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ADMISSIONS

ACADEMICS

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Common App, early action won University applicants By Christina Pillsbury Senior News Staff The University accepted 28.4 percent of its early–action applicants for the class of 2014, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, slightly less than last year’s 29.9 percent. The University received a record 5,883 early applications this year, leading its peers. While many of those peers, including Duke, Cornell, and Columbia saw increases in the low hundreds in

their binding early decision applications, the U of C received over 2,000 more early applications than last year, and almost a third more than its previous high in 2007. A number of factors contributed to the increase in applicants, University spokesman Jeremy Manier said, including a concerted University marketing campaign and the financial flexibility of early action. “The underlying reason for the increase is that this is a great university. There are a lot more ways we are communicating that to students,� Manier said. “There were at least five separate mailings sent out.�

Students who were admitted early said that campaign played a part in their decision to apply. Sandra Korn from Basking Ridge, NJ, said the University’s materials gave a strong sense of community, and gave the U of C an edge in her decision to apply. “It [U of C] was my top choice because it has stellar academics, but the culture is part of it,� said Korn, a senior at Ridge High School. “They had a very good marketing campaign to high schoolers, so at least how they portray themselves seemed like a good fit for me.� The recent economic recession has

ADMISSIONS continued on page 2

ADMISSIONS

CAMPUS LIFE

Sharing of essay brings praise, complaints

Cobb Gate, sidewalk repairs unfinished after winter break

By Burke Frank Associate News Editor Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid James Nondorf hoped to “lighten the mood� of applicants this December, distributing an application essay by an Early Action candidate who’d already been accepted to prospective students. Many applicants and parents, however, were not amused. Some said Nondorf ’s e-mail put added pressure on applicants to change their essays at the last minute, while some complained the visceral confessions in the essay, written as a sexuallycharged love letter to the University, were simply too ostentatious. “Dear University of Chicago, It fills me up with that gooey sap you feel late at night when I think about things that are really special to me about you,� the essay, which was submitted by a student identified only as Rohan, began. “Tell me, was I just one in a line of many? Was I just another supple ‘applicant’ to you, looking for a place to live, look-

After 10 years, Booth School dean to step down in June

ing for someone to teach me the ways of the world?� Users of College Confidential, a Web site that hosts admissions advice forums, have posted over 200 comments to a thread discussing Nondorf ’s e-mail, which has also drawn the attention of The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune. Most debated the merit of the essay itself, but some criticized Nondorf, who is in his first year as admissions director, for his decision to circulate the essay. Publicizing a current, successful essay, they argued, forces those who wrote similar essays to start from scratch, and those who wrote more sober essays to amp up the quirkiness. “My essay is very similar. Now it’ll look like I ripped off this one,� user plumdum229 wrote. “I have no choice now but to change it completely, right?� “It discredits a lot of people who were going to do something similar for their essay,� user Rumjhum wrote in response to a thread entitled, “Why dean, why?!�

Construction projects begun over winter break have continued into January, leaving Cobb Gate gateless and Woodlawn Avenue sidewalks torn up. Work on Cobb Gate, located between the Anatomy and Zoology Buildings on 57th Street, is part of an initiative to meet accessibility codes on the main quads. The metal gate was removed last month so workers could repave the entrance. Workers opened a temporary accessway to the main quad on 57th Street in the wall between the Anatomy Building and SnellHitchcock, to be used while construction blocks off access to Cobb Gate periodically throughout the month. “Complete replacement of the previous pathway was necessary to achieve the slope required by current codes. Along with the

NONDORF continued on page 2

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Booth School of Business Dean Edward A. Snyder (A.M. ’78, Ph.D. ’84) announced last month that he will be stepping down in June after heading the business school for nine years. Snyder oversaw a faculty expansion, the construction of the Charles M. Harper Center, and the school’s renaming. He has lately criticized the practice of treating business school students as customers. In a December 10 letter to the Booth School community, President Robert Zimmer and Provost Thomas Rosenbaum announced that a search committee for the next dean would begin in a few weeks. “We want to take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude to Ted for his dedication and achievements over nine years of outstanding service,� they wrote. The letter said Snyder’s tenure saw the Booth School retain more senior faculty than under any other dean in the past 50 years. “Ted has helped make a Chicago education accessible to more of the most qualified students,� they said, before adding that Snyder increased scholarships threefold during his tenure. No U of C business school dean has served for more than two five-year terms since World War II, according to a letter Snyder sent to the Booth School community on December 10. In the letter, Snyder said the school was well–positioned for a new appointment. “Given the strong state of our school and what we have accomplished, I believe now is the right time

for the school to search for its next dean.� Snyder declined to comment. Snyder was appointed dean in 2001 after serving as dean of Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia. He received a master’s in public policy from the U of C in 1978 and a Ph.D. in economics in 1984. He went on to work for the antitrust division of the Department of Justice and returned to the University for two years as a professor of economics and politics. He was a dean at the University of Michigan’s business school before moving to Darden. The Booth School expanded significantly during Snyder’s time in office, doubling its endowed faculty chairs and accepting a $300 million gift by David Booth (MBA ’71), for whom the school is now named. Snyder focused on expanding Booth’s campuses across the world. After construction of the Harper Center in 2004, Snyder moved its European campus to London from Barcelona because “students wanted more interaction with alumni, more interaction with the business community,� according to professor Stacey Kole, deputy dean for the full-time MBA program. “He’s been very effective in galvanizing students, alumni, and our corporate partners in making Chicago Booth the best business school in the world,� Kole said, adding that he “understands the critical role that the faculty play in the success of the institution.� Kole, who Snyder recruited to the school in 2004, credited much of the senior faculty’s strength to Snyder. “There are many people on our senior staff who have only ever

SNYDER continued on page 2

By Asher Klein News Editor

The iron gates leading into the main quad were temporarily removed over winter break as part of a project to make campus pathways more accessible. CAMILLE VAN HORNE/MAROON

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CHICAGO MAROON | NEWS | January 8, 2010

AWARDS

Sereno honored by White House By Stacey Kirkpatrick News Staff Renowned U of C paleontologist Paul Sereno and alumna Gabrielle Lyon (A.B ’94, A.M. ’94) were honored Wednesday by the White House for their science mentoring program, Project Exploration, which pairs minority students and scientists to foster long-term interest in science. The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring is awarded every two years for accomplishments stimulating interest in the sciences among minority students who might not otherwise be interested in those fields. Project Exploration was one of three organizations to win the award. Sereno said the program grew out of “aspirations of a new model for bringing science to populations that are underrepresented in scientific endeavors.” Project Exploration has a “drastic effect” on high school graduation rates, Sereno said.

Exploration students have a 94 percent graduation rate, compared to 50 percent before they enroll in the program. Sereno admitted he wasn’t interested in science as a teen, but a paleontology dig and other extracurricular events sparked his curiosity, teaching him the value of hands-on and out-of-school science to attract students. Those ideas have been implemented in Project Exploration’s programs, which include trips to archaeological dig sites. Sereno said he hopes the program “will be an approach that gains traction,” because of its novel model of long–term mentoring with scientists. “The key to mentoring is in the time and relationships,” he said. The program was founded a decade ago with the help of Michelle Obama, who was involved in revamping U of C community outreach programs at the time. President Barack Obama also witnessed the success of Project Exploration firsthand when he attended several of the program’s annual events.

Snitchcock students wary of foot traffic diverted through their quad CONSTRUCTION continued from front page installation of a compliant pathway, the tunnel structure below Cobb Gate is being improved and the original gates are being restored,” John Carey, a client services manager at Facilities, said. Fourth-year Hitchcock resident Steve LaRue said he’s concerned that a swing hanging in that quad, which was donated by an alumnus for the dorm’s 100th birthday, might be stolen. He added that concerned members of the dormitory have a

meeting this week with Joe Edwards, an assistant director of university housing. Other areas affected by the project include the west side of Woodlawn Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets, 57th Street between University and Woodlawn Avenues, the east side of University Avenue between 57th and 58th Streets, a part of the 57th Street near the Biological Sciences Learning Center, and a segment of the sidewalk on University Avenue next to the Reynolds Club. This summer, the Main Quads were repaved to meet accesibility code as well.

Applicants valued flexibility of non-binding early action

Snyder advocates for academic rigor as dean and in Trib and Times

ADMISSIONS continued from front page

SNYDER continued from front page

put an increasing focus on university financial aid programs. High-school students pointed out that the University’s non-binding early action plan offers more flexibility in an increasingly unstable economy. If bound to a school through an early decision program, students lose the opportunity to search for the best financial aid available, they said. “Most of my friends didn’t apply Early Decision because of money reasons,” Jamie Keiles of Doylestown, PA, said. “A few years ago almost everyone would have applied Early Decision.” The University’s switch to the Common Application in 2008 may also have contributed to a spike in applications; according to Manier, schools usually experience an increase in applicants two years after adopting the Common Application. “There can be a lag with guidance counselors at secondary schools,” Manier said. “It can take time for the word that a school is on the common application to trickle down.” Dean of College Admissions and Financial Aid James Nondorf, in his first year at the U of C, declined to comment, but said the increase “suggests a growing pool of students who are passionate about the institution” in a December 3 press release. Applicants agreed; Keiles, a senior at Central Bucks High School West, said that U of C is currently one of her top choices. “There are a couple of schools that aren’t on the Common App that I didn’t apply to because they’re weren’t on the Common App, but I would have applied to U of C either way,” Keiles said. Tvhe University is anticipating a class size of about 1,350.

worked for Ted. Eight years, nine years, that’s a long time in this business,” Kole said. “He’s built a very strong team, a team of very loyal staff that have made the school strong and supported our students to have a rewarding experience here.” Snyder has been quoted in recent weeks for condemning a recent trend among business school faculties that treat their students as customers with the mantra: “Customers are always right.” In 2007, he wrote a combative piece for an education trade paper arguing that the practice “is corrupt and corrupting.” After rehashing that argument for a Chicago Tribune blog last month, Snyder appeared in an online forum at The New York Times Sunday to argue his position. “Deep professional development comes from setting high expectations, from challenging students, and from supporting them,” he said in the Times. “At a time when other business schools were backing away from rigorous analysis and were treating students as customers, Ted stepped forward and said, ‘That’s how you train great business leaders,’ and that’s been a very effective strategy for us,” Kole said. In his letter to the community, Snyder reflected on the progress the school has made and thanked a number of people for the help they’d been to him and the school, including Kole, Booth, Zimmer, and Rosenbaum. “It is simply terrific to be around our great faculty, our students, and alumni, whose energy and aspirations keep me feeling positive about our school and the world,” he added.

Though essay’s release caused consternation for its timing and content, Nondorf says most feedback has been positive NONDORF continued from front page

CORRECTION In the December 1 news article, “Protesters call for gefilte fish at LatkeHamantash Debate” professor Bueno de Mesquita did not suggest honey-baked ham should be included in the debate. The MAROON is committed to correcting mistakes for the record. If you suspect the MAROON has made an error, please alert the newspaper by e-mailing chicagomaroon@

gmail.com.

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Others found the content of the essay inappropriate, and expressed frustration that Nondorf seemed to endorse its personal, explicit form. “I think the ‘Essay’ is too provocative,” user Greenery wrote. “I feel uncomfortable...like it should have been kept private.” Still more were worried that their own essays, which were similar, would be rejected for copycatting. Nondorf addressed the concern in a statement released by the University. “There is nothing wrong with sending similar essays,” he said. “This is just one example of a student response to the prompt.” Despite the criticism, many College Confidential users praised the essay and dismissed complaints that distributing the essay was inappropriate. “The feedback to our office about Rohan’s essay has been overwhelmingly positive. Our current students loved it, and we thought it reflected the sort of clever, creative spirit that tends to thrive at UChicago,” Nondorf said.

Nondorf declined to comment further. However, in response to the negative feedback, the Prospective Students Advisory Committee (PSAC), which works with the admissions office, posted a comment in the College Confidential thread on behalf of Nondorf admitting that, “We sent out the essay to lighten the mood, but it seems that it might have backfired a bit.” Nondorf expressed a “sincere apology if it did not hit the mark.” Rohan, whom Nondorf said in his original letter to applicants would matriculate, concluded his essay with a direct plea to the University. “Whenever I’m around you, I just get that tingle deep inside me that tells me you’re the one,” he wrote. “I wish we could be together, I still think in my heart of hearts we were meant to be, but you have to meet me halfway, dear. I’m on one knee here with tears welling up in my eyes, the fireworks are timed and ready to light up the night sky for you, just say ‘I accept...you.’”

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| VIEWPOINTS | January 8, 2010

VIEWPOINTS

EDITORIAL & OP-ED JANUARY 8, 2010

EDITORIAL

Return to sender CHICAGO MAROON

The student newspaper of the University of Chicago since 1892

SUPRIYA SINHABABU, Editor-in-Chief TOM TIAN, Managing Editor

MICHAEL LIPKIN, News Editor ASHER KLEIN, News Editor EVAN COREN, Viewpoints Editor HAYLEY LAMBERSON, Voices Editor BEN SIGRIST, Voices Editor

Admissions’ decision to send out accepted applicant’s essay added unnecessary stress to process The admissions office has made an effort over the years to take unnecessary stress out of applying to the College—its user-friendly Web site and the Uncommon Blog are good indications of this. Over winter break, Dean of Admissions Jim Nondorf tried something more unorthodox to help put applicants at ease. Two weeks before the January 2 admissions deadline, he e-mailed an essay written by an accepted applicant to thousands of other aspiring students, saying he hoped it would “[lighten] your mood, [reduce] any end–of–year stress and,

[inspire] your creative juices in completing your applications.” Yet the decision to release the essay, which garnered hundreds of comments on the College Confidential Web site and led to an article in The New York Times, seemed to have just the opposite effect for many students. Some of the posters on College Confidential complained that the essay, written as a love letter to the school, was too sexually provocative. But those who blush at the essay’s cheeky euphemisms may want to reconsider attending an American uni-

versity that is not Oral Roberts. The real problem with Nondorf ’s e-mail was its timing—releasing one applicant’s essay before the final deadline put all the other applicants on uneven footing. Several students who had not yet submitted their essays expressed their bewilderment on College Confidential, wondering whether they should change their essays for being too similar or too different from the one Nondorf sent out. On the other hand, applicants who had already submitted their essays did not have the advantage of seeing such a clear-

cut example of what the admissions office enjoyed. College applications are stressful enough for today’s high school seniors. The admissions office should have put more thought into their decision to release the essay, and either sent it out after the application deadline—or not at all. — The MAROON Editorial Board consists of the Editor-in-Chief, Viewpoints Editors, and an additional Editorial Board member.

JAKE GRUBMAN, Sports Editor JORDAN HOLLIDAY, Sports Editor BEN ROSSI, Editorial Board Member

OP-ED

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Left behind

Latke-Hamentash coverage included misquotes

DANI BRECHER, Head Copy Editor ERIC GUO, Photo Editor CAMILLE VAN HORNE, Photo Editor HEATHER LEWIS, Head Designer ABRAHAM NEBEN, Web Editor BURKE FRANK, Associate News Editor

By Greg Gabrellas Viewpoints Columnist

CHRIS BOOTS, Associate Viewpoints Editor RYAN TRYZBIAK, Associate Sports Editor

JUDY MARCINIAK, Business Manager JAY BROOKS, Business Director JACK DiMASSIMO, Designer IVY PEREZ, Designer CHRISTINA SCHWARTZ Designer JESSICA SHEFT-ASON, Designer NAKUL SINGH, Designer MATT TYNDALE, Designer ANDREW GREEN, Designer ANNA AKERS-PECHT, Copy Editor JORDAN FRANKLIN, Copy Editor DANIELLE GLAZER, Copy Editor MONIKA LAGAARD, Copy Editor HOLLY LAWSON, Copy Editor MIRANDA LI, Copy Editor LAUREN MAKHOLM, 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.

©2010 CHICAGO MAROON, Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637 Editor-in-Chief Phone: (773) 834-1611 Newsroom Phone: (773) 702-1403 Business Phone: (773) 702-9555 Fax: (773) 702-3032

SUBMISSIONS 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. Letters to the editor should be limited to 400 words. Op-ed submissions, 800 words.

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

With hopes sagging in the face of the Obama era’s disappointments, the American Left has split into two positions over the health care reform bill. On the one hand, radical health care activists have opposed any bill short of a single-payer system, or at least a public option. On the other hand, commentators such as Paul Krugman have embraced the bill as a sad but necessary compromise with right-wing and centrist legislators. They have criticized radical health care activists who reject the bill wholesale as ultra-leftists, intransigent protesters who refuse to accept the terms under which real political change happens. Commentators like Krugman have a point. There is little gained by sermonizing when radical reformers lack votes in Congress. It may even reflect poorly on the Left overall, associating it with the self-righteous and puritanical zeal that alienates the mainstream. A single-payer movement? Even at the University of Chicago, interest in health care continues to dwindle despite the urgency of the crisis for residents of Chicago’s South Side. Those stalwart few seem

to take the moral high ground as a substitute for politics. The only people in a position to make serious reforms a reality—reforms that require state power—are the progressive Democrats, who can use their authority to craft legislation and, inevitably, broker a compromise with opponents to seal the deal. The final bill won’t be everything, but it will fill much needed gaps in the current system to provide for the working poor. But not so fast, say the “radicals.” What is the content of these reforms? In reality, the health care bill will simply fill gaps in a system that leaves the basic

Liberals do not need to cede mass politics to the conservatives. problem, the domination of capitalist interests in the insurance sector, intact. There will be some much needed changes and human lives will be saved, but the bloated health care industry will continue to reap huge profits at the expense of the insured. This ameliorative change won’t develop more effective treatments for the common diseases that the poor face. It won’t improve the status of “illegal aliens,” or even establish universal preventive medicine.

“Don’t trust the Democrats—Not a one. Especially the progressive Democrats,” declared Helen Redmond, a Chicagobased single-payer advocate. Maybe we shouldn’t have expected the Obama administration to back liberal reforms in the first place, but there is no excuse for the Democrats’ pusillanimous retreat from universal health care. Both sides are, in certain respects, correct—at least about each other. But they overlook what both sides have in common: political helplessness. The assumption on both sides, the radicals and the liberals, is that the Democratic Party is and will always be the sole instrument of liberal reform. Political commentators like Krugman say so directly: they urge liberals to settle for less, because the Democrats are the only game in town. Ironically, however, liberals undermine their own efforts by firmly tying the interests of liberal reform to the Democratic Party. Although there exist allegedly progressive Democrats, recent history—think Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean—has demonstrated the extent to which the Party will censure any internal attempt to push its politics to the Left. Our current moment is marked by a stunning lack of any popular

HEALTH CARE continued on page 6

OP-ED

Theory and practice By Liat Spiro Viewpoints Staff

During classes this week, I learned such abstractions as the etymology of composition, the difference between a history and a civilization course, and even the philosophy of Pilates. I’m definitely back at the U of C, where theory reigns above just about anything else. In general, I agree with the University’s focus on theory. Without a good dose of theory to wrap our minds around, many courses could not occupy three months without forcing us into bored distraction. Also, if courses didn’t have such challenging content, our incredible faculty would be virtu-

ally useless. Yet an exclusive focus on theory sometimes leaves us deficient in the realm of practice. I, at least, did not come out of high school equipped with every single concrete skill necessary to succeed in the future; however, I think I could acquire many of these skills in a month—if I didn’t have four other courses to contend with. At MIT, Bates, and other peer institutions, students have the option to enroll in a month-long independent activities period, usually held in January, for exactly this reason. Called IAP (Independent Activities Period) or J-Term, these programs offer classes at a rate of around 60 dollars apiece. However, since RSOs and departments organize the majority of activi-

ties, prices may vary according to the initial cost of materials or instructors. Both credit and non-credit course offerings are available at MIT, and have included topics ranging from the undoubtedly hedonistic to the unquestionably pragmatic. This year, for example, MIT students may enjoy activities as diverse as public speaking, web design and development, heavy metal (the music genre), Stata, street photography, patenting, and single malt scotch whiskey. For those inclined to supplement their knowledge in more traditionally academic areas, special relativity, molecular neuroscience, and introductory foreign language courses are counted among dozens of

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I was delighted to see your coverage of the recent Latke-Hamentash debate (“Protesters call for gefilte fish at Latke-Hamantash Debate,” 11/30/09), but I would like to correct you on one point. Regarding my remarks, you write, “Bueno de Mesquita advocated for the introduction of Sephardic foods to the debate, like honey-baked ham, which he said is ‘both deliciously sweet and deliciously savory.’” I did indeed argue for the introduction of Sephardic food and it is indisputable that honeybaked ham is deliciously sweet and deliciously savory, but I did not suggest that honey-baked ham is Sephardic food. Even the rabbis of Spain would not countenance eating pork! Instead, I argued that once additional options are introduced (in this case, a perfectly kosher Sephardic Passover cookie), the logic of majority rule would allow us to arrive at ever more extreme positions, even something as absurd as honeybaked ham. And, I hypothesized, since we can’t have honey-baked ham winning the Latke-Hamentash debate, Sephardic food continues to be excluded. I built my remarks around an important result from social choice theory: the McKelvey-Schofield Chaos Theorem. I hope some students interested in the mathematical study of politics will make their way over to the Harris School to learn about it in a more scholarly setting. Ethan Bueno de Mesquita Associate Professor Harris School of Public Policy Studies

Kaiser article treats mental health dismissively I don’t usually write to the Maroon. I really like what you all write and how you write it. I’m writing almost a month after this article was published because I didn’t want to write anything too brash. After thinking about it for a while, I am still very sure that Emily Kaiser’s article (“Overthinking stress,” 11/3/09) is not only wrong, but dangerous. Although I don’t suffer from depression or anxiety, like many people, I have a dear friend

LETTERS continued on page 6

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| VIEWPOINTS | January 8, 2010

Letters to the editor, continued

Both compromising liberals and single-payer radicals miss the bigger picture

LETTERS continued from page 5

HEALTH CARE continued from page 5

that does. The time when depression produces its worst symptoms is precisely college age; people aged 18–25 are far more likely to take their own lives. While I agree that on occasion anxiety can be environment-induced, to claim that students should “suck it up” rather than have mental health professionals evaluate and help them to make sure that they aren’t a danger to themselves is at best incorrect, and at worst, potentially deadly. Emily writes, “In all honesty, we’re not too stressed for our own good; if we were, we’d have much more serious problems on our hands. What we really need to do is stop talking about it, suck it up, and just do the work already. And when that’s done, move on, suck it up, and just have some fun. Four years is too long to waste doing anything else.” I’m not sure what more “serious” problems we could have than the suicides that have affected our campus. Studies actually show that college students, even at higher level institutions where the stress is much worse, are far less likely to kill themselves than students outside our environment. This could be due to a variety of factors, obviously, but it would not surprise me at all to learn that free mental-health screenings are a large reason why students manage to handle their depression in a non-violent way. Rather than suggest that students “suck it up,” I think Emily should allow medical health professionals to do their jobs. While we at the U of C are quite convinced of our own brilliance, I feel like the doctors and nurses at the SCRC, to be frank, just know more than a fourth-year sociology student. I would hate to have some student struggling with depression avoid a mental-health screening to avoid looking “weak.” In their attempt to “move on” and “just have some fun,” they can do serious damage to themselves. Before publishing other material like this, I hope that the Maroon would take a second look at the potential impact of their articles.

movement that has the interest, let alone the capacity, to wage long-term political struggles. Hence radical single-payer activists tacitly accept the same situation of political helplessness as the dissatisfied liberals. They try to build a “singlepayer movement,” but implicitly adopt a stance outside of party politics and thus see themselves as pressuring politicians from “below,.” without any hope for real political power. The single-payer movement, despite the fierceness and dedication of its activists’ advocacy, is largely ineffective. The activist position, substituting moral purity for politics, winds up in radical defeatism—a position that is no more responsible than even the most opportunistic Democrat. Both positions accept their own marginality in American politics, but have failed to offer convincing political strategies to solve the problem. There is a way out, but the single-issue campaign ain’t it. In fact, any suggestion that a

Liz Scoggin Class of 2010

Fill empty month before Autumn Quarter with unique opportunities PRACTICE continued from page 5 intriguing seminars. Why couldn’t we have a similar program spanning the middle of August to middle of September? You know, that strangely interminable period when your non–U of C friends have already left, your internship has ended, and you find yourself preemptively labeling notebooks weeks in advance? We could. In the MIT model, departments, labs, RSOs, and individuals (students, faculty, staff, or alums) organize and sponsor some 650 offerings. At the U of C, we have no dearth of dynamic departments, innovative labs, or active RSOs. Over the past year and a quarter at the U of C, I’ve seen my Resident Heads cook wonders, my housemates exhibit incredible skills during Scav, and my professors lament (and then perhaps briefly override) the exclusion of their specializations in curricula. A month-long independent activities period would provide all members of the University community with the opportunity to get beyond the Core and their majors and minors. It would give participants a chance to add skills to their résumés, indulge in otherwise neglected passions, or both. A theory isn’t a good theory if it crumbles in practice (see: Kant or talking to your ex). As a time for experimentation and exploration, an independent activities period in the autumn would enable us to really evaluate our theories and to acquire the skills necessary to analyze them, defend them, and put them into practice. For funding, the Uncommon Fund, with coordination from ORCSA, seems like the ideal resource to finance a pilot version of this venture. What’s more uncommon at the U of C than practice? — Liat Spiro is a second-year in the College.

single-payer health care system is meaningful without a Leftist position, a political movement for the emancipatory transformation of society, is misleading. Without a movement for reform and revolution, we may as well give up hope for gradual improvement. One way to organize politically for health care reform would argue for the principle of freedom from sickness. As opposed to the Right’s commitment to freedom for choice, or some other abstract intangible, the Left—both liberal and radical—should openly commit itself to freedom from disease, as part of a general struggle against all unnecessary debilitation and incapacity. Indeed, freedom from disease is a precondition for any real freedom of choice. This programmatic demand would probably mean socialized health care. However, the important point is that liberals recognize that they do not need to cede mass politics to the conservatives, and radicals realize the necessity of organizing politically around longterm, coherent, emancipatory goals.

The unwillingness on the Left to conceive of this broader movement is manifested in the depoliticization of the debate attempted by those on both the liberal and radical Left: Rather than a fight for political principle, the Left has squandered its political ideals into “common sense.” Suffice it to say, liberals who have attempted to voice a common sense position have only been one-upped by the Right, whose scurrilous and cynical behavior has thrown even the most intelligent Left commentators in the lurch. If there is anything to learn from last year’s health care debacle, it is that liberal reform itself requires independent political expression outside the constraints imposed by the Democratic Party. It is on this point that the orientation of liberals and radicals should converge. — Greg Gabrellas is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in the Social Sciences.

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CHICAGO CHICAGO MAROON MAROON | VOICES | VOICES | November | January 8, 20, 2010 2009

VOICES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT JANUARY 8, 2010

LITERATURE

TOP

Too Much Happiness has all the beauty without the brains By Dani Brecher Voices Weeping Willow Don’t be misled by the title of Alice Munro’s new collection of short stories, Too Much Happiness: These stories are anything but cheerful. In fact, they’re downright depressing, full of marital infidelities, drawnout deaths, and traumatic childhoods. And yet, the stories are intensely lovely.

TOO MUCH HAPPINESS By Alice Munro Knopf

COURTESY OF: FOCUS FEATURES

FILMS OF THE DECADE

(LEFT),

(CENTER), (RIGHT)

UNIVERSAL PICTURES NEW LINE CINEMA

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

By Michelle Welch

CHILDREN OF MEN

Leads Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey give their career-best performances as an incompatible couple meant to be. But the real star of the film is the perfect synergy between Michel Gondry’s camera wizardry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman’s bizarre storytelling. Together they tell a heartfelt story about memory erasure and love beginning, ending, and then returning. Often strange, humorous, and sometimes scathing, the film portrays love and relationships as a beast you can never hope to tame.

What is the epitome of bleak and hopeless? Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men from 2006. Another deserving title that went without a Best Picture nomination, Children of Men is a post-apocalyptic thriller in the vein of Blade Runner. Set in a dystopian future in which humanity can no longer bear children for unknown reasons, Clive Owen must protect a pregnant young woman named Kee and lead her to the English seaside, where they may receive aid from a research organization called the Human Project. The film is notable for its innovative and tedious long takes, as well as its despairing depiction of humanity lost without a cause.

FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

GRINDHOUSE

I consider the trilogy one whole film deserving of a spot here, but as separately released films I’ve always felt the first installment is the tightest and most accomplished of the three. I love Two Towers for the Helm’s Deep battle and the march of the Ents on Isengard. And Return of the King is the culmination of the trilogy and offers the pay-off of an

A movie ought to be a package, and Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s double feature bonanza isn’t just a complete package—it comes with a pretty bow on top, too. It’s a lurid love poem to exploitation films of the ’70s, casting various B-actors and has-beens and reveling in the badness that is the conceit of grindhouse movies. Rodriguez’s Planet

ending. But nothing tops the homey green Shire, the introduction of the Ringwraiths, Gandalf’s battle with the Balrog, and the impossible journey looming ahead for the Fellowship.

Terror gets the most love because it’s a fast-paced zombie story with cool cameos and gore. Tarantino’s Death Proof, largely considered the lesser of the two due to its loquacious beginning, is my preferred half: It has one of the best ending payoffs/chase scenes in cinema history.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS FANTASTIC MR. FOX Who would have thought introducing audiences to the world’s most delightful Nazi in the form of the charming Christoph Waltz would make Basterds Tarantino’s most accessible film yet? Basterds is not only his most beautifully shot film, it’s a masterstroke of storytelling genius in its self-aware embrace of film and violence. And hell, it’s an unbelievably fun and endlessly quotable ride that’ll make you want to toussle Waltz’s hair.

Within five minutes of this movie starting I was in love with it. I wanted it on DVD, in my hands, and it wasn’t even over with. Wes Anderson is an acquired taste, but his directing style fit both the stop-motion animation and Roald Dahl’s story to a cussing tee. Between the voice cast, the quietly subtle humor, and the absolutely stunning “wolf power” scene— a masterful lesson in suspense—Fantastic Mr. Fox is without a doubt my favorite Anderson film.

THE DARK KNIGHT SHAUN OF THE DEAD Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight was sorely missing from last year’s Best Picture list, while the maukish romantic drama The Reader nabbed a spot. Cringe-worthy. The Dark Knight isn’t just a superhero “flick,” it’s a political thriller examining the root of evil in all of us. And one cannot comment without praising Heath Ledger’s diabolical Joker, easily one of the best performances of the decade. The Dark Knight will be a timeless classic in years to come while The Reader will only ever be remembered as “that movie that finally won Kate Winslet an Oscar.”

Zombie movies were the rage of the noughties, kicked into gear with 2002’s 28 Days Later, but emerged as a genre gone viral with 2004’s Shaun of the Dead. The film catapulted Simon Pegg to stardom, made Edgar Wright a director to keep an eye on, and led to 2007’s Hot Fuzz, what many consider to be a finer film. Now that zombies are on the verge of overexposure and vampires are the hot new horror, we can look back fondly on Shaun of the Dead, a film that took modern horror in new directions and taught us several lessons about the impending zombie apocalypse. A cricket bat is indeed the weapon of choice.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN WALL-E A film that gets better every time you watch it seems like a pipe dream, but it’s a real and true thing with the Coen brothers’ No Country

for Old Men. A quiet thriller built on tension and bursts of violence, it’s a tightly-wound film piggybacking on Javier Bardem’s brilliant and ruthless performance as Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is a hitman hired to recover stolen drug money taken by Josh Brolin, a simpleton Texan whose catand-mouse drama with Bardem is trailed by Tommy Lee Jones’ “I’m getting too old for this” sheriff. The film lacks the absurd Coen comedy present in Raising Arizona or Burn After Reading, but its black comedy becomes more and more apparent on subsequent viewings.

No top 10 list would be complete without a Pixar title. I’ll warrant many lists ought to have half of the Pixar collection included, as the company just doesn’t know how to make a bad movie. However, as I think Up is overrated, and Cars was just good, it came down to Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Monsters Inc., and The Incredibles. They are all perfect in their own ways, and I have a hard time deciding which I enjoy more than the other. But Wall-E stands out in the end with its opening 30 minutes of stillness and solitude, speaking volumes through silence and a few lines of Hello, Dolly!

Munro, who recently won the Booker Prize for this volume, has perfected the lyrical gut-wrencher. As in her previous collections of short stories, Munro places her characters in beautiful, rural Canadian settings before tearing their lives apart with shocking spasms of violence, both physical and emotional. It’s a formula that consistently forces the reader into a profound sympathy with her characters, but for all its emotional clout, the narrative blueprint becomes monotonous after 300-plus pages. Nine out of the 10 stories in Too Much Happiness are set in Canada’s recent past, with most taking place in Munro’s native Ontario. The descriptions of the Canadian landscape highlight Munro’s talent for spotting the crucial details that bring a story to life. The weeds in an abandoned garden, the composition of a rock formation, and the carved name of a long-shuttered bank are all closely observed, creating a strong sense of place and beauty. Inside this sepia-colored world, women from the whole spectrum of Canadian society give up their senses of self for the men in their lives. In the first story of the collection, a young woman struggles to forgive her husband for a violent act of madness. Another story focuses on a girl who goes to extremes to look like the severely birth-marked boy next door. Munro’s women all discover, in one way or another, that “the great happiness…of one person can come out of the great unhappiness of another.” The tragedy is that the women in these stories all fall in the latter half of that equation. Munro comes closest to doing something innovative in the book’s last story, which lends its name to the title of the whole collection. Taking place in the metropolises of 19th-century Europe, this story imagines the final days of Sophia Kovalevsky, the Russian mathematician and novelist. As she travels on a train across Europe, Kovalevsky reflects on her past and on her lovers. A mysterious doctor jolts her from her reverie, changing the course of her not-very-long life. On her deathbed, Kovalevsky’s last words are, “Too much happiness.” This leaves the reader with the question of whether this last woman is the only one to achieve happiness, or if she is deluded by her illness and is, at last, as miserable as the others. By the end of the collection, the reader is left to wonder what Munro might accomplish if she were to try her hand at writing stories about women who suffer less. Would her lyricism be lost? Perhaps so, which is why one lesson to glean from Too Much Happiness is that Canadians suffer more beautifully than the rest of us.

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | January 8, 2010

Yours, Hypothetically Dear Dan Brown, I would like to say, right from the start, that you are an incredibly dated subject for even the most hypothetical of letters. I was advised against writing to you, lest I compromise my reputation as a serious writer of fictitious letters, but what I have to say is very timely indeed. For, yesterday, as I was trudging my way to Russian drills, damning the cold and praying that my nose would stay intact—unlike those poor Mongolian tundra children whose noses slough off in the cold of winter—I noticed two boys standing in the center of the quad, excitedly shrieking and waving their hands. They were wearing suspenders and sideburns and smoking Bolshevik roll-ups. Cool customers, no doubt. I walked by very slowly and stealthily (in my lead-weight Wellingtons and bright red scarf ) because I instinctively sensed that they were about to say something of highest import. “Oh mah gawd, Felix! Ohmahgawdohmahgawdohmahgawd!” “I know, Nando! Who would have thought that the lost circumpunct was here all along! Staring us in the faces!” “Aaaaaaaaagggghhhh! It’s just like The Lost Symbol!” “We mustn’t tell anyone! Discretion is imperative!” “Aaaaaaaghhhhh!” “Here, give me your hand!” They never saw me, Dan Brown. They were too engrossed in their newfound glory to notice little old me. Now, I haven’t read your new book about said circumpuncts. And I’m not really interested in your intrigues and codes. (Although if you circle every fifth word in every third sentence of this letter and piss on it under the full moon, you will find the Holy Grail!) What does interest me, though, are your balls, in a manner of speaking. After all, it must have taken considerable gumption to cast aside your career as a synth master/pop singer and become an author of conspiracy fiction. Oh wait. Did you think I didn’t know about your career as a singer-

The

G a d a b o u t

By Rory Squire

songwriter of kiddie pop? I know all about “Happy Frogs” and “Suzuki Elephants.” I also know about your later endeavors in romantic crooning, and I have to admit, I particularly enjoyed your ode to phone sex, “976-Love.” Now, you’ve clearly done very well for yourself, Mr. Brown, but can you imagine what it would be like if other pop singers decided to take up conspiracy thriller-writing on the side? I can see it now... Vice-Tyke, by Justin Beiber Synopsis: John Boober is on top of the world. He’s on the ballot as vice president to one of the most popular presidential candidates in years, he’s People’s Sexiest Politician Alive, and he’s dating the Alaskan governor’s daughter. His life is perfect. But he has a secret, a secret that could destroy everything: He’s only 12. The Clever Name, by Eminem Synopsis: One man realizes that the key to a secret brotherhood is actually contained in the mirror’s reflection OF HIS OWN NAME. Diamonds in her Guitar, by Taylor Swift Synopsis: Courageous teenage girl smuggles diamonds back into Sierra Leone by hiding them inside of her precious guitar. She’s Just a Boy, by Lady GaGa Synopsis: Sexy and daring hermaphrodite infiltrates the Taliban by relying equal measures of feminine charm and masculine forcefulness to achieve the objective. Do you see what you have wrought?! Your career move, although successful, is a slippery slope for withering pop stars. And while you may deserve a place on this campus, Cher absolutely does not. I think the only way to solve this problem is for you to write these books before these musicians have the chance. So, if you’d like to use any of these plots in your next book, you can find me on Facebook, and we can work out the details. Yours hypothetically, Rory

b y i l i ya g u t i n

Bottom Chef Watch and learn from kitchen catastrophes On January 3, 2010, the Food Network became self-aware. This historic day marked the series premiere of Worst Cooks in America, the point when the network realized that most people who tune in have little to no cooking ability. This may come as a surprise when you consider that most of the Food Network’s shows consist of basic cooking demonstrations, with some baking competitions and Guy Fieri thrown in. But it’s not the art of cooking or a certain chef ’s skill that appeals to the viewers; it’s the end result, the food itself. I don’t think most people care how well Paula Deen cooks. They just want to see the butter-filled madness that she whips up. If all the Food Network did was show dramatic shots of freshly baked cookies and steaming hunks of meat, people would probably tune in regardless. Worst Cooks isn’t so much a drastic departure from any of the other cooking shows (it is just another reality-competition after all), but rather a portrait of the average person’s ineptness in the most fundamental of skill sets. Two teams of self-described “worst” cooks compete to see who can improve the most over the course of the season. Inevitably, each chef must demonstrate their profound inability to cook in an initial demonstration. Inevitably, each chef fails miserably and mocking ensues. One grand example was the Turnip Surprise—hollowedout turnips stuffed with beef, rhubarb and asparagus. A surprise indeed. Bravo, home of Tom Colicchio and his merry band of chefs, a.k.a, Top Chef, actually beat Food Network to the chase when it released Chef Academy in November of last year. Yet another show involving an internationally acclaimed chef trying to teach a diverse cast of bumbling cooks (a chain-smoking television producer, an exsubmarine cook, and a former French porn actor turned graphic designer…to name a few) how to clean a fish, properly cut an onion, and bake a loaf of bread. As much

as head chef Novelli likes to spend his time lambasting American customs and playing practical jokes, the show actually focuses on the fundamentals of cooking that most people overlook. Basic knife skills, some simple pastry-making, etc… This is a real cooking show for a person who thinks the only oven they need in their kitchen is of the microwave variety. The fantasy world of cooking in Iron Chef and Top Chef is as delicate as the Fabergéesque dishes that they create. Though sometimes cooking does involve superchefs creating food that borders on artwork, it is more often the sad reality of failed attempts at rather banal dishes. For every hickorysmoked pork belly a chef makes, there is a man trying to boil a whole chicken, and every airy gruyere soufflé that comes through the kitchen is trailed by some housewife’s omelette avec eggshells. Though the show’s appeal derives from the contestants’ ability to completely humiliate themselves and the head chefs’ ability to provide clever one-liners, it manages to be a surprisingly enlightening experience. I will be the first to admit that although I know the difference between a porterhouse steak and a T-bone, I have no idea how to cook either. Watching these cooks struggle to prepare some pasta is at once intimidating and strangely inspirational. I mock them; we, the viewers mock them, but chances are…we’re probably just like them. Ultimately, any basic statistics class or modicum of common sense will tell you that two does not make a trend. Bravo and the Food Network, who essentially have a complete monopoly over cooking shows on TV, are probably just competing with one another. But both are clearly trying to tell the viewer that if a bunch of idiots can learn to cook, then you should get your ass in the kitchen. Oddly sage advice from two channels that, at one point or another, both showcased a man trying to eat a seven-pound burger.

The Lumen Christi Institute presents

Philosophers, Theologians, and Mystics of the middle ages non-credit course winter 2010 January 7 Anselm

January 28 Abelard and Heloise

February 18 Thomas Aquinas:

D. Stephen Long Marquette University

Willemien Otten University of Chicago

Moral and Political Philosophy

January 14 Bernard of Clairvaux

February 4 Francis of Assisi

February 25 Bonaventure

E. Rozanne Elder Western Michigan University

Armando Maggi University of Chicago

Aaron Canty St. Xavier University

January 21 Meister Eckhart

February 11 Thomas Aquinas:

March 4 Catherine of Siena

Theologian

Karen Scott DePaul University

Bernard McGinn University of Chicago

Richard Schenk, O.P. Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology, Berkeley

Mark Murphy Georgetown University

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CHICAGO MAROON | VOICES | January 8, 2010

THEATER

With Steppenwolf's Buffalo, don't expect to get nickeled and dimed By Ruben Montiel Voices Buffalo buffalo buffalo It’s a familiar trope: According to Chekhov, if a gun is present in the first act, it had better go off by the last. Also cliché: David Mamet is an angry man, or at least his plays are. But these conventions don’t diminish Steppenwolf ’s production of Mamet’s American Buffalo for its winter season. Set on the North Side of Chicago nearly 40 years ago, Buffalo is at once a meditation on masculinity and the relationships between men, and a social commentary on changing times for (white) men in the ’70s.

AMERICAN BUFFALO Steppenwolf Theatre Through February 14

The “American Buffalo” of the title refers to the buffalo nickel, a rare coin that is the driving force behind this play’s action. It’s sold from a junk shop for a price far below its value at the beginning of the play. After learning of their oversight, the three men who work in the junk shop—the elderly owner, Don Dubrow (Francis Guinan), Don’s friend Teach (Tracy Letts), and their young and impressionable tagalong, Bobby (Patrick Andrews)—conspire to steal the nickel back. What transpires is part revenge, part convolution, but fully filled with rage. It’s no surprise then that brutality and violence hold a certain sway in the play. Perhaps this is simply due to the nature of masculine relationships, as shown by the characters’ vulgarity and anger. But the cast’s distinguished performances certainly contribute to this aura. Letts is absolutely mesmerizing. A recent Pulitzer- and Tonywinner for his performance August: Osage County, Letts constructs Teach as a self-aggrandizing, boorish, misogynistic, and angry poet laureate of street smarts. The effect is such that every time Letts steps on stage, clothed in rayon pants and a thin leather jacket, I expected someone to get schooled, so to speak. But American Buffalo isn’t merely a vehicle for Letts’ extreme performance. It’s a credit to the production that Guinan is able to shine as well. Guinan, also an alum of August, puts forth a Don that is eager for venegeance, but also compassionate in the face of real violence. His presence suggests something halfway between stubbornness and the respectable gravitas of old age. Maybe the only real question is Andrews. He is not at all a poor actor, but his deliberately gruff monotone and ponderous line delivery had some audience members questioning after the play whether Bobby was at all mentally “slow.” That said, Bobby is still compelling because of the contrast he lends as the “son” of this junk shop, a side of his character that Andrews gets very right. Steppenwolf chose to produce Buffalo under the winter season’s theme of “belief,” a conceit that seems counterintuitive, but throws light on a possible interpretation of Mamet’s play. In one way, what do the characters believe about the coin? Just that they’ve been cheated. In fact, there is a scene where Don picks up a book of coin values and the question is directly asked: How much is the nickel worth? But between blustering and arguing, the book is never opened,

Bobby (Patrick Andrews, center) and Teach (Tracy Letts, right) stage an intervention for Don (Francis Guinan, left), who they believe uses his junk shop as an excuse for his hoarding disorder. COURTESY OF SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT

suggesting the seller of the coin has no idea if the nickel was worth the trouble of planning a robbery, or the destruction that it causes. More importantly, what do the characters believe about themselves? The elders obviously take advantage of Bobby, but he still aims to please them. Don, believing he’s been cheated, is at odds with the audience, who can never quite muster up sympathy for him. We ache, we beg for him to open the damned book of coin values, and, almost sadistically, Mamet moves breezily along. As for Teach, just look at the name. He is a character who finds himself a teacher, smarter than the others even if he is not. He is equal parts dispenser of bogus knowledge and absolute fire of superiority. And he’s the macho man who puts the gun (hint, hint) in his pocket. Then there’s the fact that these men are living in the ’70s, just when the degree of domination of white men is being reduced. How big, how manly do these men think they are? All in all, Mamet’s play shows wonderfully what it means to believe something of oneself, to act upon that belief, and the consequences of such actions. To conclude: guns. I told a friend of mine before seeing the play that I hadn’t seen it before, to which his reply was, “Dude, it’s intense,” then later, as an afterthought, “intense.” Knowing that now, I can’t imagine the intensity of carrying a loaded gun in my pocket on my way to a robbery, but it is an intensity Teach knows. And an intensity the audience will come to know. All I’m saying is try your best to peek through your covered eyes during the final act. It’s worth the price of admission alone.

LOVE THE SMELL OF NEWSPRINT IN THE MORNING? Come to the MAROON open house on Monday, January 11 at 6:00 p.m.

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CHICAGO MAROON | CLASSIFIEDS | January 8, 2010

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CHICAGO MAROON | SPORTS | January 8, 2010

MEN’S BASKETBALL

High school teammates Stefanou, Williams emerge as super sophomores By Jake Grubman Sports Editor And they said iPhones were supposed to be fast. It’s December 2007 and Tom Williams is standing in the boys locker room at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, OH. His friend and teammate Steve Stefanou has just been accepted to the University of Chicago through its early action program, and now Williams is using Stefanou’s iPhone to check his application status, too. With teammates and other athletes surrounding the pair in the locker room, AT&T is making Williams wait just a little bit longer. “Everyone’s crowding around, and the iPhone’s taking a while,” Williams remembered, “and I was thinking ‘This is going to be an enormous buzzkill if I don’t get into this school.’” But—phew—he gets in. High-fives go up all around and days later he and Stefanou commit to play basketball at the University of Chicago. The locker room scene was a glimpse into the future of Chicago basketball, since the two have emerged as important contributors for the Maroons in just their second year. Starting all 11 games, Stefanou has led the team in scoring at 13 points per game to go with 7.4 rebounds ,while Williams has contributed 8.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest. “They’re two of our most talented basketball players, and if they continue to progress as competitors and athletes, they’ll continue to make big contributions,” head coach Mike McGrath said of the frontcourt pair. When the pair first took the court together, Wash U and the perils of the UAA were still years away. Instead, their competion was the 110 fellow freshmen who showed up for basketball tryouts.

Now standing six-foot-eight and six-foot-seven, respectively, Stefanou and Williams remember being tall, but not quite the tallest, –good, but not quite the best, and hardly shoo-ins for the freshman squad at St. Xavier. They did make the team, however, and eventually moved up to varsity during their junior year, and came off the bench to help the team to a state runner-up finish. Playing AAU basketball together in the off-season, both explored possibilities for playing in college, and it was Stefanou who first drew Chicago’s attention. After a visit to Chicago, Stefanou tipped McGrath off to another possible recruit from just across the free-throw lane. “It was a pretty unique experience,” McGrath said. “Our former assistant Jared Samples had seen them play AAU basketball, and Steve called us up one day and said ‘Hey, I have this friend who I think would be very interested in Chicago.’” So, when Williams was accepted in the locker room that day, the quality of education, the opportunity to play college basketball, and the presence of a friend in Hyde Park made it an easy decision for both Stefanou and him. “Once we knew Tom got in, we talked about it, and it just made sense,” Stefanou said. Rooming together in May House last year, the two worked together to overcome the notoriously montonous Chicago social scene—“I heard all that ‘Where fun comes to die’ stuff, and I thought people were probably just saying that, but it ended up being pretty true,” said Stefanou—and worked to improve their games even as the Maroons struggled to an 0–12 record to start the season. With Chicago floundering early on, Williams and Stefanou rode the bench for most of the season, each averaging about seven minutes per game

Second-year forward Steve Stefanou, shown against Wash U last season, has combined with classmate Tom Williams for 21.9 points and 14 rebounds per game this season. COURTESY U OF C SPORTS INFORMATION

and each waiting for a shot to make an impact on the court. “It was frustrating watching the team and not being able to help,” Williams said. “But the other guys had some of the same experiences and we all kind of struggled together.” McGrath viewed the losing season as a hurdle for the young Maroons, who saw Chicago fall from a UAA title in 2008 to fifth place in 2009. “The biggest key to learning is working hard. And it’s always easier to do that when you’re in a successful environment, and last year they weren’t

in some ways,” McGrath said. But with work in the off-season, Williams and Stefanou have demonstrated their versatility for the Maroons this year, spreading defenses with quality jumpshooting while using their size and quickness as tools under the basket. With the conference season beginning Saturday, they are committed to bringing Chicago back to the UAA promised land. “I think I speak for the team,” Stefanou said, “in saying that our goal and expectation is to be at or near the top of the conference.”

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

In practice, Maroons compete to stay ready for tip off

Second-year guard Miriam Tesfamikael (23) defends second-year guard Joann Torres in a drill during practice. JULIA SILVERMAN/MAROON

By Jordan Holliday Sports Editor Right now, women’s basketball head coach Aaron Roussell has a two-page typed report breaking down Wash U, the nation’s thirdranked team and Chicago’s opponent tomorrow. Page one outlines player tendencies, Bear by Bear; page two covers their team strategy. The report is a product of hours spent watching tapes, plus observations drawn from recent years’ games against this veteran-laden Wash U squad. It aims to be comprehensive but concise–only two pages long–to avoid “paralysis by analysis,” as Roussell put it.

“It could easily be five or six pages,” Roussell said. Distilling seasons of experience and hours of research into a two-page report is a bit like the challenge Chicago faces tomorrow at the WU Field House in St. Louis. The Maroons only play a two-hour game against Wash U, but in truth, the competition began with their practices here, where the players have choreographed the formations and endlessly drilled the fundamentals they’ll need to best Wash U. The team practices most days for a couple hours (the NCAA mandates one day of rest per week), typically in the evening. Practices

often start with players shooting around and working on individual skills with the coaches, then transition to drills and games of two-ontwo or three-on-three, and end with scrimmages with five players per side. Many of the drills and exercises Chicago uses are designed to isolate and improve small portions of the team’s offense. Some require a couple of players to run through an offensive set without any defenders; others include the defense, but keep the “teams” small, with two or three players on each. These scaled-down games allow the players and coaches to see and work on things that might get overlooked in five-on-five play. “Sometimes when you go five-on-five, you’re able to hide,” Roussell said. “When you go three-on-three, you’re kind of exposed. You do something wrong, and everyone can see you did something wrong.” When there is a competitive element in the drills—as in the three-on-three games—so much the better. The pressure to perform keeps the players enthusiastic and engaged, and they benefit more from the drills as a result. “We perform at a higher level and push one another to improve ourselves and become better players,” second-year guard Meghan Herrick said. “No one wants to lose, so in order to win you have to push beyond exhaustion and work harder than the other team.” As the season carries on, Chicago’s practices emphasize offensive and defensive sets and other more nuanced aspects of the game, but they never entirely get away from the basics. Even late in the season, Roussell’s practices include time for the fundamentals that the team works on from day one. Roussell hopes that physical conditioning— maybe the most fundamental skill set of all—is something his players can get through practice alone, without any outside work, though some players said they work out indepen-

dently to maintain peak fitness. But when the players do choose to exercise on their own, it’s not because the practices are wanting for rigor. “Every practice has at least a few situations where I’m dying,” fourth-year guard Jamie Stinson said. “We want to make sure we can outrun every team we play.” This time of the year, keeping in shape can be more a matter of resting than a matter of running. Between class, practice, and the UAA’s two-game weekends, fatigue can set in, so Roussell will dial back full practices and hold more individual skill development sessions, which are less taxing. The efforts in practice are evident each time the Maroons tip off, but over the course of a player’s career, the cumulative effect of their work can be especially dramatic. By way of example, Roussell said Stinson and fellow fourth-year Molly Hackney, who plays forward, have radically expanded their abilities during their time at Chicago. “Jamie Stinson is a completely different player now that she’s a senior than when she was a freshman,” Roussell said. “Now she’s turning into one of our best three-point threats. Molly Hackney, same thing. She’s becoming a complete player, she can shoot from the perimeter, she can score from anywhere on the floor.” Helping each player develop new skills to complement those she brought to Chicago is one of the principal goals of the Maroons’ practice regimen, Roussell said. And over her four years here, Hackney said she’s noticed that sort of growth in her own game. “I think that my defensive game has greatly improved since I’ve been here at Chicago,” Hackney said. “Also, [Roussell] has helped me become an all-around smarter player, thinking about why we are running a particular offense and where we want the ball going.”

UAA BASKETBALL CHICAGO MAROON | JANUARY 8, 2010 | CONFERENCE PREVIEW

Long Road Ahead Men look for consistency entering conference play By Ryan Tryzbiak Associate Sports Editor Considering that at this time last season his team had zero wins, the fact that men’s basketball head coach Mike McGrath sounds disappointed by his team’s recent performance is an indication of how far the team has come in a short time. Chicago (6–5) has already equaled their victory total from last year, when they finished 6–19, before even beginning conference play. However, the Maroons have dropped their last four after beginning the season on a 6–1 streak that included winning the Midway Classic championship, so McGrath’s concern is understandable. Why the sudden swoon? McGrath believes he has the explanation. “I think some of that is the effect that winter break and finals has on you mentally,” he said. “I wasn’t happy with the way we came back from Christmas break with our energy and our focus.” In addition to the distractions of winter break, Chicago has been hampered by inconsistency. “If you look at us statistically, we’re not doing anything terribly,” McGrath said. “It’s been different things different games.” At Augustana, the Maroons committed 28 turnovers. Against Edgewood, Chicago doomed itself by shooting only 23.8 percent from the field in the first half. Then, they shot well in the first half against St. Norbert but only 28.1 percent in the second period. Finally, the Maroons shot well in both halves against MSOE but narrowly lost the turnover battle 17–13 in a 64–62 loss. Unsurprisingly, McGrath’s focus heading into the UAA schedule is on making sure his Maroons

play well for the full 40 minutes. “In each game, especially the ones we’ve lost, we’ve had a five to ten minute stretch where we didn’t play well,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to work on now.” All the discussion of Chicago’s recent losing streak shouldn’t obscure the fact that the Maroons are vastly improved from a year ago. McGrath refused to pinpoint any particular player that has spearheaded this improvement, instead focusing on the squad’s intangibles. He said that his fourth-years, guards John Bonelli and Jake Pancratz and forwards John Kinsella and Marek Kowalewski, “have been very competitive and have set a very good tone.” McGrath added, “I think we’ve had very good team chemistry.” The maturation of the second-year class has also aided the Maroons, especially in the cases of guard Chase Davis and forwards Tom Williams and Steve Stefanou. Of the three, Stefanou posted the largest contribution last year with 3.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game. This year, he leads the team in both points per game with 13.0 and rebounds per game with 7.4. Williams has chipped in with 8.9 points and 6.6 boards, and Davis has added 6.5 points per game from the bench. Combined with the expected solid play of returning starters Pancratz, Kinsella, and secondyear Michael Sustarsic, this trio gives the Maroons several targets on offense. That will be a big asset in the coming weeks during the conference schedule, and the Maroons will need to iron out their inconsistencies if they want to make noise in the perennially competitive UAA.

Third-ranked Wash U awaits “battle-tested” women By David Wang Sports Staff A lot is at stake for women’s basketball these coming weeks. The 21st-ranked Maroons (8–3) are rushing into their first game of UAA play against Wash U (10–1) tomorrow. Though those numbers aren’t great, there’s more than meets the eye. All three of the Maroons’ losses have been against top ten teams, including two former number ones. “The biggest strength of this team is that it is battle-tested,” head coach Aaron Roussell said. “We have played a very tough schedule. This is a very experienced team, and that experience will definitely help us in UAA play.” If Chicago had a tough run through its nonconference schedule, the start of UAA action will mean more of the same for the Maroons. Wash U is ranked third in the nation, and they returned all five starters from the squad that beat Chicago 70–55 in the UAA finale last February, then went on to finish as the national runners-up. The Bears’ only loss this season came back in November against Illinois Wesleyan, the current national number-one. They’re outscoring opponents by more than 17 points this season, and whatever the promise Chicago has shown so far must be on full display tomorrow to beat Wash U. The Maroons will need to continue their success on the defensive side of the ball, and get more-of-the-same from reliable scoring threats like second-year guard Meghan Herrick. “We are a very balanced team made up of a talented group that has shown up and won some big games against a very tough schedule,” Roussell said. “I would have to say that our big-

gest contributor so far has been our defense and our efforts on the boards. That always gives you a good chance to win.” “That being said, Meghan Herrick has really come on as a great player for us this year. Everything has seemed to come together for her so far.” Herrick put up 16 points and four steals in Chicago’s win against MSOE last Saturday, and showed skill under the basket with 10 rebounds earlier this season against Coe in the Midway Classic. Leaving St. Louis with a victory, though, will require a winning effort from more than just one player. The Bears have a productive offense, but don’t rely on any single scorer for points. A trio of forwards—Janice Evans, Zoe Unruh, and Jaime McFarlin—score in the low double digits each game, but a handful of other Bears have shown that they can find the basket, if need be. Stopping all of Wash U’s scorers probably isn’t possible, but to keep them in check, Chicago has to get consistent defensive pressure from all of its starters, plus some assistance from the bench. But that’s right up the Maroons’ alley. They’ve shown they have the ability to stop teams with their defense, and should they do the same against Wash U, they’ll only increase the confidence they’ve already instilled in their coach. “I really like this team and feel we have the makeup of a deep NCAA tournament run,” Roussell said. “Though we could use some more consistent play from our top girls, we will be a tough-out for every team remaining on our schedule.”

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