 East 59th Street Chicago, IL 60637 E-mail: viewpoints@chicagomaroon.com The editors reserve the right to edit materials for clarity and space.

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should be reported because students who heed the warnings will know to take precautions in the area where the crime occurred. That may not be the case in some incidents of sexual assault.

Again, not all the details about last weekend’s incident are clear; the University may well have responded appropriately in this case. What Saturday’s alert shows, however, is that the University should be especially careful about issuing warnings of sensitive crimes like sexual assault.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

©2009 CHICAGO MAROON, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637

SUBMISSIONS

rumors can be become widespread.

But because last weekend’s alert included so few concrete details—probably out of concern for privacy—rumor and speculation were likely encouraged, not quelled. For example, the alert included only the general location of the incident, which means all apartments and fraternity houses on that street may come under suspicion.

These unfortunate consequences may be justified if the crime indicates there is a genuine risk to students. If so, the University should issue alerts so that students may change their behavior to avoid becoming victims of such crimes.

At this point, it’s not clear whether this weekend’s incident posed such a risk.

Other serious crimes, such as robberies,

tion”, but a simpler and, dare I say, more honest description would be a “closure.” It is closing down its e-mail services for students and offering us nothing besides a choice of where to have our University account forwarded. This forwarding service, of course, is nothing new. It’s been around for years. As the Maroon Editorial Board observed last week, the existing cMail web interface is wretched, and I can understand why thousands of people are already forwarding their University accounts elsewhere.

But if 49 percent of students (according to NSIT) currently use cMail, and there are 15,149 of us stu-

Instead of presenting arguments or research in its recent editorial (“Reasonable Hours,” 11/10), the Maroon’s Editorial Board mused about what “seems” like “reasonable” treatment of campus workers: President Zimmer’s decision to cut Residence Halls and Commons (RHC) staff from 40 hours to 35 hours of work per week. By the Maroon’s own admission, the University’s budget decisions are opaque. On what grounds then does the Maroon applaud Zimmer’s decision? The evidence they cite of Zimmer’s “reasonableness” is that he “could have” slashed workers’ wages without reducing their hours. Indeed, such an alternative would have been harsh—and, in light of Zimmer’s contract with union workers, quite illegal.

Instead of regurgitating assurances offered by the administration and speculating about absurd counterfactuals, the Maroon and administration would do well to talk with the people who work in the dormitories every day As the article noted, the hour cuts represent an 8 percent pay cut in workers’ salaries. Missing from the editorial, however, is an analysis of what such a pay cut means for workers. The average RHC wage is $15 per/hour, which means the wage cut decreases pay from $2400/month to $2100/month.

For Paul, a worker who has asked to remain anonymous, the pay cut forced him to relocate from his home to a cheaper apartment. Another worker was forced to take a second job as a referee in order to afford his children’s college tuition and his mortgage. Paul explained that the reductions have meant more than a pay cut—they have also meant one less hour per day to perform the tasks required of service and maintenance staff. For Paul, this extra work and stress makes his already difficult job, which includes lifting heavy furniture and carrying 50 pounds of trash down four flights of stairs, even more physically taxing.

CMAIL continued on page 5

LETTERS continued on page 5

interrupted only by planning for the evening that lay ahead, and the occasional slice of pizza to sop up the booze.

This is the true college experience, immortalized in countless films, feeding itself and producing diehard alumni loyalty and rampant nostalgia. How do we, attending one of the nation’s “best” undergraduate institutions, entirely miss the institution of college?

Most U of C students would be quick to self-servingly point out the rigor of our college, and extrapolate from that assertion that we are just “fundamentally different.” The statistics majors, perhaps, might look to the discrepancy in size between the schools, given that Wisconsin and other state schools are six times larger than Chicago in terms of undergraduate population. While this goes far toward explaining why U

SPIRIT continued on page 5

Eliminating cMail is wrong choice for NSIT, students

By Eli Thorkelson Viewpoints Contributor Outsourcing is hip. My inside sources in the Administration building tell me that a number of new and cool press releases will soon be hitting the quads. The Transportation Office plans to trumpet their news: “Campus buses will be discontinued to better enable students to purchase their own cars, faster and slicker than buses, from South Side dealerships.”

The library, budget crisis looming, says, “We will no longer lend books to students, since better, shinier, less worn books are available from com-

mercial bookstores.” Campus police is closing up shop, suggesting we all buy bodyguards and handguns on the free market. And Networking Services and Information Technolgies (NSIT), not wanting to be left out and not content with having closed down the Harper and Crerar computer labs last year, is shutting down e-mail services for all current students.

Wait, that last one isn’t a joke.

As everyone has surely heard, last week NSIT announced what it called a “transition” in student e-mail services (I hope you all have your critical thinking caps on so your scalps won’t bleed as you scratch your heads over this one). NSIT may call this a “transi-

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CHICAGO MAROON | VIEWPOINTS | November 17, 2009

OP-ED

It’s all relative Culture of relativism stunts intellectual, personal growth

By George Saad Viewpoints Contributor A barometer of the culture on campus, the Maroon Viewpoints section often reads not like a collection of confident editorial opinions expressed with certainty and conviction, but as a series of self-conscious psychological confessions, scrambling to rationalize the clear neuroses that all members of the royal “we” seem to share. Why do we insulate ourselves and avoid socializing?

Why aren’t our classes fulfilling our need for a definite worldview? Why do we have inordinate rates of mental illness? We all seem to be aware of these questions, but in the end dismiss them with some trite resignation to the unfortunate fact that personal confusion and social awkwardness are facets of life at the University.

However, if we decide to continue to search for a real explanation beyond this resignation, the culprit behind our intellectual, personal, and social ills lends itself quite readily. The basic cause of this general sense of ennui is not some sad metaphysical truth about the absurdity of our existence, a truth implied in the resignation to our current way of living, but rather the denial of truth altogether. The modern acceptance of relativism, both in the formal philosophies

of academics and in the mainstream culture those philosophies generate, destroys any sincere intellectual ambition on the part of earnest young students, leaves them utterly confused in all spheres of life, and is the root cause of the palpable despair on campus.

When bright, mentally active students enter the University, most of them are excited that they will grow in their knowledge, meet people willing to challenge their views and spark genuine debate, and mature into a career buttressed by the understanding they have gained. They find themselves, however, surrounded by skeptics in their teachers and fellow students, so that they soon learn that seeking an objective answer to any of the questions discussed in the Core is a sign of unfortunate naiveté. The reminders to never judge and always respect any opinion, no matter how unjustified, occupy every aspect of life at the University.

A handout at ORCSA’s Student Organization Reapplication Training conference this year advised students that, “when managing conflict, seeking the ‘truth’ can trap you rather than set you free. Truth is relative to a person’s point of view.”

This is just one example of the steady cultural aversion to a belief in objective knowledge, which saps the enthusiasm from any diligent scholar.

The widespread acceptance of the relativism of both knowledge and morals stunts intellectual

growth and personal maturation. If everything is ultimately subjective, we are all islands of consciousness inventing the truth for ourselves as we go along, with no real sense of grounding. Who, then, needs to go to their Hum class and actively engage with ideas when it is known that truth itself is whatever you think it is? How can you develop interpersonal relationships beyond the superficial when you have no guidelines by which to seek the company of good people, but have only learned to judge no one? The abandonment of objectivity has left the academy paralyzed with no answers to these questions, fractured into overlapping disciplines that agree on no basic truth, writing jargonfilled papers for insular audiences, and despairing of any enjoyment or real human connection.

The abandonment of the concept of objectivity also explains the extreme self-consciousness of many students here. For if the intellectual does not think that his life of the mind is actually engaged with real objects of knowledge but is basically a matter of opinion, the personal identity of the intellectual is left without any real content. He is an intellectual merely by his associations and manner of speaking, not because of any personal character trait. Therein arises the long-noted phenomenon of students here, in compensation, gratuitously asserting themselves as intellectuals, not based on any actual knowledge they think they have acquired,

Letters to the editor, continued LETTERS continued from page 4 While the Maroon missed the mark overall, they were correct in observing that the decision to cut workers’ hours reflects President Zimmer’s priorities. For Zimmer, whose salary is $927,814, concerns about tuition bills and mortgages are but small change. But for RHC staff, a loss of $300/ month has meant serious changes.

Marybeth Tamborra and Sarah Farr Class of 2010

Editorial Board wrong to accept Admin’s choice to lower worker hours Kudos to the Maroon for devoting space to the Administration’s decision to cut the hours of Residence Halls and Commons (RHC) workers. Unfortunately, however, the recent editorial on the topic (“Reasonable Hours,” 11/10/09) included some incorrect information.

“The administration,” opined the editors, “could have simply cut pay by 8 percent without a similar reduction in hours.” No, the administra-

tion could not have simply cut pay. RHC workers enjoy a contract, and that contract does not allow for unilateral wage decreases.

In a similar vein, the editors praise the Administration for managing affairs “in the middle of the recession...with only a few layoffs.”

While the editors are surely referring here to the four RHC jobs recently lost, their phrasing may mislead readers who were not on campus last February when administrators cited the recession as their reason for laying off 450 workers.

That’s more than a few.

The editors also remind us that it is impossible for either readers or the union “to fully evaluate the University’s decision,” since the University budget “is not publicly available.” It seems a bit perverse to prohibit us from questioning administrative spending decisions because we lack access to a budget that the Administration itself keeps secret (unlike, for example, the many public university administrations that operate with open budgets). Leaving this irony to the side, however, the argument that we lack knowledge of the Administration’s spending patterns is substantially incorrect. Although—as the editors

rightly point out—no uninitiated person can see the line-item budget, everyone may access the University’s latest 990 at foundationcenter.org.

Those who do will learn that the 19 top-paid administrators brought home a combined total of $9,772,226. By my very rough calculations, an 8 percent cut in these administrators’ pay would have been enough to prevent 208 workers in RHC from losing their five hours a week.

I am most concerned, though, by the editors’ claim that “student activists and campus workers continu[e] to protest the University’s decision last summer to cut the hours of RHC workers.” Let’s be clear. The Administration made a decision to cut the RHC workers’ hours. The University is usundergrads and custodians, postdocs and pipefitters, bleary-eyed security guards and nervous junior faculty, and (even) administrators. If we were making the decisions together, then maybe the brunt of the hard times wouldn’t be falling on those among us who already make the least.

Duff Morton Anthropology and School of Social Service Administration

University community should have right to choose cMail over outside providers CMAIL continued from page 4 dents here, that makes 7,423 people, me among them, who are still using the service. That’s a lot of people. NSIT’s announcement in effect says to these people, “Sorry, we just couldn’t be bothered to improve our current services, so we’ve decided to give up altogether. Bugger off.” Frustratingly, NSIT appears to have made this decision without consulting its users, and its official explanation is laughable. “Maintaining an e-mail forwarding service”—says its website— “streamlines e-mail use for students, provides students with state-of-the-art commercial e-mail tools of their choice, and allows NSIT to be efficient with university funds.” But a moment’s thought shows that the first and second statements here are bogus, because as I just explained, the forwarding service has been around for years.

And the last claim about money isn’t much better: When I asked the support people how much they hoped to save, they said they weren’t even really sure themselves. No doubt they will save something, perhaps by laying off some IT

personnel. But they’re still planning to provide e-mail to faculty and staff, so there will still be a campus e-mail service. And it will still be paid for by our pricey tuition. It just won’t be open for our use. My fellow students, we are getting the short end of the stick.

Now as for the proposed alternative, I’m not going to claim that Gmail isn’t, for the time being, much quicker and slicker than cMail. But can we again think more closely about this? 74 percent of University of Chicago people who forward their e-mail use Gmail. Google these days has a growing monopoly on Internet search and advertising, and is creepily accumulating billions and billions of e-mails, IM logs, and search queries. Its dramatic market dominance means that other sites are hard pressed to provide similar services. Its service is only “free” because it is supported by ads, and it is accountable to no one on our campus. Google has no obligation to keep offering free services, and can delete our accounts if it suits its bottom line. Today Gmail may be good, but tomorrow?

NSIT makes no guarantees. But what’s our other option—the clownish Yahoo interface? A paying service? The smaller free sites that can’t even match cMail’s current options?

NSIT, where are your wits? Your values?

Your loyalties? The closure of cMail means that those of us who care about privacy and civil liberties lose our main non-profit, reasonably secure option for electronic mail.

It means a major nuisance for 7,500 people (have fun transferring your old e-mails to your new account!). It means our university is giving us less service for the same money, thinking it can get away with false advertising, lame explanations, and no consultation.

But I have a counter-proposal. Take a survey to see what current users want. If thousands of them want to keep using University e-mail services, the same as faculty and staff, they should have the option.

— Eli Thorkelson is a fifth-year Ph.D. student in cultural anthropology.

given that they deny the existence of actual knowledge itself, but on superficial comparison that merely define them against others, like the fact that they may enjoy reading where others enjoy parties. If unequivocally true knowledge is not the object of the intellectual’s work, he becomes one of many actors engaging in a sophisticated parlor game across several acres of ivy-strewn buildings, trying to synthesize a sense of power and control in a world he concedes to be unknowable.

Operating on the premise that all fundamental issues are matters of opinion is bound to make any intellectual effort seem like an exercise in drudgery and lead to an extreme sense of anxiety and isolation. While non-judgmental tolerance in all moral matters would seem to create a more inviting atmosphere at first glance, in abolishing judgment, such tolerance denies the real appreciation of any virtues a person might have, and creates an alienated world where all are equal by an entirely unnamed standard. Reality exists, you can have knowledge of it, and virtues and vices are as real as the air we breathe. A solemn recognition of this is the only hope for creating a flourishing culture of happy, well-rounded students confident in their ability to live life.

— George Saad is a second-year in the College majoring in classics.

Elimination of D-I football meant end of unifying Maroon fervor SPIRIT continued from page 4 of C students cannot pack a stadium the size of Camp Randall, it does little to explain our relative lack of campus pride. To prove that it cannot be just about size or academic quality, one needn’t look any further than Durham, North Carolina.

There lies Duke University, a school equivalent to us in size (including graduate students) and every bit as selective. So why are they famous for school spirit, while we are famous for nerds and being confused with another school?

In 1905, things were likely different. We had a 50,000-seat football stadium, a charter membership in the Big Ten, and a squad that brought home a national championship—it would be hard to imagine that school spirit then was anything less than rabid. All that came to an end, though, when the program was slashed in 1940 at the whim of University President Robert Maynard Hutchins, a man who very famously said, “When I am minded to take exercise, I sit down and wait until the mood has passed.” So U of C. Now, the school’s academic reputation is established, but school spirit is gone. Without campus-unifying social events to rally students and alumni, an individualistic attitude takes hold.

While this is not a bad thing, per se, when coupled with work, it leads to the inevitability that our social hotspot exists in the A-Level, instead of on the Ratner hardwood. Whereas other universities’ walkways are as monochromatic as a gang roll-call, ours are more likely to don the hipster uniform (flannel on flannel, over tight jeans) than Maroon-colored anything.

It is on this front that the University administration has thus far failed to bring the campus together, a situation slightly ameliorated by its recent decision to change Convocation to a university-wide event.

As a result of transplanting the ceremony to the main quad, the previous issue of limited ticketing is removed, affording local alumni and community members an opportunity to see off the University’s graduates. While this is a small step, administrators hope this will foster a feeling of togetherness amongst the University community, although personally I think printing Milton Friedman throwback jerseys would be a bit more effective.

— Steve Saltarelli is a fourth-year in the College majoring in Law, Letters, and Society.

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | November 17, 2009

VOICES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NOVEMBER 17, 2009

BOOKS

Revving Razors

U of C alum aims for National Book Award

By Yasmeen Hussain Voices Literarian

G

raduate student Phil Redman (left) and second-year Adam Levine (right), members of the comedy troupe Occam's Razor, perform an improv scene at the Friday evening show in Bartlett Arts Rehearsal Space.

The University of Chicago may have an impressive collection of Nobel Prize winners, but National Book Award winners are harder to come by (one alumnus, Hayden Carruth, A.M. ’47, won the award for poetry in 1997). That may change this year with Bonnie Jo Campbell, who graduated from the U of C with a philosophy degree in 1984. Her book The American Salvage, a collection of stories about Midwest workers lost in the whirlwind of post-industrial America, is a finalist for the award. The Maroon had an opportunity to speak with Miss Campbell the night before she left for New York, where the winner will be announced on Wednesday.

DARREN LEOW/MAROON

CHICAGO MAROON: I read the first

story, and it was so gripping and so different from anything I read. How did you come up with something like that?

Bonnie Campbell: I write stories when I’ve been thinking about situations, usually real-life situations.

When these situations rattle around in my head and bother me, then at some point I have to construct some fictional place to put these ideas and situations. And it was fun to write the first story, [which] was a retelling of Goldie Locks and the Three Bears.

CM: Oh really?.

BC: It’s Mama, Papa, and Baby, and then you have Goldie Locks, who is the [drug] abuser.

CM: Are some of these stories based on real life, or memories of growing up in the Midwest?

NATIONAL continued on page 8

THEATER

MUSIC

UT's Fefu forges a femininity of her own

thenewno2 hops from London to L.A.

By Katie Tu Voices Girl Talk It is easy to dismiss Fefu and Her Friends as a stereotypical play about troubled women, and before seeing it, I probably would have done the same. Its premise sounds cliché enough. Centered on eight women in the 1930s, with no male presence whatsoever, the play features the many woes of Fefu and her friends as they explore their sexuality, redefine friendships, and even question their sanity. However, the play goes much deeper than the stereotypical, “modern” female relationships exemplified by Sex and the City.

FEFU AND HER FRIENDS Third Floor Theater

November 18–21

This is one reason why the play’s director, third-year William Glick, was drawn to it. Fefu was “not only multi-tonal but also echoed a lot of different genres of theater,” Glick explained. “There are echoes of Chekhov, Ibsen, melodrama, absurdism, and political theater all within the span of about 50 pages of text.” It would have been very easy to turn the nuanced script into some sort of feel-good production about female empowerment. However, Glick has managed to get to the heart of the play—a more universal, nongendered message. “What I tried to focus on is what it is like to be a member of a group, especially a group where all the members are defined by some kind of social label. In this case, women,” Glick said. “I think in all communities there is a tension between

wanting to be yourself and wanting to conform to standards of the group.”

The eight women featured in the play are: Fefu, the insecure main character who has lost her way in life; Cindy, one of Fefu’s oldest friends; Christina, the newcomer who is both fascinated and horrified by Fefu’s wildness; Julia, an invalid who frequently hallucinates that she is being tortured; Emma, Fefu’s charismatic mentor; Paula and Cecilia, ex-lovers; and Sue, the responsible and caring matriarch of the group. Fefu’s basic plot focuses on this group of friends as they prepare to put on a playwithin-a-play about the importance of education. But the main thematic focus of the production lies in how the characters develop due to their interactions with each other and their environment.

Allison McCaffrey, who plays Sue, sums it up the best: “What excites me the most about Fefu is the way that it takes a fairly banal activity [meeting to go over a presentation] that is then transformed into an interesting look at the way a community is formed and the way it can also fall apart.”

Each of the eight women face their own inner demons. Through their thoughtful musings and candid conversations about the various problems they face, the audience is able to examine their own insecurities and misgivings about life. We can relate to at least one of the eight characters—we understand and sympathize with them.

When Fefu declares that men are given strength, whereas women have to find it (and are subse quently bitter about this search), I could identify with that struggle.

When Paula laments about the

FEFU continued on page 8

By Kate Shepherd Voices Easy as 1, 2, 3 This year has been monumental for the London–based indie band thenewno2 (pronounced “the new number two”). Fronted by Dhani Harrison, the son of George Harrison, thenewno2 played well–reviewed gigs at Coachella and Lollapalooza, and in February appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Formed in 2006

by Harrison and friend Oliver Hecks, the band released its first full–length album You are Here in August 2008.

Thenewno2 is currently on its first full North American tour with the Heartless Bastards and Wolfmother.

All five band members talked to the Maroon backstage at the Riviera Theater on November 13 before the show, where the conversation ranged from the Wu Tang Clan to getting beer bottles in the face.

CHICAGO MAROON: Thenewno2 has been described as having an ever– changing lineup. When the band started out, there were just two of you, and now it has expanded into five members with a few lineup changes for the tour. Could you explain the motivation behind this?

Dhani Harrison (Lead Vocals, Guitar): I think that the whole concept behind thenewno2 has been

something like Massive Attack or Wu Tang Clan where you have a key element, which has been me. I like to produce and I like to write. We have had some of the finest, and we will have some more of the finest, musicians I’ve ever known just swinging by. Hopefully we can compound the ones we have into a permanent, always–around band. This is the heaviest, most professional version of thenewno2 that has been fielded so far. I like bringing old people back and bringing new people in so it’s always going to be like that. It is like the 15 MCs of the Wu Tang.

THENEWNO2 continued on page 8

When not playing heavy indie riffs, thenewno2 collectively asks if you would like fries with that.

COURTESY OF BIG HASSLE MEDIA

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | November 17, 2009

2 finds strength in the new THENEWNO2 continued from page 7 CM: I would say the band’s sound has evolved between You Are Here and your performance at Lollapalooza in August. How would you explain that change?

Nick Fyffe (Bass Guitar): I was shipped out literally across the seas in my pirate ship to be here for this particular tour. I was fortunate enough to record the album with Dhani a while back and then got the carrier pigeon to come over and join this tour. From what I hear, because I never had heard the band before, it’s gotten a little heavier.

Fran Zummo (Drums): Basically, we added energy. We played our first gig together like two weeks ago, Nick and I. Nick and I can morph into each other.

CM: The band started in London, then moved its base to L.A.—how have the two cities mixed and influenced your sound?

DH: Rain influences music a lot. We got rained on a lot before this record got made, which is why I think it has some darkness going on in there. But traffic can make you angry too. If you want to make apocalyptic music about how the world is going to

end from a giant catastrophe of traffic, L.A. is a pretty good place to see that happening. But it is also good because it is 75 degrees and sunny everyday so you can’t get too bummed out. So I think L.A. is going to be the place to make the next record.

We're getting a lot of surprised faces with wide eyes. It's better than a beer bottle in the face.

CM: This is your first full North American tour. How has it been seeing your fans and playing to large club audiences?

Jon Sadoff (Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals): I think it’s always a trip when you get to a city you’ve never been before and people know your name, have your record, and wear your t–shirts.

It’s pretty awesome. But I think a lot of people have no idea who we are. So we’ve been going out and assuming we have to prove ourselves to like 98 percent of the crowd every night.

Jeremy Faccone (Guitar, Vocals): We’re getting a lot of surprised faces with wide eyes. It’s better than a beer bottle in the face, that’s for sure.

JS: The response has been amazing. The

crowds have been incredible. A couple thousand people in Toronto–huge crowds.

FZ: When you open one time out of three, there’s going to be issues with traffic and people getting out of work but every night the place is half packed. We make a pact to kill every night and give it 1000 percent. We got to earn it, this is new to everybody and you’ve got to make a good impression.

CM: Have you been recording on tour?

JS: We brought a lot of recording equipment on tour with us. We’ve been doing a little bit of writing. Bits and pieces here and there. Everyone had ideas. I think we’ve got 10 songs already and we’ll probably write about another 10 or 20, 30 more.

We built these studios and are now under one roof. Jeremy has got his guitar set up. Dhani has got his studio set up. Our website is connected to our studio. We can flip a camera on, alert our fans via Twitter, and tell them if they want to hear a new thenewno2 song, sign in. All our studios are wired together, so we can play and hit record.

DH: It’s going to be good once we’ve gotten all our songs recorded and we go back at the end of the tour. It’ll be really happening.

Campbell found fun in U of C's academic rigor NATIONAL continued from page 7 BC: Everything has some germ of reality in it. Everything I write. As I mentioned, I write from my own obsessions. I need something from real life to obsess about in order to create a story. So most of these stories have some sort of aspect of real life at their core. But once the story starts forming, then it has its own reality, and I don’t have to rely on what really happened. Most of my characters have some central aspect that belongs to a real life character. But it changes so much in the building of a story that no one would recognize the original character.

CM: How did you end up at UChicago?

BC: My grandparents went to the University of Chicago, and they graduated in 1930 and 1931.

That was a while ago… and my Aunt Joanna graduated from Chicago in [the 50s]. So I went to the University of Chicago because my grandparents lived in Hyde Park, and it made sense.

CM: Yeah, to follow that path. What dorm did you stay in, just out of curiosity?

BC: I lived off campus. I lived with my grandparents.

CM: It was probably so much cheaper!

BC: When I went to school it was a lot cheaper. It was $7,000 a year. It was very cheap. I loved going to the University of Chicago. I have to say I wasn’t really sure of what I was getting into, I didn’t know how…

I wasn’t very smart as a young’un. I just kind of wandered around doing whatever was convenient. But then when I got to the University of Chicago, I just loved the seriousness of it.

I was the opposite of a lot of people. I was the opposite of most of my friends who sort of felt burdened by the seriousness, and had to work to lighten things up. And I felt very comfortable in the seriousness. I never got tired of it. I loved focusing on studying.

CM: Well, it got you to writing books.

BC: I did philosophy, and I think it’s a good major for a writer. It’s great for a law degree, too. But for a writer it’s a good, rigorous way to make yourself a better thinker. Writers need to be better thinkers.

CM: Which one is your favorite story?

BC: Well, you know, it’s like your children.

You’re not supposed to have a favorite child.

But I think right now, this week, my favorite is “The Yard Man,” the second story. And that story was a pleasure to write because I got to do a lot with nature in the story. My first collection of stories, Women and Other Animals, were all about women and nature, and to some extent farming and living in the farmland. But this book is mostly about men and machines.

And it was a pleasure to write “The Yard Man” because I got to write about men, machines, and nature.

Fefu gets by with a little help from her friends FEFU continued from page 7 seven year expiration date for all love affairs, you think back to your own failed relationships. Yet Fefu is especially relatable. At times she is confident, and at other, terrified and insecure. She is the glue of the group, but also needs the group to keep her sane. She craves attention, but doesn’t care for it when it’s given to her. Her paradoxical nature defines the show. It is her journey more than anyone else’s that keeps us locked into the play and the rest of the characters bolster her development. Anne Considine, who plays Julia, seconds this notion: “I’d particularly like the audience to come away feeling that they have seen all the different aspects of Fefu’s psyche.”

To visually represent this changing world, stage manager Grace Fisher collaborated with Glick to create what he calls a “plush Barbie house” interpretation of Fefu’s home—lots of pink with flowered sofas and bright fabrics. Another characteristic of Fefu is the very deliberate, yet subtle, use of light and sound. Lighting technician Ben Shapiro echoes these sentiments, but adds that there are certain scenes which are particularly challenging. One such instance is Julia’s hallucination scene midway through the play, an episode that Shapiro calls both “brilliant and disturbing.”

Fefu’s women are both strong and weak, confident and insecure, honest and deceitful. In this play, we see the inner workings of a female group taken to the extreme.

Personalities emerge, monologues reveal powerful emotions, and all of these scenes climax into a shocking ending. Fefu And Her Friends may be set in the 1930s, but it is truly a story that transcends time. The story is not carried by the plot, but by its rich characters. It is not just a play by women for women; it’s a play for people that uses the emotional nature of women to show the insecurities and fallacies of everyone. Fefu and Her Friends is a play about discovery that everybody, X or Y chromosomes aside, can take something from.

Style

Chicago Manual of

by Jessica Hester

Snag thoughtful gifts for friends and family In this economy, we’re all trying to make a little money go a long way. It can be depressing to spend some hard-earned cash on a present that will be cast aside by New Year’s. Here are some ideas for affordable gifts that keep on giving.

her both the “Watch Instantly” feature and unlimited rentals, with one DVD sent at a time. You can buy gift subscriptions for any period between one month and one year. Throw in a few bags of popcorn, and she’ll be holed up in her room until spring.

For your tech-head brother: Indulge his tech obsession with a gift certificate to the iTunes store that allows him to download apps on his iPhone 3G or 3GS. If he’s a musician, he’ll appreciate Cleartune ($3.99), a digital pitch pipe that helps tune almost any instrument. If he’s a jet setter, he’ll want the FlightTrack app ($4.99), which gives him real-time information about gate numbers, delays, and, cancellations. With over 100,000 apps, there really is something for everyone, so he should have no trouble spending any gift card from $15-$100. This gift will keep him connected—and glued to his phone—all year long.

For your humanitarian cousin: Get in the giving spirit by making a charitable donation in honor of a do-gooder relative. If your cousin is an animal lover, you can make a donation to the Humane Society in his name. If you donate $5 or more, the Humane Society will mail him a personalized card telling him about the gift.

Donations of $25 or more also include a subscription to the Society’s bi-monthly magazine. You could also donate to a charity like Habitat for Humanity, where a minimum donation of $10 contributes to the cost of buying building materials and supplies.

For your cinephile sister: Whether she’s into campy horror films, bawdy bromance comedies, or cerebral Czech new wave cinema, she can customize a Netflix queue to fit her tastes. You can give the gift of nonstop movie rentals by giving her a Netflix subscription, which starts at $8.99 a month. This basic package gives

ent types and sizes., including tiny, self-sustaining cacti and bamboo plants, which are perfect for scatterbrained pals. As a friendly reminder, you can also wrap up a cute watering can. Ikea has some to suit everyone’s taste, from classic metal to streamlined plastic in Bauhaus-inspired shapes ($1.99 and up).

For your eco-friendly classmate: Bring a little color to a classmate’s cloudy Chicago winter by giving her a potted plant.

Fresh flowers brighten up every room, and she’ll be able to enjoy it all year--assuming she remembers to water it. Treasure Island sells a lot of differ-

For your foodie roommates: If your roommates are always cooking up gourmet treats, get them a year’s subscription to Bon Appétit magazine. Twelve issues are only $20, and you get two subscriptions for the price of one. The magazine is chock-full of delicious recipes and fancy gadgets for the kitchen enthusiast. Your roomies may even show their gratitude by cooking you some stuffed winter squash or lamb with pomegranates, or at least let you lick the pan.

You can also throw in some kitchen supplies, like Anthropologie’s versatile “Latte Bowls,” which have fluted sides and come in mouth-watering colors like cherry, pumpkin, and currant ($32 for six). These bowls have ample room for either creative culinary creations or a heaping helping of late-night mac n’ cheese.

For your artsy friend: If your friend’s idea of a perfect weekend includes an afternoon of gallery–hopping and an evening of avant–garde theater, get her a year– long student membership to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Student membership is $30 and includes unlimited free admission, discounted tickets to performances, and two guest passes.

With upcoming exhibitions like the reflexive “Production Site: The Artist’s Studio Inside-Out,” and performances by dance troupes like The Seldoms, this is a gift any culture-lover will covet.

You can also wrap up some art supplies and encourage her to get her own creative juices flowing. Blick (on State Street, between Madison and Monroe) has a great selection of affordable art supplies, from canvases and charcoal to sketchpads and scrapbook materials. Stop in and check out the holiday sale that runs until December 24 to get discounts on a variety of materials, like sets of watercolors or colored pencils.

This holiday season don’t buy a present that will be tossed out with the stale gingerbread cookies. With these low-cost gifts that keep on giving, you’ll continue to spread some cheer throughout the year.

9

CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | November 17, 2009

HardCore

Curriculum

By Chris Chavez I’ve been bouncing from one relationship to the next since I started coming to the U of C. Every guy I meet is either hyper-clingy or just isn’t ready to commit. Am I doing something wrong here?

Chris: If you are noticing that pretty much all of the guys you’ve been going out with fit into those two categories, the problem lies with you. You are not being picky enough when choosing men. So, here’s a few things you can do. The next time a guy asks you out, you should ask him up front: “What are you looking to get out of this date?” I know, I know.

It seems a little weird and too forward for a first date, or even just an exploratory coffee.

But if your relationship investment is in the black, then you need to be a little more shrewd about how you spend your time with potential partners. It’s better to get it out in the beginning than to be led on. On another note, you should probably get a second opinion before you leap into asking this question. Your best friend probably knows your type, so he or she should have some sound advice as to whether this new guy is worth it.

Anna: While Chris has a point, the problem probably isn’t just you. It could also be your environment. I know we’ve all heard the stories about U of C being the place to meet your match, but, quite frankly, it might not be for you. If you find yourself doing the same dance here at U of C, maybe you need to open up your dating pool. The city of Chicago is a big place, and we often forget that in our little academic bubble on the South Side. Maybe you should take a trip to another college campus, a concert, or a museum; you might just meet someone who catches your eye.

Maybe the kind of guy you’re looking for is a Loyola or Northwestern guy, or maybe he’s already working. Be open, be patient, and be proactive.

I’ve been thinking about trying something new in the bedroom: anal. The thing is, I haven’t talked about it with my girlfriend because I don’t want to freak her out or think that I’m unsatisfied with what we’ve got right now. How should I bring it up without sounding like a total perv?

and Anna Boyle Anna: I think it’s great that you’re taking a minute to think before bringing up a sensitive subject like this; it just shows that you really value your relationship. You should start by telling her exactly this—that you thought about her feelings before asking something of her. But before you even bring up the idea, think: What has she said about anal sex in the past? Has she expressed any distaste for the idea? Has she ever brought it up at all? Keep her perspective in mind when thinking about how to bring up the subject.

If she hasn’t talked about it, even in casual conversation, you should take it really slow. Give her the facts, but keep in mind that you want to do this to share something special with her. She is what you desire, and the anal sex would just be a great bonus. If she says it’s not for her, then don’t push it, but do remind her that it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a perfectly normal thing to want, but if you care about your relationship, well, there are other things to get you off.

HEARTLAND THROUGH JANUARY 17, 2010

Chris: This is definitely the kind of subject you need to bring up gradually. You don’t want to skip straight to anal sex, but maybe ask your girlfriend for a little anal play (e.g. touching, stimulation, etc.). When you bring up the idea of anal sex, make it clear to your partner that this new dynamic to your bedroom fun is coming from a desire to explore a little, and not about being fulfilled or “satisfied” in the bedroom. There’s nothing wrong with a little exploration.

Though, what you are asking for tends to be a very tricky subject for pretty much everybody. While there is nothing wrong with anal play, it has a tendency to be viewed as dirty or uncomfortable.

I mean, to be honest, gay anal sex is pleasurable because of the existence of the prostate. For women, who obviously don’t have a prostate, their pleasure comes from the stimulation of the wall between the vagina and anus, so don’t get too upset if your girlfriend isn’t up for it. Sex should always be something you are both comfortable with and can enjoy.

Special Collections Closes during Winter Break The Special Collections Research Center in the Regenstein Library will be closed from December 14 through January 3.

During this time, construction work will be done in public and collections storage spaces.

Greely Myatt, Cleave (detail), 2002-2008, cotton plant roots and found object. Installation vier at the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Photo by Peter Cox. Courtesy of the artist and David Lusk Gallery, Memphis, TN.

For more information, please visit the SCRC construction page at: http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/spcl/scrcconstruction.html

smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/heartland

5550 S. Greenwood Avenue | Chicago, Illinois 60637 CO-ORGANIZED WITH THE

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CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | November 17, 2009

Winning season is first since 2005, Despite second-half chances, and first for Class of 2010 Chicago never answered FOOTBALL continued from back page Wheaton’s goal today,” defensive coordinator Kyle Sweeney said. “There was a great sense of motivation and focus on the field. They rose to the challenge of stopping a very unique offense and held them to their second lowest rushing total of the year.”

“The defense had its best game of the entire season,” head coach Dick Maloney said. “D brings speed to the team, which is something that the team—or the league, really—doesn’t really have. Clay plays just as well, helping make the plays. Marshall brings a great field and a great arm. But our defense is what really won us the game today.”

As this is the first winning season for the Maroons since their 5–4 season in 2005, during which they went 3–0 in UAA play, it is also the first winning season that the team’s eight fourth-years have experienced.

“It feels good,” fourth-year receiver Jay McGovern said. “We still haven’t done much in the UAA with only two wins, but it feels good to finally have a winning season...come up on top a little.”

The game was accompanied by a presentation honoring the senior players and their parents prior to kickoff.

“Senior day is really important to us,” Maloney said. “In my past 16 years as a coach, we have never lost a game on that day. It’s really special to us, to the team, and especially the seniors themselves. They have all the coaches’ and players’ respect.”

Both Oium and Brizzolara broke school records through their performances over the season. Oium set the new season passing mark with 2,605 yards, while Brizzolara’s 1,028 receiving yards this year make him the first Maroon to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Brizzolara attributed his success in large part to his quarterback.

“I really wanted that record coming into the game,” Brizzolara said about his achievement. “Marshall did a great job getting me the ball—all the credit in the world to him.”

Overall, it was another exciting football season for the Maroons, who played several close games. They earned last-second wins over Kenyon and Macalester, but fell narrowly against conference rivals Case and Wash U. “Our team battled through some very tough games this year, winning two with less than a minute to go,” Sweeney said. “I think it speaks to the character and resolve of our players. There is no question how important winning is to them.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOPS OLIVET 66–50 Visit chicagomaroon. com/sports to read Matt McCracken’s recap of the Maroons’ season-opening road victory

11

Defensive lapse allows Wartburg to take lead in second half

W. SOCCER continued from back page ing an Aurora squad that, scrappy as it was, rarely strung together passes and didn’t have much luck pressing the Maroons’ defense at any point. Chicago took a 2–0 halftime lead on the strength of goals from third-year forward Sarah Loh and first-year midfielder Marquel Reddish, then kept the Spartan attack bottled up through the final 45 to win and advance.

Saturday’s match with Wheaton was a different matter. Going in, the prevailing wisdom was that this was an off-year for the Thunder, who were national champions in 2006 and 2007, but picked up four regular-season losses this year and were ranked only—only!—18th going in the NCAA tournament. What was more, Chicago thumped Wheaton 3–1 when the teams played on September 29.

The Wheaton squad that stepped out on the Stagg Field pitch Saturday wasn’t the Wheaton of the 2006–2007 two-peat, but neither was it a team that was going to take another two-goal loss to a regional rival. Both teams opened the game at full pace, pushing each other end-toend; both put pressure on their opponent’s defense, and it was plain early on that Chicago wouldn’t run away with this one.

But what began as an intense, well-balanced match took a bitter turn for Chicago in the 35th minute, when defender Ann Turner got the ball 15 yards from the Maroons’ goal, wound up, and chipped a shot on net. The ball sailed just above second-year goalkeeper Emma Gormley’s outstretched fingers, then just beneath the crossbar and into the back of the goal. The shot was so perfectly placed that it seemed almost unfair, and just like that, the Thunder were in a familiar position: ahead in an NCAA tournament game.

“When Wheaton went up 1–0 in the first half, we knew we were still fine, but we had our work cut out for us,” Benoit said. “We had scored multiple goals in many games, so we knew this game was not out of reach.”

From then on, Chicago’s attack arguably got the best of Wheaton—if nothing else, they put more shots on the ledger than the Thunder—but great scoring chances were few. Fourth-year forward Brooke Bontz, who finished her final season as the Maroons’ second-leading scorer and tied with Loh for first in points produced, had several promising runs into the box, and more than once Chicago played an excellent ball to a Maroon in dangerous position near goal.

Yet on each chance the team created, the final scoring touch was wide, or high, or missing altogether. The second-half against Wheaton was, all at once, one of the most encouraging and most frustrating halves Chicago played this season. The team was creating opportunities to score, and doing so against a talented opponent, but the equalizer kept eluding the Maroons and the clock kept dwindling until, at last, the final whistle sounded and Chicago’s time was up.

“We pressed them a lot in the second half and had some great opportunities,” Benoit said, “but, unfortunately, we were not able to find the back of the net.”

The loss, which so little resembled the Maroons’ handling of Wheaton earlier in the year, underscored how much a match-up between two teams can differ from one day to the next.

“I think they just came out really hard in the first half and finished,” first-year defender Brigette Kragie said. “We had our chances as well, but it’s the game of soccer.”

The loss brought to an end a season which began with Chicago picked as the pre-season favorite to win the UAA. The Maroons went through non-conference play on a tear, then hit some snags in the UAA before beating seventh-ranked Wash U (16–3–1) in their regular-season finale—one of four victories against ranked opponents this season.

“In no way should this loss undermine everything that we accomplished this season,” Benoit said. “This season was such a success because of each and every individual’s heart and hard work.”

Second-year midfielder Stanton Coville chests down a ball during the Wartburg game. Coville and the Maroons’ offense pressed relentlessly in the final minutes, but couldn’t find the tying goal.

MATT BOGEN/MAROON

M. SOCCER continued from back page taking the lead.

In the 56th minute, Michael’s quick reaction save denied fourth-year defender Drew Marshall’s header from a corner kick. Just three minutes later, Einhorn burst through the Wartburg defense to receive a long lob and found himself one-on-one with Michael. The first-year struggled to control the bouncing ball and, with Michael charging off his line, Einhorn was forced to shoot early. His shot sailed high, and with it went one of Chicago’s best scoring chances.

Cruelly, the Knights scored from an almost identical situation in the 62nd minute. A rare defensive breakdown from Chicago’s back line allowed Brandon Cook a breakaway down the right channel. With Giusto coming off his line, Cook showed his poise and delivered a low shot towards the far post. Giusto managed to get a glove on it, but the ball still carried in to the goal.

Chicago spent the last 28 minutes of the game pushing forward relentlessly, but Wartburg dug

in and defended in numbers. Coville’s 81st minute header provided Chicago’s best chance to equalize, but Trent was once again up to the challenge, and tipped it over the crossbar.

While disappointed at the loss, Clifford felt that this season’s experiences would benefit the team in the future.

“We are all responsible for our loss, and it doesn’t feel good to have let the seniors down.

Still, we had a great run, and we are a closer team because of all the effort and camaraderie shown this season,” he said.

While those fourth-years (Marshall, forward Edgar Friloux, midfielder Gabe Iatarola, and reserve goalkeeper Ben Carey) will be missed, Chicago is an uncommonly young team that should be even better next year.

“We had a great season this year, but we got lucky at times,” Clifford said. “Next year, we will have more seniority than other teams, which means more experience, more maturity, and more leadership.”

Women hoped for fifth-place finish and NCAA consideration CROSS COUNTRY continued from back page On the women’s side, UW–Eau Claire won with a score of 52, followed by Wash U with 72 and UW–La Crosse at 98. The women claimed their sixth place finish with 237 points.

Despite placing five runners in the top 60, the women’s team left Saturday’s meet disappointed.

“We finished well below our expectations,” third–year Molly Peverada said. “Going into the meet, we were hoping to place close to Oshkosh, but instead we weren’t even close to the fifth place team, so everyone was extremely disappointed after our race.”

That disappointment was felt on the individual level, as well.

“All I wanted was to go to the national meet in Cleveland,” Bright said. “Now I’m heartbroken, but I guess there is always track season.”

The Midwest is home to many talent– rich programs, and is perennially one of the nation’s strongest regional meets.

While this makes it difficult to succeed at the Midwest Regional amidst such a wealth of top runners, the level of competition also makes for an interesting racing experience.

“It seemed like everywhere you ran there were always several crowds of fans shouting, cheering, jeering,” said first–year Bill Whitmore, the men’s number two finisher.

“Cross country in the Midwest is a serious event, and all the hype only added to the

excitement of regional competition.”

Though he was disappointed to miss Nationals, Bahrani was realistic about what prevented the Maroons from seriously challenging the region’s elite teams.

“Teams like North Central and UW–La Crosse are good because they have seven guys consistently [running] over 95 miles a week.

There isn’t a secret to running. If you run a lot of miles, you’ll be good.”

The women also shied away from excuses.

“Course conditions were fine—no mud, little wind, little crowding. The course was fantastic and we, obviously, were not,” Peverada said.

Now, as the country’s best teams prepare for Nationals this Saturday, the Maroons are already thinking of ways to improve for next fall.

“We all must increase our summer mileage or at least train at a more consistent level during workouts,” Whitmore said.

“Despite the loss of two senior runners, we still have a plethora of youthful talent eager to be unleashed throughout the upcoming seasons.”

As for the women, their goal next year will be cracking the Midwest’s top five teams and reaching NCAAs. “Next year, we need to make Nationals,” Peverada said. “That is the only way we can improve. Everyone needs to have a quality, complete race at Regionals, and we need to have the confidence and desire to make it to where it has eluded us for two years in a row.”

IN QUOTES “It wasn’t a bad night for me. It was a bad night for everybody else.”

SPORTS

—Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers, looking back on the infamous “Malice at the Palace” brawl, during which he charged into the stands and attacked a Detroit Pistons fan. Wednesday marks the fifth anniversary of the brawl.

FOOTBALL

CROSS COUNTRY

Record-setting finale clinches winning season

Regional results fall short of teams’ expectations

By David Wang Sports Contributor Football ended a topsy-turvy season—one that included more than its fair share of big plays, record performances, and exciting games—on a positive note, with a Senior Day win.

First-year receiver D Brizzolara’s three touchdown catches and a solid defensive effort helped carry football (5–4, 1–2 UAA) to a 24–7 victory over Carnegie (5–5, 1–2) Saturday, giving the Maroons their first winning season since 2005.

On the day, Brizzolara caught seven passes for 157 yards from third-year quarterback Marshall Oium, including a 28-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter that gave Chicago a 7–0 halftime lead.

“First half was kind of rough,” Oium said after the game. “Missed a lot of wide -open receivers, and just couldn’t get the ball to Brizzolara or [third-year receiver] Clay [Wolff ]. Everything started opening up in the third quarter, and that worked out really nicely for us.”

Oium threw a 42-yard touchdown pass only 18 seconds into the second half to Brizzolara, who

dodged several Tartan defenders on his way to the end zone. The duo followed that up later in the quarter with a 67-yard passing play, pushing the lead to 21–0.

“We just really hit their corners,” Brizzolara said. “Marshall did a great job getting me the ball. The team had to choose either to leave me open or leave Clay Wolff open, so no matter what there were going to be good plays.”

Carnegie’s only points of the game were scored on a 19-yard pass from quarterback Phil Pantalone to 6-foot-5 receiver Brendan Howe early in the fourth quarter. But later that same quarter, Chicago ended any chance of a comeback with a 29-yard field goal from first-year kicker Jeff Sauer, which stretched the Maroons’ lead to 24–7.

C a r n e g i e ’ s u n u s u a l Wi n g -T offense was held in check all game long by the Maroons’ defense, which recorded 14 tackles for loss, including three each from secondyear defensive linemen Matt Sargent and Jake Longtin. The Maroons held the Tartans to only 218 offensive yards and an average of a paltry 2.9 yards per play.

“I was very proud of our players

FOOTBALL continued on page 11

By Kat Jacobsen Sports Contributor

Against Carnegie, second-year cornerback Emmett Carrier breaks up a likely touchdown pass. Chicago stifled the Tartans’ attack in the 24–7 victory.

JEREMY MARTIN/MAROON

For Chicago’s cross country teams, the 2009 season came to a close a week earlier than they were hoping.

Competing against 38 other squads at Saturday’s Midwest Regional hosted by UW–Oshkosh, the women finished sixth—missing eligibility for the NCAA championships by one spot—while the men’s team took tenth place.

Th e t o p f i n i s h e r s o f b o t h teams, second–year Mahmoud Bahrani and third–year Lizzie Bright, received all–region honors.

Bahrani finished the eight–kilometer course in 25:09, which was good for a 27th place finish out of 282 runners. Bright finished 33rd out of 273 runners by completing the six–kilometer women’s course in 22:43.

North Central won the men’s meet with a score of 21. UW–La Crosse placed second at 105 and Wash U placed third with 118.

Chicago earned a score of 331.

CROSS COUNTRY continued on page 11

WOMEN’S SOCCER

MEN’S SOCCER

Visiting Wheaton nips Chicago in second round

Wartburg hangs onto slim lead to end Maroons’ season

By Ryan Tryzbiak Associate Sports Editor

Third-year midfielder Emily Benoit challenges a pass during Saturday’s match with Wheaton.

Chicago created multiple scoring opportunities, but the Maroons couldn’t erase their one goal deficit.

EMILY LO/MAROON

By Jordan Holliday Sports Editor If there’s a downside to making the NCAA tournament, it’s this: A lot of talented teams qualify, only one will win, and, sooner or later, your team is likely to join the ranks of those whose went wanting.

For women’s soccer, the time to face those not-so-fun facts came this weekend, much earlier than had

been hoped for or expected, particularly after the 14th-ranked Maroons (15–4–1) drew first- and secondround matches against Aurora (16–6) and Wheaton (17–4–1), two teams they beat convincingly earlier this season. But Wheaton, however far they have fallen from previous years, is still a team that has played in the past three national championships, and the Thunder’s talent flashed just enough Saturday after-

noon to eke out a 1–0, second-round win over Chicago, spelling the end of the Maroons’ season.

“As the game came to a close, it was disappointing,” third-year midfielder Emily Benoit said, “mostly because I think we all truly believed we could make a great run in the tournament.”

I n Fr i d a y ’ s o p e n i n g r o u n d , Chicago had little trouble dispatch-

W. SOCCER continued on page 11

All season long, men’s soccer made a habit of pulling out dramatic victories by scoring goals exactly when they were needed most, but in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, the Maroons finally ran out of late-game heroics.

Despite largely controlling play in Friday’s match against Wartburg (17–4–1), which was played on the artificial turf at Wheaton’s Joe Bean Stadium, Chicago (12–4–3) fell 2–1 to the Knights and was knocked out of the NCAA tournament.

Chicago’s knack for timely goals was on display throughout the season. Chicago scored two late goals against Augustana to win their season opener 2–1, and then, in conference play, second-year midfielder Stanton Coville twice scored goals in the 100th minute to earn Chicago 1–0, overtime wins over Rochester and Wash U. But Friday night, there would be no such magic against Wartburg.

The Knights struck with an early goal that put Chicago in comeback mode almost from the very beginning of the game. Wartburg’s leading scorer Nate Hedrington nodded Kyle McKenna’s cross past the hands of second-year goalkeeper Chris Giusto, giving the Knights a 1–0 lead in only the third minute.

Chicago wasted little time regain-

ing level terms with Wartburg.

Taking full advantage of the fast turf field, Coville played a perfectly weighted pass to release third-year midfielder Alex Clifford down the right wing. Clifford then struck a teasing low cross that third-year midfielder Manners redirected into the goal at the near post to tie the score at 1–1 in the 10th minute.

Both teams scored so quickly that the game appeared poised to become a shootout, but that never materialized. Instead, both teams tightened their defenses, and as the half wore on, Chicago began to control possession and create the better chances.

Just before halftime, first-year forward Yoni Einhorn’s delicate through ball found first-year midfielder Steven Chase in stride in the right channel, but Chase’s shot sailed directly into the arms of Wartburg’s all-American goalkeeper Trent Michael.

After the break, the Maroons continued to dominate the action, and only two brilliant plays by Michael prevented Chicago from

M. SOCCER continued on page 11

CA LEN DA R Tuesday

11/17

• Wrestling vs. Olivet, 7 p.m.

Wednesday

11/18

• Wrestling @ North Central, 7 p.m.